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-Project Gutenberg's The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization, by P. W. Joyce
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-Title: The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization
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-Author: P. W. Joyce
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-Release Date: December 20, 2012 [EBook #41666]
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-Language: English
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41666 ***
 
 ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION
 
@@ -5390,360 +5357,4 @@ A HAND-BOOK OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND METHODS OF TEACHING.
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+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41666 ***
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-Project Gutenberg's The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization, by P. W. Joyce
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization
-
-Author: P. W. Joyce
-
-Release Date: December 20, 2012 [EBook #41666]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT IRISH CIVILIZATION ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
-generously made available by The Internet Archive.)
-
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-
-
-ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: PLAN OF TARA, AS IT EXISTS AT THE PRESENT DAY.
-
-Constructed to illustrate Dr. Joyce's Social Histories of Ancient Ireland.
-
-From the two Plans given by Petrie in his Essay on Tara.]
-
-
-
-
-  THE STORY OF ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION
-
-
-  BY P. W. JOYCE, LL.D., M.R.I.A.
-  _One of the Commissioners for the Publication
-  of the Ancient Laws of Ireland President of the
-  Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland_
-
-
-  LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
-  DUBLIN: M. H. GILL & SON, LTD.
-  1907
-
-
-
-
-_Printed by_ PONSONBY & GIBBS, _University Press, Dublin_.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-This little book has been written and published with the main object of
-spreading as widely as possible among our people, young and old, a
-knowledge of the civilisation and general social condition of Ireland from
-the fifth or sixth to the twelfth century, when it was wholly governed by
-native rulers. The publication comes at an appropriate time, when there is
-an awakening of interest in the Irish language, and in Irish lore of every
-kind, unparalleled in our history.
-
-But the book has a further mission. There are many English and many
-Anglo-Irish people who think, merely from ignorance, that Ireland was a
-barbarous and half-savage country before the English came among the people
-and civilised them. This book, so far as it finds its way among the two
-classes above mentioned, will, I fancy, open their eyes. They will learn
-from it that the old Irish, so far from being barbarous, were a bright,
-intellectual, and cultured people; that they had professions, trades, and
-industries pervading the whole population, with clearly defined ranks and
-grades of society, all working under an elaborate system of native laws;
-and that in the steadying and civilising arts and pursuits of everyday
-life they were as well advanced, as orderly, and as regular as any other
-European people of the same period. They will find too that, as regards
-education, scholarship, and general mental culture, the Irish of those
-early ages were in advance of all other countries of Europe; that they
-helped most materially to spread Christianity, and to revive learning, all
-over the Continent; and that to Irish missionaries and scholars, the
-Anglo-Saxons of the Heptarchy were indebted for the greater part of their
-Christianity, and for the preservation and restoration of learning when it
-was threatened with extinction all over England by the ravages of the
-Danes.
-
-But there were, and are, Englishmen better informed about our country.
-More than three hundred years ago the great English poet, Edmund Spenser,
-lived for some time in Ireland, and made himself well acquainted with its
-history. He knew what it was in past ages; so that in one of his poems he
-speaks of the time
-
-        "When Ireland flourishèd in fame
-  Of wealth and goodnesse, far above the rest
-  Of all that beare the British Islands name."
-
-But it is better not to pursue these observations farther here, as it
-would be only anticipating what will be found in the body of the book.
-
-This book is the last of a series of three, of which the second is
-abridged from the first, and the third from both.
-
-The First--"A Social History of Ancient Ireland" (2 vols., richly gilt,
-both cover and top, in 31 chapters, with 361 Illustrations)--contains a
-complete survey of the Social Life and Institutions of Ancient Ireland.
-All the important statements in it are proved home by references to
-authorities, and by quotations from ancient documents.
-
-The Second--"A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland" (1 vol., cloth,
-gilt, 598 pages, in 27 chapters, with 213 Illustrations)--traverses the
-same ground as the larger work; but, besides condensation, most of the
-illustrative quotations and nearly all the references to authorities are
-omitted.
-
-This Third book--"The Story of Ancient Irish Civilisation"--gives in
-simple, plain language, an account of the condition of the country in the
-olden time; but as it is here to speak for itself, I need not describe it
-further. For all the statements it contains, full and satisfactory
-authorities will be found in the two larger works.
-
-I have done my best to make all three readable and interesting, as well as
-instructive.
-
-The ordinary history of our country has been written by many, and the
-reader has a wide choice. But in the matter of our Social History he has
-no choice at all. For these three books of mine have, for the first and
-only time, brought within the reach of the general public a knowledge of
-the whole social life of Ancient Ireland.
-
-P. W. J.
-
-  LYRE-NA-GRENA,
-  _February, 1907_.
-
-
-
-
-The old Irish writers commonly prefixed to their books or treatises a
-brief statement of "Place, Time, Person, and Cause." My larger Social
-History, following the old custom, opens with a statement of this kind,
-which reappears in the Preface to the Smaller Social History, and which
-may be appropriately repeated here:--
-
-    _The Place, Time, Author, and Cause of Writing, of this book,
-    are:--Its place is Lyre-na-Grena, Leinster-road, Rathmines, Dublin;
-    its time is the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven;
-    the author is Patrick Weston Joyce, Doctor of Laws; and the cause of
-    writing the same book is to give glory to God, honour to Ireland, and
-    knowledge to those who desire to learn all about the Old Irish
-    People._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER.                                                            PAGE
-
-  I. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS
-  AND CHIEFS                                                             1
-
-  II. HOW THE WARLIKE OLD IRISH CONQUERED FOREIGN LANDS                  8
-
-  III. HOW KINGS, CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE WERE SUBJECT TO THE BREHON
-  LAWS                                                                  17
-
-  IV. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH LIVED AS PAGANS                             24
-
-  V. HOW THE IRISH PEOPLE LIVED AS CHRISTIANS                           33
-
-  VI. HOW IRELAND BECAME THE MOST LEARNED COUNTRY IN EUROPE             40
-
-  VII. HOW THE IRISH MISSIONARIES AND SCHOLARS SPREAD RELIGION
-  AND LEARNING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES                                     51
-
-  VIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH WROTE DOWN ALL THEIR LITERATURE,
-  AND HOW BOOKS INCREASED AND MULTIPLIED                                60
-
-  IX. HOW THE IRISH SCHOLARS COMPILED THEIR ANNALS                      67
-
-  X. HOW THE IRISH DERIVED AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION FROM
-  HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC TALES                                         74
-
-  XI. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN MUSIC                           82
-
-  XII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN ART                            92
-
-  XIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PHYSICIANS WERE SKILLED IN
-  MEDICINE                                                              98
-
-  XIV. HOW THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES        106
-
-  XV. HOW THEY ATE, DRANK, FEASTED, AND ENTERTAINED                    111
-
-  XVI. HOW THE PEOPLE DRESSED                                          121
-
-  XVII. HOW THEY FENCED IN AND TILLED THEIR LAND                       129
-
-  XVIII. HOW IRISH HANDICRAFTSMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR WORK               131
-
-  XIX. HOW THEY PREPARED AND MADE UP CLOTHING MATERIALS                138
-
-  XX. HOW THE IRISH TRAVELLED ON LAND AND WATER                        143
-
-  XXI. HOW THE PEOPLE HELD GREAT CONVENTIONS AND FAIRS; AND HOW
-  THEY AMUSED THEMSELVES                                               148
-
-  XXII. HOW THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE SHOWED ITSELF
-  IN VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS                    158
-
-  INDEX                                                                169
-
-
-
-
-ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS AND CHIEFS.
-
-
-There were in Ireland, from times beyond the reach of history, kings, who
-were of various grades according to the extent of the country or district
-they ruled over. The highest of all was the king of Ireland, who lived in
-the royal palace at Tara. He was called the Ard-ri [ard-ree], _i.e._,
-'High king' or Over-king, because he claimed authority over all the
-others. There was also a king over each of the five provinces--Leinster,
-Munster, Connaught, Ulster, and Meath--who were subject to the Ard-ri. The
-provinces were divided into a number of territories, over which were kings
-of a still lower grade, each under the king of his own province. If the
-district was not large enough to have a king, it was ruled by a chief, who
-was subject to the king of the larger territory in which the district was
-included.
-
-The king was always chosen from one particular ruling family; and when a
-king died, those chiefs who had votes held a meeting, lasting for three
-days and three nights, at which they elected whatever member of that
-family they considered the wisest, best, and bravest. After this a day was
-fixed for inaugurating the new king, a ceremony corresponding in some
-respects with the _crowning_ of our present monarchs. This Inauguration,
-or 'making' of a king as it is called in Irish, was a great affair, and
-was attended by all the leading people, both clergymen and laymen. There
-was always one particular spot for the ceremony, on which usually stood a
-high mound or fort, with an 'Inauguration Stone' on top, and often a great
-branching old tree, under the shade of which the main proceedings were
-carried on.
-
-The new king, standing on the Inauguration Stone, swore a solemn oath in
-the hearing of all, that he would govern his people with strict justice,
-and that he would observe the laws of the land, and maintain the old
-customs of the tribe or kingdom. Then he put by his sword; and one of the
-chiefs, whose special office it was, put into his hand a long, straight,
-white wand. This was to signify that he was to govern, not by violence or
-harshness, but by justice, and that his decisions were to be straight and
-stainless like the wand. Several other forms had to be gone through till
-the ceremony was completed; and he was then the lawful king.
-
-The old Irish kings lived in great style, especially those of the higher
-ranks, and--like the kings of our own day--kept in their palaces numbers
-of persons to attend on them, holding various offices, all with good
-salaries. The higher the grade of the king the greater the number of his
-household, and the grander the persons holding offices. Forming part of
-his retinue there were nobles, who did nothing at all but wait on him,
-merely to do him honour. There were _Ollaves_, i.e., learned and
-distinguished men, of the several professions--Historians, Poets,
-Physicians, Builders, Brehons or Judges, Musicians, and so forth. All were
-held in high honour, and exercised their several professions for the
-benefit of the king and his household, for which each had a house and a
-tract of land free, or some other equivalent stipend.
-
-Then there was a house-steward, who issued orders each day for the
-provisions to be laid in for next day--the number of oxen, sheep, and hogs
-to be slaughtered, the quantity of bread to be baked, and of ale, mead,
-and wine to be measured out; and he regulated the reception of guests,
-their arrangement at banquets, and their sleeping accommodation; with
-numerous other matters of a like kind, all pertaining to the household.
-His word was law, and no one ever thought of questioning his arrangements.
-The house-steward's office was one of great responsibility, and he had
-plenty of anxiety and worry; and accordingly he held a high rank, and was
-well paid for his services.
-
-There was a champion--a fierce and mighty man--who answered challenges,
-and, when necessary, fought single combats for the honour of the king.
-Guards were always at hand, who remained standing up with drawn swords or
-battleaxes during dinner. There was a master of horse, with numerous
-grooms; keepers of the king's jewels and chessboards; couriers or runners
-to convey the king's messages and orders, and to bring him tidings;
-keepers of hounds and coursing dogs; a chief swineherd, with his
-underlings; fools, jugglers, and jesters for the amusement of the company;
-with a whole army of under-servants and workmen of various kinds.
-
-Each day the whole company sat in the great hall at dinner, arranged at
-tables in the order of rank the great grandees and the ollaves near the
-king, others of less importance lower down, while the attendants--when
-they were not otherwise occupied--sat at tables of their own at the lower
-end of the hall. To pay the expenses of his great household, and to enable
-him to live in grandeur as a king should live, he had a large tract of
-land free, besides which, every tenant and householder throughout his
-dominion had to make a yearly payment according to his means. These
-payments were made, not in money--for there was little or no coined money
-then--but _in kind_; that is to say, cattle and provisions of various
-sorts, plough-oxen, hogs, sheep, with mantles and other articles of dress;
-also dyestuffs, sewing-thread, firewood, horses, rich bridles,
-chessboards, jewellery, and sometimes gold and silver reckoned out in
-ounces, as Abraham paid Ephron for the cave of Machpelah. Much income also
-accrued to the king from other sources not mentioned here; and he wanted
-it all, for he was expected to be lavish in giving presents, and
-hospitable without stint in receiving and entertaining guests.
-
-Besides all this, the king often went on what was called a 'Free Circuit,'
-_i.e._, a visitation through his dominions, moving quite leisurely in his
-chariot from place to place, with a numerous retinue, all in their own
-chariots; while the several sub-kings through whose territories he passed
-had to lodge, feed, and entertain the whole company free, while they
-remained.
-
-These old Irish kings--when they were not engaged in war--seem to have led
-a free and easy life, and to have had a pleasanter time of it than the
-kings and emperors of our own day.
-
-The Irish took care that their kings had not too much power in their
-hands; so that they could not always do as they pleased--a proper and wise
-arrangement. They were what we now call 'limited monarchs'; that is, they
-could not enter on any important undertaking affecting the kingdom or the
-public without consulting their people. On such occasions the king had to
-call a meeting of his chief men, and ask their advice, and, if necessary,
-take their votes when there was a difference of opinions. And besides
-this, kings, as we shall see farther on, had to obey the law the same as
-their subjects.
-
-Each king, of whatever grade, should, according to law, have at least
-three chief residences; and he lived in them by turns, as suited his fancy
-or convenience. Nearly all those old palaces are known at the present day;
-and in most of them the ramparts and mounds are still to be seen, more or
-less dilapidated after the long lapse of time. The ruins of the most
-important ones--such as we see them now--are described in some detail in
-my two Social Histories of Ancient Ireland; but here our space will not
-permit us to mention more than a few.
-
-The most important of all is Tara, the chief residence of the over-kings,
-which is situated on the summit of a gentle green hill, six miles from
-Navan in Meath, and two miles from the Midland Railway station of
-Kilmessan. The various mounds, circular ramparts, and other features are
-plainly marked on the plan given at the beginning of this book; and anyone
-who walks over the hill with the plan in his hand can easily recognise
-them.
-
-Next to Tara in celebrity was the palace of Emain or Emania, the residence
-of the kings of Ulster, and the chief home of Concobar Mac Nessa and the
-Red Branch Knights. The imposing remains of this palace, consisting of a
-great mound surrounded by an immense circular rampart and fosse half
-obliterated, the whole structure covering about eleven English acres, lie
-two miles west of Armagh.
-
-Another Ulster palace, quite as important as Emain, was Ailech, the ruins
-of which are situated in County Donegal, on the summit of a hill 800 feet
-high, five miles north-west from Derry. It is a circular stone fortress of
-dry masonry, still retaining its old name in the form of "Greenan-Ely."
-
-The chief palace of the kings of Connaught was Croghan, the old fort of
-which lies three miles from Tulsk in Roscommon.
-
-The most important residence of the Leinster kings was Aillenn, now called
-Knockaulin, an immense fort surrounding the summit of a hill near
-Kilcullen in Kildare.
-
-Besides these there are the Munster palaces, the Rock of Cashel, Kincora
-at Killaloe, Bruree in Limerick, and Caher in Tipperary: also we have Naas
-in Kildare, Dunlavin in Wicklow, Dinnree in Carlow, and many others.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-HOW THE WARLIKE OLD IRISH CONQUERED FOREIGN LANDS.
-
-
-From the remotest times the Irish had a genius for war and a love of
-fighting; and if it fell within the scope of this narrative, it would be
-easy to show that these features in our character have come down to the
-present day. For good or for bad, we are, and always have been, a fighting
-race.
-
-In old times the 'Scots'--as the Irish were then called--were well known
-for their warlike qualities, and very much dreaded; so that fabulous
-rumours regarding them ran among some of the people of the Continent. One
-Latin writer tells us that Irish mothers were wont to present the first
-food on the point of a sword to their newly-born male infants, as a sort
-of dedication to war. This is certainly an invention, for it is not
-mentioned in our own records; but it indicates the character the Irish
-people had earned for themselves abroad. They fought a great deal too much
-among themselves at home; but in this respect they were not a bit worse
-than the English people at the time of the Heptarchy or than the
-Continental nations of the same period.
-
-That the old Irish should be warlike is only what we might expect; seeing
-that they were in great measure descended from the Continental Gauls, who
-in ancient times were renowned as warriors and conquerors. But mighty as
-the Gauls were, and though they were at least as brave as the Romans, they
-were subdued in the end by superior discipline, when Julius Cæsar invaded
-them. And so with the old Irish. Though they were fierce and strong, and
-taken man for man quite a match for the Anglo-Normans, they were forced,
-after a long struggle, to yield to science, skill, and discipline, when
-they were invaded by that people--then the greatest warriors in the world.
-
-The Irish were not content with fighting at home, but made themselves
-formidable in foreign lands. Their chief foreign conquests were in Wales
-and Scotland; but they frequently found their way to the Continent. Irish
-literature of every kind abounds in records of foreign raids, invasions,
-and inter-marriages; and in many particulars these native accounts are
-borne out by authorities that no one questions, namely, Roman classical
-writers, whenever they find occasion to touch on these matters.
-
-Those who have read the early history of England will remember that the
-Picts and Scots, marching southwards from the Scottish Highlands, gave
-much trouble, year after year, for a long period, to the Romans and
-Britons. The Picts were the people of Scotland at the time; and the Scots
-were the Irish, who, crossing over to Alban or Scotland in their _curragh_
-fleets, joined the Picts in their formidable raids southwards. We know
-all this, not only from our own native historians, but also from Roman
-writers, who tell us how the Romans had often to fight in Britain against
-the Scots from Ireland.
-
-In order to protect the British people against these two fierce nations,
-the Romans, at different intervals in the second and third centuries,
-built great walls or ramparts from sea to sea, between Britain and Alban,
-of which the ruins are still to be seen: one beginning at the Frith of
-Clyde and another at the Solway Frith.
-
-For several hundred years--from the third to the sixth century, and even
-after--the Irish streamed continually to Scotland across the narrow sea.
-The first of these migrations of which we have reliable accounts
-originated in a famine, exactly as the great exodus of our own day from
-Ireland to America was set going by the terrible famine of 1847. And this
-migration is related partly by old Irish writers, and partly by the great
-English historian, the Venerable Bede.
-
-The famine in question fell on Munster early in the third century, so that
-numbers of people were forced to leave the province. One particular chief
-led a great host of fighting men, with their families, northwards, till
-they reached the extreme district now known as the county Antrim. Here
-they divided: and while one part remained in Ireland (_i.e._, in Antrim),
-the other part, under the same leader mentioned above, crossed over to
-Alban or Scotland, where they settled down. From this time forward, there
-was a continual migration, year after year, from the northern coast to
-Scotland, till, after the lapse of about three centuries, occurred the
-greatest invasion of all, led by the three brothers, Fergus, Angus, and
-Lorne, in the year 503.
-
-It has been already related in our Histories of Ireland, and need not be
-repeated in detail here, how these colonists ultimately mastered the
-country, over which their first king, Fergus, ruled; how they gave
-Scotland its name; how the subsequent kings of Scotland were the direct
-descendants of Fergus; and how from him again, through the Stuarts,
-descend, in one of their lines of pedigree, our present royal family.
-
-At about the same period the Irish mastered and peopled the Isle of Man;
-and for centuries there was constant intercourse between the parent people
-of the north-east coast of Ireland and this little colony. Though the
-Norsemen wrested the sovereignty of the island from them in the ninth
-century, they did not succeed in displacing either the Gaelic people or
-their language. The best possible proof that the Irish colonised and held
-possession of Man for ages is the fact that the Manx language is nothing
-more than Irish Gaelic, slightly changed by lapse of time. There are also
-still to be seen all over the island Irish buildings and monuments, mixed
-up, however, with many of Norse origin; and the great majority of both the
-place-names and the native family-names are Gaelic.
-
-In our old historical books we have accounts of migrations of Irish people
-to Wales, some as invaders intending to return, some as colonists
-purposing to settle and remain. At this time the Romans were masters of
-England and Wales, but they were not as mighty a people in the fourth
-century as they had been previously; for on the Continent the northern
-barbarians were pressing on them everywhere; and in Britain the Picts and
-Scots, as we have said, kept continually harassing them from the north.
-
-These raids became at last so intolerable, that the Roman government sent
-an able general named Theodosius (father of the emperor Theodosius the
-Great) to Britain to check them. At the very time that Theodosius was in
-Britain, a brave and strong-handed king reigned in Tara, named Criffan
-(A.D., 366 to 379), who on several occasions invaded Britain, and took
-possession of large tracts, so that he is called in our old records
-"Criffan the Great, king of Ireland, and of Albion to the British
-Channel." The Roman historians tell us that Theodosius succeeded in
-beating back the Picts and Scots, and even chased them out to sea, in
-which there is probably some exaggeration, as there is, no doubt, on the
-part of our own historians in calling Criffan "King of Albion to the
-British Channel."
-
-Criffan was succeeded by Niall of the Nine Hostages (A.D. 379 to 405), who
-was still more distinguished for foreign conquests than his predecessor.
-He invaded Britain on a more extensive and formidable scale than had yet
-been attempted, and swept over a large extent of country, bringing away
-immense booty and whole crowds of captives, but was at length forced to
-retreat by the valiant Roman general Stilicho. On this occasion a Roman
-poet, praising Stilicho, says of him--speaking as Britannia:--"By him was
-I protected when the Scot [_i.e._, Niall] moved all Ireland against me,
-and the ocean foamed with their hostile oars."
-
-For the extensive scale of these terrible raids we have the testimony of
-the best possible authority--St. Patrick--who, in his "Confession,"
-speaking of the expedition in which he himself was taken captive (probably
-that led by Niall), says:--"I was about sixteen years of age, when I was
-brought captive into Ireland _with many thousand persons_."
-
-The preceding were warlike raids; but no doubt, while the main body of the
-host returned on each occasion to their homes in Ireland, large numbers
-remained and settled down in Wales. But we have an account of at least one
-expedition undertaken with the direct object of colonising. In the third
-century, a powerful tribe called the Desii, who occupied the territory of
-_Deece_, near Tara, were expelled from the district by King Cormac Mac
-Art, for a serious breach of law. Part of these went to Munster, and
-settled in a territory which still bears their name, the barony of Decies,
-in Waterford. Another part, crossing over to Wales under one of their
-leaders, took possession of a district called Dyfed, where they settled
-down and kept themselves distinct as an immigrant tribe, speaking their
-own language for generations, till at length they were absorbed by the
-more numerous population around them, just as, many centuries later, the
-Anglo-Normans who came to Ireland were absorbed by the Irish.
-
-We are told in Cormac's Glossary that in those times it was quite a usual
-thing for Irish chiefs to own two territories, one in Ireland and the
-other in Wales; and that they visited and lived in each by turns, as
-suited their convenience or pleasure. And the Irish chiefs often crossed
-over to receive the tributes due to them from their Welsh possessions.
-
-Plain marks and tokens of these migrations and settlements exist in Wales
-at the present day, as we are told by eminent Welsh writers who have
-examined the question. Numerous places are still called after Irishmen,
-as, for instance, Holyhead, of which the Welsh name means the 'Rocks of
-the Gaels.' The Irish, wherever they settled down in Wales, built for
-themselves circular forts, as was their custom at home in Ireland. Many of
-these remain to this day, and are called 'Irishmen's Cottages.' Moreover,
-the present spoken Welsh language contains a number of Irish words,
-borrowed by the people from their Irish neighbours in days of old. All
-this we are told--as already stated--by several great Welsh scholars.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-HOW KINGS, CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE WERE SUBJECT TO THE BREHON LAWS.
-
-
-The ancient Irish had a system of laws which grew up gradually among them
-from time immemorial. And there were lawyers who made law the business of
-their lives, and lived by it. When a lawyer was very distinguished, and
-became noted for his knowledge, skill, and justice, he was recognised as
-competent to act as a _Brehon_ or judge. A brehon was also a magistrate by
-virtue of his position. From this word 'brehon,' the old Irish law is now
-commonly called the 'Brehon Law.'
-
-We have seen that every king kept in his household distinguished men of
-all the learned professions, and paid them well. Among these the brehon
-always held a high place; so that a large number of brehons found
-employment in this way. But many were unattached, and lived by deciding
-cases brought before them; for which they held courts, and were paid fees
-by the litigants in each case. On these fees they lived, for they had no
-regular salaries. And there were practising lawyers also, not holding the
-position of brehon, who made a living by their profession, like lawyers of
-our day.
-
-To become a lawyer a person had to go through a regular course of study
-and training. The subjects were laid down with great exactness from year
-to year of the course; and the time was much longer than that required by
-a young man now-a-days to become a barrister. Until the student had put in
-the full time, and mastered the whole course, he was not permitted to
-practise as a lawyer of any kind--pleader, law-agent, professor of law,
-law-adviser, or brehon.
-
-Law was perhaps the most difficult of all the professions to study. For
-there were many strange terms hard to understand, all of which had to be
-learned, many puzzling forms to be gone through, many circumstances to be
-taken into account in all transactions where law was brought in, or where
-trials took place in a brehon's court. And if there was the least flaw or
-omission, if the smallest error was committed, either by the client or by
-his lawyer, it was instantly pounced upon by the opposing pleader, and the
-case was likely enough to go against them.
-
-As soon as the Irish had learned the art of writing, they began to write
-down their laws in books. There is the best reason to believe that before
-the time of St. Patrick the pagan brehons had law-books. But they were
-full of paganism--pagan gods, pagan customs, and pagan expressions
-everywhere through them; and they would not answer for a Christian people.
-So about six years after St. Patrick's arrival, when Christianity had been
-pretty widely spread through Ireland, he saw that it was necessary to have
-a new code, suitable for the new and pure faith; and he advised Laeghaire
-[Laery], the ard-ri, to take steps to have the laws revised and
-re-written. The king, seeing this could not be avoided, appointed nine
-learned and eminent persons--of whom he himself and St. Patrick were
-two--to carry out this important work. At the end of three years, these
-nine produced a new code, quite free from any taint of paganism: and this
-book got the name of Senchus Mór [Shannahus More], meaning 'Great old
-law-book.'
-
-The very book left by St. Patrick and the others has been long lost. But
-successive copies were made from time to time, of which some are still
-preserved. We have also manuscript copies of several other old Irish
-law-books, most of which, as well as the Senchus Mór, have been lately
-translated and printed. As the language of those old books is very obscure
-and difficult, it was a hard task to translate them; but this was
-successfully done by the two great Irish scholars, Dr. John O'Donovan and
-Professor Eugene O'Curry. These translations of the Senchus Mór and the
-other old law-books, with the Irish texts, and with notes, explanations,
-and indexes, form six large printed volumes, which may now be seen in
-every important library.
-
-The brehons held courts at regular intervals, where cases were tried. If a
-man was wronged by another, he summoned him to one of these courts, and
-there were lawyers to plead for both sides, and witnesses were examined,
-much in the same way as we see in our present law courts; and after the
-brehon had carefully listened to all, he gave his decision. This decision
-was given by the brehon alone: there were no juries such as we have now.
-
-All parties, high and low, submitted to the Brehon Laws, and abided by the
-judge's decisions; unless the party who lost the suit thought the decision
-wrong--which indeed happened but seldom--in which case, he appealed to the
-court of a higher brehon. Then, if it was found that the first had given
-an unjust decision, he had to return the fee and pay damages, besides more
-or less losing character, and lessening his chances of further employment.
-So the brehons had to be very careful in trying cases and giving their
-decisions.
-
-The highest people in the land, even kings and queens, had to submit to
-the laws, exactly the same as common subjects; and if a king was wronged,
-he had to appeal to the law, like other people. A couple of hundred years
-ago, when the kings of France were, to all intents and purposes, despotic,
-and could act much as they pleased towards their subjects, a learned
-French writer on law, during a visit to England, happened to pass near the
-grounds of one of the palaces, where he observed a notice on the fence of
-a field belonging to the king:--"Trespassers will be prosecuted according
-to law." Now this gave him great pleasure, as it showed how the king had
-to call in the aid of the law to redress a wrong, like any of his
-subjects; and it gave him occasion to contrast the condition of England
-with that of France, where the king or queen would have made short work of
-the trespasser, without any notice or law at all.
-
-But if the same Frenchman had been in Ireland 1,500 years ago, he might
-have witnessed what would give him still greater pleasure:--not a mere
-notice, but an actual case of trespass on a queen's ground, tried in open
-court before his eyes. In those days there reigned at Tara a king named
-Mac Con, whose queen had a plot of land, not far from the palace, planted
-with _glasheen_, i.e., the woad-plant, for dyeing blue. In the
-neighbourhood there lived a female _brewy_, or keeper of a hostel for
-travellers, who had flocks and herds like all other brewys. One night a
-flock of sheep belonging to her broke into the queen's grounds, and ate up
-or destroyed the whole crop of glasheen; whereupon the queen summoned her
-for damages.
-
-In due course the case came before the king (for the queen would not
-appear before an ordinary brehon), and on hearing the evidence he decided
-that the sheep should be forfeit to the queen to pay for the crop. Now,
-although the glasheen was an expensive and valuable crop, the sheep were
-worth a great deal more; and the people were enraged at this unjust
-sentence; but they dared not speak out, for Mac Con was a usurper and a
-tyrant.
-
-Among the people who dwelt in Tara at this time was a boy, a handsome,
-noble-looking young fellow, whom the people all knew by the name of
-Cormac. But no one in the least suspected that he was in reality a prince,
-the son of the last monarch, Art the Solitary, who had been slain in
-battle by the usurper, Mac Con. He was wise and silent, and carefully
-concealed from all who he was; for he well knew that if he was discovered
-the king would be sure to kill him.
-
-While the trial was going on he stood behind the crowd listening quietly;
-and being by nature noble and just-minded, even from his youth up, he
-could not contain himself when he heard the king's unfair and oppressive
-sentence; and he cried out amid the dead silence:--"That is an unjust
-judgment! Let the fleeces be given up for the glasheen--the sheep-crop for
-the land-crop--for both will grow again!"
-
-The king was astonished and enraged, and became still more so when the
-people exclaimed with one voice:--"That is a true judgment, and he who has
-pronounced it is surely the son of a king!"
-
-In this manner the people, to their great joy, discovered who Cormac was.
-How he managed to escape the vengeance of the king we are not told; but
-escape he did; and after a time the usurper was expelled from Tara, and
-Cormac was put in his place. To this day Cormac Mac Art is celebrated in
-Irish records as a skilful lawyer and writer on law, and as the wisest and
-most illustrious of all the ancient Irish kings.[1]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH LIVED AS PAGANS.
-
-
-When Ireland was pagan the people were taught their religion, such as it
-was, by Druids. These druids were the only learned men of the time, and
-they had in their hands all the learned professions--they were not only
-druids, but judges, prophets, poets, and even physicians. They were the
-only teachers, and they were employed to instruct the sons and daughters
-of kings and chiefs in whatever learning was then known. They were also
-advisers to king and people on all important occasions; so they were, as
-we can well understand, held in high estimation, and had great influence.
-They had the reputation of being mighty magicians, and could do many
-wonderful things, as our old romantic stories tell, and as the people
-firmly believed. They could raise a druidical or magic fog, which hid
-things from view, or bring on darkness in the day, like the blackest
-night; they could bring down showers of fire or blood, cause a snowfall
-even in summer, till the ground was covered half a yard deep; and bring on
-storms and tempests on sea or land. They could drive a man mad by their
-sorcery--a power which was dreaded most of all by the people in general.
-For this purpose the druid prepared what was called a 'madman's wisp,'
-that is, a little wisp of straw or grass, into which he pronounced some
-foul, baleful verses; and, watching his opportunity, he flung it into the
-face of the poor victim, who straightway became a madman, or, what was
-just as bad, an idiot--all beyond cure. Many other instances of the power
-of their spells are related in old Irish tales.
-
-They were often employed in divination, _i.e._, foretelling the future.
-Sometimes they forecasted by observing the clouds or the stars, sometimes
-by means of a rod of yew with Ogham letters cut upon it, often by
-interpreting dreams, or from sneezing, or by the voices of birds,
-especially the croaking of the raven, or the chirping of the wren. By
-some or all of these means they professed to be able to tell the issue of
-a coming battle, or whether a man's life was to be long or short, and what
-were the lucky or unlucky days for beginning any work, or for undertaking
-any enterprise; besides many other matters lying in the future.
-
-The Greeks and Romans of old had--as we know--their augurs or soothsayers,
-who forecasted the future, like our druids, and by much the same
-observations, signs, and tokens. We must not judge those old people,
-whether Greek, Roman, or Irish, too severely for believing in these
-prophets; for although there are no druids or soothsayers now, we have
-amongst us plenty of palmists and fortune-tellers of various kinds, who
-make a good living out of those people who are simple enough to believe in
-them.
-
-There were druids in every part of Ireland; but Tara, as being the
-residence of the over-kings, was their chief seat, where they were most
-powerful; and those who have read the early history of Ireland will
-recollect St. Patrick's contest with them, in presence of king Laeghaire
-[Laery] and his court, and how he put them down in argument.
-
-The pagan Irish had many gods and many idols. Among other things, they
-worshipped the Fairies, who were, and are still, called in Irish _Shee_.
-The fairies dwelt under pleasant green little hills; and there they built
-themselves palaces all ablaze with light, and glittering with gems and
-gold. These residences, as well as the elves or fairies themselves, were
-called _Shee_. Many of the old fairy hills all over the country are still
-well known; and to this day there is a superstition among many of the
-people that the fairies still remain in them, and that they also dwell in
-the old _lisses_, _raths_, or forts that are found everywhere in Ireland.
-The fairies were not always confined to their dwellings: they often got
-out, but they were generally invisible. Whenever they made themselves
-visible to mortals--and that was only seldom--they were seen to be very
-small, hardly the height of a man's knee. People had to be careful of
-them, for they often did mischief when interfered with.
-
-Mannanan Mac Lir was the Irish sea-god, like Neptune of the Greeks and
-Romans. He generally lived on the sea, riding in his chariot at the head
-of his followers. He is in his glory on a stormy night, and on such a
-night, when you look over the waste of waters, there before your eyes, in
-the dim gloom, are thousands of Mannanan's white steeds careering along
-after their great chief's chariot.
-
-Angus Mac-an-oge was a mighty magician, who had his glorious palace under
-the great mound of Brugh [Broo] on the Boyne, now called Newgrange, a
-little below Slane in Meath. There were many other gods; and there were
-goddesses also. Poets, physicians, and smiths had three goddesses whom
-they severally worshipped, three sisters, all named Brigit. There were
-also many fairy queens, who were considered as goddesses and worshipped in
-their several districts, all living in their palaces under fairy mounds or
-rocks.
-
-Many of these residences are still well known, such as Carrigcleena, a
-circle of grey rocks near Mallow, where lived Cleena, the fairy queen of
-south Munster; and Craglea, near Killaloe, where Eevin or Eevil, the
-guardian fairy queen of the Dalcassians of Thomond, resided. The people of
-several districts had local gods also, such as Donn, the king of the
-Munster fairies, who had his airy home on the top of Knockfierna, near
-Croom in Limerick; John Macananty of Scrabo carn, near Newtownards; and
-Tierna, the powerful and kindly fairy lord, who lived in his bright palace
-under the great carn on the hill of Carntierna, over Fermoy.
-
-Besides those that were acknowledged and worshipped as gods or goddesses,
-there were battle-furies who delighted in blood and slaughter; also
-loathsome-looking witch-hags, and plenty of goblins, sprites, and
-spectres--some harmless, some malignant--who will be found enumerated and
-described in either of my two Social Histories.
-
-The idols worshipped by the pagan Irish were nearly all of them stones,
-mostly pillar-stones, which were sometimes covered over with gold, silver,
-or bronze. The people also worshipped the elements--that is to say, water,
-fire, the sun, the wind, and such like. The worship of wells was very
-general. Most of those old Pagan fountains were taken possession of by St.
-Patrick, St. Columkille, and other early missionaries, who blessed them,
-and devoted them to baptism and other Christian uses; so that they came to
-be called holy wells; and though they were no longer worshipped, they were
-as much venerated by the Christians as they had been by the pagans.
-
-It must not be supposed that each of the objects mentioned above was
-worshipped by all the people of Ireland. Each person, in fact, worshipped
-whichever he pleased. And it was usual for individuals, or a tribe, to
-choose some idol, or element, or pagan divinity, which they held in
-veneration as their special guardian god.
-
-There was a belief in a pagan heaven, a land of everlasting youth, peace,
-and happiness, beautiful beyond conception, called by various names, such
-as Teernanoge, Moy Mell, I-Brassil, etc., which is often described as
-being situated far out in the Western Ocean. It was inhabited by fairies,
-but it was not for human beings, except a few individuals who were brought
-thither by the fairies.
