Religion^ Lea?'7ting, and A7't; 7'i'ades, Industries^ and Commerce; Manners^ Customs^ and Do7nestic Life,nbsp;of the Ancient Iidsh People

P. JOYCE,

M, H. Gill (S' Son, :: :: Lid. :: ::nbsp;JO Upper O�Connellnbsp;Street :: :: Dublin

The Place, Time, Author, and Cause of Writing, of this book, are:�Its place is Lyre-na-Grena, Leinster-road,nbsp;Rathmines, Dublin; its time is the year of our Lordnbsp;one thousand nine hundred and three; the author isnbsp;Patrick Weston foyce. Doctor of Laws; and the causenbsp;of writing the same book is to give glory to God, honournbsp;to Ireland, and knowledge to those who desire - to learnnbsp;all about the Old Irish People.

PREFACE

An important function of History is to depict social and domestic life. If we wish to obtain anbsp;clear view of the general state of any particularnbsp;country in past times, we shall need to have anbsp;good knowledge of the people, high and low, richnbsp;and poor; their standards of civilisation, religion,nbsp;and learning; their virtues and failings; theirnbsp;industries, occupations, and amusements; theirnbsp;manners and customs ; and the sort of life theynbsp;led day by day in their homes.

The social condition of most of those ancient nations that have made any figure in the worldnbsp;has been investigated and set forth in books ; andnbsp;perhaps it will be acknowledged that Irelandnbsp;deserves to be similarly commemorated. For,nbsp;besides the general importance of all such studiesnbsp;in elucidating the history of the human race,nbsp;the ancient Irish were a highly intellectual andnbsp;interesting people; and the world owes themnbsp;something, as I hope to be able to show. In thisnbsp;book an attempt is made to picture society, innbsp;all its phases, as it existed in Ireland before the

Anglo-Norman Invasion; and to accomplish this work�to bring together in one Essay all that isnbsp;known on the subject�every authentic source ofnbsp;information within my reach has been turned tonbsp;account. I have collected the scattered Sibyllinenbsp;leaves with much loving labour, and sorted andnbsp;pieced them together slowly and patiently, so as tonbsp;form a connected and intelligible statement; butnbsp;in my case there were a hundred times morenbsp;inscribed leaves to deal with than ever any votarynbsp;picked up in the Sibyl�s cave. Or perhaps somenbsp;of my readers, putting aside this metaphor, maynbsp;rather see in the book the likeness of some spaciousnbsp;edifice, with symmetrical wings and numerousnbsp;bright apartments, all differently furnished andnbsp;ornamented. The visitor who wishes to enter herenbsp;and explore the interior will find the way plainlynbsp;pointed out at the opening of every corridor, andnbsp;each apartment labelled to indicate, in a generalnbsp;way, what is to be seen inside.

The society depicted here�as the reader will soon discover for himself�^was of slow and methodical growth and development; duly subordinatednbsp;from the highest grades of people to the lowest;nbsp;with clearly defined ranks, professions, trades, andnbsp;industries ; and in general with those various pursuits and institutions found in every well-orderednbsp;community : a society compacted and held togethernbsp;by an all-embracing system of laws and customs,nbsp;long established and universally recognised.

by other writers, notably by Ware, O�Curry, and Sullivan ; and I have taken full advantage of theirnbsp;learned labours. But they deal with portions only,nbsp;and of course give only partial views : my Essaynbsp;aims at opening up the entire field. I am fullynbsp;sensible of the shortcomings of this first attempt tonbsp;bring the whole social life of the ancient Irishnbsp;people under one broad view; for besides thenbsp;liability to error and imperfection incident tonbsp;every new undertaking, the sources of informationnbsp;on the state of ancient Ireland are not yet fullynbsp;available. But it is better to make the attemptnbsp;now, even under some disadvantages, than tonbsp;postpone it indefinitely.

This book does not deal with pre-historic times, except by occasional reference, or to illustrate thenbsp;historic period. My survey generally goes backnbsp;only so far as there is light from living record�nbsp;history or tradition. I am content to stand nearnbsp;the outer margin of the fog, and observe andnbsp;delineate the people as they emerge from darknessnbsp;and twilight. At first indeed there is often only anbsp;faint glimmer, and the figures and their surroundings are shadowy and indistinct: but subsequentnbsp;observation, made in broad historical daylight,nbsp;generally enables us to clear up the uncertaintynbsp;or correct the error of the first dim view.

Where such a vast variety of subjects had to be treated of within the compass of two mediumsized volumes, it would be manifestly impossiblenbsp;to pursue inquiries exhaustively, or to go quite to

the bottoin of things. But so far as the Essay is intended to reach, I have done my very best tonbsp;secure accuracy�accuracy of statement, of inference, of quotation, and of reference ; and whoevernbsp;discovers an error may be assured that it is notnbsp;the result of haste or carelessness.*

I have been very particular to give exact references for all statements of any importance.nbsp;Quotations from other languages are always givennbsp;in English : but wherever it seemed necessary ornbsp;desirable the originals also are quoted. Wherenbsp;there are two or more editions or versions of worksnbsp;consulted, references are given as far as possible tonbsp;those that are most easily accessible to the generalnbsp;reader. I have utilised without stint the labours ofnbsp;others, both of the past and of the present, butnbsp;never, I think, without acknowledgment.

Attention has been given to the forms and meanings of words and names so far as it tendednbsp;to elucidate the general subject : but it must benbsp;remembered that the main intention of this booknbsp;is to deal, not with words, but with things. Whennbsp;an Irish word or name varies in spelling, thenbsp;several forms are generally given, either in the textnbsp;or in the Index. Animals, plants, minerals, andnbsp;external nature in general, are treated of only sonbsp;far as they come directly into touch with the Socialnbsp;Life of the people : and they are brought in undernbsp;the several chapters wherever they fit best.

* Those who wish to study particular portions of the subject further will be aided by the references all through the book, and by the List ofnbsp;Authorities at the end.

The numerous illustrations relate to the several current parts of the text; and I hope they will benbsp;found an instructive and pleasing feature of thenbsp;book.

I have taken occasion all along to compare Irish Social Life with that of other ancient nations,nbsp;especially pointing out correspondences that arenbsp;the natural consequence of common Aryan origin :nbsp;but want of space precluded much indulgence innbsp;this very desirable direction.

The writer who endeavours to set forth his subject�whatever it may be�in � words of truthnbsp;and soberness,� is sure to encounter the disapprovalnbsp;or hostility of those who hold extreme opinions onnbsp;either side. In regard to my subject, we have,nbsp;on the one hand, those English and Anglo-Irishnbsp;people�and they are not few�who think, merelynbsp;from ignorance, that Ireland was a barbarousnbsp;and half-savage country before the English camenbsp;among the people and civilised them ; and, onnbsp;the other hand, there are those of my countrymennbsp;who have an exaggerated idea of the greatnessnbsp;and splendour of the ancient Irish nation.* Inbsp;have not been in the least influenced by writersnbsp;belonging to either class. Following trustworthynbsp;authorities, I have tried to present here a truenbsp;picture of ancient Irish life, neither over-praisingnbsp;nor depreciating. I have not magnified whatnbsp;Was worthy of commendation, nor suppressed, nornbsp;unwarrantably toned down, features that told

unfavourably for the people : for though I love the honour of Ireland well, I love truth better.

The Irish race, after a long-protracted struggle, went down before a stronger people ; and in addition to this, from causes which it would be out ofnbsp;place to discuss here, they suffered almost a totalnbsp;eclipse at home during a period nearly coincidentnbsp;with the eighteenth century. Chiefly for thesenbsp;reasons the old Irish people have never, in modernnbsp;times, received the full measure of credit due tonbsp;them for their early and striking advance in thenbsp;arts of civilised life, for their very comprehensivenbsp;system of laws, and for their noble and successfulnbsp;efforts, both at home and abroad, in the cause ofnbsp;religion and learning. Oi late indeed we cannbsp;perceive, among Continental and British writers,nbsp;something like a spontaneous movement showing anbsp;tendency to do them justice; but the essays innbsp;this direction, though just, and often even generous,nbsp;as far as they go, are fragmentary, scattered, andnbsp;fitful. Those who are interested in this aspect ofnbsp;the subject will perhaps be pleased to have thenbsp;whole case presented to them in one Essay.

I now submit to the judgment of the public this book, the outcome of eight years� congenialnbsp;and pleasant work, hoping that it will provenbsp;acceptable, not only to those who desire information on the Institutions and Social Life of thenbsp;ancient Irish, and of the Celtic people in general,nbsp;but also to that wider circle who are interested innbsp;the early History of Mankind.

I have now to discharge the pleasant duty of recording my thanks for help towards illustrating this book.

The Councils of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland, gave me the use of the blocksnbsp;lt;3f great numbers of the illustrations in their respective publica-tions, and where the blocks were not available, permitted me tonbsp;copy any of their illustrations I wanted. That the book is sonbsp;well illustrated is mainly owing to the liberality of these twonbsp;distinguished Societies. There is no need to enter into detailnbsp;here, as under every illustration in the book is mentioned thenbsp;source from which it is derived : but I wish to direct attentionnbsp;to the number of valuable and accurate figures I have borrowednbsp;from Wilde�s � Catalogue of Irish Antiquities,� belonging tonbsp;the Royal Irish Academy.

Messrs. Hodges, Figgis amp; Co., of Dublin, placed at my disposal the blocks of as many of Petrie�s and Wakeman�s beautiful drawings as I chose to ask for.

Colonel Wood-Martin lent me the blocks of many of the illustrations in his � Pagan Ireland � and � Traces of thenbsp;Elder Faiths of Ireland.�

From the Board of Education, South Kensington, I have received permission to use electrotypes from the original blocksnbsp;of nearly a dozen of the admirable illustrations in Miss Stokes�snbsp;� Early Christian Art in Ireland.�

The Controller of Flis Majesty�s Stationery Office, London, allowed me to reproduce some of the illustrationsnbsp;in Sir John T. Gilbert�s �Facsimiles of Irish Nationalnbsp;Manuscripts.�

I am indebted to the late Mr. Bernard Quaritch of London for leave to reproduce the beautiful illuminated page of thenbsp;Look of Mac Durnan, from Westwood�s � Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon and Irish Manuscripts.�

iEessrs. George Bell amp; Sons lent me the blocks of some of the illustrations in Miss Stokes�s � Three Months in the Forestsnbsp;of France,� and � Six months in the Apennines.�

I had the permission of the Rev. Dr. Abbott, s.F.T.C.D., to copy some of the figures in his � Reproductions of Portions ofnbsp;the Book of Kells.�

illustrations in the � Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society.�

The Editor of the � Revue Celtique � has given me permission to reproduce two of the figures in that periodical.

Besides the above, a number of illustrations have been taken from books having no copyright, and others have beennbsp;purchased from the proprietors of copyright works ; all ofnbsp;which are acknowledged in the proper places. And therenbsp;are a good many original sketches appearing here now for thenbsp;first time.

Dr. Petrie and Miss Margaret Stokes have been the chief illustrators of the Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland ; andnbsp;even a casual glance will show to what an extent I have beennbsp;enabled to enrich this book with their beautiful and accuratenbsp;drawings.

In preparing this Edition I have had the advantage of a number of valuable remarks from Dr. Kunonbsp;Meyer, now our greatest and most accomplishednbsp;Irish scholar. He read the book as soon as it camenbsp;out, and as he went along took notes, which henbsp;sent to me unasked, and which I now thankfullynbsp;acknowledge.

On my own part I have carefully re-read and re-considered every sentence in the book.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I

PART I

GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

PART II

5. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Third Order : Anchorites ornbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hermits,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;and

CHAPTER XVI

art,

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gold, Silver, and Enamel, as Working Materials,nbsp;Artistic Metal Work, ..

CHAPTER XVII

Section

CHAPTER XVI ri

medicine and medical doctors.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I

FIG. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;PACE

99. St, Senan�s Holy Well, Clare, . nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;. 367

100. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Well of Help, Inishmurray, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;, 368

101. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;St. Kieran�s Trout Well, Meath, . 369

102. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Altar-Stone,.....371

103. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient stone Chalice, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;372

104. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;St. Patrick�s Bell, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;373

105. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bell of Mac Ailello, .... 375

106. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Iron Bell,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;377

107. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bronze Crotal, or closed Bell, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;377

108. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gold Amulet..... 385

109. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do., do., .....385

no. Stone Amulet,.....385

111. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Slane Monastery ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;387

112. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Mellifont Abbey........

113. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Portion of Bell-shrine, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;396

114. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ogham Alphabet, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;397

115. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bilingual Stone, Killeen Cormac, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;399

116. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ogham Stone...... 400

117. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Two ancient Irish Alphabets, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;406

118. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;John Scotus Erigena, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;411

iig. Tomb of the Seven Romans, Aran, 413

120. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Clonmacnoise, .....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;415

121. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Alphabet on Stone,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;439

122. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� The CoUedge,� Youghal,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;463

123. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Irish Astronomical Dia

gram, ......465

124. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Scribe writing,.....481

125. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Cover of Book of Armagh, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;488

126. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Facsimile from Book of the Dun

Cow,......494

127. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Capital, Glenda

lough, ......500

128. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Movilla Monastery, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;502

129. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Dysert-Aengus, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;508

130. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Noah�s Ark,.....5n

131. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Capital Glenda

lough, ......512

132. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kilbarron Castle, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;524

133. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Tubbrid Church........

134. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Column, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;531

135. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Irish Ornament, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;*543

136. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Arch, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;544

137. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Illuminated Page, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;iacin^ 547

138. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Outlines of same, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;548

139. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Rock Scorings, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.550

. .;-gt;,v.*;�i-r -

lil

^,HE Institutions, Arts, and Customs of Ancient Ireland, with few exceptions,nbsp;grew up from within, almost whollynbsp;unaffected by external influence. Thenbsp;exceptions will be noticed in the propernbsp;places in this book. The Romans nevernbsp;set foot in Ireland ; though their influence was felt to somenbsp;slight extent, either by direct communication or indirectlynbsp;through the Britons. The first foreigners to appear asnbsp;invaders were the Danes, who began their raids about thenbsp;beginning of the ninth century. Though they harassednbsp;the country for about two centuries, and established themselves in many parts of it, especially on the coasts, theynbsp;never brought it under subjection : and they effected nonbsp;changes of any consequence in the customs or modes ofnbsp;life of the people. Next came the Anglo-Normans near thenbsp;end of the twelfth century. But though this was a muchnbsp;more serious invasion than that of the Danes, and thoughnbsp;these newcomers continued to make settlements in variousnbsp;parts of the country, the Irish people still adhered everywhere to their native customs. Indeed it is well known

that, except in a small district round Dublin, the settlers generally intermarried and became incorporated with thenbsp;natives, adopting their language, laws, dress, and usages, sonbsp;as to be quite undistinguishable from them, and becomingnbsp;� more Irish than the Irish themselves.� Accordingly, fornbsp;several centuries the Anglo-Norman colonisation had nonbsp;more effect in altering the general state of society than thenbsp;Danish invasions : and matters went on very much as ofnbsp;old, till the time of the Tudors, when English influence atnbsp;last made itself felt. Then the old system of tribal landnbsp;tenure began to be changed for the English custom : andnbsp;with the abolition of the Brehon Law and the substitutionnbsp;of English Law, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it may be said that the old order of things in Irelandnbsp;was broken up. But even after this most of the ancientnbsp;native customs remained, and indeed many remain to thisnbsp;day.

In the long lapse of ages there were of course changes and developments from time to time : many new modes,nbsp;fashions, and usages gradually grew up, while others fellnbsp;into disuse : but the main institutions and customs of thenbsp;country retained their hold with astonishing tenacity : sonbsp;that in some aspects of society, a description of the state ofnbsp;things as they existed in, suppose, the fifteenth century,nbsp;would apply equally well to that in the sixth or seventh.nbsp;Many illustrations of this might be given ; but one will benbsp;sufficient here. It was customary with the ancient Irishnbsp;poets�as will be described farther on�to make circuitsnbsp;through the country, visiting the houses of the principalnbsp;people, and receiving payment for their poetry, besidesnbsp;welcome and entertainment: composing laudatory poemsnbsp;for those who received them well, and lampooning thosenbsp;who refused them. This remarkable custom is mentionednbsp;in innumerable passages in both the lay and ecclesiasticalnbsp;literature as existing in the most remote pagan times ;nbsp;it was not in the least affected by war or invasion, but

continued uninterruptedly from age to age down to our own time, as may be seen by reference to pp. 450, 451 below.

But one momentous effect of the Danish and Anglo-Norman invasions must here be noted : they arrested the progress of native learning and art, which, though disturbednbsp;by the Danes, still lingered on for several centuries afternbsp;the first English settlements, but gradually declined, andnbsp;finally died out. Ireland presents the spectacle of annbsp;arrested civilisation. What that civilisation would havenbsp;come to if allowed to follow out uninterruptedly its naturalnbsp;course of development it is now impossible to tell, andnbsp;useless to conjecture ; but there is no reason to think thatnbsp;in this respect Irishmen would not have kept well abreastnbsp;with the rest of the world. One object of this book is tonbsp;present the intellectual and artistic state of the countrynbsp;when at its best�though still imperfect�namely, fromnbsp;the seventh or eighth to the eleventh or twelfth century.

The evidences relied on throughout this book are derived from two main sources :�Literary Records, andnbsp;Material Remains.

The literary works used as authorities are referred to in the book as occasion arises, and they are all named in onenbsp;general list at the end ; but as they vary greatly, both in thenbsp;value to be attached to their testimony, and in point ofnbsp;antiquity, it may be well, at the outset, to give some ideanbsp;of the kind of evidence we obtain from them, and to indicate, in a general way, how far they are to be trusted asnbsp;guides in our present inquiry. Two main points I wish tonbsp;bring out clearly in this short chapter First, the authenticity and general trustworthiness of the evidence ; Second,nbsp;the period or periods of the country�s history to which thisnbsp;evidence applies.

The Literary Records may be classed as follows :� Lives of Saints, Martyrologies, and other religious writings ;

Romantic Literature : the Brehon Laws : Glosses and Glossaries: Annals, Genealogies, and Local Historicalnbsp;Memoirs: and the works of English, Anglo-Irish, andnbsp;foreign writers. These several classes will be now brieflynbsp;examined.

Lives of Saints.�The lives and other written memorials of the Irish saints, most in Irish, some in Latin, of whichnbsp;great numbers are still preserved in our manuscripts, andnbsp;of which many have been published, form a very importantnbsp;source of information. The oldest documents of this kindnbsp;are the original memoirs of St. Patrick. � The principal ofnbsp;these are :�The two documents now generally admitted tonbsp;have been written by Patrick himself�the � Confession,�nbsp;and the � Epistle to Coroticus,� both fifth century ; andnbsp;two others, the Memoir of the saint by Muirchu Maccunbsp;Machteni, and the Notes by Tirechan, both written in thenbsp;seventh century, but embodying traditions of a muchnbsp;earlier date. These are of the highest authority, but theynbsp;do not give us much information regarding the social lifenbsp;of the people. Next in point of antiquity, but more detailed and more valuable for our purposes, is the Latin Lifenbsp;of St. Columkille, written in or about a.d. 695, by Adamnan.nbsp;Columkille was the founder and first abbot of Iona, andnbsp;Adamnan was the ninth abbot: both were Irishmen ; andnbsp;the illustrious establishment over which they presided wasnbsp;an Irish ecclesiastical colony. Adamnan was a writer ofnbsp;great dignity and integrity : and his pictures of the dailynbsp;life of the people of Ireland, Scotland, and Iona, both laynbsp;and clerical, in the sixth and seventh centuries, though notnbsp;very full, are absolutely trustworthy so far as they go, andnbsp;most valuable as being the earliest detailed accounts wenbsp;possess.

The Celtic people who inhabited the western coasts and islands of Scotland were descended from Irish colonists, asnbsp;is shown below (pp. 81 to 83), and intimate intercoursenbsp;was kept up from the beginning between the two countries.

The two peoples were in fact identical, having the same customs, language, and modes of life ; so that Adamnan�snbsp;descriptions of the Scottish Gaelic people apply equally tonbsp;Ireland. His remarks also about the daily life of thenbsp;Northern Piets, whom he converted, may be applied, withnbsp;little or no reservation, to the Scots or Irish : for we knownbsp;that the Piets lived much the same sort of life as theirnbsp;neighbours, the Gaels, both of Ireland and Scotland. Thenbsp;Britons are often mentioned in Irish writings, for there wasnbsp;much intercourse between them and the Irish in early ages,nbsp;so that they often intermarried (pp. 74 to 79 below).nbsp;Tacitus, writing in the end of the first century, states thatnbsp;there was little difference between them in disposition,nbsp;manners, and customs : and, as corroborating this, wenbsp;find that the British customs incidentally noticed bynbsp;Irish writers are found to be generally identical with thosenbsp;of the Irish themselves.

Here it may be proper to remark that many ancient Gaelic customs that have died out, or are only faintlynbsp;remembered, in Ireland, are still preserved, with most ofnbsp;their antique features, in the Islands and Highlands of Scotland, of which several examples will be given in this book,nbsp;from Martin, Pennant, Scott, Carmichael, and other delineators of Scottish manners. The desolating wars in Ireland, especially those of the time of Elizabeth, in which thenbsp;country was almost cleared of inhabitants, broke, as itnbsp;were, the continuity of the race, so that many old customsnbsp;and traditions were neglected and forgotten in Ireland,nbsp;which in Scotland have been preserved without a breaknbsp;from the time of the earliest colonists to the present day.

The great majority of the saints whose biographies have been preserved flourished in the period from the fifth to thenbsp;eighth or ninth century. But it is well known that in thenbsp;case of most of them�though not of all�long intervalsnbsp;elapsed after their death, intervals often of centuries, before the memoirs of their Lives and Acts�that is, those

memoirs that are now extant�were committed to writing. A vast proportion of the ancient books of Ireland werenbsp;destroyed by the Danes in the ninth and tenth centuries,nbsp;and among them, no doubt, numerous original Memoirs ofnbsp;saints : so that the later biographers had to depend verynbsp;much on verbal tradition. These compilers constructednbsp;their narratives as best they could, under great difficulties,nbsp;collecting their materials from remnants of written recordsnbsp;in the several monasteries, from the scanty entries in oldnbsp;Annals, Genealogies, and other such documents, and largelynbsp;from oral tradition, the most uncertain source of all.

Though constructed round a framework of truth, these Lives, as they have reached us, are much mixed withnbsp;legend and fable, a circumstance which detracts from theirnbsp;value as mere historical records ; though it does not at allnbsp;affect our researches. The long intervals account in greatnbsp;part for the marvellous element : for oral tradition tends,nbsp;in the slow lapse of ages, to magnify everything, and tonbsp;attribute all unusual occurrences of past times to preternatural agency.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

There is good reason to believe that the biographers committed to writing faithfully the accounts they received,nbsp;whether from tradition or written record�truth and fictionnbsp;alike�without adding or distorting. But taking these oldnbsp;Lives as they stand, we are generally enabled, by an examination of internal evidence, and by careful comparisonnbsp;with other authorities, to distinguish fact from fiction : at

least in the case of the matters dealt with in this book� the main thing that concerns us. Interspersed throughnbsp;the narratives there are frequent references to dwellings,nbsp;furniture, dress, ornaments, occupations, customs, pastimes,nbsp;food, and many other concomitants of the everyday life ofnbsp;the people, which are incidentally mentioned with all the

10 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 marks of truth and reality. The fact that these briefnbsp;records are incidental, casual, and unintentional, is whatnbsp;stamps them with authenticity and gives them their value.nbsp;When we follow the guidance of these side lights, usingnbsp;ordinary circumspection, we are pretty sure to keep on safenbsp;ground, even though many of the main incidents relatednbsp;directly are fabulous or doubtful.

I will illustrate these remarks by an example. In the Irish Life of St. Brigit, it is related that on one occasion,nbsp;soon after she had settled in Kildare, Ailill, king of Leinster, passed near her establishment, with a hundred horseloads of peeled rods ; whereupon Brigit sent two of hernbsp;girls to ask him for some of the rods ; but he refused them.nbsp;Forthwith all the horses fell down helpless under theirnbsp;loads : and there they remained unable to rise, till Ailillnbsp;granted Brigit�s request: on which she released them. Thenbsp;Irish narrative adds incidentally that it was from these rodsnbsp;St. Brigit�s house in Kildare was built.'^ Passing by, asnbsp;foreign to our purpose, the miraculous part of this story,nbsp;which was the thing mainly in the mind of the writer, wenbsp;may infer from the rest that in those times it was thenbsp;custom to build houses of rods or wattles, cleaned up andnbsp;peeled before being used : and there is abundant evidencenbsp;elsewhere to show that this would be a correct conclusion.

Bearing in mind that the customs and habits of a people change slowly, that the original biographers must have hadnbsp;written authority of a much earlier age for some portion ofnbsp;their statements, and that the dates of the composition ofnbsp;the Lives or other Memoirs range from the fifth to thenbsp;fourteenth or fifteenth century, we shall be safe in assumingnbsp;that these incidental allusions generally represent the statenbsp;of society existing in Ireland from the time of the commemorated saints down at least to the periods of the writers.

This incidental testimony is specially noticed here in connexion with the Lives of the Saints ; but in reality itnbsp;* Stokes, Three Irish Homilies, page 77.

pervades all classes of Irish writings, as will be seen as we go on. Along with the Lives of the Saints, we may classnbsp;Martyrologies and Calendars, Hymns, Sermons, and othernbsp;religious writings, which will be specified and referred tonbsp;whenever necessary.

Romantic Literature.�The ancient Irish Tales, Historical and Romantic, which are described in some detail in chap. XV., furnish our next group of authorities. A largenbsp;proportion of the stories are contained in the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow, which was transcribed about the year iioo, andnbsp;in the Book of Leinster, transcribed in or before 116o;nbsp;and others are found in later manuscripts. All thesenbsp;books were copied from much older volumes ; and there

is good reason to believe that the principal stories were committed to writing at various periods from the seventhnbsp;to the tenth century, having been handed down orally fornbsp;nges previously by the professional poets and shanachies.nbsp;Though the stories are partly or wholly fictitious, theynbsp;abound, like the Lives of the Saints, in incidental picturesnbsp;of real life, which, speaking generally, are as true, andnbsp;consequently as valuable for our purposes, as if the mainnbsp;narratives were strictly historical.

It is, however, necessary to observe that when we have to deal with the direct descriptions of men and theirnbsp;surroundings found in many of the heroic romances�

direct and intentional descriptions as distinguished from casual or incidental�we must be cautious in acceptingnbsp;statements, and careful in drawing conclusions from them.nbsp;The heroes and the events which are the subjects of thesenbsp;Tales, belong for the most part to the first three or fournbsp;centuries of our era, and some are assigned to a muchnbsp;earlier period. The old romancers, who committed thenbsp;stories to writing many centuries later, magnified andnbsp;glorified everything pertaining to their favourite heroes ;nbsp;and have left us gorgeous descriptions of houses, furniture,nbsp;arms, dress, and ornaments, of which a great number maynbsp;be seen translated into English in 0�Curry�s � Lectures onnbsp;the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish.� In thenbsp;case of most of these, no one would seriously think ofnbsp;accepting them as literal sober truth: they merelynbsp;embody the shanachies� exaggerated conceptions of thenbsp;great champions of the heroic ages ; like the Homericnbsp;descriptions of Greek and Trojan heroes. Moreover thesenbsp;direct descriptions, so far as they are to be credited, asnbsp;well indeed as the incidental references, must be takennbsp;generally as applying to the time of the original writersnbsp;�or a little earlier in the case of each individual writer�nbsp;namely from the seventh to the tenth century, though,nbsp;as we shall see, a good proportion of them apply to anbsp;much earlier period.

But we may err on the side of excessive scepticism as well as by undue credulity. The most exaggeratednbsp;description, if read in the right way, and checked andnbsp;tested and toned down by other authorities, may yieldnbsp;solid information. And in regard to ornaments andnbsp;equipments : that the Shanachies did not often invent,nbsp;but merely magnified, is proved by the fact, that in ournbsp;museums we have weapons and ornaments answering tonbsp;most of those described in the stories, though generally onnbsp;a scale less magnificent. Mere creations of imaginationnbsp;as well as gross exaggeration can be eliminated or brought

down to the solid level of reality, by rigorously adhering to the rule of accepting nothing that does not of itselfnbsp;appear reasonable, or that is not corroborated by othernbsp;authorit}^

All the old Tales have been transmitted to u.s�as remarked elsewhere (chap, xv., sect, i)�by Christiannbsp;copyists, who have in most of them�though not in all �

added on, as it were from the outside, Christian allusions, leaving the general pagan framework almost unchanged.nbsp;Accordingly, even those of the Tales that show Christiannbsp;influence, are full of pagan ideas, and of references to pagannbsp;customs, while some are thoroughly pagan in character,nbsp;without a trace of Christianity : so that we may safely apply

�with due discrimination�many of the features of social life in the oldest tales to a period much earlier than thenbsp;seventh century.

Many of the Tales will be referred to as we go along : but as exemplifying how much may be learned from them,nbsp;I will here mention one piece contained in the Lebar Brecc,nbsp;The Vision of Mac Conglinne, which was evidently writtennbsp;by a skilled epicure, and which, though purely fictitious,nbsp;has afforded a vast amount of information, undoubtedlynbsp;authentic, especially on food and drink, and on the variousnbsp;modes of preparing, cooking, and presenting them at table.nbsp;Professor Kuno Meyer, the editor, believes that this talenbsp;began to assume its present form about the end of thenbsp;twelfth century : but that the original and shorter narrativenbsp;was written at a much earlier period.

The Brehon Laws.�In the ancient Laws of Ireland we have another rich mine of materials. These Laws ornbsp;Customs grew up among the people from the very beginning of society and took cognisance of them from almostnbsp;every conceivable point of view, following them as it werenbsp;into their very houses and laying bare to view the detailsnbsp;of their home life. They professed to regulate social andnbsp;domestic relations of every kind, as well as professions,nbsp;trades, industries, occupations, and wages. As laws theynbsp;err in being too minute ; but this very defect renders themnbsp;all the more valuable for our purposes,

The two most important of the Brehon Law tracts are the Senchus M�r [Shanahus More] and the Book of Acaillnbsp;[Ackill]. In Cor mac�s Glossary, a document of the ninthnbsp;or tenth century, the Senchus Mor is quoted and referrednbsp;to several times as a well-known work, even at that earlynbsp;time ; and as further showing the great antiquity of thenbsp;text, it may be mentioned that many of the terms occurring in it had, when the Glossary was compiled, fallen sonbsp;much out of use, that they are included among the obsoletenbsp;and forgotten old words needing explanation. As to the

Book of Acaill, it is generally admitted that it is at least as old as the Senchus M�r ; probably older. Other portions of the written law, including the Commentaries andnbsp;Glosses, are, however, much less ancient than these : andnbsp;some are not older than the fifteenth or sixteenth century :nbsp;though no doubt they transmit traditional interpretationsnbsp;of a much earlier time.

But this important fact must be remembered :�At whatever times the several tracts of the Laws were firstnbsp;written down, it was merely transferring to parchmentnbsp;usages that had been in existence for centuries : for thenbsp;customs of a people take long to grow, and still longer tonbsp;establish themselves as laws. It seems evident thereforenbsp;that the information regarding social life supplied by thenbsp;Laws taken as a whole, applies to a period coinciding innbsp;great part with that covered by the Lives of the Saintsnbsp;and the Romantic Literature�a period reaching in somenbsp;instances as far back as the date assigned by tradition tonbsp;the original compilation of the Senchus M�r : namely, thenbsp;time of St. Patrick, i.e. the fifth century. (See on this, pp.nbsp;172 to 178, below.)

A few of the legal rules and decisions laid down in the Laws are obviously unreal and fictitious and hardlynbsp;intended to have any application to practical life. Somenbsp;seem to be mere intellectual problems, invented to shownbsp;the cleverness of the writers, or to test the ingenuity ofnbsp;the learners in solving theoretical difficulties : a practicenbsp;by the way, not peculiar to the ancient Irish ; for onenbsp;may find examples of it elsewhere, even at the presentnbsp;day. But such cases form only a very small portion ofnbsp;the whole body of the Laws, and they are easily detected.nbsp;The Laws moreover are sometimes perplexingly inconsistent, which probably arises from the fact that manynbsp;of the tracts transmit to us local customs of differentnbsp;periods, or from different parts of the country, or perhapsnbsp;the decisions of different jurists. But these unrealities

l6 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I and inconsistencies chiefly concern those persons whonbsp;study the Laws as legal documents : they hardly touchnbsp;our inquiry : and so far as the objects of this book arenbsp;concerned, the Laws, as a whole, may be taken asnbsp;representing faithfully the actual state of society.

Glosses and Glossaries.�The Ancient Irish Glosses and Glossaries, which are described at pp. 473 to 476, below,nbsp;have been all turned to account, especially the Glossesnbsp;in Zeuss�s quot; Grammatica Celtica,� and the Glossaries ofnbsp;Cormac Mac Cullenan, 0�Clery, and 0�Davoren. Zeuss�snbsp;Glosses, with the corresponding Latin phrases, are givennbsp;fully by Zimmer in his book � Glossae Hibernicse � ; andnbsp;the whole of the Irish Glosses, wherever found all overnbsp;Europe, including those of Zeuss, are brought together,nbsp;with English translations of the old Irish passages, innbsp;quot; Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus,� by Doctors Stokes andnbsp;Strachan. Cormac�s Glossary contains a great deal ofnbsp;authentic and most valuable information. Many of thenbsp;words explained in it had then�that is in the ninth ornbsp;tenth century�become so antiquated as to be unintelligible to the generality of readers ; and the numerousnbsp;customs mentioned must have taken many generationsnbsp;to grow up. The notices of manners and customs foundnbsp;in this Glossary may accordingly be taken to apply tonbsp;a period extending backwards for several centuries�i.e.nbsp;a period generally coincident with that covered by thenbsp;preceding three classes of authorities. Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;is, for my purposes, somewhat like a cake of highlynbsp;concentrated food�pemmican or desiccated soup�drynbsp;and unattractive looking, but yielding under proper treatment plenty of intellectual nutriment. It abounds innbsp;references, illustrations, indirect allusions, and quotationsnbsp;from archaic lore�all very brief�relating to history, law,nbsp;romance, druidism, mythology, handicrafts, domestic life ;nbsp;showing the writer to have been a man of exceptionalnbsp;powers of observation and illustration ; and I think that,

for its size, I have obtained more information from this book than from any other. To about the same period,nbsp;or earlier, and for much the same reasons, may be ascribednbsp;the information derived from the Glosses, most of which,nbsp;according to Zeuss, were written in the eighth century,nbsp;and others in the beginning of the ninth : while some ofnbsp;the oldest of them have been assigned by other Continentalnbsp;scholars to the seventh.

Annals, Histories, Genealogies, amp;c.�Besides the classes of writings already noticed, there are Annals, Genealogies,nbsp;Local Memoirs, Historical Poems, and such like, all helping to accumulate evidence. Among the later writings innbsp;the Irish language are three local memoirs, translated andnbsp;edited by O�Donovan : one on the district and people ofnbsp;Hy Fiachrach in Sligo ; another on Hy Many or thenbsp;0�Kelly�s country in Galway ; and the third on Corca-luidhe [Corkalee] or the O�Driscoll�s territory in Southnbsp;Cork. These describe the people of the three severalnbsp;districts, their government, and modes of life, in thenbsp;thirteenth, fourt�enth, and fifteenth centuries. One greatnbsp;value of these three comparatively late tracts consists innbsp;this :�that they fully corroborate the evidences of muchnbsp;earlier writings ; and show that the habits and customsnbsp;of the older times were preserved almost unchanged downnbsp;to the period of the writers.

Although this book professedly deals with Ireland before the Anglo-Norman Invasion (1171), it will be observed that I sometimes notice matters belonging to much laternbsp;periods, and later authorities referring to them are oftennbsp;quoted. But the object of this is clear enough�to illustratenbsp;the earlier history. A statement in a late book assertingnbsp;or implying the prevalence of a certain custom at the timenbsp;of the writer, though it could not be accepted of itself asnbsp;evidence of the existence of the same custom at a periodnbsp;several centuries earlier, might corroborate a similar recordnbsp;or incidental reference in an ancient document, which, if

l8 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I unsupported would be too weak or uncertain to warrant anbsp;conclusion. The late authority in such a case is somethingnbsp;like a flying buttress erected to sustain a weak or yieldingnbsp;old wall: both will stand by mutual support, where either,nbsp;if left to itself, might fall. A good example of this sort ofnbsp;corroboration is Froissart�s account of the custom of knighting boys at seven. (See pp. 518, 519, farther on.)

There is yet another source of information existing in the Irish language�the loan-words from other languages.nbsp;But this branch of the subject has not yet been sufficientlynbsp;investigated by philologists to be turned to much account;nbsp;and accordingly I have made little use of it.

English and Foreign Writers.�The authorities hitherto referred to are all native. In early Greek and Romannbsp;writings there is not much reliable information about Ireland, which was in those times very remote and hard tonbsp;reach. The stories regarding Ireland in those days arenbsp;mere hearsay reports, and often remind one of the Greeknbsp;accounts of the Cimmerians, the Cyclops, Scylla andnbsp;Charybdis, the Harpies, and so forth. For example, Solinusnbsp;a Latin writer of about the third century, states that therenbsp;were few birds in Ireland, that there are no such thingsnbsp;as bees in it, that dust or small pebbles from Irish soil,nbsp;if taken to other countries and scattered among hives, willnbsp;frighten away and banish all the bees. In like mannernbsp;Strabo has a numbei' of odd fables about Ireland.* But asnbsp;I make little use of the writings of these authors, there isnbsp;no need to notice them further here. Sometimes, however, passages in the works of foreign writers, when theynbsp;had opportunities of coming at facts, and leave records ofnbsp;what thej^ knew, afford valuable corroboration of Irishnbsp;records, of which Bede�s account of the students fromnbsp;Britain residing in Ireland, and Ethicus�s mention ol

* A brief but useful collection of Greek and Roman writers� stories about Ireland, compiled by John O�Donovan, will be found in the Ulst.nbsp;Journ. ArchacoL, viii. 239.

books existing in Ireland in the fourth century, are good examples. (See pp. 414 and 403 to 405, farther on.ynbsp;When we come to the literature of later times, we have,nbsp;in addition to the native writings in Irish or Latin, manynbsp;other works, chiefly in English, written by English andnbsp;foreign writers, and some by Irishmen belonging to thenbsp;English colony.

Giraldus Cambrensis was the first foreigner who wrote 3- detailed description of Ireland. He spared no pains tonbsp;collect materials for his work, during his visit in 1185 : andnbsp;bis � Topography of Ireland,� written in Latin, contains anbsp;great amount of most interesting and valuable matter -Valuable partly as an independent authority, and partly asnbsp;a confirmation of the native accounts. But he was bitterlynbsp;prejudiced against the Irish people, whom he misrepresentsnbsp;to their disadvantage whenever he finds an opportunity,nbsp;and he often breaks out into blind, passionate abuse ofnbsp;them. He was very narrow-minded too, and everythingnbsp;not exactly squaring in with his own experience of fashionnbsp;and custom he pronounced barbarous. Yet, when he wasnbsp;able to conquer his prejudices, he bestowed praise wherenbsp;he thought it was deserved. He describes in enthusiasticnbsp;terms of laudation the ornamentation of Irish books andnbsp;the skill of the Irish harpers ; and he praises the Irishnbsp;clergy for the purity of their lives. He was excessivelynbsp;credulous, and his book abounds in marvellous stories,nbsp;some of them very silly, for which Lynch and other Irishnbsp;Writers censure him. But in justice to him it should benbsp;naentioned that many of his stories are versions�occasionally distorted�of Irish legends, which must have beennbsp;related to him or translated from Irish books by natives :nbsp;and he transferred them all to his book with undiscriminat-ing credulity as if they were sober history. However, innbsp;perusing the � Topography,� it is not difficult to separatenbsp;the wheat from the chaff.

number of English and Anglo-Irish writers described Ireland and its people ; but though the works of several of these are very solid and valuable, many are disfigured bynbsp;prejudice and misrepresentation, and their testimony hasnbsp;to be carefully sifted.

Hitherto we have treated of the evidences afforded by written Literature. Material Remains constitute the other

main source of information. They consist of antiquarian objects of various kinds, found underground from time tonbsp;time, and now preserved in museums; and of numerousnbsp;monuments and ruins of buildings scattered over the facenbsp;of the country. These, so far as they go, and so far as wenbsp;are able to ascertain their uses, give us perhaps the most

certain and satisfactory evidence of all. Besides affording, of themselves, independent testimony, they serve to confirm, and in many cases to correct and tone down thenbsp;written accounts.

Here a very important function of the inquirer is tonbsp;bring the existing remains intonbsp;connexion with the records,nbsp;by identifying the several objects with those mentioned innbsp;the ancient writings. In casenbsp;of the great majority of museum articles the chain of connexion is complete : that is tonbsp;say, we are able to pronouncenbsp;with certainty that such and

Fig. 12.�Ancient Irish brooch (pin cut short here to save space: see � Brooch quot; in Index). Fig. 13.�Ancient Irish bronze caldron for boiling meat, 12J4 inches deep, formed of platesnbsp;beautifully riveted together. It shows marks and signs of long use over a fire.nbsp;(See � Caldron quot; in Index.)

Fig. 14.�Light hollow gold ball, worn on the end of the hair, 3^ inches in diameter. (See � Golden Balls for the Hair,quot; at end of chap, xxii.)

All three objects now in National Museum, Dublin, and all three exactly answering the descriptions in the records. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

such an object is the very one mentioned in the writings or belongs to the same class, and with the same use.nbsp;Thus, we find brooches of various kinds, sizes, and materialsnbsp;spoken of everywhere in the ancient tales and biographies :nbsp;and there before our eyes in the museums are numerous

brooches answering in every respect to those described. In many such cases the existence of the objects affordsnbsp;valuable corroboration of the accuracy of the records, whichnbsp;otherwise we might be often inclined to doubt as merenbsp;bardic inventions. Thus, to continue the above illustration :�We often find mentioned in the Tales that a chiefnbsp;had his cloak fastened in front by a brooch of such anbsp;length as to extend across his breast from shoulder tonbsp;shoulder, a record which, if unsupported by other testimony, would probably be considerednbsp;an exaggeration. But when we findnbsp;among the collection of brooches innbsp;the National Museum in Dublin, two

In 1781 six bronze articles, all thin and flat, were dug up near Slane in Meath, of shape like those seen in the figures (of which the originals are in the Nationalnbsp;Museum, Dublin), and from 3 to 5 inches long. The spiral wire seen on one isnbsp;also on another, now in Trinity College, Dublin, and it is probable was originallynbsp;on all. Name and use unknown. Wilde (Catalogue, 566, 590) thinks they werenbsp;brooches, and calls them � Spectacle brooches � from their shape. (Fromnbsp;Wilde�.s Catalogue.)

specimens 22 and 20 inches long, respectively, we can no longer doubt the old romancer�s truthfulness. And as anbsp;further confirmation, we find that the Brehon Law prescribes penalties for personal injuries caused by broochesnbsp;whose points project beyond the shoulders.

But in some cases we are unable to connect the remains with the literature : in other words, some articles are mentioned and named in the ancient writings which we cannotnbsp;identify with any existing objects: and on the other handnbsp;we have several antique articles in the museums (some

pictured here : pp. 20, 22) whose names and uses are unknown, and which we are unable to identify with anynbsp;of those occurring in the records. These remarks applynbsp;to the ancient buildings and structures of various kindsnbsp;scattered over the country : while a large proportion arenbsp;identified and their uses known, numerous others are stillnbsp;a puzzle to antiquarians.

Other classes of ancient remains, such as pictures, coloured or plain, inscriptions on stone or brick, sculpturednbsp;representations of scenes of real life, all which are so abundant elsewhere�for example in Egypt�and which havenbsp;led to such wonderful discoveries, are scanty in Ireland.nbsp;Costumes, arms, and active life are represented in thenbsp;sculptures of the High Crosses, and in some of thenbsp;illustrations in the illuminated manuscripts, which go tonbsp;confirm the written accounts of dress and ornaments ;nbsp;but, on the whole, we do not obtain much informationnbsp;on the social and domestic life of the people from thisnbsp;class of remains.

It is most important to bear in mind that the validity of our conclusions regarding ancient customs and mannersnbsp;does not depend on any one authority or class of authorities, but in nearly all cases on the concurrence of several.nbsp;For example : In one of the ancient tales we come, suppose, across a statement or an allusion relating to somenbsp;long-forgotten custom, which looks so strange and oddnbsp;that we might at first be inclined to pass it by as a randomnbsp;expression of no significance. But we find it repeated innbsp;other tales ; and something to the same effect is alluded tonbsp;in one or more of the Lives of the Saints, documents of anbsp;totally different origin ; while perhaps these are confirmednbsp;by an incidental reference or explanation in a Glossary ornbsp;in the Brehon Laws ; or a corroborative passage occurs innbsp;a foreign writer ; and it may happen that some monument

24 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 or some article in a museum supports the written accountsnbsp;by its mute but unquestionable testimony. Thus all doubtnbsp;is removed and the matter becomes a certainty. It is thisnbsp;undesigned concurrence of several independent authoritiesnbsp;that constitutes the main strength of the evidence for thenbsp;statements and conclusions all through this book.

From all that has been said here, then, it will, I think, be conceded that we have materials that will enable usnbsp;to construct a Social History of Ireland for the intervalnbsp;between the introduction of Christianity and the Anglo-Norman Invasion, i.e. from the fifth to the twelfth century.nbsp;And while, on the one hand, we know that the state ofnbsp;society in the time of the Anglo-Normans continued without extensive or violent changes to the sixteenth or seventeenth century, we may be pretty certain, on the othernbsp;hand, though we have little direct historical evidence tonbsp;prove it, that the institutions and ways of life found innbsp;the country by the early missionaries were in most casesnbsp;identical with those existing far back towards the beginningnbsp;of the Christian Era, or before it.

The ancient Irish were a branch of the continental Celts : and they brought with them the language, mythology, and customs of their original home, all of which,nbsp;however, became modified in course of ages after thenbsp;separation. But the main characteristics were maintained,nbsp;and a comparison of the native accounts of the ancientnbsp;Irish people with the classical writers� descriptions of thenbsp;Continental Celts shows close resemblances in many important particulars. Each class of writings throws light onnbsp;the other, so as often to clear up obscure passages in both :nbsp;and in many cases statements in the ancient Irish Tales,nbsp;which, if unsupported, might be regarded as doubtful, arenbsp;corroborated by passages concerning the Gaulish Celts innbsp;Caesar, Solinus, Posidonius, and other classical writers.nbsp;These observations will be found illustrated in many partsnbsp;of this book.

It is important that we should have some general idea of the population of Ireland during the period treated ofnbsp;in this book. According to the best Anglo-Irish authoritiesnbsp;the population at the time of the Restoration�1660�^wasnbsp;something over a million. But for a whole century beforenbsp;that time the country had been devastated by continuousnbsp;war, probably the most destructive ever experienced by anynbsp;nation within historic times ; so that the people of three ofnbsp;the provinces, Ulster, Munster, and Connaught, as well asnbsp;of a considerable part of Leinster, were almost exterminated. At the beginning of these wars there must havenbsp;been two or three times more people than in 1660.

There are various considerations leading to the belief that Ireland was well populated in the early ages of Christianity. All over the country�in Connaught as well as innbsp;the other provinces�there are many districts in which wenbsp;find multitudes of small church ruins : districts which arenbsp;now half waste and solitary, and have been so for centuries :nbsp;these churches, of course, were not erected without havingnbsp;people to fill them.¹ Then again, many parts of the country are now studded over with raths or residential forts�nbsp;the ancient homesteads�quite as thickly as with modernnbsp;residences, notwithstanding that a large proportion of thenbsp;original structures have been obliterated by cultivation.!nbsp;Observe also that round every good-sized rath a number ofnbsp;workpeople and other followers lived with their families innbsp;wicker houses without any special fortifications, so that nonbsp;traces of their dwellings remain.

It has been observed by many modern writers that plain traces of tillage, such as ridges- formed by digging

t On the multitude of raths or forts, see Brash, Ogams, pp. 99, loi ; Westropp�s papers on � Prehistoric Forts in the Co. Clare,� in Journ. R.nbsp;Soc. Antiqq., Irel., for 1896 and 1897 ; and Wilde�s Boyne and Black-water, p. 138. See also Kilk. Arch. Journ. for 1879-82, p. 259.

26 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I and ploughing, are found all over Ireland in places nownbsp;waste and uninhabited ; such as the tops and sides ofnbsp;mountains, and even under deep bogs ; and several ofnbsp;those writers, on this score alone, are of the opinion expressed by one of their number that � for certain Irelandnbsp;has been better inhabited than it is at present.�*

Other circumstances point independently to the same conclusion; such as the outflow of the population in thenbsp;early centuries to Scotland, Wales, and Man, as mentionednbsp;below (pp. 72 to 83) ; the numerous schools and colleges innbsp;the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries�of which a partialnbsp;list may be seen at the opening of chap. xi. (p. 408),�allnbsp;with crowds of students ; and the vast assemblages at thenbsp;periodical fairs, described in Vol. II., pp. 434 to 449, ofnbsp;which we may instance, as one example out of many, thatnbsp;of Tailltenn in 1169, when the chariots and horse alonenbsp;extended along a distance of six miles. In this connexion we must not overlook the ancient tradition citednbsp;farther on (chap, vii., p. 185), that in the reign of the sonsnbsp;of Aed Slaine (joint kings, a.d. 656-664) the people grewnbsp;so numerous that for the first time the use of fences becamenbsp;general.

We should remember, too, Caesar�s statement regarding Britain in his time�the first century B.C.�� the number ofnbsp;people is countless and their buildings are exceedinglynbsp;numerous � (Gallic War, v., xii.) ; and there seems nonbsp;reason why Ireland should have been behindhand in thisnbsp;respect at that time and subsequently.

Besides all that has been said, there is another most important observation to be made. It seems inconceivablenbsp;that such a complete, close, and symmetrical network ofnbsp;laws and institutions as will be found described in the following pages, embracing every member of the community,nbsp;from the highest to the lowest, could have grown up and

* Boate, Nat. Hist., p. 47; Smith, Hist, of Cork, i., 198; Joyce, Irish Names of Places, i., 228.

held the people together for so many centuries, without having a good solid population to work upon.

