MacNeill — Ancient Irish Laiv : Lmo of Status or FrancMse. 279 



45. The jurist of the three languages is equal in dire to an aire iinse} 



V 102. — 46. The master of the Letter is equal in franchise to the king of 

 one heath. The second master of the Letter is equal in dire to an aire cirdd. 

 The junior master is equal in franchise to an aire ttlise. The man of a fourth 

 of mastership is equal in frairchise to an aire d^so. All this comprises food- 

 provision and protection and dh-e. Students of Latin from that down are 

 entitled to smaller franchises, for there is no Latin learning without 

 franchise." 



V 102, V 104. — 47. The accurate wright of oaken houses is equal in 

 franchise to an aire desso. The diligent wriglit of ships and barks and hide- 

 covered boats and vessels, who is able to make all these, has the same amount 

 of franchise. The millwright, the same amount. The master in yew-carving, 

 the same amount. The franchise of an aire desso to each of them.^ 



V 104. — 48. The man who practises together two or three [of the afore- 

 said crafts is entitled to an honourpriee of the value of eight milch-cows, and 

 to food-provision for eight men.]* 



V 104. — 49. The man who practises together four (of the crafts aforesaid), 

 fifteen chattels for his dire, and food-provision for twelve men, and ten days' 

 protection for him. 



' "Three languages": ace. to the gloss these are Feneclms — the ancient laws, 

 filideM — the lore of the iilid, and legend — Latin learning. 



^ " Master of the Letter," sin littre, equated in the gloss with fer legind, a later title 

 ("man of Latin learning ") for the headmaster of an ecclesiastical school. The "Letter " 

 is the written law of Scripture. "Second master of the Letter," tdnaise suad littre, 

 equated in the gloss with sin candine, " master of Canon law." " Junior master," uesiii, 

 equated in the gloss vrith forcetlaid, "teacher." "'Man of a fourth of mastership," /er 

 cethramthan suithe, equated in the gloss with tlie staraige, " historian," meaning probably 

 the student who has learned the " historical" interpretation of Scripture. Below this, 

 the gloss names, in the ascending scale, three grades of student, the ajidach (who had 

 learned the first fifty psalms), the faglaintid ("learner "), and the descipul (" disciple "). 

 For a dift'erent classification see C.G. 



^ "Of ships," long, ace. to the gloss, na longa fada, "naves longae," the L'ish word 

 being taken from the Latin. " Of barks," bdircc (r. hdrcci), equated in the gloss with 

 na serrcinn, " which are not rowed." " Hide-covered boats," ciirach : still used along the 

 western seaboard, but covered with tarred canvas instead of hide. Lestra, " vessels " : 

 the gloss understands domestic vessels to be meant. It seems likely, however, that 

 -Small boats are intended — ep. V 474, 8, foimrim noe no lestair, where the use of a lestar 

 without the owner's leave incurs a penalty of five chattels, equated in the gloss with two 

 milch-cows ; cp. also the uses of the English word "' vessel," and the modern Irish 

 soightheach. "Millwright," sder muilend, ci'aftsman (i.e. builder) of mills. Ownership 

 or part-ownership of a watermill was held to be part of the qualifications of every civil 

 grade from dcaire upward : see C.G. and the commentary, V 88 seqq. For partnership 

 in millraces, see Coibnms Uisci, IV 206 seqq. "Yew-carving," ihrdracht: yew was the 

 favourite wood for decorative woodwork. 



* The lacuna in the text is supplied inferentially from the gloss. 