-
-There is a pretty story, more than a thousand years old, in the Book of
-the Dun Cow, which tells how Prince Connla of the Golden Hair, son of the
-great king Conn the Hundred-Fighter, was carried off by a fairy in a
-crystal boat to Moy-Mell. One day--as the story relates--while the king
-and Connla, and many nobles were standing on the western sea-shore, a boat
-of shining crystal was seen moving towards them: and when it had touched
-the land, a fairy, like a human being, and richly dressed, came forth from
-it, and addressing Connla, tried to entice him into it. No one saw this
-strange being save Connla alone, though all heard the conversation: and
-the king and the nobles marvelled, and were greatly troubled. At last the
-fairy chanted the following words in a very sweet voice: and the moment
-the chant was ended, the poor young prince stepped into the crystal boat,
-which in a moment glided swiftly away to the west: and Prince Connla was
-never again seen in his native land.
-
-
-THE FAIRY MAIDEN'S CHANT TO PRINCE CONNLA.
-
-  I.
-
-                A land of youth, a land of rest,
-                  A land from sorrow free;
-                It lies far off in the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea.
-                A swift canoe of crystal bright,
-                  That never met mortal view--
-                We shall reach the land ere fall of night,
-                  In that strong and swift canoe:
-                    We shall reach the strand
-                    Of that sunny land,
-                  From druids and demons free;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  II.
-
-  A pleasant land of winding vales, bright streams, and verdurous plains,
-  Where summer all the live-long year, in changeless splendour reigns;
-  A peaceful land of calm delight, of everlasting bloom;
-  Old age and death we never know, no sickness, care, or gloom;
-                    The land of youth,
-                    Of love and truth,
-                  From pain and sorrow free;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  III.
-
-  There are strange delights for mortal men in that island of the west;
-  The sun comes down each evening in its lovely vales to rest:
-                    And though far and dim
-                    On the ocean's rim
-                  It seems to mortal view,
-                    We shall reach its halls
-                    Ere the evening falls,
-                  In my strong and swift canoe:
-                    And evermore
-                    That verdant shore
-                  Our happy home shall be;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  IV.
-
-  It will guard thee, gentle Connla, of the flowing golden hair;
-  It will guard thee from the druids, from the demons of the air;
-  My crystal boat will guard thee, till we reach that western shore,
-  Where thou and I in joy and love shall live for evermore:
-                  From the druid's incantation,
-                    From his black and deadly snare,
-                  From the withering imprecation
-                    Of the demon of the air,
-  It will guard thee, gentle Connla, of the flowing golden hair:
-  My crystal boat will guard thee, till we reach that silver strand
-  Where thou shalt reign in endless joy, the king of the Fairy-land![2]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-HOW THE IRISH PEOPLE LIVED AS CHRISTIANS.
-
-
-It is not our business here to tell how the Irish were converted to
-Christianity; for this has been already related in our Histories of
-Ireland. Whether St. Patrick was born in Gaul or in Scotland, we know at
-any rate that he brought with him to Ireland, to aid him in his great
-work, a number of young Gauls and Britons whom he had ordained as priests.
-But soon after his arrival he began to ordain natives also, whom he had
-converted; so that the hard work of travelling through the country, and
-preaching to the people, was for some time in the beginning done by
-foreigners and Irishmen. But as time went on the missionaries were chiefly
-native-born. St. Patrick loved the Irish people; and he was continually
-praying that God would bestow favours on them. And his prayers were
-answered; for, after the Apostolic times, there never were more devoted or
-more successful missionaries than those who preached the Gospel in
-Ireland, and there never were people who received the Faith more readily
-than the Irish, or who practised it after their conversion with more piety
-and earnestness.
-
-An old Irish writer who lived about twelve hundred years ago tells us that
-the saints of Ireland who lived, and worked, and died before his time were
-of "Three Orders." "The First Order of Catholic saints"--says this
-writer--"were MOST HOLY: shining like the sun." They were 350 in number,
-all bishops, beginning with St. Patrick. For more than thirty years they
-were led by their great master, with all his fiery and tireless energy;
-and the preachers of this order continued for a little more than a
-century. They devoted themselves entirely to the home mission--the
-conversion of the Irish people--which gave them quite enough to do.
-
-"The Second Order was of Catholic Priests"--continues the old
-writer--"numbering 300, of whom a few were bishops. These were VERY HOLY,
-and they shone like the moon." They lasted for a little more than half a
-century.
-
-The priests of this Second Order were chiefly monastic clergy--that is to
-say, monks--and during their continuance monasteries were founded
-everywhere through Ireland. Though there were monks and monasteries here
-from the time of St. Patrick, they began to spread much more rapidly
-after the foundation of the great monastery of Clonard in Meath, by St.
-Finnen or Finnian--one of the Second Order of saints--about the year 527.
-It was the monks belonging to this Order, and their successors, who
-preached the Gospel in foreign lands with such amazing success, as will be
-told in Chapter VII.
-
-The monks and students in these establishments led a busy and happy life;
-for it was a rule that there should be no idleness. Everyone was to be
-engaged at all available times in some useful work. Some tilled the land
-around and belonging to the monastery--ploughing, digging, sowing,
-reaping--and attended to the cattle; some worked as carpenters, tailors,
-smiths, shoemakers, cooks, and so forth, for the use of the community.
-Some were set apart to receive and attend to travellers and guests, who
-were continually coming and going: to wash their feet, and prepare supper
-and bed for them. Many were employed as scribes, to copy and ornament
-manuscript books; while others made beautiful crosiers, brooches,
-chalices, crosses, and other works of metallic art; and the most scholarly
-members were selected to teach in the schools. Besides this, all had their
-devotions to attend to, which were frequent and often long.
-
-The Third Order of Irish saints consisted of about 100 priests, of whom a
-few were bishops: "these were HOLY, and shone like the stars"; and they
-lasted a little more than three-quarters of a century. They were all
-hermits, living either singly or in monasteries in remote lonely places.
-Even when they lived together in numbers they were still hermits, spending
-their time in prayer and contemplation, each in his own little cell; and
-they never met together, or had any communication with each other, except
-at stated times, when all assembled in the little church for common
-worship, or in the refectory for meals.
-
-We know that there were nuns and convents in Ireland from St. Patrick's
-time, but they increased and multiplied, and flourished more than ever
-during and after the time of the greatest nun of all--St. Brigit of
-Kildare.
-
-In the time of St. Patrick, and for long afterwards, the churches were
-small, because the congregations were small; and they were mostly of wood,
-though some were of stone. We have, in fact, the ruins of little
-stone-and-mortar churches still remaining in many parts of the country,
-built at various times during the four or five centuries after St.
-Patrick. In the eleventh and following centuries, however, large and
-grand churches were built, the ruins of which still remain all over the
-country.
-
-Near many of the monasteries the monks began to erect tall Round Towers in
-the beginning of the ninth century, as a protection against the Danes.
-They were built with several stories, each story lighted by one little
-window, and reached by a ladder inside. The door was small, and was
-usually ten or twelve feet from the ground. The moment word was brought
-that a party of Danish marauders were approaching, the monks took refuge
-in the tower with all their valuables and a good supply of large stones,
-and barred the door and windows strongly on the inside, so that it was
-impossible to get at them during the short time the robbers were able to
-stay. In fact the Danes were generally afraid of their lives to approach
-too close to these towers; for if one of them ventured near enough, a big
-stone, dropped by one of the monks from a height of sixty or seventy feet,
-was likely enough to come down right on his skull and make short work of
-him. We have still remaining many of these old towers.
-
-There was a spring well beside every monastery, either that, or a stream
-of pure water. The founder never selected a site till he had first
-ascertained that a well or a stream was near. These fountains served the
-double purpose of baptising converts and of supplying the communities with
-water. In most cases they were named after the founders, and retain their
-names to this day. It has been already stated how the early missionaries
-often took over the wells the pagans had worshipped as gods, and devoted
-them to Christian uses.
-
-We have now Holy Wells in every part of Ireland, and it is with good
-reason we call them so, for they preserve the memory, and in most cases
-the very names, of those noble old missionaries who used the crystal water
-to baptise their converts. We ought to make it a point, so far as lies in
-our power, to take care of these holy wells, and to keep them neat and
-clean, and in all respects in a becoming condition; and also to preserve
-their old names as our fathers handed them down to us. If there could be
-such a thing as grief in heaven, an old Irish missionary would certainly
-feel grieved to look down on the little well he loved, and used, and
-blessed, now lying unnoticed and neglected.
-
-St. Patrick used consecrated bells in celebrating the Divine Mysteries,
-and in nearly all other religious ceremonies, and the custom has
-descended through fifteen centuries to this day. The bells used by the
-early saints were small handbells, made of iron dipped in melted bronze;
-but three or four hundred years after St. Patrick's time people began to
-make them of a better material--bronze melted and cast in moulds. We are
-told that St. Patrick left a little iron bell in every church he founded;
-and, to supply the great number he required for this purpose, he kept in
-his household three smiths whose sole business from morning till night was
-to make iron bells. The very bell he himself used in his
-ministrations--commonly called "The Bell of the Will"--may now be seen in
-the National Museum in Dublin--the most venerable of all our early
-Christian relics. Beside it in the same glass-case stands a beautiful and
-costly shrine, made by an accomplished Irish artist about the year 1100,
-to cover and protect it, by order and at the expense of Donall O'Loghlin,
-king of Ireland.
-
-It was usual for the founders of churches to plant trees round the
-buildings. These "Sacred Groves," as they were called, were subsequently
-held in great veneration, and it was regarded as a desecration to cut down
-one of the trees, or even to lop off a branch.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-HOW IRELAND BECAME THE MOST LEARNED COUNTRY IN EUROPE.
-
-
-In old pagan times, long before the arrival of St. Patrick, there were
-schools in Ireland taught by druids. And when at last Christianity came,
-and was spreading rapidly over the land, those old schools were still held
-on; but they were no longer taught by druids, and they were no longer
-pagan, for teachers and scholars were now all Christians.
-
-But as soon as St. Patrick came, a new class of schools began to spring
-up; for he and the other early missionaries founded monasteries everywhere
-through the country, and in connexion with almost every monastery there
-was a school. These were what are called monastic or ecclesiastical
-schools, for they were mostly taught by monks; while the older schools,
-being taught by laymen, were called lay schools.
-
-In lay schools was taught what might be called the native learning--the
-learning that had grown up in the country in the course of ages. It
-consisted mainly of the following subjects:--To read and write the Irish
-language; Irish grammar, and rules of poetical composition--a very
-extensive and complicated subject; geography and history, especially the
-topography and history of Ireland; and a knowledge of the poetry, and of
-the historical and romantic tales of the country: while a great many of
-the schools were for professions--special schools of law, of medicine, of
-poetry, of history and antiquities, and so forth. In these last the
-professional men were educated.
-
-These lay schools, being now within the Christian communion, were not
-abolished or discouraged in any way by St. Patrick or his successors. They
-were simply let alone, to teach their own secular learning just as they
-pleased. They continued on, and were to be found in every part of Ireland
-for fourteen centuries after St. Patrick's arrival, down to a period
-within our own memory; but of course greatly changed as time went on. In
-later times they were much more numerous in Munster than in the other
-provinces; and they taught--and taught well--classics and mathematics; and
-often both combined in the same school. I was myself educated in some of
-those lay schools; and I remember with pleasure several of my old
-teachers: rough and unpolished men most of them, but excellent, solid
-scholars, and full of enthusiasm for learning--enthusiasm which they
-communicated to their pupils. In some respects indeed they resembled the
-rugged, earnest, scholarly Irishmen of old times, who travelled through
-Europe to spread religion and learning, as described at pp. 54, 55,
-farther on. But the famine of 1847 broke up those schools, and in a very
-few years they nearly all disappeared.
-
-But our business here is mainly with the early monastic schools, which
-became so celebrated all over Europe. Before going farther it is well to
-remark that these schools also continued, and increased and multiplied as
-time went on. They held their ground successfully--as the lay schools
-did--during the evil days of later ages, when determined attempts were
-made, under the penal laws, to suppress them; and at the present day they
-are working all over the country quite as vigorously as in days of yore.
-
-To notice all the monastic schools of old that attained eminence would
-demand more space than can be afforded here. So we must content ourselves
-with mentioning the following, all of which were very illustrious in their
-time:--Bangor (Co. Down), Lismore (Co. Waterford), Clonmacnoise, Armagh,
-Kildare, Clonard (Meath), Clonfert (Galway), Durrow (King's Co.),
-Monasterboice (near Drogheda), Rosscarbery (Co. Cork), and Derry. Besides
-these, at least twenty-five others, all eminent, are specially mentioned
-in our old books. Most of these colleges were working, not in succession,
-but all at the same time, from the sixth century downwards. When we bear
-in mind that there were also, during the whole period, the lay schools,
-which, though smaller, were far more numerous--scattered all over the
-country--we shall have some idea of the universal love of learning that
-existed in Ireland in those days, and of the general spread of education.
-No other nation in Europe could boast of so many schools and colleges in
-proportion to size and population.
-
-Many of the monastic colleges had very large numbers of students. In
-Clonard there were 3,000, all residing in and around the college; and
-Bangor founded by St. Comgall, and Clonfert founded by St. Brendan the
-Navigator, had each as many. And there were various smaller
-numbers--2,000, 1,500, 1,000, 500--down to fifty.
-
-The students were of all classes--rich and poor--from the sons of kings
-and chiefs down to the sons of farmers, tradesmen, and labourers; young
-laymen for general education, as well as ecclesiastical students for the
-priesthood. All those who had the means paid their way in everything. But
-there were some who were so poor that they could pay little or nothing:
-and these 'poor scholars' (as they afterwards came to be called) received
-teaching, books, and often food, all free. But most of even the poorest
-did their best to pay something; and in this respect it is interesting to
-compare the usages of those long past times with some features of the
-college life of our own days. In some of the present American universities
-there is an excellent custom which enables very poor students to support
-themselves and pay their college fees. They wait on their richer comrades,
-bring up the dishes, etc., from the kitchen for meals, and lay the tables:
-and when the meal is over, they remove everything, wash up dishes and
-plates, and put them all by in their proper places. In fact, they perform
-most of the work expected from ordinary servants. For this they receive
-food and some small payment, which renders them independent of charity.
-
-And the pleasing feature of this arrangement is, that it is not attended
-with any sense of humiliation or loss of self-respect. During study and
-lecture hours these same young men, having put by aprons and napkins, and
-donned their ordinary dress, are received and treated on terms of perfect
-equality by those they have served, who take on no airs, and do not pose
-as superiors, but mix with them in free and kindly intercourse as
-fellow-students and comrades.
-
-All this was anticipated in Ireland more than a thousand years ago; for a
-similar custom existed in some of the old Irish colleges. The very poor
-students often lived with some of their richer brethren, and acted as
-their servants, for which they received food and other kinds of payment.
-Many of these youths who served in this humble capacity subsequently
-became great and learned men, as indeed we might expect, for boys of this
-stamp are made of the best stuff; and some of them are now famed in our
-records as eminent fathers of the ancient Irish Church.
-
-The greatest number of the students lived in houses built by themselves,
-or by hired workmen--some, mere huts, each for a single person; some,
-large houses, for several: and all around the central college buildings
-there were whole streets of these houses, often forming a good-sized town.
-
-Where there were large numbers great care was taken that there should be
-no confusion or disorder. The whole school was commonly divided into
-sections, over each of which was placed a leader or master, whose orders
-should be obeyed: and over the whole college there was one head-master or
-principal, usually called a _Fer-leginn_, i.e., 'Man of learning': while
-the abbot presided over all--monastery and college. The Fer-leginn was
-always some distinguished man--of course a great scholar. He was generally
-a monk, but sometimes a layman; for those good monks selected the best man
-they could find, whether priest or layman.
-
-I suppose those who are accustomed to the grand universities and colleges
-of the present day, with their palatial buildings, would feel inclined to
-laugh at the simple, rough-and-ready methods and appliances of the old
-Irish colleges. There were no comfortable study rooms, well furnished with
-desks, seats, and rostrums: no spacious lecture halls. The greater part of
-the work, indeed, was carried on in the open air when the weather at all
-permitted. At study time the students went just where they pleased, and
-accommodated themselves as best they could. All round the college you
-would see every flowery bank, every scented hedgerow, every green glade
-and sunny hillock occupied with students, sitting or lying down, or pacing
-thoughtfully, each with his precious manuscript book open before him, all
-poring over the lesson assigned for next lecture, silent, attentive, and
-earnest.[3]
-
-Then the little handbell tinkled for some particular lecture, and the
-special students for this hurried to their places, and seated themselves
-as best they could--on chair, stool, form, stone, or bank, and opened
-their books. These same books, too, were a motley collection--some large,
-some small, some fresh from the scribe, some tattered and brown with age:
-but all most carefully covered and preserved; for they were very
-expensive. You now buy a good school copy of some classical author for,
-say, half-a-crown: at that time it would probably cost what was equivalent
-to £2 of our present money.
-
-Then the master went over the text, translating and explaining it, and
-whenever he thought it necessary questioned his pupils, to draw them out.
-After this he had to stand the cross-fire of the students' questions, who
-asked him to explain all sorts of difficulties: for this was one of the
-college regulations. There were no grammars, no dictionaries, no simple
-introductory lesson books, such as we have now. The students had to go
-straight at the Latin or Greek text, and where they failed to make sense,
-the master stepped in with his help. And in this rugged and difficult
-fashion they mastered the language.
-
-Yet it was in rude institutions of this kind that were educated those men
-whose names became renowned all over Europe, and who--for the period when
-they lived--are now honoured as among the greatest scholars and
-missionaries that the world ever saw.
-
-The great Irish colleges were, in fact, universities in the full sense of
-the word, that is to say, schools which taught the whole circle of
-knowledge: they were, indeed, in a great measure the models on which our
-present universities were formed. The Latin and Greek languages and
-literatures were studied and taught with success. In science the Irish
-scholars were famous for their knowledge of Geometry, Arithmetic,
-Astronomy, Music, Geography, and so forth. And they were equally eminent
-in sacred learning--Theology, Divinity, and the Holy Scriptures.
-
-The schools proved their mettle by the scholars they educated and sent
-forth: scholars who astonished all Europe in their day. Sedulius of the
-fifth century (whose name is still represented by the family name Shiel),
-an eminent divine, orator, and poet, travelled into France, Italy, Greece,
-and Asia, and composed some beautiful Latin hymns, which are still used in
-the services of the Church. 'Fergil the Geometer' went in 745 from his
-monastery of Aghaboe in Queen's County to France, where he became famous
-for his deep scientific learning, and where he taught publicly--and
-probably for the first time--that the earth is round, having people living
-on the other side. John Scotus Erigena ('John the Irish-born Scot') of the
-ninth century taught in Paris; he was the greatest Greek scholar of his
-time, and was equally eminent in Theology. St. Columbanus of Bobbio (in
-Italy), a Leinsterman, a pupil of the college of Bangor, proved himself,
-while in France and Italy, a master of many kinds of learning, and was one
-of the greatest, most fearless, and most successful of the Irish
-missionaries on the Continent.
-
-These men, and scores of others that we cannot find space for here, spread
-the fame of their native country everywhere. It was no wonder that the
-people of Great Britain and the Continent, when they met such scholars,
-all from Ireland, came to the conclusion that the schools which educated
-them were the best to be found anywhere. Accordingly, students came from
-all parts of the known world, to place themselves under the masters of
-these schools. From Germany, France, Italy, Egypt, came priests and
-laymen, princes, chiefs, and peasant students--all eagerly seeking to
-drink from the fountain of Irish learning. And let us bear in mind that in
-those days it was a far more difficult, dangerous, and tedious undertaking
-to travel to Ireland from the interior of the European Continent, than it
-is now to go to Australia or China. But even in much greater numbers than
-these came students from Great Britain. An English writer of that period,
-who was jealous of the Irish schools and in very bad humour with his
-countrymen for coming to them, is nevertheless forced to admit that
-Englishmen came to Ireland "in fleetloads." In our Histories of Ireland we
-have read of the real Irish welcome they received--as recorded by the
-Venerable Bede and by others--and how the Irish, not only taught them, but
-gave them books and food for nothing at all! It was quite a common thing
-that young Englishmen, after they had learned all that their own schools
-were able to teach them, came to Ireland to finish their education.
-
-The more the students crowded to the Irish schools, whether from Ireland
-itself or from abroad, the more eagerly did the masters strive to meet the
-demand, by studying more and more deeply the various branches of learning,
-so as to equal or excel the scholars of other countries. Then Ireland
-became the most learned country in Europe, so that it came at last to be
-known everywhere as 'The Island of Saints and Scholars.'
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-HOW IRISH MISSIONARIES AND SCHOLARS SPREAD RELIGION AND LEARNING IN
-FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
-
-
-Towards the end of the sixth century the great body of the Irish were
-Christians, so that the holy men of Ireland were able to turn their
-attention to the conversion of other people. Then arose an extraordinary
-zeal for spreading religion and learning in foreign lands; and hundreds of
-devoted and determined missionaries left our shores. There was ample field
-for their noble ambition. For these were the Dark Ages, when the
-civilisation and learning bequeathed by old Greece and Rome had been
-almost wiped out of existence by the barbarous northern hordes who
-overran Europe; and Christianity had not yet time to spread its softening
-influence among them. Through the greater part of England and Scotland,
-and over vast regions of the Continent, the teeming populations were
-fierce and ignorant, and sunk in gross superstition and idolatry, or with
-little or no religion at all.
-
-To begin with the Irish missionary work in Great Britain. The people of
-Northern and Western Scotland, who were solidly pagan till the sixth
-century, were converted by St. Columkille and his monks from Iona, who
-were all Irishmen; for Iona was an Irish monastic colony founded by St.
-Columkille, a native of Tirconnell, now Donegal.
-
-In the seven kingdoms of England--the Heptarchy--the Anglo-Saxons were the
-ruling race, rude and stubborn, and greatly attached to their gloomy
-northern pagan gods. We know that the kingdom of Kent was converted by the
-Roman missionary St. Augustine; but Christianity made little headway
-outside this till St. Aidan began his labours among the Northumbrian
-Saxons. Aidan was an Irishman who entered the monastery of Iona, from
-which he was sent to preach to the Northumbrians on the invitation of
-their good king, Oswald. He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, which
-afterwards became so illustrious. He was its first abbot; and for thirty
-years it was governed by him and by two other Irish abbots, Finan and
-Colman, in succession. He and his companions were wonderfully successful,
-so that the people of the large kingdom of Northumbria became Christians.
-Not only in Northumberland but all over England we find at the present day
-evidences of the active labours of the Irish missionaries in Great
-Britain.
-
-Whole crowds of ardent and learned Irishmen travelled on the Continent in
-the sixth, seventh, and succeeding centuries, spreading Christianity and
-secular knowledge everywhere among the people. On this point we have the
-decisive testimony of an eminent French writer of the ninth century, Eric
-of Auxerre, who himself witnessed what he records. In a letter written by
-him to Charles the Bald, king of France, he says:--"What shall I say of
-Ireland, who, despising the dangers of the deep, is migrating with almost
-her whole train of philosophers to our coasts?" And other foreign
-evidences of a like kind might be brought forward.
-
-These men, on their first appearance on the Continent, caused much
-surprise, they were so startlingly different from those preachers the
-people had been accustomed to. They travelled on foot towards their
-destination in small companies, generally of thirteen. They wore a coarse
-outer woollen garment, in colour as it came from the fleece, and under
-this a white tunic of finer stuff. The long hair behind flowed down on the
-back: and the eyelids were painted or stained black. Each had a long stout
-walking-stick: and slung from the shoulder a leathern bottle for water,
-and a wallet containing his greatest treasure--a book or two and some
-relics. They spoke a strange language among themselves, used Latin to
-those who understood it, and made use of an interpreter when preaching,
-until they had learned the language of the place.
-
-Few people have any idea of the trials and dangers they encountered. Most
-of them were persons in good position, who might have lived in plenty and
-comfort at home. They knew well, when setting out, that they were leaving
-country and friends probably for ever; for of those that went, very few
-returned. Once on the Continent, they had to make their way, poor and
-friendless, through people whose language they did not understand, and who
-were in many places ten times more rude and dangerous in those ages than
-the inhabitants of these islands: and we know as a matter of history, that
-many were killed on the way. But these stout-hearted pilgrims were
-prepared for all this, and looking only to the service of their Master,
-never flinched. They were confident, cheerful, and self-helpful, faced
-privation with indifference, caring nothing for luxuries; and when other
-provisions failed them, they gathered wild fruit, trapped animals, and
-fished, with great dexterity and with any sort of next-to-hand rude
-appliances. They were somewhat rough in outward appearance: but beneath
-all that they had solid sense and much learning. Their simple ways, their
-unmistakable piety, and their intense earnestness in the cause of religion
-caught the people everywhere, so that they made converts in crowds.
-
-A great French writer, Montalembert, speaks of the Irish of those days as
-having a "Passion for pilgrimage and preaching," and as feeling "under a
-stern necessity of spreading themselves abroad to combat paganism, and
-carry knowledge and faith afar." They were to be found everywhere through
-Europe, even as far as Iceland and the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Europe
-was too small for their missionary enterprise. Many were to be found in
-Egypt; and as early as the seventh century, three learned Irish monks
-found their way to Carthage, where they laboured for a long time and with
-great success.
-
-Wherever they went they made pilgrimages to holy places--places sanctified
-by memories of early saints--and whenever they found it practicable they
-were sure to make their way to Rome, to visit the shrines of the apostles,
-and obtain the blessing of the Pope.
-
-The Irish "passion for pilgrimage and preaching" never died out: it is a
-characteristic of the race. This great missionary emigration to foreign
-lands has continued in a measure down to our own day: for it may be safely
-asserted that no other missionaries are playing so general and successful
-a part in the conversion of the pagan people all over the world, and in
-keeping alight the lamp of religion among Christians, as those of Ireland.
-
-Irishmen were equally active in spreading secular knowledge. Indeed the
-two functions were generally combined; for it was quite common to find a
-man a successful missionary, while at the same time acting as professor in
-a college, or as head of some great seminary for general education. Irish
-professors and teachers were in those times held in such estimation that
-they were employed in most of the schools and colleges of Great Britain,
-France, Germany, and Italy. The revival of learning on the Continent was
-indeed due in no small degree to those Irish missionaries. It was enough
-that the candidate for an appointment came from Ireland: he needed no
-other recommendation.
-
-When learning had declined in England in the ninth and tenth centuries,
-owing to the devastations of the Danes, it was chiefly by Irish teachers
-it was kept alive and restored. In Glastonbury especially, they taught
-with great success. We are told by English writers that "they were skilled
-in every department of learning sacred and profane"; and that under them
-were educated many young English nobles, sent to Glastonbury with that
-object. Among these students the most distinguished was St. Dunstan, who,
-according to all his biographers, received his education, both Scriptural
-and secular, from Irish masters there.
-
-As for the numerous Continental schools and colleges in which Irishmen
-figured either as principals or professors, it would be impossible, with
-our limited space, to notice them here. A few have been glanced at in the
-last chapter; and I will finish this short narrative by relating the odd
-manner in which two distinguished Irishmen, brothers, named Clement and
-Albinus,[4] began their career on the Continent.
-
-One of the historians of the reign of Charlemagne, who wrote in the ninth
-century, has left us the following account of these two scholars:--When
-the illustrious Charles began to reign alone in the western parts of the
-world, and literature was almost forgotten, it happened that two Scots
-from Ireland came over with some British merchants to the shores of
-France, men incomparably skilled in human learning and in the Holy
-Scriptures. Observing how the merchants exhibited and drew attention to
-their wares, they acted in a similar fashion to force themselves into
-notice like the others. They went through the market-place among the
-crowds, and cried out to them:--"If there be any who want wisdom (_i.e._,
-learning), let them come to us, for we have it to sell." This they
-repeated as they went from place to place, so that the people wondered
-very much; and some thought them to be nothing more than persons half
-crazed.
-
-Strange rumours regarding them went round, and at length came to the ears
-of King Charles; on which he sent for the brothers, and had them brought
-to his presence. He questioned them closely, using the Latin language, and
-asked them whether it was really the case that they had learning; and they
-replied--in the same language--that they had, and were ready, in the name
-of God, to communicate it to those who sought it with worthy intentions.
-Then the king asked what payment they would expect, and they replied:--"We
-require proper houses and accommodation, pupils with ingenious minds and
-really anxious to learn; and, as we are in a foreign country where we
-cannot conveniently work for our bread, we shall require food and raiment:
-we want nothing more."
-
-Now at this very time King Charles was using his best efforts to restore
-learning, by opening schools throughout his dominions, but found it hard
-to procure a sufficient supply of qualified teachers. And as he perceived
-that these brothers were evidently men of real learning, and of a superior
-cast in every way, he joyfully accepted their proposals. Having kept them
-for some time on a visit in his palace, he finally opened a great school
-in some part of France--probably Paris--for the education of boys of all
-ranks of society, not only for the sons of the highest nobles, but also
-for those of the middle and low classes, at the head of which he placed
-Clement. He also directed that all the scholars should be provided with
-food and suitable habitations: it was in fact a great free
-boarding-school, founded and maintained at the expense of the king. As for
-Albinus, he sent him to Italy, with directions that he should be placed at
-the head of the important school of the monastery of St. Augustine at
-Pavia. And these schools are now remembered in history as two great and
-successful centres of learning belonging to those ages.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH WROTE DOWN ALL THEIR LITERATURE, AND HOW BOOKS
-INCREASED AND MULTIPLIED.
-
-
-Printing was not invented till the fifteenth century, and before that time
-all books had of course to be written by hand.
-
-According to our native records the art of writing was known to the pagan
-Irish, and the druids had books on law and other subjects, long before
-the time of St. Patrick. Besides these home evidences, which are so
-numerous and strong as hardly to admit of dispute, we have the testimony
-of a learned foreigner, which is quite decisive on the point. A Christian
-philosopher of the fourth century of our era, named Ethicus of Istria,
-travelled over the three continents, and has left a description of his
-wanderings, in what he calls a 'Cosmography' of the World. He visited
-Ireland more than a hundred years before the arrival of St. Patrick; and
-he states that he found there many books, and that he remained for some
-time in the country examining them. So far then as Ethicus records the
-existence of Irish books in the fourth century, he merely corroborates our
-own native accounts.
-
-The pagan Irish books were, of course, written in the Irish language; but
-as to the nature or shapes of the letters, or the form of the writing, or
-how it reached Ireland, on these points we have no information, for none
-of the old books remain. The letters used in these books could hardly have
-been what are known as Ogham characters, for these are too cumbrous for
-long passages.
-
-Ogham was a species of writing, the letters of which were formed by
-combinations of short lines and points, on and at both sides of a middle
-or stem line. Nearly all the Oghams hitherto found are sepulchral
-inscriptions. Great numbers of monumental stones are preserved with Ogham
-inscriptions cut on them, of which most have been deciphered, either
-partially or completely. They are in a very antique form of the Irish
-language; and while many were engraved in far distant pagan ages, others
-belong to Christian times.
-
-But whatever characters the Irish may have used in times of paganism, they
-learned the Roman letters from the early Roman missionaries, and adopted
-them in writing their own language during and after the time of St.
-Patrick: which are still retained in modern Irish. These same letters,
-moreover, were brought to Great Britain by the early Irish missionaries
-already spoken of (p. 52), from whom the Anglo-Saxons learned them; so
-that England received her first knowledge of the letters of the
-alphabet--as she received most of her Christianity--from Ireland. Formerly
-it was the fashion to call those letters Anglo-Saxon: but now people know
-better. Our present printed characters--the very characters now under the
-reader's eye--were ultimately developed from those old Irish-Roman
-letters.
-
-After the time of St. Patrick, as everything seems to have been written
-down that was considered worth preserving, Manuscripts accumulated in the
-course of time, which were kept in monasteries and in the houses of
-professors of learning: many also in the libraries of private persons. The
-most general material used for writing on was vellum or parchment, made
-from the skins of sheep, goats, or calves. To copy a book was justly
-considered a very meritorious work, and in the highest degree so if it was
-a part of the Holy Scriptures, or of any other book on sacred or
-devotional subjects. Scribes or copyists were therefore much honoured. The
-handwriting of these old documents is remarkable for its beauty, its
-plainness, and its perfect uniformity; each scribe, however, having his
-own characteristic form and style.
-
-Sometimes the scribes wrote down what had never been written before, that
-is, matters composed at the time, or preserved in memory; but more
-commonly they copied from other volumes. If an old book began to be worn,
-ragged, or dim with age, so as to be hard to make out and read, some
-scribe was sure to copy it, so as to have a new book easy to read and well
-bound up. Most of the books written out in this manner related to Ireland,
-as will be described presently; and the language of these was almost
-always Irish; except in copies of the Roman classics or of the Scriptures,
-where Latin was used.
-
-Books abounded in Ireland when the Danes first made their appearance,
-about the beginning of the ninth century; so that the old Irish writers
-often speak with pride of "the hosts of the books of Erin." But with the
-first Danish arrivals began the woeful destruction of manuscripts, the
-records of ancient learning. The animosity of the barbarians was specially
-directed against books, monasteries, and monuments of religion: and all
-the manuscripts they could lay hold on they either burned or
-"drowned"--_i.e._, flung them into the nearest lake or river. Next came
-the Anglo-Norman Invasion, which was quite as destructive of native books,
-learning, and art as the Danish inroads, or more so; and most of the old
-volumes that survived were scattered and lost.
-
-Notwithstanding all this havoc and wreck, we have still preserved a large
-number of old Irish books. The ornamented and illuminated copies of the
-Scriptures are described in the chapter on Art. We have also many volumes
-of Miscellaneous Literature in which are written compositions of all
-kinds, both prose and poetry, copied from older books, and written in, one
-after another, till the volume was filled. Of all these old books of
-mixed compositions, the largest that remains to us is the Book of
-Leinster, which is kept in Trinity College, Dublin. It is an immense
-volume, all in the Irish language, written more than 750 years ago; and
-many of the pages are now almost black with age and very hard to make out.
-It contains a great number of pieces, some in prose and some in verse, and
-nearly all of them about Ireland:--histories, accounts of battles and
-sieges, lives and adventures of great men, with many tales and stories of
-things that happened in this country in far distant ages.
-
-The Book of the Dun Cow is preserved in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.
-It is fifty years older than the Book of Leinster, but not so large; and
-it contains also a great number of tales, adventures, and histories, all
-relating to Ireland, and all in the Irish language.
-
-Two other great Irish books kept in Dublin are the Yellow Book of Lecan
-[Leckan] and the Book of Ballymote. These contain much the same kind of
-matter as the Book of Leinster--with pieces mostly different however--but
-they are not nearly so old. The Speckled Book, which is also in Dublin, is
-nearly as large as the Book of Leinster, but not so old. It is mostly on
-religious matters, and contains a great number of Lives of saints, hymns,
-sermons, portions of the Scriptures, and other such pieces. All these
-books are written with the greatest care, and in most beautiful
-penmanship.
-
-The five old books described above have been lately printed, in such a way
-that the print resembles exactly the writing of the old books themselves.
-The printed volumes are now to be found in libraries in several parts of
-Ireland, as well as in England and on the Continent; so that those
-desirous of studying them need not come to Dublin, as people had to do
-formerly. Another grand old book preserved in Dublin is the Book of Lecan.
-Besides these there are vast numbers of Irish manuscript books in Dublin
-and elsewhere, both vellum and paper, having no special names, all
-containing important and interesting pieces. There are also numerous books
-of law, of medicine, of science, genealogies, Lives of saints, sermons,
-and so forth, which on account of limited space cannot be described here.
-
-Many people are now eagerly studying these books; and men often come to
-Ireland from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and other
-countries, in order to learn the Irish language so as to be able to read
-them. But this requires much study, even from those who know the Irish of
-the present day; for the language of these books is old and difficult.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-HOW THE IRISH SCHOLARS COMPILED THEIR ANNALS.
-
-
-Among the various classes of persons who devoted themselves to Literature
-in ancient Ireland, there were special Annalists, who made it their
-business to record, with the utmost accuracy, all remarkable events simply
-and briefly, year by year. The extreme care they took that their
-statements should be truthful is shown by the manner in which they
-compiled their books. As a general rule they admitted nothing into their
-records except either what occurred during their lifetime, and which may
-be said to have come under their own personal knowledge, or what they
-found recorded in the compilations of previous annalists, who had
-themselves followed the same plan. These men took nothing on hearsay: and
-in this manner successive annalists carried on a continued chronicle from
-age to age.
-
-We have still preserved to us many books of native Annals. They deal with
-the affairs of Ireland--generally but not exclusively. Many of them record
-events occurring in other parts of the world; and it was a common practice
-to begin the work with a brief general history, after which the annalist
-takes up the affairs of Ireland.
-
-There are many tests which prove the remarkable accuracy of the Irish
-Annals. For instance, their records of such occurrences as eclipses,
-comets, tides, and so forth, are invariably found to be correct. Indeed
-they could not be otherwise, for the good reason that the faithful
-chronicler noted down the events, each at the very time of its occurrence.
