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| The '''Brehon Laws''' were statutes that governed everyday life and politics in ] until the ] invasion of ] (the word "Brehon" is an Anglicisation of ''breitheamh'' (earlier ''brithem''), the ] word for a judge). The laws were written in the ] period (ca. ] - ] AD) and probably reflect the traditional laws of pre-Christian Ireland. These secular laws existed in parallel with |
The '''Brehon Laws''' were statutes that governed everyday life and politics in ] until the ] invasion of ] (the word "Brehon" is an Anglicisation of ''breitheamh'' (earlier ''brithem''), the ] word for a judge). The laws were written in the ] period (ca. ] - ] AD) and probably reflect the traditional laws of pre-Christian Ireland. These secular laws existed in parallel with, and sometimes in conflict with, ] throughout the early Christian period. | ||
| The laws were a ] rather than a ] code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts: the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early lawmakers. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking great care to define social status, and the rights and duties that went with it, according to property, and the relationships between lords and their clients and serfs. | The laws were a ] rather than a ] code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts: the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early lawmakers. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking great care to define social status, and the rights and duties that went with it, according to property, and the relationships between lords and their clients and serfs. | ||
Revision as of 18:33, 13 May 2005
The Brehon Laws were statutes that governed everyday life and politics in Ireland until the Norman invasion of 1171 (the word "Brehon" is an Anglicisation of breitheamh (earlier brithem), the Irish word for a judge). The laws were written in the Old Irish period (ca. 600 - 900 AD) and probably reflect the traditional laws of pre-Christian Ireland. These secular laws existed in parallel with, and sometimes in conflict with, Canon law throughout the early Christian period.
The laws were a civil rather than a criminal code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts: the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early lawmakers. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking great care to define social status, and the rights and duties that went with it, according to property, and the relationships between lords and their clients and serfs.
Irish society was male-dominated, but women had greater freedom, independence and rights to property under the Brehon Laws than in other European societies of the time. Divorce was provided for on a number of grounds, after which property was divided according to what contribution each spouse had made to the household. A husband was legally permitted to hit his wife to "correct" her, but if the blow left a mark she was entitled to the equivalent of her bride-price in compensation and could, if she wished, divorce him. Property of a household could not be disposed of without the consent of both spouses. However, women were still largely subject to their fathers or husbands and were not normally permitted to act as witnesses, their testimony being considered "biased and dishonest".
The basic unit of political organisation provided for was the tuath (tribal or petty kingdom), headed by a rí (king). Kingship of a tuath was not inherited by primogeniture: a new king would be elected by the aristocracy of the tribe from a number of eligible candidates. Any man who was the son, grandson or great-grandson of a previous king, in direct male line, was eligible. Kings were themselves subject to the law and had little power to create laws or issue edicts except in emergencies.
These tuatha were, by convention, grouped into four over-kingdoms or provinces: Laighin (present day Leinster), Ulaidh (Ulster), Muman (Munster), and Connachta (Connacht). Each province had a king, normally chosen from among the kings of the tuatha, who exercised some power over the other kings in the province. The provincial kings were supposedly subject to a High King, who ruled from Tara in the "fifth royal province" of Mide (present day Meath).
The laws fell into disuse after Ireland was progressively divided over the years into Norman-controlled zones, one English-controlled zone (The Pale), and native Irish kingdoms. Although the Norman barons eventually adopted Irish culture and language and married in with the native Irish, Ireland remained divided between Norman-Irish kingdoms and Gaelic-Irish kingdoms. Due to this, the Brehon Laws would never be readopted on an official basis, although some modernized concepts survive in the laws of the Republic of Ireland.
External Links
References
- Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (1995), Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200, Longman