MacNeill — Three Poems in Middle- Irish. 531 



Especially noteworthy are the counsels of government laid down. 

 They are (1) strict control of dependent princes, B 17, 18, C 37, 39, 46; 



(2) firm exercise of sovereignty — "countries are not benefited by 

 holding the rein of kingship with the finger-tips," B 18, C 35, 36; 



(3) no mercy to an enemy, B 19, C 44 ; (4) stern punishment of 

 criminals, C 38, 40, 41 ; (5) those fit for arms to be favoured at the 

 expense of the non-fighting population, C 44. This last counsel — "to 

 every strong man his land" — contains the germ of a feudal system. 

 It is evident that the idea of " State" was not non-existent in Ireland 

 when these verses were written. Unfortunately, native princes were 

 not found to act consistently on the principles therein laid down. 



4. The Language. — In the list of words appended, I have meant 

 to include only such words, forms, or meanings as are not to be found 

 in the principal glossaries already published as instalments of a scien- 

 tific Irish lexicon, or such as are hitherto but slightly authenticated. 

 The extent of the list indicates the dijficulty experienced with the 

 text. It contains about 150 words, all taken from two pages of MSS. 

 The following, if correctly read, are, so far as my knowledge of printed 

 matter goes, aita^ Aeyo/Aeva : athan, attdil, baethlach, ianthaiff, hruicJi- 

 nech, cirhhide, cliu A. corp, focoidled, cred, cumale, diaind, dloni, domim, 

 draeth, driamail, faidc, fiadig, forscailtech, fuigset, gart, gillchaide, 

 gualaire, Idmaire, domraifes, smerdnide, trim, trucha, tulcid} 



One fact cannot fail to strike the student of unedited early Irish 

 literature — the extent of vocabulary which is not held in common by 

 the two great divisions of Irish literature, ecclesiastical and profane. 



I have made use of the contractions : Ath. = Dr. Atkinson's Glossary 

 to the Passions and Homilies ; CRnaR. - Cath Euis na Eig, by Eev. E. 

 Hogan, S.J., Todd Lecture Series, vol. iv, ; ^F. = Windisch's = Worter- 

 buch; besides other contractions familiar or self-explaining. Yowels 

 marked thus, a, are not marked in MS. The numbers within paren- 

 theses in the text refer to the Additional ISTotes on pp. 554 et sqq. 



1 The LL. text of Tlie Battle of Mag Mucrime is also edited by Whitley Stokes, 

 Eeviie Cellique, xiii., 426. In his glossary are the ■words — Irocc, ell, mu'in (cf 

 hruG, eill, muin, in this text and glossary) ; also baid-athair (cf. C, 4), and eo (cf. 

 C, 13, 27). 