-If he waited for some future time, or noted down some event that had
-occurred years before, taking hearsay evidence, or calculating the time
-backwards as best he could, the chances were that there would be an error
-in the date.
-
-A remarkable example occurs in the record of an eclipse of the sun of A.D.
-664. At the present day astronomers can calculate to a minute the time of
-an eclipse occurring in that or any other year. But it was otherwise
-twelve centuries ago. Then the rules of calculation were not quite
-correct, so that a person calculating backwards was pretty sure to be in
-error as to the exact time. The great English historian and scholar, the
-Venerable Bede, who wrote fifty or sixty years after the above-mentioned
-eclipse, was aware of the year (664), but had to calculate the day and the
-hour. The rule then in vogue led him astray, and accordingly his record of
-the date--the 3rd May--is two days wrong. In the Annals of Ulster the
-correct date--1st May, 664--is given, and even the very hour. This shows
-quite clearly that the event had been recorded by some Irish chronicler,
-who actually saw it and noted it down on the spot. We find numbers of
-records of this kind in our Annals, which, according to the accurate tests
-we are now able to apply, are all found to be correct.
-
-Another remarkable instance of a similar kind deserves to be mentioned
-here. We have an old Irish book called "The War of the Irish with the
-Danes," written early in the eleventh century, soon after the battle of
-Clontarf, in which that great battle is very fully described. In the
-course of his narrative the writer makes these very specific
-statements:--that the battle was fought on Good Friday, the 23rd April,
-1014; that it commenced at sunrise _when the tide was full in_, and that
-it lasted the whole day till the tide was again at flood about the same
-hour in the evening, when the foreigners were routed. Moreover, the old
-historian puts in the time of high water, morning and afternoon, merely to
-explain why there was such terrible slaughter of the Danes in the evening;
-for on account of the full tide they were not able to reach their ships,
-which lay some distance out in the bay, whereas if it had been low water
-they might have waded out to them. Beyond that he was not in the least
-concerned about the time of high tide.
-
-The tide comes in at any particular point of the coast about every 12
-hours 25 minutes, and accordingly the hour changes from day to day, so
-that there might be a high tide at any hour of the twenty-four: but
-astronomers can now calculate the exact time of high tide for any day of
-the month at a particular place in any year, no matter how far back. Now,
-the question is, was the tide really at its height on the Clontarf shore
-at sunrise on that fatal morning?
-
-Forty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Todd, who was then engaged in translating
-the old book mentioned above, in order to test the chronicler's accuracy,
-put this question to the Rev. Dr. Haughton, a great science scholar, of
-Trinity College, Dublin:--At what time was there high tide in Dublin Bay
-on the 23rd April, 1014? After a laborious calculation, Dr. Haughton found
-that the tide was at its height that morning at half-past five o'clock,
-just as the sun was coming over the horizon, and that the evening tide was
-in at fifty-five minutes past five: a striking confirmation of the truth
-of this part of the narrative. It shows, too, that the account was written
-by or taken down from an eye-witness of the battle. Dr. Haughton's
-calculation--every figure--may now be seen in Dr. Todd's published book.
-
-Little did the old annalist think, when penning his simple record, that
-after lying by unnoticed and forgotten on some obscure bookshelf for eight
-centuries, it was destined to be at last brought out under the broad light
-of science, and its accuracy fully tested and established.
-
-There are several other ways of testing the truth of our annals. One is by
-comparing them with the testimony of foreign writers of good standing.
-Events occurring in Ireland in those early ages are not often mentioned by
-British or Continental writers. Indeed they knew very little about
-Ireland, which was, in those times, especially as regards the Continent, a
-very remote place. But whenever they do notice Irish affairs, it may be
-said that they are always in agreement with the native records.
-
-In our Irish books we find accounts of events or customs, which some
-people--not knowing better--would be inclined to pronounce fabulous, but
-which we find recorded as sober history by certain great English and
-Continental historians. The colonisation of Scotland from Ireland, for
-instance, which was formerly doubted by many, is fully confirmed by the
-Venerable Bede. And to take another instance from the battle of
-Clontarf:--All the Irish chronicles state that a general rout of the Danes
-took place in the evening, and that there was an awful slaughter of them,
-for they were cut off from their fortress by the river Liffey, and from
-their ships by the high tide; while the infuriated Irish assailed them,
-front, flank, and rear. Now in the description of the battle by a Danish
-writer--the best possible authority in the case, as he had good reason to
-know what happened--there is a full confirmation of this. His record is
-simple and plain:--"Then flight broke out throughout all the Danish host."
-
-The more the ancient historical records of Ireland are examined and
-tested, the more their truthfulness is made manifest. Their uniform
-agreement among themselves, and their accuracy, as tried by various tests,
-have drawn forth the acknowledgments of the greatest Irish scholars and
-archæologists that ever lived.
-
-The existing books of Irish Annals will be found described in our
-Histories of Ireland, and more fully in the two Social Histories of
-Ancient Ireland. Most of them have been published with translations. Here
-we must content ourselves with mentioning one, the Annals of the Four
-Masters, the most important of all. These were compiled in the Franciscan
-monastery of Donegal, by three of the O'Clerys, and by Ferfesa O'Mulconry,
-who are now commonly known as the 'Four Masters.' They began in 1632, and
-completed the work in 1636. The Annals of the Four Masters was translated
-with most elaborate and learned annotations by Dr. John O'Donovan; and it
-was published--Irish text, translation, and notes--in seven large volumes.
-
-The _Dinnsenchus_ [Din-shannahus] is a treatise giving the history and
-derivations of the names of remarkable hills, caves, raths, lakes, rivers,
-fords, and so forth. Another corresponding treatise for the names of noted
-Irish historical persons is called the _Cóir Anmann_, meaning 'fitness of
-names.' Both have been translated and published.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-HOW THE IRISH DERIVED AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION FROM HISTORICAL AND
-ROMANTIC TALES.
-
-
-From the earliest date, the Irish people, like those of other countries,
-had Stories, which, before the introduction of the art of writing, were
-transmitted orally, and modified, improved, and enlarged as time went on,
-by successive _shanachies_, or 'storytellers.' They began to be written
-down when writing became general: and it has been shown by scholars that
-the main tales assumed their present forms in the seventh, eighth, and
-ninth centuries; while the originals from which they sprang were much
-older. Once they began to be written down, a great body of romantic and
-historical written literature rapidly accumulated, consisting chiefly of
-prose tales. They are contained in our old manuscripts, from the Book of
-the Dun Cow downwards.
-
-The chief use of popular tales all the world over was--and is--to amuse.
-The storyteller recited the narrative for his audience, who listened
-because it gave them pleasure. But in Ireland the native stories were
-turned to another important use:--they were made to help in educating the
-people in the manner explained farther on. Besides this use a large part
-of the History of Ireland is derived from the historic tales; and it is
-proper to remark here that the early histories of England, France,
-Germany, and other countries, as we find them now presented to us by the
-best and most reliable modern authors, are largely derived from similar
-sources.
-
-The construction and arrangement of the tales were carefully studied by
-the Irish literary men of the olden time, and not more than their
-importance deserved. They were arranged in seventeen classes or groups,
-and in each group there were a number of individual stories. This grouping
-was a great help to the storyteller, who had to store up in his memory a
-large number of tales: for by having them in this manner, sorted as it
-were in parcels, he was enabled to call them up all the more readily--to
-put his hand on them, so to say--when he wanted them. 'Voyages,' for
-instance, formed one group, which included "The Voyage of Maeldune," "The
-Voyage of St. Brendan," "The Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra," and many
-others. Another was 'Tragedies,' under which came "The Fate of the
-Children of Lir," "The Fate of the Sons of Usna," etc., etc. There were
-'Military Expeditions,' 'Courtships,' 'Cattle-raids,' 'Sieges,' and so on,
-to the number of seventeen, each group with its own parcel of stories.
-
-We have in our old books stories belonging to every one of these classes.
-The whole number now existing in manuscripts is close on 600: of which
-about 150 have been published and translated. But outside these, great
-numbers have been lost: destroyed during the Danish and Anglo-Norman wars.
-
-Most of the Irish tales fall under four main cycles or periods of history
-and legend, which, in all the Irish poetical and romantic literature, were
-kept quite distinct.
-
-_First_:--The Mythological Period, the stories of which are concerned with
-the mythical colonies preceding the Milesians, especially the Dedannans.
-The heroes of the tales belonging to this cycle, who are assigned to
-periods long before the Christian era, are gods, namely, the gods of the
-pagan Irish.
-
-_Second_:--The Period of Concobar mac Nessa and his Red Branch Knights,
-who flourished in the first century. These Red Branch Knights were a sort
-of heroic militia, belonging to Ulster, mighty men all, who came every
-year to the palace of Emain to be trained in military science and feats
-of arms, residing for the time in a separate palace called Creeveroe or
-the Red Branch. Their greatest commander was Cuculainn, a demigod, the
-mightiest of all the Irish heroes of antiquity, whose residence was
-Dundalgan, now called the Fort of Castletown, near Dundalk. Others of
-these great heroes were Conall Kernagh, Laery the Victorious, Keltar of
-the Battles, Fergus mac Roy, and the three Sons of Usna--Naisi, Ainnle,
-and Ardan. They were in the service of Concobar or Conor mac Nessa, king
-of Ulster, who feasted the leading heroes every day in his own palace.
-
-_Third_:--The Period of the Fena of Erin, belonging to a time two
-centuries later than the stories of the Red Branch. The Fena of Erin, who
-flourished in the time of King Cormac mac Art, in the third century, were
-a body of militia kept for the defence of the throne, very like the Red
-Branch Knights. Their most celebrated leader was King Cormac's son-in-law,
-Finn, the son of Cumal--or Finn mac Coole, as he is commonly called--who
-of all the ancient heroes of Ireland is at the present day best remembered
-in tradition. We have in our old manuscripts many beautiful stories of
-these Fena, like those of the Red Branch Knights.
-
-_Fourth_:--Stories founded on events that happened after the dispersal of
-the Fena (in the end of the third century). Many fine stories--nearly all
-of them more or less historical--belong to this Period.
-
-The stories of the Red Branch Knights form the finest part of our ancient
-Romantic Literature. The most celebrated of all these is the
-Táin-bo-Quelne, the epic or main heroic story of Ireland. It relates how
-Maive, queen of Connaught, who resided in her palace of Croghan, set out
-with her army for Ulster on a plundering expedition, attended by all the
-great heroes of Connaught. The invading army entered that part of Ulster
-called Quelna or Cooley, the territory of the hero Cuculainn, the north
-part of the present county Louth, including the Carlingford peninsula. At
-this time the Ulstermen were under a spell of feebleness, all but
-Cuculainn, who had to defend single-handed the several fords and passes,
-in a series of single combats, against Maive's best champions. She
-succeeded in this first raid, notwithstanding Cuculainn's heroic defence,
-and brought away a great brown bull--which was the chief motive of the
-expedition--with flocks and herds beyond number. At length, the Ulstermen,
-having been freed from the spell, pursued the raiders, and attacked and
-routed the Connaught army. The battles, single combats, and other
-incidents of this war, form the subject of the Táin, which consists of one
-main story, with about thirty shorter tales grouped round it.
-
-Of the Cycle of Finn and the Fena of Erin we have a vast collection of
-stories. In these we read about Finn himself and his mighty exploits;
-about Ossian his son, the renowned hero-poet; about Oscar the brave and
-gentle, the son of Ossian; about Dermot O'Dyna, brave, honourable,
-generous, and self-denying, perhaps the finest hero of any literature; and
-many others. The Tales of the Fena, though not so old as those of the Red
-Branch Knights, are still of great antiquity.
-
-Some of the Irish tales are historical, _i.e._, founded on historical
-events--history embellished with some fiction; while others are altogether
-fictitious--creations of the imagination, but always woven round
-historical personages. From this great body of stories it would be easy to
-select a large number, powerful in conception and execution, very
-beautiful, high and dignified in tone and feeling, many of them worthy to
-rank with the best literature of their kind in any language. The stories
-of the Sons of Usna,[5] the Children of Lir,[6] the Fingal Ronain, the
-Voyage of Maeldune,[6] The Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra,[6] Da Derga's
-Hostel, The Pursuit of Dermot and Grania,[6] the Boroma, and the Fairy
-Palace of the Quicken Trees[6]--all of which have been published with
-translations--are only a few instances in point. And it would be easy to
-name many others if our space permitted.
-
-On the score of morality and purity the Irish tales can compare favourably
-with the corresponding literature of other countries; and they are much
-freer from objectionable matter than the works of many of those early
-English and Continental authors which are now regarded as classics. Of one
-large collection of Irish tales, the great Irish scholar Dr. Whitley
-Stokes, a Dublin man, says:--"The tales are generally told with sobriety
-and directness: they evince genuine feeling for natural beauty, a passion
-for music, a moral purity, singular in a mediæval collection of stories, a
-noble love of manliness and honour." On the Irish Tales in general Dr.
-Kuno Meyer, a German, one of the greatest living Celtic scholars, justly
-remarks:--"The literature of no nation is free from occasional grossness;
-and considering the great antiquity of Irish literature, and the
-primitive life which it reflects, what will strike an impartial observer
-most is not its license or coarseness, but rather the purity, loftiness,
-and tenderness which pervade it."
-
-The tales were brought into direct touch with the people, not by
-reading--for there were few books outside libraries, and few people were
-able to read them--but by Recitation: and the Irish of all classes, like
-the Greeks, were excessively fond of hearing tales and poetry recited.
-There were professional shanachies and poets whose duty it was to know by
-heart numerous old tales, poems, and historical pieces, and to recite them
-at festive gatherings for the entertainment of the chiefs and their
-guests: and every intelligent person was supposed to know a reasonable
-number of them by heart, so as to be always ready to take a part in
-amusing and instructing his company.
-
-The tales of those times correspond with the novels and historical
-romances of our own day, and served a purpose somewhat similar. Indeed
-they served a much higher purpose than the generality of our novels; for
-in conjunction with poetry they were the chief agency in
-education--education in the best sense of the word--a real healthful
-informing exercise for the intellect. They conveyed a knowledge of
-history and geography, and they inculcated truthfulness, manliness, help
-for the weak, and all that was noble and dignified in thought, word, and
-action. Along with this, the greater part of the history, tradition,
-biography, and topography of the country, as well as history and geography
-in general, was thrown into the form of verse and tales, so that the
-person who knew a large number of them was well educated, according to
-what was required in those times. Moreover, this education was universal;
-for, though few could read, the knowledge and recitation of poetry and
-stories reached the whole body of the people. This ancient institution of
-story-telling held its ground both in Ireland and Scotland down to a
-period within living memory.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN MUSIC.
-
-
-From the very earliest ages Irish musicians were celebrated for their
-skill, not only in their own country but all over Europe. Our native
-literature, whether referring to pagan or Christian times, is full of
-references to music and to skilful musicians, who are always spoken of in
-terms of the utmost respect.
-
-Everywhere through the Records we find evidences that the ancient Irish,
-both high and low, were passionately fond of music. It was mixed up with
-their daily home-life, and formed part of their amusements, meetings, and
-celebrations of every kind. In the religious tales music is always one of
-the delights of heaven; and a chief function of the angels who attend on
-God is to chant music of ineffable sweetness to Him, which they generally
-do in the shape of beautiful white birds. A good example of the people's
-intense fondness for music is found in an old Irish religious poem, in
-which the hard lot of Adam and Eve for a whole year after their expulsion
-from Paradise is described, when they were--as the poem expresses
-it--"without proper food, fire, house, _music_, or raiment." Here music is
-put among the necessaries of life, so that it was a misery to be without
-it.
-
-In the early ages of the Church many of the Irish ecclesiastics took
-delight in playing on the harp; and in order to indulge in this innocent
-and refining taste they were wont to bring with them, on their missionary
-journeys, a small portable harp, with which they beguiled many a weary
-hour after their hard work.
-
-In very early times Irish professors of music were as eagerly sought after
-on the Continent as those of literature and general learning, so that they
-were sometimes placed at the head of great music-schools. At a later time
-it was quite common among the Welsh bards to come over to Ireland to
-receive instruction from the Irish harpers. In the eleventh century one of
-the Welsh kings, Griffith ap Conan, brought over to Wales a number of
-skilled Irish musicians, who, in conference with the native Welsh bards,
-carried out some great improvements in Welsh music. Ireland was long the
-school for Scottish harpers also, who regularly came over, like those of
-Wales, to finish their musical education--a practice which continued down
-to about 150 years ago.
-
-Giraldus Cambrensis, a Welshman, who visited Ireland in 1185, though very
-much prejudiced against the Irish, says that Irish harpers were
-incomparably more skilful than those of any other nation he had ever heard
-play. From that period, in spite of wars and troubles, music continued to
-be cultivated, and there was an unbroken succession of great professional
-harpers, till the end of the eighteenth century, when, for want of
-encouragement in the miserable condition of the country under the penal
-laws, the race died out.
-
-The Harp is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature: it is constantly
-mixed up with our oldest legends; and it was in use from the remotest
-pagan times. The old Irish harps were of a medium size, or rather small,
-the average height being about thirty inches: and some were not much more
-than half that height. They had strings of brass wire which were tuned by
-a key, not very different from the present tuning-key. Irish harpers
-always played with the fingers or with the finger-nails.
-
-The Irish had a small stringed instrument called a Timpan, which had only
-a few strings. It had a body like a flat drum, to which at one side was
-attached a short neck: the strings were stretched across the flat face of
-the drum and along the neck: and were tuned and regulated by pins or keys
-and a bridge. It was played with a bow or with the finger-nail, or by both
-together, while the notes were regulated in pitch--or 'stopped' as
-musicians say--with the fingers of the left hand, like those of a fiddle
-or guitar. This little instrument was a great favourite, and is constantly
-mentioned in Irish literature.
-
-Harpers and timpanists were honoured in Ireland beyond all other
-musicians; and their rights and privileges were even laid down in the law.
-Kings had always harpers in their service, who resided in the palaces and
-were well paid for their services.
-
-The harp and timpan were the chief instruments of the higher classes, many
-of whom played them as an accomplishment, as people now play the piano and
-guitar. But the bagpipe was the great favourite of the common people. The
-form in use was what we now call the Highland or Scotch pipes--slung from
-the shoulder: the bag inflated by the mouth. This form of pipes took its
-rise in Ireland: and it was brought to Scotland in early ages by those
-Irish colonists already spoken of (page 11). There is another and a better
-kind of bagpipes, now common in Ireland, resting on the lap when in use,
-and having the bag inflated by a bellows: but this is a late invention.
-
-The old Irish had also Whistles and Flageolets, with holes for the fingers
-and blown by the mouth, much like those of the present day. Some
-flageolets were double, and some even triple, _i.e._, with two, or with
-three, pipes, sounded by a single mouthpiece, and having holes which were
-all stopped by the fingers. On many of the great stone crosses are
-sculptured harp-players and pipe-players, from which we learn a great deal
-about the shapes and sizes of the several instruments.
-
-The Irish had curved bronze Trumpets and Horns of various shapes and
-sizes, which, judging from the numbers found buried in clay and bogs, must
-have been in very general use. In the National Museum in Dublin is a
-collection of twenty-six ancient trumpets, varying in length from 8 feet
-down to 18 inches. The larger ones are of most admirable workmanship,
-formed by hammering; curved, jointed, ornamented, and riveted with
-extraordinary skill and perfection of finish.
-
-Among the household of every king and chief there was a band of
-trumpeters--as there were harpers--who were assigned their proper places
-at feasts and meetings. Trumpets were used for various purposes:--in war;
-in hunting; for signals during meetings and banquets; as a mark of honour
-on the arrival of distinguished visitors; and such like. For war purposes,
-trumpeters had different calls for directing movements--for battle, for
-unyoking, for marching, for halting, for retiring to sleep, for going into
-council, and so forth.
-
-The ancient Irish were very fond of a _Craebh ciuil_ [crave-cule], or
-'musical branch,' a little branch on which were suspended a number of
-diminutive bells, which produced a sweet tinkling when shaken: a custom
-found also in early times on the Continent. The musical branch figures
-much in Irish romantic literature.
-
-The music of ancient Ireland consisted wholly of short airs, each with two
-strains or parts--seldom more. But these, though simple in comparison with
-modern music, were constructed with such exquisite art that of a large
-proportion of them it may be truly said no modern composer can produce
-airs of a similar kind to equal them.
-
-The Irish musicians had various '_Styles_,' three of which are very often
-mentioned in tales and other ancient Irish writings: of these, numerous
-specimens have come down to the present day. The style they called
-'Mirth-music' (_Ganntree_) consisted of lively airs, which excited to
-cheerfulness, mirthfulness, and laughter. These are represented by our
-present dance tunes, such as jigs, reels, hornpipes, and other such
-spirited pieces, which are known so well in every part of Ireland. The
-'Sorrow-music' (_Goltree_) was slow and sad, and was always sung on the
-occasion of a death. We have many airs belonging to this style, which are
-now commonly called _Keens_, i.e., laments, or dirges. The 'Sleep-music'
-(_Suantree_) was intended to produce sleep; and the tunes belonging to
-this style were plaintive and soothing. Such airs are now known as
-lullabies, or nurse-tunes, or cradle-songs, of which numerous examples are
-preserved in collections of Irish music. They were usually sung to put
-children to sleep. Though there are many tunes belonging to these three
-classes, they form only a small part of the great body of Irish music.
-
-Music--as already remarked--entered into many of the daily occupations of
-the people. There were special spinning-wheel songs, which the women sang,
-with words, in chorus or in dialogue, when employed in spinning. At
-milking-time the girls were in the habit of chanting a particular sort of
-air, in a low gentle voice. These Milking-songs were slow and plaintive,
-something like the nurse-tunes, and had the effect of soothing the cows
-and of making them submit more gently to be milked. This practice was
-common down to fifty or sixty years ago; and I well remember seeing cows
-grow restless when the song was interrupted, and become again quiet and
-placid when it was resumed. The same custom was common in the Highlands of
-Scotland. While ploughmen were at their work they whistled a sweet, slow,
-and sad strain, which had as powerful an effect in soothing the horses at
-their hard labour as the milking-songs had on the cows: and these
-Plough-whistles also were quite usual till about half a century ago.
-
-Special airs and songs were used during working time by smiths, by
-weavers, and by boatmen. There were, besides, hymn-tunes; and young people
-had simple airs for all sorts of games and sports. In most cases words
-suitable to the several occasions were sung with lullabies, laments, and
-occupation-tunes. Examples of all the preceding classes of melodies will
-be found in the collections of Irish airs by Bunting, Petrie, and Joyce.
-
-The Irish had numerous war-marches, which the pipers played at the head of
-the clansmen when marching to battle, and which inspired them with courage
-and dash for the fight. This custom is still kept up by the Scotch; and
-many fine battle-tunes are printed in Irish and Scotch collections of
-national music.
-
-The man who did most in modern times to draw attention to Irish music was
-Thomas Moore. He composed his exquisite songs to old Irish airs. They at
-once became popular, not only in the British Islands, but on the
-Continent and in America; and Irish music was thenceforward studied and
-admired where it would have never been heard of but for Moore.
-
-Of the entire body of Irish airs that are preserved, we know the authors
-of only a very small proportion; and these were composed within the last
-two hundred years. Most of the remaining airs have come down from old
-times, scattered fragments of exquisite beauty that remind us of the
-refined musical culture of our forefathers. No one now can tell who
-composed "The Coolin," "Savourneen Dheelish," "Shule Aroon," "Molly
-Asthore," "Eileen Aroon," "Garryowen," "The Boyne Water," "Patrick's Day,"
-"Langolee," "The Blackbird," or "The Girl I left behind me"; and so of
-many other well-known and lovely airs.
-
-The national music of Ireland and that of Scotland are very like each
-other, and many airs are common to both countries: but this is only what
-might be expected, as we know that the Irish and the Highland Scotch were
-originally one people, and kept up mutual intercourse down to recent
-times.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN ART.
-
-
-The old Irish people became wonderfully skilful in some branches of Art;
-and many specimens of their handiwork still remain--preserved through the
-wreck of ages--which exceed in beauty of design and in perfection of
-execution all works of the kind done by the artists of other nations.
-
-While Art was cultivated in several branches, the Irish attained more
-skill in Ornamental Penwork than in any other. They took special delight,
-and used their utmost efforts, in ornamenting religious and devotional
-books, especially the Gospels and other parts of the Holy Scripture; for
-they justly considered that to beautify the sacred writings was one way of
-honouring and glorifying God.
-
-The special Irish style of pen ornamentation was developed by successive
-generations of artists, who brought it to marvellous perfection. Its most
-marked feature is interlaced work formed by bands and ribbons, which are
-curved and twisted and interwoven in the most intricate way, something
-like basket-work infinitely varied in pattern. Here and there among the
-complicated designs may be seen strange half-formed faces of animals, and
-sometimes human faces, or full figures of men or of angels. But vegetable
-forms are very rare.
-
-What most astonishes a person examining this work is the amazing variety
-and minuteness of the patterns, and the perfect smoothness and evenness of
-the curves, as if they had been traced by compasses or some other fine
-instruments; though they were all drawn by the unaided hand. The scribes
-usually made the capital letters very large, so as sometimes to fill
-almost an entire page; and on these they exerted their utmost skill. They
-painted the open spaces of the letters and ornaments in brilliant colours:
-and in this art--an art usually designated 'Illumination'--the old Irish
-scribes also excelled.
-
-Several manuscript-books, ornamented in this manner, have been preserved,
-of which it will be sufficient to mention one here--The Book of Kells, now
-in Trinity College, Dublin, though there are several others almost equally
-beautiful. It is a copy of the Four Gospels in Latin, written on vellum in
-the seventh or eighth century. Miss Margaret Stokes, of Dublin, a skilled
-artist and a great judge of such matters, who has carefully examined this
-book, thus speaks of it:--"No effort hitherto made to transcribe any one
-page of this book has the perfection of execution and rich harmony of
-colour which belongs to this wonderful book. It is no exaggeration to say
-that, as with the microscopic works of nature, the stronger the magnifying
-power brought to bear upon it, the more is this perfection seen. No single
-false interlacement or uneven curve in the spirals, no faint trace of a
-trembling hand or wandering thought can be detected. This is the very
-passion of labour and devotion, and thus did the Irish scribe work to
-glorify his book."
-
-Professor Westwood, of Oxford--an English gentleman--who examined the best
-specimens of penwork all over Europe, speaks even more strongly. "The Book
-of Kells," he says, "is the most astonishing book of the Four Gospels
-which exists in the world. How men could have had eyes and tools to work
-out the designs, I am sure I, with all the skill and knowledge in such
-kind of work which I have been exercising for the last fifty years, cannot
-conceive. I know pretty well all the libraries in Europe where such books
-as this occur, but there is no such book in any of them. There is nothing
-like it in all the books which were written for Charlemagne and his
-successors."
-
-There was a book like this, long since lost, in St. Brigit's convent of
-Kildare, which was shown to the Welshman Giraldus Cambrensis more than
-seven hundred years ago, and which so astonished him that he has recorded
-a legend--to which he devotes a separate chapter of his book--that it was
-written under the direction of an angel. He described it; and his
-description would now exactly apply to the Book of Kells. But in those
-times there were many such books. We can hardly be surprised at Giraldus's
-legend; for whoever looks closely into some of the lovely pages of the
-Book of Kells--even in the photographic reproductions--will be inclined to
-wonder how any human head could have designed, or how any human hand could
-have drawn them.
-
-These beautiful books were all written by Christian artists. We do not
-know if there was any attempt to ornament books in pagan times. But the
-pagan Irish, long before the introduction of Christianity, practised art
-of another kind--Metal-work--and attained great perfection in it. Those
-old artists exercised their skill in making and ornamenting shields;
-trumpets; swords with their hilts and scabbards; chariots; bridles;
-brooches; gold gorgets or circlets for the neck; and so forth.
-
-We can now judge of their handiwork for ourselves; for numerous beautiful
-specimens are preserved in our museums. The most remarkable are what are
-now commonly called 'Crescents,' of which we have many in the National
-Museum, in Dublin. These are broad circlets of pure gold to be worn round
-the neck, all covered over with ornamental designs. Both the general shape
-and the designs were produced by hammering with a mallet and punches on
-shaped solid moulds. The patterns and workmanship are astonishingly fine,
-showing extraordinary skill in manipulation: they are indeed so
-complicated and perfect that it is difficult to understand how they could
-have been produced by mere handwork, with hammers, punches, and moulds.
-Yet they could have been made in no other way.
-
-We may see then that when St. Patrick arrived, in the fifth century, he
-found the art of working in metals already highly developed. We know that
-he kept, as part of his household, smiths, brasiers, goldsmiths, and other
-artists, who were constantly employed in making crosses; crosiers;
-chalices; bells; and such like.
-
-On the score of obtaining skilled workmen there was no difficulty, for he
-had plenty of pagan artists to choose from, who, on their conversion,
-turned their skill to Christian work, and found little difficulty in
-adapting their cunning fingers to new objects and to new forms of
-ornamentation. So the primitive pagan artistic metal work was continued on
-and improved in Christian times, and was brought to the highest perfection
-in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The ornamentation was generally like
-that used in manuscripts (p. 92).
-
-Many of the beautiful objects made by those accomplished artists are now
-preserved in museums; some of them will bear comparison with the best
-works of the kind executed by artists of other countries; and a few might
-be found to bear the palm from all.
-
-The three objects that are usually brought forward as examples of the best
-workmanship of the Irish Christian artists are the Cross of Cong, the
-Ardagh Chalice, and the Tara Brooch, all of which may be seen in the
-National Museum in Dublin: but there are many others in the same museum
-almost equally beautiful. These three will be found pretty fully
-described, with illustrations, in the two Social Histories of Ancient
-Ireland. The Tara Brooch was shown some years ago in one of the great
-London exhibitions, and drew the eyes of all visitors. One English writer,
-who examined it and wrote an account of it, says that he found a
-difficulty in conceiving how any fingers could have made it, and that it
-looked more like the work of fairies than of a human artist.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PHYSICIANS WERE SKILLED IN MEDICINE.
-
-
-Among most nations of old times there were great leeches or physicians,
-who were considered so skilful that the people believed they could cure
-wounds and ailments as if by magic. In some countries they became gods, as
-among the Greeks.
-
-The ancient Irish people, too, had their mighty leech, a Dedannan named
-Dianket, who, as they believed, could heal all wounds and cure all
-diseases; so that he became the Irish God of Medicine. He had a son,
-Midac, and a daughter, Airmeda, who were both as good as himself; and at
-last Midac became so skilful that his father killed him in a fit of
-jealousy. And after a time there grew up from the young physician's grave
-365 herbs from the 365 joints and sinews and members of his body, each
-herb with mighty virtue to cure diseases of the part it grew from. His
-sister Airmeda plucked up these herbs, and carefully sorting them, wrapped
-them up in her mantle. But the jealous old Dianket came and mixed them all
-up, so that no one could distinguish them: and but for this--according to
-the legend--every physician would now be able to cure all diseases without
-delay, by selecting and applying the proper herbs.
-
-Leaving these shadowy old-world stories, let us come down to later times,
-when we shall, as it were, tread on solid ground. We find in some
-authorities a tradition that in the second century before the Christian
-era, Josina, the ninth king of Scotland, was educated in Ireland by the
-Irish physicians, and that he afterwards wrote a treatise on the virtues
-and powers of herbs. Though we may not quite believe this tradition, it
-shows that the Irish medical doctors had a reputation abroad for great
-skill at a very early period.
-
-Surgeons and doctors figure conspicuously in the old tales of the Red
-Branch Knights, and indeed in very many others, whether historical or
-romantic and fictitious: as well as in the strictly historical writings. A
-medical staff always accompanied armies, each man having, slung from his
-shoulder, a bag full of herbs, ointments, bandages, and such other medical
-appliances as were used at the time. They followed in the rear of the
-army--each company under one head doctor; and at the end of each day's
-fighting--or during the fighting when possible--they came forward and
-applied their salves.
-
-We are all now familiar with the humane practice of giving medical aid to
-the wounded after the battle, without distinction of friend or foe. The
-same practice was common in Ireland two thousand years ago. We read in one
-of the Tales, that when Kehern, a famous Ulster hero, returned from
-fighting, all covered with wounds, the Ulstermen sent a request to the
-Connaught camp--_i.e._, the camp of the enemy--for physicians, as it
-happened that none of the Ulster leeches were just then at hand: and
-physicians were promptly despatched with the messenger.
-
-A king or a great chief had always a physician as part of his household,
-to attend to the health of his family. The usual remuneration of these men
-was a residence and a tract of land in the neighbourhood, free of all rent
-and taxes, together with certain allowances: and the medical man might, if
-he chose, practise for fee outside the household. Some of those in the
-service of great kings had castles, and lived in state like princes. Those
-not so attached lived on their fees, like many doctors of the present day:
-and the fees for the various operations or attendances were laid down in
-the Brehon Law.
-
-Though medical doctors were looked up to with great respect, they had to
-be very careful in exercising their profession. A leech who through
-carelessness, or wilful neglect, or gross want of skill, failed to cure a
-wound, might be brought before a brehon or judge, and if the case was
-proved home against him, he had to pay the same fine to the patient as if
-he had inflicted the wound with his own hand, besides forfeiting his fee.
-
-Medicine, as a profession, like Law, History, etc., often ran in families
-in Ireland, descending regularly from father to son; and several Irish
-families were distinguished leeches for generations, such as the O'Shiels,
-the O'Cassidys, the O'Hickeys, and the O'Lees.
-
-Each medical family kept a book, which was handed down reverently from
-father to son, and in which was written, in Irish or Latin, all the
-medical knowledge derived either from other books or from the actual
-experience of the various members of the family; and many of these old
-volumes, all in beautiful handwriting, are still preserved in Dublin and
-elsewhere. As showing the admirable spirit in which those good men studied
-and practised their profession, and how much they loved it, it is worth
-while to give a translation of the opening statement, a sort of preface,
-in the Irish language, written at the beginning of one of these books,
-nearly six hundred years ago:--
-
-"May the good God have mercy on us all. I have here collected practical
-rules of medicine from several works, for the honour of God, for the
-benefit of the Irish people, for the instruction of my pupils, and for the
-love of my friends and of my kindred. I have translated many of them into
-Gaelic from Latin books, containing the lore of the great leeches of
-Greece and Rome. These are sweet and profitable things which have been
-often tested by us and by our instructors.
-
-"I pray God to bless those doctors who will use this book; and I lay it as
-an injunction on their souls, that they extract knowledge from it not by
-any means sparingly, and that they do not neglect the practical rules
-herein contained. More especially I charge them that they do their duty
-devotedly in cases where they receive no payment on account of the poverty
-of their patients.
-
-"Let every physician, before he begins his treatment, offer up a secret
-prayer for the sick person, and implore the heavenly Father, the Physician
-and Balm-giver of all mankind, to prosper the work he is entering upon,
-and to save himself and his patient from failure."
-
-There is good reason to believe that the noble and kindly sentiments here
-expressed were generally those of the physicians of the time; from which
-we may see that the old Irish medical doctors were quite as devoted to
-their profession, as eager for knowledge, and as anxious about their
-patients as those of the present day.
-
-The fame of the Irish physicians reached the Continent. Even at a
-comparatively late time, about three hundred years ago, when medicine had
-been successfully studied and practised in Ireland for more than a
-thousand years, Van Helmont, a well-known and distinguished physician of
-Brussels, in a book written by him in Latin on medical subjects, praises
-the Irish doctors, and describes them correctly as follows:--
-
-"In the household of every great lord in Ireland there is a physician who
-has a tract of land for his support, and who is appointed to his post, not
-on account of the great amount of learning he brings away in his head from
-colleges, but because he is able to cure diseases. His knowledge of the
-healing art is derived from books left him by his forefathers, which
-describe very exactly the marks and signs by which the various diseases
-are known, and lay down the proper remedies for each. These remedies
-[which are mostly herbs], are all produced in that country. Accordingly,
-the Irish people are much better managed in sickness than the Italians,
-who have a physician in every village."
-
-The Irish physicians carefully studied all the diseases known in their
-time, and had names for them--names belonging to the Irish language, and
-not borrowed from other countries or other languages. They investigated
-and noted down the qualities and effects of all curative herbs (which had
-Gaelic, as well as Latin, names); and they were accordingly well known
-throughout Europe for their knowledge and skill in medicinal botany.