From all these considerations, then, we may conclude that Ireland was well peopled during the period passingnbsp;under review in this book.

RELAND, from the sixth to the twelfth century of the Christian Era, presented an interesting spectacle, which, viewed through the medium ofnbsp;history, may be sketched in broad outline asnbsp;follows.

In those early times the physical aspect of Ireland was very different from what it is atnbsp;present. All over the country there were vastnbsp;forests, and great and dangerous marshes, quagmires, andnbsp;bogs, covered with reeds, moss, and grass. But thoughnbsp;bogs existed from the beginning, many districts, where wenbsp;now find them lying broad and deep, were once forestnbsp;land ; and the bog grew up after the surface had, in somenbsp;manner, become denuded of trees. Buried down at a depthnbsp;of many feet in some of our present bogs great tree trunksnbsp;are often found, the relics of the primeval forest.

But outside forest and bog, there were open plains, valleys, and hillsides, under cultivation and pasturage, andnbsp;all well populated. The woods and waste places werenbsp;alive with birds and wild animals of all kinds, and thenbsp;people were very fond of hunting and fishing; for therenbsp;was plenty of game, both large and small, and the riversnbsp;and lakes teemed with fish. Sometimes they hunted hares

and foxes for mere sport. But they had much grander game : wild boars with long and dangerous tusks, deer innbsp;great herds, and wolves that lurked in caves and thicknbsp;woods. There were the same broad lakes, like inland seas,nbsp;that still remain: but they were generally larger then thannbsp;they are now; and they were surrounded with miles ofnbsp;reedy morasses: lakes and marshes tenanted everywherenbsp;by vast flocks of cranes, wild geese, wild swans, and othernbsp;fowl. Kites and golden eagles skimmed over the plainsnbsp;peering down for prey; and the goshawks, or falcons,nbsp;used in the old game of hawking, were found in greatnbsp;abundance.

A person traversing those parts of the country that were inhabited found no difficulty in getting from place tonbsp;place ; for there were roads and bridle-paths everywhere,nbsp;rough indeed, and not to be compared with the roads of

Ferryboat, 21 feet long by i foot broad: now in National Museum, Dublin. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

our day, but good enough for the travel and traffic of the time. If the wayfarer did not choose to walk, there werenbsp;plenty of ox-waggons ; and among the higher classesnbsp;rough springless chariots, drawn by one or two horses _nbsp;Horse-riding, though sometimes adopted, was not in thosenbsp;times a very general mode �f travelling. What with roughnbsp;conveyances, and with roads and paths often full of ruts,nbsp;pools, and mire, a journey, whether by walking, driving, ornbsp;horse-riding, was a slow, laborious, and disagreeable business, and not always free from danger. Rivers were crossednbsp;by means of wooden bridges, or by wading at broadnbsp;shallow fords, or by little ferry-boats, or, as a lastnbsp;resource, by swimming : for in those days of open-air lifenbsp;everyone could swim. Fords were, however, generally verynbsp;easy to find, as the roads and paths usually impinged on

In the inhabited districts the. traveller experienced little difficulty on the score of lodging : for there were opennbsp;houses of hospitality for the reception of strangers, wherenbsp;bed and food were always ready. If one of these happenednbsp;not to be within reach, he had only to make his way tonbsp;the nearest monastery, where he was sure of a warmnbsp;welcome : and, whether in monastery or hostel, he wasnbsp;entertained free of charge. Failing both, there was smallnbsp;chance of his having to sleep out; for hospitality wasnbsp;everywhere enjoined and practised as a virtue, and therenbsp;was always a welcome from the family of the first privatenbsp;house he turned into.

The people were divided into tribes and clans, each group, whether small or large, governed by a king or chief ;nbsp;and at the head of all was the high king of Ireland. Butnbsp;these kings could not do as they pleased ; for they had tonbsp;govern the country or the district in accordance with oldnbsp;customs, and had to seek the advice of the chief men on allnbsp;important occasions�much the same as the limited mon-archs of our own day. There were courts of justice presided over by magistrates and judges, with lawyers tonbsp;explain the law and plead for their clients.

The houses were nearly all of wood, and oftener round than quadrangular, the dwelling of every comfortablenbsp;family being surrounded by a high rampart of earth with anbsp;thorn hedge or strong palisade on top, to keep out wildnbsp;animals and robbers. Beside almost every homesteadnbsp;was a kitchen garden for table vegetables, and one ornbsp;more enclosed spaces for various purposes, such as outdoor games, shutting in cattle at night, or as haggardsnbsp;for corn-stacks. In some places the dwellings werenbsp;clustered in groups or hamlets, not huddled close as thenbsp;houses in most of our present villages, but with opennbsp;spaces between. The large towns�which, however, were

30 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I very few�lay open all round, without any attempt atnbsp;fortification.

The people were bright and intelligent and much given to intellectual entertainments and amusements. Theynbsp;loved music and singing, and took delight in listeningnbsp;to poetry, history, and romantic stories, recited by professional poets and shanachies; or, in the absence ofnbsp;these, by good non-professional storytellers, who werenbsp;everywhere to be found among the peasantry. Theynbsp;were close observers of external nature, too, and had annbsp;intense admiration for natural beauty, a peculiaritynbsp;everywhere reflected in their literature, as well as in theirnbsp;place-names.

In most parts of the country open-air meetings or fairs were held periodically, where the people congregated innbsp;thousands, and, forgetting all the cares of the world for thenbsp;time, gave themselves over to unrestrained enjoyment�nbsp;athletic games and exercises, racing, music, recitationsnbsp;by skilled poets and storytellers, jugglers� and showmen�snbsp;representations, eating and drinking, marrying and givingnbsp;in marriage. So determined were they to ward off allnbsp;unpleasantness on these occasions, that no one, at thenbsp;risk of his life, durst pick a quarrel or strike a blow: fornbsp;this was one of the rules laid down to govern all publicnbsp;assemblies. An Irish fair in those times was a lively andnbsp;picturesque sight. The people were dressed in their best,nbsp;and in great variety, for all, both men and women, lovednbsp;bright colours, and from head to foot every individualnbsp;wore articles of varied hues. Here you see a tall gentleman walking along with a scarlet cloak flowing looselynbsp;over a short jacket of purple, with perhaps a blue trousersnbsp;and yellow headgear, while the next showed a colournbsp;arrangement wholly different; and the women vied withnbsp;the men in variety of hues. Nay, single garments werenbsp;often parti-coloured ; and it was quite common to see thenbsp;long outside mantle, whether worn by men or women,

But outside such social gatherings, and in ordinary life, both chiefs and people were quarrelsome and easily provoked to fight. Indeed they loved fighting for its ownnbsp;sake ; and a stranger to the native character would benbsp;astonished to see the very people who only a few daysnbsp;before vied with each other in good-natured enjoyment,nbsp;now fighting to the death on some flimsy cause of variance,nbsp;which in all likelihood he would fail to understand if he

made inquiry. These everlasting jars and conflicts� though not more common in Ireland than in Englandnbsp;and Scotland�brought untold miseries on the people, andnbsp;were the greatest obstacle to progress. Sometimes greatnbsp;battles were fought, on which hung the fate of the nation,nbsp;like those we have seen contested in Ireland within thenbsp;last two or three hundred years. But the martial instinctsnbsp;of the people were not always confined within the shoresnbsp;of Ireland; for Irish leaders often carried war into the

In all parts of the country were monasteries, most of them with schools attached, where an excellent educationnbsp;was to be had by all who desired it, for small pa3/ment, ornbsp;for nothing at all if the student was poor : and besidesnbsp;these there were numerous lay schools where youngnbsp;persons might be educated in general learning and for

the professions. The teaching and lecturing were carried on with life and spirit, and very much in the open airnbsp;when the weather permitted. In the monasteries andnbsp;schools, as well as in some private houses, there werenbsp;libraries of manuscript books containing all the learning

then known: but when you walked into the library room you saw no books on shelves : but numbers of neatnbsp;satchels hanging on hooks round the walls, each containing one or more precious volumes and labelled on thenbsp;outside.

Learning of every kind was held in the highest estimation ; and learned men were well rewarded, not only in the

universal respect paid to them, but also in the solid worldly advantages of wealth and influence. Professional men�nbsp;physicians, lawyers, builders, amp;c.�went on their visits,nbsp;each attended by a group of scholars who lived in hisnbsp;hou.se and accompanied him to learn their profession bynbsp;actual practice.

Some gave themselves up to the study and practice of art in its various forms, and became highly accomplished :nbsp;and specimens of their artistic work remain to this day,nbsp;which are admitted to be the most perfect and beautiful ofnbsp;the kind existing in any part of the world (see fig, 20, p. 32).

In numerous districts there were minerals which, though not nearly so abundant as in the neighbouring island ofnbsp;Great Britain, were yet in sufficient quantity to give rise tonbsp;many industries. The mines were worked too, as we knownbsp;from ancient documents ; and the remains of old mines ofnbsp;copper, coal, and other minerals, with many antique miningnbsp;tools, have been discovered in recent times in some partsnbsp;of Ireland. Gold was found in many places, especially innbsp;the district which is now called the county Wicklow ; andnbsp;the rich people wore a variety of gold ornaments, whichnbsp;they took great pride in (fig. 21). Many rivers producednbsp;the pearl mussel, so that Ireland was well known for itsnbsp;pearls, which were unusually large and of very fine quality :nbsp;and in some of the same rivers pearls are found to this day.

Though there were no big factories there were plenty of industries and trades in the homes of the people, likenbsp;what we now call cottage industries. Coined money wasnbsp;hardly known, so that all transactions of buying and sellingnbsp;were carried on by a sort of barter, values being estimatednbsp;by certain well-known standards, such as cows, sacks ofnbsp;corn of a fixed size, ounces of gold and silver, and such like.nbsp;To facilitate these interchanges the people had balancesnbsp;and weights not very different from those now used.

The men of the several professions, such as medical doctors, lawyers, judges, builders, poets, historians : andnbsp;the tradesmen of various crafts�carpenters, smiths,nbsp;workers in gold, silver, and brass, ship and boat builders,nbsp;masons, shoemakers, dyers, tailors, brewers, and so forth�nbsp;all worked and earned their bread under the old Irish laws,nbsp;which were everywhere acknowledged. Then there was anbsp;good deal of commerce with Britain and with Continental

countries, especially France ; and the home commodities, such as hides, salt, wool, etc., were exchanged for wine,nbsp;silk, satin, and other goods not produced in Ireland.

From what has been said here, we may see that the ancient Irish were as well advanced in civilisation, asnbsp;orderly, and as regular, as the people of those other European countries of the same period that�like Ireland�hadnbsp;a proper settled government; and it will be shown farthernbsp;on in this book that they were famed throughout allnbsp;Europe for Religion and Learning.

As the population of the country increased, the cultivated land increased in proportion. But until a late time there were few inhabited districts that were not within view,nbsp;or within easy reach, of unreclaimed lands�forest, or bog,nbsp;or moorland : so that the people had much ado to protectnbsp;their crops and flocks from the inroads of wild animals.

All round near the coast ran, then as now, the principal mountain ranges, with a great plain in the middle. Thenbsp;air was soft and moist, perhaps even more moist than atnbsp;present, on account of the great extent of forest. Thenbsp;cleared land was exceedingly fertile, and was well waterednbsp;with springs, streamlets, and rivers, not only among thenbsp;mountainous districts, but all over the central plain. Pasture lands were luxuriant and evergreen, inviting flocks andnbsp;herds without limit. There was more pasture than tillage,nbsp;and the grass land was, for the most part, not fenced in,nbsp;but was grazed in common.

Some of the pleasing features of the country have been well pictured by Denis Florence M'Carthy in his poem ofnbsp;� The Bell Founder � ;�

' O Erin ! thou broad-spreading valley, thou well-watered land of fresh streams.

When I gaze on thy hills greenly sloping, where the light of such loveliness beams.

Then I think that the fairies have brought me to dwell in the bright Tirnanogue.�

Ireland, so far as it was brought under cultivation and pasture in those early days, was�as the Venerable Bede calls it�� a land flowing with milk and honey � ; a pleasant,nbsp;healthful, and fruitful land, well fitted to maintain anbsp;prosperous and contented people.

Though the period from the sixth to the twelfth century has been specified at the opening of this chapter, the state of things depicted here continued, with no verynbsp;decided changes, for several hundred years afterwards ;nbsp;and many of the customs and institutions, so far fromnbsp;being limited backwards by the sixth century, existed fromnbsp;prehistoric times.

All these features, and many others not noticed in this brief sketch, will now' be examined by turning on them,nbsp;one by one, the field of a big telescope, which will bringnbsp;out the details ; and the resulting enlarged views will benbsp;photographed in the following chapters of this book.

'EFORE entering on the subject of Government, it will be useful to sketch the main featuresnbsp;of the ancient territorial divisions of thenbsp;country. It was parcelled out into five provinces from the earliest times of which wenbsp;have any record :�Leinster ; East Munster ;nbsp;West Munster ; Connaught; and Ulster : anbsp;partition which, according to the legend, was made bynbsp;the five Firbolg brothers, the sons of Dela.* Laigin or

Leinster originally extended�in coast line�from Inber Colptha (the mouth of the Boyne at Drogheda) to thenbsp;river Suir : East Human or Munster from the Suir tonbsp;the Lee at Cork : West Munster from the Lee round tonbsp;the Shannon ; Olnegmacht or Connaught from Limericknbsp;and the Shannon to the little river Drowes, which issuesnbsp;from Lough Melvin and flows between the counties ofnbsp;Leitrim and Donegal: and Ulaid or Ulster from thisnbsp;round northwards to the Boyne.

This division became modified in course of time. The two Munsters, East and West, gradually ceased to be distinguished, and Munster was regarded as a single province.nbsp;A new province, that of Hide [Mee] or Meath, was formednbsp;in the second century of the Christian Era by Tuathalnbsp;the Acceptable, king of Ireland.* Down to his time thenbsp;provinces met at a point on the hill of Ushnagh (in the

present county Westmeath) marked by a great stone called Aill-na-Mirenn [Aill-na-Meeran], the ' Stone of thenbsp;Divisions,� which stands there a conspicuous object still.nbsp;Round this point Tuathal formed the new province bynbsp;cutting off a portion of each of the others. It was designednbsp;to be the mensal land or personal estate of the Ard-ri ornbsp;supreme king of Ireland, that he might be the better ablenbsp;to maintain his court with due state and dignity. Previousnbsp;to his time the king of Ireland had only a small tract�nbsp;a single tuath (see next page)�for his own use. This newnbsp;province was about half the size of Ulster, extending fromnbsp;the Shannon eastwards to the sea, and from the confinesnbsp;of the present county Kildare and King�s County on thenbsp;south to the confines of Armagh and Monaghan on thenbsp;north. The present counties of Meath and Westmeathnbsp;retain the name, but comprise only about half the originalnbsp;province.

At the time of Tuathal�s accession�a.d. 130�there were four places belonging severally to the four provinces,nbsp;situated not far from each other, which for centuries previously�as will be shown farther on�had been celebratednbsp;as residences and as centres for great periodical meetingsnbsp;for various purposes :�Tara in Leinster ; Tailltenn innbsp;Ulster (now Teltown on the Blackwater, midway betweennbsp;Navan and Kells) ; Tlachtga in Munster (now the Hill ofnbsp;Ward near Athboy in Meath) ; and Ushnagh in Connaught,nbsp;nine miles west of Mullingar in the present county Westmeath. All these were included in the new province ; andnbsp;Tuathal built a palace in each, of which some of the moundsnbsp;and fortifications remain to this day. After his time thenbsp;five provinces generally recognised and best known in Irishnbsp;History were Leinster, Munster, Connaught, Ulster, Meath.

Besides the formation of a new province there were several minor changes. Murthemne and Cuailnge [Quelna],nbsp;both forming the present county Louth, were transferrednbsp;from Ulster to Leinster ; the present county Cavan, which

originally belonged to Connaught, was given to Ulster ; and the territory now known as the county Clare, wasnbsp;wrested from Connaught and annexed to Munster. Downnbsp;to the time of Tuathal, Connaught included a large tractnbsp;east of the Shannon, a part of the present county Westmeath ; but in accordance with his arrangements, thenbsp;Shannon in this part of its course, became the easternnbsp;boundary of that province. The most ancient division ofnbsp;Munster, as has been said, was into East and West; but anbsp;later and better known partition was into Thomond ornbsp;North Munster, which broadly speaking included Tipperary, Clare, and the northern part of Limerick ; andnbsp;Desmond or South Munster, comprising Kerry, Cork,nbsp;Waterford, and the southern part of Limerick. In latternbsp;ages, however, the name Thomond has been chiefly confined to the county Clare, the patrimony of the O'Briens.nbsp;Recently Meath has disappeared as a province : and thenbsp;original provinces now remain�Leinster, Munster,nbsp;Connaught, and Ulster.

The provinces were subdivided into territories of various sizes. The political unit, i.e. the smallest division havingnbsp;a complete political and legal administration, was thenbsp;Tuath. The original meaning of tuath was f of ulus (Zeuss,nbsp;34, 32), a tribe of people; but in accordance with a well-known custom in Ireland, the term came to be applied tonbsp;the land occupied by the tribe. In its original applicationnbsp;a tuath must have represented roughly a definite population ; for we are told that its king had 700 fighting men :*nbsp;and as the term had reference to a tribe rather than to thenbsp;district they occupied, the several tuath-districts must havenbsp;varied in size. But when once the term began to benbsp;applied to the land, it came in course of time to be usednbsp;as designating�in theory, at least�a territory of fixednbsp;area. In this sense a tuath was usually considered asnbsp;equivalent to what was called a tricha-c�d, containing 30

hallys or ballyhetaghs (Irish baile-biataigh) ¹ Each bally-betagh contained 12 sesreachs or ploughlands, and each ploughland 120 large Irish acres. A bally or townlandnbsp;was of a size sufficient to sustain four herds of cows of 75nbsp;each, i.e. 300 cows in all, � without one cow touchingnbsp;another � : and a ploughland was as much as a singlenbsp;plough could turn up in a year. In tabular form thisnbsp;subdivision is :�

This is in accordance with what is laid down in an ancient poem, quoted by O�Curry in Moylena (p. 108),nbsp;which is followed by Keating (p. 86) : but other authorities, as followed by O�Donovan and 0�Flaherty,f whilenbsp;agreeing in the first item (i tricha=3o ballys), give thenbsp;ballybetagh as containing 4 sesreachs or quarter'^ ; andnbsp;each quarter 120 Irish acres.

The province of Meath contained 18 tricha-c�ds ; Leinster, 31 ; Ulster, 35 ; Connaught, 30 ; the two Munsters, 70 : 184 tricha-c�ds, cantreds, or tuaths, in all Ireland, containing collectively 5,520 ballybetaghs. A tuath containednbsp;about 177 English square miles, and might be representednbsp;in area by an oblong district, sixteen miles by eleven.nbsp;Sometimes three, four, or more tuaths were united to formnbsp;one large territory under a king ; this was called a Mor-tuath, or great tuath.% The present subdivision intonbsp;baronies is partly of English origin : but the old divisionsnbsp;were very often followed : so that many of the ancientnbsp;tuaths or tricha-c�ds are represented, more or less nearly,

Br. Laws, v. 51,5; Sullivan, Introd., p, 229, note ; O�Curry, Man. and Cust., ii. 503, note

t O�Donovan, HyF, p. 149, and O�Flaherty, Ogyg., Part I, For more on this subject, and for the smaller measures of land, see Vol. II.,nbsp;pp. 372 and 373.

by the modern baronies, most of which retain their old names. Hence, tricha-c�d (which literally signifies � thirty-hundreds � : a c�d, or � hundred,� being equivalent tonbsp;a � bally,� or � ballybetagh �), is often translated � cantred,�nbsp;or � barony.�

The government of the whole country, as well as that of each division and subdivision, was in the hands of anbsp;constitutional king or chief, who had to carrj' on his government in accordance with the immemorial customs of thenbsp;country or sub-kingdom : and his authority was furthernbsp;limited by the counsels of his chief men. The usual namenbsp;for a king in the ancient as well as in the modern languagenbsp;is ri [ree], genitive rig or righ [ree], Other less usualnbsp;terms were fdl, mal, and triath [trih], all given in Cor-mac�s Glossary ; and tore, which is glossed by rl in LUnbsp;(49, a, i). A queen was, and is, rigan or rioghan [reean],nbsp;genitive rigna or rioghana [reena]. Sometimes a queen wasnbsp;called banrigan [banreean]. Over all Ireland there wasnbsp;one king, who, to distinguish him from others, was designated the Ard-ri, or over-king (drd. high). The over-kingsnbsp;lived at Tara till the sixth century a.d. ; after that, elsewhere ; hence the Ard-ri was often called � King of Tara,�nbsp;even after its abandonment. Within historic times nonbsp;woman was sovereign of Ireland. But in the half-legendary history w�e have one, and only one, queen, who howevernbsp;succeeded to the sovereignty, not by election, but by force :nbsp;�Macha Mongruad the founder of Emain�about 370 yearsnbsp;B.C., who seized the throne after the death of her father,nbsp;a previous monarch. At the end of this chapter will benbsp;found a List of the Supreme Kings of Ireland. The lastnbsp;over-king was Roderick O�Conor. Wearied with the turmoil of the Anglo-Norman Invasion, which he was unablenbsp;to repel, and with domestic discord, he retired from thenbsp;world to the monastery of Cong, where he ended his troubled

career in 1198. After his death there were no more supreme monarchs :* but the provinces and the smaller kingdomsnbsp;continued to be ruled by their native kings in successionnbsp;down to a much later period.

There was a king over each of the five provinces�an arrangement commonly known as the Pentarchy. If anbsp;provincial king was elected monarch of Ireland a new kingnbsp;had to be elected over his province ; for it was the rule thatnbsp;the same person could not be king of Ireland and of anbsp;province at the same time. The provinces, again, included

many sub-kingdoms, some consisting of a single tuath^ and some of more, as has been said. The tuath was the smallestnbsp;territory whose ruler could claim the title of rf, or king; butnbsp;all the 184 tuaths had not kings.

From this it will be seen that, speaking in a general sense, there were four classes of kings ;�the king of thenbsp;tuath ; the king of the m�r~tuath; the king of a province ;nbsp;and the king of all Ireland : forming a regular gradation,nbsp;kingdom within kingdom. This agrees generally with the

curious classification given in the Laws (iv. 329) :�i, the � king of hills or peaks/� �.c., of a iuath; 2, the � king ofnbsp;companies,� i.e. of a m�r-tuaih ; and 3, the � king who isnbsp;the source of ever}^ chief,� that is, the king of kings, whichnbsp;includes the Ard-ri, and the provincial kings.

The kings of the provinces were subject to the overking, and owed him tribute and war service. A similar law extended to all the sub-kingdoms : in other words, thenbsp;king of each territory, from the tuath upwards to the province, was�at all events nominally�subject to the king ofnbsp;the larger territory in which it was included. Some of thenbsp;sub-kingdoms were very large, such as Tyrone, Tirconnel,nbsp;Thomond, Desmond, Ossory, Hy Many, amp;c., each of whichnbsp;comprised several tuaths and several tribes. A minor kingnbsp;under a king of one of these large territories was oftennbsp;called an ur-ri, or oir-ri, or � under-king,� called an ur-riagh by English writers.¹

Election,�The king, or ruling chief, was always elected from members of one fine or family, bearing the same surname (when surnames came into use) ; but the successionnbsp;was not hereditary in the present sense of the word : it wasnbsp;elective, with the above limitation of being confined to onenbsp;family. Any freeborn member of the family was eligible :nbsp;the successor might be son, brother, nephew, cousin, amp;c., ofnbsp;the chief. That member was chosen who was considerednbsp;best able to lead in war and govern in peace ; and ofnbsp;course he should be of full age. Two essential conditionsnbsp;are expressly laid down :�that he should be free from allnbsp;personal deformities or blemishes likely to impair his efficiency as a leader, or to lessen the respect of the people fornbsp;him :t and that both his father and grandfather had been

O'Donovan, Moyrath, 103, note g. Ur-ri is to be distinguished from ur-rad (p. 161, below).

flaiihs or nobles. For the election of a ruling chief or minor king, the proceedings, which were carried on withnbsp;much ceremony and deliberation, are described in the Law.nbsp;Every freeman of the rank of aire (chap, v. p. 156, infra) hadnbsp;a vote. If there were several candidates, a court was heldnbsp;for the election in the house ot the chief brewy or hostellernbsp;of the district, to which all the chiefs about to take part innbsp;the election proceeded, each with his full retinue ; andnbsp;there they remained in council for three days and threenbsp;nights, at the end of which time the successful candidatenbsp;was declared elected. The electors�says the Law (v. 441)nbsp;�were bound to see � that the person they select is thenbsp;� man to whom the chieftainship is due ; viz, that he is thenbsp;� son of a flaith or noble and the grandson of another, thatnbsp;quot; he has the three chief residences (p. 58, infra), and thatnbsp;� he is pure, without stain of stealth or [unlawful] wound-� ing, � For the higher classes of kings, such as the supremenbsp;monarch or the king of a province, the proceedings werenbsp;much more formal, solemn, and imposing ; and the courtnbsp;for the election was probably held in one of the palaces.

With the object of avoiding the evils of a disputed succession, the person to succeed a king or ruling chiefnbsp;was often elected by the chiefs convened in formal meeting during the lifetime of the king himself : when electednbsp;he was called the tanist�Irish tdnaiste�a word meaningnbsp;second, i.e. second in authority. Proper provision wasnbsp;made for the support of the tanist by a separate establishment and an allowance of mensal land (see p. 50,nbsp;infra), a custom which continued, in case of the tanistsnbsp;of provincial and minor kings, till the time of Elizabeth,nbsp;and even later ; � the tanist,� says Spenser (p. 12), � hathnbsp;also a share of the countr}/ allotted to him, and certainnbsp;cuttings and spendings [i.e. tribute of several kinds] uponnbsp;all the inhabitants under the lord.� He was subordinate tonbsp;the king or chief, but was above all the other dignitaries ofnbsp;the state. The other persons who were eligible to succeed

in the case of the tanist�s failure were termed Roydamna (Ir. rig-domna, i.e. � king-material.�).*

A curious arrangement sometimes adopted was the election of two joint kings of Ireland, who reigned simultaneously. By reference to the table at the end of thisnbsp;chapter it will be seen that there were five joint reignsnbsp;between a.d. 565 and 664. Sometimes the joint kingsnbsp;were brothers, sometimes not. We have no details as tonbsp;the arrangements adopted to define the authority of each,nbsp;or of the measures taken to avoid friction or quarrels.

The Inauguration or making of a king, after his election, was an impressive ceremony. Of the mode of inaugurating the pagan kings we know hardly anything, further than this, that the kings of Ireland had to stand onnbsp;an inauguration stone at Tara called Lia Fail which ntierednbsp;a roay when a king of the Milesian race stood on it.

But we possess full information of the ceremonies used in Christian times. The mode of inaugurating was muchnbsp;the same in its general features all over the country ; andnbsp;was strongly marked by a religious character. But therenbsp;were differences in detail; for some tribes had traditionalnbsp;customs not practised by others. There was a definitenbsp;formula, every portion of which should be scrupulouslynbsp;carried out in order to render the ceremony legal. Some ofnbsp;the observances that have come within the ken of history,nbsp;as described below, descended from pagan times. Eachnbsp;tribe, or aggregation of tribes, with a king at their head,nbsp;had a special place of inauguration, which was held in muchnbsp;respect�invested indeed with a half sacred character. Itnbsp;was on the top of a hill, or on an ancestral earn (thenbsp;sepulchre of the founder of the race), or on a large lisnbsp;or fort, and sometimes under a venerable tree, called innbsp;Irish a bile [billa]. Each tribe used an inauguration stonenbsp;�a custom common also among the Celts of Scotland.

* For tanist and election of, see also Lynch, Cambr. Ev. iii. 325 ; O�Flaherty, Ogyg., Part I. ; and O�Curry�s Moylena, Introd., viii., ix.

Some of the inauguration stones had the impression of two feet, popularly believed to be the exact size of the feet ofnbsp;the first chief of the tribe who took possession of thenbsp;territory. Sometimes there was a stone chair, on whichnbsp;the king sat during part of the ceremony. On the daynbsp;of the inauguration the sub-chiefs of the territory, andnbsp;all the great officers of state, with the brehons, poets,

and historians, were present, as also thenbsp;bishops, abbots, andnbsp;other leading ecclesiastics.

The hereditary historian of the tribenbsp;read for the electednbsp;chief the laws thatnbsp;were to regulate hisnbsp;conduct; after whichnbsp;the chief swore tonbsp;observe them, tonbsp;maintain the ancientnbsp;customs of the tribe,nbsp;and to rule his people with strict j ustice.nbsp;Then, while he stoodnbsp;on the stone, an officer � whose specialnbsp;duty it was�handednbsp;him a straight whitenbsp;wand, a symbol ofnbsp;authority, and also annbsp;emblem of what his conduct and judicial decisions shouldnbsp;be�straight and without stain. Having put aside hisnbsp;sword and other weapons, and holding the rod in his hand,nbsp;he turned thrice round from left to right, and thrice fromnbsp;right to left, in honour of the Holy Trinity, and to view

his territory in every direction. In some cases one of the sub-chiefs put on his sandal or shoe, in token ofnbsp;submission,* or threw a slipper over his head for goodnbsp;luck and prosperity. Then one of the sub-chiefs appointed for this purpose pronounced in a loud voice hisnbsp;surname�the surname only, without the Christian name�nbsp;which was afterwards pronounced aloud by each of thenbsp;clergy, one after another, according to dignity, and thennbsp;by the sub-chiefs. He was then the lawful chief; andnbsp;ever after, when spoken to, he was addressed �O�Neill��nbsp;� MacCarthy More �� O�Conor,� amp;c.; and when spoken ofnbsp;in English he was designated � The O�Neill,� amp;c., a customnbsp;existing to this day, as we see in � The O�Conor Don,�nbsp;� The Mac Dermot,� and in Scotland � The Mac Callumnbsp;More.�

The main parts of the inauguration ceremony were performed by one or more sub-chiefs: this office wasnbsp;highly honourable, and was hereditar}/. The inauguratornbsp;had a tract of land and a residence free, which remainednbsp;in the family. The O�Neills of Tyrone were inauguratednbsp;by O�Hagan and 0�Cahan at Tullaghoge, near Dungannon�nbsp;where the fine old inauguration moat still remains; thenbsp;O�Donnells of Tirconnell by 0�Freel, at the Rock of Doonnbsp;near Kilmacrenan. The fort of Ma^-A Adhair [Mah-ire]

near the village of Quin in Clare, on which the Dalcassian kings were made, has been described by Mr. Westropp ;*nbsp;and Carnfree, the mound on which the O�Connors, kings ofnbsp;Connaught, were inaugurated, is to be seen in the town-land of Cams, near Tulsk, in Roscommon.f The richnbsp;dress and robes worn by the king, for the first and onlynbsp;time, on the day of inauguration, and commonly the horsenbsp;he rode to the place, with all trappings, became the property of the chief officer or officers who performed thenbsp;ceremony ; but in this respect customs varied in differentnbsp;places.

The oldest record in our ancient writings of the inauguration of a king�probably the oldest reference tonbsp;Christian inauguration anywhere to be foundj�is givennbsp;by Adamnan (iii. v.) where he mentions the ordination,nbsp;by St. Columba, of Aedan as king of the Dahiadic Scots,nbsp;A.D. 574. He calls the ceremony � Ordinatio,� and statesnbsp;that Columba blessed (benedixit) the new king as part ofnbsp;the ceremony ; but he gives no further details.

Giraldus Cambrensis, in a chapter of his Topography,^ has an account of a disgusting ceremony which he saysnbsp;was observed by the Kinel-Connell at the inauguration ofnbsp;their chiefs �that at the inauguration meeting, whichnbsp;was attended by the whole people of the territory, a whitenbsp;mare was brought forward, towards which the chief aboutnbsp;to be elected crept all fours�on hands and knees. Thennbsp;the animal was killed, its flesh boiled, and a bath madenbsp;of the broth. Into this the elected chief plunged, andnbsp;while sitting in it he ate and drank his fill of flesh andnbsp;broth, helping himself by dipping down his mouth ; andnbsp;what he left, his subjects finished ; whereupon he becamenbsp;chief. Here it will be observed that Giraldus reports the

� III., XXV., headed � Of a New and Monstrous Way of inaugurating their Kings.�

ceremony of one particular tribe, not the general custom all over Ireland ; and the story is obviously one of thenbsp;many silly fables which we find in his book�like thosenbsp;of the sorcerers who used to turn stones into red pigs atnbsp;fairs, of a lion that fell in love with a young woman, andnbsp;many others of a like kind. Then we must remember thatnbsp;he does not record from personal experience, for he wasnbsp;never in Tirconnell, nor within a hundred miles of it : andnbsp;the whole story is so absurd that many are convinced itnbsp;was told to him in a joke by some person who was awarenbsp;of his unlimited credulity : for no one believes he deliberately invented it. Irish and other writers have leftnbsp;us detailed descriptions of the installation ceremonies, innbsp;none of which do we find anything like what Giraldusnbsp;mentions, and some have directly refuted him. His statement is absolutely unsupported. Harris, the editor ofnbsp;Ware�s Works, sa3/s (Antiqq. 65) : �quot;The falsity of thisnbsp;filthy fable will best appear by giving a candid relationnbsp;of the true ceremonies used at the initiation of the kingsnbsp;of Tirconnell � ; and he then goes on to detail the ceremony,nbsp;which agrees with the description given at p. 45, above.

Harris�s account, and also those by the native writers, have been corroborated in all leading particulars by anbsp;writer whom many will perhaps consider the best authoritynbsp;of all�Edmund Spenser. Spenser knew what he wasnbsp;writing about; and his description, though brief, is verynbsp;correct, and agrees, so far as it goes, with the Irish accounts ; while he has not a word about the Tirconnellnbsp;ceremony described by Giraldus :�� They use to place him,

� that shall be their Captain, upon a stone alwayes reserved � for that purpose, and placed commonly upon a hill: Innbsp;� some of which I have seen formed and ingraven a foot,

� which they say was the measure of their first Captain�s � foot, whereon hee standing, receives an oath to preservenbsp;� all the ancient former customes of the countrey inviolable,nbsp;quot; and to deliver up the succession peaceably' to his Tanist,

� and then hath a wand delivered unto him by some whose � proper office that is : after which, descending from thenbsp;� stone, he turneth himself round, thrice forward, andnbsp;� thrice backward.�*

As the tribe elected their king through the votes of their representative men, so they might at any time deposenbsp;him if he proved unsatisfactory. The O�Kelly, king ofnbsp;Hy Many, was inaugurated by the two families of Clannnbsp;Diarmada and Hy-Cormaic and by the family of Mithighennbsp;or Meehan ; which families had also the function of deposing him � at the instance [and by the authority of the wholenbsp;tribe] of Hy Many.� The Senchus M�rf mentions thenbsp;liability of a king to deposition :�There are four dignitaries of a territory who may be degraded ;�A false-judging king, a stumbling bishop, a fraudulent poet, annbsp;unworthy chieftain who does not fulfil his duties.� It isnbsp;probable that there was a formal ceremony for deposition ;nbsp;but I do not find it anywhere described.

In case of an interregnum some eminent man�often an ecclesiastic or an ollave�was appointed regent : fornbsp;which see p. 462, infra.

The revenue of the king or ruling chief, of whatever grade, which enabled him to support his court and household was derived from three main sources. First: he wasnbsp;allowed for life, or for as long as he continued chief, a tractnbsp;of land called Ferann hiiird, � land of the bord or table,�

* Spenser�s View, p. ii. For an exhaustive account by O�Donovan of the inauguration of Irish kings, see his Hy Fiachrach, pp, 425 to 432.nbsp;See also Paper on the Inauguration of Irish Chiefs, by Herbert J. Hore,nbsp;in Ulster Journ. Archaeol., v. 216. In both O�Donovan�s and Hore�snbsp;papers Giraldus�s calumny is effectively exposed. Other references andnbsp;descriptions will be found in Lynch, Cambr. Ev., in. 325 et seq. :nbsp;O'Flaherty, Ogyg., Part i. : Kilk. Archasol. Journ., 1852-3, p. 335 :nbsp;Harris�s Ware, Antiqq., n. x. : also FM, a.d. 1315, 1461, 1488, 1589.nbsp;t Br. Laws, I. 55.

mensal land, some of which he cultivated by his own bondsmen, and some he let to tenants. Second : subsidiesnbsp;of various kinds mentioned in chap, vii., sect. 3, paid himnbsp;by his free tenant farmers and other free members of thenbsp;tribe, by the unfree families and tribes, and also by hisnbsp;subject kings or chiefs.* Third : payment for the loan ofnbsp;stock as described at p. 189 farther on. But in additionnbsp;to all this he might have land as his own personal property :nbsp;and other minor sources of income will be noticed in nextnbsp;Section.

The king or chief was the military leader in war, the governor in peace ; and he and his people lived in mutualnbsp;dependence. He was bound to protect the tribesmen fromnbsp;violence and wrong, and they maintained him in duenbsp;dignity (Br. Laws, ii, 345). It was both a danger and anbsp;disgrace not to have a chief to look up to : hence thenbsp;popular saying, quot; Spend me and defend me.� Craftsmennbsp;of the various trades, like tenant farmers, had to placenbsp;themselves under the protection of the chief, and paynbsp;tribute�often in kind�i.e., articles made by themselves :nbsp;which formed an important item in the chief�s revenue.

While the inferior chief, of whatever grade, paid tribute (called in Irish cis : pron. keece) to his superior, the latter,nbsp;by a curious custom, was bound to give his dependent anbsp;stipend of some kind, called taurcrec or tuarastal; muchnbsp;smaller, however, than what he received. The tribute-paid to the superior�whether by a subordinate chief ornbsp;by an individual tribesman�consisted mainly of cattlenbsp;and provisions of various kinds, plough-oxen, hogs, sheep,nbsp;with mantles and other articles of dress : and it oftennbsp;included such things as dyestuffs, woollen sewing-thread,nbsp;firewood, wood for carpentry work: and sometimes goldnbsp;and silver reckoned in ounces. In all cases the quantitynbsp;or amount, whatever the commodity, was defined by law

*For various kinds of cess and tribute in the sixteenth century, see article on Ancient Irish Income, Ulst. Journ. Archasol., iv. 241.

and custom. The tributary king made up part of his payments by levying tribute, according to well-definednbsp;custom, on his own inferiors.

On the other hand the taurcrec given by the superior to his sub-king or chief consisted mainly of such articlesnbsp;as arms, steeds, drinking-horns, brooches, amp;c. For example, while the king of Dal Riada, in north-east Ulster,nbsp;gave 300 oxen every year to his superior, the king ofnbsp;Ulaid or Ulster (worth say �5,000 or �6,000 of our money),nbsp;the latter gave the king of Dal Riada a tuarastal ofnbsp;three steeds, three bondmen, three bondwomen, and threenbsp;[small] ships, all which might now represent �600 ornbsp;�700.^

The acceptance of taurcrec or tuarastal, or stipend, by the inferior was an acknowledgment of submission andnbsp;allegiancef ; a refusal to accept it was equivalent to renouncing, or refusing to acknowledge, allegiance. Whennbsp;Malachi II, came to Brian Boru�s tent in 1002 with anbsp;retinue of twelve score men to offer him submission,nbsp;Brian gave him a taurcrec of twelve score steeds, whichnbsp;he accepted ; but the retinue felt so mortified at theirnbsp;own king�s submission that to a man they refused to takenbsp;charge of them, so Malachi presented them in token ofnbsp;friendship to Brian�s son Murrogh.J Sometimes�in casenbsp;of the lower order of dependents�this subsidy was callednbsp;raith [ra] or wages. The tributes and stipends for thenbsp;various ranks are set forth in detail in the Book ofnbsp;Rights.

The Book of Rights � gives an account of the rights oi the monarchs of all Ireland, and the revenues payable tonbsp;them by the principal kings of the several provinces, and

* Book of Rights, 155, last two lines, and 169, The special articles given as cis or tribute and as taurcrec, respectively, may be seen by glancing through this Book of Rights,nbsp;t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. i6o.

of the stipends paid by the monarchs to the inferior kings for their services. It also treats of the rights of each of thenbsp;provincial kings, and the revenues payable to them fromnbsp;the inferior kings of the districts or tribes subsidiary tonbsp;them, and of the stipends paid by the superior to thenbsp;inferior provincial kings for their services. These accountsnbsp;are authoritatively delivered in verse, each poem beingnbsp;introduced by a prose statement.�*

According to the old authorities, St. Benen or Benignus was the author of the original Book of Rights. The present transcripts of it, which were we know copied fromnbsp;more ancient versions, are not older than the end of thenbsp;fourteenth century. This, however, refers to the mere penmanship ; the language is much older ; and it is 0�Dono-van�s opinion that the prose Introductions, which are muchnbsp;less ancient than the text, were written in their presentnbsp;form at a time not far removed from the period of Briannbsp;Boru. The Book of Rights has been published, with translation and most valuable Introduction and Notes, by Johnnbsp;O�Donovan, LL.D.f

A king usually secured the allegiance of his sub-kings and chiefs by taking hostages from them {giall, a hostage) ;nbsp;so that every king had hostages residing in his palace : anbsp;custom noticed by Adamnan (p. 167). quot; He is not a king,�nbsp;says the Brehon Law (iv. 51), � who has not hostages innbsp;fetters.� Notwithstanding the expression used in this quotation�which probably is in a great measure figurative�nbsp;hostages appear in fact to have been generally treatednbsp;with consideration. They were seldom kept in fetters ;nbsp;they were permitted to have their own retinue ; and werenbsp;admitted to the court society, so long as they conducted

t This Introduction was written by O�Donovan himself�as I have the best reason to know�and not by William Elliot Hudson, as someone hasnbsp;erroneously stated (but I cannot lay my hand on the passage). Andnbsp;more than that, it may be asserted that O�Donovan was the only mannbsp;living at the time (1846-7) who was capable of writing it.

themselves with propriety. But sometimes, either on account of misconduct, or where there was special reasonnbsp;for unfriendly feeling, they were treated with great harshness or cruelty : heavily fettered and closely confined.nbsp;Except in very few cases they were not permitted tonbsp;carry arms. Hostages must have been very numerousnbsp;in every king�s palace : for we are told in the Life ofnbsp;St. Patrick that in his time Laeghaire, king of Ireland,nbsp;had in Tara nine hostages from one chief alone, namely,nbsp;Dicho, prince of Lecale.¹ ^{2 3 4}

In every palace there was a special house for lodging hostages. In Tara one of the mounds was called Duma-nan-giall, the � Mound of the hostages,� which still remains ;nbsp;and on it stood the hostage house. � King Cormacnbsp;made a visitation of Ireland thrice, and brought a hostagenbsp;from every fortress, . . . and to these he gave Dumha nannbsp;giall �f [with a house on it to reside in]. In the � Feast ofnbsp;Dun-nan-ged � we are told that Domnall, king of Ireland,nbsp;built his palace at Dun-nan-ged in imitation of that at Tara,nbsp;and among other buildings he erected the Carcair-nan-giall,nbsp;the � prison-house of the hostages.�]: In a poem in the Booknbsp;of Lecan, describing the building of Aileach, it is statednbsp;that � one stone closed the top of the house of the groaningnbsp;hostages � : from which words we may infer that this wasnbsp;a beehive-shaped house, like those pictured and describednbsp;elsewhere in this book, of which numberless specimens stillnbsp;remain.� The Crith Gabhlach, in describing the residencenbsp;of a king, speaks of a � moat or trench of servitude �nbsp;[drecht gialnai) for hostages, and states that its length isnbsp;thirty feet.||

On the above points about hostages : see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust,, ir. 145 : Stokes, Lives of the SS., 157, 158 : Keating, 456 : Sullivan,nbsp;Introd., 355, note, 5,4.

5. Privileges.

A king enjoyed many privileges, and was bound by many restrictions. It will be shown farther on that he wasnbsp;subject to the ordinary law like his free subjects. But ifnbsp;a distress lay against him he was not to be distrainednbsp;directly : one of his officers, called a � steward-bailiff �nbsp;[aithech-forthd)�a sort of deputy�was to be distrainednbsp;in his place :�� this is an original steward who alwaysnbsp;sustains the liability of a king : it is what saves him [thenbsp;king] from being distrained � like the prerogative of thenbsp;crown in British law, by which the monarch sues and isnbsp;sued through the attorney-general.

According to the Senchus M�r a king�s evidence in a brehon�s court against all of a rank below him was acceptednbsp;without question, as they had not the right to be heard innbsp;evidence against him : but this privilege did not holdnbsp;against a bishop, a doctor of learning, or a pilgrim, all ofnbsp;whom were regarded as of equal rank with himself�so farnbsp;as giving evidence was concerned :�� The king excels allnbsp;in testimony ��says the Senchus M�r�� for he can [bynbsp;his mere word] decide against every class of personsnbsp;except those of two orders, namely, of religion andnbsp;learning, who are of equal rank with himself, as thenbsp;doctor \su{\, or the bishop, or the pilgrim.�! Whatevernbsp;was found on a highroad, if the owner was not forthcoming, belonged to the king, except the finder�s reward ;nbsp;also a certain proportion of everything cast ashore by thenbsp;sea ; a third of every treasure found within his territory ;nbsp;and one-ninth of the reward paid by the owner to thenbsp;finder of a thing in a waste place. These rights continuednbsp;to be enjoyed by the provincial kings down to the fifteenthnbsp;century.!

When a king of any grade ascended the throne he usually made a visitation or royal progress through his

50 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I kingdom, to receive allegiance and hostages from his sub-kings ; and this was sometimes repeated during his reign.*nbsp;Visitations of this kind were called saerchuairt [saircoort],nbsp;� free circuit,� intimating that the king was to be entertained, with all his retinue, free of charge. The king ofnbsp;Ireland, when on free circuit, always brought a numerousnbsp;escort, or even an army if opposition was anticipated : andnbsp;he was received by the provincial kings with much statenbsp;and formality. He always proceeded in the same directionnbsp;�sunwise (see p. 301, infra). Brian Boru, when makingnbsp;his visitation, a.d. 1005, proceeded with an army from hisnbsp;palace of Kincora (at the present town of Killaloe) tonbsp;Connaught, thence by Assaroe, and all around�� keepingnbsp;his left hand to the sea ��till he reached Kincora again.nbsp;In these visitations the Ard-ri proceeded very leisurely :nbsp;and oh his march, each provincial king, and each king ofnbsp;a m�r-tuath, escorted him in state as far as the residencenbsp;of the neighbour king.j. A king of any lower gradenbsp;followed the same course on his visitations, and wasnbsp;received and escorted similarly.

It was the belief of the ancient Irish that when a good and just king ruled�one who faithfully observed innbsp;his government the royal customs and wise precepts followed by his ancestors�the whole country was prosperous ;nbsp;the seasons were mild, crops were plentiful, cattle werenbsp;fruitful, the waters abounded with fish, and the fruit treesnbsp;had to be propped owing to the weight of their produce.nbsp;Under bad kings it was all the reverse. In the reign ofnbsp;the plebeian usurping king Carbery Kinncat, � evil was thenbsp;state of Ireland : fruitless her corn, for there used to benbsp;only one grain on the stalk ; fruitless her rivers ; milklessnbsp;her cattle : plentiless her fruit, for there used to be but onenbsp;acorn on the stalk� (FM, a.d. 14). �There are sevennbsp;proofs which attest the falsehood of every king [i.e. sevennbsp;proofs or testimonies of the king�s badness] :�to turn a

church synod out of their Us : to be without truth, without law : defeat in battle : dearth in his reign ; dryness ofnbsp;cows : blight of fruit: scarcity of corn. These are thenbsp;seven live candles that expose the falsehood of every [bad]nbsp;king.�* This belief is referred to everywhere in Irishnbsp;literature (see, for example. Da Derga, p. 167) and evennbsp;found its way into Christianity : in an ancient canonnbsp;attributed to St. Patrick, among other blessings attendingnbsp;the reign of a just king, are enumerated � fine weather,nbsp;calm seas, crops abundant, and trees laden with fruit.�fnbsp;The belief in the beneficent influence of a just king prevailed among the Greeks and Romans. Ulysses (in disguise) says to Penelope�speaking of a good king�� Thenbsp;dark earth bears wheat and barley, and the trees are ladennbsp;with fruit, and the sheep bring forth without fail, and thenbsp;sea yields plenty of fish, and all from his wise rule, and thenbsp;people prosper under him � (Odyss. xix.). Similar testimonynbsp;might be adduced from Roman writers about their rulers.

The ancient Irish had a very high ideal of what a king should be : and we meet with many statements throughoutnbsp;our literature of the noble qualities expected from him.nbsp;He should be � free from falsehood, from the betrayal ofnbsp;his nobles, from unworthy conduct towards his people.�]:

� For what is a prince selected over a country ? � asks Car-bery of King Cormac, who replies ; �For the goodness of his form and race, and sense, and learning, and dignity,nbsp;and utterance : he is selected for his goodness and for hisnbsp;wisdom, and strength, and forces, and valour in fighting. ��nbsp;A just sovereign � exercises not falsehood, nor [unnecessary] force, nor oppressive might. He is perfectly recog-nisant and righteous to his people, both weak and strong.�nbsp;A king � must be a man of full lawfulness in all respects :nbsp;he must be a man that is consulted for knowledge : henbsp;must be learned and calm.�||

t Br. Laws, iv. 51. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Ibid. 377.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;)) Ibid. 335.

A king was also to be hospitable, and keep an open house. � A prince,� says Cormac Mac Art, � should lightnbsp;his lamps on Samain day (ist November, the beginning ofnbsp;winter), and welcome his guests with clapping of handsnbsp;and comfortable seats, and the cup-bearers should be activenbsp;in distributing meat and drink.� A good idea of what wasnbsp;expected in this way from a king is obtained from a statement, in the story of the second battle of Moytura, aboutnbsp;King Bres. The people complained bitterly of his churlishness and inhospitality :�� The knives of his people werenbsp;� not greased at his table, nor did their breath smell of ale,nbsp;� at the banquet. Neither their poets, nor their bards,nbsp;� nor their satirists, nor their harpers, nor their pipers, nornbsp;� their trumpeters, nor their jugglers, nor their buffoons,nbsp;� were ever seen engaged in amusing them in the assemblynbsp;� at his court � : so that in the end they rose up, for thisnbsp;and other reasons, and drove him from the throne. Thenbsp;native Gaelic ideal of what a king should be is set forth innbsp;several descriptions of individual monarchs, to whichnbsp;references are given below.* Similar maxims are inculcated in the ecclesiastical legislation of St. Patrick. Thenbsp;duties of a king are fully set forth in one of the Patriciannbsp;canons,! which, as might be expected, lays great stress onnbsp;what was to be expected from him in regard to his moralnbsp;and religious obligations.

