94 COW 



position and value in the annals of historj^, tradition, or myth, than 

 the bos comviums or common cow. Amonpj the Eastern nations, 

 the cradle of our Celtic race, it was and still is held in the utmost 

 veneration, nay sacred ; and when money, or other consideration 

 for value or loss, real or estimated, came into demand, tlie cow 

 was the means adopted in almost every instance. Latterly a 

 Highlander's, or more correctly speaking a Celt's, whole wealth 

 consisted of cows or cattle, being what he most valued or prided 

 himself upon, the glory and joy of life it is said being "a fine fold 

 of cows." With cows his rents were paid, when such came to be 

 exacted, with cows his daughters were portioned and his sons 

 established in life. The Romans even called their term for money 

 pccmiia, from pecus, flock or herd of cows, etc. As it is impossible 

 to give here more than the briefest sketch of "cow-history" in 

 general (as it is our object throughout to confine ourselves to the 

 Celtic side of the subject), as found among the Celtic race which 

 inhabited so great a portion of the world, especially Great Britain 

 and Ireland, which latter country claims to have got her stock of 

 cows originally from three sacred ones which rose up from the 

 sea, a white, a red, and a black, bo-finn, bo-ruadh's bo-dhubh. 

 An etymology, which to us seems somewhat far-fetched, is that given 

 for the word fearb or ferb, being fer or feur beo — grass alive, i.e., 

 that which lives or is alive on grass, while a word for milk is " fir " 

 (? fior), i.e., true, pure, white ; the following remarks are submitted 

 as collected from authentic Celtic sources. In Ireland (as Skene 

 tells us in Celtic Scotland) ranks were distinguished from their 

 respective possession of cattle. The Bo-aire class had six grades ; 

 the lowest aire, the Og-aire, or young lord's property, was reckoned 

 by seven cows with their bull, seven pigs with a boar, seven sheep, 

 and a horse for work and riding. The land required for these seven 

 cows was called a cowland, and the lord left one cow at the end of 

 the year in payment for it. A cow's grass is cleitinn, while the ferns 

 used for littering is "easradh." The next grade was the Aithech 

 or Athreha, he had ten cows, ten pigs, and ten sheep. The next 

 was the Bo-aire fcbksa (superior Bo-aire) who had land of the value 

 of forty-two cows, and possessed twelve. The next, the Brughfcr 

 (village lord) had land of the value of three times seven cumals or 

 cumhals equal to sixty-three cows and possessed twenty, two bulls, 

 six bullocks, twenty hoggs, twenty sheep, four house-fed hogs, 

 two sows, and a riding horse. A still higher grade was termed the 

 Ferfothla (fear fojlath, man under chief, or lieutenant); while the 

 highest was the Aire-coi.sri?ig {coisrigte, consecrated or sacred). 



In Ireland, cows were used as fees for burial of different grades 

 of Aireach or nobles, as follows : Ocaireach, three cows or their 

 equivalent ; Bo-aireach, five ; Aireach-deasa, ten ; Aireach-ard, fifteen ; 

 Aireach-treisin, twenty ; Air each- foirghil, thirty ; and Righ (a king), 

 forty-two or their equivalents. Cumal or cumhal was the term for 

 the price of three cows ; and was thus fixed and named in the old 