-
-There were Hospitals all over the country, some in connexion with
-monasteries, and managed by monks, some under the lay authorities; and one
-or more doctors with skilled nurses attended each hospital, whether lay or
-monastic. The Brehon Law laid down regulations for the lay hospitals:--for
-instance, that they should be kept clean, and should have four open doors
-for ventilation, that a stream of clear water should run across the house
-through the middle of the floor, that the patients should not be put into
-beds forbidden by the physician, that noisy talkative persons should be
-kept away from them; and many other such like. There were no such
-regulations for the monastic hospitals, as being unnecessary. The
-provision about the open doors and the stream of water may be said to have
-anticipated by more than a thousand years the present open-air treatment
-of consumption. Those who had means were expected to pay for food,
-medicine, physician, and attendance: but the poor were received and
-treated free.
-
-If a person wounded or injured another unlawfully, he was obliged to pay
-for "sick maintenance," _i.e._, the cost of maintaining the wounded person
-in a hospital till recovery or death; which payment included the fees of
-the physician and of one or more nurses.
-
-It is pleasant to know that the Irish physicians of our time, who, it is
-generally agreed, are equal to those of any other country in the world,
-can look back with respect, and not without some feeling of pride, to
-their Irish predecessors of the times of old.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-HOW THEY BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES.
-
-
-Before the introduction of Christianity, buildings of every kind in
-Ireland were generally round or oval. The quadrangular shape, which was
-used in the churches in the time of St. Patrick, came very slowly into
-use; and round structures finally disappeared only in the fourteenth or
-fifteenth century. But the round shape was not universal, even in the most
-ancient period. Look at the plan of Tara, at the beginning of this book,
-and you will see that the Banqueting Hall was quadrangular, the only
-building of this shape on the whole hill. And in this respect Tara may be
-said to represent the proportion for the whole of Ireland: that is to say,
-while the generality of buildings were oval or round, some--very much the
-fewer in number--were quadrangular, sometimes long in shape, sometimes
-square.
-
-There were many centres of population, though they were never surrounded
-by walls; and the dwellings were detached and scattered a good deal--not
-closely packed as in modern towns. The dwelling-houses, as well indeed as
-the early churches, were nearly always of wood, as that material was much
-the most easily procured. But although wood-building was general in
-Ireland before the twelfth century, it was not universal: for many stone
-churches, as we have seen, were erected from the time of the introduction
-of Christianity; and there were small stone houses from time immemorial.
-
-The dwelling-houses were almost always constructed of Wickerwork. The wall
-was formed of long stout poles standing pretty near each other, with their
-ends fixed deep in the ground, the spaces between closed in with rods and
-twigs neatly and firmly interwoven; generally of hazel. The poles were
-peeled and polished smooth. The whole surface of the wickerwork was
-plastered on the outside, and made brilliantly white with lime, or
-occasionally striped in various colours; leaving the white poles exposed
-to view.
-
-In many superior houses, and in churches, a better plan of building was
-adopted, by forming the wall with sawed planks instead of wickerwork. In
-the houses of the higher classes the doorposts and other special parts of
-the dwelling and furniture were often made of yew, carved, and ornamented
-with gold, silver, bronze, and gems.
-
-In the sunniest and pleasantest part of the homestead the women had a
-separate apartment or a separate house for themselves, called a 'Greenan'
-meaning a 'sunny apartment' or a summer-house; to which they retired
-whenever they pleased.
-
-The roof was covered with straw, or rushes, or reeds, or with thin boards
-of oak, laid and fastened so as to overlap, like our slates and tiles.
-Occasionally churches were roofed with lead.
-
-In great houses there were separate sleeping-rooms. But among the ordinary
-run of comfortable, well-to-do people, including many of the upper
-classes, the family commonly lived, ate, and slept in the one principal
-apartment, as was the case in the houses of the Anglo-Saxons, the English,
-the Germans, and the Scandinavians of the same period. But the
-sleeping-places and beds were shut in from view; for in at least the
-better class of houses in Ireland there were, ranged along the wall,
-little compartments or cubicles, each containing a bed, or sometimes more,
-for one or more persons, with its head to the wall. The wooden partitions
-enclosing the beds were not carried up to the roof; they were probably
-about eight or nine feet high, so that the several compartments were open
-at top.
-
-The homesteads had to be fenced in to protect them from robbers and wild
-animals. This was usually done by digging a deep circular trench, the clay
-from which was thrown up on the inside. This was shaped and faced; and
-thus was formed, all round, a high mound or dyke with a trench outside,
-and having one opening for a door or gate. Whenever water was at hand the
-trench was flooded as an additional security: and there was a bridge
-opposite the opening, which was raised, or closed in some way, at night.
-The houses of the Gauls were fenced round in a similar manner.
-
-Numbers of these old circular forts still remain in every part of Ireland,
-but more in the south and west than elsewhere; many of them still very
-perfect: but of course the timber houses erected within them are all gone.
-Almost all are believed in popular superstition to be the haunts of
-fairies. They are still known by the old names--_lis_, _rath_, _brugh_,
-_múr_, _dún_, _moat_, _cashel_, and _caher_: the cashels, múrs, and cahers
-being usually built of stone without mortar. The forts vary in size from
-40 or 50 feet in diameter, through all intermediate stages up to 1,500
-feet: the size of the homestead depending on the rank and means of the
-owner.
-
-Very often the flat middle space is raised to a higher level than the
-surrounding land, and sometimes there is a great mound in the centre, with
-a flat top, on which the strong wooden house of the chief stood. The outer
-defence, whether of clay, or stone, or timber, that surrounded the
-homestead was generally whitened with lime; and on the top all round,
-there was a hedge or strong palisade for additional security. Beside
-almost every homestead was a Kitchen Garden for table vegetables. And hard
-by were several enclosed spaces for various purposes, such as games and
-exercises, storing up the corn in stacks, securing the cattle at night,
-etc.
-
-For greater security, dwellings were often constructed on artificial
-islands made with stakes, trees, and bushes, covered with earth and
-stones, in shallow lakes, or on small flat natural islands if they
-answered. These were called by the name _Crannoge_. Communication with the
-shore was carried on by means of a small boat, commonly dug out of one
-tree-trunk. The remains of these crannoges may still be seen in some of
-our small shallow lakes. In most of them old ferry-boats have been found,
-of which many specimens are now preserved in museums.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-HOW THEY ATE, DRANK, FEASTED, AND ENTERTAINED.
-
-
-Dinner, the principal meal of the day, was taken late in the afternoon;
-and there was commonly a light repast or luncheon, called 'Middle-meal,'
-between breakfast and dinner. It was the custom to have better food on
-Sundays and church festivals than on the other days.
-
-Among the higher classes great care was taken to seat family and guests at
-table in the order of rank; and any departure from the established usage
-was sure to lead to quarrels. The king was always attended at banquets by
-his subordinate kings, and by other lords and chiefs. Those on his
-immediate right and left had to sit at a respectful distance. While King
-Cormac Mac Art sat at dinner, fifty military guards remained standing near
-him.
-
-The manner of arranging the banquets at Tara was generally followed at
-other royal entertainments. The Banquet-hall here was a long building,
-with tables arranged along both side-walls. Immediately over the tables
-were a number of hooks in the wall at regular intervals to hang the
-shields on. Just before the beginning of the feast all persons left the
-hall except three:--A _Shanachie_ or historian: a marshal to regulate the
-order: and a trumpeter. The king and his subordinate kings having first
-taken their places at the head of the table, the professional ollaves sat
-down next them. Then the trumpeter blew the first blast, at which the
-shield-bearers of the lordly guests (for every chief and king had his
-shield-bearer or squire) came round the door and gave their masters'
-shields to the marshal, who, under the direction of the shanachie, hung
-them on the hooks according to rank, from the highest to the lowest. At
-the next blast the guests all walked in leisurely, each taking his seat
-under his own shield (which he knew by special marks).
-
-Only one side of the tables was occupied, namely, the side next the wall:
-and in order to avoid crowding, the shields were hung at such a distance
-that when the guests were seated "no man of them would touch another."
-This arrangement at table according to rank was continued in Ireland and
-Scotland down to a recent period, as Scott often mentions in his novels;
-and it continues still everywhere, though in a less strict form.
-
-At all state banquets particular joints were reserved for certain chiefs,
-officials, and professional men, according to rank. A thigh was laid
-before a king, and also before an ollave poet; a haunch before a queen; a
-leg before a young lord; a head before a charioteer, and so on. A similar
-custom existed among the ancient Gauls and also among the Greeks. A
-remnant of this old custom lingered on in Scotland and Ireland down to a
-period within our own memory. Seventy years ago in some parts of Ireland,
-when a farmer killed a bullock or a pig, he always sent the head to the
-smith, so that at certain times of the year you might see the smith's
-kitchen garnished with forty or fifty heads hanging round the walls.
-
-In the time of the Red Branch Knights, it was the custom to assign the
-choicest joint or animal of the whole banquet to the hero who was
-acknowledged by general consent to have performed the bravest and greatest
-exploit. This piece was called _curath-mir_, i.e., 'the hero's morsel or
-share'; and there were often keen contentions among the Red Branch heroes,
-and sometimes fights with bloodshed, for this coveted joint or piece. This
-usage, which prevailed among the continental Celts in general, and which
-also existed among the Greeks, continued in Ireland to comparatively late
-times.
-
-Tables were, as we have seen, used at the great feasts. But at ordinary
-meals, high tables, such as we have now, do not seem to have been in
-general use. There were small low tables, each used no doubt for two or
-more persons. Often there was a little table laid beside each person, on
-which his food was placed--the meat on a platter.
-
-Forks are a late invention: of old the fingers were used at eating. In
-Ireland, as in England and other countries in those times, each person
-held his knife in the right hand, and used the fingers of the left instead
-of a fork. The Greeks and Romans had no forks at meals: they used the
-fingers only, and were supplied with water to wash their hands after
-eating.
-
-As early as the eighth or ninth century the Irish of the higher classes
-used napkins at table, for which they had a native word _lambrat_, i.e.,
-'hand-cloth.' I suppose the chief use they made of it was to wipe the
-left-hand fingers; which was badly needed. It was the custom, both in
-monastic communities and in secular life, to take off the shoes or sandals
-when sitting down to dinner; which was generally done by an attendant.
-The Romans we know had the same custom. The Irish did not sit up at dinner
-as we do now; but, like the Romans, they reclined on couches on which the
-feet also rested; and this was why the shoes were taken off.
-
-In old times people were quite as fond of intoxicating drinks at dinners
-and banquets as they are now. They sometimes drank more than was good for
-them too: yet drunkenness was looked upon as reprehensible. At their
-feasts they often accompanied their carousing with music and singing.
-Besides plain water and milk, the chief drinks were Ale and Mead or
-metheglin, which were made at home; and Wine which was imported from
-France.
-
-In great houses there were professional cooks, who, while engaged in their
-work, wore a linen apron round them from the hips down, and a flat linen
-cap on the head. But among ordinary families the women did the cooking.
-
-Meat and fish were cooked by roasting, boiling, or broiling. A spit
-(_bir_), made of iron, was regarded as an important household implement.
-But the spits commonly used in roasting, as well as the skewers for
-trussing up the joint, were pointed hazel-rods, peeled and made smooth
-and white. Meat, and even fish, while roasting, were often basted with
-honey or with a mixture of honey and salt.
-
-In the house of every chief and of every brewy (see p. 119 below) there
-was at least one bronze Caldron for boiling meat. It was highly valued, as
-a most important article in the household; and it was looked upon as the
-special property of the chief or head of the house--much in the same way
-as his sword and shield. Everywhere we meet with passages reminding us of
-the great value set on these caldrons. One of them was regarded as a fit
-present for a king. The caldron was supposed to be kept in continual use,
-so that food might be always ready for guests whenever they happened to
-arrive. Many bronze caldrons have been found from time to time, and are
-now preserved in the National Museum, Dublin--several of beautiful
-workmanship.
-
-In early ages kitchen utensils were everywhere regarded as important. The
-inventory of the jewels of the English King Edward III. gives a list of
-his frying-pans, gridirons, spits, etc. There is a curious provision in
-the Brehon Law that if any accident occurred to a bystander by the lifting
-of the joint out of the boiling caldron, the attendant was liable for
-damages unless he gave the warning:--"Take care: here goes the fleshfork
-into the caldron!"
-
-Milk was used both fresh and sour: butter was made in a small hand-churn;
-and cheese of various kinds was made from curds. There were water-mills
-and querns to grind corn, and sieves to separate the ground corn into meal
-and flour. The staple food of the great mass of the people was porridge,
-or, as it is now called in Ireland, stirabout, made of meal, generally
-oatmeal. It was eaten with honey, butter, or milk, as _kitchen_ or
-condiment.
-
-All the various kinds of meal and flour were baked into cakes or loaves of
-different shapes. Flour was usually mixed with water to make dough: but
-bread made of flour and milk was also much in use. Honey was often kneaded
-up with cakes as a delicacy: and occasionally the roe of a salmon was
-similarly used. Wheaten bread was considered the best, as at present:
-barley-bread was poor. Yeast, or barm, or leaven was used both in baking
-and in brewing.
-
-The management of Bees was universally understood, and every comfortable
-householder kept hives in his garden. Wild bees, too, swarmed
-everywhere--much more plentifully than at present, on account of the
-extent of woodland. Accordingly honey was very plentiful, and was used
-with all sorts of dishes. Often at meals each person had placed before him
-on the table a little dish, sometimes of silver, filled with honey; and
-each morsel whether of meat, fish, or bread was dipped into it before
-being conveyed to the mouth. Honey was the chief ingredient in the making
-of mead.
-
-As the country abounded in forests, thickets, and brakes, the most common
-Fuel for domestic use was wood: but peat or turf was also much used, cut
-from a bank with a _slaan_ or turf-spade as at present. Founders and other
-workers in metal used wood-charcoal, of which that made from birch-wood
-gave the greatest heat.
-
-Flint and steel with tinder (or _spunk_) were used for striking and
-kindling fire. The whole kindling-gear--flint, steel, and tinder--was
-carried in the girdle-pocket, so as to be ready to hand; and accordingly,
-fire struck in this way was called _tinne-crassa_, 'girdle-fire.'
-
-For Light, dipped candles were used in the better class of houses. Poor
-people used dipped rushes, which gave a feeble light and burned out
-quickly. In the houses of the rich they used beeswax candles, as indeed we
-might expect from the great abundance of bees.
-
-Hospitality and generosity were virtues highly esteemed in ancient
-Ireland; in the old Irish Christian writings indeed they are everywhere
-praised and inculcated as religious duties; and in the secular literature
-they are equally prominent. The higher the rank of the person the more was
-expected from him, and a king should be hospitable without limit. There
-were all over the country Public Hostels for the free lodging and
-entertainment of travellers. At the head of each was an officer called a
-_Brewy_ or _Beetagh_, a public hospitaller or hosteller, who was held in
-high honour.
-
-In order to be at all times ready to receive visitors, a brewy was bound
-to have three kinds of meat cooked and ready to be served up to all who
-came; three kinds of raw meat ready for cooking; besides animals ready for
-killing. In one of the law tracts a brewy is quaintly described as "a man
-of three snouts":--viz. the snout of a live hog rooting in the fields; the
-snout of a dead hog on the hooks cooking; and the pointed snout of a
-plough: meaning that he had plenty of live animals and of meat cooked and
-uncooked, with a plough and all other tillage appliances.
-
-There should be a number of open roads leading to the house of a brewy, so
-that it might be readily accessible: and on each road a man was stationed
-to make sure that no traveller should pass by without calling to be
-entertained; besides which a light was to be kept burning on the lawn at
-night to guide travellers from a distance. To enable him to meet this
-great expense and to pay himself into the bargain, a brewy was allowed a
-great tract of land free.
-
-Besides the hostels, there were the monasteries, too, where travellers
-were also boarded and lodged free for the time. And along with all this
-the people were kind and hospitable in their own houses to strangers and
-visitors. So we see that travellers were quite as well off then as now:
-indeed in one respect much better off: for whereas we have to pay a smart
-charge in an inn or hotel, there was in those times a hearty welcome and
-no charge at all.
-
-The Irish missionaries carried this fine custom to the Continent in early
-ages, as they did many others: for they established free hostels in France
-and Germany, in places where there were no monasteries, chiefly for the
-use of pilgrims on their way to Rome.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-HOW THE PEOPLE DRESSED.
-
-
-An oval face, broad above and narrow below, golden hair, fair skin, white,
-delicate, and well-formed hands with slender tapering fingers: these were
-considered as marking the type of beauty and of high family descent; they
-were the Marks of Aristocracy. To these natural advantages the people
-added by the usual artificial means. Among the higher classes the
-finger-nails were kept carefully cut and rounded. It was considered
-shameful for a man of position to have rough unkempt nails.
-Crimson-coloured finger-nails were greatly admired; and ladies sometimes
-dyed them this colour. Deirdre, uttering a lament for the sons of Usna,
-says:--"I sleep no more, and I shall not crimson my nails; no joy shall
-ever again come upon my mind."
-
-Ladies often dyed the eyebrows black with the juice of some sort of berry.
-We have already seen (p. 54) that the Irish missionary monks sometimes
-painted or dyed their eyelids black. An entry in Cormac's Glossary plainly
-indicates that the blush of the cheeks was sometimes heightened by a
-colouring matter obtained from the alder tree: and the sprigs and berries
-of the elder were applied to the same purpose. Among Greek and Roman
-ladies the practice was very general of painting the cheeks, eyebrows, and
-other parts of the face.
-
-Both men and women wore the hair long, and commonly flowing down on the
-back and shoulders. The hair was combed daily after a bath. The heroes of
-the Fena of Erin, before sitting down to their dinner after a hard day's
-hunting, always took a bath and carefully combed their long hair.
-
-Among the higher classes in very early times great care was bestowed on
-the hair; its regulation constituted quite an art; and it was dressed up
-in several ways. Very often the long hair of men, as well as of women, was
-elaborately curled. Conall Kernach's hair, as described in the story of Da
-Derga, flowed down his back, and was done up in "hooks and plaits and
-swordlets." The accuracy of this and other similar descriptions is fully
-borne out by the most unquestionable authority of all, namely, the figures
-in the early illuminated manuscripts and on the shrines and high crosses
-of later ages. In nearly all the figures of the Book of Kells, for example
-(seventh or eighth century), the hair is combed and dressed with the
-utmost care, so beautifully adjusted indeed that it could have been done
-only by skilled professional hairdressers, and must have occupied much
-time. Whether in case of men or women, it hangs down both behind and at
-the sides, and is commonly divided the whole way, as well as all over the
-head, into slender fillets or locks, which sometimes hang down to the eyes
-in front. I do not find mentioned anywhere that the Irish dyed their hair,
-as was the custom among the Greeks and Romans.
-
-The men were as particular about the beard as about the hair. The fashion
-of wearing the beard varied. Sometimes it was considered becoming to have
-it long and forked, and gradually narrowed to two points below.
-Sometimes--as shown in many ancient figures--it falls down in a single
-mass; while in a few it is cut straight across at bottom not unlike
-Assyrian beards. Nearly all have a mustache, in most cases curled up and
-pointed at the ends as we often see now. In many the beard is carefully
-divided into slender twisted fillets, as described above for the hair.
-Kings and chiefs had barbers in their service to attend to all this.
-Razors were used made of bronze as hard as steel, as we know by finding
-them mentioned in Irish documents as early as the eighth century; and many
-old bronze razors are now preserved in museums.
-
-From what precedes it will be understood that combs were in general use
-with men as well as with women; and many specimens of combs are now found
-in the remains of ancient dwellings.
-
-Bathing was very usual, at least among the upper classes, and baths and
-the use of baths are constantly mentioned in the old tales and other
-writings. In every public hostel, in every monastery, and in every
-high-class house, there was a bath, with its accompaniments. Soap was used
-both in bathing and washing.
-
-Woollen and linen clothes formed the dress of the great mass of the
-people. Both were produced at home; and in chapter xix. the modes of
-manufacturing them will be mentioned. Silk and satin, which were of course
-imported, were much worn among the higher classes. The furs of animals,
-such as seals, otters, badgers, foxes, etc., were much used for capes and
-jackets, and for the edgings of various garments, so that skins of all the
-various kinds were valuable. They formed, too, an important item of
-everyday traffic, and they were also exported.
-
-The ancient Irish loved bright colours. In this respect they resembled
-many other nations of antiquity--as well indeed as of the present day; and
-they illustrated Ruskin's saying--"Whenever men are noble they love bright
-colour, and bright colour is given to them in sky, sea, flowers, and
-living creatures." The Irish love of colour expressed itself in all parts
-of their raiment; and we know that they well understood the art of dyeing.
-The several articles of dress on one person were usually coloured
-differently. Even the single outer cloak was often striped, spotted, or
-chequered in various colours. King Domnall, in the seventh century, on one
-occasion sent a many-coloured tunic to his foster-son Prince Congal: like
-Joseph's coat of many colours.
-
-A very common article of dress was a large cloak, generally without
-sleeves, varying in length, but commonly covering the whole person from
-the shoulders down. The people also wore a tight-fitting coat with
-sleeves, something like our present frock-coat; but it was much shorter
-and without a collar, and it was kept tight by a belt round the waist. A
-short cape was often worn on the shoulders, sometimes carrying a hood to
-cover the head. The outer covering of the general run of the peasantry was
-just one loose sleeved coat or mantle, generally of frieze, which covered
-them down to the ankles; and which they wore winter and summer. Women
-commonly wore a long loose cloak, with a hood, a fashion which is common
-at the present day. The over-garments were fastened by brooches, pins,
-buttons, girdles, strings, and loops, many of them beautifully made and
-ornamented.
-
-The ancient Irish wore a trousers which was so tight-fitting as to show
-perfectly the shape of the limbs. When terminating below the ankles it was
-held down by a slender strap passing under the foot. Like other Irish
-garments it was generally striped or speckled in various colours. Leggings
-of cloth or of thin soft leather were used, and were laced on by strings
-tipped with white bronze, the bright metallic extremities falling down
-after lacing, so as to form pendant ornaments. A _kilt_ was often worn, in
-which case the legs were left bare at the knees, with leggings below: for
-the kilt is of Irish origin, and was brought--like many other fashions--by
-the early colonists to Scotland, where it is still held on, while it has
-been long disused in Ireland.
-
-Both men and women wore a garment of fine texture next the skin, commonly
-made of wool or linen, but sometimes of silk or satin, embroidered with
-devices in gold or silver thread worked with the needle.
-
-Girdles were commonly worn round the waist inside the outer loose mantle:
-those used by high-class people were often elaborately ornamented so as to
-be worth as much as from £40 to £100 of our present money. Garters were
-worn, partly for use, partly for ornament: often they were made of very
-expensive materials. Gloves were very common among all classes high and
-low, and were often highly ornamented.
-
-The men wore a hat of a conical shape without a leaf; but among the
-peasantry, men, in their daily life, commonly went bare-headed, wearing
-the hair long behind so as to hang down on the back, and clipped short in
-front. Married women usually had the head covered either with a hood or
-with a long web of linen wreathed round and round in several folds. The
-veil was in constant use among the higher classes, and when not actually
-worn was usually carried, among other small articles, in a lady's
-ornamental hand-bag.
-
-Shoes were often made of untanned hide stitched with thongs, with several
-layers for a sole. But there was a more shapely shoe, made of fully tanned
-leather, having serviceable sole and heel, and often ornamented with
-patterns stamped in.
-
-The Irish were excessively fond of personal ornaments, which among the
-higher classes were made of expensive materials, such as gold, silver,
-gems, white bronze, etc. They wore rings and bracelets of various shapes
-on the fingers (including the thumb), round the wrist and forearm, and
-even round the leg above the ankle. Necklaces were very common, from the
-cheapest kind up to those with the studs made of gold, pearls, and other
-gems, all of which materials were found native.
-
-They had torques for the neck made of twisted gold bars; and the elaborate
-and immensely expensive crescents or gorgets have been already described
-(p. 96). There was a gold ornament--a kind of open ring with bosses or
-buttons on the ends--called _Bunne-do-at_, worn on the breast: suspended
-from an ornamented button. Thin circular gold plates were also worn
-fastened on the breast: and as for brooches, they were of all shapes and
-sizes, some plain, simple, and cheap, some of gold or other expensive
-material, of elaborate workmanship.
-
-Pictures and full descriptions of all these ornaments will be found in
-either of the two Social Histories.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-HOW THEY FENCED IN AND TILLED THEIR LAND.
-
-
-Ever since that remote time when legend and history begin to give us
-glimpses of the occupations of the inhabitants of this country, we find
-them engaged in Agriculture and Pasturage. For both of these purposes open
-land was necessary; and accordingly, people worked hard in old times to
-clear the land from wood. But there was always more pasturage than
-tillage.
-
-In very early ages there was little need of fences, for the people were
-few and the land was mostly common property. But as the population
-increased it became more and more necessary to fence off the portions
-belonging to different individuals. The Brehon Law describes the several
-kinds of farm fences, some of which are still used; and it lays down
-strict rules regarding them.
-
-Fences or merings of a more enduring kind were needed to bound off large
-territories or sub-kingdoms. There were several kinds of these territorial
-boundaries, some natural, some artificial, the most usual being rivers,
-roads, pillar-stones, and great ramparts of earth sometimes extending for
-miles.
-
-Manure--chiefly stable-manure--is often mentioned in the Brehon Laws. The
-laws also take account of several things that add to the value of land;
-such as a wood properly fenced in: a mine of copper or iron: the site of
-an old mill [with millrace and other accessories, rendering easy the
-erection of a new mill]: a road opening up communication: situation by the
-sea, by a river, or by a cooling-pond for cattle. The art of obtaining
-water by digging deeply into the ground was understood and practised.
-
-Most of the native crops now in use were then known and cultivated: chief
-among them being corn of various kinds. Nearly all the agricultural
-implements now known were then used:--such as ploughs, sickles, spades and
-shovels, flails, rakes, clod-mallets, etc.
-
-The chief farm animals were cows, pigs, sheep; and oxen, which were used
-for ploughing and for drawing waggons. Horses were not then so much used
-in farm-work as they are now. Pigs were kept in great droves at very
-little expense; for as forests abounded everywhere, the animals were
-simply turned out into the woods in care of a keeper, and fed on nuts,
-roots, and whatever else they could pick up.
-
-Cows and sheep were very often grazed on 'Commons,' _i.e._, tracts of
-grassy uncultivated land lying near a village--generally upland or
-mountain land--which belonged to the whole of the village or townland, but
-not to any particular individuals. These commons exist to this day near
-many villages, and are still used as in old times.
-
-Women always did the milking, except of course in monasteries, where no
-women were employed, and the monks had to do all the work of the
-community.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-HOW IRISH HANDICRAFTSMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR WORK.
-
-
-All the chief materials for the work of the various crafts were produced
-at home. Of wood there was no stint: and there were mines of copper, iron,
-lead, and possibly of tin, which were worked with intelligence and
-success.
-
-From the most remote times there were in Ireland professional architects
-or builders, as there were smiths, poets, historians, physicians, and
-druids; and we find them mentioned in our earliest literature. There were
-two main branches of the builder's profession:--stone-building and
-wood-building. An ollave builder was supposed to be master of both.
-
-The most distinguished ollave builder of a district was taken into the
-direct service of the king, and received from him a good yearly stipend:
-for which he was to oversee and have properly executed all the king's
-building and other structural works. In addition to this he was permitted
-to exercise his art for the general public for pay: and as he had a great
-name, and had plenty of time on hands, he usually made a large income.
-
-The three chief metal-workers were the _Gobha_ [gow], the _Caird_, and the
-_Saer_. The gobha was a smith--a blacksmith; the caird, a worker in brass,
-gold, and silver--a brasier, goldsmith, or silversmith; the saer, a
-carpenter or a mason--a worker in wood or stone.
-
-We have already seen that the ancient Irish were very skilful in metallic
-art. Metallic compounds were carefully and successfully studied, copper
-commonly forming one of the ingredients. The most general alloy was
-Bronze, formed of copper and tin: but brass, a compound of copper and
-zinc, was also used. There were two kinds of bronze:--red bronze, used for
-spear-heads, caldrons, etc.; and white bronze, which was much more
-expensive, and used for ornamental works of art--fine metal-work of all
-kinds.
-
-The exquisite skill of the ancient Irish brasiers is best proved by the
-articles they made, of which hundreds are preserved in our museums. The
-gracefully-shaped spear-heads, which, in point of artistic excellence, are
-fully equal to any of those found in Greece, Rome, or Egypt, were cast in
-moulds: and we have not only the spear-heads themselves but many of the
-moulds, usually of stone. In one glass case in the National Museum there
-are more than forty moulds for bronze axes, spear-heads, arrow-heads,
-etc.: some looking as fresh as if they had been in use yesterday. The old
-cairds were equally accomplished in making articles of hammered bronze, of
-which the most characteristic and important are the great trumpets (page
-87 above) and the beautifully-formed caldrons (page 116)--many of
-admirable workmanship--made of a number of bronze plates, hammered into
-shape and riveted together.
-
-In old times in Ireland, blacksmiths were held in great estimation; and in
-the historical and legendary tales, we find smiths entertaining kings,
-princes, and chiefs, and entertained by them in turn. We know that Vulcan
-was a Grecian god; and the ancient Irish had their smith-god, Goibniu,
-the Dedannan, who figures in many of the old romances.
-
-The old Irish smith's anvil was something like the anvil of the present
-day, but not quite so large and heavy: it had the usual long snout, and
-was fixed firmly on a block. There were sledges and hand-hammers, pincers
-or tongs, and a water-trough. The bellows was very different from the
-present smith's bellows: it had two air-chambers of wood and leather lying
-side by side and communicating with the blowing-pipe. These were worked by
-a bellows-blower, who stood with his feet on the two upper boards, and
-pressed them down alternately, by which the two chambers were emptied in
-turn into the main pipe, so as to keep up a continuous blast. It should be
-remarked that in private houses they used a different sort of bellows,
-commonly called a 'blower,' which was held in the lap, and worked by
-turning a handle: this, by means of cog-wheels, caused a number of little
-fans in the inside to revolve rapidly, and thus to force a current through
-the pipe.
-
-The fuel used by metal-workers was wood-charcoal. The smith's furnace was
-made of moist clay, specially prepared, a sort of fire-clay, which was
-renewed from time to time when needed. This furnace surrounded and
-confined the fire on four sides, otherwise the light charcoal would be
-scattered by the blast of the bellows.
-
-There was plenty to do for carpenters and other wood-workers, more indeed
-than for almost any other tradesmen, as the houses were then nearly all
-made of wood.
-
-The yew-tree was formerly very abundant. Its wood was highly valued and
-used in making a great variety of articles: so that working in yew was
-regarded as one of the most important of trades. It required great skill
-and much training and practice: for yew is about the hardest and most
-difficult to work of all our native timber: and the cutting-tools must
-have been particularly fine in quality. Various domestic vessels were made
-from it, and it was used for doorposts and lintels and other prominent
-parts of houses, as well as for the posts, bars, and legs of beds and
-couches, always carved. Yew-carving accordingly gave much employment.
-There were also painters and metal-engravers; and here it is just as well
-to remark once for all, that the various articles of everyday life--hats,
-curraghs, shoes, book-covers, shields, chariots, leather, and so on, were
-made by special tradesmen (or women), all with their several suitable
-tools and instruments. The makers of vessels of wood, metal, and clay
-were very numerous, and they were quite as skilful and dexterous as those
-of the present time. A thousand years ago the Irish coopers were able to
-make vessels of staves bound with hoops, like our tubs and churns, as
-water-tight and as serviceable as those made by the best coopers of our
-day.
-
-The tools used by the various tradesmen are often mentioned in the Brehon
-Laws, from which we learn that there was as great a variety in Ireland
-then as there is now: but our limited space will only allow us to barely
-mention a few. There were saws, axes, hatchets, and hammers of various
-shapes and sizes; an adze for coopers and shield-makers; compasses for
-circles; planes both for flat surfaces and for moulding; lathes and
-potter's wheels for turning in wood and soft clay; chisels and gouges,
-awls, and augers. Besides the common whetstone they used a circular
-grindstone, which was turned on an axis by a cranked handle like those now
-in use.
-
-Numerous stone structures erected in Christian times, but before the
-Anglo-Norman invasion, with lime-mortar, still remain all over the
-country, chiefly primitive churches and round towers. It is only necessary
-to point to the round towers to show the admirable skill and the delicate
-perception of gracefulness of outline possessed by the ancient Irish
-builders. A similar remark might be made regarding many of the ancient
-churches.
-
-Artificers of all kinds held a good position in society and were taken
-care of by the Brehon Law. Among the higher classes of craftsmen a builder
-of oratories or of ships was entitled to the same compensation for any
-injury inflicted on him in person, honour, or reputation, as the lowest
-rank of noble: and similar provisions are set forth in the law for
-craftsmen of a lower grade.
-
-No individual tradesman was permitted to practise till his work had been
-in the first place examined at a meeting of chiefs and specially qualified
-ollaves, held either at Croghan or at Emain, where a number of craftsmen
-candidates always presented themselves. But besides this there was another
-precautionary regulation. In each district there was a head-craftsman of
-each trade, designated _sai-re-cérd_ [see-re-caird], _i.e._, "sage in
-handicraft." He presided over all those of his own craft in the district:
-and a workman who had passed the test of the examiners in Croghan or Emain
-had further to obtain the approval and sanction of his own head craftsman
-before he was permitted to follow his trade in the district. It will be
-seen from all this that precautions were adopted to secure competency in
-handicrafts similar to those now adopted in the professions.
-
-Young persons learned trades by apprenticeship, and commonly resided
-during the term in the houses of their masters. They generally gave a fee:
-but sometimes they were taught free or--as the law-tract expresses
-it--"for God's sake." When an apprentice paid a fee, the master was
-responsible for his misdeeds: otherwise not. The apprentice was bound to
-do all sorts of menial work--digging, reaping, feeding pigs, etc.--for his
-master, during apprenticeship.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-HOW THEY PREPARED AND MADE UP CLOTHING MATERIALS.
-
-
-The wool was taken from the sheep with a shears having two blades and two
-handles, much the same as our present hedge-shears. After the shearing the
-whole work up to the finished cloth was done by women, except fulling,
-which was regarded as men's work. The wool, after shearing, was sorted
-and scoured to remove the grease, and then carded into soft little rolls
-ready for spinning. Both wool and flax were spun with the distaff and
-spindle as in other countries; for the spinning-wheel was not invented
-till the fifteenth or sixteenth century.
-
-The thread was woven in a hand-loom, nearly always by women in their own
-homes. Ladies of high rank practised weaving long ornamental scarfs as an
-accomplishment, which they did by means of a long thin lath--something
-like our crochet work--as the Greek ladies of old practised weaving
-ornamental webs. The woollen cloth was fulled or thickened by men who
-practised fulling as a distinct trade.
-
-Our records show that linen was manufactured in Ireland from the earliest
-historic times. It was a very common article of dress, and was worked up
-and dyed in a great variety of forms and colours, and exported besides to
-foreign nations. So that the manufacture for which Ulster is famous at the
-present day is merely an energetic development of an industry whose
-history is lost in the twilight of antiquity.
-
-The flax, after pulling, was tied up in sheaves and dried, after which it
-was put through various stages of preparation much like those of the
-present day. After spinning, the thread was finally wound in balls ready
-for weaving.
-
-The beautiful illumination of the Book of Kells, the Book of Mac Durnan,
-and numerous other old manuscripts, proves that the ancient Irish were
-very skilful in colours: and the art of dyeing was well understood. The
-dyestuffs were not imported: they were all produced at home, and were
-considered of great importance.
-
-The people understood how to produce various shades by the mixture of
-different colours, and were acquainted with the use of mordants for fixing
-the dyes. One of these mordants, alum, is a native product, and was
-probably known in very early times. Dyeing was what we now call a cottage
-industry, _i.e._, the work was always carried on in the house: as I saw it
-carried on in the homes of Munster more than half a century ago.
-
-The cloth was dyed by being boiled with the several dyestuffs. The
-dyestuff for black was a sediment or deposit of an intense black found at
-the bottom of pools in bogs.
-
-A crimson or bright-red colour was imparted by a plant which required good
-land, and was cultivated in beds like table-vegetables, requiring great
-care. There were several stages of preparation; but the final dyestuff was
-a sort of meal or coarse flour of a reddish colour.
-
-The stuff for dyeing blue was obtained from the woad-plant (called in
-Irish _glasheen_) after several stages of preparation, till it was made
-into cakes fit for use. A beautiful purple was produced from a sort of
-lichen growing on rocks, after careful preparation. A still more splendid
-purple was obtained from a little shellfish or cockle. This method of
-obtaining purple was practised also by the ancient Britons or Welsh; and
-by the same process was produced the celebrated Tyrian purple in still
-more distant ages.