A king should have three chief residences. � Every king is a pauper,� says the Law, as quoted by Sullivan,!nbsp;� who hath not three chief residences ; that is, it is threenbsp;chief residences each king is entitled to have, i.e. threenbsp;houses or three duns.� A similar statement is made in thenbsp;Law tract, called the � Small Primer � (v. 53, 21, 25) : andnbsp;also in vol. iv. 377, 13; but in this last the translation does

*0'Curry, Sick Bed, Atlantis, i. 387-9 : Dub, Pen. Journ., i. 215 : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 247-8-9 : O�Curry, MS. Mat, 45 : Da Derga, p. 211.

t Published by Stokes in Trip. Life, p. 507 : see also Dr. Healy, Irel. Anc. Sch., 61.

not show it. [See Atkinson�s Glossary to Brehon Laws, vol. vi., p. i8o, � Conntairisem,� a residence ; and alsonbsp;V. 441, 25] A king wore a crown or diadem called mindnbsp;or minn, for which see vol. II., pp. 251'to 259. Kings hadnbsp;certain heirlooms which descended to their successors.nbsp;The roth croi, or � royal wheel-brooch,� which the poetsnbsp;insolently demanded from Aed Mac Ainmirech, king ofnbsp;Ireland (a.d. 572-598), was, according to a passage translated by Stokes,* � a brooch which each king would leavenbsp;to another.� A king�s throne, was called righshuidhenbsp;[reehee], � royal seat.�

From the quaint language of a passage in the Brehon Law we may infer that kings made some sort of distribution of duty and amusement according to the days ofnbsp;the week. Thus we find it stated�evidently in view ofnbsp;the king of some particular territory�that on Sunday henbsp;indulged in festivity, and exercised lavish hospitality�nbsp;otherwise he could not be a true king : Monday andnbsp;Saturday he devoted to the administration of justice :nbsp;Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday he engaged in sportsnbsp;of various kinds, such as chess, horseracing, coursing :nbsp;and on Thursday he and his wife devoted themselves to

* Rev. Celt., xx. 422. Keating (446) tells the whole story ol the poets� demand and its punishment: and he says that � each king was wontnbsp;to leave this brooch as an heirloom and precious relic to his successor.�

Irish Kings were not despotic : they were all, from the supreme monarch down to the king of the tuath, in everynbsp;sense, limited monarchs ; they were subject to law likenbsp;their own free subjects. We have seen (p. 46, supra) thatnbsp;at their inauguration they had to swear that they wouldnbsp;govern their people with strict justice, and in accordancenbsp;with the ancient customs of the kingdom ; and theirnbsp;duties, restrictions, and privileges were strictly laid downnbsp;in the Brehon code. This idea pervades all our literature,nbsp;from the earliest time ; of which examples may be seennbsp;in the passages referred to at bottom.*

We shall see at p. 311, farther on, that kings, like many others, were subject to geasa�prohibitions from doingnbsp;certain things. But besides these there were many lines ofnbsp;action forbidden to them, as either dangerous or unbecoming�prohibitions which could hardly be called geasa in thenbsp;usual sense of the word. A king was neither to do anynbsp;work nor concern himself about servile work of any kind,nbsp;on penalty of being ranked as a plebeian ; or, as the lawnbsp;expresses it, he should not employ himself with � thenbsp;handle of a shovel, a spade, or a clod-mallet.��f On anbsp;certain occasion Fiachna, the father of the over-kingnbsp;Sweny Menn (a.d. 614 to 627), went out to view his mennbsp;ploughing : and the annalist who relates the circumstancenbsp;is careful to add, by way of explanation or apology, � fornbsp;Fiachna was not at all a king.�j; It was not lawful for anbsp;king to slaughter and cook an animal�such as an ox�nbsp;for food.� It was not permitted to a king or flaiih (noble)

* O�Donovan, Moyrath, I2i ; Joyce, Short Hist., 201 : Dub. Pen. Journ., I. 102 (Charter of Newry) ; Henderson, Fled. Bricrenn, � 5 ;nbsp;Stokes, Trip. Life, 285 : Br. Laws, ii. 121 : O�Grady, Silva Gad., 357nbsp;(The lawsuit).

t Br. Laws, iv. 335. J Three Fragm., 17. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Silva Gad., 351. bot.

to keep pigs :¹ that is to have them managed for him round or near his house by any of his immediate dependents. But swineherds living in their own homes at anbsp;distance from the palace, fed great herds of swine in thenbsp;woods for the king (Keat. 91 : Da Derga, p. 289) : andnbsp;the king�s chief swineherd was held in honour. So thenbsp;swineherd of Ulysses lived in a fine house on a farm at anbsp;distance from the palace (Odyss. xiv.). If a king gotnbsp;wounded in the back during battle he was subject to thenbsp;disabilities of a plebeian.

Under the king, of whatever grade, and forming part of his household, persons held various offices of trust, withnbsp;special duties, all tending to support the dignity or ensurenbsp;the safety of the king ; just as we find in royal householdsnbsp;of modern times. The persons appointed to each officenbsp;always belonged to some particular family, in whom thenbsp;office was hereditary ; and all were paid liberal allowancesnbsp;for their services.

The higher the king�s status the more numerous were the offices and the more important the positions of the personsnbsp;holding them. Some of these were in constant attendance,nbsp;and lived in or about the palace : others attended only onnbsp;special great occasions : and these commonly lived at anbsp;distance in their own territories�for they were themselvesnbsp;generally sub-chiefs, or sub-kings. Most of the higher classnbsp;of officers, such as professional men (who will be treated ofnbsp;farther on), who were supposed to give their whole�nbsp;or nearly their whole�time to the service, had land andnbsp;houses for their support, not far from the royal residence.nbsp;On state occasions, all these officers attended in personnbsp;on the monarch, and were assigned their proper places innbsp;the great hall. The disposition of the whole company

on such occasions will be found described in the Crith Gabhlach,¹ and also in Petrie�s Tara (p. 205 et seq.). Butnbsp;in accordance with an ordinance made by king Cormacnbsp;Mac Art, the Ard-ri, or king of Ireland, was at all times�nbsp;and not merely on state occasions�to be accompanied by anbsp;retinue of at least ten persons :�a flaith or noble ; a brehonnbsp;or judge ; a druid ; a sat or doctor ; a poet; a historian ;nbsp;a musician ; and three servants�all to exercise theirnbsp;several professional functions when required, f Thisnbsp;arrangement continued in force till the death of Briannbsp;Boru in 1014, except that in Christian times a bishop tooknbsp;the place of a druid.

A few picked men commonly accompanied the king as personal and immediate guards, and stood beside himnbsp;when he sat down, with swords or battleaxes in theirnbsp;hands : for Irish kings were not less liable to assassinationnbsp;than others, from ancient times to the present day. Sometimes, as the Law states, there were four such men, onenbsp;standing in front of the king, one behind, and one on eachnbsp;side. A Brehon Law tract tells us that, in selecting these,nbsp;the king often gave preference to men whom he had savednbsp;from execution or redeemed from slavery ; for such personsnbsp;would naturally be expected to be faithful from a feelingnbsp;of gratitude. But he is enjoined not to have among themnbsp;a man of an opposing party whom he has saved on thenbsp;battlefield, lest feelings of attachment to a former lordnbsp;might tempt to treachery. | This custom continued downnbsp;to the sixteenth century ; for the Four Masters have left nsnbsp;a description of Shane O�Neill�s bodyguard, which has allnbsp;the antique flavour of the period of the Red Branchnbsp;Knights. In front of Shane�s tent burned a great fire, � andnbsp;� a huge torch, thicker than a man�s body, was constantly

� flaring at a short distance from the fire, and sixty grim � and redoubtable galloglasses, with sharp keen axes,nbsp;� terrible and ready for action, and sixty stern and terrificnbsp;� Scots [hired soldiers from Scotland], with massive broadnbsp;� and heavy-striking swords in their hands [ready] tonbsp;� strike and parry, were watching and guarding O�Neill.�¹

The king commonly kept in his retinue a tr�n-fher [trainar], a � strong man,� or cath milid, � battle soldier,�nbsp;his champion or chief fighting man, to answer challengesnbsp;to single combat. Concobar Mac Nessa�s champion Tris-catal, who lived in the palace of Emain, is described in annbsp;ancient tale in the Book of Leinster in terms that remindnbsp;us of the English writer�s description of a much laternbsp;tr�n-jher, John de Courcy, whose very look�on the daynbsp;of single combat before King John of England and Kingnbsp;Philip of France�so frightened the French champion thatnbsp;he � turned round and ranne awaie off the fielde.�t Tris-catal was a mighty, broadfronted, shaggy-haired man,nbsp;with thighs as thick as an ordinary man�s body, wearing anbsp;thick leathern apron from his armpits down : his limbsnbsp;were bare, and his aspect was so fierce that he killed mennbsp;by his very look.]; The tr�n-fher of the romances wasnbsp;probably the same as the aire-echta, or avenger of insults-,nbsp;described more quietly in the Laws (see p. 92, infra).

We know that St. Patrick kept a household in imitation of the ancient Irish custom : and one of his attendants was his tr�n-fher or � strong man,� St. Mac Carthen, afterwards first bishop of Clogher, whose peaceful functionnbsp;was to carry the aged saint on his back across fords andnbsp;other difficult places, on their missionary journeys.

At the entrance to the royal palace or council chamber stood the doorkeepers {d�rsid) to scan and interrogate all

See FM, a.d. 1557, p. 1555 : Joyce, Short Hist., 403. fThis whole story about John de Courcy and the French champion isnbsp;told in my book � The Wonders oi Ireland.�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;;

visitors. The nine guardsmen {com�taide) of Conari the Great, king of Ireland in the first century, stood threateningly at the door of the royal apartment, with shields andnbsp;ivory-hilted swords ; and they allowed no one to enternbsp;who did not give a satisfactory account of himself.¹

There was a Rechtaire or house-steward, also called Taisech-teglaig, i.e. � chief of the house � ; sometimes alsonbsp;called Fer-thaigis, � man of the household �� major-domo,� whose office was a very dignified one. Thenbsp;house-steward of King Conari�s household is described innbsp;the Bruden Da Derga as wearing a fleecy mantle, andnbsp;holding in his hand his � wand of office,� which was nonbsp;small ornamental rod, but a huge black beam � like anbsp;mill-shaft.� He arranged the guests in their proper placesnbsp;at table, assigned them their sleeping apartments, andnbsp;determined each morning the supplies of food for the day.nbsp;If a dispute arose on any matter connected with thenbsp;arrangements for receiving, placing, or entertaining thenbsp;guests, he decided it; and his decision was final. Whennbsp;he stood up ic speak all were silent, so that a needlenbsp;might be heard if it dropped on the floor.y From thisnbsp;description it will be seen that the rechtaire. correspondednbsp;closely with the Anglo-Norman seneschal of later times.

A particular officer had charge of the king�s (or queen�s) s�ds, � jewels,� or personal treasures. That the post wasnbsp;considered of importance is shown by the fact that thenbsp;lad}.� Erni who had charge of the caskets and combs andnbsp;golden ornaments of Maive, queen of Connaught, in thenbsp;time of the Red Branch Knights, is described as mistressnbsp;of all the maidens who waited on the queen in the palacenbsp;of Croghan.j; The s�ds were generally kept in a corrbolg,nbsp;or large round ornamental satchel, or in a number of such

t Stokes�s Da Derga, 185. Other references to the rechtaire in Trip. I.ife, 185, bot. : and in Moyrath, i8.

receptacles. One man, and sometimes two, had charge of the chessboard and chessmen. The board was enclosed innbsp;some sort of case, and the men were often kept in a bag ofnbsp;wire netting.¹

There was a tdisech scuir or master of the horse; who had charge of the king�s stables and horses, and there wasnbsp;an echere or groom. Three outriders or esquires (mar',aignbsp;or ritiri : � horsemen � or � knights �) attended king Conari,nbsp;each of them�even when off duty�holding a whip ornbsp;scourge (sraigell) in his hand, symbolical of office, f Wenbsp;find mentioned, among the other officials, chief swineherdsnbsp;and chief cooks, whose positions were obviously considerednbsp;of importance. J Runners, i.e. messengers or couriers, werenbsp;always kept in the king�s or chief�s employment: and notnbsp;unfrequently we find women employed in this offiQS. Finnnbsp;Mac Cumail had a female runner who figures in the storynbsp;of Dermot and Grania.

A king kept in his court an ollave of each profession ;� poet, historian, storyteller (or most commonly one ollavenbsp;combining these three professions), physician, brehon,nbsp;builder, amp;c. Each of these gave his services to the king, fornbsp;'vhich an ample stipend was allowed, including a separatenbsp;dwelling-house and free land. But besides this the professional man had private practice, and the law set forthnbsp;the exact remuneration for each kind of work.� Thenbsp;whole institution flourished in the time of Camden, whonbsp;correctly describes it;�quot; These lords \i.e. the Irish kingsnbsp;and chiefs] have their historians about them, who writenbsp;their acts and deeds ; they have their physicians, theirnbsp;rymers whom they call bards, and their harpers ; all ofnbsp;whom have their several livelihoods^ and have lands setnbsp;out for them.� Fools, jugglers, and jesters were alwaysnbsp;kept in the king�s court for the amusement of the house-

� See O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ti. 52, 53 : see also vol. ii., pp 292 to 294.

hold and guests. They and their functions will be described in chapter xxix. (vol. ii. p. 481). Those immediate retainers and officers of the king who lived in ornbsp;near the palace, and took their meals in their own apartments�a very numerous company�were supplied withnbsp;food each day from the royal stores.¹

That the above details of the king�s household are not fictitious is shown by several statements in Irish autho-riti�s setting forth the households of Irish kings and chiefsnbsp;in comparatively late times, from the eleventh to thenbsp;thirteenth or fourteenth century, written by persons whonbsp;described things as they actually saw them, and whosenbsp;descriptions are still extant. These set forth the variousnbsp;hereditary offices, similar to those stated above, for thenbsp;older kings, though with differences in detail, as might benbsp;expected. For example�the following were the chiefnbsp;officers of the household of O�Kelly, king of Hy Many,nbsp;in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries :�Marshal ofnbsp;the forces, 0�Connaill; master of the horse, Hy Fiachrachnbsp;Finn ; door-keeper, Hy Fiachrach Finn ; butler, 0�hUroin ;nbsp;superintendent of banquets {i.e. rechtaire), 0�Lomain;nbsp;king�s immediate guard, Clann Indrechtaigh ; keeper ofnbsp;cattle, treasures, and chessboard, 0�Flahilly; keeper ofnbsp;arms and dresses, Clann Bresail; answerer of challengesnbsp;to single combat from outside territories, Clann Bresail;nbsp;avenger of insults, Clann Egan ; steward, Aes Brengair;nbsp;keepers of hounds, the Cruffanns; inaugurators andnbsp;deposers, Clann Diarmada, Hy Cormaic, and O�Meehan ;nbsp;rearers of horses, Kinel-Aeda; rearers of hounds, thenbsp;people of Slieve Aughty; carriers of wine from thenbsp;harbours to the king�s residence. Dal Druithne ; buildersnbsp;or erectors of edifices, Hy Docomlann ; stewards of rentsnbsp;and tributes, the chiefs of the Cantred of Cala.t Each

See, for example, Stokes, Lives of SS., i6t, top line, t O�Donovan, HyM, 87. For other similar householiis see O�Flaherty,nbsp;lar C., 139, and 368 to 373,

chief, of whatever grade, kept a household after the manner of a king, but on a smaller scale, with the severalnbsp;offices in charge of the members of certain families. Innbsp;the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, iii. 117, will be found anbsp;valuable paper on � Gaelic Domestics,� compiled chieflynbsp;from Anglo-Irish sources, in which this custom, as itnbsp;existed in the sixteenth century, is very fully described.

From the description given at page 43 it will be seen that there was a regular gradation of authority. The kingnbsp;of the tuath owed allegiance to the king of the mor-tuath :nbsp;the king of the m�y-tuath to the provincial king ; the provincial king to the ard-rl of all Ireland. But this wasnbsp;merely the theoretical arrangement: in the higher gradesnbsp;it was very imperfectly carried out. The authority of thenbsp;supreme monarch over the provincial kings was in mostnbsp;cases only nominal, like that of the early Bretwaldas overnbsp;the minor kings of the Heptarchy. He was seldom ablenbsp;to enforce obedience, so that they were often almost ornbsp;altogether independent of him. There never was a kingnbsp;of Ireland who really ruled the whole country ; the kingnbsp;who came nearest to it was Brian Boru. In like mannernbsp;the urrees or under-kings often defied the authority of theirnbsp;superiors. The people, grouped into families, clans, tribes,nbsp;and kinels, with only slight bonds of union, and withnbsp;their leaders ever ready to quarrel, were like shifting sand.nbsp;If the country had been left to work out its own destinies,nbsp;this loose system would no doubt in the end have developednbsp;into one strong central monarchy, as in England andnbsp;France. As matters stood it was the weak point in thenbsp;government. It left the country a prey to internal strife,nbsp;which the supreme king was not strong enough to quell;nbsp;and the absence of union rendered it impossible to meetnbsp;foreign invasion by effectual resistance.

According to the ancient bardic legends, five successive colonies arrived in Ireland many centuries before the Christian era :�the Parthalonians, the Nemedians,nbsp;the Firbolgs, the Dedannans, and the Milesians.* Thenbsp;bards say that government by monarchy began with thenbsp;Firbolgs ; whose first king�and the first king of Ireland�nbsp;was Slainge [two-syll.]. From the time of his accessionnbsp;down to the birth of Christ, they allow 107 monarchs, ofnbsp;whom 9 were Firbolgs ; 9 Dedannans ; and 89 Milesians.nbsp;The last king of the period before the Christian era wasnbsp;Nuada Necht or Nuada the White : and his successor,nbsp;Conari the First, or Conari the Great, was the first kingnbsp;belonging to the Christian era. The Milesian kingsnbsp;continued to reign till the time of Roderick O�Conor,nbsp;the last over-king of Ireland, who died in 1198 (p. 42,nbsp;supra) ; and who, according to the bardic accounts, wasnbsp;the 193rd monarch of Ireland. A full list of the monarchsnbsp;who reigned from the beginning of the Christian era isnbsp;given below. A few of those before the Christian era�nbsp;viz. those that figure most prominently in ancient Irishnbsp;literature�are also given, with their approximate dates.nbsp;The dates down to the time of Laegaire (a.d. 428) arenbsp;given chiefly on the authority of O�Flaherty, who, in hisnbsp;Ogygia, has corrected the chronology of the bards andnbsp;shanachies.

As to the records of the very early kings, they cannot, of course, be received as history : but neither should theynbsp;be rejected altogether : it is as much of a fault to be toonbsp;sceptical as to be too credulous. On this subject of thenbsp;Irish records of the early kings. Dr. Petrie (� Tara,� p. 31),nbsp;who was himself rather over-cautious than otherwise, makesnbsp;the following judicious observations, quoting the distinguished Scotch historian Pinkerton, who was a determined

opponent of Ireland�s early claims to distinction. Writing of the reign of Tuathal the Legitimate, king of Ireland innbsp;the second century, Dr. Petrie observes: �

� It is true, indeed, that the learned and judicious Sir James Ware has rejected, as of no certainty, the whole list of Irish kingsnbsp;arvterior to the establishment of Christianity; but this over-cautiousnbsp;rejection will have little weight now, even with the most judiciousnbsp;investigators, and in the opinion of Pinkerton, one of the mostnbsp;sceptical of modern antiquaries �was at best rash.� �Mr. O�Conornbsp;remarks��says this writer [Pinkerton]��that Tuathal�s reignnbsp;[a.d. 130-160] forms a new and certain epoch in the progress ofnbsp;Irish history. Foreigners may imagine that it is granting toonbsp;much to the Irish to allow them lists of kings more ancient thannbsp;those of any other country in modern Europe ; but the singularlynbsp;compact and remote situation of that island, and its freedom fromnbsp;Roman conquest, and from the concussions of the fail of the Romannbsp;ernpire, may infer this allowance not too much. But all contendednbsp;for, is the list of kings, so easily preserved by the repetition of thenbsp;bards at high solemnities ; and some grand events of history. Fornbsp;to expect a certain detail, and regular order, in the pagan historynbsp;of Ireland, were extravagant.� �

So far Pinkerton as quoted by Petrie.

Heremon, the 19th Monarch, was the first of the Milesian kings, Tigernmas, the 26th king, was the first to smelt gold; he and hisnbsp;succe.ssor arranged the colours to be worn by the different classes,nbsp;oilamh Fodla [Ollave F�la], the 40th, founded the triennial /�/s or

Macha Mongruadh, or Macha of the Golden Hair, the 76th monarch, daughter of Aed Ruadh: the only female monarch. She founded

Rudruighe, king of Ulster, who became king of Ireland; the 97th, Eochaid Feidlech, the 104th, ........

70 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I

In the early part of this list there is some uncertainty as to the exact dates: but after the time of Colla Huasnbsp;(327 to 331) the dates may be taken as generally correct.nbsp;In the latter part of the list �S.� means Southern Hy Neill;nbsp;� N.� Northern Hy Neill; for which, and for � Kings withnbsp;Opposition,� see Joyce, � Short History of Ireland,� pp. 134nbsp;and 228.

S. Finachta Fledach (the Festive)

N. Long.sech .

N. Congal N. Fergal

S. Fogartach Mac Neill S. Cionetli (or Kenneth), sornbsp;of Irgalach ...

N. Flathbei tach or P'laliertagh N. Aed (or Hugh) Allan, sornbsp;of King Fergal .

S. Domnall or Donall, son of Murchadnbsp;N. Niall Frassach {i.e. of thenbsp;Showers),

S. Donnchad or Donogh .

N. Aed (or Hugh) Ordnee, soi of Niall Frassachnbsp;S. Concobhar or Conor .

N. Niall Caillne S. Mailsechlann or Malachi I.nbsp;N. Aed (or Hugh) Finnliath .nbsp;S Flann Sinna (of the Shannonnbsp;N. Niall Glunduff .

S. Donnchad or Donogh S. Congalach .

674

694

704

711

722

724

727

734

743

763

770

797

819

833

846

863

879

916

919

944

IKE their ancestors the Continental Celts, the Irish, from the earliestnbsp;ages, had a genius for war and anbsp;love of fighting. The Roman geographer Solinus, writing in the thirdnbsp;century a.d., says that Irish mothersnbsp;were wont to present the first foodnbsp;on the point of a sword to theirnbsp;newly-born male infants, as it werenbsp;to dedicate them to War. There isnbsp;no mention of this custom in thenbsp;native records,nbsp;so that we maynbsp;safely set downnbsp;the account as anbsp;fable, like somenbsp;other statementsnbsp;of his about Ireland alreadynbsp;noticed at p. i8,nbsp;supra. But thenbsp;story may benbsp;taken as indicating the warlikenbsp;character the ancient Irish had earned for themselves

among foreign nations. They were not contented with fighting at home, but made themselves formidable in othernbsp;lands. Their chief foreign conquests were in Wales andnbsp;Scotland; but they not unfrequently found their way tonbsp;the Continent. In those times the Scots, as the Irish werenbsp;then called, seem to have been almost as much dreaded asnbsp;the Norsemen were in later ages. Irish literature of everynbsp;kind abounds in records of foreign invasions and alliances ;nbsp;and it will be seen that the native accounts are corroborated by Roman writers, so far as they touch on thesenbsp;matters.¹

In the bardic legends there is an account of an expedition � beyond the sea ��probably to Britain�in the first century, by Crimlhann Nia Ndir [Criffan-nee-nawr], kingnbsp;of Ireland (a.d. 74 to 90), and of his return with muchnbsp;treasure to his palace of Dun-Criffan on Ben-Edar ornbsp;Howth (FM, A.D. 9). At a still earlier time the oldnbsp;shanachies celebrate the foreign expeditions of two othernbsp;kings�Aengus Ollmucad and Hugony the Great.t

All who have read the histories of England and Rome know how prominently the � Piets and Scots � figure duringnbsp;the first four centuries of our era, and how much troublenbsp;they gave to both Romans and Britons. The Piets werenbsp;the people of Scotland : the Scots were the Irish Gaels ;�nbsp;The Scots, who afterwards settled in what is now knownnbsp;as Scotland, at that time dwelt in Ireland.�! The invasionsnbsp;of the Piets and Scots are celebrated by many ancientnbsp;Writers, among others by Gildas in his History. As anbsp;protection against these two tribes the Romans, at differentnbsp;intervals in the second and third centuries, built those greatnbsp;Walls or ramparts from sea to sea between Britain andnbsp;Alban, so well known in the history of those times, of which

For a good abstract of Irish foreign expeditions and conquests, see Sullivan�s Introd. to O�Curry, Lect,, pp. 22 to 48.nbsp;t O�Flaherty, Ogyg., in. xxvi. and xxxviii.

there are still considerable remains. For three or four centuries the Irish continued their incursions to Britain andnbsp;Scotland, sometimes fighting as invaders against the Piets,nbsp;sometimes combining with them against the Romans andnbsp;Britons : and as a consequence there were several settlements of colonies from Ireland in Wales and Scotland. Annbsp;ancient Irish historical tale entitled quot; The Banishment ofnbsp;the Desii � gives an account of one of these migrations. Itnbsp;is a well-known historical fact, noticed in the Irish annals ofnbsp;those times, that a numerous and powerful tribe called thenbsp;Desii, who dwelt near Tara, were expelled for a breach ofnbsp;law from their district (which retains the name of Deece tonbsp;this day) by Cormac Mac Art in the third century (see pagesnbsp;92, 93, below). Part of these went to Munster and settled innbsp;a territory which still retains their name�the two baroniesnbsp;of Decies in the Co. Waterford. Another part, crossingnbsp;over to Wales under a leader named Eochaid [Ochy],nbsp;settled down in a district called Dyfed, and preserved theirnbsp;individuality as an immigrant tribe for many generations.nbsp;This migration and settlement is related in detail in onenbsp;of the Irish historical stories�a relation that receives sonbsp;much collateral and incidental confirmation from Welshnbsp;records totally independent of the Irish authorities, thatnbsp;we cannot doubt its substantial accuracy.

The account of the conquests of the Irish in West Britain given in Cormac�s Glossary (written in the ninthnbsp;or tenth century from older authorities) may be regardednbsp;as generally reliable : for it is corroborated by other recordsnbsp;and indications from independent sources. In this Glossarynbsp;we are told a story about a lapdog which was � broughtnbsp;from the east from Britain � by Carbery Muse, a well-known historical Irish personage, from whom certain districts in Ireland, still called Muscraidhe or Muskerry, tooknbsp;their name. He was the son of Conari IT, king of Irelandnbsp;from A.D. 212 to 220 : and was brother of that Reuda mentioned by Bede as the leader of a colony from Ireland to

Scotland (see p. 82, infra). Cormac�s Glossary (p. iii) says ;�� For when great was the power of the Gael innbsp;� Britain, they divided Alban between them into districts,

� and each knew the residence of his friend, and not less � did the Gael dwell on the east side of the sea than innbsp;Scotia (Ireland), and their habitations and royal fortsnbsp;were built there. Whence is named Dinn Tradui, i.e. thenbsp;triple-fossed fort of Crimthann [Criffan] the Great (son ofnbsp;Fidach), king of Ireland and of Alban to the Ictian Seanbsp;(the English Channel), and hence also is Glasimfere ornbsp;Glastonbury of the Gael, i.e. a church on the border of thenbsp;Ictian Sea. . . . Thus every [Irish] tribe divided [the land]nbsp;on that side ; for its [i.e. the tribe�s] property on that sidenbsp;Was equal [to that on the west] ; and they continued innbsp;� this power till long after the coming of Patrick. Hencenbsp;Cairbre Muse was visiting his family and friends in thenbsp;east � [when the episode of the lapdog occurred]. Thisnbsp;Criffan the Great, quot; king of Ireland and of Alban to thenbsp;Ictian Sea,� who is to be distinguished from the Criffannbsp;mentioned at p. 33, reigned in Ireland from A.D. 366 to 379 :nbsp;Fe is celebrated for his conquests in Britain, not only in Cor-mac s Glossary as quoted above, but in all the Irish historiesnbsp;and traditions dealing with that time. His reign is almostnbsp;exactly coincident with the command of the Romannbsp;general Theodosius (father of the emperor Theodosius thenbsp;Great), who, according to the Roman historians, checkednbsp;Ihe career of the Gaels and their allies. The Irish accountsnbsp;*^1 Criffan�s invasion of Britain are in the main corroborated by the Roman poet Claudian, in those passages ofnbsp;Fis poem that celebrate the victories of Theodosius. Whilenbsp;Criffan and his allies the Piets were vigorously pushingnbsp;IFeir conquests in Britain, the Saxons, who were at thisnbsp;bnae beginning their inroads, made themselves equallynbsp;formidable. The continual attacks of the three tribes became at last so intolerable that the Roman government wasnbsp;forced to take defensive measures. In 367, the year after

Criffan�s accession, Theodosius was appointed to the military command of Britain, and, after two active campaigns, he succeeded in delivering Britain for the time from thenbsp;invaders. The following short passage, translated fromnbsp;Claudian�s poem, pictures vividly the triumph achieved bynbsp;Theodosius over the three hostile tribes :�� The Orcadesnbsp;flowed with Saxon gore; Thule became warm with the bloodnbsp;of the Piets; and icy lerne [i.e. Ireland) wept for her heaps ofnbsp;[slaughtered] Scots.� In another passage of the same poemnbsp;Claudian boasts that Theodosius chased the Irish from thenbsp;British shores and pursued them out to sea.¹ Though all thisnbsp;no doubt is in the main true history, we must make somenbsp;allowance for the poet�s natural tendency to exaggeration innbsp;his laudatory record of the great Roman general�s exploits.

Criffan was succeeded as king of Ireland by Niall of the Nine Hostages (a.d. 379 to 405), who was still morenbsp;distinguished for foreign conquests than his predecessor.nbsp;Moore (Hist. i. 150) thus speaks of his incursions intonbsp;Wales ;�� An invasion of Britain, on a far more extensivenbsp;and formidable scale than had yet been attempted fromnbsp;Ireland, took place towards the close of the fourth centurynbsp;under Niall of the Nine Hostages, one of the most gallantnbsp;of all the princes of the Milesian race.� Observing thatnbsp;the Romans had retired to the eastern shore of Britain,nbsp;Niall collected a great fleet, and, landing in Wales, carriednbsp;off immense plunder. He was forced to retreat by thenbsp;valiant Roman general Stilicho, but � left marks of depredation and ruin wherever he passed.� On this occasionnbsp;Claudian, when praising Stilicho, says of him�speaking innbsp;the person of Britannia :�� By him was I protected whennbsp;the Scot \i.e. Niall] moved all Ireland against me, and thenbsp;ocean foamed with their hostile oars.�

Niall�s invasion is mentioned by several Irish authorities, as, for instance, an ancient Latin Life of St. Patrick,

from which the following extract is quoted by Ussher in his Primordia, p. 587 :�� The Scoti of Hibernia, undernbsp;their king Niall of the Nine Hostages, devastated severalnbsp;of the Roman provinces of Britain during the reign ofnbsp;Constantius, the son of Constantine. They began theirnbsp;incursions on the north of Britain, from which, after a time,nbsp;by their armies and fleets, they expelled the inhabitantsnbsp;and took possession of the country.�¹ This old writer,nbsp;however, is in error as to the time of Niall�s invasion.nbsp;Constantius had, indeed, as we know from other sources,nbsp;to proceed against the Piets and Scots ; but he died innbsp;361 ; and Niall�s expedition did not take place in his reign,nbsp;but in that of Theodosius the Great. The extensive scalenbsp;of these terrible raids is strikingly indicated by no lessnbsp;an authority than St.. Patrick, who,'fhi his � Confession,�nbsp;speaking of the expedition�probably led by Niall�innbsp;which he himself was captured, says ;�� I was then aboutnbsp;sixteen years of age, being ignorant of the true God ; I wasnbsp;brought captive into Ireland, with so many thousand men,nbsp;according as we had deserved.��f

The Irish narratives of Niall�s life and actions add that he invaded Gaul, which was his last exploit; for he wasnbsp;assassinated (a.d. 405) on the shore of the river Loire bynbsp;one of his own chiefs, the king of Leinster, who shot himnbsp;dead with an arrow. The Irish legendary account of thenbsp;origin of Niall�s cognomen runs parallel with the historynbsp;of his foreign conquests. 0�Clery gives it in his Glossarynbsp;from some old authority :�� because he took hostagesnbsp;from the five provinces of Ireland; and also French,nbsp;Saxon, British, and Alban hostages.

Welsh scholars, from Lhuyd of two centuries ago, to Principal Rhys of the present day,� as well as historical

O�Donovan, HyF, 318, and note p ; Petrie�s Tara, 93. f quot;^rip. Life, 357, J Rev. Celt., v. 2, 3 ; also Otia Mers. ii. 90.

� See Rhys�s valuable article, The Early Irish Conquests of Wales and 'unnonia, in Proc. Roy. Soc. Antiqq. of Irel. for 1890-91, p. 642. See

inquirers of other nationalities, have investigated this question of the Irish conquests in Wales, quite independently of Irish records : and they have come to thenbsp;conclusion that, at some early time, extensive districts ofnbsp;Wales were occupied by the Irish ; that is to say, Goidelsnbsp;or Gaels direct from Ireland, as distinct from an earlier andnbsp;far more extensive occupation by Goidels from continentalnbsp;Gaul. As a consequence of the later occupation by Irishnbsp;Gaels, numerous places in Wales have to this day namesnbsp;commemorating the invaders : as, for instance, the Welshnbsp;name of Holyhead, Cerrig y Gwyddcll, the � Rocks of thenbsp;Goidels or Gaels � ; and the Welsh language containsnbsp;many Irish words, or words evidently derived from Irish.nbsp;There are still in Anglesey, says Dr. Jones, in his book onnbsp;this subject,* � oval and circular trenches which we seenbsp;in great plenty . . . called Cyttie r� Gwyddelod, � the Irishmen�s cottages.� � These, of course, are what we know innbsp;Ireland as lisses or '��-aths, which the Irish built up in theirnbsp;newly-adopted country according to the fashion of theirnbsp;own. After careful examination of all the evidence.nbsp;Dr. Jones comes to the conclusion that the Gaels fromnbsp;Ireland once occupied the whole of Anglesey, Carnarvon,nbsp;Merioneth, and Cardiganshire, and parts of Denbighshire,nbsp;Montgomery, and Radnor. Still another trace of the footsteps of the Irish Gael in Britain is the existence of anbsp;number of Oghams in Wales ; for, so far as we know.nbsp;Ogham was peculiar to the Irish.f But besides all this.

also Stokes, On the Linguistic Value of the Irish Annals, p. 25 ; O�Donovan, HyF, 318 ; and Todd, St. Patrick, 352, note i.

* Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd (North Wales), 1851, by Dr. Jones, Bishop of St. David�s, in which this whole question is fully discussed.nbsp;In the Revue Celtique, xvii. 102, Principal John Rhys gives a long listnbsp;of Welsh words borrowed from Irish. It is to be observed that thenbsp;Britons often made reprisals by incursions into Ireland, as we see in thenbsp;case of Coroticus {Lanigan, Eccl. Hist., i. 296). See also on this � Bretonsnbsp;Insulaires en Irlande,� by J. Loth, in Revue Celtique, xviii. 304, in whichnbsp;M. Loth gives many examples of British plundering incursions to Ireland.

ancient Welsh literature�history, annals, tales, legends-like that of Ireland, abounds in references to invasions of Wales and other parts of Britain by Irishmen.

The continual intimate relationship by intermarriage between the Irish kings and chiefs on the one side, andnbsp;the ruling families of western and northern Britain on thenbsp;other, are fully set forth in a series of valuable genealogicalnbsp;articles by the Rev. John Francis Shearman in the Kilkenny Archieological Journal for 1879 to 1884 � which arenbsp;reprinted in his quot; Loca Patriciana.�

We have seen the record in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 75, supra) that the Irish retained their sway in Britain longnbsp;after the arrival of St. Patrick (in 432). Of this therenbsp;is a curious incidental corroboration in a passage in thenbsp;story of the Boroma. When Branduff, the powerful kingnbsp;of Leinster, in the end of the sixth century, heard thatnbsp;prince Cummuscach was coming to Leinster on � a youthfulnbsp;free circuit ��about a.d. 597�he did not wish to receivenbsp;him personally, knowing his licentious character. � Let anbsp;messenger,� said he, � be sent to them [prince and retinue],nbsp;and let them be told that I have gone into Britain {i m-Breinaib) to levy rent and tribute.�*

About the period of the series of expeditions to Wales, fhe Irish also mastered the Isle of Man ; and Irish literature abounds with references to the constant intercoursenbsp;kept up by the parent people with those of their littlenbsp;insular colony. Though the Norsemen wrested the sove-�^rignty of the island from them in the ninth century, theynbsp;did not succeed in displacing either the Gaelic peoplenbsp;their language. The best possible proof of the Irishnbsp;Colonisation and complete and continued occupation ofnbsp;file island is the fact that the Manx language is merely anbsp;dialect of Irish, spelled phonetically, but otherwise verynbsp;little altered. There are also still to be seen, all over thenbsp;island, Irish buildings and monuments, mixed up, however,

with many ot Norse origin : and the great majority of both the place names and the native family names arenbsp;Gaelic.¹

It is curious that the idea of having a sort of claim to the Isle of Man still lingered among the Irish at the endnbsp;of the eleventh century, when the Danes held it: for thenbsp;annalist Tigernach records an expedition to the islandnbsp;from Leinster in 1060, which occurred during his ownnbsp;lifetime ; a record also given by the Four Masters, as wellnbsp;as by other annalists. Tigernach�s words are:�[a.d.nbsp;1060] � Murchad, king of Leinster, son of [king] Dermaitnbsp;Mac Mailnamo, invaded Mann and took tribute out of it,nbsp;and defeated Ragnall�s son � [the Danish ruler].f

Niall�s successor Dathi [Dauhy], king of Ireland, a.d. 405 to 428, followed in the footsteps of his predecessors,nbsp;and according to Irish authorities invaded Gaul: but wasnbsp;killed by a flash of lightning at the foot of the Alps, afternbsp;his followers had destroyed the hermitage of a reclusenbsp;named Formenius or Parmenius. Although this legendnbsp;looks wild and improbable, it is in some respects corroborated by continental authorities, and by present existingnbsp;names of places at the head of Lake Zurich : so that therenbsp;is very likely some foundation for the story. |

The record of the death of Laegaire, Dathi�s successor, and king of Irealnd when St. Patrick arrived, which isnbsp;mainly historical, though somewhat mixed with legend,nbsp;tends to confirm the preceding accounts of the foreignnbsp;expeditions of the Irish kings. It had been prophesied fornbsp;this king by some old druid that he was destined to benbsp;killed between Erin and Alban ; and accordingly, in ordernbsp;to circumvent the prophecy, he remained at home, andnbsp;never attempted to imitate the foreign expeditions of hisnbsp;predecessors. But on one occasion he invaded Leinster

in violation of a solemn oath sworn by the elements : whereupon, says the legend, he was killed by the sun andnbsp;wind, at the side of a little river named Cass, at a marshynbsp;spot situated between two hills named Erin and Alhan :nbsp;so that the prophecy was fulfilled.

We will now go back in point of time to sketch the Irish colonisation of north Britain, the accounts of which,nbsp;however, are a good deal mixed with those of the Welshnbsp;settlements. From very early ages, the Irish of Ulsternbsp;Were in the habit of crossing the narrow sea to Alban ornbsp;Scotland, where colonies were settled from time to time :nbsp;and constant intercourse was kept up between the twonbsp;countries down to a late period. The authentic historynbsp;of these expeditions and settlements begins in the earlynbsp;part of the third century, during the reign of Conari IInbsp;(a.d. 212-220). This king had three sons, Carbery Musfnbsp;(who has been already mentioned in connection withnbsp;Wales, p. 74), Carbery Baskin, and Carbery Riada. Atnbsp;this time a great famine devastated Munster ; and Carberjnbsp;Riada led a number of his people to the north of Irelandnbsp;tod to the south-west of Scotland, in both which placesnbsp;fhey settled down permanently. A brief statement of thisnbsp;toigration, and of its cause, is given in Lebar Brecc ; partnbsp;of the Irish text may be seen in Stokes�s Lives of SS.*nbsp;The following is a translation of that portion of thenbsp;passage immediately bearing on our subject:�quot; Dal-Riatanbsp;and the Fir Alban [men of Scotland]. They are both of thenbsp;seed of Coirpre Rigfota [i.e. Carbery Riada], son of Conairenbsp;son of Mog of Munster. Great famine came on Munster,nbsp;so that the seed of Coirpre Rigfota departed from it, andnbsp;one division of them reached Scotland, while the othernbsp;� division remained in Erin [in the present county Antrim] :nbsp;� whence the Dal Riata [of both Scotland and Ireland] tonbsp;� this day. They afterwards increased and multiplied innbsp;� these [two] districts, till the time of Aedan Mac Gabrain,nbsp;* Lebar Brecc, 238^, 2nd col., line 15 ; Lives of SS., Pref. cxiv, note 1.

quot;king of Alban (Scotland), and of Aed Mac Ainmirech, � king of Ireland.� The Lebar Brecc then goes on to givenbsp;an account of the dispute between these two kings, whichnbsp;was subsequently settled at Drumketta.¹ Adamnan morenbsp;than once mentions both Aedan and Aed Mac Ainmirech,nbsp;as well as the Convention at Drumketta, and so far corroborates the accounts in the native Irish authorities, fnbsp;These Irish narratives are confirmed by the Venerablenbsp;Bede in his Ecclesiastical History (i. i.), where he says :�nbsp;� In course of time, besides the Britons and Piets, Britainnbsp;quot; received a third nation, the Scots, who, migrating fromnbsp;� Ireland under their leader Reuda, obtained for themselvesnbsp;quot; either by friendly agreement or by force of arms, thosenbsp;quot; settlements among the Piets which they still hold. Fromnbsp;quot; the name of their commander they are to this day callednbsp;quot; Dalreudini: for in their tongue dal signifies a part.� Thenbsp;quot; Dalreudini � of Bede is the Dalriada of Irish history. Henbsp;correctly interprets ddl: for Ddl-Riada signifies Riada�snbsp;or Reuda�s portion : and the word ddl or ddil is in use atnbsp;the present day. These primitive settlers increased andnbsp;multiplied, as the Lebar Brecc says ; and, supported fromnbsp;time to time by contingents from the mother country,nbsp;they held their ground against the Piets. But the settlement was weak and struggling till the reign of Lewy,nbsp;king of Ireland (a.d. 483 to 512), about three centuriesnbsp;after the time of Carbery Riada. In the year 503 threenbsp;brothers named Fergus, Angus, and Lome, sons of a chiefnbsp;named Ere, a direct descendant of Carbery Riada, led anbsp;colony to Scotland from their own district in the Irishnbsp;Dalriada ; descendants of the Munster settlers of threenbsp;centuries before. They appear to have met with littlenbsp;or no opposition, and being joined by the previous settlers.

For the Convention at Druim-Cete or Drumketta, and for this celebrated dispute and its settlement, see Joyce, Short Hist, of IreL, 151.

they took possession of a large territory, of which Fergus, commonly called Fergus Mac Ere, and also known asnbsp;Fergus More (the Great), was the first king. The.descendants of these colonists ultimately mastered the wholenbsp;country, and from them its name was changed fromnbsp;Alban to Scotia or Scotland. Fergus was the ancestor of the subsequent kings of Scotland ; and from him,nbsp;in one of their lines of genealogy, descend, throughnbsp;the Stuarts, our present royal family. The memory ofnbsp;these three princes is deeply graven on the history ofnbsp;Scotland; and many Scottish persons and places havenbsp;been named from them, of which examples will occurnbsp;to anyone moderately acquainted with the history andnbsp;topography of Scotland.

At different periods of our early history the kings had in their service bodies of militia, who underwent a yearlynbsp;course of training, and who were at call like a standingnbsp;army whenever the monarch required them. The mostnbsp;celebrated of these were the � Red Branch Knights � ofnbsp;about the time of the Incarnation, and the � Fianna ornbsp;Fena of Erin,� who flourished in the third century.nbsp;Though the accounts that have come down to us of thesenbsp;two military organisations are - much mixed up withnbsp;romance and fable, there is sufficient evidence, bothnbsp;literary and material, to show that they really existednbsp;and exercised great influence in their day.

The Red Branch Knights belonged wholly to Ulster, and in the ancient Tales they are represented as in thenbsp;service of Concobar Mac Nessa, king of that province, butnbsp;not king of Ireland. The king�s palace was Emain, ornbsp;Emania near Armagh, of which a description will be foundnbsp;In vol. II. p. 8g

Every year during the summer months, various companies of the Knights came to Emain under their several

commanders, to be drilled and trained in military science and feats of arms. The greatest Red Branch commandernbsp;was Cuculainn, a demigod, the mightiest of the heroes ofnbsp;Irish romance. The other chief heroes were Conall Ker-nach ; Laegaire (or Laery) the Victorious ; Keltar of thenbsp;Battles ; Fergus Mac Roy ; the poet Bricriu Nemthenganbsp;(� Venom tongue �), who lived at Loughbrickland, wherenbsp;his fort still remains near the little lake ; and the threenbsp;sons of Usna�^Naisi, Ainnle, and Ardan.

The Red Branch Knights had a passion for building great duns or forts, many of which remain to this day, andnbsp;excite the wonder and awe of visitors. Besides Emain

itself, there is the majestic fort of Dun-Dalgan, Cuculainn�s residence, a mile west of the present town of Dundalk.nbsp;This dun consists of a high mound surrounded by annbsp;earthen rampart and trench, all of immense size, even innbsp;their ruined state ; but it has lost its old name, and is nownbsp;called the moat of Castletown, while the original namenbsp;Dundalgan, slightly altered, has been transferred to Dundalk. Another of these Red Branch Knights� residencesnbsp;stands beside Downpatrick ; viz, the great fort ancientlynbsp;called (among other names) Dun-Keltair, or Rath-Keltair,

Rath'Keltair at Downpatrick. From Col. Wood-Martin's Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, I., 318.

or Aras- Keltair, where lived the hero, Keltar of the Battles. It consists of a huge embankment of earth, nearly circular,nbsp;with the usual deep trench outside it, covering a space ofnbsp;about ten acres. Still another, which figures much in thenbsp;old romances under its ancient name Dun-da-henn�butnbsp;now called Mountsandall�crowns the high bank over thenbsp;Cutts waterfall on the Bann, near Coleraine. Four milesnbsp;west of this is a similar fortress, now known by the namenbsp;of the quot; Giant�s Sconce,� which is the ancient Dun-Cethernnbsp;[Doon-Kehern], so called from � Cethern of the Brilliantnbsp;Deeds,� a famous Red Branch Knight.¹ John De Courcy�snbsp;original Castle of Dundrum, in Down, was built on the sitenbsp;of one of the most formidable of all�Dun-Rury, the immense earthworks of which still remain round the presentnbsp;castle, at the base of the rock, though the original dun-mound on the top was levelled by the castle-builders.

Contemporary with the Red Branch Knights were the Degadst of Munster�but of Ulster extraction�whosenbsp;chief was Curoi Mac Dair�, king of South Munster; andnbsp;the Gamanradii (Ir. gamhanraide) of Connaught, commanded by Keth Mac Magach and by the renowned heronbsp;Ferdiad. Curoi Mac Dair� lived in a caher or stone fort on anbsp;rocky shelf 2050 feet over the sea, on the mountain ofnbsp;Caherconree, near Tralee, whose ruins have been lately, andnbsp;for the first time, described correctly and in detail by Mr.nbsp;P. J. Lynch.I As a still further evidence that the oldnbsp;legends and romances about Curoi rest on a foundation ofnbsp;fact, not only is the old stone fortress there to witness, but,nbsp;like Emain and Craebh-Ruadh in the north, it retains itsnbsp;ancient name, which has been extended to the whole mountain, and which commemorates the mighty hero himself:nbsp;for � Caherconree � correctly represents the sound of the

Irish name Cathair-Chonroi, the caher or stone fortress of Curoi (nom. Curoi, gen. Conroi).

The Red Branch Knights, as well as those of Munster and Connaught, used chariots both in battle and in privatenbsp;life. Chariot-racing too was one of their favourite amusements : and the great heroes are constantly described innbsp;the tales as fighting from their chariots.

The Fianna or Fena of Erin,* so far as we can trace their history with any certainty, lasted for about a century, viz.nbsp;from the reign of Conn the Hundred-fighter (a.d. 177-212)nbsp;to that of Carbery of the Liffey (279-297). They attainednbsp;their greatest power in the reign of Cormac Mac Art (254-277) under their most renowned commander Finn, the sonnbsp;of Cumal, or Finn Mac Coole as he is commonly called, kingnbsp;Co .'mac�s son-in-law, who is recorded in the Annals to havenbsp;hem killed beside the Boyne, when an old man (a.d. 283).nbsp;Their ordinary strength in time of peace was three cathanbsp;[caha] or battalions, each cath [cahl 3000 : 9000 in all:nbsp;but in war they were brought up to seven catha or 21,000.nbsp;Before admission to the ranks, candidates were subjectednbsp;to certain severe tests, both physical and mental, whichnbsp;may be seen in Keating, page 349. One of these testsnbsp;is worthy of special mention here. No candidate wasnbsp;allowed to join unless he had mastered a certain specifiednbsp;and large amount of poetry and tales : that is to say, henbsp;had to prove that he was a well-educated man, accordingnbsp;to the standard of the tfmes ; a provision that anticipatednbsp;by seventeen centuries the condition of admission to thenbsp;higher posts of our present military service, designed tonbsp;ensure that every commissioned officer of the army shall benbsp;a man of good general education. This�whether historynbsp;or legend�shows what was regarded as the general standard of education in Ireland in those times. The Fena

?This word Fianna [Feena], though commonly restricted to the � Fianna of Erin,� is a generic term, meaning � champions, soldiers,nbsp;\varriors.' In the Da Derga (p. 169) it is applied to the Red Branch Knights.

of Erin, and Finn himself, are frequently mentioned in our earliest writings, among others in Cor mac�s Glossary.

