MacNeill — Ancient Irish Lcm : Law of Status or Franchise. 297 



vassalage. Teu married couples are his due (the company that he may 

 lawfully bring with him) on visitation (of his clients) from New Year's Day to 

 Shrovetide ; he being son of a noble and grandson of a noble, and having his 

 house in proper state, as to furniture and entertainment and rectitude. A 

 house of twenty-seven feet, with a proper outhouse. Eight beds with their 

 furnishing in it, drinking vessels, cauldrons, with the full supply of a noble's 

 house of work-vessels, including a vat. He protects the rights of his clients 

 in regard of liabilities, justice, statute-law, and treaty-law. (He has) a bed 

 for his foster-son, his foster-brother, for man, for wife, for son, for daughter. 

 He is well grounded in the law of the family and of the tuath and of lordship 

 and of the church and of government and of treaties.' 



Six cmnah are his capital from a lord.- Two cows with their accom- 

 paniment are his house-custom in winter, with his summer-food (besides). 

 A suitable saddle-horse with a silver bridle. He has four horses with green 

 bridles and a precious brooch of an ounce. A lawful wife, his equal in birth, 

 suitable to him, with equal outfit. Ten chattels are his honourprice. He 

 makes oath, is bond, surety, hostage, suitor, witness, to that amount. Seven 

 persons are his retinue in the tuath. He is entitled to butter always, with 

 salted condiment. This is the mudcithe lord. He is entitled to six 

 persons on sick-maintenance. Protection for six persons. He is entitled to 

 butter and salt meat on the second, third, fifth, ninth, and tenth day, and on 

 Sunday. 



108. What gives ten chattels as the dire (= honourprice) of this man ? 

 Five chattels in regard of his own house in the first place, and five in regard 

 of the five houses that are in vassalage to him, provided that he do not waste 

 or diminish his nobility in regard of its means, small and great, lest he be 

 cast out of his rule. 



IV 324. — 109. The aire inhta, why is he so called ? Because he is a leader 

 of five who is left to do feats of arms in [a neighbouring territory under] 

 treaty-law for the space of a month, to avenge an offence against the honour 

 of the tuath, one of whose men has been lately slain. If they do not (avenge 

 this) within a month, they come upon treaty-law, so that their beds do not 

 follow him from without. If they kill men within treaty-law, the same five, 

 the «M'c ^chta must pay on their behalf, provided that land or bronze of a 



1 This is a most important passage, showing that when it was written, though expert 

 knowledge of the law belonged to the jurists, the ordinary knowledge and practice of it 

 belonged also to freemen. It also states the main divisions of the law. 



= From this it appears that a lord who had clients could himself be client to a superior 

 lord. His "retinue in th.Q tuath" is probably the number of persons who accompanied 

 him to the assembly, as distinguished from his company when he visited his clients. 

 K.I.A. PBGC, VOL. XXXVI, SECT. C. [33] 