-
-For sewing, woollen thread was usually employed. Women sewed with a needle
-furnished with an eye as at present. From an early time needles were made
-of steel, but in primitive ages of bronze. In those days a steel or bronze
-needle was difficult to make; so that needles were very expensive: the
-price of an embroidering needle was an ounce of silver. The old Irish
-dressmakers were accomplished workers. The sewing on ancient articles of
-dress found from time to time is generally very neat and uniform: one
-writer describes the sewing on a fur cape found in a bog as "wonderfully
-beautiful and regular."
-
-Embroidery was also practised as a separate art or trade by women. An
-embroiderer kept for her work, among other materials, thread of various
-colours, as well as silver thread, and a special needle. The design or
-pattern to be embroidered was drawn and stamped beforehand, by a designer,
-on a piece of leather, which the embroiderer placed lying before her and
-imitated with her needle. This indicates the refinement and carefulness of
-the old Irish embroiderers. The art of stamping designs on leather, for
-other purposes as well as for embroidery, was carried to great perfection,
-as we know from the beautiful specimens of book-covers preserved in our
-museums.
-
-Ladies of the highest rank practised needlework and embroidery as an
-accomplishment and recreation. For this purpose they spun ornamental
-thread, which, as well as needles, they constantly carried about in a
-little ornamented hand-bag.
-
-The art of tanning leather--generally with oak-bark--was well understood
-in Ireland. By the process of tanning, the hide was thickened and
-hardened, as at present. Tanned leather was used for various purposes, one
-of the principal being as material for shoes; and we know that curraghs
-or wicker-boats were often covered with leather. A jacket of hard, tough,
-tanned leather was sometimes worn in battle as a protecting corselet.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-HOW THE IRISH TRAVELLED ON LAND AND WATER.
-
-
-That the country was well provided with roads we know from our ancient
-literature, and from the general use of chariots. They were not indeed
-anything like our present hard, smooth roads, but constructed according to
-the knowledge and needs of the period, sometimes laid with wood and stone,
-sometimes not, but always open and level enough for car and horse traffic.
-There were five main roads leading from Tara through the country in
-different directions: and numerous roads--all with distinct names--are
-mentioned in the annals. Many of the old roads are still traceable: and
-some are in use at the present day, but so improved to meet modern
-requirements as to efface all marks of antiquity.
-
-In old times the roads seem to have been very well looked after: and the
-regulations for making and cleaning them, and keeping them in repair, are
-set forth with much detail in the Brehon Laws.
-
-Rivers were usually crossed by bridges, which were made either of planks
-or of strong wickerwork supported by piles. Where there were no bridges
-people had to wade or drive across broad shallow fords: or to use a
-ferryboat if the stream was deep; or as a last resource to swim across.
-
-The higher classes had chariots drawn by horses: usually one horse or a
-pair: but sometimes there were four. The chariot was commonly open: but
-some were covered over by an awning or hood of bright-coloured cloth,
-luxuriously fitted up, and ornamented with gold, silver, and feathers. The
-body of the chariot was made of wickerwork supported by an outer frame of
-strong wooden bars: and it was frequently ornamented with tin. The wheels
-were about four feet high, spoked, and shod round with iron. But no matter
-how carefully and beautifully it was constructed the Irish chariot, like
-those of the Greeks, Romans, and other ancient nations, was a springless
-jolting machine and made a great deal of noise. Two persons commonly rode
-in a chariot, the master and the charioteer. The general run of people
-used cars drawn by oxen.
-
-Horses were put to the same uses as at present:--riding, drawing chariots,
-racing; and more rarely ploughing, drawing carts, and as pack-animals. A
-bridle with a single rein was used in horse-riding. The rein was attached
-to a nose-band not at the side but at the top, and came to the hand of the
-rider over the animal's forehead, passing right between the eyes and ears,
-and being held in its place by a loop or ring in the face-band which ran
-across the horse's forehead. This single rein was used to restrain merely:
-it could not be used to guide. No spurs were used: the rider urged on and
-guided the horse with a rod having a hooked goad at the end. The ancient
-Irish--like the Britons, Gauls, and Romans--used no saddles: but there was
-usually a thick cloth between rider and horse. Chariot-drivers sat too far
-from the horse to make use of a horse-rod; so they used a two-rein bridle
-like ours.
-
-Those who kept horses for riding were very fond of ornamenting their
-bridles and trappings with gold, silver, and enamel: so that the bridle
-alone was often worth from five or six cows up to eighteen or twenty.
-
-The Irish used several kinds of boats, of which the commonest was the
-curragh, made of wickerwork woven round a frame of strong wattles, and
-covered with hides which were stitched together with thongs. Boats of this
-kind are still used round the coasts, but tarred canvas is employed
-instead of skins, as being cheaper. Those used on rivers and lakes and on
-short coast voyages, were small and light and covered with a single skin.
-But those intended for rough seas and long voyages were made large and
-strong, with solid wooden decks and seats, and a mast, spars, and sails,
-so that they could be propelled by oars or sails, or both together. These
-were covered with two, or with three, hides, one outside another, and the
-hides were tanned so as to make them thick and hard, much the same as our
-thick leather. Some of these were large enough to hold fifty or sixty
-people. It should be remarked that wicker-boats were also used very
-generally in Britain, and occasionally on the coasts of some parts of the
-Continent.
-
-The Irish had also ordinary wooden ships with sails and oars, and with
-sleeping-berths, like our small sailing vessels, and these they often used
-in very long voyages, either for trade or invasion. But for foreign
-expeditions their favourite vessel was the strong well-made curragh; and
-how suitable and safe these curraghs were is indicated by the fact that on
-one occasion Julius Cæsar ordered a number of them to be made for use in
-some special expedition. Gildas, a British writer, tells us that whole
-armies of the Irish were often seen landing on the British shores from
-curraghs; and an ancient Irish writer says that during a certain military
-expedition the sea between Ireland and Scotland looked as if covered with
-a continuous bridge of curraghs.
-
-The people of Ireland carried on considerable trade with England,
-Scotland, and the Continent. So constant was their communication with the
-Continent, that, as we are told by a great Roman writer, foreign merchants
-were, in those early days, better acquainted with the harbours of Ireland
-than with those of Britain.
-
-The various articles mentioned in our records as brought from foreign
-lands to Ireland were imported to supplement the home produce; in which
-there was nothing more remarkable than our present importation of
-thousands of articles from foreign countries, all or most of which are
-also produced at home. The articles anciently imported were paid for in
-home commodities--skins and furs of various animals, wool and woollens,
-oatmeal, fish, salted hogs, etc.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI.
-
-HOW THE PEOPLE HELD GREAT CONVENTIONS AND FAIRS; AND HOW THEY AMUSED
-THEMSELVES.
-
-
-Public assemblies of several kinds and for various purposes were held all
-through Ireland; they were considered very important, and were looked
-forward to on the several occasions with great interest. Affairs of
-various kinds, some affecting the whole kingdom, some the particular
-province or district, were transacted at these meetings.
-
-The laws were, when necessary, publicly recited to make the people
-familiar with them. There were councils or courts to consider and settle
-such matters as the claims of individuals to certain privileges; acts of
-tyranny by rich and powerful people on their weaker neighbours; disputes
-about boundaries; levying fines; imposing taxes for the construction and
-repair of roads; and such like. In fact the functions of these meetings of
-more than a thousand years ago were in many respects like those of our
-present county and district councils. In all the assemblies of whatever
-kind there were markets for the sale and purchase of commodities.
-
-Some meetings were established and convened chiefly for the transaction of
-serious business: but even at these there were sports and pastimes: in
-others the main object was the celebration of games: but advantage was
-taken of the occasions to discuss and settle important affairs, as will be
-described farther on.
-
-The three great assemblies of Tara, Croghan, and Emain were not meetings
-for the general mass of the people, but conventions of delegates who
-represented the kingdoms and sub-kingdoms, _i.e._, the states in general
-of all Ireland, and who sat and deliberated under the presidency of the
-supreme monarch. The word _Féis_ [faish] was generally applied to these
-three meetings.
-
-The Féis of Tara, according to the old tradition, was founded by Ollam
-Fodla [Ollav-Fóla], who was king of Ireland seven or eight centuries
-before the Christian era. It was originally held every third year, at
-_Samain_, i.e., 1st November. The provincial kings, the minor kings and
-chiefs, and the most distinguished ollaves (doctors) of the learned
-professions attended. According to some authorities it lasted for a week,
-i.e., _Samain_ day with three days before and three days after: but others
-say a month.
-
-Each provincial king had a separate house for himself and his retinue
-during the time; and there was one house for their queens, with private
-apartments for each, with her attendant ladies. There was still another
-house called _Rélta na bh-filedh_ [Railtha-na-villa], the "Star of the
-poets," for the accommodation of the ollaves, where these learned men held
-their sittings. Every day the king of Ireland feasted the company in the
-great Banqueting Hall, which was large enough for a goodly company: for
-even in its present ruined state it is 759 feet long by 46 feet wide. The
-results of the deliberations were written in the national record called
-the Saltair of Tara. The conventions of Emain and Croghan were largely
-concerned with industrial affairs (see page 137 above).
-
-The Aenach or fair was an assembly of the people of every grade without
-distinction: it was the most common kind of large public meeting, and its
-main object was the celebration of games, athletic exercises, sports and
-pastimes of all kinds. The most important of the Aenachs were those of
-Tailltenn, Tlachtga, and Ushnagh. The Fair of Tailltenn, now Teltown on
-the Blackwater, midway between Navan and Kells, was attended by people
-from the whole of Ireland, as well as from Scotland, and was the most
-celebrated of all for its athletic games and sports: corresponding
-closely with the Olympic, Isthmian, and other games of Greece. It was held
-yearly on the 1st August, and on the days preceding and following.
-Marriages formed a special feature of this fair. All this is remembered in
-tradition to the present day: and the people of the place point out the
-spot where the marriages were performed, which they call 'Marriage
-Hollow.' The remains of several immense forts are still to be seen at
-Teltown, even larger than those at Tara, though not in such good
-preservation.
-
-The meetings at Tlachtga and Ushnagh, which have already been mentioned,
-seem originally to have been mainly pagan religious celebrations: but
-there were also games, buying and selling, and conferences on local
-affairs.
-
-At the Irish fairs, wherever held, all kinds of amusements were carried
-on; for the people loved games, sports, and fun of every kind. In order to
-make sure that there should be nothing to spoil sport, there was a very
-strict law against brawls, quarrelling, or fighting. Anyone who struck a
-blow or raised any disturbance was sure to be punished: and if it was a
-very bad case, he was put to death. So if there were any grudges between
-individuals, or families, or clans, they had to be repressed during these
-meetings. The old Greeks had a law for their games exactly similar, which
-they called the "Sacred Armistice."
-
-An Irish fair in those times was a lively and picturesque sight. The
-people were dressed in their best, and in great variety, for all, both men
-and women, loved bright colours; and from head to foot every individual
-wore articles of varied hues. Here you see a tall gentleman walking along
-with a scarlet cloak flowing loosely over a short jacket of purple, with
-perhaps a blue trousers and yellow headgear, while the next showed a
-colour arrangement wholly different; and the women vied with the men in
-variety of hues.
-
-The people were bright and intelligent and much given to intellectual
-entertainments and amusements. They loved music and singing, and took
-delight in listening to poetry, history, and romantic stories; and
-accordingly, among the entertainments and art performances was the
-recitation of poems and tales of all the various kinds mentioned at p. 75
-above, like the recitations of what were called Rhapsodists among the
-Greeks. For all of these there were sure to be special audiences who
-listened with delight to the fascinating lore of old times. Music always
-formed a prominent part of the amusements: and there was no end of
-harpers, timpanists, pipers, fiddlers, and whistle-players.
-
-In another part of the fair the people gave themselves up to uproarious
-fun, crowded round showmen, jugglers, and clowns with grotesque masks or
-painted faces, making hideous distortions, all roaring out their rough
-jests to the laughing crowd. There were also performers of horsemanship,
-who delighted their audiences with feats of activity and skill on
-horseback, such as we see in modern circuses.
-
-In the open spaces round the fair-green there were chariot and horse
-races, which were sure to draw great multitudes of spectators. Indeed some
-fairs were held chiefly for races, like those at the Curragh of Kildare,
-which was as celebrated as a racecourse twelve hundred years ago as it is
-now.
-
-Special portions of the fair-green were set apart for another very
-important function--buying and selling. There were markets for stock and
-horses, for provisions and clothes; and there you might also see foreign
-merchants from Continental countries, exhibiting their gold and silver
-articles, their silks and satins, and many strange curiosities: all for
-sale. Embroidering-women--all natives--showed off their beautiful
-designs, and often kept doing their work in presence of the spectators. A
-special space was assigned for cooking, which must have been on an
-extensive scale to feed such multitudes.
-
-At length the leaders gave the signal that the aenach was ended; and the
-people quietly dispersed to their homes.
-
-Hunting was one of the favourite amusements of the Irish. Some wild
-animals were chased for sport, some for food, and some merely to extirpate
-them as being noxious; but whatever might be the motive, the chase was
-always keenly enjoyed. It is indeed quite refreshing to read in some of
-the tales a description of a hunt and of the immense delight the people
-took in the sport and all its joyous accompaniments. The hunters led the
-chase chiefly on foot, with different breeds of hunting-dogs, according to
-the animals to be chased. The principal kinds of game were deer, wild
-pigs, badgers, otters, and wolves; and hares and foxes were hunted with
-beagles for pure amusement. Pig-hunting was a favourite sport. Wolves were
-hunted down with the great Irish wolf-dogs, some of which were as big as a
-colt or an ass.
-
-Wild animals were trapped as well as chased. There was an elaborate trap
-for deer, a deep pitfall with a sharp spear at bottom pointing upwards,
-all covered over and concealed by a _brathlang_ or light covering of
-brambles and sods. There was a special trap for each kind of animal--wolf,
-wild-hog, otter, and so forth. Birds were caught with nets and cribs: and
-indeed bird-catching was considered of such importance, that it was
-regulated by a special section of the Brehon Laws called 'Bird-net laws.'
-
-Fish were caught, as at present, with nets, with spears either single or
-pronged, and with hook-and-line. Fishing-weirs on rivers were very common.
-A man who had land adjoining a stream had the right to construct a weir
-for his own use: but according to law, he could not dam the stream more
-than one-third across, so that the fish might have freedom to pass up or
-down to the weirs belonging to others.
-
-Coursing was another amusement, as we find mentioned in our literature.
-The dogs were pitted against each other; and it was usual to see
-greyhounds, trained for this special purpose, exhibited for sale in
-markets, like cows, horses, and sheep.
-
-Hurling or goaling has been a favourite game among the Irish from the
-earliest ages: played with a ball and a _caman_ or hurley as at present.
-In the latter part of the last century it declined somewhat in popularity;
-but now there is a vigorous attempt to revive it. Our modern cricket and
-hockey are only forms of the old game of _caman_.
-
-In ancient Ireland chess-playing was a favourite pastime among the higher
-classes. Everywhere in the Tales we read of kings and chiefs amusing
-themselves with chess, and to be a good player was considered a necessary
-accomplishment of every man of high position. In every chief's house there
-was accordingly at least one set of chess appliances for the use of the
-family and guests; namely, a chequered chess-board, with chessmen and a
-bag to hold them, which was often made of woven brass wire.
-
-From the most remote times in Ireland, kings kept fools, jesters, clowns,
-and jugglers in their courts, for amusement, like kings of England and
-other countries in much later times. In the Tales we constantly read of
-such persons and their sayings and doings. They wore funny-looking
-dresses; and they amused the people something in the same way as the court
-fools and buffoons of later times--by broad impudent remarks, jests, half
-witty, half absurd, and odd gestures and grimaces. King Conari's three
-jesters were such surpassingly funny fellows that, as we are told in the
-story of Da Derga, no man could refrain from laughing at them, even though
-the dead body of his father or mother lay stretched out before him.
-Professional gleemen--commonly called _crossans_--travelled from place to
-place earning a livelihood by amusing the people like travelling showmen
-of the present day.
-
-There were hand-jugglers, who performed wonderful tricks of
-slight-of-hand. King Conari's head juggler and his trick of throwing up
-balls and other small articles, catching them one by one as they came
-down, and throwing them up again, are well described in the old tale of Da
-Derga:--"He had clasps of gold in his ears; and wore a speckled white
-cloak. He had nine [short] swords, nine [small] silvery shields, and nine
-balls of gold. [Taking up a certain number of them] he flung them up one
-by one, and not one of them does he let fall to the ground, and there is
-but one of them at any one time in his hand. Like the buzzing-whirl of
-bees on a beautiful day was their motion in passing one another."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII.
-
-HOW THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE SHOWED ITSELF IN VARIOUS
-CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS.
-
-
-Some of the modes of salutation and of showing respect practised by the
-ancient Irish indicate much gentleness and refinement of feeling. When a
-distinguished visitor arrived it was usual to stand up as a mark of
-respect. Giving a kiss, or more generally three kisses, on the cheek, was
-a very usual form of respectful and affectionate salutation: it was indeed
-the most general of all. When St. Columba approached the assembly at
-Drum-ketta, "King Domnall rose immediately before him, and bade him
-welcome, and kissed his cheek, and set him down in his own place."
-
-A very pleasing way of showing respect and affection, which we often find
-noticed, was laying the head gently on the person's bosom. When Erc, King
-Concobar's grandson, came to him, "he placed his head on the breast of his
-grandfather." Sometimes persons bent the head and went on one knee to
-salute a superior.
-
-Although there were no such institutions in ancient Ireland as
-pawn-offices, pledging articles as security for a temporary loan and its
-interest, was common enough. The practice was such a general feature of
-society that the Brehon Law stepped in to prevent abuses, just as our law
-now contains provisions to safeguard poor people from being wronged in
-their dealings with pawn-offices. A person might pledge any movable
-article--a horse, a brooch, a mantle, etc.--and the person holding the
-pledge might put it to its proper use while it remained with him. He was
-obliged to return it on receiving a day's notice, provided the borrower
-tendered the sum borrowed, with its interest: and if he failed to do so he
-was liable to fine. Borrowing or lending, on pledge, was a very common
-transaction among neighbours; and it was not looked upon as in any sense a
-thing to be ashamed of, as pawning articles is at the present day.
-
-There were distinct terms for all the parts of these transactions--a loan
-for kindness merely, a loan for interest, a loan in general: and interest
-was designated by two distinct words. The existence in ancient Ireland of
-the practice of pledging and lending for interest, the designation of the
-several functions by different terms, and the recognition of all by the
-Brehon Law, may be classed, among numerous other customs and institutions
-noticed throughout this book, as indicating a very advanced stage of
-civilisation. At what an early period this stage--of lending for
-interest--was reached may be seen from the fact that it is mentioned in an
-Irish gloss of twelve hundred years ago.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Old age was greatly honoured, and provision was made for the maintenance
-of old persons who were not able to support themselves. As to old persons
-who had no means, the duty of maintaining them fell of course on the
-children; and a son or daughter who was able to support parents but who
-evaded the duty was punished. If an old person who had no children became
-destitute the tribe was bound to take care of him. A usual plan was to
-send him (or her) to live with some family willing to undertake the duty,
-who had an allowance from the tribe for the cost of support.
-
-In some cases destitute persons dependent on the tribe, who did not choose
-to live with a strange family, but preferred to have their own little
-house, received what we now call outdoor relief. There was a special
-officer whose business it was to look after them: or, in the words of the
-law tract, to "oversee the wretched and the poor," and make sure that
-they received the proper allowance: like the relieving officer of our
-present poor laws. He was paid for this duty; and the law specially warned
-him not to take offence at the abuse he was likely to receive from the
-poor cross peevish old people he had in charge.
-
-Care was taken that the separate little house in which a destitute old
-person lived should be a fit and proper one; and its dimensions and
-furniture, as well as the dimensions of the little kitchen-garden, are set
-forth in the law. The law also specifies three items of maintenance--food,
-milk, and attendance; and it adds that the old person was to have a bath
-at regular intervals, and his head was to be washed every Saturday.
-
-From the arrangements here described it will be seen that there was a
-kindly spirit in the provisions for old age and destitution, and that the
-most important features of our modern poor-laws were anticipated in
-Ireland a thousand years ago.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." So says the English poet, Keats, in
-his poem of Endymion, and he enumerates various natural features and
-artificial creations as things of beauty; among many others, the sun, the
-moon, "trees old and new," clear rills, "the mid-forest brake," "all
-lovely tales that we have heard or read." If he had been in Ireland in old
-times, he would have come across delightful proofs of the truth of his
-saying everywhere among the people. They loved and had an intense
-appreciation of all things of beauty, whether natural or artificial; and
-they were remarkable for their close observation of the natural features
-of the world around them.
-
-We know all this from their poetry, their tales, and their writings in
-general, which strongly reflect this pleasing aspect of their character.
-Everywhere we meet with passages in which are noticed, with loving
-admiration, not only those features mentioned by Keats, but many others,
-such as the boom and clash of the waves, the cry of the sea-birds, the
-murmur of the wind among the trees, the howling of the storm, the sad
-desolation of the landscape in winter, the ever-varying beauty of Irish
-clouds, the cry of the hounds in full career among the glens, the beauty
-of the native music, tender, sad, or joyous, and so forth in endless
-variety.
-
-The few examples that follow here, as the reader will at once perceive,
-exhibit vividly this very fine and very attractive characteristic.
-
-The singing of birds had a special charm for the old Irish people. Comgan,
-a poet of the seventh century, standing on the great rath of Knockgraffon
-in Tipperary--one of the old Munster royal residences--which was in his
-time surrounded with woods, uttered the following verse:--
-
-  "This great rath on which I stand
-  Wherein is a little well with a bright silver drinking-cup:
-  Sweet was the voice of the wood of blackbirds
-  Round this rath of King Fiacha."
-
-Among the examples of metre given in an old Irish treatise on prosody is
-the following verse, selected merely for a grammatical purpose:--
-
-  "The bird that calls within the sallow-tree,
-  Beautiful his beak and clear his voice;
-  The tip of the bill of the glossy jet-black bird is a lovely yellow;
-  The note that the merle warbles is a trilling lay."
-
-It would be hard to find a more striking or a prettier conception of the
-power of music in the shape of a bird-song, than the account of Queen
-Blanid's three cows with their three little birds which used to sing to
-them during milking. These cows were always milked into a caldron, but
-submitted reluctantly and gave little milk till the birds came to their
-usual perch--on the cows' ears--and sang for them: then they gave their
-milk freely till the caldron was filled. This corresponds with the effect
-of the milking-songs described at p. 89. (See also for bird-songs, p.
-83.)
-
-Many students of our ancient literature have noticed these characteristics
-of the old Irish and their writings. "Another poem," writes Mr. Alfred
-Nutt, "strikes a note which remains dominant throughout the entire range
-of Ossianic Literature: the note of keen and vivid feeling for certain
-natural conditions. It is a brief description of winter:--
-
-    "A tale here for you: oxen lowing: winter snowing: summer passed away:
-    wind from the north, high and cold: low the sun and short his course:
-    wildly tossing the wave of the sea. The fern burns deep red. Men wrap
-    themselves closely: the wild goose raises her wonted cry: cold seizes
-    the wing of the bird: 'tis the season of ice: sad my tale."
-
-In a certain plain, simple prose narrative in one of our old books, where
-there is not the least effort at fine writing, it is related how, in the
-noon of a summer day, a little child fell over a cliff into the sea. The
-mother ran down shrieking expecting he was dashed to pieces: but she found
-him quite safe "sitting in the trough of the sea"--to quote the lovely
-words of the old writer--"playing with the waves. For the waves would
-reach up to him and laugh round him; and he was laughing at the waves, and
-putting the palm of his hand to the foam of the crest, and he used to lick
-it like the foam of new milk."
-
-In the Life of St. Columkille it is stated that, while residing in Iona,
-he wrote a poem in Irish, a tender reminiscence of his beloved native
-land, in which he expresses himself in this manner:--
-
-    ST. COLUMKILLE'S REMEMBRANCE OF ERIN.
-
-    "How delightful to be on Ben-Edar before embarking on the foam-white
-    sea; how pleasant to row one's little curragh round it, to look upward
-    at its bare steep border, and to hear the waves dashing against its
-    rocky cliffs.
-
-    "A grey eye looks back towards Erin; a grey eye full of tears.
-
-    "While I traverse Alban of the ravens, I think on my little oak grove
-    in Derry. If the tributes and the riches of Alban were mine, from the
-    centre to the uttermost borders, I would prefer to them all one little
-    house in Derry. The reason I love Derry is for its quietness, for its
-    purity, for its crowds of white angels.
-
-    "How sweet it is to think of Durrow: how delightful would it be to
-    hear the music of the breeze rustling through its groves.
-
-    "Plentiful is the fruit in the Western Island--beloved Erin of many
-    waterfalls: plentiful her noble groves of oak. Many are her kings and
-    princes; sweet-voiced her clerics; her birds warble joyously in the
-    woods: gentle are her youths; wise her seniors; comely and graceful
-    her women, of spotless virtue; illustrious her men, of noble aspect.
-
-    "There is a grey eye that fills with tears when it looks back towards
-    Erin. While I stand on the oaken deck of my bark I stretch my vision
-    westwards over the briny sea towards Erin."
-
-Even the place-names scattered over the country--names that remain in
-hundreds to this day--bear testimony to this pleasing feature of the Irish
-character: for we have numerous places still called by names with such
-significations as "delightful wood," "silvery stream," "cluster of nuts"
-(for a hazel wood), "prattling rivulet," "crystal well," "the recess of
-the bird-warbling," "melodious little hill," "the fragrant bush-cluster,"
-and so forth in endless variety.[7]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-There is a very old legend that Ailill Inbanna, king of Connaught in the
-sixth century, earned heaven by his noble self-sacrifice in order to save
-his people. A bitter war was waged between him and the two princes Donall
-and Fergus, sons of the king of Ireland, till at last a decisive battle
-was fought between them at a place called Cúil-Conari, in the present
-county Mayo, in which Ailill was defeated. And at the end of the day, when
-he and his army were in full retreat, the king, sitting in his chariot in
-the midst of the flying multitude, said to his charioteer:--"Cast thine
-eyes back, I pray thee, and tell me if there is much killing of my people,
-and if the slayers are near us." The charioteer did so, and said:--"The
-slaughter that is made on thy people is intolerable." Then said the
-king:--"Not their own guilt, but my pride and unrighteousness it is that
-they are suffering for. Turn now the chariot and let me face the pursuers;
-for as their enmity is against me only, if I am slain it will be the
-redemption of many." The chariot was accordingly turned round, and the
-king plunged amidst his foemen and was slain; on which the pursuit and
-slaughter ceased. That man, says the old legend, by giving up his life, in
-his repentance, to save his people, attained to the Lord's peace.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In the old Irish Canon Law, there was a merciful provision to save the
-family of a dead man from destitution if he died in debt; namely, that
-certain specified valuable articles--such as a cow, a horse, a garment, a
-bed, etc.--belonged to the family, and could not be claimed by a creditor.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The yellow plague wrought dreadful havoc in Ireland--and indeed desolated
-all Europe--in the seventh century. In Ireland at least it appears to have
-attacked adults more than children, so that everywhere through the country
-numbers of little children, whose mothers and fathers had been carried
-off, were left helpless and starving. At this same time lived Ultan, the
-kindly bishop of Ardbraccan in Meath. It wrung his heart to witness these
-piteous scenes of human suffering all round him; and he took steps, so far
-as he was able, to relieve and save the little children. He collected all
-the orphan babes he could find, and brought them to his monastery; and
-procuring a great number of cows' teats, and filling them with milk, he
-put them into the children's mouths with his own hands, and thus contrived
-to feed the little creatures. The number increased daily, so that at last
-he had as many as 150; and as he was not able to do all the work himself,
-he had to call in others to assist him in his noble labour of love.
-
-It is proper to remark here that we find other examples in history of the
-use of a cow's teat for milk-feeding, and that in Russia infants are often
-fed in this way.
-
-All this is remembered to St. Ultan down to the present day; for he is
-often mentioned in old Irish histories, almost always with a remark
-something like this:--"Little children are always playing round Ultan of
-Ardbraccan."
-
-It would be difficult to find an instance where charity is presented in
-greater beauty and tenderness than it is in this simple story of the good
-bishop Ultan.
-
-
-
-
-INDEX.
-
-
-  Adam and Eve, 83.
-
-  Adze, 136.
-
-  Aenach, a fair, chap. xxi.
-
-  Aghaboe, in Queen's County, 49.
-
-  Agriculture, 35, chap. xvii.
-
-  Agricultural implements, 130.
-
-  Aidan, St., 52, 53.
-
-  Ailech, palace in Donegal, 7.
-
-  Ailell Inbanna, king of Connaught, 166.
-
-  Aillenn, palace of, 8.
-
-  Ainnle, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Airmeda, daughter of Dianket, 98, 99.
-
-  Alban, Scotland, 11, 165.
-
-  Albinus, and Clement, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Ale, 115.
-
-  Alloys, 132.
-
-  Alum, 140.
-
-  American Universities, 44, 45.
-
-  Anglo-Normans, 10, 15, 64.
-
-  Anglo-Saxons, 52.
-
-  Angus Mac-an-oge, 28.
-
-  Animals belonging to farm, 130.
-
-  Annals, the Irish, chap. ix.
-
-  Annals of the Four Masters, 73.
-
-  Antrim, 12.
-
-  Anvil, the smith's, 134.
-
-  Apprenticeship, 138.
-
-  Architects, 131.
-
-  Ardagh Chalice, 97.
-
-  Ardan, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Ardbraccan in Meath, 168.
-
-  Ard-ri, the over-king of Ireland, 1.
-
-  Aristocracy, marks of, 121.
-
-  Armagh, 42.
-
-  Army doctors, 99, 100.
-
-  Art, chap. xii.
-
-  Art the Solitary, king of Ireland, 23.
-
-  Artificers: see Handicrafts and Art.
-
-  Assemblies, Sports, and Pastimes, chap. xxi.
-
-  Assyrian beards, 123.
-
-  Augustine, St., 52.
-
-  Augurs, 26.
-
-
-  Bagpipes, 86.
-
-  Baking, 117.
-
-  Bangor, Co. Down, 42, 43, 49.
-
-  Banqueting Hall at Tara, 106, 111, 112, 150.
-
-  Barbers, 123.
-
-  Barm, 117.
-
-  Baths and bathing, 122, 124.
-
-  Beard, 123.
-
-  Beauty of Nature and Art admired, 161 to 164.
-
-  Bede, the Venerable, 11, 50, 69, 72.
-
-  Bees, 117.
-
-  Beeswax, 118.
-
-  Beetagh, a public hosteller, 119.
-
-  Bell of the Will, the, 39.
-
-  Bellows, described, 134.
-
-  Bells, 38, 39, 88.
-
-  Ben-Edar, now the Hill of Howth, near Dublin, 165.
-
-  Bir, a spit, 115.
-
-  Birds and Bird-net Laws, 155.
-
-  Bird-singing, 162, 163.
-
-  Black in dyeing, 140.
-
-  Blacksmith, 39, 113, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Blanid, Queen, 163.
-
-  Blower, a sort of bellows, 134.
-
-  Blue, in dyeing, 141.
-
-  Boats, 110, 145, 146, 147.
-
-  Bobbio in Italy, 49.
-
-  Book of Kells, 93, 94, 95, 122, 140.
-
-  Book of Lecan, 66.
-
-  Book of Lecan, Yellow, 65.
-
-  Book of Leinster, 65.
-
-  Book of Mac Durnan, 140.
-
-  Book of the Dun Cow, 65, 74.
-
-  Books and Literature, chap. viii.
-
-  Borrowing, 159.
-
-  Boundaries of territories, 129.
-
-  Bracelets, 128.
-
-  Brasiers and their work, 97, 98, 128, 132, 133.
-
-  Brass, 132.
-
-  Brathlang, a covering for a deer-trap, 155.
-
-  Bread, 117.
-
-  Brehon, a judge, 17.
-
-  Brehon Laws, the, chap. iii., 148.
-
-  Brendan the Navigator, St., 43.
-
-  Brewing, 117.
-
-  Brewy, a public hospitaller, 116, 119.
-
-  Bridges, 144.
-
-  Bridles, 145.
-
-  Brigit, St., 36.
-
-  Brigit, the goddesses so named, 28.
-
-  Britain, 50, 52.
-
-  Britannia, 14.
-
-  Britons, 141, 145.
-
-  Bronze, 116, 132, 133, 141.
-
-  Brooch, 126, 128.
-
-  Brugh, now Newgrange on the Boyne, 28.
-
-  Bruree, palace of, 8.
-
-  Builders, 131, 132.
-
-  Bunne-do-at, a kind of gold ornament, 128.
-
-  Butter, 117.
-
-  Buttons, 126, 128.
-
-
-  Caher in Tipperary, 8.
-
-  Caird, a brasier or silversmith, 132, 133.
-
-  Caldron, 116.
-
-  Candles, 118.
-
-  Canon Law, old Irish, 167.
-
-  Cape for shoulders, 125, 141.
-
-  Car in common use, 144.
-
-  Carding wool, 139.
-
-  Carlingford peninsula, 78.
-
-  Carntierna near Fermoy, 28.
-
-  Carpenters, 132.
-
-  Carrigcleena near Mallow, 28.
-
-  Carthage, 56.
-
-  Carving and carvers, 135.
-
-  Cashel, Rock of, 8.
-
-  Castletown Fort, near Dundalk, 77.
-
-  Celts (people), 114.
-
-  Champion, a king's, 4.
-
-  Charcoal, 118.
-
-  Chariot, 144.
-
-  Charioteer, 113, 144, 145.
-
-  Charlemagne, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Cheese, 117.
-
-  Chess and chess-playing, 156.
-
-  Christian Ireland, chap. v.
-
-  Churches, 36, 37, 136, 137.
-
-  Churn, 117.
-
-  Cleena the fairy queen, 28.
-
-  Clement and Albinus, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Cloak, 125, 126.
-
-  Clonard in Meath, 35, 42, 43.
-
-  Clonfert in Galway, 43 (twice).
-
-  Clonmacnoise in King's County, 42.
-
-  Clontarf, Battle of, 69 to 72.
-
-  Clothes and clothing industries, chap. xix.
-
-  Clowns, 153, 156.
-
-  Coats, 125, 126.
-
-  Cogwheels, 134.
-
-  Cóir Anmann, the, 73.
-
-  Colman, abbot of Lindisfarne, 53.
-
-  Colours of dress, 124, 125, 126, 152: see Dyeing.
-
-  Columba, St.: see Columkille.
-
-  Columbanus, St., 49.
-
-  Columkille, St., 29, 52.
-
-  Combs and combing, 122, 124.
-
-  Comgall, St., 43.
-
-  Commerce, 147.
-
-  Commons (land), 131.
-
-  Compasses (for circles), 136.
-
-  Conall Kernagh, 77, 122.
-
-  Conari, king of Ireland, 156, 157.
-
-  Concobar or Conor mac Nessa, 7, 76, 78, 158.
-
-  Congal, Prince, 125.
-
-  Conn the Hundred Fighter, king of Ireland, 30.
-
-  Connla of the Golden Hair, Prince, 30, 31, 32.
-
-  Convents, 36.
-
-  Cooks and cooking, 115, 116, 154.
-
-  Cooley or Quelne, 78.
-
-  Coopers, 136.
-
-  Copper, 130, 131, 132.
-
-  Copyists, 63.
-
-  Cormac Mac Art, king of Ireland, 23, 24, 77, 111.
-
-  Cormac's Glossary, written by archbishop Cormac Mac Cullenan, king of
-      Munster, died A.D. 807, 16.
-
-  Corn, 130.
-
-  Coursing and coursing hounds, 155.
-
-  Courts of justice, 17, 18.
-
-  Cows, 130.
-
-  Cow's teat as feeding-bottle, 168.
-
-  Craebh-ciuil, 88.
-
-  Craglea near Killaloe, 28.
-
-  Crannoge, a lake-dwelling, 110.
-
-  Creeveroe at Emain, 77.
-
-  Crescents for the neck, 96, 128.
-
-  Criffan the Great, king of Ireland, 14.
-
-  Crimson in dyeing, 140, 141.
-
-  Crochet-work, 139.
-
-  Croghan, palace of, 8, 78, 137, 149, 150.
-
-  Crops, 130.
-
-  Cross of Cong, the, 97.
-
-  Crossans, gleemen, 157.
-
-  Cuculainn, 77, 78.
-
-  Cúil-Conari in Connaught, 166.
-
-  Curath-mir, the hero's morsel, 113.
-
-  Curds, 117.
-
-  Curragh, a wicker-boat, a coracle, 10, 143, 145, 146, 147.
-
-  Curragh of Kildare, 153.
-
-  Cycles of Irish Tales, 76, 77, 78.
-
-
-  Danes, the, 37, 57, 64, 69, 72.
-
-  Dark Ages, 51.
-
-  Decies in Waterford, 15.