Of all the heroes of ancient Ireland Finn is most vividly remembered in popular tradition. Pinkerton, the Scotchnbsp;historian, who was anything but favourable to Ireland�snbsp;claims to early civilisation or importance, thus speaks ofnbsp;him :�� He seems to have been a man of great talents fornbsp;� the age, and of celebrity in arms. His formation of a regu-quot; lar standing army, trained to war, in which all the Irishnbsp;� accounts agree, seems to have been a rude imitation ofnbsp;� the Roman legions in Britain. The idea, though simplenbsp;� enough, shows prudence, for such a force alone couldnbsp;quot; have coped with the Romans, had they invaded Ireland.�*nbsp;Finn had his chief residence on the summit of the Hill ofnbsp;Allen, a remarkable flat-topped hill, lying about four milesnbsp;to the right of the railway as you pass Newbridge andnbsp;approach Kildare, rendered more conspicuous of late yearsnbsp;by a tall pillar erected on the top, on the very site ofnbsp;Finn�s house. Its ancient nam.e was Almu, gen. Alman,nbsp;dat. Ahnain, which is pretty correctly represented innbsp;sound by the present name Allen. � Almu ��says thenbsp;old tale of the � Cause of the Battle of Cnucha � in thenbsp;Book of the Dun Cow�� was Finn�s principal residencenbsp;while he lived.��f The house was not, hoveever, built bynbsp;Finn, but by his maternal ancestor Nuada, king Cahir-more�s chief druid. So far as we can judge from thenbsp;accounts of its construction given in the above-namednbsp;tale, it was built altogether of wood�like the � Rednbsp;Branch ��without any earthern rampart round it: andnbsp;accordingly no trace of a rampart or earthern dun remains.nbsp;At this day the whole neighbourhood round the hill teemsnbsp;with living traditions of Finn and the Fena.

When not employed in training or fighting, the Fena spent the six months of summer�from ist of May to the

31st of October�hunting, and lived on the produce of the chase, camping out all the time : during the remaining sixnbsp;months they were billeted on the well-to-do people allnbsp;over the country�fed and lodged free. But they were atnbsp;all times�summer and winter�liable to be re-embodiednbsp;at a central station by the king when he found it necessary to wage war. They were divided into distinct tribesnbsp;or clanns, belonging to the several provinces, each undernbsp;its own commander. Of these, the Clann Baskin ofnbsp;Leinster, under the immediate command of Finn, andnbsp;the Clann Morna of Connaught, commanded by Gollnbsp;Mac Morna, were rival tribes ; and ever since the timenbsp;when Goll slew Finn�s father Cumal in the battle ofnbsp;Cnucha, now Castleknock, near Dublin, regarded eachnbsp;other with hatred and distrust.

Those Fena and their leaders, though supposed to be in the service of the monarch, were very uncertain in theirnbsp;allegiance : sometimes they fought on his side ; sometimesnbsp;against him. After king Cormac�s death they becamenbsp;openly rebellious, and attempted to impose a militarynbsp;despotism on the country, claiming in some respects tonbsp;rule even the monarch of Ireland. At last the kingnbsp;Carbery of the Liffey, Cormac Mac Art�s son, who camenbsp;to the throne a.d. 279-�marched against them, and annihilated them in the bloody battle of Gavra, near Skreennbsp;in Meath (a.d. 297) : but was himself slain in the battle.

We have seen that the Red Branch Knights, and their Contemporary heroes of Munster and Connaught, fought,nbsp;rode, and raced in chariots ; and that they erected immensenbsp;duns or forts. In both these respects the Fena of Erinnbsp;stand in complete contrast. In none of the tales or othernbsp;literature of the Fena is it mentioned that they usednbsp;chariots in battle, and they scarcely ever used them innbsp;any way. Their rejection of chariots as a feature of theirnbsp;organisation must have been by deliberate choice . for, asnbsp;Will be shown in chap, xxviii. (vol. ii. 401). chariots were

used all over Ireland, both in civil and military life, not only before and after the time of the Fena, but during thenbsp;whole period of their existence. For instance, they figurenbsp;in the battle of Crinna, a.d. 254, at the very time when thenbsp;Fena were in all their glory. Moreover, there is evidencenbsp;to show that the Fena knew the use of chariots, thoughnbsp;they did not adopt them.* Then as to duns : while wenbsp;have still remaining the majestic ruins of many of thenbsp;forts erected by the Red Branch Knights, as shown atnbsp;page 84, there are, so far as I can find out, no corresponding forts in any part of Ireland attributed to the Fena innbsp;the ancient tales. Even on the Hill of Allen, where if anywhere we might expect to find a mighty fortification likenbsp;that at Downpatrick, there is no vestige of a rath. Finnnbsp;had another residence in Magh Ele, now Moyally ornbsp;Moyelly, near Clara in King�s County, where there arenbsp;vivid traditions about him ; and a cave is still pointed outnbsp;which the people say belonged to him. But there is nonbsp;dun or rath in the place, and no tradition that such anbsp;fort ever existed there. No forts, large or small, that Inbsp;know of, commemorate any others of the great leaders�nbsp;Ossian, Oscar, Dermot 0�Dyna, Goll Mac Morna, Cailtenbsp;Mac Ronain, or Conan Mail, such as we have for Cuculainn,nbsp;Keltar of the Battles, Cethern of the Brilliant Deeds,nbsp;Curoi Mac Daire, and others.

Why the Fena neither used chariots nor built great forts appears, however, to be sufficiently explained by theirnbsp;organisation, and by the sort of life they led. Theynbsp;rejected chariots because they were organised purely asnbsp;an infantry force, and an infantry force they remainednbsp;to the last. For the same reason they made little usenbsp;of horses, except in racing, though on long journeysnbsp;their leaders sometimes travelled on horseback. One ofnbsp;the main objects of their lives was to perfect their activity,nbsp;strength, and health, by physical training ; and accordinglynbsp;* O�Grady, Silva Gad., 107,

they constantly practised athletic exercises on foot� running, leaping, wrestling, and hunting. Then they builtnbsp;no enduring forts, for they did not need them, inasmuch asnbsp;they always�when not on campaign�hunted and campednbsp;out during the six months of summer, constantly changingnbsp;their residence : while during the winter half-year theynbsp;^ore billeted in the houses of the chiefs and farmersnbsp;et we know that during all this time, kings and chiefsnbsp;rrho needed permanent homesteads continued to buildnbsp;raths, lisses, and duns for their residences all throughnbsp;Ireland.

Ordinary War Service was of several kinds. Every man who held land in any sort of tenancy was obliged to bear anbsp;part in the wars of the tribe and in the defence of theirnbsp;common territory : or, as the law expresses it, every landnbsp;occupier owed to the chief � service of attack and defence.�*nbsp;The number of days in the year that each should serve wasnbsp;strictly defined by law : and when the time was ended, henbsp;ruight return to his home�unless some very special neednbsp;urose. A chief or king, if required, was bound to sendnbsp;^ certain number of men, fully armed, for a fixed timenbsp;periodically, to serve his superior in war. The men of thenbsp;superior king�s own immediate territory, with the contingents supplied to him from the several subordinate tribesnbsp;by their chiefs, went to form his army. The tributary chiefnbsp;^gain made up the contingent to be sent to his superior,nbsp;partly from his own household troops, and partly by smallnbsp;contingents from his sub-chiefs.

These were the usual conditions. But sometimes tribes had certain privileges, commonly conceded as a reward fornbsp;special services in the past. For example, the Oirghiallanbsp;[Ore-yeela] or the people of the kingdom of Oriell, in Ulster,nbsp;Were one of these favoured tribes. They were bound tonbsp;send 700 men to attend the king of Ireland in his hostingnbsp;lor � three fortnights � every third year ; but they were notnbsp;? Br. Laws, iii. 23.

to be called upon in spring or autumn, when the men had to attend to their crops. Moreover, the monarch was boundnbsp;to pay each man of them who attended him during thenbsp;hosting or campaign a s�d or cow, or the equivalent value,nbsp;and had to make compensation to the tribe to the value ofnbsp;twenty-one cows for every man of them lost during thenbsp;war :¹ whereas in case of other tribes, neither pay fornbsp;service nor compensation for death was due.

The king had in his service a champion or chief fighting man, called Air�-echta�always a fiaith or noble (for noblesnbsp;see p. 156, below)�whose duty it was to avenge all insultsnbsp;or offences offered to the families of the king and tribe,nbsp;particularly murder : like the � Avenger of blood � of thenbsp;Jews and other ancient nations. In any expected dangernbsp;from without he had to keep watch at the most dangerousnbsp;ford or pass�called betna haoghaill [barna beel] or � gapnbsp;of danger ��on that part of the border where invasionnbsp;was expected, and prevent the entrance of any enemy, fnbsp;He had five men-at-arms to attend on him constantly,nbsp;and he enjoyed several valuable privileges ; but a largenbsp;number was at his command when he needed them for thenbsp;discharge of his dangerous duties. It would appear thatnbsp;each tribe had a special Aire-echta, who was in the immediate service of the chief or king. King Cormac Mac Art�snbsp;son once insulted a woman belonging to the D�ise or Desiinbsp;of Meath : whereupon Aengus of the Terrible Spear, thenbsp;Aire-echta of the tribe, made his way to Tara, and seizing anbsp;spear from a rack, he killed the prince with one thrust of itnbsp;in open court in revenge for the insult. In the resultingnbsp;scuffle the king�s eye was destroyed by the handle of the

On all these points, see Book of Rights, 135 and 139. f See Br. Laws, iv. 323 ; O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 365 ; and O�Donovan, HyF, 211, In some old documents the name aire-echta is derivednbsp;from echt, murder : so that A ire-echta means � Chief of [the avenging of]nbsp;murder.� (See Windisch, W�rterbuch, Ir. Texte, i., � Echt �) : elsewhere echt is given as meaning � a deed � : Aire-echta, � Chief of thenbsp;[daring] deed.� (See Br. Laws, iv. 322, line 6 from bottom.)

spear, which ultimately resulted in his abdication, and in the expulsion of the Desii from their territory (see p. 74,nbsp;supra). We find this institution existing in comparativelynbsp;late times ; for in the fourteenth century quot; the headship ofnbsp;every people who revenged the insults of [the O�Kellys of]nbsp;Hy Many� belonged by right to the Mac Egans (HyM. 89).

Kings and great chiefs almost always kept bodies of mercenary soldiers�commonly small in number and oftennbsp;as a mere bodyguard�under regular pay, something likenbsp;the soldiers of our present standing army, except that thenbsp;Irish mercenaries were not bound so strictly to their service,nbsp;and might apparently leave at any time for another master.nbsp;They hired themselves wherever they could get the bestnbsp;pay. These characteristics are alluded to in tlie derivationnbsp;given in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 2) for amos (pi. amuis),nbsp;which is the Irish name for a hired soldier :�� Amos, i.e.nbsp;am-fhos [pron. amos^, non-resting : he moves from place tonbsp;place, from one lord to another.� The temporary characternbsp;of their engagement is also clearly indicated in the Brehonnbsp;Law, where, in setting forth the compensation due to a chiefnbsp;for injuring persons he had taken under protection, it isnbsp;laid down that no compensation is due for an amos ornbsp;hired soldier, quot; because it is likely that he will go awaynbsp;from him [the hirer] without necessity.�¹ These hirednbsp;soldiers are constantly mentioned in our ancient records.nbsp;Queen Maive in the Tain boasts that she has 1500 royalnbsp;mercenaries [rig-amuis) of the sons of adventurers, f Bodiesnbsp;of Scotchmen, and of Welshmen, were very often in thenbsp;service of Irish kings : and we also find companies of Irishnbsp;under similar conditions serving in Wales and Scotlandnbsp;(Keating, 364).

The maintenance and pay of such soldiers was called in Irish huannacht, whence men serving for pay and supportnbsp;were often called � bonnaghts � by English writers of the

time of Elizabeth. The practice of hiring foreign mercenaries, which was commenced at a very early period, was continued down to the sixteenth century : and we havenbsp;already seen (p. 62, supra) that Shane O�Neill had anbsp;number of fierce soldiers from Scotland as a bodyguard.

The king kept a company of household troops, supported from his own revenues, who commonly resided in the neighbourhood of the palace, so as to be always withinnbsp;reach as a personal guard, and who fought with biTn in hisnbsp;wars. Such a body of men was commonly called Luchi-tighe [lucht-tee], i.e. ' house-company.�* Sometimes anbsp;tract of land was specially set apart for the residence ofnbsp;themselves and their families, which they tilled when notnbsp;on actual service : and a district in the present countynbsp;Cavan, once devoted to this purpose, still retains the namenbsp;of � Loughtee,� now applied to a double barony. Thenbsp;number, arms, and exact duties of the lucht-tighe dependednbsp;on the circumstances of the particular king ; so that wenbsp;find them variously described in different authorities.nbsp;They consisted of men of the tribe : whereas those constituting the amuis or hired companies might be, andnbsp;commonly were, from a distance, or from another country.

These several bodies constituted a small standing army. But where large armies had to be brought into the field,nbsp;the men of the tribe or tribes owing allegiance and servicenbsp;were called upon to serve. It was understood, however,nbsp;that this was only for the single campaign, or for somenbsp;specified time, as already stated (p. 91), at the end ofnbsp;which they were free to return to their homes. An armynbsp;of men on campaign usually consisted of individuals of allnbsp;the different kinds of service.

A Professional Warrior or fighting man, as distinguished from a tribesman who served temporarily, was callednbsp;feinnid, a word allied to Fianna (p. 87, supra). A cham-

* O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i, 391-2 : FM, a.d. 1226, note h, and 1306 : Ware, Antiqq., 70.

pion was also often called a tr�in-fher [trainar] � strong ^�ian � (p. 63, supra). But a more usual word for a champion or warrior is gaiscidheach [goshkeeagh], from gaisce,nbsp;bravery or valour ' : in 0�Clery�s Glossary feindid is explained by gaiscidheach. Very often a warrior was callednbsp;og or �glach, which simply means � young,� a young person.nbsp;Laech or laoch is another term for a hero or warrior.

In very ancient times there were in Ireland, as in Germany, Russia, and other countries, professional femalenbsp;Warriors or championesses�a sort of Irish amazons�whonbsp;figure much in the tales. The principal Teacher ofnbsp;Cuculainn in the use of his weapons was the lady Scathach-Buanand (the daughter of Ard-Geimne in Letha), whonbsp;had a military academy in Scotland, where a great manynbsp;of the chief heroes of Ireland received their military education.* In the Rennes Dinnsenchus several female warriorsnbsp;are celebrated : one named Etsine : and another namednbsp;Brefne, who gave name to the old district of Brefney.fnbsp;Ness, the mother of Concobar Mac Nessa, was a cham-pioness. All will remember a historic and still more celebrated championess belonging to another Celtic nation,nbsp;Boadicea, whose Celtic name Buadac has the same meaning as a still better known queenly name�Victoria : buad,

� victory,� Buadac or Buadach, � victorious.� These warlike Irish ladies sometimes fought with each other, using thenbsp;same weapons as men. Occasionally too they foughtnbsp;against men, and proved tough antagonists. A successfulnbsp;rival of Scathagh was Aife [Eefa], who was so strong andnbsp;brave that no man save Cuculainn was able to subdue her.nbsp;The warlike Medb or Maive, queen of Connaught, was notnbsp;only a great commander, but was personally expert in thenbsp;use of her weapons. In one of the battles of the Tain shenbsp;was engaged in the fight and wounded the hero Cethernnbsp;with a cast of a slegh or light spear. J

In the Life of St. Mochua of Balia there is a curious account of two highway-wowew {da ban-gaisgedhach, � twonbsp;woman-champions �) named Bee and Lithben. They tooknbsp;up their abode beside a perpendicular cliff near whichnbsp;travellers were wont to pass, and provided themselves withnbsp;a big basket having two long ropes tied to the handles.nbsp;When a traveller came up they laid hold of him andnbsp;demanded all his valuables : and if he made any demur,nbsp;they trundled him into the basket and swung him over thenbsp;edge of the cliff, which commonly brought him to reason,nbsp;in which case they pulled him up and sent him awaynbsp;unharmed, but much the poorer. On one occasion theynbsp;swung over St. Mochua�s gillie or servant. Mochua himself came up at the moment and demanded that they shouldnbsp;release him : but they, in no way cowed, refused to do anynbsp;such thing till the saint had to give them his cowl offnbsp;his shoulders : when they drew the man up and set him atnbsp;liberty.*

Clergy and Women exempted from War.�In very early times both clergy and women accompanied the army onnbsp;campaign, and sometimes�though not often�took part innbsp;the fighting. But in a.d. 697 a meeting of clergy and laymen was held at Tara, where, at the instance of Adamnan,nbsp;a resolution was adopted forbidding women to take part innbsp;war : this was known as the Cain Adamnain, or Adamnan�snbsp;Law.f A little more than a century later�in 803�Aednbsp;Ordnidhe [Ornee], king of Ireland, forced Conmach,nbsp;primate of Armagh, and his clergy to attend him on anbsp;hostile expedition against Leinster. On arriving at Dun-Cuair, now Rathcore in Meath, the primate expostulatednbsp;with him on the impropriety of bringing the clergy on suchnbsp;expeditions. The king referred the matter to his tutor andnbsp;p. 257, in Rev. Celt., xv. ; O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ii. 98 : K. Meyer,nbsp;Ventry, 76, 77 : and Rev. Celt., xi., p. 45r (Courtship of Emer).

chief adviser, Fothad, who, after due deliberation, pronounced judgment in the form of a short canon or rule in Verse, exempting the clergy for ever from attending armiesnbsp;in war.*

Instruction in Military Science.�O�Flaherty, in his Ogygia, states that Cormac Mac Art founded three colleges at Tara, one of which was for teaching militarynbsp;science. O�Flaherty quotes no authority for this statement:nbsp;and the passage is too shadowy to found any conclusionnbsp;on it. On the other hand. O�Curry f writes ;�� It does notnbsp;appear from any original authority that I know of, thatnbsp;there was [in ancient Ireland] any such institution as anbsp;special military school, with regular professors and anbsp;regular system, as in the schools of literature and law.�nbsp;But though we cannot say that there were special militarynbsp;colleges, we know that the youths were carefully trainednbsp;in the use of their weapons ; for each was placed undernbsp;the instruction of some warrior who acted as his militarynbsp;tutor ; of which many instances might be quoted fromnbsp;the tales.]: Besides, instruction of this kind formed anbsp;part of the general education of the higher classes: andnbsp;when the sons of chiefs were in fosterage, the foster-fathers were bound by law to teach them, among othernbsp;things, the use of their weapons.�

Military Asylums.�^According to the Battle of Ross-naree,� in the Book of Leinster, there was an asylum for the old warriors of the Red Branch�in some mannernbsp;corresponding with the present Chelsea Hospital, andnbsp;with the Royal Hospital in Dublin�where those whonbsp;were too old to fight were kept in ease and comfort; andnbsp;it was under the direction of one governor or commander.nbsp;It was probably supported partly at the public expense,

* Hyde, Lit. Hist,, 234 : K. Meyer, Mac Congl., 54 : Stokes, Feil., 3: O�Curry, MS. Mat., 363 : Joyce, Short Hist, of Ireland, 190.

and partly by payments from the inmates : but on this point there is no information. This house was called anbsp;figthech or � royal house,� or palace, and also a Bruiden :nbsp;and it is described as very large. When Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa, king of Ulaid, was about to raise an armynbsp;to oppose the southern forces under Ailill and Maive, henbsp;went � to the three fifties of elders and old championsnbsp;that are in their repose of age under [the command of]nbsp;Irgalach son of Macc-Lach, having laid aside theirnbsp;exercise of arms and their weapons,� and askednbsp;them to accompany the expedition ; not to fight but tonbsp;give advice as to the conduct of the campaign. Andnbsp;they replied, � Let our old steeds be caught, and let ournbsp;old chariots be yoked, till we go on this expedition withnbsp;thee.�¹

Knighthood.�As far back as our oldest traditions reach there existed in Ireland an institution of knighthood. Thenbsp;Red Branch Knights have already been mentioned : and itnbsp;appears that admission to their ranks was attended withnbsp;much formality. It was usual to knight boys at an earlynbsp;age, commonly at seven years. This was the age, according to the statement of Tigernach�and also of the Tales�nbsp;at which the young hero Cuculainn was admitted : and hisnbsp;example as to age was often followed in subsequent times.nbsp;The old Tale in which this episode of Cuculainn occurs,nbsp;states that King Concobar had a number of suits of armsnbsp;ready to present to boys whom he admitted to knighthood.nbsp;He gave them on this occasion, one after another, tonbsp;Cuculainn, who broke them all: till at last the king gavenbsp;him his own royal shield, sword, and spears, which the boynbsp;kept, as they withstood his efforts to break them.j A confirmation of the existence of this custom is found in thenbsp;Idfe of St. Carrthach or Mochuda of Lismore, where we arenbsp;fold that when he was yet a boy he was brought forward to

receive knighthood from Maeltuile, chief of Corco Luachra, in Kerry. The king began�after the ancient fashion�bynbsp;presenting him with a sword and shield, which howevernbsp;Carrthach rejected, being resolved to follow a religiousnbsp;life.¹ ^{2 3 4} The remarkable confirmation of the Irish accountsnbsp;by Froissart will be found mentioned in chapter xiv.,nbsp;PP- 518, 519, infra. This historian moreover states thatnbsp;the custom of knighting boys at seven, with ceremoniesnbsp;like those of the Irish, existed among the Anglo-Saxonnbsp;kings, f

The usual Irish words for a knight are curad [curra] and ridire [riddera], of which the last is of course the samenbsp;as the German ritter, and is probably borrowed. � Assuming knighthood � is commonly expressed in Irish bynbsp;� taking valour � : thus Tigernach�s record about thenbsp;knighting of Cuculainn is, � Seven years was his age whennbsp;he took valour quot; {do gab gaisged).]. But the rule of the sevennbsp;years was not universally, or even generally, followed�nbsp;except perhaps in case of the sons of kings or great nobles.nbsp;The ceremony was commonly put off till the candidate wasnbsp;able to fight, as appears from the following entry in thenbsp;Coir Anmann ;�� This was a custom of the Ulaid. Everynbsp;young son of theirs who first took arms [i.e. took valour]nbsp;used to enter the province of Connaught on a foray or tonbsp;seek to slay a human being. ��

There was an order of chivalry, the distinguishing mark of which was what was called nasc-niad (' champion�s ringnbsp;or collar�: nia, gen. niad, a tr�n-fer or �champion�).nbsp;Neither the order�nor of course the decoration�wasnbsp;conferred except it was won on the field of battle : andnbsp;the person who won the nasc-niad was called nia-naisc,

garter �), and also ridire gaisge or � knight of valour � : This collar, according to Keating, was worn round thenbsp;neck.¹

Handstone.�Among the missive weapons of the ancient Irish was the handstone, which was kept ready for use innbsp;the hollow of the shield, and flung from the hand whennbsp;the occasion came for using it. The handstone is verynbsp;often mentioned in the ancient tales, but so mixed up withnbsp;pure fable that we can be certain of little more than this:�nbsp;Some such stone was in use, which was not a mere pebblenbsp;picked up by accident, but was specially made ; sometimes round (cruinn), and sometimes oblong and shapednbsp;with blunt angles and edges. To stones so prepared andnbsp;kept for use on special occasions, some sort of malignnbsp;mystical quality was often attributed, which renderednbsp;them very dangerous to the enemy. The handstone wasnbsp;called by various names : clock, and its diminutive clochen,nbsp;which mean � stone � simply ; lia, lec, lecan, which conveynbsp;the idea of a stone somewhat flattened in shape ; lianbsp;Idimhe, ' hand-stone ' (Idmh, gen. Idimhe, the hand : pron.nbsp;lauv, lauve) : lia Idimhe Idich, � handstone of the laech ornbsp;champion � ; lia curad, a � hero�s flat stone.�f

The use of ordinary stones in battle�^not specially made�is often noticed in the ancient tales. Giraldusnbsp;Cambrensis says that the Irish of his time�the twelfthnbsp;century�when other weapons failed them, flung stonesnbsp;with more force and precision than any other nation, sonbsp;as to do great execution on the enemy ; a statementnbsp;curiously exemplified at the siege of Limerick, five hundrednbsp;years after his time, when a band of 400 of the defenders

Book of Rights, 7 : Keating, 391. f See O'Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i., 263 to 287.

flung stones in the faces of the Williamite assailants, having no better weapons.

Sling and Sling-stones.�much more effective instrument for stone-throwing was the sling, which is constantly mentioned in the Tales of the Tain as well as in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary and other authorities, in such a way as to shownbsp;that it formed an important item in the offensive armsnbsp;of a warrior. The accounts, in the old writings, of thenbsp;dexterity and fatal precision with which Cuculainn andnbsp;other heroes flung their sling-stones, remind us of thenbsp;Scriptural record of the 700 chosen warriors of Gibeahnbsp;who could fight with left and right hand alike, and whonbsp;flung their sling-stones with such aim � that they cduldnbsp;hit even a hair, and not miss by the stone�s going on eithernbsp;side � (Judges xx. 16).

One of the Irish names for a sling was iailm or teilm [tellim], which is fancifully explained in Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(158) as a contraction of tell-fhuaim [tell-ooim], from tell,nbsp;' a stroke,� and fuaim, � sound,� i.e. ' the stroke and thenbsp;sound of the ialls or thongs � : from which we see that thenbsp;teilm had two thongs. Another name for this sort of slingnbsp;was tahall: for we find teilm and tahall used in a passage ofnbsp;the Tain for the same individual sling.*

There was another form of sling called crann-tabaill, i.e. � wood-sling � or � staff-sling,� from aann, � a tree, anbsp;staff, a piece of wood of any kind � ; which indicates thatnbsp;the sling so designated was formed of a long staff of woodnbsp;with one or two thongs�like the slings we read of as usednbsp;by many other ancient nations. David killed Goliath withnbsp;a staff-sling. As this was called crann-tabhaill on accountnbsp;of having a crann or staff, perhaps we may infer that thenbsp;simple taball or teilm had no staff, and that it consistednbsp;of two thongs attached to a piece of leather at bottom tonbsp;hold the stone or other missile ; a form of sling which wasnbsp;common all over the world, and which continues to be

102 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I used by boys to this day. There was a kind of staff-slingnbsp;called a deil-clis, literally � feat-rod,� from deil, � a rod,� andnbsp;clis, genitive of cles, � a feat �: and this it would appear wasnbsp;in some way different from the crann-tabaill. Still anothernbsp;name for a sling is trochal, whence comes the verb troch-laim, � I sling.�

Those who carried a sling kept a supply of round stones, sometimes artificially formed. In the Battle ofnbsp;Mucrim�, as we are told, the shields resounded with thenbsp;hammering of swords and of stones {buirnibii), the stonesnbsp;slings. Numerous sling-stones have beennbsp;found from time to time�manynbsp;perfectly round�in raths andnbsp;crannoges, some the size of anbsp;small plum, some as large as annbsp;orange, of which many specimens are preserved in museums.*nbsp;A stone for a sling is oftennbsp;called lie tailme, i.e. the �stonenbsp;of the tailml

Some sling - missiles were specially made and kept for usenbsp;on important occasions ; and tonbsp;these were attributed mysticnbsp;virtues similar to those of thenbsp;specially made handstones. Some were composition ballsnbsp;made of various materials and hardened. A ball of thisnbsp;kind was often called caer-cHs [kair-clish], � feat-ball,� fromnbsp;caer, �a mass or ball�: as if it was expected to perform somenbsp;special wonderful feats: and it was also called uball-clisnbsp;or �feat-apple� {uball, �an apple�: any small globular mass).nbsp;If we are to believe the Romantic Tales some of thesenbsp;sling-balls were made up in an extraordinary and elaborate way, which imparted to them a malign destructivenbsp;quality. One called the tatJilum, made by the Dedannans,nbsp;A' See Kill;. Archsol. Journ., 1885-6, p. 378 : and Wilde, Boyne, 209.

was composed of the blood of toads, bears, and vipers, mixed up with sea-sand and hardened : and it is .statednbsp;that with a ball of this kind Luga of the Long Arms slewnbsp;Balor of the Mighty Blows, flinging it from his sling .withnbsp;such force that it went clean through Balor�s eye andnbsp;brain.*

According to the Tales, the Knights of the Red Branch sometimes made their sling-missiles in a barbarous andnbsp;revolting manner. In the historic tale of the death ofnbsp;King Concobar Mac Nessa in the Book of Leinster wenbsp;read :�quot; It was a custom with the Ultonians at thatnbsp;time :�every champion they killed in single combat, tonbsp;take the brains out of their heads and mix lime with themnbsp;until they were formed into hard balls �t ; and these ball?nbsp;they kept both as trophies and as dangerous weapons, tonbsp;be used on special occasions. This custom is noticed innbsp;connexion with the Red Branch Knights : but, so far asnbsp;I am aware, in no other part of Irish history or tradition.nbsp;It was a brain-ball of this kind that Keth Mac Magachnbsp;flung at King Concobar, so that it sank into his skull,nbsp;of which he died seven years afterwards. It would benbsp;hazardous and unphilosophical to � brush aside thesenbsp;legends bodily as pure and simple fable. It seems prettynbsp;certain that hardened composition balls were made fornbsp;slings, and kept for important occasions : and we havenbsp;such a ball in the National Museum in Dublin, perfectlynbsp;globular, and curiously streaked ; not on the. surfacenbsp;merely, but also through its mass.

Bow and Arrow.�One of the Irish names of a bow was fidbac (or fidbocc, Z. 854, 12), a native word signifying-� wood-bend,� from fd, � wood,� and bac, � a bend.� Anothernbsp;name was hogha [bo-a], which however is a Teutonicnbsp;loan-word, the same as the English how. The Irish usednbsp;only the long-bow ; in a late authority�the picture of

f O�Curry, MS. Mat., .640 ; De JubainviUe, L�Epop�e Celtique en Irl., 368.

Irish soldiers by Albert Durer in 1521¹�one of the soldiers has a long-bow four feet in length : but no crossbow appears in the group. The general length of thenbsp;Irish bow, as we find it represented on the High Crosses,nbsp;was from four to five feet. An arrow was called saigetnbsp;[now pron. sy'-et or sy'-ed], probably a loan-word from Latin

sagitta. In the story of the Battle of Rossnaree (first century) in thenbsp;Book of Leinster, the use of thenbsp;bow and arrow is noticed more thannbsp;once. But it is curious that in thenbsp;historical tale of the Battle ofnbsp;Moyrath (fought A.D. 637), bowsnbsp;and arrows are not mentioned atnbsp;all, though the details of the battlenbsp;are given, and other weapons arenbsp;named. A quiver was saiget-bolg,nbsp;i.e �arrow-bag.� In the story ofnbsp;the Tain in the Book of the Dunnbsp;Cow, the saiget-bolg is mentionednbsp;as among Cuculainn�s armsf: andnbsp;in the second Battle of Moy-tura one of the noises was � thenbsp;rattling and the jingling of thenbsp;saicet-bolcs or quivers � (cairchiunbsp;ocus grindegur na saicitbolc). |nbsp;O�Curry translates saicitbolc in thisnbsp;passage by � belly-dart� � : and hisnbsp;editor, Dr. W. K. Sullivan (Introd.,nbsp;452), thinks it means �a bow�: but it evidently means �anbsp;quiver,� and so Dr. Stokes translates it. That this is thenbsp;meaning appears plain from many passages. For instance,nbsp;in the Irish version of part of the Aeneid, it is stated that

on one occasion Aeneas, seeing a herd of deer, took his bow and his saigid-bolg and killed anbsp;number of them.* In later documents.

Flint arrow-heads. The makers of flint implements shaped them by chipping wjtli stone hammers, in which they were very skilful and expert. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

especially the Annals, there are plenty of contemporary notices of bows and arrows, to which it will be sufficientnbsp;here to give some references.!

Flint and bronze arrow-heads are constantly found in all parts of Ireland, and may be seen in vast numbers in the Nationalnbsp;Museum : which points to the use of thenbsp;bow in prehistoric times. In the samenbsp;Museum are numerous arrow-heads ofnbsp;bronze, also very ancient, but probably lessnbsp;so in general than fhose of flint. Those ofnbsp;bronze are usually made with a hollow cro ornbsp;socket, into which the wood was inserted.

One general assertion may be made with regard to the sling, the bow-and-arrow, and the axe ;-a careful study of thenbsp;Tales would lead to the conclusion that,nbsp;though these arms were pretty generally used, it was rathernbsp;by individuals than by armies : in other words, though

t Annals L. Ce, vol. i,, a.d. 1221 (p. 263); 1223 (p. 267); 1230 (p. 303); 1345 (p. 647) ; vol. n., 1401 (p. 97) : Last quotation undernbsp;Diubhracadh in O�Donovau�s Supplem. to O'Reilly�s Diet.

106 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I individuals and sometimes small bodies of men used onenbsp;or all, probably according to taste or inclination, neither ofnbsp;the three was used collectively and under general ordersnbsp;by large bodies of men in battle.* In the first Battle ofnbsp;Moytura there is no mention of slings, bows-and-arrows, ornbsp;battle-axes (Man. amp; Cust., I. 244). In Irish military literature swords and spears are the arms mentioned as in mostnbsp;general use, not only by individuals but by armies.

The Mace.�The club or mace�known by two names mdtan andnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;though pretty often mentioned, does not

appear to have been very generally used. Each of the thrice fifty attendants of the hospitaller Da Derganbsp;held in his hand a great club ofnbsp;blackthorn with a band of iron.f Innbsp;the Tales, a giant, or an unusuallynbsp;strong and mighty champion, isnbsp;sometimes represented as armednbsp;with a mace. The giant encounterednbsp;in the meadow by the three greatnbsp;Red Branch Knights in the storynbsp;of the Feast of Bricriu wielded anbsp;mdtan like the mol or shaft of anbsp;mill-wheel. There can be no doubtnbsp;that the mace was used ; for in thenbsp;National Museum in Dublin therenbsp;several specimens of bronze

mace-heads with projecting spikes. One of them is here represented, which, fixed firmly on

See O�Curry, Man. and Cust., i 318, 348, 350. A small body using slings, O�Grady, Silva Gad., 522, bot.

t Bruden Da Derga, 57. More than eighteen centuries later, that is to say, towards the middle of last century, I often saw the men of tlie rivalnbsp;factions��Three-year-old,� and �Four-year-old��fighting at the �big fairnbsp;of Kildonery,� Co. Cork, with precisely the same kind of weapons�heavynbsp;sticks�blackthorn, or oak, or ash�with iron or lead ferrules on the end.nbsp;f Henderson�s Fled Bricrenn, 46, 7.

the top of a strong lorg or handle, and wielded by a powerful arm, must have been a formidable weapon.*nbsp;Spear.�The Irish battle-spears were used both fornbsp;thrusting and for casting. They were of various shapesnbsp;and sizes ; but all consisted of a bronze or iron head, fixednbsp;on a wooden handle by means of a hollownbsp;cro or socket, into which the end of thenbsp;handle was thrust and kept in place bynbsp;rivets. The manufacture of spear-heads wasnbsp;carried to great perfection at a very earlynbsp;age � long before the Christian era � andnbsp;many of those preserved in museums arenbsp;extremely graceful and beautiful in designnbsp;and perfect in finish : evidentlynbsp;the work of trained and highlynbsp;skilled artists. The iron spearsnbsp;were hammered into shapenbsp;those of bronze were cast innbsp;moulds, and several specimensnbsp;of these moulds may be seen innbsp;the Museum (see chapter xxiv.,nbsp;sect. 3, infra).

Both bronze and iron spearheads are mentioned in our oldest literature. In the storynbsp;of the Tain, in the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow, it is related thatnbsp;Cuculainn came to a certainnbsp;ford with his cletine or spear,nbsp;with which he had slain manynbsp;of Queen Maive�s best champions: whereupon she sentnbsp;her poet to ask him for the spear, knowing that he darednbsp;not refuse a poet. Cuculainn gave him the spear, butnbsp;being infuriated, instead of handing it to him, he flung itnbsp;towards him with such force that it pierced his skull.

I08 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 and with the force of the blow the uma (i.e. the bronze)nbsp;of the cletin� broke off and fell into the stream, which fromnbsp;that was called uman-smth, i.e. � bronze-stream.�¹ In thenbsp;same old book Cailte [Keelta] relates how he slew Kingnbsp;Eochaid Airgthech with a cast of a spear which � wentnbsp;through him and into the earth beyond him, and left itsnbsp;iron [head] in the earth : and this here is the shaft, andnbsp;the iron \iarnd] will be found in the earth.�t In Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 47, � Carr �), the word diceltair is explainednbsp;as the � shaft of a gai or spear without the iron head on it.��

In the National Museum in Dublin there is a collection of several hundred spear-heads of all shapes and sizes, thenbsp;greater number of bronze, but some of iron, and some ofnbsp;copper; and every other museum in the country has itsnbsp;own collection. They vary in length from 36 inches down.nbsp;Some of the Irish names for spear-heads designated specialnbsp;shapes, while others were applied to spears of whatevernbsp;shape or size. The words gm, ga, or gai ; faga or joga ;nbsp;and sleg (now written sleagh : pron. sla) were sometimesnbsp;used as terms for a spear or javelin in general: thoughnbsp;more commonly they were specialised. The last, in thenbsp;diminutive form sleaghdn [pron. sImz, the a sounded as innbsp;star] is used at present in Ireland as an English word tonbsp;denote a sort of sharp slender spade for cutting peat ornbsp;turf. O�Curry always translates sleg or sleagh, � a lightnbsp;spear � ; ioga, � a short spear � ; and gae, �a heavy spear.�nbsp;The gae was probably the jaculum or dart mentioned bynbsp;Giraldus in the passage where he says that the Irish had,nbsp;in his time, three sorts of weapons :�a battle-axe, a shortnbsp;lance, and two darts {jacula).X

Among the spears of the Firbolgs was one called fiar-lann [feerlann], � curved blade � {fiar, � curved � ; lann, � a

blade �), of which many specimens are to be seen in the National Museum. The fiarlann was rather a shortnbsp;sword than a spear, in which case it would answer to thenbsp;� curved sword � [claideamh cram) so often mentioned innbsp;the Book of Rights.¹ At any rate, there is only onenbsp;type of curved blade preserved in the Museum ; of whichnbsp;two specimens are figured here.

The heads of those spears designated by the terms manais and laigen (or laighen) were broad, flat, and sharp-pointed ; for we find them constantlynbsp;described in the Tales by thenbsp;epithet lethan-glas, i.e. ' broadnbsp;and grey-green.' O�Curry callsnbsp;the manais a � trowel-spear � ;nbsp;for this word manais is one ofnbsp;the names of a trowel. Thenbsp;duillen (Corm., 61) must havenbsp;been something of a like shape,nbsp;for its name means ' like a tree-leaf �� leaf-shaped.� There arenbsp;numerous spear-heads in thenbsp;National Museum answeringnbsp;these descriptive indications.

Laighen is a diminutive form of the root laigh [lay or loy] ;nbsp;and this root-word is still represented in the modern Anglo-Irish word loy, which isnbsp;applied to a spade in some parts of Ireland.

In the ancient Irish battle-tales a sharp distinction is made between the spears of the Firbolgs and of thenbsp;Dedannans respectively: to which O�Curry first drewnbsp;attention. The Firbolg spears are sometimes callednbsp;manais and sometimes craisech [creeshagh] ; and thenbsp;craisech is described as broad and thick, with tlie top

For examples see Book of Rights, 75, last verse, For the fiarlann see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 255, 295.

I lO GOVERNMENT, MILITA.RY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I rounded and sharp-edged, and having a cfann-reniur, i.e.nbsp;a � thick crann or handle� : a description that appliesnbsp;generally also to the manais. The spear used by thenbsp;Dedannans was very different, being long, narrow, andnbsp;graceful, with a very sharp point. Whether these twonbsp;colonies are fictitious or not, a large number of spear-headsnbsp;in the Museum answer to those descriptions (figs. 43, 44).

Other terms for a spear less usual than the preceding are:�astol, which in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 3) is derivednbsp;from Lat. hastula, � a little spear � ; aigenbsp;(Corm. 24, � Braga �) : rincne (Keat. 322) :nbsp;and muirend^ derived by Cormac (p. 111)nbsp;from mi-rind, i.e. droch-rind, �evil point,� anbsp;� point which causes death.� So also carr,nbsp;which is defined as gai, � a spear,� in Cormacnbsp;(p. 47). That celtair, pi. celtra, was appliednbsp;to a spear may be seen from this Glossarynbsp;under the word gaire (p. 87), where celtranbsp;catha (� spears of battle �) is defined gae ornbsp;spears: from which again the Glossarynbsp;derives diceltair, � a shaft or handle of anbsp;spear without the iron thereon or without anbsp;weapon��di, a negative : dt-celtair, withoutnbsp;a celtair (see also Glossary, p. 47, undernbsp;� Carr,� and see Voyage of Bran, I. 48, 9).nbsp;Bir, which properly means � a spit,� was alsonbsp;applied to a spear. In a poem on Cuchorbnbsp;in LL, it is said that he fed many wolvesnbsp;with his bir; and the Dalcassians in thenbsp;Battle of Clontarf had great sharp-pointed birs or lances-Another word for spear was cnairrsech, which 0�Davorennbsp;defines as a � diminutive of cnarr, spear.� Cletine has beennbsp;already quoted as a name for Cuculainn�s javelin.

The word gabalorgabhal\goWi\ and its derivative^�i^/^rc^ were applied to a javelin of some kind : one of the noisesnbsp;heard in the din of the second Battle of Moytura was � the

sound and winging of the darts and gablachs or javelins� [na foghaid oms na n-gabluch)¹ This word is met with innbsp;other forms as applied to a spear, such as foga fo-gablaigi ;nbsp;which often occurs.f Gabal means � a fork,� and gabal ornbsp;gablach apparently means � a forked spear �; while foganbsp;fo-gablaigi is a foga or spear with a fork�� a forked foga!nbsp;That the old Irish writers understood the word in thisnbsp;sense is proved by a fanciful description of a spear in thenbsp;AgaUamhX in which we are told that the foga fogablaiginbsp;was so called because on either side of it were five forksnbsp;or prongs {cmc gabla), eachnbsp;having sharp sickle-shapednbsp;barbs on both its edges.

Spears vivth.points (rinn, � a point �) are also often mentioned in the Tain and othernbsp;old tales, apparently meaningnbsp;barbed spears : five being thenbsp;usual number of points : thenbsp;term for this sort of spearnbsp;oftenest used being sleg coic-rinn, a � sleg or spear of fivenbsp;points.�^ An incidental reference in the story of Fingalnbsp;Ronain, in the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, would seem to shownbsp;that some such spears werenbsp;used ;�Aedan plunged a spear (^az) into Mael Fothartaig,nbsp;� so that he put its points through him � {corruc ar-rindtnbsp;triit).\\ The foga fo-gablatgi and the sleg c�ic-rinn were

tMaii. amp; Cust., II. 98. In this place O�Curry translates faegaUaige, �down-headed � : but at p. 145 he makes gabulgici, �forked spears.�

�For instance, Stokes, Lives of SS., xxxiv. : Silva Gad., 290, with Irish Text, 256.

II2 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I different : lor we find them plainly distinguished in anbsp;passage in the Tain, where a tall warrior is described asnbsp;coming towards Cuculainn, having in his hand two spears,nbsp;one a sUg coic-rinn and the other a foga jo-gablaigi¹

But though there are hundreds of spear-heads in the National Museum, not one of them is either five-pointed,nbsp;forked, or barbed : whereas if such spears were commonnbsp;in old times, some specimens would certainly have beennbsp;found, as in the case of all the other spears. Sullivan, atnbsp;page 447 of his Introduction to 0�Curry�s Lectures, givesnbsp;figures of two forked spears�one with three points, the

other with eight, which he considers specimens of thenbsp;forked battle-spears of thenbsp;tales. But these are two outnbsp;of a collection of what arenbsp;obviously fishing-spears nownbsp;in the National Museum.nbsp;They have various numbersnbsp;of points up to fifteen, generally ranged in a straight rownbsp;across. They are all of iron,nbsp;and of rude workmanship�nbsp;any good blacksmith of thenbsp;present day could make one equal to the best of them.nbsp;They do not show a trace of artistic taste or finish�suchnbsp;as we find in perfection in the bronze spear-heads : theynbsp;all seem comparatively modern ; and what is more to thenbsp;point, they are small, light, flimsy things that would go tonbsp;pieces in five minutes� fighting. One of the two given bynbsp;Sullivan is represented here, so that the reader can judgenbsp;for himself. �t is five inches broad at the points, and the

LL, 76, a, 25 : see the English in Hull, Cuch. Saga, 170. Distinguished also in another passage of the Tain : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., II. 98, note. Here O�Curry translates cuicrind, quot; flesh-seehing,quot; I do notnbsp;know on what grounds,

prongs are inches long. The socket is 2^ inches long, and just large enough to receive a slight wooden handlenbsp;half an inch thick.

Perhaps gahal or gablach in its application to a spear does not mean � forked � ; and this seems to be Stokes�snbsp;opinion when proposing a derivation of the words.¹ Butnbsp;this does not touch the difficulty of Coic-rinn, Whosenbsp;meaning seems beyond doubt. The whole question isnbsp;obscure, and for the present it must be left unsettled�nbsp;at least by me.

Spearheads had a cro or socket, in which the handle was generally fastened by rivets. The shaft or handle hadnbsp;generally a ferule or ring of horn {adharc, pron. ey-ark) onnbsp;its upper end to keep it from splitting. In the Brehon Lawnbsp;(iv. 227) we read of a cnairsech or spear measuring twelvenbsp;fists � between its iron head and the place where the tornnbsp;is put upon its end �: which entry also shows the lengthnbsp;of the handle as between five and six feet.

The Irish casting-spear was usually furnished with a loop of string called suanem or suaineamh [soonev] attachednbsp;to the handle, near the middle, and made of silk of flax.nbsp;The Greeks and Romans had a loop of a similar kind onnbsp;their spears�called amentum by the Latins : but hownbsp;exactly the loop was used by Greeks, Romans, or Irish, ornbsp;what its effect was, is not well understood.! We onlynbsp;know that, like the Roman soldier, the Irish warrior putnbsp;his forefinger {corrm�r) in the loop in the act of casting.nbsp;Such entries as the following are constantly found in thenbsp;Tales �In the Battle of Moyrath (p. 285), Cuanna, � pressing his foot on the solid earth [to balance himself and takenbsp;good aim], put his finger in the string of his broad-headednbsp;spear and made a cast at Congal � : Cailte � put his valorous

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Rev. Celt. xii. Ii8 ; see also gdbol l�rg (� gabol-clnh �) in LU,nbsp;84, a, 23 : and in the Irish Text of Silva Gad., 148, 3�. What was thisnbsp;gabol-ldrg, which is often mentioned as a recognised weapon ?

forefinger into the thong of the spear � {tuc a chorrm�r gaiscid i suainem na �eighe).*

The use of poison on spears and arrows was known to the ancient Irish : for we find individual poisoned weapons,nbsp;especially spears, often mentioned in the Tales. Butnbsp;poisoned weapons formed no part of the Irish militarynbsp;system, and they were not used in battle.|

Some of the spears of the heroes of the Red Branch and other great champions are described in the old legendsnbsp;as terrible and mysterious weapons. The spear of Keltarnbsp;of the Battles, which was called Lon or Luin, twistednbsp;and writhed in the hand of the warrior who bore it,nbsp;striving to make for the victim whose blood was readynbsp;for spilling. This, according to the legend, was originallynbsp;the spear of a Dedannan chief, which he left on the battlefield of Moytura, where it was picked up, and ultimatelynbsp;reached Keltar. Some spears were regularly seized withnbsp;a rage for massacre; and then the bronze head grew red-hot, so that it had to be kept near a caldron of coldnbsp;water, or, more commonly, of black poisonous liquid, intonbsp;which it was plunged whenever it blazed up with thenbsp;murder fit.]: This reminds us of the spear of Achilles,nbsp;which, when flung at Lycaon, missed the intended victim,nbsp;and, plunging into the earth, � stood in the ground, hungering for the flesh of men � (Iliad xxi.). So also Iliad viii.nbsp;�� My spear rageth in my hands.�

Sword.�^The ancient Irish swords were, in their general shape, much like those used by most other people of bothnbsp;ancient and modern times. The Irish were fond of adorning their swords elaborately. Those who could affordnbsp;it had the hilt ornamented with gold and gems. In the

t In many or most of the passages where poisoned weapons are mentioned, the expressions are obviously figurative, meaning nothingnbsp;more than bitter or deadly in wounding : just as we say a person has anbsp;venomous tongue, like nemthenga, � poison-tongue,� the term applied tonbsp;the poet Bricriu (p, 84, supra).

I See Hennessy, Mesca Ulad, Introd., xiv, xv, and xvi: Hogan, Eossnaree, 79 : and Stokes, Da Derga, 299, 301.

Book of Rights (p. 147) we are told that the hostages delivered up to the king of Ireland by the people callednbsp;Oirghialla [oar-yeela] should wear�as a distinction�nbsp;swords with studs of gold on the hilts : and swords ofnbsp;this kind are often mentioned in the old writings.* Butnbsp;the most common practice was to set the hilts round withnbsp;the teeth of large sea-animals, especially those of the seahorse�a custom also common among the Welsh. Thisnbsp;practice was noticed by the Roman geographer Solinusnbsp;in the third century a.d. � Those [of the Irish] whonbsp;cultivate elegance adorn the hilts of their swords with thenbsp;teeth of great sea-animals � {dentibus marinarum helluarumnbsp;insigniunt ensitim capulod).'\ The native records, bothnbsp;lay and ecclesiastical, are equally explicit on this point.nbsp;Adamnan (page 158) relates that a certain native ofnbsp;Connaught, who had been reduced to a state of slavery,nbsp;came to St. Columba at Iona, who, to enable him tonbsp;purchase his freedom, presented him with � a swordnbsp;ornamented with the carved teeth of animals � {macheramnbsp;belluinis ornatam dolatis dentibus). The native term usednbsp;for a sword ornamented in this fashion is claideb d�t,nbsp;literally � sword of teeth,� or some such expression, ofnbsp;which examples are found everywhere in the Tales, asnbsp;well as in ecclesiastical literature.| Warriors sometimesnbsp;ornamented the handles of their javelins in the samenbsp;manner, as we know from a statement in the Tain, that onnbsp;one occasion during the fight between Cuculainn andnbsp;Ferdiad they � took up their eight spears, called gothanbsp;n-d�t,� i.e. � darts [with ornaments] of teeth.��

That the Irish used swords from the earliest times is obvious from all the preceding : and it is not a little

* As in Moyrath, 67 ; and in LL, 55, h, first line (swords comuleltib lt;Hr ocus con imdmnib argit, � with knobs of gold and with guards of silver �).

t As in Stokes, Three Homilies, 65 : Moyrath, 67 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., vol. I. 253 (note ,5,), 297 (note ,30) ; and vol. ii. 138.

curious that Giraldus (Top. Hib., iii. x), in the twelfth century, makes no mention of the sword as among theirnbsp;weapons. He says they had three kinds of weapons :�nbsp;a short spear, two darts, and a heavy iron battle-axe. The omission of the sword makes onenbsp;suspect that he is inaccurate or had not fullnbsp;information; or perhaps, as O�Donovan remarks,nbsp;that the battle-axe was generally used whennbsp;Giraldus visited Ireland (Moyr.,nbsp;193, note s). The sword figurednbsp;prominently in the Battle ofnbsp;Clontarf, a century and a halfnbsp;before his time, andnbsp;it is constantly mentioned in the periodnbsp;immediately succeeding his visit.

The two commonest Irish terms for a sword werenbsp;cloidem or claidebnbsp;[cleev]* and cole (ornbsp;colg or calc): another,nbsp;but much rarer name,nbsp;was cloinn (Corm.nbsp;40). The cloidemnbsp;was different fromnbsp;the cole, for theynbsp;are evidently distinguished in the Battlenbsp;of Moytura, whichnbsp;speaks of the flashing and clashing ofnbsp;The cole was a � small

* De Jubaiiiville thinks this Celtic word is the origin of the Latin gladius : Civilisation des Celtes, 378.

Straight sword�: so O�Curry always translates the word. It would seem that cloidem was a generic name for anbsp;sword, the cole being a sort of cloidem. Anbsp;claideb-m�r�� great sword ��a sword of thenbsp;largest size, is often mentioned.¹ The Scotchnbsp;have retained this name to the present daynbsp;in the form of � claymore,� which nearly represents the proper sound. A short sword ornbsp;dagger was much in use among the Irish;nbsp;called a sclan [skean], literally a � knife �: butnbsp;the sword and the daggernbsp;merge into each other.fnbsp;The blade {lanti) was keptnbsp;in a sheath or scabbard whichnbsp;was called by several names :

Tind faighin.X Sometimes the sheath was made of bronze:nbsp;and several of these arenbsp;preserved in museums. Thenbsp;beautiful specimen figurednbsp;here was found in the cran-noge of Lisnacroghera nearnbsp;Broughshane, Co. Antrim. �

That part of the hilt grasped by the hand was callednbsp;dorn or durn (i.e. �fist�),nbsp;round which was a guardnbsp;called ividurn (im, �round�:

For instance, Rev. Celt., xm. 459, and xiv. 405. t See Wilde�s useful article on swords and daggers ; Catalogue, 439-467.nbsp; For these terms see Rev. Celt., xiv. 426, par. 47 : LU, 91, a, 28 :nbsp;Coim., 77 and 161.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Rilk- Arch. Journ. for 1889, p. 96.

118 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I sword, with which he killed the sea-monster, was called thenbsp;(�hard-blade�),* Finn Mac Cumail�s sword wasnbsp;called Mac-an-Luin, � the son of the Luin or L�n', whichnbsp;was made � the son of Luno � by Macpherson throughoutnbsp;his � Poems of Ossian.�f

The sharper a sword was the more it was prized. A common expression in the Tales is that a sword was sonbsp;sharp that it would cut a hair floating onnbsp;water ; or cut hairs blown against its edgenbsp;by the wind. Socht�s sword would cut anbsp;hair off a man�s head without touching thenbsp;head ; and would cut a man in two � sonbsp;that neither half knew what had befallennbsp;the other.�!

The battle-axe {tuag or tuagh, pron. tooa) has been in use from prehistoricnbsp;times in Ireland, as is evident from thenbsp;fact that numerous axe-heads (or � celts �)nbsp;of stone, as well as of bronze, copper, andnbsp;iron, have been found from time to time,nbsp;and are to be seen in hundreds in thenbsp;National Museum and elsewhere. Thesenbsp;are now commonly called celts, of which thenbsp;illustrations on pp. ii8 and 119 will give anbsp;good idea. But many of what are nownbsp;called celts were probably used as cutting-tools, as noticed in chapter xxiv., section 5.nbsp;Battle-axes are often mentioned in ancient Irish literature. Cuculainn, on one occasion, when making ready fornbsp;a fight, says to his attendant: �Take out the axesnbsp;quickly ��Oslate go troU hiaga.W So also the battle-axe is

t About Luin and Mac an Luin, see Hennessy, Mesca, Introd., xv: Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1895, 228 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., t. 324-5.nbsp;t As in O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., Ii. 148 : Fled Brier., 117.

mentioned under the curious name cuach-snaidm in a description of the reception of Concobar and his peoplenbsp;by Conall, the brewy of Dun Colptha in Cuailnge -� Conall had apart for each warrior thenbsp;hero-vvar-axe � {Cuach-snaidm-curad).*

Cuach-snaidm^ literally � cup-knot,� is sometimes applied to a spiral sort ofnbsp;knot or wreath on the hair of the head :tnbsp;but it is not easy to see how it came tonbsp;be applied to a battle-axe. All thesenbsp;facts and records show that Giraldusnbsp;is wrong in his assertion that the Irishnbsp;borrowed the use of the axe from thenbsp;Norsemen: though it is true that they often used Scandinavian axes, as well as those of native make.

In later times the Irish were noted for their fatal dexterity with the battle-axe. Giraldus (Top. Hib., III. x.)

* Stokes, Rev. Celt., xtv. 417, and LL, 109, 5, lines 5 and 4 from bottom : also Corm., Gloss., 47.

t Silva Gad., 139; Irish version, 128, s: Stokes, Acallamli, 393 : see also Rossnaree, 68, 13.

mentions that among other weapons they had a heavy axe excellently well wrought and tempered; and he goes on tonbsp;say :�� They make use of but one hand to the axe whennbsp;� they strike, and extend the thumb along the handle tonbsp;� guide the blow ; from which neither the crested helmetnbsp;�can defend the head, nor the iron folds of the armour thenbsp;�rest of the body.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From whence it has happened, even in

� our tiriies, that the whole thigh of a soldier, though cased � in well-tempered armour, hath been lopped off by a singlenbsp;�blow of the axe, the whole limbnbsp;� falling on one side of the horse, andnbsp;� the expiring body'on the other.�

To sliow )iow the metallic celts or axe-heads were fastened on handles. Fig. 57 shows one found in its original handlCf as seen in the illustration. It has a loop underneath, which isnbsp;partly eaten away by rust. Fig. 58 is a conjecthral restoration of the fastening of this kindnbsp;of celt. (From quot;Wilde's Catalogue, pp. 370, 367.)

In Giraldus�s time almost everyone carried an axe in his hand, as people wore swords at a later period : a customnbsp;which he denounces in the bitter style usual with him whennbsp;he had a fault to find ;�� From an ancient and evil customnbsp;� they [the Irish] always carry an axe in their hands,nbsp;� instead of a walking-stick, that they may be ready tonbsp;� execute on the spot whatever villainy comes into theirnbsp;�minds.: wherever they go they carry this weapon.� (Top.nbsp;Hib., III. xxi.)

generally used by galloglasses, and a long, narrow one, called a spana or sparth : examples of both are illustratednbsp;in figures 59 and 60, pp. 121 and 123. The narrow axenbsp;seems to have been the earlier form.

Sharpening edged Weapons.�There were various means of sharpening arms. Sometimes the warriors used ordinarynbsp;whetstones. 0�Clery, in his Glossary, explains the wordnbsp;airtnemh [artnev] as meaning � a whetstone on which anbsp;hero�s or a soldier�s arms are sharpened.� In several of thenbsp;ancient tales we find mention of a smooth block of stone,nbsp;usually set up on the faithche ornbsp;green of a king�s fort, on whichnbsp;the warriors used to sharpennbsp;their weapons. In the story ofnbsp;the Agallamh, Cailte, St. Patricknbsp;and others come to a pillar stonenbsp;which was named Cloch-nan-arm, the � Stone of the armsnbsp;or weapons � ; and when askednbsp;why it had that name, Cailtenbsp;replied that the Fena of Erinnbsp;used to come to it every Samain-tide to sharpen their weapons.¹

Beside the house of Pichan, a Munster chief, � there was anbsp;� huge block and warriors� stonenbsp;� of strength�very smooth�onnbsp;� which spears and rivets were wont to be fastened [whennbsp;� they got loose], and against which points and edges werenbsp;� wont to be ground : and a warrior�s pillar-stone {Corthinbsp;� curacV) was that flag (/ecc).�t

It is worthy of remark that, at the Battle of Moytura, a woman was employed to grind the weapons {fri bleth arm)nbsp;of the Dedannans.t

Armour.�We know from the best authorities that at the time of the Invasion�i.e. in the twelfth century�nbsp;the Irish used no metallic armour. Giraldus (Top. Hib.,nbsp;III. X.) says :�They go to battle without armour, considering it a burden, and deeming it brave and honourablenbsp;to fight without it.� The Irish poet Mac Conmee, in hisnbsp;poem on the Battle of Down, in which the Irish were defeated by the English in 1260, has this passage :�

This is sufficient to prove that the ancient Irish did not use armour ; for, as O�Donovan remarks, it is not to benbsp;supposed that they used it at one time and left it off afterwards. The Danes wore armour : and it is not unlikelynbsp;that the Irish may have begun to imitate them before thenbsp;twelfth century : but, if so, it was only in rare cases. Theynbsp;never took to armour till after the twelfth century, and thennbsp;only in imitation of the English.f It is true that in some ofnbsp;the tales giving accounts of battles fought before the timenbsp;of the Danish incursions, we read that the Irish used ironnbsp;coats of mail [luirech iairn) as for instance in the Battle ofnbsp;Moyrath (p. 193) ; but the only inference to be drawn fromnbsp;this is that the versions that have come down to us werenbsp;written at a comparatively late time, when the writers werenbsp;acquainted with the use of armour and introduced it tonbsp;embellish their stories. J But though the Irish did not usenbsp;armour before the Danish invasions, they knew well whatnbsp;it was�as we might expect from their intercourse with thenbsp;Continent; and the borrowed word luirech (Lat. lorica) hadnbsp;become well naturalised : for we find a luirech�corselet ornbsp;coat of mail�mentioned in Fiacc�s Hymn, sixth or seventhnbsp;century (Trip. Life, p. 411, verse 26).

The tales describe another kind of armour as worn by Cuculainn and by others ; namely, a primitive corseletnbsp;made of bull-hide leather stitched with thongs, � for repel-� ling lances and sword-points, andnbsp;�spears, so that they used to fly offnbsp;� from him as if they struck against anbsp;� stone � �* and as we know that thenbsp;material for this was produced atnbsp;home (chap, xxvi., sect. 5), the recordnbsp;is pretty certainly a true one. But thenbsp;general body of Irish soldiers foughtnbsp;in linen tunics dyed saffron, and thenbsp;chiefs sometimes in satin or silk, whichnbsp;lost them many a battle against thenbsp;Anglo-Normans.f

Greaves to protect the legs from the knee down were used, and callednbsp;by the name asdn (pi. asdifi), whichnbsp;is a diminutive of as or ass, �a sandal.�

P. O�Connell, in his Dictionary, has asdin phrdis ara luirgnihh, �greavesnbsp;of brass on his shins �: but, no doubt,nbsp;the greaves of early times were madenbsp;of leather, like Cuculainn�s corselet.|

Occasionally greaves were called asst simply : se duh-assi, � six blacknbsp;greaves � (Da Derga, 288,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;289).

Sometimes, as a safeguard against assassination, a king wore a slab ofnbsp;tough yew on his breast under hisnbsp;silken robes : and we read in thenbsp;Annals that this precaution once savednbsp;the life of Congal, king of Ireland (a.d. 704 to 7li).|

Helmet.�That the Irish wore a helmet of some kind in battle is certain : but it is not an easy matter to determinenbsp;the exact shape and material. It was called cathbharrnbsp;[caflar], i.7. � battle-top,� or battle-cap, from caih [cah], � anbsp;battle,� and barr, � the top.� In the Battle of Moyrath (141),nbsp;the Irish army proceeded to array their forces � and harnessed their arch-princes in protecting helmets � : on whichnbsp;O�Donovan remarks in a note : quot; Nothing has yet beennbsp;� discovered to prove what kind of helmet the ancient Irishnbsp;� cathbharr was, whether it were a cap of strong leather,nbsp;� checkered with bars of iron, or a helmet wholly of ironnbsp;� or brass, such as was used in later ages. One fact isnbsp;� established, that no ancient Irish helmet made of thenbsp;� latter materials [iron and brass] has been as yet discovered.� In the Battle of Mucrime (fought a.d. 250) thenbsp;two Lugaids each wore a � crested helmet ��cathbharrnbsp;ciorach.'* From the � Book of Rights � (p. 263), we learnnbsp;that helmets were sometimes coloured. Part of the stipendnbsp;of the king of Gaela was � four helmets of equal colour �nbsp;{c�mhdhatha : i.e. all similarly coloured). De Jubainvillenbsp;(vi. 343) says that the helmet is not mentioned at all in thenbsp;most ancient Irish texts, and that wherever it is mentionednbsp;the passage indicates a relatively recent composition. Itnbsp;occurs, however, as we have seen, in the � Battle ofnbsp;Mucrime � in the Book of Leinster : and the cennbarr ornbsp;helmet is mentioned in one of the Prefaces to the Tain.tnbsp;Shield.�From the earliest period of history and tradition, and doubtless from times beyond the reach of both,nbsp;the Irish used shields in battle. The most ancient shieldsnbsp;were made of wicker-work, covered with hides : they werenbsp;oval-shaped, often large enough to cover the whole body,nbsp;and convex on the outside. It was to this primitive shieldnbsp;that the Irish first applied the word sciath [skee'-a], whichnbsp;afterwards came to be the most general name for a shield,nbsp;of whatever size or material. It is curious that this word

sciath is still common in Munster, even among speakers of English, and is applied to a shallow oblong osier basket�nbsp;similar in shape and material to the ancient wicker shield :¹ ^{2 3 4}nbsp;and this is probably its original application. This wickernbsp;shield continued in use in Ulster even so late as the sixteenth century, as Spenser testifies ;�� Their long broadnbsp;quot; shields, made but with wicker roddes, which are commonlynbsp;*' used amongst the said Northern Irish.� Elsewhere he saysnbsp;they were large enough to cover their whole bodies.f Butnbsp;wicker shields were often made much smaller and lighter.nbsp;Such shields continued to be used in the Highlands ofnbsp;Scotland so late as 200 years ago (Rob Roy, xxxi).

Smaller shields, commonly round, made either of yew or of bronze, were also used. It was so usual to make themnbsp;of yew that the word iuhhrach (� made of iuhhar or yew �),nbsp;came to be applied to them.! In the National Museumnbsp;there is a fine specimen of a yew shield. Specimens ofnbsp;bronze Celtic shields have also been found ; but they arenbsp;rare in Ireland, though common enough in Britain and Scotland. A very fine one, figured next page, was found in anbsp;bog in County Limerick. It is of thin bronze 275^ inches innbsp;diameter, ornamented with bosses, hammered into shapenbsp;on solid moulds or blocks. This shield was first describednbsp;by Mr. Maurice Lenihan, of Limerick, in a Paper in Proc.nbsp;R. 1. Acad., vol. for 1870-76, p. 155.

Shields were ornamented with devices or figures, the design on each being a sort of cognisance of the owner tonbsp;distinguish him from all others. � There was a law made bynbsp;� the Ultonian knights ��says the ancient story quoted bynbsp;0�Curry�� that they should have silver shields {i.e. shieldsnbsp;� ornamented with silver] made for them, and that thenbsp;� carved device of each should be different from those of

� all the others.� These designs would appear to have generally consisted of concentric circles, often ornamentednbsp;with circular rows of projecting studs or bosses, andnbsp;variously spaced and coloured for different shields. Thenbsp;same old tale goes on to describe how the devices onnbsp;Cuculainn�s shield were made ; namely, by a luathrinn ornbsp;moulding compass, with which the artist struck out anbsp;number of circles on a smooth layer of ashes to serve asnbsp;a pattern.¹ In the Bruden Da Derga (p. 174) we read thatnbsp;Cormac Condlingas had a shield with five golden circles onnbsp;it. As generally confirming the truth of these accounts,nbsp;the wooden shields in the Museum have a number of beautifully wrought concentric circles standing out in relief.

There were ornaments or ornamental fittings called tuag-mila, the exact nature of which has not been determined : commonly made of, or ornamented with, gold or silver.nbsp;The name, according to some, indicates that they consistednbsp;of animal forms, curved or mixed up with curved designs ;nbsp;for tuag means � a curve or loop,� and mil [meel],� an animal,�nbsp;plural mila : � loop-animals.� By O�Curry, Stokes, O�Grad}^nbsp;Crowe, Henderson, Windisch, the word tuag-mila has beennbsp;variously translated, � clasps,� � fastenings,� � hooks,�nbsp;� loop-animals,� � animal figures chased,� � interlaced creatures,� � buckles,� � trappings.� Perhaps after all, Stokes�snbsp;proposed explanation of mil is the true one ; namely, thatnbsp;in this connexion it does not mean � animal,� but a pin ornbsp;tongue of some kind. For we know that mil, in one of itsnbsp;applications, means � a probe or pin,� and that milech meansnbsp;a kind of dealg or brooch (see Vol. ii., p. 248). If this is so,nbsp;the hiaga were most probably little bands, straps, or braces,nbsp;varied in material and shape according to use, ornamentally chased or embroidered, and fastened with bucklesnbsp;and hooks. The tuag-mila were, in this case, the littlenbsp;buckle-pins or tongues, from which the whole buckle-strap

See also vol. ii. p. 299, infra: where this incident, with the story referred to by O�Curry, will be found.

took its name. All this is rendered the more likely by the fact that, though tuag-mlla are most commonly mentionednbsp;in connexion with shields, they were also used on ladies�nbsp;kirtles, and on the yokes of chariot-horses.¹ ^{2 3 4}

Shields were often coloured according to the fancy of the wearer. We read of one warrior having a shield designatednbsp;craeh-corcra, i.e. showing the colour of the quickenberry : thenbsp;shield of another was brown {donn).\ Part of the tuarastalnbsp;due from the king of Tara to the king of Offaly was fournbsp;coloured shields [ceithre sciith datha) ; in another part of thenbsp;same book a tribute of four red shields is mentioned andnbsp;in the story of Mesca Ulad (p. 29) King Concobar is describednbsp;as having a purple-brown {dond-chorcra) shield. Conall Cer-nach had � a blood-red shield which has been speckled withnbsp;rivets [semmannaih] of findruine between plates of gold �nbsp;(Da Derga, 199). This fashion of painting shields in variousnbsp;colours continued in use to the time of Elizabeth, as we seenbsp;by Spenser�s statement (View, 102)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� In Ireland they use

� also in many places [round leather targets] coloured after � their rude fashion.� Shields were very often pure white.nbsp;Thus Bodb Derg and his cavalcade had all of them whitefaced shields {sceith thulgeala).^ The Book of Leinsternbsp;describes the Ulstermen as having, on a certain occasion,nbsp;� beautiful all-white shields.�

We know from many passages that the wicker shields were covered with hides, either tanned or untanned. Thusnbsp;in the story of the deaths of Goll and Garb in the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, a certain warrior�s shield is described as coverednbsp;with black leather {dub-lethar) .\\ Shields were covered bynbsp;a special tradesman called a tmthait, who fitted the leather

128,7; Fled. Brier., 65, 3 (with note i, beginning on p. 62). On Lenes or kirtles�Ir. Texte, i. 119, ,2: Da Derga, 13, 14; Man. amp; Gust,, ii.nbsp;igo, note; Tain B� Fr. 136, ,6. On a chariot yoke�Man. amp; Gust.,nbsp;II. 160, note : Bee Fola, p. 174, tt.

t O�Grady, Silva Gad., 240, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 324,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;{ Book of Rights, 253, 263.

very accurately, and sewed it at the seams. The tuathaits, as the glossator in the Brehon Laws (v., 107, 16) explains,nbsp;� sew the hides round the shields.� But in another part ofnbsp;the Laws (li. 118, 25), this word tuathait or tuithait is usednbsp;for a wooden-shield-maker in general, as is seen from thenbsp;expression classifying the tuithait with a carpenter asnbsp;� using the adze and hatchet � ; and accordingly O�Donovan here translates tuithait by � shield-maker.�

Hide-covered shields were often whitened with lime or chalk, which was allowed to dry and harden, as soldiersnbsp;now pipeclay their belts. This explains such expressionsnbsp;as the following, which we often meet with in descriptionsnbsp;of battles :�[During the Battle of Mucrime] � a white cloudnbsp;� of chalk and a cloud of lime rose towards the clouds [ofnbsp;� the sky] from the shields and bucklers when struck bynbsp;� swords and spears and darts.�* And in the Fled Bricrennnbsp;the heroes fall to fighting in the palace, so that quot; there wasnbsp;� an atmosphere of fire from [the clashing of| sword andnbsp;� spear-edge, and a cloud of white dust from the cailc ornbsp;� lime of the shields.�!

Another name for a shield was Imnain or lumman, which, in a passage in the Yellow Book of Lecan, is fancifully derived from leoman, � a lion �; from the practice ofnbsp;painting a lion on the shield, quot; in order that its hatefulnessnbsp;and its terror might be the greater.�! This passage isnbsp;valuable in another way, as pointing to the practice ofnbsp;painting animals on shields. A small, light shield ornbsp;buckler was often called hocoit, which literally means anbsp;� spot.� In the above extract from the Battle of Mucrime,nbsp;the shield is called sciath, and the buckler bocoit.

The shields in most general use were circular, small, and light�from 13 to 20 inches in diameter�as we see bynbsp;numerous figures of armed men on the high crosses and innbsp;manuscripts, all of whom are represented with shields of this

Shields were cleaned up and brightened before battle. Those that required it were newly coloured, or whitenednbsp;with a fresh coating of chalk or lime : and the metallicnbsp;ones were burnished. This was generally done by gilliesnbsp;or pages. On a certain occasion when there was annbsp;assembly of kings and chiefs at Kincora, we are told thatnbsp;the gillies were assembled in one room brightening up thenbsp;shields of their masters.f

It was usual to give special descriptive names to the shields of distinguished chiefs. In the Battle of Moyrathnbsp;(p. 153), we read that the javelin of Conall, which was aimednbsp;at King Domnall, passed through three shields interposednbsp;by his followers to shelter him, and struck Derg-druimnechnbsp;(i.e. � red-backed '), the golden shield of the monarch himself. The shield of King Concobar Mac Nessa was callednbsp;Ac�in [ak'kane], that is, � ocean.�

The shield, when in use, was held in the left hand by a looped handle or crossbar, or by a strong leather strap, innbsp;the centre of the inside, as seen in fig, 62 at page 126.nbsp;But as an additional precaution it was secured by a longnbsp;strap, called sciathrach, that went loosely round the neck.nbsp;In the � Battle of Rossnaree � (p. 25) Queen Maive says :�nbsp;� So long as there shall be amongst us one who will be ablenbsp;quot; to take the hilt of a sword [in his hand] and the shield-� strap {sciathrach) of a shield about his neck.� Anothernbsp;word for this sling-strap was iris : Conan Mail on onenbsp;occasion escapes from a battle, ocus iris a sceith immanbsp;braigit, quot; and the sling of his shield round his neck,�]; inti-timating that he had dropped it from his hand in his flight,nbsp;but that it remained suspended from his neck by the strap.nbsp;In the Brehon Laws (v. 310, line 4 from bot.), the strap on

See for three examples, this vol. at pp. 102 and 143 ; and the figure of the king in vol ii., p. 257.

the inside of the shield by which it was held in the hand is called sciathlach, which, like sciathrach, is formed fromnbsp;sciath, only with a different termination.* The shield,nbsp;when not in use, was slung over the shoulder by the strapnbsp;from the neck.

It was usual for a champion to hurl a challenge to single combat by standing in front of the hostile camp or fort andnbsp;striking a few resounding blows on his shield, f or on a shieldnbsp;hung up for this purpose at the gate outside. This oldnbsp;custom is remembered to this day in the speech of thenbsp;people of the South and West of Ireland ; for whethernbsp;speaking English or Irish, they call a man who is quarrelsome and given to fighting�a swaggering bully�by thenbsp;name of Buailim-sciath [boolim-skee], meaning literallynbsp;� I strike the shield,� and equivalent to the English swashbuckler, which may possibly commemorate a similarnbsp;custom among the old English.

In pagan times it was believed that the shield of a king or of any great commander, when its bearer was dangerouslynbsp;pressed in battle, uttered a loud, melancholy moan whichnbsp;was heard all over Ireland, and which the shields of othernbsp;heroes took up and continued. In the battle of Rossnareenbsp;(pp. 43, 51), the king of Tara attacked Concobar furiouslynbsp;and struck his shield, which moaned ; and the shields of allnbsp;the Ulstermen took up the moan, by which the chiefs knewnbsp;that their king was in danger and rushed to his aid. Whennbsp;the lady Crede, lamenting her dead husband Gael, praisednbsp;him for his valour, she said, among other things, that � hisnbsp;shield never uttered a moan in time of battle ��a certainnbsp;proof of strength and bravery. | The shield-moan wasnbsp;further prolonged, for as soon as it was heard, the � Threenbsp;Waves of Erin � uttered their loud, melancholy roar innbsp;response.�

* See � Sciathlach � in Atkinson�s Glossary to Br. Laws, t For a late example of this, see Hyde, Two Irish Tales, 153,

Subordination of Ranks.�Though the discipline of the Irish in time of war and on the field of battle was verynbsp;inferior to that of the Anglo-Normans, we are not to conclude that they were ignorant or careless of the Science andnbsp;Art of War. On the contrary, military science was studiednbsp;with much care, as the following examination of theirnbsp;strategic and tactical arrangements will show.

The whole army was divided into catha [caha] or battalions, each cath consisting of 3000 men ; and thesenbsp;again were parcelled into smaller companies. Over eachnbsp;battalion was a cath-mhilidh [cah-veelal or � knight ofnbsp;a battalion '; each band of 100 was headed by a captainnbsp;called cenn-feadhna [can-fana] ; and there were leadersnbsp;of fifty and leaders of nine (Keat., 348). Any body ofnbsp;soldiers was called huidhean. Old Irish buden : an armynbsp;on march was sluagh, � host � ; hence the word sluaghadh,nbsp;slauigheadh, or slogad, a military expedition, � a hosting.�

Encampment.�During marches the leaders were very particular about their encampments. Even when the haltnbsp;was only for a night or two, careful arrangements werenbsp;made as to tents, sitting-places, sleeping accommodation,nbsp;bathing, cooking, etc. ; and everything was done to makenbsp;the encampment comfortable and enjoyable. In all casesnbsp;the camp was fortified, so far as the time permitted : andnbsp;of course sentinels [dercaid, � a sentinel,� literally �a watchman � : from derc, � to see �) were set while the army slept.nbsp;Where the sojourn was likely to be pretty long, morenbsp;elaborate arrangements were made. In the � Battle ofnbsp;Moylena � (p. 75), the longphort or encampment of Owen-More, king of Munster�the opponent of Conn the Hundred Fighter�is described : and this description may benbsp;taken as a type of all, where the army sat down for anynbsp;length of time :�A well-ordered, wide-extending encamp-

ment, a resting-place of many streets in the centre of Magh Lena. The pupall or pavilion of the king was pitched onnbsp;a smooth hill. Men were despatched into the surroundingnbsp;woods to bring trunks, and poles, and branches, whilenbsp;others went to the adjacent marsh, from which theynbsp;brought bundles of sedge-grass. With the wattles andnbsp;branches they constructed huts and tents with sleeping-places and beds, with posts and racks on which to hang upnbsp;their helmets and arms. All were arranged in an orderlynbsp;fashion, in streets, with roads and jraths in every direction.nbsp;And they made special enclosures for markets, wherenbsp;provisions and other commodities could be bought andnbsp;sold ; they made cooking-places, and large halls for feasting, music, and amusements ; after which they surroundednbsp;the whole encampment with three defensive circumvalla-tions, having trenches and strong palisades.

The commanders in all cases took good care to bring their poets, story-tellers, musicians, jugglers, jesters, andnbsp;so forth, so that, whether the encampment was for a longnbsp;or a short halt, they might amuse and enjoy themselvesnbsp;as if they were at home.*

Sentinels and Watchmen.�In the early stages of society, when wars were frequent, look-out points were verynbsp;important: sometimes they were on the seashore. In thenbsp;ancient tales, Ben-Edair or Howth, near Dublin, a rockynbsp;projecting headland 600 feet over the sea, is celebrated asnbsp;the great look-out point of the middle eastern coast; andnbsp;the Fena of Erin constantly kept a sentinel there to sweepnbsp;the horizon for invaders. This plan was adopted with goodnbsp;reason ; for in early days British marauding parties oftennbsp;landed there, of which several instances are recorded in thenbsp;old tales and other documents. We know that Howth wasnbsp;until lately a usual port for vessels from Britain.

Near every palace there was a look-out point, or more than one, at which guards always kept watch. The main

road, called Midluachra, leading from Tara to Ulster, ran by the Fews mountains ; and in a pass on the southernnbsp;slope of Slieve Fuaid, their highest summit, by whichnbsp;invaders from the south would have to pass,^ was Ath-na-joraire [furrera], the ' ford of watching,� a nam� which isnbsp;explained in the Tain :�quot; Because there is an Ultoniannbsp;quot; champion constantly watching and guarding there, innbsp;� order that no warriors or strangers should come unper-� ceived into Ulster.� The very summit of the mountainnbsp;was also used as a watch-station : it was called Finncharnnbsp;na ioraire (the � white earn of the watching �), where,nbsp;during the war of the Tain, a champion constantly keptnbsp;watch to safeguard Ulster.*

The practice of signalling at night by beacon-fires in time of war, invasion, or disturbance of any kind, wasnbsp;general: and in the story of Bruden Da Derga, a legendarynbsp;origin is assigned for it. When the army of marauders wasnbsp;approaching the hostel of Da Derga, in which Conari, kingnbsp;of Ireland, was staying with his retinue, the sons of Dondnbsp;Desa, who were unwilling partners in the expedition, wentnbsp;aside and made a tendal or beacon-fire to warn the king ofnbsp;the intended attack on the hostel : � So that is the firstnbsp;� warning beacon that has been made in Erin ��says thenbsp;story (p. 170)�� and from it every warning beacon isnbsp;� kindled to this day.�

Immediately beside the palace, or the temporary residence, of every king or great chief a sentinel or watchman (dercaid) kept watch and ward day and night. In time ofnbsp;battle or campaign warriors slept at night with a singlenbsp;weapon by their side for use in any sudden alarm, theirnbsp;principal arms hanging on the racks in the proper place. |

* See O'Curry, Moylena, 59, note I: Man. amp; Cust., i. 365 : Stokes, CAir Anm,, 403 ; LL, 65, a, last lines. How far the customs of placingnbsp;sentinels on look-out points, and of signalling at night by beacon-fires,nbsp;have impressed themselves on the local nomenclature of the country,nbsp;may be seen from the sections bearing on the subject in Joyce�s Irishnbsp;Names of Places: vol. i., p. 214.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Moylena, p. 127.

Heralds.�In the course of warfare, heralds or envoys were often employed, as among all other nations. A heraldnbsp;was denoted by the words techtaire and eachlach. Heralds,nbsp;when on their mission, were regarded as sacred and inviolable, and were treated with the utmost respect, even by thenbsp;bitterest enemies : exactly as Homer describes the heraldsnbsp;of the Greeks. When it was proposed to send Fergusnbsp;Mac Roy as an envoy from Queen Maive to the hostilenbsp;Ulster army, he naturally shrank from the mission ; for henbsp;was himself one of the Ulstermen who had entered Maive�snbsp;service, and was one of the chief authors of all the ravagesnbsp;the Connaught forces had committed in Ulster. But Maivenbsp;told him not to fear, � for,� said she, �it is not ever anbsp;� custom of the Ulstermen to offer reproach to envoys. Fornbsp;� if a man should kill the father or brother of every one ofnbsp;� them, he need not fear them, going to meet them as anbsp;� herald.�¹ At a much later time Cummuscach, son ofnbsp;King Aed Mac Ainmirech, was slain, a.d. 598, by Branduff,nbsp;king of Leinster, who sent envoys north to announce thenbsp;news to the father. The envoys when asked for theirnbsp;message refused to tell till they had first got a guarantee ofnbsp;safety. King Aed gave them his drinking-horn as a pledge :nbsp;whereupon they said, � We have killed thy son and slainnbsp;his people.� Aed answers, � We had heard these tidingsnbsp;� already : yet ye [being envoys] shall depart unhurt; butnbsp;� nevertheless we will go after you � [to avenge by opennbsp;war in Leinster the death of the prince].f Heralds had anbsp;special dress by which they were at once recognised ; andnbsp;they commonly carried in one hand a white wand or hand-staff, and in the other a sword,]; symbolical of thenbsp;alternative to be accepted�peace or war.

Banners, Flags, and Standards.�From the earliest period of their history the Irish used banners or standards, which

t Boroma in Rev. Celt., xiii. 65 ; Silva Gad., 411, top. i Hogan, Rossnaree, 69 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., 1. 297.

were borne before the army when going into battle, or on ordinary marches ; a custom, as De Jubainville points out,*nbsp;common to the Celts and Romans, but unknown to thenbsp;Homeric Greeks. In Ireland the office of standard-bearernbsp;to each king or chief was hereditary, like all other important functions, t

A banner is denoted by the word m�irge [mairya : 2 syll.]. In the accounts of many of the ancient Irishnbsp;battles, there are descriptions of the standards borne bynbsp;each chief or clan. The commander-in-chief had his ownnbsp;banner, and so had each captain under his command : andnbsp;each banner usually bore some device or figure, commonlynbsp;called suaicheantas [soohantas] or samlach, so that thenbsp;several captains and companies could be distinguishednbsp;from a distance. � Every captain,� says Keating (p. 472),nbsp;writing from old authorities, � bore upon his standard hisnbsp;� peculiar device or ensign, so that each distinct body ofnbsp;� men could be easily distinguished from all others bynbsp;� those shanachies whose duty it was to attend on thenbsp;� nobles when about to contend in battle, and thatnbsp;� these shanachies might thus have a full view ofnbsp;� the achievements of the combatants, so as to benbsp;� able to give a true account of their particular deedsnbsp;of valour.� The attendant shanachies of those old timesnbsp;answered in some sort to the war correspondents of ournbsp;own day.

In the Battle of Moyrath, a.d. 637, banners of various patterns and devices are mentioned. That of Congal, princenbsp;of Ulster, the leader of the rebel host, was a yellow lionnbsp;on green satin, which, we are told, was the proper royalnbsp;standard of Ulster, and had been, since the time of thenbsp;Red Branch Knights, six centuries before, and which wasnbsp;now displayed by the rebel prince. In this battle thenbsp;banner of the king of Aileach (one of the Hy Neill) was

black and red ; of Sweeny, king of Dalaradia, yellow satin ; of the king of the Ards, white satin.¹

Many other banners and devices are described in other authorities. The suaicheantas of O�Doherty was a swordnbsp;and a golden cross, with a lion and blood-red eagle on whitenbsp;satin : of O�Sullivan, a spear with an adder entwined on it:nbsp;of 0�Loghlin of Burren (in Clare), an oak with a championnbsp;defending it, together with a blue anchor and a goldennbsp;cable, f The mountain ash or rowan-tree in full bloom,nbsp;the yew-tree, a piper with his bagpipes, hounds, deer, etc.,nbsp;were also adopted as banner devices by various other kingsnbsp;and chiefs. I

How numerous these banners were in an army prepared for battle may be judged from the words of Branduff, kingnbsp;of Leinster, before the Battle of Dunbolg, when, lookingnbsp;down from a height on the encampment of his adversarynbsp;the king of Ireland, he said it seemed like a greatnbsp;stationary bird-flock of mixed colours, such was the number of banners floating on tall poles over the booths.�

Cathach or � Battler.��In Christian times it was usual for the ruler of a clan, tribe, or sub-kingdom, to have anbsp;relic, commonly consecrated b}^ the patron saint of thenbsp;district, which the chief brought to battle with him, in thenbsp;hope that it would ensure victory : somewhat as the Jewsnbsp;used the Ark of the Covenant. Such a relic was callednbsp;a cathach [caha], i.e. prceliator or � battler.� The usualnbsp;formula for the use of the cathach was to cause it to benbsp;carried desiol or sunwise�commonly by an ecclesiastic�nbsp;three times round the army before the battle began.nbsp;When the king of Ulster invaded Munster, St. Findchuanbsp;of Brigown marched at the head of the king of Munster�s

� O'Grady, Silva Gad. 413. In addition to the preceding authorities, see O�Donovan�s valuable note on the armorial bearings and banners ofnbsp;the ancient Irish, Moyrath, 343.

forces against him from Bruree, with the cenncathach, i.e. his crozier in his hand : and before the battle began, henbsp;walked thrice deisiull with it round the Munster host. Innbsp;the ensuing battle the Ulster forces were routed.*

The most celebrated of these battle-relics was the cathach or battle-book of the O�Donnells of Tirconnell,nbsp;which may now be seen in the National Museum innbsp;Dublin.t The cathach of the 0�Kellys of Hy Many wasnbsp;the crozier of their patron, St. Grellan. This was for agesnbsp;kept by the family of 0�Cronelly, and it was in existencenbsp;in 1836 : but it is now not to be found (HyM, 81).nbsp;St. Caillin of Fenagh blessed a cathach for his tribe, thenbsp;Conmaicne, namely, a cross made of a hazel rod that hadnbsp;been cut with one blow, the top of the upright to pierce thenbsp;horizontal bar in the middle. It appears from the wordsnbsp;of the old record that no one relic was kept permanentlynbsp;here, as in other cases, but that on each occasion, whennbsp;going to a battle, a new cross was to be made in thenbsp;manner pointed out above. | The condition of striking offnbsp;the branch or rod with a single blow was evidently a perpetuation of the corresponding pagan formula described atnbsp;pp. 241, bot. and 242, top; now turned to Christiannbsp;uses.

The permanent cathach or battle relic of each tribe was placed in the keeping of some particular family. This wasnbsp;considered a great honour, and the family had usually anbsp;tract of land free of rent, as well as other perquisites, asnbsp;payment for the faithful discharge of their duty as custodians. The Mac Robhartaighs or Mac Ravertys were thenbsp;official keepers of the cathach of the O�Donnells, and continued in the office till the seventeenth century; and tonbsp;this day the land they held in virtue of their office is callednbsp;Ballymagroarty.�

t Adamn., 249, 319 : Todd, St. Patk., I25 ; O'Donovan, Moyrath, 147, note /. See also Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 19 ; and p. 501, infra.

I Hennessy, Bk. of Fenagh, 195-7. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Reeves, Adamn., 38, 284, 401.

Chivalry.�In Ireland, in ancient times, people as a general rule declined to take advantage of surprises ornbsp;stratagems in war. They had a sort of chivalrous feelingnbsp;in the matter, and did not seek to conceal�and sometimesnbsp;even gave open notice of�intended attacks, or came tonbsp;an agreement with their adversaries as to the time andnbsp;place to fight the matter out.¹ In later ages, and at thenbsp;present day, such plain, unsophisticated dealing would benbsp;looked upon as very bad generalship. Concobar, havingnbsp;arrived at Dundalk on his march south to overrun thenbsp;southern provinces, is met by an envoy to propose terms :nbsp;but he rejects the terms and prepares to resume march.nbsp;Then the envoy asks him where he proposes to encampnbsp;the first night:�� In Rossnaree above the clear-brightnbsp;� Boyne,� said Concobar. � For Concobar ��the story goesnbsp;on to say�� never concealed from his enemy the placenbsp;� in which he was to take station or camp, that they mightnbsp;� not say that it was fear or dread that caused him not tonbsp;� announce it.� The result was, when he arrived at Rossnaree, he found the Leinstermen fully prepared for him.fnbsp;Before the first Battle of Moytura, the Dedannans, whonbsp;were the invaders, demanded battle each day, with equalnbsp;numbers on both sides : to which the Firbolg king had tonbsp;agree, though greatly against his will, for he had muchnbsp;the larger army.f Before the Battle of Moylena (end ofnbsp;second century A.D.), Owen-More, being closely pressednbsp;by his great opponent Conn the Hundred Fighter, sentnbsp;to ask him for a truce of three days to consider his position,nbsp;which Conn at once granted.�

The same spirit is found much later on. In the year 1002, when Brian Boru marched with an army to Tara,nbsp;and demanded from King Malachi submission or battle,nbsp;Malachi asked for a delay of a month to muster his forcesnbsp;for battle ; which Brian granted, and remained in his camp

t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 238. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� O�Curry, Moylena, 23.

till the month was expired. And Malachi employed the interval�with Brian�s full knowledge�in preparing for thenbsp;struggle : but failing to raise sufficient forces, he proceedednbsp;to Brian�s camp, with merely a small guard of honour, andnbsp;submitted without imposing any conditions, trusting tonbsp;his opponent�s honour for proper treatment, but tellingnbsp;him plainly that if he had been strong enough, he wouldnbsp;fight. And his confidence was not misplaced ; for Brian,nbsp;while receiving his submission, treated him with the utmostnbsp;respect and honour.*

A similar chivalrous sense of fair play is exemplified in individuals. An episode in the story of the Tain describesnbsp;how Cuculainn and Ferdiad, two old friends and affectionatenbsp;comrades were forced by circumstances to fight to the deathnbsp;in single combat; and the fight was continued for severalnbsp;days. Each evening when word was given for the combat tonbsp;cease,they laid aside their weapons, and each threw his armsnbsp;round the neck of the other, and thrice kissed his cheek.nbsp;Cuculainn, on this occasion, had better medical appliancesnbsp;than Ferdiad, but Ferdiad had a more varied supply ofnbsp;food and drink : and each evening Cuculainn sent his bestnbsp;doctor with half of his balms and healing herbs to soothenbsp;Ferdiad�s wounds : while Ferdiad on his part sent half ofnbsp;all his choice food and drink to his friend. At last Ferdiadnbsp;is slain, and Cuculainn falls on his body in a paroxysm ofnbsp;uncontrollable grief, from which he is with difficultynbsp;roused up by his attendant Loeg. This may be fiction :nbsp;but all the same it embodies the high chivalric idealsnbsp;of war and battle prevalent in the time of the originalnbsp;writer, f

Stratagem: Ambush.�But not unfrequently a general rose up with unusual military genius and with less scrupulous notions of chivalry, who did not hesitate to employ am-

? Todd, Wars of GG, iig : Joyce, Short Hist., 208. t See the full episode of the fight of Cuculainn and Ferdiad in O�Curry,nbsp;Man. amp; Cust., il. 415. Well retold in Lady Gregory�s Cuch., 221-244.

bush (Ir. etarnaid) and other stratagems. In a.d. 598, Aed Mac Ainmirech, king of Ireland, marched southwards fromnbsp;his palace of Ailech with a great army to avenge the deathnbsp;of his son (p. 135, supra), and to exact the Boruma tributenbsp;from Leinster : but he was met at Dunbolg by Branduff,nbsp;the astute and powerful king of Leinster, with a muchnbsp;smaller army. Now Branduff, seeing no hope of successnbsp;in open battle, had recourse to stratagem. He collectednbsp;3600 oxen carrying great hampers, in each of which wasnbsp;concealed an armed man covered over with provisions :nbsp;and he set out by night with these and with a herd ofnbsp;150 untamed horses towards the monarch�s encampment.nbsp;When they approached the camp, the advance guard, hearing the trampling and the din, started to arms, and questioned the party. They replied that they were a friendlynbsp;contingent bringing a stock of provisions for the king of Ireland : and when the guard, on examining the sacks, saw thenbsp;provisions, they let them pass. The party passed on tillnbsp;they entered the royal enclosure, and tying bags filled withnbsp;pebbles to the tails of the wild horses, they let them loosenbsp;among the tents, which caused terrible confusion. In thenbsp;midst of the uproar the men in the sacks, cutting themselvesnbsp;loose at a signal, and forming in ranks, attacked the camp.nbsp;The royal forces were completely surprised; and after anbsp;dreadful fight in the darkness, they were routed ; and thenbsp;king, fleeing from the field, was overtaken and slain.* Twonbsp;thousand years before the time of Branduff, the Egyptiannbsp;general Tahutia�as we read in Flinders Petrie�s translationnbsp;of the ancient papyrus record�took Joppa by smugglingnbsp;into the city armed men hidden in great sacks under horsenbsp;provender. When Lewy Mac Con invaded Ireland, a.d.nbsp;250, he won the Battle of Mucrime and the throne ofnbsp;Ireland by the stratagem of concealing a large partynbsp;of his men in pits and recesses covered over with strongnbsp;hurdles and bushes, who remained quietly till the others

Medical Attendance in Battle.�A number of physicians or surgeons always accompanied an army going to battle tonbsp;attend to the wounded, who were brought to them at thenbsp;rear during the fight. This was quite an established institution from the most remote times�a fact of which therenbsp;can be no doubt, notwithstanding the number of fables an dnbsp;exaggerations that are mixed up with the accounts of theirnbsp;cures. We are now familiar with the humane practice innbsp;war of giving medical aid after the battle to the wounded,nbsp;without distinction of friend or enemy : and it is interestingnbsp;to observe that the same idea was equally familiar to thenbsp;writers of the Tain Bo Quelna. When Cethern, a famousnbsp;Ulster warrior, returned from a fight against the Connaughtnbsp;forces, all covered with wounds, a request was sent to thenbsp;Connaught camp�the enemy�s�for physicians for him, asnbsp;it happened that none of the Ulster physicians were at thenbsp;moment available : and physicians were at once despatchednbsp;with the messenger.!

Military Formation and Marching.�In going to battle the Irish often rushed pell-mell in a crowd without any order.nbsp;But they sometimes adopted a more scientific plan, advancing in regular formation, shoulder to shoulder, formingnbsp;a solid front with shields and spears. When the southernnbsp;army was about to engage the forces of Ulster, who hadnbsp;marched south to invade Munster, St. Findchua called outnbsp;to the Munstermen :�� When you have closed in togethernbsp;at one place, make ye a strong palisade of battle � {Ciffenbsp;Catha) : and in that fashion, led by Findchua, they advanced to the attack, and routed the Ulstermen.! Innbsp;another battle, the Ulstermen, just as they were aboutnbsp;to engage, � set themselves in battle array, and there was a

�forest of their weapons, and a bulwark of their shields � {leibheann da sciathaibh, literally a platform or floor ofnbsp;� their shields) around them.�* The word cro, which meansnbsp;� a pen or fold,� is often applied to a formation of this kind.nbsp;In the story of the Boroma we read that when the men ofnbsp;the royal army saw their king in danger in the Battle ofnbsp;Dunbolg, they formed a cro of spears and shields aboutnbsp;him.f The Leth Conn made a cro bodba^ � a warlikenbsp;fold,� around Moiling and his company to take themnbsp;prisoners.]; On one occasionnbsp;Queen Maive hid her face undernbsp;a dani dabaich, i. e. an � ox-vat,�nbsp;of her guards� shields, for protection against Cuculainn�s terriblenbsp;sling. �

There is at least one passage that mentions stepping in timenbsp;while marching, where the mennbsp;of one of Queen Maive�s threenbsp;corps are spoken of as liftingnbsp;and bringing down the feetnbsp;exactly together {innoenfhechtnbsp;dostorbaitis a cossal\), showingnbsp;careful drill. But this does notnbsp;seem to have been general : indeed it is noticed as a specialitynbsp;in this one corps. On the morning of the day of battlenbsp;each man usually put as much food in a wallet that hungnbsp;by his side as was sufficient for the day.11

Tying in Pairs.�When a commander had reason to suspect the loyalty or courage of any of his men in anbsp;coming battle, he sometimes adopted a curious plan to

* Stokes, Lives of SS., 244 ; with Irish Text, 3250. For another leimn sciatli seeLL, 79, a, IS-

t O�Grady, Silva Gad., 418, le. t Rev. Celt., xili, 115 : O�Grady, Silva Gad., 423.

5 LL, 79, a, 12. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;II LL, 55, lgt;, 8.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;H Silva Gad., 418.

prevent desertion or flight off the held. He fettered them securely in pairs, leg to leg, leaving them free in all othernbsp;respects.

Just before the Battle of Moyrath (a,.d. 637), Congal, the leader of the rebel army, consisting partly of Irishmen andnbsp;partly of foreigners, sends a confidential scout to reconnoitre the king�s army � if they had locks or fetters betweennbsp;every two of their fighting soldiers.� Then follows a statement in verse that the royal commanders had � put a fetternbsp;� between every two men, so that neither young nor old,nbsp;� even though hard pressed, should flee.� Congal, on hisnbsp;part, on receiving the report of his scout, fettered those ofnbsp;his men in pairs who appeared to him deficient in courage :nbsp;in some cases an Irishman being coupled with a Briton ornbsp;with an Albanach. At the close of the battle, when thenbsp;rebels were defeated and took to flight, nearly all those whonbsp;were fettered, being unable to escape, were slaughtered.*nbsp;Four centuries before Moyrath�a.d. 250�Lugaidh Macnbsp;Con invaded Ireland with an army of Britons and othernbsp;foreigners, to wrest the throne from Art the Lonely, kingnbsp;of Ireland : which he succeeded in doing at the Battlenbsp;of Mucrime in Galway (see p. 141, supra). On landing fromnbsp;Britain, he was joined by a considerable contingent ofnbsp;Irishmen. Just before the battle, fearing the Irish soldiersnbsp;might not remain faithful to him, inasmuch as they werenbsp;about to fight against their lawful king Art, he had mostnbsp;of them tied, the leg of each man to the leg of a Briton :nbsp;and each of those who were not so tied he placed betweennbsp;two Britons.t In the second Battle of Moytura there isnbsp;no direct mention of men being tied together : but anbsp;curious expression occurs in one part of the descriptionnbsp;which seems to indicate that some were fettered in pairs.nbsp;Among those who fell in the battle we are told there werenbsp;some l�th-d�ine, literally � half-men.� Now this is the verynbsp;idiom used in Irish to denote one of a pair : leth-shuilnbsp;* Moyrath, 87, 177, 179, 282, 319.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Silva Gad., 355.