-
-  Dedannans, the colony preceding the Milesians. The Irish gods and
-      fairies were mostly Dedannans; 76: see chap. iv.
-
-  Deece baronies near Tara, 15.
-
-  Deirdre, 121.
-
-  Dermot O'Dyna, 79.
-
-  Derry, 43, 165.
-
-  Desii, the tribe of, 15.
-
-  Dianket, the Irish god of medicine, 98, 99.
-
-  Dinner, 111, 115.
-
-  Dinnree in Carlow, 8.
-
-  Dinnsenchus, the, 73.
-
-  Diseases, 104.
-
-  Distaff and spindle, 139.
-
-  Divination, 25.
-
-  Divinity taught in schools, 48.
-
-  Domnall, king of Ireland, 125, 158.
-
-  Donall, Prince, 166.
-
-  Donegal, 52.
-
-  Donegal, Monastery of, 73.
-
-  Donn, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  Dress, chap. xvi.
-
-  Drink, 115.
-
-  Druids, 24, 25, 26, 40.
-
-  Drum Ketta, 158. (See this in Index of History of Ireland.)
-
-  Drunkenness, 115.
-
-  Dundalgan, Dundalk, 77.
-
-  Dunlavin in Wicklow, 8.
-
-  Dunstan, St., 57.
-
-  Durrow in King's County, 43.
-
-  Dyeing, 139, 140, 141.
-
-  Dyeing the face, hair, etc., 121, 122, 123.
-
-  Dyfed in Wales, 15.
-
-
-  Ecclesiastical Schools, chap. vi.
-
-  Eclipses, 68, 69.
-
-  Education, 75, 81, 82.
-
-  Eevin or Eevil the fairy queen, 28.
-
-  Egypt, 50, 55.
-
-  Election of kings, 2.
-
-  Elements, worship of, 29.
-
-  Emain or Emania, 7, 76, 137, 149, 150.
-
-  Embroidery, 142, 153.
-
-  Endymion, poem of, 161.
-
-  England, 52, 53, 57, 62.
-
-  Engravers, 135.
-
-  Erc, Concobar's grandson, 158.
-
-  Eric of Auxerre, 53.
-
-  Ethicus of Istria, 61.
-
-  Eyebrows dyed black, 121.
-
-  Eyelids, dyed black, 54, 121.
-
-
-  Fairies, 27 to 32, 109.
-
-  Fairs, chap. xxi.
-
-  Farm animals, 130.
-
-  Farm fences, 129.
-
-  Farming implements, 130.
-
-  Faroe Islands, 55.
-
-  Feis, a festival, a great meeting of delegates, 149.
-
-  Fena of Erin, the, 77, 79.
-
-  Fences, 129.
-
-  Fergil the Geometer, 49.
-
-  Fergus, Angus, and Lorne, 12.
-
-  Fergus, Prince, 166.
-
-  Fergus Mac Roy, 77.
-
-  Fer-leginn, the principal of a college, 46.
-
-  Ferryboats, 110, 144.
-
-  Fiacha Mullehan, king of Ireland, 163.
-
-  Finan, abbot of Lindisfarne, 53.
-
-  Finger-nails, 121.
-
-  Finn mac Coole, or Finn, son of Cumal, 77, 79.
-
-  Finnen or Finnian, St., 35.
-
-  Fish and Fishing, 155.
-
-  Fishing weirs, 155.
-
-  Flageolets, 86.
-
-  Flax, 139, 140.
-
-  Fleshfork, 117.
-
-  Flint and steel, 118.
-
-  Food, chap. xv.
-
-  Fools (for amusement), 156.
-
-  Fords, 144.
-
-  Foreign conquests, chap. ii.
-
-  Foreign merchants, 147, 153.
-
-  Foreign missions, chap. vii.
-
-  Forge, a blacksmith's, tools in, 134.
-
-  Forks and knives, 114.
-
-  Forts, or lisses, or raths, 16, 109.
-
-  Fortune-tellers, 26.
-
-  Founders (in metals), 118, 132, 133.
-
-  Four Masters, the, 73.
-
-  France, 21, 50, 57, 58, 120.
-
-  Free circuit of kings, 5.
-
-  Frieze, 125.
-
-  Frith of Clyde, 11.
-
-  Frock-coat, 125.
-
-  Fuel, 118, 134.
-
-  Fulling cloth, 138, 139.
-
-  Furnace, 134.
-
-  Furs of animals, 124.
-
-
-  Game, different kinds of, 154, 155.
-
-  Ganntree, mirth-music, 88.
-
-  Garters, 127.
-
-  Gauls, the, 9, 109, 113, 145.
-
-  Germany, 50, 57, 120.
-
-  Gildas, the British writer, 147.
-
-  Giraldus Cambrensis, 84.
-
-  Girdle, 118, 125, 126, 127.
-
-  Glasheen, the woad-plant, 22, 23, 141.
-
-  Glastonbury, 57.
-
-  Gleemen, 157.
-
-  Gloves, 127.
-
-  Goad for horses, 145.
-
-  Goaling or hurling, 155.
-
-  Gobha, a smith, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Gods, the pagan Irish, 27 to 30.
-
-  Goibniu, the Irish smith-god, 134.
-
-  Gold-plate ornament, 128.
-
-  Goldsmiths and their work, 97, 98, 128, 132.
-
-  Goll-tree, sorrow music, 88.
-
-  Gorgets, 96, 128.
-
-  Gospels, 93, 94.
-
-  Great Britain, 50, 52, 57.
-
-  Greece, 51, 151.
-
-  Greek language, 48.
-
-  Greeks, the, 81, 113, 114, 122, 139, 144, 152.
-
-  Greenan, a summer-house, the women's apartment, 108.
-
-  Greenan Ely, 7.
-
-  Greyhounds, 155.
-
-  Griffith ap Conan, king of Wales, 84.
-
-  Grindstone, 136.
-
-  Guests, 4.
-
-
-  Hair, 122, 123, 127.
-
-  Handbag for ladies, 127, 142.
-
-  Handicrafts, chap. xviii.
-
-  Harp, the, and harpers, 83, 85, 86.
-
-  Hat, 127.
-
-  Haughton, the Rev. Dr., 70, 71.
-
-  Head covering, 127.
-
-  Heads of pigs and oxen, for smiths, 113.
-
-  Heaven, the pagan Irish, 30, 31, 32.
-
-  Heptarchy, the, 52.
-
-  Hermits, 36.
-
-  Hero's morsel, 113.
-
-  Historical and Romantic Tales, 41, chap. x.
-
-  Holyhead, 16.
-
-  Holy wells, 38.
-
-  Honey, 116, 117, 118.
-
-  Hood, 125, 127.
-
-  Horns (blowing), 87.
-
-  Horses, and horsemanship, 130, 145, 153.
-
-  Horse-rod, 145.
-
-  Hospitality, 119, 120.
-
-  Hospitals, 104, 105.
-
-  Hostels, free, 119, 120.
-
-  House, the, chap. xiv.
-
-  Household of king, 3, 4, 5.
-
-  House-steward, 3.
-
-  Hunting, 154.
-
-  Hurling or goaling, 155.
-
-
-  I-Brassil, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Iceland, 55.
-
-  Idols, the Irish, 27, 29.
-
-  Inauguration of kings, 2.
-
-  Insanity, 25.
-
-  Interest on loans, 159.
-
-  Intoxicating drink, 115.
-
-  Iona, 52.
-
-  Irishmen's cottages in Wales, 16.
-
-  Iron, 130, 131.
-
-  Island of Saints and Scholars, the, chap. vi., 51.
-
-  Isle of Man, 12, 13.
-
-  Isthmian games of Greece, 151.
-
-  Italy, 50, 57, 60.
-
-
-  Jesters, 156.
-
-  John Macananty, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  John Scotus Erigena, 49.
-
-  Joints for special persons, 113.
-
-  Joseph's coat of many colours, 125.
-
-  Josina, king of Scotland, 99.
-
-  Jugglers, 153, 156, 157.
-
-  Julius Cæsar, 9, 146.
-
-
-  Keats the poet, 161.
-
-  Keens or laments, 89.
-
-  Kehern, 100.
-
-  Keltar of the Battles, 77.
-
-  Kent, 52.
-
-  Kildare, 36, 42, 95.
-
-  Kilmallock Abbey, 47, note.
-
-  Kilt, 126.
-
-  Kincora, palace of, 8.
-
-  Kings, chap. i.
-
-  Kiss on cheek as salutation, 158.
-
-  Kitchen garden, 110.
-
-  Kitchen, a relish or condiment, 117.
-
-  Kitchen utensils, 116.
-
-  Knives and forks, 114.
-
-  Knockaulin fort, 8.
-
-  Knockfierna in Limerick, 28.
-
-
-  Laeghaire, king of Ireland, 19, 26.
-
-  Laery the Victorious, 77.
-
-  Lambrat, a napkin, 114.
-
-  Lathes, 136.
-
-  Latin, 48.
-
-  Law books, 19, 20.
-
-  Law to be obeyed by kings, 6.
-
-  Lay schools, 40, 41, 42, 43.
-
-  Lead, 131.
-
-  Learning, chap. vi.
-
-  Leather and leather-work, 142, 143.
-
-  Leaven, 117.
-
-  Leggings, 126.
-
-  Letters of English alphabet, 62.
-
-  Lichen for dyeing, 141.
-
-  Liffey, the river, 72.
-
-  Light, 118.
-
-  Linen, 124, 139.
-
-  Lis or Liss, a circular fort, 16, 109.
-
-  Lismore in Waterford, 42.
-
-  Locomotion, chap. xx.
-
-  Louth, Co. of, 78.
-
-  Luncheon, 111.
-
-
-  Mac Con, king of Ireland, 22, 23.
-
-  Madness, 25.
-
-  Maive, queen of Connaught, 78.
-
-  Man, Isle of, 12, 13.
-
-  Mannanan Mac Lir, the Irish sea-god, 27, 28.
-
-  Mantle, 125.
-
-  Manure, 130.
-
-  Manuscripts, 63.
-
-  Manx language, 13.
-
-  Markets in fairs, 153.
-
-  Marriages and Marriage Hollow at Tailltenn, 151.
-
-  Marshal, the, 112.
-
-  Masons, 132.
-
-  Mead or metheglin, 115, 118.
-
-  Meals, 111.
-
-  Medical books, 101, 102.
-
-  Medicinal herbs, 98, 99, 100, 104.
-
-  Medicine and medical doctors, chap. xiii.
-
-  Metal-work and metal-workers, 95, 132, 134. See Brasiers, and Goldsmiths.
-
-  Meyer, Dr. Kuno, 80.
-
-  Midac, son of Dianket, 98.
-
-  Migrations of Irish to Scotland, 11, 12, 72.
-
-  Migrations of Irish to Wales, 13.
-
-  Milesian colony, 76.
-
-  Milk, 115, 117.
-
-  Milking, 131.
-
-  Milking-songs, 89.
-
-  Mills, 117, 130.
-
-  Mine on a farm, 130.
-
-  Mines and mining, 131.
-
-  Mirth-music, 88.
-
-  Missionaries, chap. vii., 120, 121.
-
-  Monasterboice near Drogheda, 43.
-
-  Monasteries, 34, 35, 36, 120.
-
-  Monastic schools, 40 to 51.
-
-  Monks, 34.
-
-  Montalembert, 55.
-
-  Moore, Thomas, 90.
-
-  Mortar, 136.
-
-  Moulds for metal-casting, 133.
-
-  Moy Mell, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Munster, 11, 140.
-
-  Music, chap. xi., 115, 152.
-
-  Musical Branch, 88.
-
-  Mythological period of Irish Tales, 76.
-
-
-  Naas in Kildare, 8.
-
-  Nails (of fingers), 121.
-
-  Naisi, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Names of Places, 165, 166.
-
-  Napkins, 114.
-
-  Nature closely observed, 162.
-
-  Necklaces, 128.
-
-  Necklets, 96.
-
-  Needle and needlework, 141, 142.
-
-  Niall of the Nine Hostages, 14, 15.
-
-  Nobles, 2.
-
-  Norsemen, 12.
-
-  Northumberland, Northumbria, and Northumbrians, 52, 53.
-
-  Nuns, 36.
-
-
-  O'Cassidys, the, 101.
-
-  O'Clerys, the, 73.
-
-  O'Curry, Professor Eugene, 20.
-
-  O'Donovan, Dr. John, 20, 73.
-
-  Ogham writing, 61, 62.
-
-  O'Hickeys, the, 101.
-
-  Old age and destitution, provision for, 160.
-
-  O'Lees, the, 101.
-
-  Ollam Fodla, king of Ireland, 149.
-
-  Ollave, a doctor of any profession, 3, 112, 113, 132, 149.
-
-  O'Loghlin, Donall, king of Ireland, 39.
-
-  Olympian games of Greece, 151.
-
-  O'Mulconry, Ferfesa, 73.
-
-  Orkney Islands, 55.
-
-  Ornaments, personal, 128.
-
-  Oscar, son of Ossian, 79.
-
-  O'Shiels, the, 101.
-
-  Ossian, son of Finn, 79.
-
-  Oswald, king of Northumbria, 53.
-
-  Outdoor relief, 160.
-
-  Oxen, 130.
-
-
-  Pagan Ireland, chap. iv.
-
-  Pagan schools, 40.
-
-  Painters, 135.
-
-  Painting or dyeing the face, 121, 122.
-
-  Palaces, 6, 7, 8.
-
-  Paris, 49, 59.
-
-  Pasturage and tillage, chap. xvii.
-
-  Patrick, St., 15, 19, 26, 29, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 61, 96.
-
-  Pavia in Italy, 60.
-
-  Peat, 118.
-
-  Penal Laws, 85.
-
-  Penwork, 92.
-
-  Periods or cycles of Irish Tales, 76, 77, 78.
-
-  Picts and Scots, 10, 13, 14.
-
-  Pigs, 130.
-
-  Pillar-stones as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Pillar-stones as idols, 29.
-
-  Pins, 126.
-
-  Place-names, 165, 166.
-
-  Planes (carpentry), 136.
-
-  Pledging for loan, 159.
-
-  Plough whistles, 90.
-
-  Poets and poetry, 41, 81, 82.
-
-  Pond for cattle, 130.
-
-  Poor-laws, 160, 161.
-
-  Poor scholars, 44, 45.
-
-  Pope, the, 56.
-
-  Porridge, 117.
-
-  Potters wheel, 136.
-
-  Printing, 60.
-
-  Professions, 3, 41, 101.
-
-  Provinces, the five, 1.
-
-  Purple in dyeing, 141.
-
-
-  Quelne or Cooley, 78.
-
-  Querns, 117.
-
-
-  Races, 153.
-
-  Ramparts as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Rath or lis, a circular fort, 16, 109.
-
-  Razors, 123.
-
-  Recitation of stories and poems, 81, 152.
-
-  Red in dyeing, 140.
-
-  Red Branch Knights, 7, 76 to 79, 113.
-
-  Relieving officer, 161.
-
-  Rélta na bh-filedh, the meeting-house for the ollaves at Tara, 150.
-
-  Residences of kings, 6, 7, 8.
-
-  Retinue of kings, 3, 4.
-
-  Revenue of kings, 5.
-
-  Rhapsodists of Greece, 152.
-
-  Rings, 128.
-
-  Rivers as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Road through or by farm, 130.
-
-  Roads, 143, 144.
-
-  Roads as boundaries between territories, 129.
-
-  Rock of Cashel, 8.
-
-  Roman classical writers, 10, 11.
-
-  Roman walls between England and Scotland, 11.
-
-  Romans, 114, 115, 122, 144, 145.
-
-  Rome, 51, 56.
-
-  Rosscarbery in Cork, 43.
-
-  Round Towers, 37, 136, 137.
-
-  Rushlight, 118.
-
-  Ruskin, 125.
-
-
-  Sacred groves round monasteries, 39.
-
-  Sacred armistice of the Greeks, 152.
-
-  Saer, a mason or carpenter, 133.
-
-  Sai-re-caird, a head craftsman, 137.
-
-  Salmon, 117.
-
-  Salt, 116.
-
-  Saltair, of Tara, 150.
-
-  Salutation, modes of, 158.
-
-  Samain, 1st November, 149.
-
-  Satin, 124, 126.
-
-  Schools and colleges, chap. vi.
-
-  Science, various branches of, taught in Irish schools, 48.
-
-  Scotland, 10, 11, 12, 52, 72, 82, 86, 89, 90, 91, 112, 113, 126, 150.
-
-  Scots, _i.e._, the Irish, 9, 10, 58.
-
-  Scottish harpers and music, 84.
-
-  Scrabo near Newtownards, 28.
-
-  Scribes, 63.
-
-  Scriptures, the Holy, 48.
-
-  Sedulius, 49.
-
-  Senchus Mór, Great Law Book, 19, 20.
-
-  Sewing, 141.
-
-  Shanachie, a storyteller, a historian, 74, 81, 112.
-
-  Shears, 138.
-
-  Shee, fairies and fairy-dwellings, 27, 28, 29.
-
-  Sheep, 130.
-
-  Shellfish in dyeing, 141.
-
-  Shield, 112.
-
-  Ships, 146.
-
-  Shirt, 126.
-
-  Shoes, 127.
-
-  Shoes taken off at meals, 115.
-
-  Showmen, 153.
-
-  Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell, 39.
-
-  Silversmiths: see Goldsmiths.
-
-  Sick maintenance in a hospital, 105.
-
-  Sieves, 117.
-
-  Silk, 124, 126.
-
-  Singing, 115, 152.
-
-  Singing of birds, 162.
-
-  Skewers, 115.
-
-  Slaan, a turf-spade, 118.
-
-  Sleeping accommodation, 108.
-
-  Sleep-music, 89.
-
-  Smiths, 39, 113, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Soap, 124.
-
-  Solway Frith, 11.
-
-  Soothsayers, 26.
-
-  Sorrow-music, 88.
-
-  Spear-heads, 133.
-
-  Speckled Book, 65.
-
-  Spinning, spindles, and wheel, 139, 140.
-
-  Spinning-wheel songs, 89.
-
-  Spit for cooking, 115, 116.
-
-  Spunk, tinder, 118.
-
-  Spurs, none used, 145.
-
-  Squire or shield-bearer, 112.
-
-  Steel, 141.
-
-  Stilicho, 14.
-
-  Stirabout, 117.
-
-  Stokes, Miss Margaret, 93.
-
-  Stokes, Dr. Whitley, 80.
-
-  Stone-building, 107, 132, 136.
-
-  Stuarts, the, 12.
-
-  Styles of Irish music, 88.
-
-  Suantree, sleep-music, 89.
-
-  Swimming, 144.
-
-
-  Tables, 114.
-
-  Tailltenn, fair of, 150.
-
-  Táin bo Quelne, story of the, 78, 79.
-
-  Tales, the Irish Historical and Romantic, 41, chap. x.
-
-  Tanning, 142, 143.
-
-  Tara, 1, 7, 26, 111, 143, 146, 149.
-
-  Tara, Plan of, _Frontispiece_.
-
-  Tara Brooch, 97.
-
-  Teernanoge or Tirnanoge, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Teltown in Meath: see Tailltenn.
-
-  Theodosius, 13.
-
-  Theology, 48.
-
-  Things of beauty, 161, 162.
-
-  Three Orders of Irish Saints, 34 to 36.
-
-  Tierna, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  Tillage and pasturage, chap. xvii.
-
-  Timpan and timpanists, 85, 86.
-
-  Tin, 131, 132.
-
-  Tinder, 118.
-
-  Tinne-crassa, fire from flint and steel, 118.
-
-  Tirconnell, now Donegal, 52.
-
-  Tlachtga, fair of, 150, 151.
-
-  Todd, the Rev. Dr., 70, 71.
-
-  Tools of various handicraftsmen, 136.
-
-  Torques for the neck, 128.
-
-  Towns, 106.
-
-  Trades, how learned, 138.
-
-  Tradesmen of the various crafts, 135: see Handicrafts.
-
-  Traps for wild animals, 154, 155.
-
-  Travelling, 143.
-
-  Trousers, 126.
-
-  Trumpets and trumpeters, 87, 112, 133.
-
-  Turf for firing, 118.
-
-  Tyrian purple, 141.
-
-
-  Ulster, 76, 78, 139.
-
-  Ultan, St., 167, 168.
-
-  Universities, the Irish, 48.
-
-  Ushnagh, fair of, 150, 151.
-
-  Usna, sons of, 77.
-
-
-  Van Helmont, the physician, 103.
-
-  Various customs, chap. xxii.
-
-  Veil, 127.
-
-  Verse, 81, 82.
-
-  Vessels, makers of, 136.
-
-  Vulcan, 133.
-
-
-  Wales, 10, 15, 16.
-
-  War of the Irish with the Danes, 69, 70.
-
-  Warfare, chap. ii.
-
-  War-marches (music), 90.
-
-  Water, digging for, 130.
-
-  Watermills, 117.
-
-  Wax candles, 118.
-
-  Weaving, 139.
-
-  Weirs for fishing, 155.
-
-  Wells, 29, 37, 38.
-
-  Welsh, 84, 141.
-
-  Westwood, Professor, 94.
-
-  Whistles, 86.
-
-  Wickerwork building, 107, 144.
-
-  Wine, 115.
-
-  Wolfdog, 154.
-
-  Wolves, 154.
-
-  Wood, a, on a farm, 130.
-
-  Wood cleared off the land, 129.
-
-  Wood for working, 131.
-
-  Wood-building, 107, 132.
-
-  Wood-workers, 135: see Carpenters.
-
-  Wool and woollens, 124, 126, 138, 139, 141.
-
-  Writing, art of, 60, 61.
-
-
-  Yeast, 117.
-
-  Yellow Book of Lecan, 65.
-
-  Yellow Plague, the, 167.
-
-  Yew-tree and wood, 135.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Many of the provisions of the Brehon Laws, such as those relating to
-Land, to Offences, Compensations, and Punishments; to Professions, Trades,
-and Industries; to the mutual duties of the various classes of people,
-from the king down to the slave; to the modes of summoning wrong-doers
-before the brehons' courts, with a description of the manner in which
-trials were conducted; and various other details, will be found in my two
-Social Histories of Ancient Iceland.
-
-[2] Freely translated (in "Old Celtic Romances") by Dr. Joyce, from the
-old poem in the original Irish version.
-
-[3] I saw the same custom in full swing in some of the lay schools before
-1847. Many a time I prepared my lesson--with some companions--sitting on
-the grass beside the old abbey in Kilmallock, or perched on the top of the
-ivy-mantled wall.
-
-[4] The Irishmen who went to the Continent in those times always took
-Latin names, which were generally translations of their Irish names.
-
-[5] Translated in my "Reading Book in Irish History."
-
-[6] Translated in my "Old Celtic Romances."
-
-[7] For the originals of all the above names, and for numerous others of a
-like kind, see Irish Names of Places, vol. II., chap. IV., on "Poetical
-and Fancy Names."
-
-
-
-
-WORKS BY P. W. JOYCE, M.A., LL.D., T.C.D.; M.R.I.A.
-
-  ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE
-  ANCIENT LAWS OF IRELAND;
-  PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, IRELAND;
-  LATE PRINCIPAL, MARLBOROUGH STREET TRAINING COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
-
-
-_Two Splendid Volumes, richly gilt, both cover and top._
-
-_With 361 Illustrations. Price £1 1s. net._
-
-A SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND.
-
-A Complete Survey of the Social Life and Institutions of Ancient Ireland.
-All the important Statements are proved home by references to authorities
-and by quotations from ancient documents.
-
-Of the 31 Chapter headings, 27 are the same as those given below for the
-Smaller Social History.
-
-
-_One Vol., Cloth gilt. 598 pages, 213 Illustrations. Price 3s. 6d. net._
-
-A SMALLER SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND,
-
-Treating Of the Government, Military System, and Law; Religion, Learning,
-and Art; Trades, Industries, and Commerce; Manners, Customs, and Domestic
-Life of the Ancient Irish People.
-
-Traverses the same ground as the larger work above; but besides
-condensation, most of the quotations and nearly all the references to
-authorities are omitted in this book.
-
-PART I.--Government, Military System, and Law.--Chapter I. A Preliminary
-Bird's-eye View--II. Government by Kings--III. Warfare--IV. The Brehon
-Laws.
-
-PART II.--Religion, Learning, and Art.--Chapter V. Paganism--VI.
-Christianity--VII. Learning and Education--VIII. Irish Language and
-Literature--IX. Ecclesiastical and Religious Writings--X. Annals,
-Histories, and Genealogies--XI. Historical and Romantic Tales--XII.
-Art--XIII. Music--XIV. Medicine and Medical Doctors.
-
-PART III.--Social and Domestic Life.--Chapter XV. The Family--XVI. The
-House--XVII. Food, Fuel, and Light--XVIII. Dress and Personal
-Adornment--XIX. Agriculture and Pasturage--XX. Workers in Wood, Metal, and
-Stone--XXI. Corn Mills--XXII. Trades and Industries connected with
-Clothing--XXIII. Measures, Weights, and Mediums of Exchange--XXIV.
-Locomotion and Commerce--XXV. Public Assemblies, Sports, and
-Pastimes--XXVI. Various Social Customs and Observances--XXVII. Death and
-Burial. Index.
-
-
-_Third Edition. Thick Crown 8vo. 565 pages. Price 10s. 6d._
-
-A SHORT HISTORY OF IRELAND
-
-FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1608.
-
-
-_Cloth gilt. 528 pages. Price 3s. 6d._
-
-_Published in December, 1897: now in its 70th Thousand._
-
-A CHILD'S HISTORY OF IRELAND,
-
-WITH
-
-Specially drawn Map and 160 Illustrations,
-
-Including a Facsimile in full colours of a beautiful Illuminated Page of
-the Book of Mac Durnan, A.D. 850.
-
-Besides having a very large circulation here at home, this book has been
-adopted by the Australian Catholic Hierarchy for all their Schools in
-Australia and New Zealand; and also by the Catholic School Board of New
-York for their Schools.
-
-
-_Cloth. 312 pages. 24th Thousand. Price 2s._
-
-A CONCISE HISTORY OF IRELAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1837.
-
-With Introductory Chapters on the Literature, Laws, Buildings, Music, Art,
-&c., of the Ancient Irish People.
-
-
-_Cloth. 160 pages. Price 9d._
-
-OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1905.
-
-_50th Thousand._
-
-"This little book is intended mainly for use in schools; and it is
-accordingly written in very simple language. But I have some hope that
-those of the general public who wish to know something of the subject, but
-who are not prepared to go into details, may also find it useful.... I
-have put it in the form of a consecutive narrative, avoiding statistics
-and scrappy disconnected statements."--_Preface._
-
-
-_Seventh Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. Vol. I., Price 5s.; Vol. II.,
-5s._
-
-(_Sold together or separately._)
-
-THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF IRISH NAMES OF PLACES.
-
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-_Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Price 1s._
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-IRISH LOCAL NAMES EXPLAINED.
-
-In this little book the original Gaelic forms, and the meanings, of the
-names of five or six thousand different places are explained. The
-pronunciation of all the principal Irish words is given as they occur.
-
-
-_New Edition. Cloth. Price 3s. 6d._
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-OLD CELTIC ROMANCES.
-
-Twelve of the most beautiful of the Ancient Irish Romantic Tales
-translated from the Gaelic.
-
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-_Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Price 1s._
-
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-
-
-_Cloth. 220 pages. With many Illustrations. Price 1s. 6d._
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-
-This book contains forty-nine Short Readings, including "Customs and Modes
-of Life"; an Account of Religion and Learning; Sketches of the Lives of
-Saints Brigit and Columkille; several of the Old Irish Romantic Tales,
-including the "Sons of Usna," the "Children of Lir," and the "Voyage of
-Maeldune"; the history of "Cahal-More of the Wine-red Hand," and of Sir
-John de Courcy; an account of Ancient Irish Physicians, and of Ancient
-Irish Music, &c., &c.
-
-
-_Fourth Edition. 4to. Price--Cloth, 3s.; Wrapper, 1s. 6d._
-
-ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC,
-
-Containing One Hundred Airs never before published, and a number of
-Popular Songs.
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-_Paper cover. 4to. Price 1s._
-
-IRISH MUSIC AND SONG.
-
-A Collection of Songs in the Irish language, set to the old Irish airs.
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-Language.")
-
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-_Second Edition. Paper cover. Crown 8vo. Price 6d. net._
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 <p class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></p>
 <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
@@ -5459,384 +5421,7 @@ Latin names, which were generally translations of their Irish names.</p>
 like kind, see Irish Names of Places, vol. <span class="smcaplc">II.</span>, chap. <span class="smcaplc">IV.</span>, on “Poetical
 and Fancy Names.�</p>
 
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-Project Gutenberg's The Story of Ancient Irish Civilization, by P. W. Joyce
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT IRISH CIVILIZATION ***
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-http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
-generously made available by The Internet Archive.)
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-ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: PLAN OF TARA, AS IT EXISTS AT THE PRESENT DAY.
-
-Constructed to illustrate Dr. Joyce's Social Histories of Ancient Ireland.
-
-From the two Plans given by Petrie in his Essay on Tara.]
-
-
-
-
-  THE STORY OF ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION
-
-
-  BY P. W. JOYCE, LL.D., M.R.I.A.
-  _One of the Commissioners for the Publication
-  of the Ancient Laws of Ireland President of the
-  Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland_
-
-
-  LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
-  DUBLIN: M. H. GILL & SON, LTD.
-  1907
-
-
-
-
-_Printed by_ PONSONBY & GIBBS, _University Press, Dublin_.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-This little book has been written and published with the main object of
-spreading as widely as possible among our people, young and old, a
-knowledge of the civilisation and general social condition of Ireland from
-the fifth or sixth to the twelfth century, when it was wholly governed by
-native rulers. The publication comes at an appropriate time, when there is
-an awakening of interest in the Irish language, and in Irish lore of every
-kind, unparalleled in our history.
-
-But the book has a further mission. There are many English and many
-Anglo-Irish people who think, merely from ignorance, that Ireland was a
-barbarous and half-savage country before the English came among the people
-and civilised them. This book, so far as it finds its way among the two
-classes above mentioned, will, I fancy, open their eyes. They will learn
-from it that the old Irish, so far from being barbarous, were a bright,
-intellectual, and cultured people; that they had professions, trades, and
-industries pervading the whole population, with clearly defined ranks and
-grades of society, all working under an elaborate system of native laws;
-and that in the steadying and civilising arts and pursuits of everyday
-life they were as well advanced, as orderly, and as regular as any other
-European people of the same period. They will find too that, as regards
-education, scholarship, and general mental culture, the Irish of those
-early ages were in advance of all other countries of Europe; that they
-helped most materially to spread Christianity, and to revive learning, all
-over the Continent; and that to Irish missionaries and scholars, the
-Anglo-Saxons of the Heptarchy were indebted for the greater part of their
-Christianity, and for the preservation and restoration of learning when it
-was threatened with extinction all over England by the ravages of the
-Danes.
-
-But there were, and are, Englishmen better informed about our country.
-More than three hundred years ago the great English poet, Edmund Spenser,
-lived for some time in Ireland, and made himself well acquainted with its
-history. He knew what it was in past ages; so that in one of his poems he
-speaks of the time
-
-        "When Ireland flourished in fame
-  Of wealth and goodnesse, far above the rest
-  Of all that beare the British Islands name."
-
-But it is better not to pursue these observations farther here, as it
-would be only anticipating what will be found in the body of the book.
-
-This book is the last of a series of three, of which the second is
-abridged from the first, and the third from both.
-
-The First--"A Social History of Ancient Ireland" (2 vols., richly gilt,
-both cover and top, in 31 chapters, with 361 Illustrations)--contains a
-complete survey of the Social Life and Institutions of Ancient Ireland.
-All the important statements in it are proved home by references to
-authorities, and by quotations from ancient documents.
-
-The Second--"A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland" (1 vol., cloth,
-gilt, 598 pages, in 27 chapters, with 213 Illustrations)--traverses the
-same ground as the larger work; but, besides condensation, most of the
-illustrative quotations and nearly all the references to authorities are
-omitted.
-
-This Third book--"The Story of Ancient Irish Civilisation"--gives in
-simple, plain language, an account of the condition of the country in the
-olden time; but as it is here to speak for itself, I need not describe it
-further. For all the statements it contains, full and satisfactory
-authorities will be found in the two larger works.
-
-I have done my best to make all three readable and interesting, as well as
-instructive.
-
-The ordinary history of our country has been written by many, and the
-reader has a wide choice. But in the matter of our Social History he has
-no choice at all. For these three books of mine have, for the first and
-only time, brought within the reach of the general public a knowledge of
-the whole social life of Ancient Ireland.
-
-P. W. J.
-
-  LYRE-NA-GRENA,
-  _February, 1907_.
-
-
-
-
-The old Irish writers commonly prefixed to their books or treatises a
-brief statement of "Place, Time, Person, and Cause." My larger Social
-History, following the old custom, opens with a statement of this kind,
-which reappears in the Preface to the Smaller Social History, and which
-may be appropriately repeated here:--
-
-    _The Place, Time, Author, and Cause of Writing, of this book,
-    are:--Its place is Lyre-na-Grena, Leinster-road, Rathmines, Dublin;
-    its time is the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven;
-    the author is Patrick Weston Joyce, Doctor of Laws; and the cause of
-    writing the same book is to give glory to God, honour to Ireland, and
-    knowledge to those who desire to learn all about the Old Irish
-    People._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER.                                                            PAGE
-
-  I. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS
-  AND CHIEFS                                                             1
-
-  II. HOW THE WARLIKE OLD IRISH CONQUERED FOREIGN LANDS                  8
-
-  III. HOW KINGS, CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE WERE SUBJECT TO THE BREHON
-  LAWS                                                                  17
-
-  IV. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH LIVED AS PAGANS                             24
-
-  V. HOW THE IRISH PEOPLE LIVED AS CHRISTIANS                           33
-
-  VI. HOW IRELAND BECAME THE MOST LEARNED COUNTRY IN EUROPE             40
-
-  VII. HOW THE IRISH MISSIONARIES AND SCHOLARS SPREAD RELIGION
-  AND LEARNING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES                                     51
-
-  VIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH WROTE DOWN ALL THEIR LITERATURE,
-  AND HOW BOOKS INCREASED AND MULTIPLIED                                60
-
-  IX. HOW THE IRISH SCHOLARS COMPILED THEIR ANNALS                      67
-
-  X. HOW THE IRISH DERIVED AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION FROM
-  HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC TALES                                         74
-
-  XI. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN MUSIC                           82
-
-  XII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN ART                            92
-
-  XIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PHYSICIANS WERE SKILLED IN
-  MEDICINE                                                              98
-
-  XIV. HOW THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES        106
-
-  XV. HOW THEY ATE, DRANK, FEASTED, AND ENTERTAINED                    111
-
-  XVI. HOW THE PEOPLE DRESSED                                          121
-
-  XVII. HOW THEY FENCED IN AND TILLED THEIR LAND                       129
-
-  XVIII. HOW IRISH HANDICRAFTSMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR WORK               131
-
-  XIX. HOW THEY PREPARED AND MADE UP CLOTHING MATERIALS                138
-
-  XX. HOW THE IRISH TRAVELLED ON LAND AND WATER                        143
-
-  XXI. HOW THE PEOPLE HELD GREAT CONVENTIONS AND FAIRS; AND HOW
-  THEY AMUSED THEMSELVES                                               148
-
-  XXII. HOW THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE SHOWED ITSELF
-  IN VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS                    158
-
-  INDEX                                                                169
-
-
-
-
-ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS AND CHIEFS.
-
-
-There were in Ireland, from times beyond the reach of history, kings, who
-were of various grades according to the extent of the country or district
-they ruled over. The highest of all was the king of Ireland, who lived in
-the royal palace at Tara. He was called the Ard-ri [ard-ree], _i.e._,
-'High king' or Over-king, because he claimed authority over all the
-others. There was also a king over each of the five provinces--Leinster,
-Munster, Connaught, Ulster, and Meath--who were subject to the Ard-ri. The
-provinces were divided into a number of territories, over which were kings
-of a still lower grade, each under the king of his own province. If the
-district was not large enough to have a king, it was ruled by a chief, who
-was subject to the king of the larger territory in which the district was
-included.
-
-The king was always chosen from one particular ruling family; and when a
-king died, those chiefs who had votes held a meeting, lasting for three
-days and three nights, at which they elected whatever member of that
-family they considered the wisest, best, and bravest. After this a day was
-fixed for inaugurating the new king, a ceremony corresponding in some
-respects with the _crowning_ of our present monarchs. This Inauguration,
-or 'making' of a king as it is called in Irish, was a great affair, and
-was attended by all the leading people, both clergymen and laymen. There
-was always one particular spot for the ceremony, on which usually stood a
-high mound or fort, with an 'Inauguration Stone' on top, and often a great
-branching old tree, under the shade of which the main proceedings were
-carried on.
-
-The new king, standing on the Inauguration Stone, swore a solemn oath in
-the hearing of all, that he would govern his people with strict justice,
-and that he would observe the laws of the land, and maintain the old
-customs of the tribe or kingdom. Then he put by his sword; and one of the
-chiefs, whose special office it was, put into his hand a long, straight,
-white wand. This was to signify that he was to govern, not by violence or
-harshness, but by justice, and that his decisions were to be straight and
-stainless like the wand. Several other forms had to be gone through till
-the ceremony was completed; and he was then the lawful king.
-
-The old Irish kings lived in great style, especially those of the higher
-ranks, and--like the kings of our own day--kept in their palaces numbers
-of persons to attend on them, holding various offices, all with good
-salaries. The higher the grade of the king the greater the number of his
-household, and the grander the persons holding offices. Forming part of
-his retinue there were nobles, who did nothing at all but wait on him,
-merely to do him honour. There were _Ollaves_, i.e., learned and
-distinguished men, of the several professions--Historians, Poets,
-Physicians, Builders, Brehons or Judges, Musicians, and so forth. All were
-held in high honour, and exercised their several professions for the
-benefit of the king and his household, for which each had a house and a
-tract of land free, or some other equivalent stipend.
-
-Then there was a house-steward, who issued orders each day for the
-provisions to be laid in for next day--the number of oxen, sheep, and hogs
-to be slaughtered, the quantity of bread to be baked, and of ale, mead,
-and wine to be measured out; and he regulated the reception of guests,
-their arrangement at banquets, and their sleeping accommodation; with
-numerous other matters of a like kind, all pertaining to the household.
-His word was law, and no one ever thought of questioning his arrangements.
-The house-steward's office was one of great responsibility, and he had
-plenty of anxiety and worry; and accordingly he held a high rank, and was
-well paid for his services.
-
-There was a champion--a fierce and mighty man--who answered challenges,
-and, when necessary, fought single combats for the honour of the king.
-Guards were always at hand, who remained standing up with drawn swords or
-battleaxes during dinner. There was a master of horse, with numerous
-grooms; keepers of the king's jewels and chessboards; couriers or runners
-to convey the king's messages and orders, and to bring him tidings;
-keepers of hounds and coursing dogs; a chief swineherd, with his
-underlings; fools, jugglers, and jesters for the amusement of the company;
-with a whole army of under-servants and workmen of various kinds.
-
-Each day the whole company sat in the great hall at dinner, arranged at
-tables in the order of rank the great grandees and the ollaves near the
-king, others of less importance lower down, while the attendants--when
-they were not otherwise occupied--sat at tables of their own at the lower
-end of the hall. To pay the expenses of his great household, and to enable
-him to live in grandeur as a king should live, he had a large tract of
-land free, besides which, every tenant and householder throughout his
-dominion had to make a yearly payment according to his means. These
-payments were made, not in money--for there was little or no coined money
-then--but _in kind_; that is to say, cattle and provisions of various
-sorts, plough-oxen, hogs, sheep, with mantles and other articles of dress;
-also dyestuffs, sewing-thread, firewood, horses, rich bridles,
-chessboards, jewellery, and sometimes gold and silver reckoned out in
-ounces, as Abraham paid Ephron for the cave of Machpelah. Much income also
-accrued to the king from other sources not mentioned here; and he wanted
-it all, for he was expected to be lavish in giving presents, and
-hospitable without stint in receiving and entertaining guests.
-
-Besides all this, the king often went on what was called a 'Free Circuit,'
-_i.e._, a visitation through his dominions, moving quite leisurely in his
-chariot from place to place, with a numerous retinue, all in their own
-chariots; while the several sub-kings through whose territories he passed
-had to lodge, feed, and entertain the whole company free, while they
-remained.
-
-These old Irish kings--when they were not engaged in war--seem to have led
-a free and easy life, and to have had a pleasanter time of it than the
-kings and emperors of our own day.
-
-The Irish took care that their kings had not too much power in their
-hands; so that they could not always do as they pleased--a proper and wise
-arrangement. They were what we now call 'limited monarchs'; that is, they
-could not enter on any important undertaking affecting the kingdom or the
-public without consulting their people. On such occasions the king had to
-call a meeting of his chief men, and ask their advice, and, if necessary,
-take their votes when there was a difference of opinions. And besides
-this, kings, as we shall see farther on, had to obey the law the same as
-their subjects.
-
-Each king, of whatever grade, should, according to law, have at least
-three chief residences; and he lived in them by turns, as suited his fancy
-or convenience. Nearly all those old palaces are known at the present day;
-and in most of them the ramparts and mounds are still to be seen, more or
-less dilapidated after the long lapse of time. The ruins of the most
-important ones--such as we see them now--are described in some detail in
-my two Social Histories of Ancient Ireland; but here our space will not
-permit us to mention more than a few.
-
-The most important of all is Tara, the chief residence of the over-kings,
-which is situated on the summit of a gentle green hill, six miles from
-Navan in Meath, and two miles from the Midland Railway station of
-Kilmessan. The various mounds, circular ramparts, and other features are
-plainly marked on the plan given at the beginning of this book; and anyone
-who walks over the hill with the plan in his hand can easily recognise
-them.
-
-Next to Tara in celebrity was the palace of Emain or Emania, the residence
-of the kings of Ulster, and the chief home of Concobar Mac Nessa and the
-Red Branch Knights. The imposing remains of this palace, consisting of a
-great mound surrounded by an immense circular rampart and fosse half
-obliterated, the whole structure covering about eleven English acres, lie
-two miles west of Armagh.
-
-Another Ulster palace, quite as important as Emain, was Ailech, the ruins
-of which are situated in County Donegal, on the summit of a hill 800 feet
-high, five miles north-west from Derry. It is a circular stone fortress of
-dry masonry, still retaining its old name in the form of "Greenan-Ely."
-
-The chief palace of the kings of Connaught was Croghan, the old fort of
-which lies three miles from Tulsk in Roscommon.
-
-The most important residence of the Leinster kings was Aillenn, now called
-Knockaulin, an immense fort surrounding the summit of a hill near
-Kilcullen in Kildare.
-
-Besides these there are the Munster palaces, the Rock of Cashel, Kincora
-at Killaloe, Bruree in Limerick, and Caher in Tipperary: also we have Naas
-in Kildare, Dunlavin in Wicklow, Dinnree in Carlow, and many others.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-HOW THE WARLIKE OLD IRISH CONQUERED FOREIGN LANDS.
-
-
-From the remotest times the Irish had a genius for war and a love of
-fighting; and if it fell within the scope of this narrative, it would be
-easy to show that these features in our character have come down to the
-present day. For good or for bad, we are, and always have been, a fighting
-race.
-
-In old times the 'Scots'--as the Irish were then called--were well known
-for their warlike qualities, and very much dreaded; so that fabulous
-rumours regarding them ran among some of the people of the Continent. One
-Latin writer tells us that Irish mothers were wont to present the first
-food on the point of a sword to their newly-born male infants, as a sort
-of dedication to war. This is certainly an invention, for it is not
-mentioned in our own records; but it indicates the character the Irish
-people had earned for themselves abroad. They fought a great deal too much
-among themselves at home; but in this respect they were not a bit worse
-than the English people at the time of the Heptarchy or than the
-Continental nations of the same period.
-
-That the old Irish should be warlike is only what we might expect; seeing
-that they were in great measure descended from the Continental Gauls, who
-in ancient times were renowned as warriors and conquerors. But mighty as
-the Gauls were, and though they were at least as brave as the Romans, they
-were subdued in the end by superior discipline, when Julius Caesar invaded
-them. And so with the old Irish. Though they were fierce and strong, and
-taken man for man quite a match for the Anglo-Normans, they were forced,
-after a long struggle, to yield to science, skill, and discipline, when
-they were invaded by that people--then the greatest warriors in the world.
-
-The Irish were not content with fighting at home, but made themselves
-formidable in foreign lands. Their chief foreign conquests were in Wales
-and Scotland; but they frequently found their way to the Continent. Irish
-literature of every kind abounds in records of foreign raids, invasions,
-and inter-marriages; and in many particulars these native accounts are
-borne out by authorities that no one questions, namely, Roman classical
-writers, whenever they find occasion to touch on these matters.
-
-Those who have read the early history of England will remember that the
-Picts and Scots, marching southwards from the Scottish Highlands, gave
-much trouble, year after year, for a long period, to the Romans and
-Britons. The Picts were the people of Scotland at the time; and the Scots
-were the Irish, who, crossing over to Alban or Scotland in their _curragh_
-fleets, joined the Picts in their formidable raids southwards. We know
-all this, not only from our own native historians, but also from Roman
-writers, who tell us how the Romans had often to fight in Britain against
-the Scots from Ireland.
-
-In order to protect the British people against these two fierce nations,
-the Romans, at different intervals in the second and third centuries,
-built great walls or ramparts from sea to sea, between Britain and Alban,
-of which the ruins are still to be seen: one beginning at the Frith of
-Clyde and another at the Solway Frith.
-
-For several hundred years--from the third to the sixth century, and even
-after--the Irish streamed continually to Scotland across the narrow sea.
-The first of these migrations of which we have reliable accounts
-originated in a famine, exactly as the great exodus of our own day from
-Ireland to America was set going by the terrible famine of 1847. And this
-migration is related partly by old Irish writers, and partly by the great
-English historian, the Venerable Bede.
-
-The famine in question fell on Munster early in the third century, so that
-numbers of people were forced to leave the province. One particular chief
-led a great host of fighting men, with their families, northwards, till
-they reached the extreme district now known as the county Antrim. Here
-they divided: and while one part remained in Ireland (_i.e._, in Antrim),
-the other part, under the same leader mentioned above, crossed over to
-Alban or Scotland, where they settled down. From this time forward, there
-was a continual migration, year after year, from the northern coast to
-Scotland, till, after the lapse of about three centuries, occurred the
-greatest invasion of all, led by the three brothers, Fergus, Angus, and
-Lorne, in the year 503.
-
-It has been already related in our Histories of Ireland, and need not be
-repeated in detail here, how these colonists ultimately mastered the
-country, over which their first king, Fergus, ruled; how they gave
-Scotland its name; how the subsequent kings of Scotland were the direct
-descendants of Fergus; and how from him again, through the Stuarts,
-descend, in one of their lines of pedigree, our present royal family.
-
-At about the same period the Irish mastered and peopled the Isle of Man;
-and for centuries there was constant intercourse between the parent people
-of the north-east coast of Ireland and this little colony. Though the
-Norsemen wrested the sovereignty of the island from them in the ninth
-century, they did not succeed in displacing either the Gaelic people or
-their language. The best possible proof that the Irish colonised and held
-possession of Man for ages is the fact that the Manx language is nothing
-more than Irish Gaelic, slightly changed by lapse of time. There are also
-still to be seen all over the island Irish buildings and monuments, mixed
-up, however, with many of Norse origin; and the great majority of both the
-place-names and the native family-names are Gaelic.
-
-In our old historical books we have accounts of migrations of Irish people
-to Wales, some as invaders intending to return, some as colonists
-purposing to settle and remain. At this time the Romans were masters of
-England and Wales, but they were not as mighty a people in the fourth
-century as they had been previously; for on the Continent the northern
-barbarians were pressing on them everywhere; and in Britain the Picts and
-Scots, as we have said, kept continually harassing them from the north.
-
-These raids became at last so intolerable, that the Roman government sent
-an able general named Theodosius (father of the emperor Theodosius the
-Great) to Britain to check them. At the very time that Theodosius was in
-Britain, a brave and strong-handed king reigned in Tara, named Criffan
-(A.D., 366 to 379), who on several occasions invaded Britain, and took
-possession of large tracts, so that he is called in our old records
-"Criffan the Great, king of Ireland, and of Albion to the British
-Channel." The Roman historians tell us that Theodosius succeeded in
-beating back the Picts and Scots, and even chased them out to sea, in
-which there is probably some exaggeration, as there is, no doubt, on the
-part of our own historians in calling Criffan "King of Albion to the
-British Channel."
-
-Criffan was succeeded by Niall of the Nine Hostages (A.D. 379 to 405), who
-was still more distinguished for foreign conquests than his predecessor.
-He invaded Britain on a more extensive and formidable scale than had yet
-been attempted, and swept over a large extent of country, bringing away
-immense booty and whole crowds of captives, but was at length forced to
-retreat by the valiant Roman general Stilicho. On this occasion a Roman
-poet, praising Stilicho, says of him--speaking as Britannia:--"By him was
-I protected when the Scot [_i.e._, Niall] moved all Ireland against me,
-and the ocean foamed with their hostile oars."
-
-For the extensive scale of these terrible raids we have the testimony of
-the best possible authority--St. Patrick--who, in his "Confession,"
-speaking of the expedition in which he himself was taken captive (probably
-that led by Niall), says:--"I was about sixteen years of age, when I was
-brought captive into Ireland _with many thousand persons_."
-
-The preceding were warlike raids; but no doubt, while the main body of the
-host returned on each occasion to their homes in Ireland, large numbers
-remained and settled down in Wales. But we have an account of at least one
-expedition undertaken with the direct object of colonising. In the third
-century, a powerful tribe called the Desii, who occupied the territory of
-_Deece_, near Tara, were expelled from the district by King Cormac Mac
-Art, for a serious breach of law. Part of these went to Munster, and
-settled in a territory which still bears their name, the barony of Decies,
-in Waterford. Another part, crossing over to Wales under one of their
-leaders, took possession of a district called Dyfed, where they settled
-down and kept themselves distinct as an immigrant tribe, speaking their
-own language for generations, till at length they were absorbed by the
-more numerous population around them, just as, many centuries later, the
-Anglo-Normans who came to Ireland were absorbed by the Irish.
-
-We are told in Cormac's Glossary that in those times it was quite a usual
-thing for Irish chiefs to own two territories, one in Ireland and the
-other in Wales; and that they visited and lived in each by turns, as
-suited their convenience or pleasure. And the Irish chiefs often crossed
-over to receive the tributes due to them from their Welsh possessions.
-
-Plain marks and tokens of these migrations and settlements exist in Wales
-at the present day, as we are told by eminent Welsh writers who have
-examined the question. Numerous places are still called after Irishmen,
-as, for instance, Holyhead, of which the Welsh name means the 'Rocks of
-the Gaels.' The Irish, wherever they settled down in Wales, built for
-themselves circular forts, as was their custom at home in Ireland. Many of
-these remain to this day, and are called 'Irishmen's Cottages.' Moreover,
-the present spoken Welsh language contains a number of Irish words,
-borrowed by the people from their Irish neighbours in days of old. All
-this we are told--as already stated--by several great Welsh scholars.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-HOW KINGS, CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE WERE SUBJECT TO THE BREHON LAWS.
-
-
-The ancient Irish had a system of laws which grew up gradually among them
-from time immemorial. And there were lawyers who made law the business of
-their lives, and lived by it. When a lawyer was very distinguished, and
-became noted for his knowledge, skill, and justice, he was recognised as
-competent to act as a _Brehon_ or judge. A brehon was also a magistrate by
-virtue of his position. From this word 'brehon,' the old Irish law is now
-commonly called the 'Brehon Law.'
-
-We have seen that every king kept in his household distinguished men of
-all the learned professions, and paid them well. Among these the brehon
-always held a high place; so that a large number of brehons found
-employment in this way. But many were unattached, and lived by deciding
-cases brought before them; for which they held courts, and were paid fees
-by the litigants in each case. On these fees they lived, for they had no
-regular salaries. And there were practising lawyers also, not holding the
-position of brehon, who made a living by their profession, like lawyers of
-our day.
-
-To become a lawyer a person had to go through a regular course of study
-and training. The subjects were laid down with great exactness from year
-to year of the course; and the time was much longer than that required by
-a young man now-a-days to become a barrister. Until the student had put in
-the full time, and mastered the whole course, he was not permitted to
-practise as a lawyer of any kind--pleader, law-agent, professor of law,
-law-adviser, or brehon.
-
-Law was perhaps the most difficult of all the professions to study. For
-there were many strange terms hard to understand, all of which had to be
-learned, many puzzling forms to be gone through, many circumstances to be
-taken into account in all transactions where law was brought in, or where
-trials took place in a brehon's court. And if there was the least flaw or
-omission, if the smallest error was committed, either by the client or by
-his lawyer, it was instantly pounced upon by the opposing pleader, and the
-case was likely enough to go against them.
-
-As soon as the Irish had learned the art of writing, they began to write
-down their laws in books. There is the best reason to believe that before
-the time of St. Patrick the pagan brehons had law-books. But they were
-full of paganism--pagan gods, pagan customs, and pagan expressions
-everywhere through them; and they would not answer for a Christian people.
-So about six years after St. Patrick's arrival, when Christianity had been
-pretty widely spread through Ireland, he saw that it was necessary to have
-a new code, suitable for the new and pure faith; and he advised Laeghaire
-[Laery], the ard-ri, to take steps to have the laws revised and
-re-written. The king, seeing this could not be avoided, appointed nine
-learned and eminent persons--of whom he himself and St. Patrick were
-two--to carry out this important work. At the end of three years, these
-nine produced a new code, quite free from any taint of paganism: and this
-book got the name of Senchus Mor [Shannahus More], meaning 'Great old
-law-book.'
-
-The very book left by St. Patrick and the others has been long lost. But
-successive copies were made from time to time, of which some are still
-preserved. We have also manuscript copies of several other old Irish
-law-books, most of which, as well as the Senchus Mor, have been lately
-translated and printed. As the language of those old books is very obscure
-and difficult, it was a hard task to translate them; but this was
-successfully done by the two great Irish scholars, Dr. John O'Donovan and
-Professor Eugene O'Curry. These translations of the Senchus Mor and the
-other old law-books, with the Irish texts, and with notes, explanations,
-and indexes, form six large printed volumes, which may now be seen in
-every important library.
-
-The brehons held courts at regular intervals, where cases were tried. If a
-man was wronged by another, he summoned him to one of these courts, and
-there were lawyers to plead for both sides, and witnesses were examined,
-much in the same way as we see in our present law courts; and after the
-brehon had carefully listened to all, he gave his decision. This decision
-was given by the brehon alone: there were no juries such as we have now.
-
-All parties, high and low, submitted to the Brehon Laws, and abided by the
-judge's decisions; unless the party who lost the suit thought the decision
-wrong--which indeed happened but seldom--in which case, he appealed to the
-court of a higher brehon. Then, if it was found that the first had given
-an unjust decision, he had to return the fee and pay damages, besides more
-or less losing character, and lessening his chances of further employment.
-So the brehons had to be very careful in trying cases and giving their
-decisions.
-
-The highest people in the land, even kings and queens, had to submit to
-the laws, exactly the same as common subjects; and if a king was wronged,
-he had to appeal to the law, like other people. A couple of hundred years
-ago, when the kings of France were, to all intents and purposes, despotic,
-and could act much as they pleased towards their subjects, a learned
-French writer on law, during a visit to England, happened to pass near the
-grounds of one of the palaces, where he observed a notice on the fence of
-a field belonging to the king:--"Trespassers will be prosecuted according
-to law." Now this gave him great pleasure, as it showed how the king had
-to call in the aid of the law to redress a wrong, like any of his
-subjects; and it gave him occasion to contrast the condition of England
-with that of France, where the king or queen would have made short work of
-the trespasser, without any notice or law at all.
-
-But if the same Frenchman had been in Ireland 1,500 years ago, he might
-have witnessed what would give him still greater pleasure:--not a mere
-notice, but an actual case of trespass on a queen's ground, tried in open
-court before his eyes. In those days there reigned at Tara a king named
-Mac Con, whose queen had a plot of land, not far from the palace, planted
-with _glasheen_, i.e., the woad-plant, for dyeing blue. In the
-neighbourhood there lived a female _brewy_, or keeper of a hostel for
-travellers, who had flocks and herds like all other brewys. One night a
-flock of sheep belonging to her broke into the queen's grounds, and ate up
-or destroyed the whole crop of glasheen; whereupon the queen summoned her
-for damages.
-
-In due course the case came before the king (for the queen would not
-appear before an ordinary brehon), and on hearing the evidence he decided
-that the sheep should be forfeit to the queen to pay for the crop. Now,
-although the glasheen was an expensive and valuable crop, the sheep were
-worth a great deal more; and the people were enraged at this unjust
-sentence; but they dared not speak out, for Mac Con was a usurper and a
-tyrant.
-
-Among the people who dwelt in Tara at this time was a boy, a handsome,
-noble-looking young fellow, whom the people all knew by the name of
-Cormac. But no one in the least suspected that he was in reality a prince,
-the son of the last monarch, Art the Solitary, who had been slain in
-battle by the usurper, Mac Con. He was wise and silent, and carefully
-concealed from all who he was; for he well knew that if he was discovered
-the king would be sure to kill him.
-
-While the trial was going on he stood behind the crowd listening quietly;
-and being by nature noble and just-minded, even from his youth up, he
-could not contain himself when he heard the king's unfair and oppressive
-sentence; and he cried out amid the dead silence:--"That is an unjust
-judgment! Let the fleeces be given up for the glasheen--the sheep-crop for
-the land-crop--for both will grow again!"
-
-The king was astonished and enraged, and became still more so when the
-people exclaimed with one voice:--"That is a true judgment, and he who has
-pronounced it is surely the son of a king!"
-
-In this manner the people, to their great joy, discovered who Cormac was.
-How he managed to escape the vengeance of the king we are not told; but
-escape he did; and after a time the usurper was expelled from Tara, and
-Cormac was put in his place. To this day Cormac Mac Art is celebrated in
-Irish records as a skilful lawyer and writer on law, and as the wisest and
-most illustrious of all the ancient Irish kings.[1]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH LIVED AS PAGANS.
-
-
-When Ireland was pagan the people were taught their religion, such as it
-was, by Druids. These druids were the only learned men of the time, and
-they had in their hands all the learned professions--they were not only
-druids, but judges, prophets, poets, and even physicians. They were the
-only teachers, and they were employed to instruct the sons and daughters
-of kings and chiefs in whatever learning was then known. They were also
-advisers to king and people on all important occasions; so they were, as
-we can well understand, held in high estimation, and had great influence.
-They had the reputation of being mighty magicians, and could do many
-wonderful things, as our old romantic stories tell, and as the people
-firmly believed. They could raise a druidical or magic fog, which hid
-things from view, or bring on darkness in the day, like the blackest
-night; they could bring down showers of fire or blood, cause a snowfall
-even in summer, till the ground was covered half a yard deep; and bring on
-storms and tempests on sea or land. They could drive a man mad by their
-sorcery--a power which was dreaded most of all by the people in general.
-For this purpose the druid prepared what was called a 'madman's wisp,'
-that is, a little wisp of straw or grass, into which he pronounced some
-foul, baleful verses; and, watching his opportunity, he flung it into the
-face of the poor victim, who straightway became a madman, or, what was
-just as bad, an idiot--all beyond cure. Many other instances of the power
-of their spells are related in old Irish tales.
-
-They were often employed in divination, _i.e._, foretelling the future.
-Sometimes they forecasted by observing the clouds or the stars, sometimes
-by means of a rod of yew with Ogham letters cut upon it, often by
-interpreting dreams, or from sneezing, or by the voices of birds,
-especially the croaking of the raven, or the chirping of the wren. By
-some or all of these means they professed to be able to tell the issue of
-a coming battle, or whether a man's life was to be long or short, and what
-were the lucky or unlucky days for beginning any work, or for undertaking
-any enterprise; besides many other matters lying in the future.
-
-The Greeks and Romans of old had--as we know--their augurs or soothsayers,
-who forecasted the future, like our druids, and by much the same
-observations, signs, and tokens. We must not judge those old people,
-whether Greek, Roman, or Irish, too severely for believing in these
-prophets; for although there are no druids or soothsayers now, we have
-amongst us plenty of palmists and fortune-tellers of various kinds, who
-make a good living out of those people who are simple enough to believe in
-them.
-
-There were druids in every part of Ireland; but Tara, as being the
-residence of the over-kings, was their chief seat, where they were most
-powerful; and those who have read the early history of Ireland will
-recollect St. Patrick's contest with them, in presence of king Laeghaire
-[Laery] and his court, and how he put them down in argument.
-
-The pagan Irish had many gods and many idols. Among other things, they
-worshipped the Fairies, who were, and are still, called in Irish _Shee_.
-The fairies dwelt under pleasant green little hills; and there they built
-themselves palaces all ablaze with light, and glittering with gems and
-gold. These residences, as well as the elves or fairies themselves, were
-called _Shee_. Many of the old fairy hills all over the country are still
-well known; and to this day there is a superstition among many of the
-people that the fairies still remain in them, and that they also dwell in
-the old _lisses_, _raths_, or forts that are found everywhere in Ireland.
-The fairies were not always confined to their dwellings: they often got
-out, but they were generally invisible. Whenever they made themselves
-visible to mortals--and that was only seldom--they were seen to be very
-small, hardly the height of a man's knee. People had to be careful of
-them, for they often did mischief when interfered with.
-
-Mannanan Mac Lir was the Irish sea-god, like Neptune of the Greeks and
-Romans. He generally lived on the sea, riding in his chariot at the head
-of his followers. He is in his glory on a stormy night, and on such a
-night, when you look over the waste of waters, there before your eyes, in
-the dim gloom, are thousands of Mannanan's white steeds careering along
-after their great chief's chariot.
-
-Angus Mac-an-oge was a mighty magician, who had his glorious palace under
-the great mound of Brugh [Broo] on the Boyne, now called Newgrange, a
-little below Slane in Meath. There were many other gods; and there were
-goddesses also. Poets, physicians, and smiths had three goddesses whom
-they severally worshipped, three sisters, all named Brigit. There were
-also many fairy queens, who were considered as goddesses and worshipped in
-their several districts, all living in their palaces under fairy mounds or
-rocks.
-
-Many of these residences are still well known, such as Carrigcleena, a
-circle of grey rocks near Mallow, where lived Cleena, the fairy queen of
-south Munster; and Craglea, near Killaloe, where Eevin or Eevil, the
-guardian fairy queen of the Dalcassians of Thomond, resided. The people of
-several districts had local gods also, such as Donn, the king of the
-Munster fairies, who had his airy home on the top of Knockfierna, near
-Croom in Limerick; John Macananty of Scrabo carn, near Newtownards; and
-Tierna, the powerful and kindly fairy lord, who lived in his bright palace
-under the great carn on the hill of Carntierna, over Fermoy.
-
-Besides those that were acknowledged and worshipped as gods or goddesses,
-there were battle-furies who delighted in blood and slaughter; also
-loathsome-looking witch-hags, and plenty of goblins, sprites, and
-spectres--some harmless, some malignant--who will be found enumerated and
-described in either of my two Social Histories.
-
-The idols worshipped by the pagan Irish were nearly all of them stones,
-mostly pillar-stones, which were sometimes covered over with gold, silver,
-or bronze. The people also worshipped the elements--that is to say, water,
-fire, the sun, the wind, and such like. The worship of wells was very
-general. Most of those old Pagan fountains were taken possession of by St.
-Patrick, St. Columkille, and other early missionaries, who blessed them,
-and devoted them to baptism and other Christian uses; so that they came to
-be called holy wells; and though they were no longer worshipped, they were
-as much venerated by the Christians as they had been by the pagans.
-
-It must not be supposed that each of the objects mentioned above was
-worshipped by all the people of Ireland. Each person, in fact, worshipped
-whichever he pleased. And it was usual for individuals, or a tribe, to
-choose some idol, or element, or pagan divinity, which they held in
-veneration as their special guardian god.
-
-There was a belief in a pagan heaven, a land of everlasting youth, peace,
-and happiness, beautiful beyond conception, called by various names, such
-as Teernanoge, Moy Mell, I-Brassil, etc., which is often described as
-being situated far out in the Western Ocean. It was inhabited by fairies,
-but it was not for human beings, except a few individuals who were brought
-thither by the fairies.
-
-There is a pretty story, more than a thousand years old, in the Book of
-the Dun Cow, which tells how Prince Connla of the Golden Hair, son of the
-great king Conn the Hundred-Fighter, was carried off by a fairy in a
-crystal boat to Moy-Mell. One day--as the story relates--while the king
-and Connla, and many nobles were standing on the western sea-shore, a boat
-of shining crystal was seen moving towards them: and when it had touched
-the land, a fairy, like a human being, and richly dressed, came forth from
-it, and addressing Connla, tried to entice him into it. No one saw this
-strange being save Connla alone, though all heard the conversation: and
-the king and the nobles marvelled, and were greatly troubled. At last the
-fairy chanted the following words in a very sweet voice: and the moment
-the chant was ended, the poor young prince stepped into the crystal boat,
-which in a moment glided swiftly away to the west: and Prince Connla was
-never again seen in his native land.
-
-
-THE FAIRY MAIDEN'S CHANT TO PRINCE CONNLA.
-
-  I.
-
-                A land of youth, a land of rest,
-                  A land from sorrow free;
-                It lies far off in the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea.
-                A swift canoe of crystal bright,
-                  That never met mortal view--
-                We shall reach the land ere fall of night,
-                  In that strong and swift canoe:
-                    We shall reach the strand
-                    Of that sunny land,
-                  From druids and demons free;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  II.
-
-  A pleasant land of winding vales, bright streams, and verdurous plains,
-  Where summer all the live-long year, in changeless splendour reigns;
-  A peaceful land of calm delight, of everlasting bloom;
-  Old age and death we never know, no sickness, care, or gloom;
-                    The land of youth,
-                    Of love and truth,
-                  From pain and sorrow free;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  III.
-
-  There are strange delights for mortal men in that island of the west;
-  The sun comes down each evening in its lovely vales to rest:
-                    And though far and dim
-                    On the ocean's rim
-                  It seems to mortal view,
-                    We shall reach its halls
-                    Ere the evening falls,
-                  In my strong and swift canoe:
-                    And evermore
-                    That verdant shore
-                  Our happy home shall be;
-                    The land of rest,
-                    In the golden west,
-                  On the verge of the azure sea!
-
-  IV.
-
-  It will guard thee, gentle Connla, of the flowing golden hair;
-  It will guard thee from the druids, from the demons of the air;
-  My crystal boat will guard thee, till we reach that western shore,
-  Where thou and I in joy and love shall live for evermore:
-                  From the druid's incantation,
-                    From his black and deadly snare,
-                  From the withering imprecation
-                    Of the demon of the air,
-  It will guard thee, gentle Connla, of the flowing golden hair:
-  My crystal boat will guard thee, till we reach that silver strand
-  Where thou shalt reign in endless joy, the king of the Fairy-land![2]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-HOW THE IRISH PEOPLE LIVED AS CHRISTIANS.
-
-
-It is not our business here to tell how the Irish were converted to
-Christianity; for this has been already related in our Histories of
-Ireland. Whether St. Patrick was born in Gaul or in Scotland, we know at
-any rate that he brought with him to Ireland, to aid him in his great
-work, a number of young Gauls and Britons whom he had ordained as priests.
-But soon after his arrival he began to ordain natives also, whom he had
-converted; so that the hard work of travelling through the country, and
-preaching to the people, was for some time in the beginning done by
-foreigners and Irishmen. But as time went on the missionaries were chiefly
-native-born. St. Patrick loved the Irish people; and he was continually
-praying that God would bestow favours on them. And his prayers were
-answered; for, after the Apostolic times, there never were more devoted or
-more successful missionaries than those who preached the Gospel in
-Ireland, and there never were people who received the Faith more readily
-than the Irish, or who practised it after their conversion with more piety
-and earnestness.
-
-An old Irish writer who lived about twelve hundred years ago tells us that
-the saints of Ireland who lived, and worked, and died before his time were
-of "Three Orders." "The First Order of Catholic saints"--says this
-writer--"were MOST HOLY: shining like the sun." They were 350 in number,
-all bishops, beginning with St. Patrick. For more than thirty years they
-were led by their great master, with all his fiery and tireless energy;
-and the preachers of this order continued for a little more than a
-century. They devoted themselves entirely to the home mission--the
-conversion of the Irish people--which gave them quite enough to do.
-
-"The Second Order was of Catholic Priests"--continues the old
-writer--"numbering 300, of whom a few were bishops. These were VERY HOLY,
-and they shone like the moon." They lasted for a little more than half a
-century.
-
-The priests of this Second Order were chiefly monastic clergy--that is to
-say, monks--and during their continuance monasteries were founded
-everywhere through Ireland. Though there were monks and monasteries here
-from the time of St. Patrick, they began to spread much more rapidly
-after the foundation of the great monastery of Clonard in Meath, by St.
-Finnen or Finnian--one of the Second Order of saints--about the year 527.
-It was the monks belonging to this Order, and their successors, who
-preached the Gospel in foreign lands with such amazing success, as will be
-told in Chapter VII.
-
-The monks and students in these establishments led a busy and happy life;
-for it was a rule that there should be no idleness. Everyone was to be
-engaged at all available times in some useful work. Some tilled the land
-around and belonging to the monastery--ploughing, digging, sowing,
-reaping--and attended to the cattle; some worked as carpenters, tailors,
-smiths, shoemakers, cooks, and so forth, for the use of the community.
-Some were set apart to receive and attend to travellers and guests, who
-were continually coming and going: to wash their feet, and prepare supper
-and bed for them. Many were employed as scribes, to copy and ornament
-manuscript books; while others made beautiful crosiers, brooches,
-chalices, crosses, and other works of metallic art; and the most scholarly
-members were selected to teach in the schools. Besides this, all had their
-devotions to attend to, which were frequent and often long.
-
-The Third Order of Irish saints consisted of about 100 priests, of whom a
-few were bishops: "these were HOLY, and shone like the stars"; and they
-lasted a little more than three-quarters of a century. They were all
-hermits, living either singly or in monasteries in remote lonely places.
-Even when they lived together in numbers they were still hermits, spending
-their time in prayer and contemplation, each in his own little cell; and
-they never met together, or had any communication with each other, except
-at stated times, when all assembled in the little church for common
-worship, or in the refectory for meals.
-
-We know that there were nuns and convents in Ireland from St. Patrick's
-time, but they increased and multiplied, and flourished more than ever
-during and after the time of the greatest nun of all--St. Brigit of
-Kildare.
-
-In the time of St. Patrick, and for long afterwards, the churches were
-small, because the congregations were small; and they were mostly of wood,
-though some were of stone. We have, in fact, the ruins of little
-stone-and-mortar churches still remaining in many parts of the country,
-built at various times during the four or five centuries after St.
-Patrick. In the eleventh and following centuries, however, large and
-grand churches were built, the ruins of which still remain all over the
-country.
-
-Near many of the monasteries the monks began to erect tall Round Towers in
-the beginning of the ninth century, as a protection against the Danes.
-They were built with several stories, each story lighted by one little
-window, and reached by a ladder inside. The door was small, and was
-usually ten or twelve feet from the ground. The moment word was brought
-that a party of Danish marauders were approaching, the monks took refuge
-in the tower with all their valuables and a good supply of large stones,
-and barred the door and windows strongly on the inside, so that it was
-impossible to get at them during the short time the robbers were able to
-stay. In fact the Danes were generally afraid of their lives to approach
-too close to these towers; for if one of them ventured near enough, a big
-stone, dropped by one of the monks from a height of sixty or seventy feet,
-was likely enough to come down right on his skull and make short work of
-him. We have still remaining many of these old towers.
-
-There was a spring well beside every monastery, either that, or a stream
-of pure water. The founder never selected a site till he had first
-ascertained that a well or a stream was near. These fountains served the
-double purpose of baptising converts and of supplying the communities with
-water. In most cases they were named after the founders, and retain their
-names to this day. It has been already stated how the early missionaries
-often took over the wells the pagans had worshipped as gods, and devoted
-them to Christian uses.
-
-We have now Holy Wells in every part of Ireland, and it is with good
-reason we call them so, for they preserve the memory, and in most cases
-the very names, of those noble old missionaries who used the crystal water
-to baptise their converts. We ought to make it a point, so far as lies in
-our power, to take care of these holy wells, and to keep them neat and
-clean, and in all respects in a becoming condition; and also to preserve
-their old names as our fathers handed them down to us. If there could be
-such a thing as grief in heaven, an old Irish missionary would certainly
-feel grieved to look down on the little well he loved, and used, and
-blessed, now lying unnoticed and neglected.