(literally � half-eye �), meaning one eye of the pair : and similarly leth-duine is one man of a pair. The meaning ofnbsp;this expression is otherwise inexplicable ; or rather it hasnbsp;no meaning at all.

I find one instance of this custom as practised by the Welsh, in a battle fought by them against the Irish duringnbsp;the time of the Irish invasions in Wales. It is mentionednbsp;in one of the ancient Welsh Triads � The tribe of Cas-� wallawn Law Hir put the fetters of their horses on theirnbsp;� feet by two and two in fighting with Serigi Wyddil�nbsp;� the Irish commander�at Cerrig u Gwyddel or Holyheadnbsp;� [see p. 78, supra] in Mon, i.e. in Anglesey.�¹

Horse and Foot.�Cavalry did not form an important feature of the ancient Irish military system : we do not find

cavalry mentioned at all in the Battle of Clontarf, either as used by the Irish or Danes. But kings kept in their servicenbsp;small bodies of horse-soldiers, commonly called marc-shluaghnbsp;[morkloo], � horse-host.� For example, in the Senchus M�rnbsp;(Br. Laws, i. 5) it is stated that King Laegaire, in the timenbsp;of St. Patrick, appointed his nephew, Nuada Derg, chief of

146 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I his marc-shluagh or cavalry ; and when King Dermot wasnbsp;preparing for the Battle of Culdremne, he collected � horse,nbsp;foot, and chariots.� The chief men too rode in battle, asnbsp;at the battle of Ballaghmoon, where the leaders fought onnbsp;horseback.* After the Norman Invasion cavalry came intonbsp;general use. Each horseman had at least one footman tonbsp;attend him�called a gilla or dalteen (Irish, dailtin, a diminutive of dalta, q.v.)�armed only with a javelin. In later

times each horseman had two and sometimes threenbsp;attendants (fig. 64).fnbsp;Two kinds of foot-soldiers are often mentioned in Irish records,nbsp;the kern and gallo-glasses. The kern werenbsp;light - armed soldiers :nbsp;they wore headpieces,nbsp;and fought with a skeannbsp;(a dagger or short sword)nbsp;and with a javelin. Thenbsp;Irish name is ceithernnbsp;[kehern], which primarily means a body ofnbsp;men of any kind, thoughnbsp;commonly restricted tonbsp;a body of soldiers. Itnbsp;is a collective noun, like the English � horse,� � foot,�

' infantry,� amp;c. The word for a single soldier of the body is ceithernach [keherna]. The kern are a verynbsp;ancient institution, as we find them noticed in thenbsp;accounts of the early battles ; for instance, in that of thenbsp;Battle of Moyrath, fought a.d. 637, they are mentionednbsp;more than once (pp. 141, 267, 350) ; and they continued in

The galloglasses, or gallogtach, as they are called in Irish, appear only in later times�after the Anglo-Normannbsp;Invasion. They are not met with in ancient Irish writings.nbsp;They were heavy-armed infantry, wearing a coat of mailnbsp;and an iron helmet, with a long sword by the side, andnbsp;carrying in the hand a broad, heavy, keen-edged axe.nbsp;They are usually described as large-limbed, tall, and fierce-looking. It is almost certain that the galloglasses, and thenbsp;mode of equipping them, were imitated from the English.nbsp;So Spenser says�and O�Donovan agrees with him�� Fornbsp;gall-ogla signifies an English servitour or yeoman,� innbsp;which Spenser is quite correct. Irish, gall, � an Englishman � ; �glach, � a youth or warrior.�¹ ^{2 3 4}

Commanders.�In ancient times the commanders commonly fought side by side with their men. But sometimes the wiser plan was adopted, of placing the general aside innbsp;some commanding station to direct the tactics.| It wasnbsp;customary for the commanders, just before the battle, tonbsp;go from battalion to battalion and address their men in anbsp;few inspiring words, of which there are many examplesnbsp;in the histories and tales. J

Trumpets.�The Irish constantly used bronze war-trumpets in battle, as will be found mentioned in the chapter on Music. At the Battle of Ballaghmoon, a.d.nbsp;908, in which Cormac Mac Cullenan was killed, � trumpetsnbsp;were blown, and signals were given for battle by the mennbsp;of Munster. �� There is a curious notice of the use ofnbsp;battle-trumpets in Ireland in a gloss or commentary on

Spenser�s View, 117 to 119. See Ware, Antiqq., 161 : and Sent-leger�s account of kern and galloglasses in Moyrath, 350.

t Of which examples may be seen in Keat,, 272, 364 : Rev. Celt., xn. �9, 93; 97 � Silva Gad., 541.

f See Stokes, Lives of SS., 238 : Joyce, Short Hist., 217 (Brian Born at Clontarf) : Three Fragm., rpx.

St. Paul�s First Epistle to the Corinthians, xiv. 8�written on the Continent in the eighth century by an Irishman innbsp;his native language, from which it appears that the trumpeters had different notes or musical phrases to directnbsp;different movements. The following is Dr. Stokes�s translation of this note :�� This is another similitude which henbsp;� has�even a similitude of a trumpet ; for it hath manynbsp;� sounds, and different is each of them ; to wit, it isnbsp;� different for battle, different for unyoking, or for march-� ing, or for sleep, or for council. Unless the man whonbsp;� sounds it distinguish�that is, if he make but one notenbsp;� �what it is sounded for is not understood.�*

War-Cries.�The armies charged with a great shout called barran-glaed, � warrior-shout,� a custom which continued until late times. The different tribes and clansnbsp;had also special war-cries, which are noticed by Warenbsp;(� Antiqq.,� 163), and by Spenser (95). The Anglo-Normans fell in with this custom, as they did with manynbsp;others. The war-cry of the O�Neills was Lamh-derg ahoo,nbsp;i.e. � the Red-hand to victory � {lamh, pron. lauv, � a hand �),nbsp;from the figure of a bloody hand on their crest or cognisance : that of the O�Briens and Mac Carthys, Lamh-laidir ahoo, � the Strong-hand to victory � {laidir, pron.nbsp;lauder, �strong�). The Kildare Fitz Geralds took as theirnbsp;cry Crom ahoo, from the great Geraldine castle of Grom ornbsp;Groom in Limerick ; the Earl of Desmond, Shanit ahoo,nbsp;from the castle of Shanid in Limerick. The Butlers� crynbsp;was Butler ahoo. Most of the other chiefs, both native andnbsp;Anglo-Irish, had their several cries. Martin found thisnbsp;custom among the people of the Hebrides in 1703 (p. 104) :nbsp;and in Ireland war-cries continued in use to our own day :nbsp;I heard them scores of times in the faction fights ofnbsp;Limerick sixty years ago. Though our knowledge ofnbsp;these cries is derived mostly from late Anglo-Irish

* Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, i. 577. See also Dr, Wm. Stokes�s Life of Petrie, 330 ; and Zimmer, Gloss. Hib., 78, ,g.

Counting the Slain.-�In the story of Bruden Da Derga (p. 169) we get a curious glimpse of the way of estimatingnbsp;the number of men who fell in a battle. When the armynbsp;of marauders under Ingcel, with the sons of Dond Desa,nbsp;were marching to attack the hostel (see chapter xxi.,nbsp;vol. II., p. 171), knowing well that they would encounternbsp;formidable resistance, each man brought a large stone ;nbsp;and they threw them all in one heap on the plain. Onnbsp;returning after the fight each brought away a stone fromnbsp;the earn ; and the stones that were left showed the numbernbsp;killed, and served as a memorial of the destruction of thenbsp;mansion with the slaughter of the king and his people.nbsp;But though earns were sometimes erected with the objectnbsp;stated here, they were generally�as shown in vol. ii.,nbsp;P- 563�simple memorials of the dead.f

Sir Samuel Ferguson (� Poems,� 1880, p. 61) remarks that, perhaps, the latest instance of this practice was thenbsp;earn erected by the Farquharsons, in 1745, when marchingnbsp;to the Battle of Culloden. He also points out that anbsp;similar means of estimating the slain was in use by thenbsp;ancient Persians, as recorded by Procopius : but here eachnbsp;man, instead of bringing a stone for a earn, threw annbsp;arrow into a common basket.

Decapitation.�After a battle the victors often decapitated the bodies of their dead enemies. Sometimes they placed the heads in a heap as a sort of triumph�anbsp;barbarous custom common among other ancient nations.nbsp;For instance, when the Norsemen fought a battle in

* See an article on War-Cries of Irish Septs, in Ulster Journal Arch., 111., 203, in which will be found a long list of them.

t On the formation of a earn in this manner, and for these objects, see Rev. Celt., xv. 331 : LU, 86, h, and 87, a : Atkinson, Introd. to LL,nbsp;50, a, bot. : Gwynn, Dind., 63, For a similar formation of Cam Mail,nbsp;see Rennes Dind. in Rev. Celt., xvi. 48 ; and Miscellany Celt. Soc.,nbsp;p. 67: also LL. 170, h, 17, and 210, a, 31, 30. See also Mac Carthy,nbsp;Codex-Pal.-Vat., 198, note ; and Sullivan, Introd., 335.

Ireland among themselves, a.d. 851, the victors piled np a great earn of Danish heads on the field.¹ This practicenbsp;by the Irish is so often mentioned that it is needless tonbsp;give instances. Hence also the carnage in battle is oftennbsp;designated dr-cenn [awr-cann], � a slaughter of heads.�f Itnbsp;should be remarked that the Irish did not kill the wounded,nbsp;but brought them from the field of battle as prisoners. Annbsp;instance may be seen in the Four Masters under a.d. 864,nbsp;when Aed Finnliath, king of Ireland, having defeated thenbsp;Danes, made a heap of the heads of the slain, and had thenbsp;wounded conveyed away to a place of safety.

Whenever a king or chief was defeated and slain in battle, he was usually decapitated : and it was a custom for thenbsp;victorious king to sit upon the head or place it under hisnbsp;thigh by way of triumph. When Archbishop Cormacnbsp;Mac Cullenan, king of Munster, was slain in the Battle ofnbsp;Ballaghmoon, a.d. 908, some persons brought his head, afternbsp;the battle, to the victorious King Flann Sinna, thinking itnbsp;would be an acceptable presentation : and they said :�nbsp;� Life and health, O victorious king : here is the head ofnbsp;� Cormac for thee : and now, as is customary with kings,nbsp;� raise thy thigh and place this head under it and press itnbsp;� down.� But the king was very angry with them : andnbsp;instead of showing disrespect to the head, took it upnbsp;tenderly, and kissing it three times, sent it back to benbsp;interred honourably with the body..j This atrocious custom,nbsp;as Keating�s translator, 0�Mahony, calls it, existed in anbsp;still more savage form in early times. Conall Cernach,nbsp;the inveterate enemy of Connaught, killed at least onenbsp;Connaughtman every day, and never slept without thenbsp;head of a Connaught enemy under his knee (/0 a glun).^

O�Donovan, Three Fragm., 117. On Decapitation: see D�Arbois lie Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, pp. 374-377.

t In Zeitschr. f�r Celt. Phil., iii. 207, Stokes interprets dr tend, as ' a slaughter of chiefs,� which the context here favours. But I think itnbsp;generally carries the sense of decapitation, j O�Donov., Three Fragm.,nbsp;213 : Keat., 530.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� LL, 107, a, 22 ; and Atkinson, Introd., 27, a.

Treatment of Prisoners.�It was the custom, except under circumstances that rendered it improper, inconvenient, or undesirable, to fetter or manacle prisoners ornbsp;captives taken in war, slaves, and occasionally hostages.nbsp;We know that a person might be taken in bondage in distraint for a debt ;¹ and such a person was often secured bynbsp;a gyve and lock. The law permitted this ; but if the chainnbsp;was tightened so as to cause pain, there was a penalty.fnbsp;In another part of the Senchus Mor a lock to secure thenbsp;gyves of an imported slave is mentioned. :j; A captivenbsp;taken in battle was almost always secured by a fetternbsp;{cuibhrech) ; and such a person was commonly given overnbsp;to a keeper, whose business it was to guard against escape.nbsp;Some fetters were recognised by law, and some not : andnbsp;when the Book of Aicill lays down rules as to how far thenbsp;keeper was responsible in law for damages, in case thenbsp;captive should make his escape, or for crimes committednbsp;by him after escaping, the sort of fetters used was takennbsp;into account.�

When Murkertagh of the Leather Cloaks made his circuit round Ireland, a.d. 941, he brought away manynbsp;kings and chiefs as captives, several of whom were fettered.nbsp;Cormacan Ecces, the writer of the poetical account ofnbsp;the expedition, says :�� We carried off with us Lorcan,nbsp;� descendant of Bresal of the Cows : a rough bright fetternbsp;� {geimiul or geimheal) was fastened on that arch-king ofnbsp;� populous Leinster.�II In the case of some kings, fettersnbsp;were not considered necessary on this occasion ; and thisnbsp;is mentioned as a mark of distinction or consideration :nbsp;�� Concobhar, the arch-king of Connaught,��saysnbsp;Cormacan�� exceeding brave, came with us without anbsp;� bright fetter.�

whether used on prisoners of war or otherwise, we get various glimpses in the old narratives. When Callaghan,nbsp;king of Cashel, was brought away captive by Murkertagh,nbsp;there was put quot; a ring of fifteen ounces on his hand, andnbsp;� a chain {idh) of iron on his stout leg.�* When Dichlethenbsp;0�Triallaigh attempted to go away on a dangerous pilgrimage, his brothers � took him and fettered him, placing [anbsp;quot; chain secured by] a lock of iron between his head and his

� feet.�t

Modes of Submission.�A king who was about to submit to another usually came to the superior king�s residence,nbsp;and, after the formalities of reception, indicated his submission by placing his hand in the hand of his host.]:nbsp;But when the submission was brought on directly by defeatnbsp;in battle, it was usually of a more humiliating kind. Innbsp;the seventh century, Dermot, one of the two joint kingsnbsp;of Ireland, and Guaire, king of Connaught, quarrelled.nbsp;Guaire was defeated, and made � submission at the pointnbsp;of the sword.� This was usually done in the followingnbsp;manner :�The person submitting lay supine, while hisnbsp;conqueror inserted the point of a sword or spear betweennbsp;his teeth, and held it there as long as it pleased him�nbsp;sometimes for an hour or more�when he released himnbsp;from the degrading position.� It was sometimes callednbsp;giallad fri claideh, � submission by sword,�|| or giallad donbsp;rinn gai, � submission at the spear�s point.� This samenbsp;ceremony was sometimes used, nine centuries later, bynbsp;the English deputies of the time of Elizabeth, when theynbsp;forced Irish chiefs to submit.

Single Combat.�Among the Irish, as well as among the Gaulsif and other ancient peoples, men often challenged

� Silva Gad., 424, line 5, bottom, and 434 : Keat., 436. How the Irish kings submitted to Henry II. may be seen in Ware, Antiqq., 186 :nbsp;but this was not a humiliating ceremony.

|1 LU, 116, 6, 28. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^ See De Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, p. 6 ef seq.

each other to single combat, called in Irish Fir c�mlainn, the � truth of combat,� and Comrac aen fhir, � combat of onenbsp;man.� Sometimes the duel was resorted to, as among thenbsp;early English, as a form of ordeal to determine cases,nbsp;though it is not included in the list of Irish Ordeals.*nbsp;Sometimes the pair fought man to man as the result ofnbsp;quarrel and challenge, merely as an affair of valour, onnbsp;which nothing depended except life.f

If a man who was fully armed and prepared to fight declined to meet an adversary who came up and offerednbsp;battle, he incurred disgrace and some loss of status. | Itnbsp;appears that in very old times, when a hostile force invadednbsp;a territory, it was a recognised customi that a champion ofnbsp;the invaded people might offer single combat, which wasnbsp;always accepted ; and the invading army were bound tonbsp;halt till they had found someone to subdue the defendingnbsp;champion. It was by taking advantage of this customnbsp;that Cuculainn barred for some time the advance intonbsp;Ulster of the Connaught army under Ailill and Maive : fornbsp;he sent challenge after challenge, and killed every mannbsp;that came to meet him. ' These combats were always foughtnbsp;at fords, and the combatants most commonly foughtnbsp;standing in the water.� A deliberate agreement to refernbsp;the settlement of any cause or dispute to the issue of singlenbsp;combat was called cdirde chlaidih, � agreement of sword,�

The Brehpn Law took careful cognisance of single combats, and laid down stringent rules regarding them. Some combats for deciding causes were designated as legal, somenbsp;as illegal. If a looker-on reasonably interfered to preventnbsp;the fight and got injured, one or both were liable to him

t See Silva Gad., 414, for a historical example of a challenge and combat. For others, Gwynn, Dind., 19, 59.

� O�Curry, MS. Mat, 37 ; Man. amp; Cust., i. 296 ; De Jubainville, La Civil., 31 : Faraday, passim.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ll LU, 70, b, 33 ; 71, a, 3 ; 72, h, 16,

154 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I for damages : if both were fighting legally or both illegally,nbsp;they paid equal shares ; if one was fighting legally and thenbsp;other illegally, the illegal combatant paid the larger share.nbsp;So far as I can make sense of this part of the Book ofnbsp;Aicill, a man fought legally if he had no other mode ofnbsp;settling the case, and illegally if he had.* The correctnessnbsp;of this interpretation is rendered pretty certain by anbsp;passage in another Brehon Law tract (v. 477, 31), whichnbsp;mentions as a proceeding liable to penalty, � to proclaim anbsp;quot; combat [i.e. to send a challenge] without offering tonbsp;� submit to law.�

Certain formalities, both before and during a single combat, had to be complied with. There should be atnbsp;least one witness, who, in some respects, corresponded withnbsp;the seconds in the duel of later times : and an interval ofnbsp;five days should elapse between the challenge and the fight :nbsp;two wise arrangements. If the combat was to decide a case,nbsp;it was necessary that each combatant should give verbalnbsp;security, before the witness or witnesses, that he wouldnbsp;abide by the result of the fight in the settlement.!

A typical case of single combat is quoted in the Senchus M�r. Two great Red Branch champions, Conallnbsp;Cernach and Laegaire the Victorious, on one occasion met,nbsp;quarrelled, and were ready to fight on the spot, in all exceptnbsp;the presence of a witness, for whom they were waiting. Anbsp;woman happened to come up, and, seeing them likely tonbsp;fall on each other, demanded that the fight should be putnbsp;off till a witness (a man) was procured. To this bothnbsp;agreed ; but as the length of postponement was not fixed,nbsp;they had to refer the case to Concobar and his brehonnbsp;Sencha, who fixed on five days. It would appear that thisnbsp;case regulated all other single combats ; so that when twonbsp;men challenged each other, they had to wait for five daysnbsp;before fighting. |

CHAPTER V

^ HE lay people were divided into classes, from the king down to the slave, andnbsp;the Brehon law took cognizance ofnbsp;all�setting forth their rights, duties,nbsp;and privileges. The leading, though notnbsp;the sole, qualification to confer rank wasnbsp;property ; the rank being, roughly speaking, in proportionnbsp;to the amount.* These classes were not castes ; for, undernbsp;certain conditions, persons could pass from one to the nextnbsp;above, always provided his character was unimpeachable.

The social subdivision of the people as given in some of the law tracts is very minute and artificial: we maynbsp;adopt here the broad classification outlined by O�Curry,nbsp;which has been followed by Dr. Richey, the editor of thenbsp;third and fourth volumes of the Brehon Laws :f namely.nbsp;Five main classes:�i. Kings of several grades, from thenbsp;king of the tuatli or cantred up to the king of Ireland :nbsp;2. Nobles, which class indeed included kings : 3. Non-

* As to rank depending on property, see the Crith Gabhlach and its Sequel in Br. Laws, vol. iv. : and in the same vol., p. 377, lines 32, 33 ;nbsp;p. 381, 1. 20 ; 383, 1. 18 ; 387, 1. 21 : vol. i., 43, 34, 33. and O'Curry,nbsp;Man. amp; Cust., i. 34.

noble Freemen with property: 4. Non-noble Freemen without property, or with some, but not sufficient to placenbsp;them among the class next above:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5. The non-free

classes. The first three�Kings, Nobles, non-noble Freemen with property�were the privileged classes ; a person belonging to these was an aire [arra] or chief. Kingsnbsp;have been treated of in chapter iii.

The Nobles were those who had land as their own property, for which they did not pay rent ; they were thenbsp;owners of the soil�the aristocracy. Part of this land theynbsp;held in their own hands and tilled by the labour of thenbsp;non-free classes ; part they let to tenants, as will benbsp;explained in chapter vii. An aire of this class was callednbsp;a Flaith [flah], i.e. a noble, a chief, a prince. The flaithsnbsp;or nobles were sharply distinguished from the non-noblenbsp;class next under them.

There were several ranks of nobles, the rank depending chiefly on the amount of landed property. The tuath, asnbsp;already explained, was under the government of the headnbsp;noble, who was the ri or king ; and to him all the othernbsp;nobles of the tuath owed allegiance and tribute. Thenbsp;highest rank of noble, next to the tanist of the king,nbsp;was the Aire-forgaill: he should have at least twenty saernbsp;tenants and twenty daer tenants (see p. 189 below) ;nbsp;and he had to answer to the king for the character ofnbsp;the nobles and others under him. He was a high-classnbsp;magistrate, and presided at the making of covenants, andnbsp;saw them carried out, in which capacity he was termednbsp;Mac-Nascaire [Mac Naskera], i.e. � Surety-Man � ; and henbsp;had TOO armed men to attend on him on all state occasions. One of his functions was to determine the status,nbsp;privileges, and duties of the several nobles and functionariesnbsp;about the king�s court.

Ranking under the Aire-forgaill was the Airc-tuisi� � front aire ��and next under him the Aire-ard�� highnbsp;aire ��each so called in relation to the next rank below,nbsp;each with a defined amount of property, and with severalnbsp;privileges.

The lowest of the noble classes was the Aire-desa, so called from the des or fee-simple land for which henbsp;received rent. He ranked as an aire-desa, provided henbsp;possessed the necessary land, and that his father andnbsp;grandfather had been each an aire (Br. Laws, iv. 321).nbsp;Certain houses, horses, and equipments were prescribednbsp;for him as necessary for his rank, and he should have atnbsp;least five saer tenants and five daer or giallna tenants.

One order of nobles, the Aire-echta, who held a military position, has been already treated of (p. 92).*

A person belonging to the other class of aire�a nonnoble rent-paying freeman with property (No. 3, above)� had no land of his own, his property consisting of cattlenbsp;and other movable goods ; hence he was called a Bo-aire,nbsp;i.e. a � cow-chief � {bo, � a cow �). He should rent a certainnbsp;amount of land, and possess a certain amount of propertynbsp;in cattle and other goods, to entitle him to rank as an aire.nbsp;A ho-aire, having no land of his own, rented land from anbsp;iiaith or noble, thus taking rank as a saer-c�ile or freenbsp;tenant (see p. 189, farther on) ; and he grazed his cattlenbsp;partly on this and partly on the � commons � grazing land.nbsp;He might sublet his rented land to under-tenants. The

* From the above, and from chap, iii., it will be seen that there were seven grades of Plaiths or Nobles :�i, the king : 2, tanist of the king :nbsp;3, aire-forgaill:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;4, aire-tuisi: 5, aire-ard :nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;6, aire-echta ; and 7, aire-

desa. This is in accordance with what is stated in Br. Laws, iv. 321, lines II, 12, and with what follows in same vol. on pp. 321, 323, 325,nbsp;327 : but there appears some discrepancy in one place between it and thenbsp;statement in another tract, at p. 347, s,, where the Aire-forgail) is madenbsp;the same as the Aire-urd. See also Br. Laws, v. 25.

ho-aires were magistrates, and as such presided in court or at the aibinn meetings (see vol. ii. pp. 449, 450) in the dis-charge of some legal functions : and for this they had certain allowances and privileges according to rank (Br. Laws,nbsp;iv. 309). Among their perquisites were a share in thenbsp;mill and in the kiln of the district, and fees for witnessingnbsp;contracts and for other legal functions. There were severalnbsp;ranks of ho-aires according to the amount of property.

The Aire-coisring or � binding-chief � was the highest of the bo-aires. He was the leader, and representative of allnbsp;his fine or kindred, and was expected to be able to give annbsp;account of their conduct and obedience to the laws whennbsp;occasion arose. In case of complaint or accusation henbsp;answered for them to the king of the tuath, having previously investigated the case (Br. Laws, iv. 317). Hencenbsp;he was also called the Aire-fine [arra-finna] or � family-chief.�* This custom continued down to the sixteenthnbsp;century, and came under the notice of Spenser (View, 54),nbsp;who calls it kin-cogish : and according to him it was transferred to the Anglo-Irish statute book in his own time�nbsp;during the reign of Elizabeth :�

� Another statute I remember, which having been an auncient Irish custome, is now upon advisement made a law, and that is callednbsp;the custome of kin-cogish, which is, that every head of every sept,nbsp;and every chiefe of every kindred or family, should be answereablenbsp;and bound to bring foorth every one of that sept and kindred undernbsp;it at all times to be justified, when he should be required or chargednbsp;with any treason, felony, or other haynous crime.�

Spenser�s anglicised form kin-cogish represents correctly the sound of the Irish name of this custom, cenn-comhfhoguis,nbsp;the � head of kindred,� from cenn, � head,� and comhfhogusnbsp;[cogus], consanguinity or relationship, gen. comhfhoguis,nbsp;pron. cogish.j

The Fer-fothla was a rich ho-aire who, having more stock than he was able to graze, hired them out as taurcrec

to others {daer-c�iles : see p. 189, farther on), who thus became his dependents. He held a very high position asnbsp;a member of society and as a magistrate, almost equal tonbsp;the Aire-coisring. If a Fer-fothla or an Aire-coisring couldnbsp;prove that he had twice as much property as was requirednbsp;for the lowest rank of noble (the Aire-desa), and compliednbsp;with certain other conditions and formalities, and alsonbsp;provided his father and grandfather had been aires whonbsp;owned land, he was himself entitled to take rank as annbsp;Aire-desa noble.* The Brugh-fer, Brugaid, or Briuga wasnbsp;an interesting official of the ho-aire class : he was a publicnbsp;Hospitaller as well as a magistrate : he and his office willnbsp;be treated of in chapter xxi. (vol. ii. p. 168). The lowest innbsp;rank of the non-noble aires was the �gaire, i.e. junior-afre,

� from the youngness of his aireship.� Many of these were men who had belonged to the next lower rank of freemen,nbsp;and who had accumulated sufficient property to qualifynbsp;them as og-aires.

The three preceding main classes�kings, nobles, and bo-aires�were all aires, chiefs, or privileged people : thenbsp;first two being flaiths or noble aires, the third, non-noblenbsp;aires, i.e. free tenants, with property sufficient to entitlenbsp;them to the position of aire. All three had some partnbsp;in the government of the country and in the administration of the law, as kings, tanists, nobles, military chiefs,nbsp;magistrates, and persons otherwise in authority ; and theynbsp;commonly wore a flesc or bracelet on the arm as a mark ofnbsp;their dignity, f

That the classification of chiefs into these various grades was a reality, and that the several ranks werenbsp;separate and distinct, and universally recognised�asnbsp;clearly as quot; Justices of the Peace,� � Resident Magistrates,�nbsp;� Deputy Lieutenants,� � Lord Lieutenants of counties,�nbsp;amp;c., are now�is proved by the fact that we often findnbsp;them incidentally referred to, both in the laws and innbsp;* Br. Laws, iv. 315, 317.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Keating, 162.

general literature, as being well known and understood. For instance, in the ancient description of Tara and itsnbsp;F�is, quoted by Petrie (Tara, 199, 205) from the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, six of the chieftain classes�namely, Aire-forgaill,nbsp;Aire-ard, Aire-tuisi, Aire-echta, Aire-desa, and Brugaid�nbsp;are included in the list in which are named the numerousnbsp;officials in the great banqueting hall.

The next class�the fourth�the freemen with little or with no property, were c�iles or free tenants. Theynbsp;differed from the bo-aires only in not being rich enough tonbsp;rank as aires or chiefs ; for the bo-aires were themselvesnbsp;c�iles or rent-payers ; and accordingly, a man of the fourthnbsp;class could become a bo-aire if he accumulated propertynbsp;enough : the amount being laid down in the Brehon Law.nbsp;These c�iles or tenants, or free rent-payers�correspondingnbsp;with the old English ceorls or churls�formed the greatnbsp;body of the farming class. They were called aithech, i.e.nbsp;� plebeian,� � farmer,� � peasant,� to distinguish them fromnbsp;the aires or chieftain grades : and the term f�ini or f�nenbsp;[fain�], which means much the same as aithech, was alsonbsp;applied to them. Some few members of the f�ine werenbsp;selected by the king to look after the affairs of their immediate district, or what we should now call a townland.nbsp;� These f�ine ��says the Gloss on the Law (v. 15, 17)�nbsp;are brugaid-i^ccmers, and the stewards of kings.� Thesenbsp;are evidently the officers referred to in the record aboutnbsp;Ollamh Fodla, king of Ireland (FM, a.m. 3922 ; see p. 69,nbsp;supra), that he appointed a chief over every tricha-ch�dnbsp;and a brugaid over every baile or townland. These brugaid-stewards or /eme-stewards continued to be appointed andnbsp;to exercise their functions down to a late time�the timenbsp;of the glossator of the Laws ; but the exact nature of theirnbsp;functions is not known.

The land held by the f�ine or free tenants was either a part of the tribe-land, or was the private property of somenbsp;flaitk or noble, from whom they rented it. Everywhere innbsp;the literature, especially in the Laws, the f�ine or farmingnbsp;classes are spoken of as a most important part of thenbsp;community�as the foundation of society, and as thenbsp;ultimate source of law and authority. The very name ofnbsp;what we now call the Brehon Law was derived from themnbsp;� F�nechas � or � F�inechas � ; so that the several partsnbsp;of the Brehon Code are constantly referred to as Dlighthenbsp;F�ine [dleeha-fain�], the � Laws of the F�ine � : and thenbsp;ancient language in which the F�nechas was written isnbsp;called B�rla-F�ine, i.e. � the language of the F�ine.�¹

The position of the c�iles, the terms on which they held their farms, and their rights, duties, and obligations, willnbsp;be explained in some detail in the chapter (vii.) dealingnbsp;with land. For the land and the c�ile tenants were sonbsp;intimately mixed up that it would be scarcely possible tonbsp;treat of them separately.

Any freeborn native was called an urrad [urra], a term having much the same meaning as the old English wordnbsp;� yeoman � (see quot; Urrad � in Atkinson�s Glossary to Br.nbsp;Laws). Tradesmen formed another very important classnbsp;of freemen. The greater number belonged to the fourthnbsp;class � freemen without property. Some crafts werenbsp;� noble � or privileged, of which the members enjoyednbsp;advantages and privileges beyond those of other trades ;nbsp;and some high-class craftsmen belonged to the class airenbsp;or chief. But the law is not near so detailed in its statement of the position and rights of tradesmen, as of thosenbsp;of tillers of the soil: showing again the great importancenbsp;attached to land.

Br, Laws, i. 117, -4; ii9gt; par, ; iii. 225, 25. Glossary to Br. Laws, Feine and Feinechas.

So far we have treated of freemen, that is, those who enjoyed all the rights of the tribe, of which the mostnbsp;important was the right to the use of a portion of thenbsp;tribe-land and commons. We now come to treat of thenbsp;non-free classes. The term � non-free � does not necessarilynbsp;mean servile. The non-free people were those who hadnbsp;not the lull rights of the free people of the tribe. Theynbsp;had no claim to any part of the tribe-land, though they werenbsp;permitted, under strict conditions, to till little plots for merenbsp;subsistence. This was by far the most serious of their disabilities. Except under very exceptional circumstancesnbsp;they could not enter into contracts. Yet some justicenbsp;was done to them ; for if a freeman made a forbiddennbsp;contract with a non-free person, the former was punished,nbsp;while the non-free man had to be compensated for anynbsp;loss he incurred by the transaction.* Their standingnbsp;varied, some being absolute slaves, some little removednbsp;from slavery, and others far above it.

The non-free people were of three classes, who are distinguished in the law and called by different names :��nbsp;the Bothach, the Sencleithe, and the Fudir. The personsnbsp;belonging to the first two were herdsmen, labourers,nbsp;squatters on waste lands, horse-boys, hangers-on, andnbsp;jobbers of various kinds�all poor and dependent. Butnbsp;they enjoyed one great advantage : they were part of thenbsp;tribe, though debarred from most of its rights ; and consequently they could claim to live within the territory and tonbsp;support themselves by their labour.

The third class�the Fudirs�were the lowest of the three. They were not members of the tribe, and consequently had no right of residence, though they werenbsp;permitted by the chief to live within the territory, fromnbsp;which, however, they might be expelled at any moment.

A fudir was commonly a stranger, a fugitive from some other territory, who had by some misdeed, or for any othernbsp;reason, broken with his tribe�who had become � kin-wrecked,� as they expressed it in Wales�and fled fromnbsp;his own chief to another who permitted him to settle onnbsp;a portion of the unappropriated commons land. But mennbsp;became fudirs in other ways, as we shall see. Any freemannbsp;might give evidence against a fudir : but the fudir couldnbsp;not give evidence in reply.¹ When a fudir obtained anbsp;settlement from a flaith or lord, he�or his family afternbsp;him�^might leave during the life of that lord and of hisnbsp;two successors, but could take nothing away. But if henbsp;or they remained on voluntarily till they came under anbsp;fourth lord, they were no longer free to leave ; they werenbsp;bound to the soil�� adscript! glebge.��j'

The fudirs were of two classes, a higher and a lower, called saer-fudir, or free fudir, and daer-fudir, or bond fudir.nbsp;The saer-fiidirs were so called, not because they were freemen, which they were not, but to indicate that they werenbsp;not under the heavy bondage of the lower class. Theynbsp;were those who were free from crime, and who, comingnbsp;voluntarily into the district, were able to get moderatelynbsp;favourable terms when taking land from the chief. Thenbsp;lord was responsible for his fudirs. If a fudir or anynbsp;member of his family committed a crime, the lord had tonbsp;pay the damage ; and, on the other hand, if anyone injurednbsp;a fudir, the compensation was paid to the lord.J

Some of the saer-fudir tenants who accumulated wealth were much better circumstanced than the general body.nbsp;If there were five of them under one chief, each possessingnbsp;at least 100 head of cattle, they might enter into partnership so as to answer for each other�s liabilities. In this casenbsp;they enjoyed privileges that put them almost on a level

164 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I with the c�iles or free tenants. They had a share in thenbsp;tribe-land and in the commons : they took stock from thenbsp;chief, and paid hiatad or food-rent (for which see p. 191,nbsp;mjra). They paid their part of any fines that fell on thenbsp;sept on account of the crimes of individuals ; they tooknbsp;their share of any property left to the fine or sept like thenbsp;ordinary tenants ;* and their chief, or representative man,nbsp;was qualified to be of the rank of ho-aire. But thesenbsp;must have been rare exceptions.

The daer-judirs�the lowest and most dependent of all�were escaped criminals, captives taken in battle ornbsp;raids from other districts or other countries, convictsnbsp;respited from death, persons sentenced to fine and unablenbsp;to pay, purchased slaves, amp;c. Some daer-judirs were merenbsp;slaves : and those who were not were little better. Yetnbsp;their lot was not hopeless : the law favoured their emancipation : a daer-fudir could become a saer-fudir in coursenbsp;of time under certain conditions. The settlement of fudirsnbsp;was disliked by the community and discouraged by thenbsp;Brehon law ; f for it curtailed the commons land ; andnbsp;while it tended to lower the status of the tribe, it raisednbsp;the power of the chief, who in cases of dispute could bringnbsp;all his fudirs into the field. Any social disturbance, suchnbsp;as rebellion, invasion, civil war, amp;c., in which many werenbsp;driven from their homes and beggared, tended to increasenbsp;the number of the fudirs. The terms on which the fudirsnbsp;were permitted to till the soil will be told in chapter vii.,nbsp;section 4 (p. 194).

It has been said that some of the lowest of the fudirs were downright slaves. That slavery pure and simplenbsp;existed in Ireland in early times we know from the lawbooks as well as from history ; and that it continued to anbsp;comparatively late period is proved by the testimony ofnbsp;Giraldus Cambrensis, who relates that it was a common

custom among the English to sell their children and other relatives to the Irish for slaves�Bristol being the greatnbsp;mart for the trade. They must have been very numerousnbsp;in the twelfth century : for at the Synod held in Armaghnbsp;in 1171, the clergy came to the conclusion that the Anglo-Norman invasion was a curse from heaven as a punishmentnbsp;for the inhuman traffic in slaves : and they anathematisednbsp;the whole system as � contrary to the right of Christiannbsp;freedom,� and decreed that all English slaves were free tonbsp;return to their own country.¹ Considering the periodnbsp;and the ideas then prevalent all over the world, thisnbsp;resolution reflects much credit on the Irish ecclesiasticalnbsp;authorities, anticipating by many centuries the action ofnbsp;the various European and American States in decreeingnbsp;the emancipation of slaves. How far the Irish decree tooknbsp;effect we are not told.

Our own records show that slaves were imported. Thus the Book of Rights (p. 87) states that the king ofnbsp;Ireland paid to the king of Bruree, as part of his tuarastal,nbsp;ten foreign slaves without Gaelic, i.e. not able to speaknbsp;the Gaelic language : a similar entry is found at p. 181 ;nbsp;and in several other parts of the same book we findnbsp;mention of dues paid in bondsmen and bondswomen,nbsp;� brought over the sea � : but whether from other countriesnbsp;besides Britain is doubtful. Some canons of the ancientnbsp;Irish Church�much earlier than the time of the Armaghnbsp;Synod�notice the redemption of slaves.f It appears fromnbsp;a passage in Adamnan (158, 159), as well as from othernbsp;authorities, that a man whom another ransomed from thenbsp;penalty of death was to be the ransomer�s slave ; and anbsp;slave thus ransomed had to wear a special girdle. Butnbsp;persons might become slaves in many other ways. Whennbsp;a pregnant bondswoman was sold, the unborn child wasnbsp;commonly exempted : i.e., while the woman became the

property of the purchaser, the child, when born, belonged to the seller.* The usual word for a slave was Mog,nbsp;Mogh, or Mug.

The people were formed into groups of various sizes, from the family upwards. The Family was the group consisting of the living parents and all their descendants. Thenbsp;Sept was a larger group, descended from common parentsnbsp;long since dead : but this is an imported word, brought intonbsp;use in comparatively late times. All the members of anbsp;sept were nearly related, and in later times bore the samenbsp;surname. The Clan or house was still larger. Clannnbsp;means � children,� and the word therefore implied descentnbsp;from one ancestor. The Tribe [tuath) was made up ofnbsp;several septs, clans, or houses, and usually claimed, likenbsp;the subordinate groups, to be descended from a commonnbsp;ancestor. The adoption of strangers into the family ornbsp;clan was common ; but it required the consent of the fm�nbsp;or circle of near relations�formally given at a courtnbsp;meeting and the persons adopted had not the full rightsnbsp;of ordinary freemen members, especially as regarded land.nbsp;An adopted person was called Mac Faosma, literally � sonnbsp;of protection.� Sometimes not only individuals, but smallernbsp;tribes, who for any reason had migrated from their originalnbsp;home, were adopted; who were then known as hn�-taccuir, i.e. � a family taken under protection.�! From allnbsp;this it will be seen that in every tribe there was muchnbsp;admixture ; and the theory of common descent became anbsp;fiction, except for the leading families, who preserved theirnbsp;descent pure and kept a careful record of their genealogy.

I Br. Laws, iv. 61, ,9; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;63, top ;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;285, 25 ; 287,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 289, last par.

For Faosam, see Fc-essam in Windisch, W�rterbuch; Faosamh in O�Donovan, Supplem. to O�R.; Stokes, Rev. Celt., in. 97 ; see Tacar innbsp;O�Donovan, Supplem. : and Fine-tacctiir in Atkinson�s Gloss. Br. Laws.

Thus the tribe became a mere local association of people, occupying a definite district and bound together bynbsp;common customs, by common interests, by living undernbsp;one ruler, and in some degree by the fiction of descentnbsp;from one common ancestor. Each member had to bearnbsp;his part of the obligations and liabilities of the tribe : fornbsp;instance, he had to contribute to the support of old peoplenbsp;who had no children to take care of them, and the wholenbsp;sept or fin� were liable for the fines or debts of any individuals who absconded or were unable to pay. Nonbsp;individual was free to enter into any contracts affectingnbsp;the tribe ; for example, he was restricted by certain conditions when he wished to sell his land.*

The word fin� [finna] is loosely applied to almost any subdivision of society, from the tribe in its largest sensenbsp;down to a small group consisting of members of the samenbsp;family. In its most usual application it meant a group ofnbsp;persons, related by blood within certain recognised degreesnbsp;of consanguinity, all residing in the same neighbourhood.nbsp;The members of a fm� in this sense had certain rights innbsp;common, and were subject to certain liabilities�all according to well-established customs.

When the tribal community comprised a large population occupying an extensive district, it often got the designation Cinel [Kinel], still implying�like clan�descentnbsp;from a common ancestor. Thus the Kinel-Owen, whonbsp;possessed the principality of Tir-Owen, and were supposednbsp;to be descended from Owen, son of Niall of the Ninenbsp;Hostages, were ruled by one of the O�Neills, and includednbsp;the septs of 0�Cahan, Mac Quillan, O�Flynn, and manynbsp;others, each governed by a flaith or chief who was tributarynbsp;to O�Neill. The tribe organisation was not peculiar tonbsp;Ireland ; it existed among all the Aryan nations in theirnbsp;early stages.

* Br. Laws, ii. 283; ill. 55 ; w. 129. On the Mutual Obligations of tribe and individuals, see also Br. Laws, i, 69, 4; 71, ,5^

Fig 67.�Ornament on leather case of Book of Armagh. From Petrie�s Kound Towers.

AW formed a most important factor both in public and private life in ancient Ireland. The nativenbsp;legal system, as briefly outlined in this and thenbsp;next two chapters, existed in its fulness beforenbsp;the ninth century. It was somewhat disturbednbsp;the Danish and Anglo-Norman invasions, andnbsp;still more by the English settlement; but it continued innbsp;use till finally abolished in the beginning of the seventeenthnbsp;century. In these three chapters I merely attempt to givenbsp;a popular sketch of the main features of the Brehon Laws,nbsp;devoid of technical legal terms.

In Ireland a judge was called a brehon,¹ whence the native Irish law is commonly known as the � Brehonnbsp;Law � : but its proper designation is F�nechas, i.e. thenbsp;law of the F�ine or Fine, or free land-tillers (p. 161, supra).nbsp;According to Cormac�s Glossary (p. 12), aisrere [3-syll.]nbsp;is another name for a brehon.

The brehons had absolutely in their hands the interpretation of the laws and the application of them to individual

Irish hrethem, modern breitheamh [brehev] : this takes an n in the genitive and dative�bretheman., brethemain, pron. bvehoon, from whichnbsp;comes the Anglo-Irish brehon.

cases. They were therefore a very influential class of men ; and those attached to chiefs had free lands for their maintenance, which, like the profession itself, remained in thenbsp;same family for generations. Those not so attached livednbsp;simply on the fees of their profession, and many eminentnbsp;brehons became wealthy. The legal rules as set forth innbsp;the Law Books, were commonly very complicated andnbsp;mixed up with a variety of technical terms ; and manynbsp;forms had to be gone through and many circumstancesnbsp;taken into account, all legally essential: so that no outsider could hope to master their intricacies. The brehon'snbsp;fee {fola) was one-twelfth, i.e. presumably one-twelfth ofnbsp;the property in dispute, or of the fine in case of an actionnbsp;for damages.¹ He had to be very careful; for he wasnbsp;himself liable for damages, besides forfeiting his fee, if henbsp;delivered a false or an unjust judgment ;�quot; Every judge �nbsp;�says the Book of Acaill�� is punishable for his neglect :nbsp;he is to pay eric-fine for his false judgment.�! There is nonbsp;record how the brehons acquired the exclusive right tonbsp;interpret the laws and to arbitrate between litigants; itnbsp;grew up gradually and came down as a custom from timesnbsp;beyond the reach of history. The institution of the brehons,nbsp;the gradual increase of their authority, the legal processcanbsp;in which they took part, and the forms of trial for decidingnbsp;cases between man and man, were in all essential featuresnbsp;much the same as those that grew up in the early stages ofnbsp;all the Aryan societies, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish,nbsp;Indian, Hellenic, amp;c., and strongly resembled the procedures followed in archaic Roman law.J

To become a brehon a person had to go through a regular, well-defined course of study and training. Itnbsp;would appear that the same course qualified for any branchnbsp;of the legal profession, and that once a man had mastered

Brehou�s fee : Br. Laws, I. 232, , ; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;235,-,; m. 305, u ;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;3^9,

the course, he might set up as a brehon or judge proper, a consulting lawyer, an advocate, or a law-agent. Besidesnbsp;this special study in technical law, a brehon should qualifynbsp;as a shanachie or historian ; just as in our day professionalnbsp;students have to qualify in certain literary or scientific subjects not immediately connected with their special lines.nbsp;In later ages the legal profession tended to become hereditary in certain families, some of whom were attached tonbsp;kings or chiefs, though all, or at least the high-class members of the profession, had to comply with the conditionsnbsp;as to time and study .��No person,� says the Senchusnbsp;Mor, � is qualified to plead a cause at the high court unlessnbsp;he is skilled in every department of legal science.�¹

In very early times the brehon was regarded as a mysterious, half-inspired person, and a divine power kept watch over his pronouncements to punish him for unjust judgments .�� When the brehons deviated from the truth ofnbsp;nature, there appeared blotches upon their cheeks. �t Thenbsp;great brehon, Morann, son of Carbery Kinncat (king ofnbsp;Ireland in the first century), wore a sin [sheen] or collarnbsp;round his neck, which tightened when he delivered a falsenbsp;judgment, and expanded again when he delivered the truenbsp;one. All this agrees with the whole tenor of Irish Literature, whether legendary, legal, or historical, which showsnbsp;the great respect the Irish entertained for justice pure andnbsp;simple according to law, and their horror of unjust decisions.]: It was the same at the most ancient period as itnbsp;was in the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Sirnbsp;John Davies, the Irish attorney-general of James I., testified .�� For there is no nation of people under the sunnenbsp;� that doth love equall and indifferent \i.e. impartial]nbsp;� justice better then the Irish ; or will rest better satisfied

I In illustration of this see also Br. Laws, iv. 53 : and Claenfearta in O�Grady, Silva Gad., 288 : see also 357, 358, same book.

� with the execution thereof, although it bee against them-� selves ; so as they ma}- have the protection and benefit � of the law, when uppou just cause they do desire it.�¹ Butnbsp;later on the Penal Laws changed all that, and turned thenbsp;Irish natural love of justice into hatred and distrust of law,nbsp;which in many ways continues to manifest itself to this day.

The brehons evidently took great pleasure in the study and practice of their profession ; and we frequentlynbsp;find the law designated as � pleasant and delightful knowledge,�! such like. There are indications everywherenbsp;in the law tracts that they applied themselves diligently tonbsp;master details and clear up doubtful points : and taking anbsp;broad view of the whole subject, as it is presented to us innbsp;the. books, we cannot avoid concluding that�in the wordsnbsp;of Sullivan (Introd., 273)�� the pi'ofession of law appearsnbsp;� to have been in a singularly advanced stage of organisa-quot; tion for so early a period.�

In the beginning every f�� or poet was also a brehon or judge : � for, from the time that Amergin of the white knee,nbsp;the poet, delivered the first judgment in Erin, it was to thenbsp;files or poets alone that belonged the right of pronouncingnbsp;judgments, until the disputation of the tvio \ioets Fercertnenbsp;and Neidhe.�X It happened during the reign of Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa that these two sages had to argue a point innbsp;public, while Concobar himself was present listening ; andnbsp;their language was so highly technical that neither the kingnbsp;nor the chiefs could understand them ; whereupon thenbsp;privilege of judicature was taken from the poets and committed to the hands of special judges ; and the legal profession, instead of being confined to the poets, was thrownnbsp;open to all who could qualify. This tradition probablynbsp;commemorates a reform at some very early time, by whichnbsp;legal pronouncements came to be expressed in language

This is the concluding sentence of Davies� thoughtful and valuable essay, � A discoverie of the True Causes.� amp;c. Davies was an Englishman.

much less technical than before, so that all intelligent persons might understand them.¹ Several great lawyers are commemorated in the traditions, among whom, it is worthynbsp;of remark, some women are included.

The Brehon Law that applied to all Ireland was called Cain Law, to distinguish it from Urradus Law [urra-us],nbsp;which was a special local law or custom applying only tonbsp;the province or district where it was in force. It was thenbsp;business of the brehon to know when to bring a case undernbsp;the one, and when under the other, and to apply the propernbsp;rules in each case.

The brehons had collections of laws in volumes cr tracts, all in the Irish language, by which they regulatednbsp;their judgments, and which those of them who kept law-schools expounded to their scholars ; each tract treating ofnbsp;one subject or one group of subjects. Many of these havenbsp;been preserved, and of late years the most important havenbsp;been published, with translations, forming five printednbsp;volumes (with a sixth consisting of a valuable Glossarynbsp;to the preceding five, by Dr. Atkinson, the editor of thenbsp;fifth volume). Of the tracts contained in these volumes,nbsp;the two largest and most important are the Senchus Mornbsp;[Shanahus More] and the Book of Acaill [Ack'ill]. In anbsp;popular sense, it may be said that the Senchus M�r isnbsp;chiefly concerned with the Irish civil law, and the Booknbsp;of Acaill with what is now known as the criminal law andnbsp;the law relating to personal injuries.

In the ancient Introduction to the Senchus M�rf the following account is given of its original compilation. Innbsp;the year 438 a.d. a collection of the pagan laws was madenbsp;at the request of St. Patrick, and the whole F�nechas Code

For an example of the legal hard language see Cormac�s Glossary, 102, under � Lethcch.�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I Br. Laws, I. 3 et seq.

was expounded to him by Dubthach, the king�s chief poet, a zealous Christian convert. Laegaire [Leary], king ofnbsp;Ireland, appointed a committee of nine persons to revisenbsp;them, viz. three kings�Laegaire himself. Core, king ofnbsp;Munster, and Daire [Dara] king of Ulster ; three ecclesiastics�Patrick, Benen, and Cairnech ; and three poets andnbsp;antiquarians�Rossa, Dubthach, and Fergus. These ninenbsp;produced at the end of three years a revised code, whichnbsp;was called Senchus M�r�also called Cain Patrick ornbsp;Patrick�s Law This account, with the names of thenbsp;� nine props of the Senchus M�r,� as they are designated,nbsp;is also given briefly in Cormac�s Glossary, as well as in thenbsp;Book of the Dun Cow (Trip Life, 565, 571). The Introduction to the Senchus M�r goes on to say ; � What didnbsp;� not clash with the word of God in the written Law andnbsp;� in the New Testament, and with the consciences of thenbsp;� believers, was confirmed in the laws of the Brehons bynbsp;� Patrick and by the ecclesiastics and the chieftains of Erinnbsp;[z.e. by the committee of nine] : and this is the Senchusnbsp;� M�r.�* Though there are historical difflculties in thisnbsp;account, there seems no good reason to doubt that therenbsp;was some such revision.

The code produced by the committee contained no new , laws : it was merely a digest of those already in use, withnbsp;the addition of the Scriptural and Canon laws. The statement in the old Introduction is, that before St. Patrick�snbsp;time the law of nature prevailed, t.e. the ancient pagan lawnbsp;as expounded by Dubthach to Patrick : after his time thenbsp;law of nature and the law of the letter : this latter fths

* Br. Law, i. 17. Of all the missionaries that ever preached to the heathen, I suppose that St. Patrick was about the most broad-mindednbsp;and tolerant; as is evidenced in the whole story of his life-work. Henbsp;made allowance for all the prejudices of the native Irish, and nevernbsp;interfered with any of their customs so long as they did not infringe onnbsp;the tenets of Christianity. He himself indeed followed the native customsnbsp;wherever he could ; yet when he encountered dowmright pagan beliefs,nbsp;idolatrous rites, or wickedness in any form, he was determined and fearless, as when' he destroyed the idol Cromm Cruach (see pages 275, 276),nbsp;below.

� Law of the Letter �) being � The Patriarchal Law [the Old Testament] and the New Testament.� But the quot; Lawnbsp;of the Letter � evidently included the numerous Canonicalnbsp;rules laid down by Patrick and his successors, which adjusted the relations of the Church to the lay community,nbsp;all of which were new.* The commentator of the Senchusnbsp;M�r adds that � the over-severity of the law was takennbsp;� from it, namely, the old law of retaliation, � an eye for annbsp;� eye,� amp;c.,� which existed in the Mosaic Law (Lev. xxiv.nbsp;19, 20) and in the Irish Law before Patrick�s time : allnbsp;which was expunged, and the milder law of compensation substituted. But it is probable that this last reformnbsp;had been gradually coming into use, and was formallynbsp;confirmed in the Senchus M�r.

The very book left by St. Patrick and the others has been long lost. Successive copies were made from time tonbsp;time, with commentaries and explanations appended, tillnbsp;the manuscripts we now possess were produced. Thenbsp;existing manuscript copies of the Senchus M�r consistnbsp;of :�I. The original text, written in a large hand withnbsp;wide spaces between the lines : 2. An introduction to thenbsp;text : 3. Commentaries on the text, in a smaller hand ;nbsp;4. Glosses or explanations on words and phrases of thenbsp;text, in a hand still smaller; commentaries and glossesnbsp;commonly written in the spaces between the lines of thenbsp;text, but often in the margins. Of these the text, asnbsp;might be expected, is the most ancient. The languagenbsp;is extremely archaic, indicating a very remote antiquity,nbsp;though probably not the very language left by the revisingnbsp;committee, but a modified version of a later time.

The Senchus M�r is referred to, as a well-known work, in Cormac�s Glossary, written in the end of the ninth ornbsp;the beginning of the tenth century ; and many of its lawnbsp;terms had then become obsolete, and are explained in thenbsp;Glossary. As showing the substantial identity of the worknbsp;* See also Br. Laws, iii. 27 bot., and 29 top.

referred to in this Glossary with the present existing copy of the Senchus M�r, it may be mentioned that most ofnbsp;the cases, passages, and terms cited in the Glossary arenbsp;found in the lately printed text. Another law tract, thenbsp;Bretha Nemed (the � Laws of the Privileged Classes � : fromnbsp;hreth, judgment, pi. hretha ; and nemed, a person of thenbsp;higher or chieftain classes), is repeatedly referred to andnbsp;quoted in the same old Glossary.

The Introduction comes next in point of antiquity ; and the Commentaries and Glosses are the least ancient ofnbsp;all. Introduction, Commentaries, and Glosses (such as wenbsp;have them) were written or copied by different learnednbsp;lawyers at various times from the beginning of the fourteenth down to the sixteenth century � the language beingnbsp;often much older than the writing. The manuscript copiesnbsp;of the Book of Acaill and of some other law tracts resemblenbsp;those of the Senchus M�r, the original texts being accompanied by Introduction, Commentaries, and Glosses. Innbsp;the printed volumes all these are translated, and thenbsp;different sizes of the penmanship are marked by differentnbsp;sizes of type, both in the Irish and in the translation. �

It is probable that in very ancient times all laws were in verse.* This was evidently the case with the originalnbsp;Senchus M�r, for we are told by the commentators that atnbsp;the compilation � Dubthach put a thread of poetry round itnbsp;for Patrick quot;if and we know that the archaic pagan codenbsp;expounded by Dubthach was itself in verse.t The old

The laws were written in the oldest dialect of the Irish language, called B�rla F�ini, which even at the time wasnbsp;so difficult that persons about to become brehons had tonbsp;be specially instructed in it. Even the authors of the

Commentaries and Glosses who wrote hundreds of years ago, and were themselves learned brehons, were often quitenbsp;at fault in their attempts to explain the archaic text; andnbsp;their words show that they were fully conscious of thenbsp;difficulty. It will then be readily understood that the tasknbsp;of translating these Laws was a very difficult one, renderednbsp;all the more so by the number of technical terms andnbsp;phrases, many of which are to this day obscure, as well as

�n

�ixims�pt^ t'^aiwoipirirectuipt-T:lt;miriMbir'lt;��----

reocca nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ruA^snf^

icoiji opeuit

Facsimile specimen of the Senchus Mdr. The four lines ot large text are a part of the Senchus M�r proper; and they are to be read In the order, second, first, third, fourth. Thenbsp;commentary {z.e. the small text) consists of .seventeen lines: and, supposing them to benbsp;numbered from top to bottom, they are to be read in this way :�Begin at line 8 (whichnbsp;comments on the line of larger text right under it); then 7, 6, 5 ; part of 4 and part of 3 (bothnbsp;as far as the curve) 5 the rest of 4, the rest of 3; then 2, i. Resume at 9 and go on in likenbsp;manner�sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards�to the end: the reader being guidednbsp;all through by the context.

The whole page of the MS. of which this is a part is given in photographic facsimile in Vol. II. of the Brehon Laws (Plate i.); and the above passage will be found printed innbsp;proper consecutive order on page 50 ofBr. Laws, 1. (beginning at line 9), with the translationnbsp;on page 51 (beginning at line ii). No Glosses occur on this Facsimile.

by the peculiar style, which is very elliptical and abrupt� often incomplete sentences, or mere catch-words of rulesnbsp;not written down in full, but held in memory by the experts of the time.

Another circumstance that greatly adds to the difficulty of deciphering these MSS. is the confused way in which

the Commentaries are written in, mainly with the object of economising the expensive vellum. The lines and pnrasesnbsp;generally follow each other downwards, but sometimes upwards ; and often a part of a line belongs to one sentence,nbsp;while the other part has to be picked up after some timenbsp;from another sentence lower down : and the whole aboundsnbsp;in contractions. The explanatory note under fig. 68 willnbsp;give some idea of all this.

The two great Irish scholars�O�Donovan and O�Curr}^ -�who translated the Laws included in the five printednbsp;volumes, were able to do so only after a life-long study ;nbsp;and in numerous instances were, to the last, not quite surenbsp;of the meaning. As they had to retain the legal terms andnbsp;the elliptical style, even the translation is hard enough tonbsp;understand, and is often unintelligible. It is, moreover,nbsp;imperfect for another reason : they did not live to revisenbsp;it. How the case stands will be understood from thenbsp;following extract from the last Report (1902) of the Brehonnbsp;Law Commissioners :�

quot; The transcripts [made in the first instance by O�Donovan and O�Curry] occupied seventeen volumes, and employed those engagednbsp;on them for several years. A preliminary translation of almost allnbsp;the MS. tracts which the Commissioners selected for publication wasnbsp;made either by Dr. O�Donovan or by Professor O�Curry ; but unhappily those scholars did not live to complete and revise their translations, which were, in fact, in a great degree, provisional only, imperfections and errors being unavoidable in a first attempt to accomplishnbsp;what had been regarded by many previous experts as a hopelessnbsp;task.�

In criticising the work of these eminent men, therefore, scholars will do well to deal with their imperfections andnbsp;errors tenderly and reverently.

Why the Laws were so often written in this disjointed elliptical style admits of a natural explanation, which maynbsp;be given in the words of Dr. Atkinson, in his short Prefacenbsp;to the sixth volume of the Laws ;�� The conclusion ha=

� been forced upon me by the prolonged study of these quot; documents, that there was a very definite teaching of annbsp;�' oral kind (of which the present documents only give usnbsp;� the notes), based upon old traditions of the time whennbsp;quot; the present extant mss. were committed to writing.�nbsp;So that the existing texts of the Senchus M�r and othernbsp;law tracts are in great part what would now be callednbsp;headings or notes of lectures, a description which anyonenbsp;who examines them carefully will recognise as correct.

In all countries a part at least of the law consists of customs that have grown up from the immemorial beginnings of society, corresponding with what is now callednbsp;� common law,� never formalty enacted, but submitted tonbsp;by the general body of the people from hereditary habitnbsp;and under pressure of public opinion. But in countriesnbsp;where the central government has attained sufficient powernbsp;to take the law into its own hands, there are superaddednbsp;to these a body of laws specially enacted�statute law asnbsp;it is now called.

Ireland never arrived at, or at least never seriously entered on, the legislative stage : in other words, no distinctnbsp;legislative machinery existed : that is to say, a bodynbsp;convened for the purpose of making laws, with authoritynbsp;conferred by the state, and with special officers to enforcenbsp;obedience�a body like our present parliament. Thenbsp;resistance of the subordinate kings to their nominal superiors, and the resulting constant internecine wars, renderednbsp;it impossible for any supreme king to command sufficientnbsp;power, so that the central government was never strongnbsp;enough to have much influence either in the making ofnbsp;laws or in causing the existing laws to be carried out. Allnbsp;this prevented the idea of the state from taking root, andnbsp;the people could not look to it for supreme authority or fornbsp;protection : much the same as matters stood in England

in the time of the Heptarchy. A central state authority would have been ultimately developed in Ireland if thenbsp;development had not been at first retarded by civil strife,nbsp;and finally arrested by the Danish wars and by the Anglo-Norman invasion.

It has been asserted indeed that one of the objects for which the F�is of Tara was convened was to enact laws;nbsp;but for this assertion�which is often enough repeated�nbsp;there is no ancient authority. We have very full descriptions of this F�is, and also of the proceedings at some ofnbsp;the Aenachs or Fair-meetings held elsewhere (chap. xxix.).nbsp;But though we find it stated over and over again that atnbsp;these assemblies the laws were publicly � proclaimed,�nbsp;or � promulgated,� or � rehearsed ��to make the peoplenbsp;familiar with them�that they were quot; revised,� or � rearranged,� or � re affirmed ��these several functions beingnbsp;always performed by properly qualified lawyers�there isnbsp;nowhere any open or plain statement that laws were madenbsp;or enacted and sent forth with authority either at the F�isnbsp;or at any of the Aenachs. As a matter of fact, O�Curry,nbsp;though he believed the F�is of Tara exercised legislativenbsp;functions in their widest sense, acknowledges that he wasnbsp;unable to find any record of the enactment of any particular law at these Tara conventions.*

From the earliest times, however, assemblies were convened to deliberate on public questions. Matters of local and general interest were discussed and arranged, such as taxes,nbsp;the making and repairing of roads, bridges, causeways,nbsp;boundaries, the rights of classes or tribes, and such like : butnbsp;this was not legislation. Yet some of these meetings madenbsp;an approach to legislative functions ; as, for instance, thenbsp;synod convened at Tara in 697, where, under the influencenbsp;of St. Adamnan, the law exempting women from takingnbsp;part in war was agreed on and promulgated. It is notnbsp;necessary to quote other examples here ; but those whonbsp;* Man, amp; Cust., i. 29.

wish to study the matter further will find in the footnote* many other references to records of such assemblies. Meetings of this kind at best bore only a faint resemblance tonbsp;legislative assemblies ; for there existed no authoritativenbsp;machinery to have the laws carried out, and anyone whonbsp;chose might refuse to obey them, without subjecting himself to any danger of direct punishment by the state.

But these historical considerations do not go to the bottom of the subject; the real way to determine thenbsp;question is to examine the Laws themselves. When wenbsp;do this, we find scarce a trace of any result of legislativenbsp;action : nothing at all, in fact, resembling statute law. Thenbsp;entire Book of Acaill, which occupies nearly one largenbsp;volume of the Brehon Laws, and which to some extentnbsp;corresponds�as has been said�to the present Britishnbsp;criminal law, consists, as the book itself states, of Precedents�the legal pronouncements of two learned lawyers,nbsp;Cormac Mac Art and Cennfaela the learned. As to thenbsp;Senchus M�r, the most important part of the whole Brehonnbsp;Code, it claims to be merely a revised edition, as alreadynbsp;stated, of the old pagan law in use before the time of St.nbsp;Patrick, of which there is no record, and no indication, thatnbsp;any part was ever enacted by a legislative assembly. Tonbsp;what an extent the judgments of the brehons were regulated by mere precedent or case law is very clearly expressednbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 76) under the word Fasach :�nbsp;� Fasach [a precedent or maxim] ; i.c. the brehon producesnbsp;� a precedent {cosmailes : literally a � likeness �) for everynbsp;� case in which he adjudicates, i.e. a case similar {cosmail)nbsp;� to another : and he afterwards repeats the sentence whichnbsp;� wise brehons had passed upon it [i.e. upon a case similarnbsp;� to the case in hands]. Or he follows a good old judgmentnbsp;quot; for the present case.� So also the Commentary on the

* Br. Laws, i. 37 (ajudgment) ; yy amp; 81 (a judgment) ; 159, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;: iii.

21, last par. ; 150, note 2 ; iv. 227 ; FM, a.d. 1050 (meeting at Killaloe) : O�Curry, MS. Mat,, 45, 23: Man. amp; Cust,, i. 30, mid. ; and 32, top.

Senchus M�r says that the brehon delivered judgment in public from � the precedents and commentaries.�*

The Brehon Laws, then, are not a legislative structure, but merely a collection of customs attaining the force ofnbsp;law by long usage, by hereditary habit, and by publicnbsp;opinion : customs which were thrown into shape and committed to writing by a class of professional lawyers ornbsp;brehons. And a similar growth and development ofnbsp;custom-law took place in the early stages of all the Aryannbsp;nations.t It is to be observed that after the time of St.nbsp;Patrick, in the fifth century, Christianity exerted an ever-increasing influence in law as in other institutions ; and itnbsp;is evident from the law-books that, while custom was thenbsp;main guide of the Brehon lawyers, moral right and wrongnbsp;obtained more and more consideration in the settlement ofnbsp;cases as time went on.

The Brehon Code forms a great body of civil, military, and criminal law. It regulates the various ranks of society,nbsp;from the king down to the slave, and enumerates theirnbsp;several rights and privileges. There are minute rules fornbsp;the m,anagement of property, for the several industries�nbsp;building, brewing, mills, water-courses, fishing-weirs, beesnbsp;and honey�for distress or seizure of goods, for tithes,nbsp;trespass, and evidence. The relations of landlord andnbsp;tenant, the fees of professional men�doctors, judges,nbsp;teachers, builders, artificers�the mutual duties of fathernbsp;and son, of foster-parents and foster-children, of masternbsp;and servant, are all carefully regulated. In that portionnbsp;corresponding to what is now known as criminal law, thenbsp;various offences are minutely distinguished:�murder,nbsp;manslaughter, assaults, wounding, thefts, and all sorts ofnbsp;wilful damage ; and accidental injuries from flails, sledge-

hammers, machines, and weapons of all kinds ; and the amount of compensation is laid down in detail for almostnbsp;every possible variety of injury.

Contracts or covenants are regarded as peculiarly sacred, and are treated in great detail. � There are threenbsp;� periods of evil for the world ��says the Senchus M�r�nbsp;� the period of a plague, of a general war, and of the dissolu-� tion of verbal contracts � ; and again � � The world wouldnbsp;� be evilly situated if express contracts were not binding.�*nbsp;But they should be contracts in which both parties werenbsp;perfectly free : a condition always very clearly kept in view.nbsp;There were several ways of striking a contract or ratifyingnbsp;a covenant�all very simple. One was by the two partiesnbsp;joining their right hands, which should be first unglovednbsp;if gloves were worn. I Sometimes one of the parties putnbsp;his drinking horn into the hand of the other :j: a practicenbsp;anciently common in England, especially in the transfer ofnbsp;lands. Certain legal formulae were commonly used :�thenbsp;conditions were to be observed � while the sea surroundsnbsp;Erin,� � so long as the sun and wind remain,� amp;c.� Important contracts were always witnessed ; and it was usual tonbsp;give, on each side, persons of standing as securities andnbsp;guarantees for the fulfilment of contracts or conditions.nbsp;These persons became liable in case of default. A contractnbsp;was denoted by the words cor, cofach, and ernaidm.

The Brehon Law was vehemently condemned by English writers ; and in several acts of parliament it wasnbsp;made treason for the English settlers to use it. But thesenbsp;testimonies are to be received with much reserve as comingnbsp;from prejudiced and inter�sted parties. The laws laidnbsp;down in the Brehon Code were not, in fact, peculiarly Irish.nbsp;They were, as has been remarked (p. i8i), similar to thenbsp;ancient laws of all other Aryan tribes, a survival-modified

by time and circumstance�of what was once universal.* We have good reason to believe that the Brehon Law wasnbsp;very well suited to the society in which, and from which, itnbsp;grew up. This view is confirmed by the well-known factnbsp;that when the English settlers living outside the Palenbsp;adopted the Irish manners and customs, they all, both highnbsp;and low, abandoned their own law and adopted the Brehonnbsp;Code, to which they became quite as much attached as thenbsp;Irish themselves. The Anglo-Irish lords of those timesnbsp;commonly kept brehons in their service after the mannernbsp;of the native Irish chiefs : although it was treason fornbsp;them to do so :t and even the Butlers, who of all the greatnbsp;Anglo-Irish families were least inclined to imitate the Irish,nbsp;adopted the custom. Many authorities might be cited innbsp;proof of all this ; but the following passage from an Anglo-Irish State paper of 1537 sets forth the facts as clearly andnbsp;strongly as could be desired :�

� Mem.�The statutes of Kilcas [i.e. the local Brehon Law of Kilcash in Tipperary, near Clommel] be commonly used in the Country by thenbsp;lord of Ossory [one of the Butlers], and by his Irish judge called a brehon,nbsp;and by all other freeholders of the Countrey, and they have none othernbsp;lawe but the same ; and divers of the bookes of the same statutes \i.e.nbsp;MS. books of those parts of the Brehon Law] are in the safe keeping ofnbsp;the shiref of the shire of Kilkenny [the principality of the earls of Ormond,nbsp;chiefs of the Butlers], and the bishop of Waterford : and one book isnbsp;in possession of Rory Mac Loughire, being judge [or brehon] of thenbsp;country.quot;!

FiG. 70.�Sculpture on Window : Cathedral Church, Glendalough : Beraujcr, 1799. {From Petre�s Round Towers.)

i^HE following account of the ancient land laws of Ireland, which has been compiled chiefly from the Brehon Laws,nbsp;is corroborated in some of its mainnbsp;features by those early English writersnbsp;who described the native Irish customsnbsp;from personal observation. It throws much light on thenbsp;Irish land question of modern times.

In theory the land belonged not to individuals, but to the tribe. The king or chief had a portion assignednbsp;to him as mensal land. The rest was occupied by thenbsp;tribesmen in the several ways mentioned below. Thenbsp;chief, though exercising a sort of supervision over thenbsp;whole of the territory, had no right of ownership exceptnbsp;over his own property, if he had any, and for the timenbsp;being over his mensal land. It would appear thatnbsp;originally�in prehistoric times�the land was all cornmonnbsp;property, and chief and people were liable to be callednbsp;on to give up their portions for a new distribution. Butnbsp;as time went on, this custom was gradually broken in upon ;nbsp;and the lands held by some, after long possession, came

to be looked upon as private property. As tar back as our records go, there was some private ownership in land ;nbsp;and it is plainly recognised all through the Brehon Laws.¹nbsp;� All the Brehon writers seem to have a bias towardsnbsp;private, as distinguished from collective, property. �t Yetnbsp;the original idea of collective ownership was never quitenbsp;lost: for although men owned land, the ownership wasnbsp;� not so absolute as at present. A man, for instance, couldnbsp;not alienate his land outside the tribe ; and he had tonbsp;comply with certain other tribal obligations in the management and disposal of it, I all which restrictions were vestigesnbsp;of the old tribe ownership. But within these limits, whichnbsp;were not very stringent, a man might dispose of his landnbsp;just as he pleased.

Outside of the Brehon Laws, we do not find much reference to the former common occupation of land. Butnbsp;there are at least two passages which have been noticed bynbsp;Sir Henry Maine (Anc. Inst., 114) as preserving a dimnbsp;memory of the old state of things : interesting passagesnbsp;supplied to him by Dr. Whitley Stokes. One is an ancientnbsp;scholiast�s preface in the Book of Hymns (Todd, 132) ;�nbsp;� For the people were very numerous in Erin at that timenbsp;� [namely, during the reign of the sons of Aed Slaine, a.d.nbsp;� 656 to 664] : and so great were their numbers that thenbsp;� land could afford but thrice nine ridges \tri not immaire :nbsp;� meaning here long narrow plots�not hill-ridges] to eachnbsp;� man in Erin ; viz., nine of bog, nine of field, and nine ofnbsp;� wood.� The other passage is in one of the ancient tales�nbsp;� The Birth of Cuculainn ��in the Book of the Dun Cownbsp;(and copied into that, a.d. iioo, from an earlier ms.).nbsp;This story relates how, on one occasion, a party of thenbsp;Red Branch Knights set out southwards from Emain innbsp;chariots in pursuit of a flock of enchanted birds : and they

Br. Laws. III. 53 ; iv. 69 to 150 : these references given as specimens ; many other passages might be referred to.

proceeded across country without difficulty, because, says the story :�� There was neither trench, nor fence, nornbsp;quot; stone wall round land in those days, until there camenbsp;� the time of the sons of Aed Slaine, but only smoothnbsp;� fields. Because of the abundance of households in theirnbsp;� time, therefore, it came to pass that they made boundariesnbsp;quot; in Ireland.�* Maine remarks it as instructive that, innbsp;both passages, the change is referred to an increase ofnbsp;population : and he goes on to express his opinion thatnbsp;this unquestionably represents true history. The commonnbsp;occupation of land is also alluded to in the early Memoirsnbsp;of St. Patrick.!

Within historic times the following were the rules of land tenure, as set forth chiefly in the Brehon Laws, andnbsp;also in some important points by early English writers.Jnbsp;The tribe (or aggregate of tribes), under the rule of onenbsp;king or chief, held permanently a definite district of thenbsp;country. The tribe was divided, as already describednbsp;(p. i66), into smaller groups�clans or septs�each of which,nbsp;being governed by a sub-chief under the chief of the tribe,nbsp;was a sort of miniature of the whole tribe ; and each clannbsp;was permanently settled down on a separate portion of thenbsp;land which was considered as their separate property, andnbsp;which was not interfered with by any other clans or septsnbsp;of the tribe. The land was held by individuals in somenbsp;one of five different ways.

First.�The chief, whether of the tribe or of the sept, had a portion as mensal land, for life or for as long asnbsp;he remained chief (for which, see p. 50,, supra).

X For Irish land tenures, see SuU., In trod., 185 et seq. ; and for the correspondences between Irish and Teutonic land laws, the same voL.nbsp;131 et seq.

bj� persons who had come, in various ways, to own the land. Most of these were flaith^, or nobles, of the several ranks ;nbsp;and some were professional men, such as physicians, judges,nbsp;poets, historians, artificers, amp;c., who had got their lands asnbsp;stipends for their professional services to the chief, andnbsp;in whose families it often remained for generations. Undernbsp;this second heading may be included the plot on whichnbsp;stood the homestead of every free member of the tribe,nbsp;with the homestead itself.

Third.�Persons held, as tenants, portions of the lands belonging to those who owned it as private property, ornbsp;portions of the mensal land of the chief�much like tenantsnbsp;of the present day : these paid what was equivalent tonbsp;rent�always in kind. The term was commonly sevennbsp;57ears, and they might sublet to under-tenants.

Fourth.�The rest of the arable land, which was called the Tribe-land�equivalent to the folc or folk land ofnbsp;England�forming by far the largest part of the territory,nbsp;belonged to the people in general�the several subdivisionsnbsp;of it to the several septs�no part being private property.*nbsp;This was occupied by the free members of the sept, whonbsp;were owners for the time being, each of his own farm.nbsp;Every free man had a right to his share, a right nevernbsp;questioned. Those who occupied the tribe-land did notnbsp;hold for any fixed term, for the land of the sept was liablenbsp;to gavelkind (p. 197, belowl or redistribution from time tonbsp;time�once every three or four years, t Yet they were notnbsp;tenants at will, for they could not be disturbed till the timenbsp;of gavelling ; even then each man kept his crops and gotnbsp;compensation for unexhausted improvements ; and thoughnbsp;he gave up one farm, he always got another.

Fifth.�The non-arable or waste land�mountain, forest, bog, amp;c.�was Commons-land. This was not appropriated by individuals ; but every free man had a right

* Br. Laws, ni. 17, 53 ; Ware, Antiqq., 72, top. f Davies, Disf. : Letter to Lord Salisbury, ed. 1787, p. 279.

to use it for grazing,* for procuring fuel, or for the chaser There was no need of subdividing the commons by fences,nbsp;for the cattle grazed over it without distinction. The portion of territory occupied by each clan or sept commonlynbsp;included land held in all the five ways here described.

Between common clan ownership on the one hand, and private ownership by individuals on the other, there wasnbsp;an intermediate link; for in some cases land was ownednbsp;by a family, though not by any individual member, andnbsp;remained in the same family for generations. This wasnbsp;often the case with land granted for professional services.nbsp;A very remarkable and peculiar development of familynbsp;ownership was what was known as the Gelfine system,nbsp;under which four groups of persons, all nearly related tonbsp;each other, held four adjacent tracts of land as a sort ofnbsp;common property, subject to regulations, then well recognised, but now hard enough to understand.!

It should be observed that the individuals and families w'ho owned land as private property were comparativelynbsp;few, and their possessions were not extensive : the greatnbsp;bulk of both people and land fell under the conditions ofnbsp;tenure described under the fourth and fifth headings.

Every tribesman had to pay to his chief certain subsidies according to his means. Those who held portion of the tribe-land, and who used the commons land for grazingnbsp;or other purposes, paid these subsidies of course ; butnbsp;beyond this they had no rent to pay to any individual fornbsp;land held or used under the categories four and five describednbsp;above. The usual subsidy for commons pasturage was in

* How commons land was used for grazing will be described in chap, xxiii., vol. II,, (p. 282).

t On the Gelfine system : see Br. Laws, iv., Introd. i-. ; 41, last par. and note 2 ; 43; 63,3; 249,20; 269,13: 287, note 4 ; 289, notesnbsp;T and 2 ; 293,,: Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 6g : and Seebohng Tribalnbsp;Custom, p. 76.

the proportion of one animal yearly for every seven,* which was considerably less than a reasonable rent of the presentnbsp;day. Probably the subsidy for tillage-land was in muchnbsp;the same proportion. Every person who held land sharednbsp;the liabilities of the tribe ; for instance, he was liable tonbsp;military service, f and he was bound to contribute to thenbsp;support of old people who had no children. J

The tribesman who placed himself under the protection of a chief, and who held land, whether it was the privatenbsp;property of the lessor or a part of the general tribe-land,nbsp;was, as already e.xplained, a C�ile [cail'eh] or tenant; alsonbsp;called f�in� and aithech, i.e. a plebeian, farmer, or rent-payer. But a man who takes land must have stock-cows and sheep for the pasture-land, horses or oxen tonbsp;carry on the work of tillage. A small proportion of thenbsp;c�iles had stock of their own, but the great majority hadnbsp;not. Where the tenant needed stock it was the custom fornbsp;the chief to lend him as much as he wanted at certainnbsp;rates of payment. A man might hire stock from the kingnbsp;or a chief, or from a noble, or from some rich bo-aire. Itnbsp;often happened that an intermediate chief who gave stocknbsp;to tenants took stock himself from the king of the territory.nbsp;This custom of giving and taking stock on hire wasnbsp;universal in Ireland ; and it gave rise to a peculiar setnbsp;of social relations which were regulated in great detail bynbsp;the Brehon Law.

The c�iles or tenants were of two kinds, according to the manner of taking stock :�Saer-c�iles, or free tenants,nbsp;and Daer-c�iles, or bond tenants�the latter also callednbsp;giallna [geelna ; g hard] tenants. A sac/ [sare] tenant wasnbsp;one who took stock without giving security�nothing butnbsp;a mere acknowledgment (Br. Laws, ii. 195). Stock givennbsp;in this manner was saer-stock, and the tenant held by saernbsp;tenure. A daer tenant was one who gave security for his

stock : his stock was daer stock; and he held by daer tenure. The saer tenants were comparatively independent,nbsp;and many of them were rich : as, for instance, the ho-aires,nbsp;who were all saet tenants to kings, chiefs, or nobles. Thenbsp;pa3mients saer tenants had to make were reasonable. Notnbsp;so the daer tenants : they had to pay heavily, and werenbsp;generally in a state of dependence. Their position wasnbsp;much the same as that of needy persons of our own day,nbsp;who are forced to borrow at usurious interest. More stocknbsp;was given to a man in daer tenancy than in saer tenancy.nbsp;It was of more advantage to the chief to give daer stocknbsp;than saer stock (Br. Laws, ii. 211, 213).

When a man took daer stock, he had to do so openly, without any concealment; and his Fine [tinna]�i.e. hisnbsp;family, including all his sept or kindred within certainnbsp;degrees of relationship�might if they pleased veto thenbsp;whole transaction (Br. Laws, ii. 217). From this it wouldnbsp;appear that daer tenancy was viewed with disfavour by thenbsp;community, for the reason, no doubt, that it tended tonbsp;lower the status of the tribe.* There was a sharp distinction between the two orders of tenants, the daer tenantsnbsp;being very much the lower in public estimation. Whennbsp;the chief gave evidence in a court of law against his tenants,nbsp;the saer tenants were privileged to give evidence in reply,nbsp;but the daer tenants were not (Br. Laws, ii. 345). A daernbsp;or bond tenant was so called, not that he was a slave or annbsp;unfree person, but because by taking daer stock he forfeitednbsp;some of his rights as a freeman, and his heavy paymentsnbsp;always kept him down.

The ordinary subsidy owed by a saer tenant to his chief was called Bes-tigi [bess-tee] or house tribute, varyingnbsp;in amount according to his means or the extent of hisnbsp;land : it consisted of cows, pigs, bacon, malt, corn, amp;c. Henbsp;was also bound to give the chief either a certain number ofnbsp;days� work, or service in war.j For whatever saer stock

he took he had to pay one-third of its value yearly for seven years, at the end of which time the stock became hisnbsp;own property without further payment.* This was equivalent to thirty-three per cent, per annum for seven yearsnbsp;to repay a loan with its interes I�a sufficiently exorbitantnbsp;charge. He also had to send a man at stated times to paynbsp;full homage to the chief. The labour and the homage arenbsp;designated in the laws as the worst or most irksome of thenbsp;saer tenant�s obligations (Br. Laws, ii. 195).

A daer tenant had to give war-service (Br. Laws, iii. 495) and work. But his chief payment was a food-supplynbsp;called Biatad [bee'ha] or food-rent�cows, pigs, corn, bacon,nbsp;butter, honey, amp;c.�paid twice a year. The amount depended chiefly on the amount of daer stock he tooknbsp;(ii. 229), and probably varied according to local custom.nbsp;At the end of his term he had, under ordinary circumstances, to return all the stock or its equivalent (ii. 223).nbsp;But if the chief died at the end of seven years, the tenant,nbsp;provided he had paid his food-rent regularly, kept thenbsp;stock (ii. 269). The daer tenants were the principalnbsp;purveyors of the chief, who could be sure of a supply ofnbsp;provisions all the year round for his household andnbsp;numerous followers, by properly regulating the periods ofnbsp;payment of his several tenants. This custom is describednbsp;by several English writers as existing in their own time,nbsp;so late as the time of Elizabeth.

The daer tenants were bound to give coinmed [coiney], or refection, on visitation�that is to say, the chief wasnbsp;entitled to go with a company to the daer tenant�s house,nbsp;and remain there for a time varying from one day to anbsp;month, the tenant supplying food, drink, and sanctuary ornbsp;protection from danger, f The number of followers andnbsp;the time, with the quantity and quality of food and thenbsp;extent of protection, were regulated by law according to

the tenant�s amount of daer stock (Br. Laws, iil. 21), and according to the rank of the guest; the higher the rank thenbsp;longer the time (ii. 20, note 2). The protection might benbsp;relinquished either wholly or partly for an increase of foodnbsp;and drink or vice versa (ii. 21). Sometimes soldiers, innbsp;lieu of regular pay, were sent among the tenants, fromnbsp;whom they were entitled to receive buannacht or bonaght,nbsp;i.e. money, food, and entertainment: an eminently evilnbsp;custom. The refection and bonaght, wLich were by farnbsp;the most oppressive of the daer tenant�s liabilities, seem tonbsp;have been imposts peculiar to Ireland. The daer tenantsnbsp;were subject to several other duties, which came at irregularnbsp;intervals ; and in time of war the chief usually imposednbsp;much heavier tributes than at other times upon all thenbsp;tenants. Sometimes saer tenants were liable to coiney :nbsp;and occasionally a church was under an obligation tonbsp;supply a night�s coiney to the chief at certain intervals,nbsp;such as once a quarter.¹ But besides this, the superiornbsp;chief, when on his visitations, was to be entertained freenbsp;by his subordinate chiefs, t Kings, bishops, and certainnbsp;classes of chiefs and professional men were also entitled tonbsp;free entertainment when passing through territories, withnbsp;the proper number of attendants.!nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;appears that

when certain officials met to transact public business, the tenants, both saer and daer, had to lodge and feed themnbsp;(ill. 21). If either the chief or the tenant fell into poverty,nbsp;provision was made that he 'should not suffer by unjustnbsp;pressure from the other party : �No one,�� says the lawbook, � should be oppressed in his difficulty �� (ii. 339).

The daer tenants were by far the most numerous ; and accordingly this system of the chief stocking the farms wasnbsp;very general. It has often been compared to the metayernbsp;system, still found in some parts of France and Italy,

according to which the landlord supplies land, stock, and utensils, and receives half the produce.

The text of the Laws gives no information regarding the circumstances that led some to become saer tenantsnbsp;and others daer tenants ; and the whole subject is involvednbsp;in considerable obscurity. But a careful study of the textnbsp;will enable one to gather that this is probably how mattersnbsp;stood. All who took land had to pay the chief certainnbsp;subsidies�as we have said�independently of what theynbsp;had to pay for stock. Those who chose to become saernbsp;tenants did so because they had stock of their own, eithernbsp;quite or nearly sufhcient; and they took stock in smallnbsp;quantity to make up the amount they needed. The daernbsp;tenants, on the other hand, were poor men who had to takenbsp;all their stock�or nearly all�on hire ; and they had tonbsp;give security because they were poor, and because theynbsp;took such a large quantity. In their case, the subsidies fornbsp;land and the payments for stock are in the Laws commonlynbsp;mixed up so as to be undistinguishable.

The power, wealth, and influence of a chief depended very much on the amount of stock he possessed for lendingnbsp;out: for besides enriching him, it gave him all the greatnbsp;advantage over his tenants which the lender has everywhere over the borrower. This practice was so liable tonbsp;abuse that the compilers of the Brehon Code attemptednbsp;to protect borrowing tenants by a multitude of precisenbsp;detailed rules. Sir Henry Maine considers that the payments made by the Irish tenants for stock developed innbsp;time into a rent payment in respect of land.

Very careful provisions�penalties in the shape of heavy compensation payments�^are laid down in the Laws to prevent either the chief or the tenant�whether in saer or daernbsp;tenancy�from terminating the agreement in an arbitrarynbsp;fashion, as well as to protect each against any neglect ornbsp;misconduct on the part of the other.* The tenure of

Though the custom of visiting tenants� houses for coiney or refection was carefully safeguarded in thenbsp;Brehon Law, it was obviously liable to great abuse. Innbsp;imitation of the Irish, the Anglo-Irish lords adopted thenbsp;custom of Coyne and Livery,¹ which they commonly leviednbsp;from the English settlers, and committed such excesses�nbsp;far beyond any abuses of the native chiefs�that theynbsp;almost ruined the settlement by it.f

The social position of fudirs, saer and daer, has been already explained (p. 162). The saer-tudirs were permittednbsp;to take land from year to year ; and they could not benbsp;disturbed till the end of their term. Allowance had tonbsp;be made to them for unexhausted improvements, such asnbsp;manure. As they were permitted a settlement by thenbsp;grace of the chief, they were reckoned a part of thenbsp;chief�s fine or family (Br. Laws, iv. 283), though theynbsp;were not members of the tribe. Outside these small privileges, however, they were tenants at will. It would seemnbsp;indeed that the chief might demand almost anything henbsp;pleased from a fudir tenant, and if refused might turn himnbsp;off (ill. 131). But the daer-fudirs were in a still worsenbsp;position. If a daer-fudir took land, it did not belong tonbsp;him during occupation (in. 131) ; he was merely permittednbsp;to till it � he was a tenant at will, having no right whatevernbsp;in his holding. He was completely at the mercy of thenbsp;chief, who generally rackrented him so as to leave barelynbsp;enough for subsistence. The daer-fudirs, after a certainnbsp;period of residence (p. 163, supra), belonged to the land

Coyne and livery�food for man and horse. Coyne is the Irish coinmed or coiney ; livery is French�' food for horse.�

�f For coyne and livery and its abuses, see Ware, Antiqq., chap. xii. and Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 78.

on which they were settled, and could not leave it. The land kept by a flaith or lioble in his own hands was commonly worked by daer-fudirs ; and none but a noble couldnbsp;keep them on his estate.

Spenser, Davies, and other early English writers speak of the Irish tenants as in a condition worse than that ofnbsp;bondslaves, and as taking land only from j^ear to year.nbsp;No doubt, the tenants they had in view were the fudirs,nbsp;who must have been particularly numerous during thenbsp;Irish wars of Elizabeth (p. 164, supra). It is evident fromnbsp;the Brehon Law that the fudirs were a most importantnbsp;class on account of their numbers ; for as they tended tonbsp;increase in the disturbed state of the country from thenbsp;ninth century down, they must ultimately have formednbsp;a very large proportion of the population.

Sometimes a whole tribe, for one reason or another, came to be in such a state of dependence or serfdom asnbsp;to approach slavery. They were commonly a tribe whonbsp;had been expelled from their homes by stronger settlersnbsp;or invaders, and who, seeking a place of settlement from anbsp;strange chief, were received by him under hard conditions.nbsp;Such a tribe was usually designated daer-thuath [dair-hooa],nbsp;i.e. � bond-tribe,� corresponding with � daer-ch��e � as appliednbsp;to an individual (p. 189, supra) ; often called in Englishnbsp;� enslaved tribe,� but the people were really not slaves.nbsp;They were subject to heavy tributes, and had to executenbsp;certain works, such as building, road-repairing, amp;c., withoutnbsp;payment, for the chief of the district, and they were lookednbsp;upon as inferiors by the people among whom they settled.

The ancient rights of the tenants, i.e. of the c�iles or freemen, as may be gathered from the preceding part ofnbsp;this chapter, were chiefly three :�A right to some portionnbsp;of the arable or tribe-land, and to the use of the commons ;nbsp;a right to pay no more than a fair rent, which, in thenbsp;absence of express agreement, was adjusted by law ;* anbsp;* Br. Laws, i. 159 ; U- 317 ; ur. 127.

right to own a house and homestead, and (with certain equitable exceptions) all unexhausted improvements.¹ ^{2 3 4}nbsp;Unless under special contract, in individual cases, thenbsp;fudirs had no claim to these�with this exception, however, that the saer-fudiys had a right to their unexhaustednbsp;improvements. Among the freemen who held the tribe-land there was no such thing as eviction from house ornbsp;land, for there was a universal conviction that the landlordnbsp;was not the absolute owner, so that all free tenants hadnbsp;what was equivalent to fixity of tenure. If a man failed tonbsp;pay the subsidy to his chief, or the rent of land held in anynbsp;way, or the debt due for stock, it was recovered like anynbsp;other debt, by the processes described in next chapter,nbsp;never by process of eviction, f

First, as private property.�When a man had land understood to be his own, it would naturally pass to hisnbsp;heirst�i.e. his heirs in the sense then understood, notnbsp;necessarily in our sense of the word ; or he might if henbsp;wished divide it among them during his life�a thing thatnbsp;was sometimes done. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patricknbsp;(109, III), we find cases of the sons inheriting the land ofnbsp;their father. There appears in the Brehon Law a tendencynbsp;to favour descent of land by private ownership : � Thenbsp;� Brehon Law writers seem to me distinctly biassed innbsp;� favour of the descent of property in individual families.�'�nbsp;It should be remarked that those who inherited the propertynbsp;inherited also the liabilities.||

Second.�The land held by the chief as mensal estate descended, not to his heir, but to the person who succeeded

Third, by Gavelkind.�When a tenant who held a part of the tribe-land died, his farm did not go to hisnbsp;children : but the whole of the land belonging to the finenbsp;or sept was redivided or gavelled among all the male adultnbsp;members of the sept � including the dead man�s adultnbsp;sons�those members of the sept who were illegitimatenbsp;getting their share like the rest.¹ The domain of the chief,nbsp;and all land that was private property, were exempt. Thenbsp;redistribution by gavelkind on each occasion extendednbsp;to the clan or sept�not beyond. Davies complains, withnbsp;justice, that this custom prevented the tenants from makingnbsp;permanent improvements.f

Davies asserts that land went by only two modes� Tanistry and Gavelkind : but both the Laws and thenbsp;Annals show that descent by private ownership was wellnbsp;recognised.

The two customs of Tanistry and Gavelkind formerly prevailed all over Europe, and continued in Russia till anbsp;very recent period; and Gavelkind, in a modified form,nbsp;still exists in Kent. They were abolished and made illegalnbsp;in Ireland in the reign of James I. ; after which landnbsp;descended to the next heir according to English law.

Davies, Discoverie, ed. 1747, p. i6g ; Br. Laws, iv. 7, 9. t Letter to Lord Salisbury, ed. 1787, p. 280.

ANCIENT Ireland, as has been already explained, the state had not attainednbsp;sufficient strength and authority to makenbsp;laws and to see them carried out. Therenbsp;was accordingly no offence against thenbsp;state, and the state did not prosecute.

Every offence was against the individual �what lawyers call a � tort,� as distinguished from annbsp;offence against the state, which is technically called anbsp;� crime,� and on the injured party or his friends devolvednbsp;the duty of seeking redress. If a man is assaulted ornbsp;murdered nowadays, it is the duty of the magistratesnbsp;and police�whether friends intervene or not�to bringnbsp;the offender to justice. But in Ireland in those timesnbsp;there were no police, and a man might waylay or killnbsp;another, or set fire to a house, or steal a horse, andnbsp;still go scot-free, unless the injured person or his friendsnbsp;took the matter in hand. But we must not supposenbsp;from this that a lawless state of things existed, or thatnbsp;evil-disposed persons could do as they pleased. Thenbsp;laws suited the times, and aggrieved persons and their

friends, as we may well suppose, were always sharp enough to exact compensation or punishment for injuries, just asnbsp;they are at the present day in cases where the state will not,nbsp;or cannot, move ; so that injustice and evil deeds of everynbsp;kind were in fact kept in check, to all intents and purposes,nbsp;as well as they are now. A state of things similar to allnbsp;this existed among the Anglo-Saxons, as well as amongnbsp;all early Aryan communities.*

In very early times, beyond the reach of history, the law of retaliation prevailed�quot;an eye for an eye, a tooth fornbsp;a tooth ��in other words, every man or every family thatnbsp;was injured might take direct revenge on the offender.nbsp;But this, being found inconsistent with the peace and wellbeing of the community�especially in cases of homicide,nbsp;which were frequent enough in those days�gradually gavenbsp;place to the law of compensation, which applied to everynbsp;form of injury. That this general system of compensationnbsp;for wrongful acts was at least reasonably effectual is evidentnbsp;from the fact that it was the custom among all the earlynbsp;Aryan tribes.]quot; � In most early codes with which we arenbsp;� acquainted the idea of compensation predominates overnbsp;� that of the duty of revenge.�! In Ireland the process wasnbsp;this :�The injured party, having no civil authority tonbsp;appeal to, might at once, if he chose, take the law into hisnbsp;own hands. But though this was sometimes done, publicnbsp;sentiment was decidedly against it, and the long-establishednbsp;custom was to refer all such matters to the arbitration of anbsp;brehon. Accordingly, the person injured sued the offendernbsp;in proper form, and if the latter responded, the case was'nbsp;referred to the local brehon, who decided according to law.nbsp;The penalty always took the form of a fine�to be paid tonbsp;the family injured�no other punishment was prescribednbsp;by a brehon (see below, p. 213, 9)�and the brehon�s feenbsp;was usually paid out of this fine (p. 169, supra).

If the offender refused to submit the case to the usual tribunal, or if he withheld payment after the case had beennbsp;decided against him, or if a man refused to pay a just debtnbsp;of any kind�in any one of these cases the plaintiff or thenbsp;creditor proceeded by Distress (Irish Athgabdil) ; that is tonbsp;say, he distrained or seized the cattle or other effects of thenbsp;defendant. Due notice had to be given, but no other legalnbsp;preliminary�^no permission from, or reference to, any courtnbsp;or other higher authority�was necessary : the plaintiffnbsp;resorted to distress on his own responsibility. We willnbsp;suppose the effects to be cattle. There was generally annbsp;anad or stay of one or more days on the distress ; that is,nbsp;the plaintiff went through the form of seizing the cattle, butnbsp;did not remove them (Br. Laws, iii. 327). The defendantnbsp;had, however, to give a pledge�usually valuable goods, butnbsp;sometimes his son or other family member�to the plaintiff,nbsp;who took it away and retained it till the end of the stay,nbsp;when he returned it on the distrained cattle being formallynbsp;handed over to him. If the defendant refused to give anbsp;pledge, then- there was no stay ; it was an immediatenbsp;distress, and the cattle were taken on the spot. Duringnbsp;the stay the cattle remained in the possession of the defendant or debtor, no doubt to give him time to make up hisnbsp;mind as to what course to take, viz. either to pay the debtnbsp;or to have the case tried before the brehon : but the plaintiff had all the time a claim on them.

If at the end of the stay the defendant did not give up the cattle or pay the debt, the plaintiff kept the pledge,nbsp;which he then might dispose of as he would the distress ;*nbsp;he might keep the goods or sell the person into slavery.nbsp;If the debt was not paid at the end of the lawful stay, thenbsp;plaintiff, in the presence of certain witnesses, removed the

animals and put them in a pound.* If a chief took cattle in distress, he might legally keep them during detentionnbsp;time in the faithche or green of his own homestead, whichnbsp;in such a case constituted a pound, instead of sending themnbsp;to the public pound. Animals might be impounded onnbsp;other occasions besides distress, such as for trespass. Fornbsp;the reception and detention of cattle impounded for anynbsp;cause, there were in every tuath or district seven differentnbsp;pounds, each attached to the residence of a chief or of annbsp;ollave of some class, f who of course received a compensation fee for sheltering and feeding the animals. To benbsp;permitted to keep a pound was accordingly a valuablenbsp;privilege. Some pounds are designated as lawful [dlig-thigh), and some as unlawful (indligfMgh). �Lawful�nbsp;pounds were those recognised bj^ law, i.e. having some sortnbsp;of registration : an � unlawful � pound meant one that hadnbsp;no such recognition�probably kept by persons on theirnbsp;own account. J � Unlawful,� here does not mean contrarynbsp;to law, but simply unrecognised or unregistered. The distinction was important; for if an accident occurred, as, fornbsp;example, if a cow broke her leg in a pound, the personnbsp;taking the distress was liable for the damage if it happenednbsp;to be an unlawful pound : but he was free from liability ifnbsp;the pound was lawful. Some lawful pounds were callednbsp;mainner and some form {Br. Laws, ii. ii), which were stillnbsp;further classified : and gobhang appears to have been anbsp;general name for a cattle-pound. The animals were notnbsp;to be mixed : each species should have a separate compartment or pound ; and diseased animals were to be separatednbsp;from those that were sound. Proper provision had to benbsp;made for feeding and sheltering impounded cattle.�

In all cases of impending distress the following � three quot; things are to be announced at the residence of the defen-� dant, i.c. the debt for which it [the distress] was taken,

* Br. Laws, i. 289, 291. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Ibid., 1. 293, top ; n. ii, 13.

t Ibid., II. 5, last par. ; ii, top line. � Ibid., 1. 269, 305 ; ii. ii.

202 government, military SYSTEM, AN� LAW [PART 1 � the pound in which it was put, the law agent by whom itnbsp;� was taken � (i. 269). The animals remained in the poundnbsp;for a period called a dithim, during which the expense ofnbsp;feeding and tending was paid out of the value of the cattle.¹nbsp;At the end of the dithim they began to be forfeited to thenbsp;plaintiff at a certain rate per day, till such a number becamenbsp;forfeited as paid both the debt and the expenses, f Thenbsp;length of the anad and of the dithim was regulated by lawnbsp;according to circumstances. There was no stay�i.c. thenbsp;distress was immediate�when it was taken by a chief fromnbsp;one of a lower grade, and also in certain other obvious casesnbsp;(as when the creditor was likely to abscond) ; in some cases,nbsp;also, notice was not necessary. In immediate distress thenbsp;cattle were removed at once to the pound. If after thenbsp;plaintiff had given due notice the defendant absconded, hisnbsp;fin'e [finnal or kindred were liable.|

The defendant or debtor might prevent the removal of the cattle at the beginning, or might get them back up tonbsp;the end of the dithim, by either paying the debt and expenses, or giving a pledge that he would submit the casenbsp;for trial, if it had not been tried already. Goods of anynbsp;kind might be taken in distress, or a man himself, if therenbsp;were no goods ;� but the distress, was most generally innbsp;cattle. Much formality was observed in all these proceedings ; and the distrainer had to be accompanied by hisnbsp;law-agent and seven witnesses (Br. Laws, i. 291), whonbsp;should be able to testify that there was a distress, and thatnbsp;it was carried out in exact accordance with legal rules.

We know that fictions form an important part of all laws both ancient and modern : and many are to be foundnbsp;in the Brehon Law : all, however, like those in other codes,nbsp;being traces or representations of what had once been realnbsp;transactions. In the cases of some distresses with stay,nbsp;the fictitious observances � without which the distress

would not be legally complete�were very curious. Thus, when barren cattle were distrained, a stone was thrownnbsp;over them thrice before witnesses (like the legal fictionnbsp;mentioned by Gibbon¹ as practised by the ancientnbsp;Romans ;�� a work was prohibited by casting a stone �).nbsp;If hens were distrained, a little bit of withe was tied onnbsp;their feet, and their wings were clipped ; if a dog, a sticknbsp;was placed across his trough to prohibit feeding ; if annbsp;anvil, a little withe was tied on it to prohibit its use ; ifnbsp;carpenters� or shield-makers� tools, a little withe-tie wasnbsp;put on them ; if distress was on religious orders, a withe-tie was put on their bell-house or at the foot of the altar�nbsp;a sign that they were not to be used ; and so forth, f Afternbsp;these formalities it was understood that, though the defendant was allowed to keep the things, he was not to makenbsp;use of them meantime.

The object of a distress was either to recover a debt or to force a reference to a brehon ; it appears to have beennbsp;the almost universal way of bringing about the redress ofnbsp;wrong (Br. Laws, i. 257). Heavy penalties were incurrednbsp;by those who distrained unjustly or contrary to law.!nbsp;Distress should be taken � between sunrise and sunset � :nbsp;except in cases of urgent necessity, it should not be takennbsp;at night (Br. Laws, i. 105). The Irish proceedings bynbsp;distress were almost identical with the corresponding provisions of the ancient Roman Law, as well as of those ofnbsp;all the early Aryan nations.� The law of distress is givennbsp;in great detail, and occupies a large part�186 pages ofnbsp;Irish type�of the Senchus M�r.

Suppose now the defendant defied all the proceedings of the plaintiff�a course, however, which very fewnbsp;ventured on, partly on account of the danger, and partlynbsp;for the reasons stated below (p. 204) ; but if he did, since

there was no state intervention to enforce obedience, the injured person might take the law into his own hands, andnbsp;fall back on the old rule of direct retaliation.¹ All this, asnbsp;already observed, resembled the procedure that grew upnbsp;among the early Aryan people of all nationalities.

This brings us to make an observation on an important point. Three principles, which have been already separately enunciated, were long and deeply embedded in thenbsp;Brehon Law, viz. :�That every free man had a right tonbsp;a portion of the land to enable him to subsist, the deprivalnbsp;of which constituted a grievous injustice : that if a freenbsp;tenant failed to pay his rent or subsidy, it was recoverednbsp;like any other debt�never by process of eviction (p. 196,nbsp;supra) : and that the duty of inflicting punishment fornbsp;wrong devolved by right on the injured person where allnbsp;means of obtaining redress from the culprit failed. Customsnbsp;that have grown up slowly among a people during morenbsp;than a thousand years take long to eradicate. They subsist as living forces for generations after their formal abolition ; and the unconscious instinctive hereditary memorynbsp;of these three principles will go far to explain the tendencynbsp;to personal acts of vengeance witnessed in Ireland downnbsp;to recent times in cases of eviction from houses and lands.

In some cases before distress was resorted to, a curious custom came into play :�the plaintiff � fasted on � thenbsp;defendant; and this process, called troscad, � fasting,� wasnbsp;always necessary before distress when the defendant wasnbsp;of chieftain grade and the plaintiff of an inferior gradenbsp;(Br. Laws, i. 113). It was done in this way. The plaintiff, having served due notice, went to the house of the

Maine, Anc. Inst., in. For more information on the subject of Procedure by Distress, the reader is referred to this last-mentioned work ;nbsp;to Sir S. Ferguson's Paper in Trans. R. I. Acad., xxiv. 83 ; and to M.nbsp;D�Arbois de Jubainville, Rev. Celt., vii., pp. 20-31.

defendant, and, sitting before the door, remained there without food. It may be inferred that the debtor generallynbsp;yielded before the fast was ended, i.e. either paid the debtnbsp;or gave a pledge that he would settle the case. If thenbsp;creditor continued to fast after an offer of payment, henbsp;forfeited all the debt due to him.¹ Fasting, as a mode ofnbsp;enforcing a right, is mentioned in the � Tripartite � andnbsp;other Lives of St. Patrick ; and Patrick himself�as relatednbsp;in these�fasted against several persons to compel themnbsp;to do justice.! From some passages it would appear thatnbsp;the debtor was bound to remain fasting as long as thenbsp;creditor or complainant fasted. This fasting process wasnbsp;regarded with a sort of superstitious awe ; and it wasnbsp;considered outrageously disgraceful for a defendant not tonbsp;submit to it:�� He that does not give a pledge to fastingnbsp;�is an evader of all; he who disregards all things shallnbsp;� not be paid by God or man (Br. Laws, i. 113). Moreover, if the case went against him, he had to pay doublenbsp;the original claim.

In this country fasting appears to have been resorted to for three purposes :�

Secondly : to bring some evil on a person. Thus, we are told that, on the eve of a battle, St. Caimin of Inishcaltranbsp;fasted against King Guaire of Aidhne, one of the two contending kings, who, in consequence, was defeated in thenbsp;battle.! It appears that if the fasting was unjust, thenbsp;intended victim might fast in opposition ;� and it wasnbsp;thought that thereby�having the righteous cause�henbsp;might either mitigate or wholly avert the evil, somethingnbsp;like vaccination against small-pox. Sometimes it happened

t Trip. Life, cLxxvii. 219, 419, 557. and 560 note. t Silva Gad., 433 : see also Adamn., liv. note w.

that the two kept fasting against each other, till one fell into the mistaken belief�or was trapped into it�that thenbsp;other was eating, and took to eating also, giving an advantage to his opponent, who thus gained his point.

Thirdly ; fasting was used as a sort of compulsion�like a geis (for which see p. 312, infra)�^to obtain a request fromnbsp;another (F�ilire, 75, note 20). The Leinstermen on one occasion fasted on St. Columkille till they obtained from him thenbsp;privilege that an extern king should never prevail againstnbsp;them (Silva, 417) : Amergin Mac Aulay fasted on the oldnbsp;sage Fintan till he forced him to relate the ancient historynbsp;of Ireland :* and Conall Derg 0�Corra and his wife, havingnbsp;failed to obtain children from God, turned to the devil andnbsp;fasted on him to give them children, and obtained theirnbsp;request.! Nay, a legend relates that a certain man thinking himself hardly used by Providence, grumbled, andnbsp;fasted against God for relief : and the tale goes on to say,nbsp;that God was angry, but nevertheless dealt mercifully withnbsp;him.! For the last two applications of fasting�to injurenbsp;an enemy and to obtain a request�I can find no betternbsp;authority than the romantic tales and religious legends :nbsp;but the twofold custom is mentioned too often to permitnbsp;us to doubt its existence.

This institution of fasting on a debtor is still widely diffused in the east, and is called by the Hindoos � sittingnbsp;dharna.� They believe that if the plaintiff dies of starvation, the defendant is sure to be visited by fearful supernatural penalties. Our books do not give us much information about the Irish institution, and it is not easy to understand it in all its forms : but it is evidently identical with

J Stokes� Lives of SS., ix. See for another instance of this, Saltair na Rann, Preface iii., last line ; and for still another, Mac Congl., 60.nbsp;Other examples of fasting for the several purposes may be seen in Rev.nbsp;Celt., XV. 480 : Trip. Life, 219, bottom, 221, 419, top, 557 ; Hyde. Lit,nbsp;Hist., 233, 417 -. P�ilire, 171, ,9

the eastern custom, and no doubt it was believed in pagan times to be attended by similar supernatural effects.*

As there was no state authority to enforce legal decisions, it will occur to anyone to ask why should defendants submit to distress and fasting when the proceedings went against them ; why, for instance, should notnbsp;a man resist the removal of his goods in distress ? Thenbsp;reply to this is that hereditary custom, backed by publicnbsp;opinion, was so overwhelmingly strong that resistance wasnbsp;hardly ever resorted to. It is pretty evident that the mannbsp;who refused to abide by the custom, not only incurrednbsp;personal danger, but lost all character, and was subject tonbsp;something like what we now call a universal boycott, whichnbsp;in those days no man could bear. He had in fact to flynbsp;and become a sort of outlaw. So Caesar tells us (Gall.nbsp;War, vi. 13) that those who refused to abide by thenbsp;decisions of the Gaulish druids (corresponding in thisnbsp;procedure with our brehons) were excommunicated ; and innbsp;Ireland he who disregards fasting � shall not be paid bynbsp;God or man � (p. 205, supra). So also Martin records, innbsp;1703, that in the western islands of Scotland, the man whonbsp;violated the blood-covenant (for which see vol. ii., p. 510)nbsp;utterly lost character, so that all people avoided him : innbsp;other words he was boycotted.

Homicide or bodily injury of any kind was atoned for by a fine called Eric [errick], corresponding with thenbsp;Teutonic weregild. But though this was the usual sensenbsp;of eric, the word was often applied to a fine for injury ofnbsp;any sort.

For homicide, and for most injuries to person, property, or dignity, the eric or fine consisted of two parts ^first, thenbsp;payment for the mere injury, which was determined by thenbsp;severity of the injury and by other circumstances ; second

a sum called Log-enech or Eneclann, � honour-price,� which varied according to the rank of the parties : the higher thenbsp;rank the greater the honour-price. The honour-price ofnbsp;an og-aire (see p. 159, supra) was 3 cows : of a fer-fothla,nbsp;cows. A man�s honour-price was diminished�whichnbsp;of course was a punishment�if he was guilty of anynbsp;misconduct. Dire, which is a term constantly used in thenbsp;Brehon Laws, seems to mean much the same as eneclann,nbsp;a fine for personal injury of any kind�^bodily harm, anbsp;slight on character, an insult, amp;c.�the amount dependingnbsp;on the nature of the offence and on the position andnbsp;dignity of the persons. Indeed, in some parts of thenbsp;Brehon Laws (as in v. 56, le) dire is made equivalent tonbsp;eneclann. The law of compensation would tend to favournbsp;the rich, as they could afford to pay better than the poor :nbsp;and it was evidently with a view to remedy this that thenbsp;arrangement of honour-price was introduced. The consideration of honour-price entered into a great number ofnbsp;the provisions of the Brehon Law ; and this principle alsonbsp;existed in the early Teutonic Codes.*

The principles on which these awards should be made are laid down in great detail in the Book of Acaill. Thenbsp;eric for murder was double that for simple manslaughternbsp;(or homicide without intent), � for fines are doubled bynbsp;malice aforethought.�t The exact amount of the eric wasnbsp;adjudged by a brehon. Many modifying circumstancesnbsp;had to be taken into account�the actual injury, the ranknbsp;of the parties (for the honour-price), the intention of thenbsp;wrong-doer, the provocation, the amount of set-off claims,nbsp;amp;c.�so that the settlement called for much legal knowledge, tact, and technical skill on the part of the brehon�nbsp;quite as much as we expect in a lawyer of the presentnbsp;day.

* The honour-prices of the several grades (which were equal in amounts to their gifts to a church) may be seen in Br. Laws, iii. 43 :nbsp;see also for several points connected with honour-price, vol. iv. 48, 49,nbsp;53, 59, and 307.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Br. Laws, in. 99.

The man who killed a native freeman paid the amount of his own honour-price, and 21 cows (or double if ofnbsp;malice) : so that, suppose an Og-aifs killed a freeman bynbsp;misadventure, he had to pay altogether 24 cows (3 -i- 21),nbsp;or if of malice, 45 cows (3 -f 42), to the family of the victim.nbsp;This will give some idea of the general standard adopted,nbsp;it being understood that the total fine was higher or lowernbsp;according to the rank of the parties. Eric for homicidenbsp;continued to be exacted in Ireland by the Anglo-Irish asnbsp;well as by the old native Irish, till the middle of the seventeenth century, that is, long after the Brehon Law had beennbsp;legally abolished in the reign of James I.

In case of homicide the family of the victim were entitled to the eric. If the culprit did not pay, or absconded, leaving no property, his fine or family werenbsp;liable ; the guiding principle here, as in other parts of thenbsp;Brehon Law, being, that those who would be entitled tonbsp;inherit the property of the offender should, next afternbsp;himself�in their several proportions�be liable for thenbsp;fine for homicide incurred by him.¹ If they wished tonbsp;avoid this, they were required to give up the offender tonbsp;the family of the victim, t who might then, if they pleased,nbsp;kill him, or use him or sell him as a slave. Failing this,nbsp;his family had to expel him, and to lodge a sum to freenbsp;themselves from the consequences of his subsequent misconduct.| The expelled person had to leave the tribe ; henbsp;was then a sort of outlaw, and would likely become a daer-judir (p. 163, supra) in some other tribe. If neither thenbsp;slayer nor his friends paid the murder-eric, then he mightnbsp;be lawfully killed by the friends of the victim. In the Booknbsp;of Acaill (in. 349-355). there is a minute enumeration ofnbsp;bodily injuries, whether by design or accident, with thenbsp;compensation for each, taking into account the position of

t Ihid., in. 69 : see also Corm, Gloss., gS (quot; Imbleogan quot;). t Ihld., III. 382 note ; 383.

In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 124, � Nes �), we are told that the eric for bodily injury depended on the � dignity � of thenbsp;part injured : if it was the forehead, or chin, or any othernbsp;part of the face, the eric was greater than if the injurednbsp;part was covered by raiment. Half the eric for homicidenbsp;was due for the loss of a leg, a hand, an eye, or an ear ;nbsp;but in no case was the collective eric for such injuriesnbsp;to exceed the body-fine�f.e. the eric for homicide (Br.nbsp;Laws, III. 349).

Spenser, Davies, and other early English writers bitterly denounce the law of eric-fine for homicide, as quot; contrary tonbsp;God�s law and man�s.� It was indeed a rude and inadequate sort of justice, and favoured the rich, as they couldnbsp;afford to pay fines better than the poor, notwithstandingnbsp;the precautionary introduction of honour-price. But itnbsp;was, no doubt, very useful in its day, and was a greatnbsp;advance on the barbarous law of retaliation, which wasnbsp;nothing more than private vengeance.! The principle ofnbsp;compensation for murder was, moreover, not peculiar tonbsp;Ireland�a fact that these writers appear to have beennbsp;ignorant of. It existed among the Anglo-Saxons, as wellnbsp;as among the ancient Greeks, Franks, and Germans ; and,nbsp;as a German institution, it is mentioned with approval bynbsp;Tacitus. In the Laws of King Athelstan, there is laid downnbsp;a detailed scale of prices to be paid in compensation fornbsp;killing persons of various ranks of society, from an archbishop or duke down to a churl or farmer ; and traces ofnbsp;the custom remained in English law till the early part ofnbsp;the last century. I

In another part, Br. Laws, in. 357 to 381, is a detailed enumeration of injuries to living animals, with the compensations for them,nbsp;t Maine, Anc. Inst., 23.

Ogyg., Part in., chapter Ivii. : Ware, n. 71 ' Richey, Br. Laws, iti. cxi. et seq.

Homicide, whether by intent or by misadventure, was atoned for like other injuries, by a money-fine. That mennbsp;who killed others were themselves often killed in revengenbsp;by the friends of the victim^�as in all other countries�wenbsp;know from our annals. But the idea of awarding death as anbsp;judicial punishment for homicide, even when it amounted tonbsp;murder, does not seem to have ever taken hold of the publicnbsp;mind in Ireland ; � At this day \i.e. in the time of thenbsp;� writer of the Commentary on the Senchus M�r] no one isnbsp;� put to death [by judicial sentence] for his intentionalnbsp;� crimes, as long as eric-fine is obtained.�* Capital punishment was known well enough, however, and practised outside the courts of law. The above passage is immediatelynbsp;followed by the statement that if, for any cause, the crimenbsp;is not atoned for by eric, then the criminal�s life is forfeit :nbsp;and kings claimed the right to put persons to death fornbsp;certain crimes. Thus we are told, in the Tripartite Life ofnbsp;St. Patrick (p. 43), that neither gold nor silver would benbsp;accepted from him who lighted a fire before the lighting ofnbsp;the festival fire of Tara, but he should be put to death ;nbsp;and the death-penalty was inflicted on anyone who, at anbsp;fair-meeting, killed another or raised a serious quarrel.f Itnbsp;would seem, both from the ancient Introduction to thenbsp;Senchus M�r and from the Lives of St. Patrick, that thenbsp;early Christian missionaries attempted to introduce capitalnbsp;punishment�as the result of a judicial process�fornbsp;murder, but without success.];

Various modes of putting criminals to death were in use in ancient Ireland. Sometimes the culprit was drownednbsp;by being flung into water, either tied up in a sack or with anbsp;heavy stone round his neck. In this manner the Danish

tyrant Turgesius was put to death by King Malachi, a.d. 845 : and the reader may be reminded of Scott�s strikingnbsp;description in Rob Roy (chap, xxxi.) of the drowning ofnbsp;Morris in the Highland river by the chief�s wife.

Sometimes hanging was adopted�a mode of execution generally called riagad [ree-a], from nag [reea], � a gibbet,�nbsp;which glosses fatihulum in Zeuss. Hanging was also callednbsp;crochad, from crock, � a cross � or � gallows � : crochad, � cruci-fixio � (Zeuss, 74, 7) ; but in Ireland it meant, and stillnbsp;means, � hanging by the neck till dead.� In 0�Clery�snbsp;Glossary riaghadh is explained by crochadh.

It was a very ancient Irish custom to burn women for adultery. That such a custom existed is rendered certainnbsp;by its frequent mention in old writings. Perhaps the mostnbsp;authoritative of these is Cormac�s Glossary (p. 59), whichnbsp;gives the derivation of druth, ' a harlot,� from the two wordsnbsp;dir, � right,� and aod, � fire � (the idea being that druth wasnbsp;contracted from dir-aod, �right-fire�), �As much as saying��nbsp;the Glossary continues�quot; to burn her were right.� Whennbsp;Murni of the Fair Neck married Cumal, after eloping withnbsp;him ; and when, soon afterwards, Cumal was killed in thenbsp;Battle of Cnucha (Castleknock), and Murni was found to benbsp;pregnant; her father, not acknowledging lawful marriage,nbsp;urged his people to burn her : � but he dared not compassnbsp;it for fear of Conn the Hundred-fighter,� with whom thenbsp;lady had taken refuge.* The son that was born to her wasnbsp;the celebrated hero Finn Mac Cumail. On this story Hen-nessy, the editor, quotes a statement from the story of Corenbsp;Mac Lugdach in the Book of Leinster�� It was the customnbsp;� at first to burn any woman who committed lust [dognidnbsp;� bais) in violation of her compact.� In the story of thenbsp;Greek princess (in the Book of Leinster), she says�� Mynbsp;� crime [of unchastity] will now be found out, and I shallnbsp;� be burned immediately.�! Many other such records might

be instanced, both from the lay literature and the Lives of the Saints.* In nearly all the cases I have found, however,nbsp;something intervened to prevent the actual burning ; whichnbsp;would indicate that, at the time the records were written,nbsp;the custom was dying out. Indeed, this is also implied innbsp;one of the above quotations�� It was the custom at first.�

Where the death penalty was not inflicted for a crime, various other modes of punishment were resorted to, thoughnbsp;never as the result of a judicial process before a brehon ;nbsp;for the brehon�s business was to award compensation�nbsp;never a penalty of any other kind (p. igg, supra). Blindingnbsp;as a punishment was very common ; we meet with recordsnbsp;of it everywhere in the annals ; so that there is no need tonbsp;quote individual instances here. Whenever we find such anbsp;record, it is commonly the sequel of a battle ; for it oftennbsp;happened that the victorious king or chief, if he capturednbsp;his defeated opponent, blinded him. It was usually donenbsp;by thrusting a needle into the eye. Sometimes blindingnbsp;was an act of vengeance merely ; sometimes it was innbsp;punishment of rebellion ; and not unfrequently when twonbsp;opponents fought for the chiefship or kingship, the defeatednbsp;leader was blinded to prevent the possibility of his electionnbsp;at any time : for a disfigured person could not be elected asnbsp;king or chief (p. 43, supra). Occasionally a hostage wasnbsp;blinded when the treaty was broken by his party. Thenbsp;custom of blinding as a punishment prevailed among othernbsp;nations as well as among the Irish.

A very singular punishment was to send the culprit adrift on the open sea in a boat, without sail, oar, or rudder.nbsp;In the Commentary on the Senchus M�r (Br. Laws, 1.15,10),nbsp;it is stated that in case eric was not obtained for homicide,nbsp;the guilty person was put to death if the crime was intentional ; but he was placed on the sea if it was unintentional.nbsp;The men of Ross (in the north of Tirconnell) killed their

* AsinKilk. Arch. Journ., 1868, p, 333, top : Sull., Introd., 322 and note, 334, top ; Dr. Healy, Ireland�s Anc. Schools, 227, and .^76 ;nbsp;F�ilire, 63, a, 7 hot.

tyrannical chief Fiacha ; whereupon Fiacha�s brother Donn-chad, king of Tirconnell, punished them by putting sixty in small boats and sending them adrift on the sea, � that Godnbsp;might deal with them.�* Macc-Cuill or Maccaldus, a powerful Ulster chief, was an abandoned reprobate : but he wasnbsp;converted by St. Patrick, became very repentant, and submitted himself to the saint�s penance, who directed him tonbsp;put off to sea in a curragh of one hide. After much wearynbsp;drifting about, the curragh was thrown on the Isle of Man,nbsp;where Mac Cuill safely landed. He preached the Gospelnbsp;there, and converted the Manxmen : so that he is to thisnbsp;day venerated as the patron saint, with the name Maugholdnbsp;(Trip. Life, 223). The great Anglo-Norman baron, Hughnbsp;de Lacy, followed the old native custom when he sent thenbsp;betrayers of John de Courcy adrift in a ship, � with victualsnbsp;and furniture, but without mariners or seamen. �f A personnbsp;of this kind cast on shore belonged to the owner of thenbsp;shore until a cumal was paid for his release. J

A court held for the trial of legal cases was commonly called ddl [dawl], but sometimes oirecht or air echt, whichnbsp;was also the name of a meeting of representative people tonbsp;settle local affairs. � Courts were often held in the opennbsp;air, and sometimes in buildings. There was a gradation ofnbsp;courts from the lowest�something like our petty sessionsnbsp;�to the highest, the great national assembly�whether atnbsp;Tara or elsewhere�representing all Ireland. || Over eachnbsp;court a member of the chieftain or privileged classes presided ; the rank of the president corresponded to the rank

f other references to sending adrift:�Br. Laws, I. 205, bot. : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 29 ; MS. Mat., 333 ; SulL, Introd., 120, 334 :nbsp;Todd, Book of Fermoy, 38.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Br. Laws, i. 205, bot.

� For various meetings and courts for the transaction of legal business, see Sullivan, Introd., 252 ; and for further information on the administration of justice, p. 262 of the same vol.

of the court: and his legal status, duties, powers, and privileges were very strictly defined. The over-king presided over the National F�is or assembly. If a man whose dutynbsp;it was, to attend a court for any function, and who wasnbsp;duly summoned, failed to appear, he was heavily fined ;nbsp;and in such a case an ecclesiastic was fined twice as muchnbsp;as a layman.*

In each court�besides the brehon who sat in judgment �there were one or more professional lawyers, advocates, ornbsp;pleaders, called, in Cormac�s Glossary,f ddlaighe [dawlee]nbsp;and dai, who conducted the cases for their clients ; andnbsp;the brehon-judge had to hear the pleadings for both sidesnbsp;before coming to a decision (Br. Laws, v. 355). A nonprofessional man who conducted a case�which he might,nbsp;as at the present day, if he wished to take the risk�wasnbsp;called a �tongueless person� (Br. Laws, iv. 303, 16).nbsp;Whether the court was held in a building or in the opennbsp;air, there was a platform of some kind on which the pleadernbsp;stood while addressing the court. This appears from thenbsp;explanation of Cuisnit (� legal disputation �) in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 41) :�� Cuisnit, derived from cos-na-ddla, thenbsp;� foot, or bar, or tribune on which the pleader stands : andnbsp;� it is at it or from it he pleads, and it is on it he stands.�nbsp;According to a Preface to the Amt a, one of the causesnbsp;for the meeting at Drumkettai was � to make rules as tonbsp;pleaders and suitors in Erin.��^

With regard to evidence, various rules w'ere in force, which may be gathered from detached passages in thenbsp;laws and general literature. In order to prove home anbsp;matter of fact in a court of justice, at least two witnessesnbsp;were required : a usage that is mentioned more than oncenbsp;by Adamnan. If a man gave evidence against his wife,nbsp;the wife was entitled to give evidence in reply ; but a man�snbsp;daughter would not be heard against him in like circumstances. A chief could give evidence against a daer tenant,

or any freeman against a judir ; but neither the daer tenant nor ihamp;fudir could give rebutting evidence : and a king�snbsp;evidence was good against all other people, with three exceptions (for which, see p. 55, sufra). The period at whichnbsp;a young man could give legal evidence was when he wasnbsp;seventeen years of age, or when he began to grow a beard.

The Irish delighted in judgments delivered in the form of a sententious maxim, or an apt illustration�some illustration bearing a striking resemblance to the case in question. The jurist who decided a case by the aid of such anbsp;parallel was recognised as gifted with great judicial wisdom,nbsp;and his judgment often passed into a proverb. Severalnbsp;judgments of this kind are recorded. When Cormac Macnbsp;Art, the rightful heir to the throne of Ireland, was a boy,nbsp;he lived at Tara in disguise ; for the throne was held bynbsp;the usurper Mac Con, so that Cormac dared not reveal hisnbsp;identity. There was at this time living near Tara a femalenbsp;hrewy, named Bennaid, whose sheep trespassed on thenbsp;royal domain, and ate up the queen�s crop of glaisin ornbsp;woad for dyeing. The queen instituted proceedings fornbsp;damages ; and the question came up for decision before thenbsp;king, who, after hearing the evidence, decided that thenbsp;sheep should be forfeit in payment for the glaisin. � Notnbsp;so,� exclaimed the boy Cormac, who was present, and whonbsp;could not restrain his judicial instincts : � the cropping ofnbsp;� the sheep should be sufficient for the cropping of thenbsp;� glaisin�the wool for the woad�for both will grow again.�nbsp;� That is true judgment,� exclaimed all; � and he whonbsp;has pronounced it is surely the son of a king ��for kingsnbsp;were supposed to possess a kind of inspiration in givingnbsp;their decisions. And so they discovered who Cormac was,nbsp;and in a short time placed him on the throne, after deposing the usurper.* Another example of this sort ofnbsp;judgment will be seen in the notice of the Cathach, atnbsp;p. 501, infra.

PART II

Fig. 72.�Sculpture on Window : Cathedral Church, Glendalough : Beranger, 1779. (From Petrie�s Round Towers,)

ruidism.�No trustworthy information regarding the religion of the pagan Irish comes tonbsp;us from outside; whatever knowledge ofnbsp;it we possess is derived exclusively from thenbsp;native literature. Moreover, all of this literature that has come down to us was written�nbsp;mostly copied from older documents � innbsp;Christian times by Christians, chiefly monks ; no booksnbsp;penned in pre-Christian ages have been preserved. Thenbsp;Christian copyists, too, modified their originals in manynbsp;ways, especially by introducing Christian allusions, and,nbsp;no doubt, by softening down many pagan features thatnbsp;were particularly repellent to them. Yet many passages,nbsp;and some complete tales, remain thoroughly pagan innbsp;character.*

So far as we can judge from the materials at our command, which are sufficiently abundant, though scatterednbsp;and somewhat vague, the pagan Irish appear to have hadnbsp;no well-defined connected system of religion. There werenbsp;many gods, but no supreme god, like Zeus or Jupiternbsp;* On this point see the remarks at page 534, infra.

among the Greeks and Romans. There was little or no prayer, and no settled general form of worship. Therenbsp;were no temples : but it appears from a passage in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (as quoted below) that there were altars of somenbsp;kind erected to idols or to elemental gods, which mustnbsp;have been in the. open air. We find mention of thingsnbsp;offered to gods or idols. Thus, for instance, in the oldestnbsp;version of � The Wooing of Emer,� we are informed that, atnbsp;Bron-Trogin (the beginning of autumn), the young of everynbsp;kind of animal used to be � assigned to the possession ofnbsp;the idol, Bel � ;* and other such examples might be cited.nbsp;But in all these cases it appears to have been a merenbsp;nominal offer or dedication�a matter of words only�nbsp;and it is doubtful if there was any sacrifice properly sonbsp;called. We have a few examples where breaches of whatnbsp;were laid down as moral rules were punished. Whennbsp;King Laegaire broke his solemn oath sworn by the sunnbsp;and wind, which were regarded as gods, he was, as we arenbsp;told, killed by these two elements (p. 292, infra) : fromnbsp;which we can see that there were some rules of conductnbsp;which it was dangerous to violate. But, on the whole, thenbsp;pagan Irish religion seems to have had very little influencenbsp;in regulating moral conduct. At the same time, it mustnbsp;be borne in mind, that all our very early books have beennbsp;lost, so that, in great probability, the whole of the evidencenbsp;is not before us ; had we complete information, it mightnbsp;modify our judgment on Irish paganism.

The religion of the pagan Irish is commonly designated as Druidism : and as the druids were a numerous andnbsp;important class, and as they were mixed up with mostnbsp;of the religious or superstitious rites and observances,nbsp;it will be best to begin by giving a sketch of their positionnbsp;and functions, which will bring under review a large partnbsp;of the religious beliefs of the pagan Irish. In the oldestnbsp;Irish traditions the druids figure conspicuously. All the

early colonists had their druids, who are mentioned as holding high rank among kings and chiefs.

Gaulish and Irish Druids.�Of the Gaulish druids, their doctrines and worship, detailed accounts have been givennbsp;by Caesar* and other classical writers : and these descriptions are generally supposed to apply to the druids ofnbsp;Britain�a supposition, however, open to doubt. Butnbsp;these writers knew nothing of the druids of Ireland, andnbsp;of course give no information regarding them. It is prettynbsp;certain, indeed, that the druidic systems of Gaul, Britain,nbsp;and Ireland were orginally one and the same. But thenbsp;Gaels of Ireland and Scotland were separated and isolatednbsp;for many centuries from the Celtic races of Gaul; andnbsp;thus, their religious system, like their language, naturallynbsp;diverged, so that the druidism of Ireland, as pictured forthnbsp;in the native records, differed in many respects from thatnbsp;of Gaul. Yet, with one exception, all those writers whonbsp;have hitherto treated of Irish druids have unhesitatinglynbsp;applied to them Caesar's and other classical writers� descriptions of those of Gaul.f O�Curry was the first, so farnbsp;as I know, to describe in detail (in Lectures ix. and x. of hisnbsp;Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish) the Irish druidsnbsp;from the native authorities. Certain speculative writers ofnbsp;the last two or three generations, backing up Csesar�snbsp;description with baseless suppositions of their own, havenbsp;built lip a great pagan religious system for Ireland, withnbsp;druidic temples, druid�s altars, human sacrifices, divinationnbsp;from the manner in which the blood of victims flowed downnbsp;the sloping altars, and such like ; all in great detail andnbsp;all quite visionary, being based on insufficient evidence,nbsp;or rather on no evidence at all. The following account of

t In Harris's Ware (Antiqq., p. 117) is an excellent essay on Druids, setting forth the testimonies of the principal classical authorities regarding them. It professes to treat of druids in connexion with Ireland :nbsp;but it is nearly all about Gaulish druids, with merely a few sentencesnbsp;about those of Britain and Ireland.

the Irish druids is derived from the native literature, the only authentic source of information. It will be shown innbsp;the next section that, while there are many differencesnbsp;between the Irish and the Gaulish druids, there are alsonbsp;many resemblances and correspondences, and these innbsp;some of their most important functions.

Name.�The old form of the Irish name for a druid is dmi, modern drai or draoi [all pron. dree] ; but in thenbsp;oblique cases it takes a d ; gen. dniad, dative druid, corresponding with the modern word druid. Drui is uniformlynbsp;translated � wizard � by some of the best modern authorities:nbsp;and wizards the druids unquestionably were, and are sonbsp;presented by our earliest traditions, though always callednbsp;drui. The druids of Gaul and Ireland were undoubtedlynbsp;identical as a class, though differing in many particulars,nbsp;and they were all wizards ; but those of Gaul are alwaysnbsp;called � druids � : and to apply the term � druid � to the onenbsp;class and � wizard � to the other, might lead to a misconception, as if they were essentially different. That the ancientnbsp;Irish considered their own druids in a general way identicalnbsp;with those of the Continent appears from this�that theynbsp;apply the word drui to both : and while Latin writersnbsp;commonly translate druid by � magus,� this same wordnbsp;� magus � is retranslated drui by Irish writers. Thus,nbsp;Simon Magus is called in Irish writings � Simon Drui.�nbsp;For these reasons it will be more convenient to retain herenbsp;the familiar word � druid.�

Druids, the Sole Men of Learning.�In pagan times the druids were the exclusive possessors of whatever learningnbsp;was then known. They combined in themselves all thenbsp;learned professions : they were not only druids, but judges,nbsp;prophets, historians, poets, and even physicians.¹ But asnbsp;time went on there was a gradual tendency towards specialisation, as we see in some of the learned professions of our

own day. � Until Patrick came,��says the Brehon Law (i. 19)�� only three classes of persons were permitted tonbsp;� speak in public in Erin \i.e. their pronouncements receivednbsp;� some sort of official recognition], viz. a chronicler to relatenbsp;� events and tell stories ; a poet to eulogise and satirise;nbsp;� a brehon or judge to pass sentence from the precedentsnbsp;� and commentaries.� Here there is a clear intimationnbsp;that there were three separate persons concerned. Nevertheless, down to the latest period of the prevalence ofnbsp;the Irish customs, two or more professions were oftennbsp;centred in one man, especially those of Poetry, History,nbsp;and Literature in general.

There were druids in every part of Ireland, but, as we might expect, Tara, the residence of the over-kings ofnbsp;Ireland, was�as the Tripartite Life (p. 41] expresses it�nbsp;� the chief [seat] of the idolatry and druidism of Erin.�nbsp;The druids had the reputation of being great magicians :nbsp;and in this character they figure more frequently andnbsp;conspicuously than in any other, both in ecclesiastical andnbsp;lay literature. So true is this, that the most general Irishnbsp;word for sorcery, magic, or necromancy, is druidecht, whichnbsp;simply means � druidism ��a word still in use. In some ofnbsp;the old historical romances we find the issues of battlesnbsp;sometimes determined, not so much by the valour of thenbsp;combatants, as by the magical powers of the druids attachednbsp;to the armies. They could�as the legends tell�^raisenbsp;druidical clouds and mists, and bring down showers of firenbsp;and blood ; they could drive a man insane or into idiocynbsp;by flinging a magic wisp of straw in his face. In the hymnnbsp;that St. Patrick chanted on his way to Tara on Easternbsp;Sunday morning, he asks God to protect him against thenbsp;spells of women, of smiths, and of druids. Broichan thenbsp;druid threatens St. Columba :�� Thou wilt not be ablenbsp;� to [voyage on Loch Ness,] for I will make the wind con-� trary to thee, and I will bring a great darkness over thee.�nbsp;And he did so, as Adamnan�s narrative (150) tells us : but

Insanity.�Perhaps the most dreaded of all the necromantic powers attributed to the druids was that of producing madness. In the pagan ages, and down far into Christian times, madness�Irish ddsacht�was believed tonbsp;be often brought on by malignant magical agency, usuallynbsp;the work .of some druid. For this purpose the druid prepared a � madman�s wisp � or � fluttering wisp � [ilui fulla :nbsp;dlui or dluigh, � a wisp �), that is, a little wisp ot straw ornbsp;grass, into which he pronounced some horrible incantations,nbsp;and, watching his opportunity, flung it into the face of hisnbsp;victim, who at once became insane or idiotic. So generallynbsp;was insanity attributed to this, that in the Glosses to thenbsp;Senchus M�r, a madman (Irish ddsachtach or fulla) isnbsp;repeatedly described as one � upon whom the dlui fullanbsp;or magic wisp has been thrown.�*

The legend of Comgan illustrates this fell necromantic power. Maelochtair, king of the Decies in Munster, earlynbsp;in the seventh century, had a son named Comgan, remarkable for his manly beauty and accomplishments, who wasnbsp;half-brother by the same mother to St. Cummain Fota.nbsp;One day, at a great fair held in Tipperary, Comgan carriednbsp;off all the prizes in the athletic sports : and the spectatorsnbsp;were delighted with him, especially the king�s druid. Butnbsp;a certain woman, who had before that vainly sought Com-gan�s love, now revenged herself on him by whispering anbsp;false accusation into the druid�s ear : whereupon his admiration for the youth was instantly changed to furious jealousy;nbsp;and when Comgan and his friends retired to a neighbouringnbsp;river to wash themselves and their horses after the sports,nbsp;he followed them, and watching his opportunity, flung anbsp;magic wisp over him, at the same time pronouncing somenbsp;fiendish words. When the young man came forth from

* Br. Laws, i. 84, line 29 ; 85, 90 (and note) ; 124 and 126; and Gloss, 143 ; II. 47 : iii. 13, 3.

the water, his whole body burst out into boils and ulcers, so that his attendants had to bring him to his father�snbsp;house, all diseased and helpless as he was. There henbsp;wasted away in body, his mind decayed, his hair fell off:nbsp;and ever afterwards he wandered about the palace, a bald,nbsp;drivelling idiot. But he had lucid intervals, and then henbsp;became an inspired poet, and uttered prophecies ; so thatnbsp;he is known in the legendary literature as Mac-da-cerda,nbsp;the � youth of the two arts,� that is to say, poetry andnbsp;foolishness.*

The invention of the madman�s wisp is assigned, by a legend in the Coir Anmann (p. 367), to a celebrated Leinsternbsp;druid named Fullon, who lived centuries before the Christiannbsp;era :��Fullon was the first druid who cast a spell {hricht) onnbsp;� a wisp, so as to send [by means of it] a human being a-� flying (for joluamhain.) Hence, dlui fulla, or � madman�snbsp;� wisp,� is a saying among the Scots from that day to this.��

As I am on the subject of madness, it will be better to finish here what is to be said about it. A fit of insanitynbsp;was often called baile or buile [balie, bullel : and there wasnbsp;a most curious belief that during the paroxysm a madman�snbsp;body became as light as air, so that, as he ran distractedly,nbsp;he scarcely touched the ground, or he rose into the air,nbsp;still speeding on with a sort of fluttering motion. Thisnbsp;was especially the case when madness was produced by thenbsp;rage of battle. For, during a bloody battle, it sometimesnbsp;happened that an excitable combatant ran mad with furynbsp;and horror; and occurrences of this kind are recorded innbsp;the romantic accounts of nearly all the great battles foughtnbsp;in Ireland. We are told, in the historic story of the Battlenbsp;of Moyrath (175, note v ; and 235), fought a.d. 637, thatnbsp;towards the close of the day, a brave young warrior, Suibncnbsp;or Sweeny, became distracted with the horrors he witnessed;nbsp;and imagining he saw battle-demons hovering and shriekingnbsp;overhead, he suddenly bounded off the earth, and alighted.

on the boss of another warrior�s shield, from which, after a moment, he leaped up again ; and so he continued flittingnbsp;and bounding on the shields and helmet-crests of the combatants and on the tops of the neighbouring trees, till henbsp;finally fled from the field ; after which he wandered rormdnbsp;Ireland, a gelt [g hard] or madman. His adventures fromnbsp;the day of battle till his death are told in a romantic tale,nbsp;still extant in ms., called Buile Shuibne, � Sweeney�s frenzynbsp;or madness.�

The belief that men were driven mad in battle, and ran and fluttered away in this manner, found its way into thenbsp;sober records of the Annalists, who relate that at thenbsp;Battle of Allen in Kildare, fought a.d. 722, nine personsnbsp;went crazy with terror, or, as Tigernach expresses it, � Etnbsp;ix volatiles, i.e. geltai � : � and nine persons [went] flying,nbsp;i.e. madmen.�¹

Even the Norse visitors to this country took up the legend ; and we find it recorded as one of the � Wondersnbsp;of Ireland,� in an old Norse Book called � Kongs Skuggsjo �nbsp;or � Speculum Regale,� written about a.d. 1250; �� Therenbsp;is also one thing which will seem very wonderful, aboutnbsp;men who are called geli � ; and the writer goes on to tellnbsp;about men running mad out of battle, and living in woodsnbsp;for twenty years, so that feathers grew on their bodies .-and that though they were not quite able to fly, they werenbsp;incredibly swift, and � run along the [tops of the] treesnbsp;almost as swiftly as monkeys or squirrels.�! Of thisnbsp;superstition�that frenzied madmen were as light as air, andnbsp;could climb up precipices�there are many other examplesnbsp;in the ancient tales ; we see by the above quotation thatnbsp;it retained its hold till the thirteenth century ; and it stillnbsp;lingers among the peasantry in some remote districts.];

Rev. Celt., xvii. 229 ; and xxiv. 55 ; see also FM, vol. 1., p. 319, top. t Folklore, v. 311.

I Moyrath, 231, 233 ; see also Sir Samuel Ferguson�s Congal, 227, 233, 234, 235.

There is a valley in Kerry called Glannagalt, � the glen of the gaits or lunatics � (Irish, gleann-na-ngealt) � and it isnbsp;believed that all lunatics, if left to themselves, would findnbsp;their way to it, no matter from what part of Ireland.nbsp;When they have lived in its solitude for a time, drinkingnbsp;of the water of Tobernagalt ('the lunatics' well�), andnbsp;eating of the cresses that grow along the little stream, thenbsp;poor wanderers get restored to sanity. It appears by thenbsp;story of the Battle of Ventry that this glen was first discovered by a youth named Goll, who fled frenzied from thatnbsp;battle, as Sweeny from Moyrath, and plunged into thenbsp;seclusion of Glannagalt.¹ There is a well in Donegalnbsp;which was believed to possess the same virtue as Tobernagalt, and to which all the deranged people in the surrounding district were wont to resort. It is situated on thenbsp;strand, near high-water mark, a third of a mile south ofnbsp;Inishowen Head, near the entrance to Lough Foyle. Itnbsp;still retains its old name Srubh Brain, ' Bran�s sruv ornbsp;stream,� which is represented in the name of the adjacentnbsp;hamlet of Stroove.f

Various Powers.�In the Lives of the Saints, the druids^ and their magical arts figure conspicuously ; as, for instance,,nbsp;in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, and in the earliernbsp;memoir of the saint, by Muirchu, as well as in Adamnan�snbsp;Life of Saint Columba : and not less so in the historicalnbsp;tales. Before the Battle of Cul-Dremne, fought in 561nbsp;between the Northern and the Southern Hy Neill, Dermot,nbsp;king of Ireland, who headed the southern Hy Neill�anbsp;Christian king�called in the aid of the druid Fraechannbsp;[Freehan], who, just as the armies were about to engage,nbsp;made an airbe druad [arva drooa] round the southernnbsp;army to protect it.t It is not easy to say what this airbe

I MS. Mat., 477 : O�Donovan, Suppl. to O�Reilly, � Sraobh.� t For the airbe druad see Stokes, Lives, xxviii. : FM, a.d. 555 ; Todd,nbsp;St. Path., 119-122 : Silva Gad., 85, and 516, 2. See also p. 234, below.

fig.			FIG,	PAGE
I. Page of Book of Durrow,	Frontispiece		27. Ornamental stone carving.	71
2. Great Tower, Clontnacnoise,	Title Page		28. Capital L from Book of Kells, .	72
	PAGE		29. Dundalgan, Cuculainn�s residence, .	84
3- Sculpture in Cormac�s Chapel,		vii	30. Rath-Keltair at Downpatrick, .	85
lt;� Ornament from Book of Kells,		XV	31. Group of warriors from High Cross,	102
5- Ornament from Book of Kells,		xxi	32. Flint arrow-head.....	104
6. Ornament from Book of Kells,		3	33. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,	105
7. Castledermot Church and	Round		34. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,	105
Tower, ....		8	33. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do..	105
8. Holy Well of St. Dicuil,	Lure,		36. Arrow-head on original handle.	105
France ....		9	37. Bronze head of battle-mace,	106
9* Drumcliff Round Tower, .		II	38. Bronze spear-head,	107
10. Group of Torques,		13	39, Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	107
II. Circular bronze disc, .		20	40. Bronze harlann.	109
12. Ancient Irish brooch.		21	41. Do., do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	109
13. Bronze caldron, .		21	42. Bronze spear-head, leaf-shaped,	no
14. Hollow gold ball.		21	43. Firbolg spear-head, . nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	III
15. Bronze article, use unknown,		22	44. Dedannan spear-head.	. Ill
16. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,		22	45. Fishing-spear, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II2
I?. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,		22	46. Bronze sword, ....	. II6
18. Ancient ferryboat.		28	47. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II6
I9. Ruins on Inishcaltra,		31	48. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II6
20. Ancient Irish bookbinding,		32	49. Bronze dagger, ....	. II7
21. Group of gold ornaments, .		33	50. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. 117
22. Aill-na-Meeran at Ushnagh,		37	51. Bronze scabbard,	� 117
23. Cloister, Cong Abbey,		42	52. Stone celt in original handle.	. II8
24. O�Neills� Inauguration Chair,		46	53, Bronze Celt, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. II9
25. 0�Conors� Inauguration Mound,		47	54. Pure copper celt,	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;119
26. Kings and Archers,		59	55. Bronze celt, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. II9

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;XXIU
FIG.	PAGE	FIG.		PAGE
^40. Ornamental page of Gospel, .	- 553	154.	Harp-and Pipe-Players, .	582
�41. The Ardagh Chalice,	. 5�0	155.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do., .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	582
^42. The Tara Brooch,	. 562	156.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do......	582
^43- The Cross of Cong, .	- 563	157.	Group of Trumpets,	584
^44- Ornament carved on Bone,	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;566	158.	Riveting on Trumpets,	585
^45- nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.^nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,	. 566	159-	Ornamental Plate of Trumpet,	586
^46. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do..	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;566	160.	Ornament, Devenish Round Tower,	597
^47. The Cross of Monasterboice, .	. 568	I6I.	Conach (Medical Charm),	615
^48. Interlaced Stone Ornament, .	. 569	162.	Sweating-House, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	C25
^49- Harp Player ....	. 576	163.	Healing-Stone, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.	628
^50. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5?6	164.	Garnavilla Amulet (front).	G29
Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5^6	165.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;(side),	629
^32. Ancient Irish Harp, .	. 577	166.	Toberaraght, a Healing Holy V ell.	630
^53. Piper nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;580	167.	Ornament from Book of Kelk, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	632

A PRELIMINARY BIRD'S-EYE VIEW		��	��	27
CHAPTER III
monarchical GOVERNMENT				36
Section
I. Territorial Subdivision,				36
2, Classes of Kings				41
3. Election and Inauguration,				43
4. Eevenue and Authority,				50
5. Privileges,				55
6. Limitations and Restrictions,				60
7. Household, Retinue, and Court	Officers,			61
S, List of Over-Kings,				68

363

A. G. van HAMEL

»,

»;

. .5'-

4lt;

A SOCIAL HISTORY

ANCIENT IRELAND

P. JOYCE,

Condon

LONGMANS, GREEN amp; CO.

PREFACE

CONTENTS OF VOL. I

PART I

GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CONTENTS

PART II

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVI

art,

CHAPTER XVII

Section

CHAPTER XVI ri

medicine and medical doctors.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I

. .;-gt;,v.*;�i-r -

lil

.i

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

35

37

43

45

5. Privileges.

57

59

63

65

opponent of Ireland�s early claims to distinction. Writing of the reign of Tuathal the Legitimate, king of Ireland innbsp;the second century, Dr. Petrie observes: �

So far Pinkerton as quoted by Petrie.

70 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I

CHAP. Ill]

MONARCPIICAL GOVERNMENT

71

674

763

770

833

956

75

79

89

93

97

99

� feet.�t

CHAPTER V

�n

�ixims�pt^ t'^aiwoipirirectuipt-T:lt;miriMbir'lt;��----

reocca nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ruA^snf^

icoiji opeuit

* Br. Laws, i. 289, 291. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Ibid., 1. 293, top ; n. ii, 13.

t Ibid., II. 5, last par. ; ii, top line. � Ibid., 1. 269, 305 ; ii. ii.

PART II