-
-St. Patrick used consecrated bells in celebrating the Divine Mysteries,
-and in nearly all other religious ceremonies, and the custom has
-descended through fifteen centuries to this day. The bells used by the
-early saints were small handbells, made of iron dipped in melted bronze;
-but three or four hundred years after St. Patrick's time people began to
-make them of a better material--bronze melted and cast in moulds. We are
-told that St. Patrick left a little iron bell in every church he founded;
-and, to supply the great number he required for this purpose, he kept in
-his household three smiths whose sole business from morning till night was
-to make iron bells. The very bell he himself used in his
-ministrations--commonly called "The Bell of the Will"--may now be seen in
-the National Museum in Dublin--the most venerable of all our early
-Christian relics. Beside it in the same glass-case stands a beautiful and
-costly shrine, made by an accomplished Irish artist about the year 1100,
-to cover and protect it, by order and at the expense of Donall O'Loghlin,
-king of Ireland.
-
-It was usual for the founders of churches to plant trees round the
-buildings. These "Sacred Groves," as they were called, were subsequently
-held in great veneration, and it was regarded as a desecration to cut down
-one of the trees, or even to lop off a branch.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-HOW IRELAND BECAME THE MOST LEARNED COUNTRY IN EUROPE.
-
-
-In old pagan times, long before the arrival of St. Patrick, there were
-schools in Ireland taught by druids. And when at last Christianity came,
-and was spreading rapidly over the land, those old schools were still held
-on; but they were no longer taught by druids, and they were no longer
-pagan, for teachers and scholars were now all Christians.
-
-But as soon as St. Patrick came, a new class of schools began to spring
-up; for he and the other early missionaries founded monasteries everywhere
-through the country, and in connexion with almost every monastery there
-was a school. These were what are called monastic or ecclesiastical
-schools, for they were mostly taught by monks; while the older schools,
-being taught by laymen, were called lay schools.
-
-In lay schools was taught what might be called the native learning--the
-learning that had grown up in the country in the course of ages. It
-consisted mainly of the following subjects:--To read and write the Irish
-language; Irish grammar, and rules of poetical composition--a very
-extensive and complicated subject; geography and history, especially the
-topography and history of Ireland; and a knowledge of the poetry, and of
-the historical and romantic tales of the country: while a great many of
-the schools were for professions--special schools of law, of medicine, of
-poetry, of history and antiquities, and so forth. In these last the
-professional men were educated.
-
-These lay schools, being now within the Christian communion, were not
-abolished or discouraged in any way by St. Patrick or his successors. They
-were simply let alone, to teach their own secular learning just as they
-pleased. They continued on, and were to be found in every part of Ireland
-for fourteen centuries after St. Patrick's arrival, down to a period
-within our own memory; but of course greatly changed as time went on. In
-later times they were much more numerous in Munster than in the other
-provinces; and they taught--and taught well--classics and mathematics; and
-often both combined in the same school. I was myself educated in some of
-those lay schools; and I remember with pleasure several of my old
-teachers: rough and unpolished men most of them, but excellent, solid
-scholars, and full of enthusiasm for learning--enthusiasm which they
-communicated to their pupils. In some respects indeed they resembled the
-rugged, earnest, scholarly Irishmen of old times, who travelled through
-Europe to spread religion and learning, as described at pp. 54, 55,
-farther on. But the famine of 1847 broke up those schools, and in a very
-few years they nearly all disappeared.
-
-But our business here is mainly with the early monastic schools, which
-became so celebrated all over Europe. Before going farther it is well to
-remark that these schools also continued, and increased and multiplied as
-time went on. They held their ground successfully--as the lay schools
-did--during the evil days of later ages, when determined attempts were
-made, under the penal laws, to suppress them; and at the present day they
-are working all over the country quite as vigorously as in days of yore.
-
-To notice all the monastic schools of old that attained eminence would
-demand more space than can be afforded here. So we must content ourselves
-with mentioning the following, all of which were very illustrious in their
-time:--Bangor (Co. Down), Lismore (Co. Waterford), Clonmacnoise, Armagh,
-Kildare, Clonard (Meath), Clonfert (Galway), Durrow (King's Co.),
-Monasterboice (near Drogheda), Rosscarbery (Co. Cork), and Derry. Besides
-these, at least twenty-five others, all eminent, are specially mentioned
-in our old books. Most of these colleges were working, not in succession,
-but all at the same time, from the sixth century downwards. When we bear
-in mind that there were also, during the whole period, the lay schools,
-which, though smaller, were far more numerous--scattered all over the
-country--we shall have some idea of the universal love of learning that
-existed in Ireland in those days, and of the general spread of education.
-No other nation in Europe could boast of so many schools and colleges in
-proportion to size and population.
-
-Many of the monastic colleges had very large numbers of students. In
-Clonard there were 3,000, all residing in and around the college; and
-Bangor founded by St. Comgall, and Clonfert founded by St. Brendan the
-Navigator, had each as many. And there were various smaller
-numbers--2,000, 1,500, 1,000, 500--down to fifty.
-
-The students were of all classes--rich and poor--from the sons of kings
-and chiefs down to the sons of farmers, tradesmen, and labourers; young
-laymen for general education, as well as ecclesiastical students for the
-priesthood. All those who had the means paid their way in everything. But
-there were some who were so poor that they could pay little or nothing:
-and these 'poor scholars' (as they afterwards came to be called) received
-teaching, books, and often food, all free. But most of even the poorest
-did their best to pay something; and in this respect it is interesting to
-compare the usages of those long past times with some features of the
-college life of our own days. In some of the present American universities
-there is an excellent custom which enables very poor students to support
-themselves and pay their college fees. They wait on their richer comrades,
-bring up the dishes, etc., from the kitchen for meals, and lay the tables:
-and when the meal is over, they remove everything, wash up dishes and
-plates, and put them all by in their proper places. In fact, they perform
-most of the work expected from ordinary servants. For this they receive
-food and some small payment, which renders them independent of charity.
-
-And the pleasing feature of this arrangement is, that it is not attended
-with any sense of humiliation or loss of self-respect. During study and
-lecture hours these same young men, having put by aprons and napkins, and
-donned their ordinary dress, are received and treated on terms of perfect
-equality by those they have served, who take on no airs, and do not pose
-as superiors, but mix with them in free and kindly intercourse as
-fellow-students and comrades.
-
-All this was anticipated in Ireland more than a thousand years ago; for a
-similar custom existed in some of the old Irish colleges. The very poor
-students often lived with some of their richer brethren, and acted as
-their servants, for which they received food and other kinds of payment.
-Many of these youths who served in this humble capacity subsequently
-became great and learned men, as indeed we might expect, for boys of this
-stamp are made of the best stuff; and some of them are now famed in our
-records as eminent fathers of the ancient Irish Church.
-
-The greatest number of the students lived in houses built by themselves,
-or by hired workmen--some, mere huts, each for a single person; some,
-large houses, for several: and all around the central college buildings
-there were whole streets of these houses, often forming a good-sized town.
-
-Where there were large numbers great care was taken that there should be
-no confusion or disorder. The whole school was commonly divided into
-sections, over each of which was placed a leader or master, whose orders
-should be obeyed: and over the whole college there was one head-master or
-principal, usually called a _Fer-leginn_, i.e., 'Man of learning': while
-the abbot presided over all--monastery and college. The Fer-leginn was
-always some distinguished man--of course a great scholar. He was generally
-a monk, but sometimes a layman; for those good monks selected the best man
-they could find, whether priest or layman.
-
-I suppose those who are accustomed to the grand universities and colleges
-of the present day, with their palatial buildings, would feel inclined to
-laugh at the simple, rough-and-ready methods and appliances of the old
-Irish colleges. There were no comfortable study rooms, well furnished with
-desks, seats, and rostrums: no spacious lecture halls. The greater part of
-the work, indeed, was carried on in the open air when the weather at all
-permitted. At study time the students went just where they pleased, and
-accommodated themselves as best they could. All round the college you
-would see every flowery bank, every scented hedgerow, every green glade
-and sunny hillock occupied with students, sitting or lying down, or pacing
-thoughtfully, each with his precious manuscript book open before him, all
-poring over the lesson assigned for next lecture, silent, attentive, and
-earnest.[3]
-
-Then the little handbell tinkled for some particular lecture, and the
-special students for this hurried to their places, and seated themselves
-as best they could--on chair, stool, form, stone, or bank, and opened
-their books. These same books, too, were a motley collection--some large,
-some small, some fresh from the scribe, some tattered and brown with age:
-but all most carefully covered and preserved; for they were very
-expensive. You now buy a good school copy of some classical author for,
-say, half-a-crown: at that time it would probably cost what was equivalent
-to L2 of our present money.
-
-Then the master went over the text, translating and explaining it, and
-whenever he thought it necessary questioned his pupils, to draw them out.
-After this he had to stand the cross-fire of the students' questions, who
-asked him to explain all sorts of difficulties: for this was one of the
-college regulations. There were no grammars, no dictionaries, no simple
-introductory lesson books, such as we have now. The students had to go
-straight at the Latin or Greek text, and where they failed to make sense,
-the master stepped in with his help. And in this rugged and difficult
-fashion they mastered the language.
-
-Yet it was in rude institutions of this kind that were educated those men
-whose names became renowned all over Europe, and who--for the period when
-they lived--are now honoured as among the greatest scholars and
-missionaries that the world ever saw.
-
-The great Irish colleges were, in fact, universities in the full sense of
-the word, that is to say, schools which taught the whole circle of
-knowledge: they were, indeed, in a great measure the models on which our
-present universities were formed. The Latin and Greek languages and
-literatures were studied and taught with success. In science the Irish
-scholars were famous for their knowledge of Geometry, Arithmetic,
-Astronomy, Music, Geography, and so forth. And they were equally eminent
-in sacred learning--Theology, Divinity, and the Holy Scriptures.
-
-The schools proved their mettle by the scholars they educated and sent
-forth: scholars who astonished all Europe in their day. Sedulius of the
-fifth century (whose name is still represented by the family name Shiel),
-an eminent divine, orator, and poet, travelled into France, Italy, Greece,
-and Asia, and composed some beautiful Latin hymns, which are still used in
-the services of the Church. 'Fergil the Geometer' went in 745 from his
-monastery of Aghaboe in Queen's County to France, where he became famous
-for his deep scientific learning, and where he taught publicly--and
-probably for the first time--that the earth is round, having people living
-on the other side. John Scotus Erigena ('John the Irish-born Scot') of the
-ninth century taught in Paris; he was the greatest Greek scholar of his
-time, and was equally eminent in Theology. St. Columbanus of Bobbio (in
-Italy), a Leinsterman, a pupil of the college of Bangor, proved himself,
-while in France and Italy, a master of many kinds of learning, and was one
-of the greatest, most fearless, and most successful of the Irish
-missionaries on the Continent.
-
-These men, and scores of others that we cannot find space for here, spread
-the fame of their native country everywhere. It was no wonder that the
-people of Great Britain and the Continent, when they met such scholars,
-all from Ireland, came to the conclusion that the schools which educated
-them were the best to be found anywhere. Accordingly, students came from
-all parts of the known world, to place themselves under the masters of
-these schools. From Germany, France, Italy, Egypt, came priests and
-laymen, princes, chiefs, and peasant students--all eagerly seeking to
-drink from the fountain of Irish learning. And let us bear in mind that in
-those days it was a far more difficult, dangerous, and tedious undertaking
-to travel to Ireland from the interior of the European Continent, than it
-is now to go to Australia or China. But even in much greater numbers than
-these came students from Great Britain. An English writer of that period,
-who was jealous of the Irish schools and in very bad humour with his
-countrymen for coming to them, is nevertheless forced to admit that
-Englishmen came to Ireland "in fleetloads." In our Histories of Ireland we
-have read of the real Irish welcome they received--as recorded by the
-Venerable Bede and by others--and how the Irish, not only taught them, but
-gave them books and food for nothing at all! It was quite a common thing
-that young Englishmen, after they had learned all that their own schools
-were able to teach them, came to Ireland to finish their education.
-
-The more the students crowded to the Irish schools, whether from Ireland
-itself or from abroad, the more eagerly did the masters strive to meet the
-demand, by studying more and more deeply the various branches of learning,
-so as to equal or excel the scholars of other countries. Then Ireland
-became the most learned country in Europe, so that it came at last to be
-known everywhere as 'The Island of Saints and Scholars.'
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-HOW IRISH MISSIONARIES AND SCHOLARS SPREAD RELIGION AND LEARNING IN
-FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
-
-
-Towards the end of the sixth century the great body of the Irish were
-Christians, so that the holy men of Ireland were able to turn their
-attention to the conversion of other people. Then arose an extraordinary
-zeal for spreading religion and learning in foreign lands; and hundreds of
-devoted and determined missionaries left our shores. There was ample field
-for their noble ambition. For these were the Dark Ages, when the
-civilisation and learning bequeathed by old Greece and Rome had been
-almost wiped out of existence by the barbarous northern hordes who
-overran Europe; and Christianity had not yet time to spread its softening
-influence among them. Through the greater part of England and Scotland,
-and over vast regions of the Continent, the teeming populations were
-fierce and ignorant, and sunk in gross superstition and idolatry, or with
-little or no religion at all.
-
-To begin with the Irish missionary work in Great Britain. The people of
-Northern and Western Scotland, who were solidly pagan till the sixth
-century, were converted by St. Columkille and his monks from Iona, who
-were all Irishmen; for Iona was an Irish monastic colony founded by St.
-Columkille, a native of Tirconnell, now Donegal.
-
-In the seven kingdoms of England--the Heptarchy--the Anglo-Saxons were the
-ruling race, rude and stubborn, and greatly attached to their gloomy
-northern pagan gods. We know that the kingdom of Kent was converted by the
-Roman missionary St. Augustine; but Christianity made little headway
-outside this till St. Aidan began his labours among the Northumbrian
-Saxons. Aidan was an Irishman who entered the monastery of Iona, from
-which he was sent to preach to the Northumbrians on the invitation of
-their good king, Oswald. He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, which
-afterwards became so illustrious. He was its first abbot; and for thirty
-years it was governed by him and by two other Irish abbots, Finan and
-Colman, in succession. He and his companions were wonderfully successful,
-so that the people of the large kingdom of Northumbria became Christians.
-Not only in Northumberland but all over England we find at the present day
-evidences of the active labours of the Irish missionaries in Great
-Britain.
-
-Whole crowds of ardent and learned Irishmen travelled on the Continent in
-the sixth, seventh, and succeeding centuries, spreading Christianity and
-secular knowledge everywhere among the people. On this point we have the
-decisive testimony of an eminent French writer of the ninth century, Eric
-of Auxerre, who himself witnessed what he records. In a letter written by
-him to Charles the Bald, king of France, he says:--"What shall I say of
-Ireland, who, despising the dangers of the deep, is migrating with almost
-her whole train of philosophers to our coasts?" And other foreign
-evidences of a like kind might be brought forward.
-
-These men, on their first appearance on the Continent, caused much
-surprise, they were so startlingly different from those preachers the
-people had been accustomed to. They travelled on foot towards their
-destination in small companies, generally of thirteen. They wore a coarse
-outer woollen garment, in colour as it came from the fleece, and under
-this a white tunic of finer stuff. The long hair behind flowed down on the
-back: and the eyelids were painted or stained black. Each had a long stout
-walking-stick: and slung from the shoulder a leathern bottle for water,
-and a wallet containing his greatest treasure--a book or two and some
-relics. They spoke a strange language among themselves, used Latin to
-those who understood it, and made use of an interpreter when preaching,
-until they had learned the language of the place.
-
-Few people have any idea of the trials and dangers they encountered. Most
-of them were persons in good position, who might have lived in plenty and
-comfort at home. They knew well, when setting out, that they were leaving
-country and friends probably for ever; for of those that went, very few
-returned. Once on the Continent, they had to make their way, poor and
-friendless, through people whose language they did not understand, and who
-were in many places ten times more rude and dangerous in those ages than
-the inhabitants of these islands: and we know as a matter of history, that
-many were killed on the way. But these stout-hearted pilgrims were
-prepared for all this, and looking only to the service of their Master,
-never flinched. They were confident, cheerful, and self-helpful, faced
-privation with indifference, caring nothing for luxuries; and when other
-provisions failed them, they gathered wild fruit, trapped animals, and
-fished, with great dexterity and with any sort of next-to-hand rude
-appliances. They were somewhat rough in outward appearance: but beneath
-all that they had solid sense and much learning. Their simple ways, their
-unmistakable piety, and their intense earnestness in the cause of religion
-caught the people everywhere, so that they made converts in crowds.
-
-A great French writer, Montalembert, speaks of the Irish of those days as
-having a "Passion for pilgrimage and preaching," and as feeling "under a
-stern necessity of spreading themselves abroad to combat paganism, and
-carry knowledge and faith afar." They were to be found everywhere through
-Europe, even as far as Iceland and the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Europe
-was too small for their missionary enterprise. Many were to be found in
-Egypt; and as early as the seventh century, three learned Irish monks
-found their way to Carthage, where they laboured for a long time and with
-great success.
-
-Wherever they went they made pilgrimages to holy places--places sanctified
-by memories of early saints--and whenever they found it practicable they
-were sure to make their way to Rome, to visit the shrines of the apostles,
-and obtain the blessing of the Pope.
-
-The Irish "passion for pilgrimage and preaching" never died out: it is a
-characteristic of the race. This great missionary emigration to foreign
-lands has continued in a measure down to our own day: for it may be safely
-asserted that no other missionaries are playing so general and successful
-a part in the conversion of the pagan people all over the world, and in
-keeping alight the lamp of religion among Christians, as those of Ireland.
-
-Irishmen were equally active in spreading secular knowledge. Indeed the
-two functions were generally combined; for it was quite common to find a
-man a successful missionary, while at the same time acting as professor in
-a college, or as head of some great seminary for general education. Irish
-professors and teachers were in those times held in such estimation that
-they were employed in most of the schools and colleges of Great Britain,
-France, Germany, and Italy. The revival of learning on the Continent was
-indeed due in no small degree to those Irish missionaries. It was enough
-that the candidate for an appointment came from Ireland: he needed no
-other recommendation.
-
-When learning had declined in England in the ninth and tenth centuries,
-owing to the devastations of the Danes, it was chiefly by Irish teachers
-it was kept alive and restored. In Glastonbury especially, they taught
-with great success. We are told by English writers that "they were skilled
-in every department of learning sacred and profane"; and that under them
-were educated many young English nobles, sent to Glastonbury with that
-object. Among these students the most distinguished was St. Dunstan, who,
-according to all his biographers, received his education, both Scriptural
-and secular, from Irish masters there.
-
-As for the numerous Continental schools and colleges in which Irishmen
-figured either as principals or professors, it would be impossible, with
-our limited space, to notice them here. A few have been glanced at in the
-last chapter; and I will finish this short narrative by relating the odd
-manner in which two distinguished Irishmen, brothers, named Clement and
-Albinus,[4] began their career on the Continent.
-
-One of the historians of the reign of Charlemagne, who wrote in the ninth
-century, has left us the following account of these two scholars:--When
-the illustrious Charles began to reign alone in the western parts of the
-world, and literature was almost forgotten, it happened that two Scots
-from Ireland came over with some British merchants to the shores of
-France, men incomparably skilled in human learning and in the Holy
-Scriptures. Observing how the merchants exhibited and drew attention to
-their wares, they acted in a similar fashion to force themselves into
-notice like the others. They went through the market-place among the
-crowds, and cried out to them:--"If there be any who want wisdom (_i.e._,
-learning), let them come to us, for we have it to sell." This they
-repeated as they went from place to place, so that the people wondered
-very much; and some thought them to be nothing more than persons half
-crazed.
-
-Strange rumours regarding them went round, and at length came to the ears
-of King Charles; on which he sent for the brothers, and had them brought
-to his presence. He questioned them closely, using the Latin language, and
-asked them whether it was really the case that they had learning; and they
-replied--in the same language--that they had, and were ready, in the name
-of God, to communicate it to those who sought it with worthy intentions.
-Then the king asked what payment they would expect, and they replied:--"We
-require proper houses and accommodation, pupils with ingenious minds and
-really anxious to learn; and, as we are in a foreign country where we
-cannot conveniently work for our bread, we shall require food and raiment:
-we want nothing more."
-
-Now at this very time King Charles was using his best efforts to restore
-learning, by opening schools throughout his dominions, but found it hard
-to procure a sufficient supply of qualified teachers. And as he perceived
-that these brothers were evidently men of real learning, and of a superior
-cast in every way, he joyfully accepted their proposals. Having kept them
-for some time on a visit in his palace, he finally opened a great school
-in some part of France--probably Paris--for the education of boys of all
-ranks of society, not only for the sons of the highest nobles, but also
-for those of the middle and low classes, at the head of which he placed
-Clement. He also directed that all the scholars should be provided with
-food and suitable habitations: it was in fact a great free
-boarding-school, founded and maintained at the expense of the king. As for
-Albinus, he sent him to Italy, with directions that he should be placed at
-the head of the important school of the monastery of St. Augustine at
-Pavia. And these schools are now remembered in history as two great and
-successful centres of learning belonging to those ages.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH WROTE DOWN ALL THEIR LITERATURE, AND HOW BOOKS
-INCREASED AND MULTIPLIED.
-
-
-Printing was not invented till the fifteenth century, and before that time
-all books had of course to be written by hand.
-
-According to our native records the art of writing was known to the pagan
-Irish, and the druids had books on law and other subjects, long before
-the time of St. Patrick. Besides these home evidences, which are so
-numerous and strong as hardly to admit of dispute, we have the testimony
-of a learned foreigner, which is quite decisive on the point. A Christian
-philosopher of the fourth century of our era, named Ethicus of Istria,
-travelled over the three continents, and has left a description of his
-wanderings, in what he calls a 'Cosmography' of the World. He visited
-Ireland more than a hundred years before the arrival of St. Patrick; and
-he states that he found there many books, and that he remained for some
-time in the country examining them. So far then as Ethicus records the
-existence of Irish books in the fourth century, he merely corroborates our
-own native accounts.
-
-The pagan Irish books were, of course, written in the Irish language; but
-as to the nature or shapes of the letters, or the form of the writing, or
-how it reached Ireland, on these points we have no information, for none
-of the old books remain. The letters used in these books could hardly have
-been what are known as Ogham characters, for these are too cumbrous for
-long passages.
-
-Ogham was a species of writing, the letters of which were formed by
-combinations of short lines and points, on and at both sides of a middle
-or stem line. Nearly all the Oghams hitherto found are sepulchral
-inscriptions. Great numbers of monumental stones are preserved with Ogham
-inscriptions cut on them, of which most have been deciphered, either
-partially or completely. They are in a very antique form of the Irish
-language; and while many were engraved in far distant pagan ages, others
-belong to Christian times.
-
-But whatever characters the Irish may have used in times of paganism, they
-learned the Roman letters from the early Roman missionaries, and adopted
-them in writing their own language during and after the time of St.
-Patrick: which are still retained in modern Irish. These same letters,
-moreover, were brought to Great Britain by the early Irish missionaries
-already spoken of (p. 52), from whom the Anglo-Saxons learned them; so
-that England received her first knowledge of the letters of the
-alphabet--as she received most of her Christianity--from Ireland. Formerly
-it was the fashion to call those letters Anglo-Saxon: but now people know
-better. Our present printed characters--the very characters now under the
-reader's eye--were ultimately developed from those old Irish-Roman
-letters.
-
-After the time of St. Patrick, as everything seems to have been written
-down that was considered worth preserving, Manuscripts accumulated in the
-course of time, which were kept in monasteries and in the houses of
-professors of learning: many also in the libraries of private persons. The
-most general material used for writing on was vellum or parchment, made
-from the skins of sheep, goats, or calves. To copy a book was justly
-considered a very meritorious work, and in the highest degree so if it was
-a part of the Holy Scriptures, or of any other book on sacred or
-devotional subjects. Scribes or copyists were therefore much honoured. The
-handwriting of these old documents is remarkable for its beauty, its
-plainness, and its perfect uniformity; each scribe, however, having his
-own characteristic form and style.
-
-Sometimes the scribes wrote down what had never been written before, that
-is, matters composed at the time, or preserved in memory; but more
-commonly they copied from other volumes. If an old book began to be worn,
-ragged, or dim with age, so as to be hard to make out and read, some
-scribe was sure to copy it, so as to have a new book easy to read and well
-bound up. Most of the books written out in this manner related to Ireland,
-as will be described presently; and the language of these was almost
-always Irish; except in copies of the Roman classics or of the Scriptures,
-where Latin was used.
-
-Books abounded in Ireland when the Danes first made their appearance,
-about the beginning of the ninth century; so that the old Irish writers
-often speak with pride of "the hosts of the books of Erin." But with the
-first Danish arrivals began the woeful destruction of manuscripts, the
-records of ancient learning. The animosity of the barbarians was specially
-directed against books, monasteries, and monuments of religion: and all
-the manuscripts they could lay hold on they either burned or
-"drowned"--_i.e._, flung them into the nearest lake or river. Next came
-the Anglo-Norman Invasion, which was quite as destructive of native books,
-learning, and art as the Danish inroads, or more so; and most of the old
-volumes that survived were scattered and lost.
-
-Notwithstanding all this havoc and wreck, we have still preserved a large
-number of old Irish books. The ornamented and illuminated copies of the
-Scriptures are described in the chapter on Art. We have also many volumes
-of Miscellaneous Literature in which are written compositions of all
-kinds, both prose and poetry, copied from older books, and written in, one
-after another, till the volume was filled. Of all these old books of
-mixed compositions, the largest that remains to us is the Book of
-Leinster, which is kept in Trinity College, Dublin. It is an immense
-volume, all in the Irish language, written more than 750 years ago; and
-many of the pages are now almost black with age and very hard to make out.
-It contains a great number of pieces, some in prose and some in verse, and
-nearly all of them about Ireland:--histories, accounts of battles and
-sieges, lives and adventures of great men, with many tales and stories of
-things that happened in this country in far distant ages.
-
-The Book of the Dun Cow is preserved in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.
-It is fifty years older than the Book of Leinster, but not so large; and
-it contains also a great number of tales, adventures, and histories, all
-relating to Ireland, and all in the Irish language.
-
-Two other great Irish books kept in Dublin are the Yellow Book of Lecan
-[Leckan] and the Book of Ballymote. These contain much the same kind of
-matter as the Book of Leinster--with pieces mostly different however--but
-they are not nearly so old. The Speckled Book, which is also in Dublin, is
-nearly as large as the Book of Leinster, but not so old. It is mostly on
-religious matters, and contains a great number of Lives of saints, hymns,
-sermons, portions of the Scriptures, and other such pieces. All these
-books are written with the greatest care, and in most beautiful
-penmanship.
-
-The five old books described above have been lately printed, in such a way
-that the print resembles exactly the writing of the old books themselves.
-The printed volumes are now to be found in libraries in several parts of
-Ireland, as well as in England and on the Continent; so that those
-desirous of studying them need not come to Dublin, as people had to do
-formerly. Another grand old book preserved in Dublin is the Book of Lecan.
-Besides these there are vast numbers of Irish manuscript books in Dublin
-and elsewhere, both vellum and paper, having no special names, all
-containing important and interesting pieces. There are also numerous books
-of law, of medicine, of science, genealogies, Lives of saints, sermons,
-and so forth, which on account of limited space cannot be described here.
-
-Many people are now eagerly studying these books; and men often come to
-Ireland from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and other
-countries, in order to learn the Irish language so as to be able to read
-them. But this requires much study, even from those who know the Irish of
-the present day; for the language of these books is old and difficult.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-HOW THE IRISH SCHOLARS COMPILED THEIR ANNALS.
-
-
-Among the various classes of persons who devoted themselves to Literature
-in ancient Ireland, there were special Annalists, who made it their
-business to record, with the utmost accuracy, all remarkable events simply
-and briefly, year by year. The extreme care they took that their
-statements should be truthful is shown by the manner in which they
-compiled their books. As a general rule they admitted nothing into their
-records except either what occurred during their lifetime, and which may
-be said to have come under their own personal knowledge, or what they
-found recorded in the compilations of previous annalists, who had
-themselves followed the same plan. These men took nothing on hearsay: and
-in this manner successive annalists carried on a continued chronicle from
-age to age.
-
-We have still preserved to us many books of native Annals. They deal with
-the affairs of Ireland--generally but not exclusively. Many of them record
-events occurring in other parts of the world; and it was a common practice
-to begin the work with a brief general history, after which the annalist
-takes up the affairs of Ireland.
-
-There are many tests which prove the remarkable accuracy of the Irish
-Annals. For instance, their records of such occurrences as eclipses,
-comets, tides, and so forth, are invariably found to be correct. Indeed
-they could not be otherwise, for the good reason that the faithful
-chronicler noted down the events, each at the very time of its occurrence.
-If he waited for some future time, or noted down some event that had
-occurred years before, taking hearsay evidence, or calculating the time
-backwards as best he could, the chances were that there would be an error
-in the date.
-
-A remarkable example occurs in the record of an eclipse of the sun of A.D.
-664. At the present day astronomers can calculate to a minute the time of
-an eclipse occurring in that or any other year. But it was otherwise
-twelve centuries ago. Then the rules of calculation were not quite
-correct, so that a person calculating backwards was pretty sure to be in
-error as to the exact time. The great English historian and scholar, the
-Venerable Bede, who wrote fifty or sixty years after the above-mentioned
-eclipse, was aware of the year (664), but had to calculate the day and the
-hour. The rule then in vogue led him astray, and accordingly his record of
-the date--the 3rd May--is two days wrong. In the Annals of Ulster the
-correct date--1st May, 664--is given, and even the very hour. This shows
-quite clearly that the event had been recorded by some Irish chronicler,
-who actually saw it and noted it down on the spot. We find numbers of
-records of this kind in our Annals, which, according to the accurate tests
-we are now able to apply, are all found to be correct.
-
-Another remarkable instance of a similar kind deserves to be mentioned
-here. We have an old Irish book called "The War of the Irish with the
-Danes," written early in the eleventh century, soon after the battle of
-Clontarf, in which that great battle is very fully described. In the
-course of his narrative the writer makes these very specific
-statements:--that the battle was fought on Good Friday, the 23rd April,
-1014; that it commenced at sunrise _when the tide was full in_, and that
-it lasted the whole day till the tide was again at flood about the same
-hour in the evening, when the foreigners were routed. Moreover, the old
-historian puts in the time of high water, morning and afternoon, merely to
-explain why there was such terrible slaughter of the Danes in the evening;
-for on account of the full tide they were not able to reach their ships,
-which lay some distance out in the bay, whereas if it had been low water
-they might have waded out to them. Beyond that he was not in the least
-concerned about the time of high tide.
-
-The tide comes in at any particular point of the coast about every 12
-hours 25 minutes, and accordingly the hour changes from day to day, so
-that there might be a high tide at any hour of the twenty-four: but
-astronomers can now calculate the exact time of high tide for any day of
-the month at a particular place in any year, no matter how far back. Now,
-the question is, was the tide really at its height on the Clontarf shore
-at sunrise on that fatal morning?
-
-Forty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Todd, who was then engaged in translating
-the old book mentioned above, in order to test the chronicler's accuracy,
-put this question to the Rev. Dr. Haughton, a great science scholar, of
-Trinity College, Dublin:--At what time was there high tide in Dublin Bay
-on the 23rd April, 1014? After a laborious calculation, Dr. Haughton found
-that the tide was at its height that morning at half-past five o'clock,
-just as the sun was coming over the horizon, and that the evening tide was
-in at fifty-five minutes past five: a striking confirmation of the truth
-of this part of the narrative. It shows, too, that the account was written
-by or taken down from an eye-witness of the battle. Dr. Haughton's
-calculation--every figure--may now be seen in Dr. Todd's published book.
-
-Little did the old annalist think, when penning his simple record, that
-after lying by unnoticed and forgotten on some obscure bookshelf for eight
-centuries, it was destined to be at last brought out under the broad light
-of science, and its accuracy fully tested and established.
-
-There are several other ways of testing the truth of our annals. One is by
-comparing them with the testimony of foreign writers of good standing.
-Events occurring in Ireland in those early ages are not often mentioned by
-British or Continental writers. Indeed they knew very little about
-Ireland, which was, in those times, especially as regards the Continent, a
-very remote place. But whenever they do notice Irish affairs, it may be
-said that they are always in agreement with the native records.
-
-In our Irish books we find accounts of events or customs, which some
-people--not knowing better--would be inclined to pronounce fabulous, but
-which we find recorded as sober history by certain great English and
-Continental historians. The colonisation of Scotland from Ireland, for
-instance, which was formerly doubted by many, is fully confirmed by the
-Venerable Bede. And to take another instance from the battle of
-Clontarf:--All the Irish chronicles state that a general rout of the Danes
-took place in the evening, and that there was an awful slaughter of them,
-for they were cut off from their fortress by the river Liffey, and from
-their ships by the high tide; while the infuriated Irish assailed them,
-front, flank, and rear. Now in the description of the battle by a Danish
-writer--the best possible authority in the case, as he had good reason to
-know what happened--there is a full confirmation of this. His record is
-simple and plain:--"Then flight broke out throughout all the Danish host."
-
-The more the ancient historical records of Ireland are examined and
-tested, the more their truthfulness is made manifest. Their uniform
-agreement among themselves, and their accuracy, as tried by various tests,
-have drawn forth the acknowledgments of the greatest Irish scholars and
-archaeologists that ever lived.
-
-The existing books of Irish Annals will be found described in our
-Histories of Ireland, and more fully in the two Social Histories of
-Ancient Ireland. Most of them have been published with translations. Here
-we must content ourselves with mentioning one, the Annals of the Four
-Masters, the most important of all. These were compiled in the Franciscan
-monastery of Donegal, by three of the O'Clerys, and by Ferfesa O'Mulconry,
-who are now commonly known as the 'Four Masters.' They began in 1632, and
-completed the work in 1636. The Annals of the Four Masters was translated
-with most elaborate and learned annotations by Dr. John O'Donovan; and it
-was published--Irish text, translation, and notes--in seven large volumes.
-
-The _Dinnsenchus_ [Din-shannahus] is a treatise giving the history and
-derivations of the names of remarkable hills, caves, raths, lakes, rivers,
-fords, and so forth. Another corresponding treatise for the names of noted
-Irish historical persons is called the _Coir Anmann_, meaning 'fitness of
-names.' Both have been translated and published.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-HOW THE IRISH DERIVED AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION FROM HISTORICAL AND
-ROMANTIC TALES.
-
-
-From the earliest date, the Irish people, like those of other countries,
-had Stories, which, before the introduction of the art of writing, were
-transmitted orally, and modified, improved, and enlarged as time went on,
-by successive _shanachies_, or 'storytellers.' They began to be written
-down when writing became general: and it has been shown by scholars that
-the main tales assumed their present forms in the seventh, eighth, and
-ninth centuries; while the originals from which they sprang were much
-older. Once they began to be written down, a great body of romantic and
-historical written literature rapidly accumulated, consisting chiefly of
-prose tales. They are contained in our old manuscripts, from the Book of
-the Dun Cow downwards.
-
-The chief use of popular tales all the world over was--and is--to amuse.
-The storyteller recited the narrative for his audience, who listened
-because it gave them pleasure. But in Ireland the native stories were
-turned to another important use:--they were made to help in educating the
-people in the manner explained farther on. Besides this use a large part
-of the History of Ireland is derived from the historic tales; and it is
-proper to remark here that the early histories of England, France,
-Germany, and other countries, as we find them now presented to us by the
-best and most reliable modern authors, are largely derived from similar
-sources.
-
-The construction and arrangement of the tales were carefully studied by
-the Irish literary men of the olden time, and not more than their
-importance deserved. They were arranged in seventeen classes or groups,
-and in each group there were a number of individual stories. This grouping
-was a great help to the storyteller, who had to store up in his memory a
-large number of tales: for by having them in this manner, sorted as it
-were in parcels, he was enabled to call them up all the more readily--to
-put his hand on them, so to say--when he wanted them. 'Voyages,' for
-instance, formed one group, which included "The Voyage of Maeldune," "The
-Voyage of St. Brendan," "The Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra," and many
-others. Another was 'Tragedies,' under which came "The Fate of the
-Children of Lir," "The Fate of the Sons of Usna," etc., etc. There were
-'Military Expeditions,' 'Courtships,' 'Cattle-raids,' 'Sieges,' and so on,
-to the number of seventeen, each group with its own parcel of stories.
-
-We have in our old books stories belonging to every one of these classes.
-The whole number now existing in manuscripts is close on 600: of which
-about 150 have been published and translated. But outside these, great
-numbers have been lost: destroyed during the Danish and Anglo-Norman wars.
-
-Most of the Irish tales fall under four main cycles or periods of history
-and legend, which, in all the Irish poetical and romantic literature, were
-kept quite distinct.
-
-_First_:--The Mythological Period, the stories of which are concerned with
-the mythical colonies preceding the Milesians, especially the Dedannans.
-The heroes of the tales belonging to this cycle, who are assigned to
-periods long before the Christian era, are gods, namely, the gods of the
-pagan Irish.
-
-_Second_:--The Period of Concobar mac Nessa and his Red Branch Knights,
-who flourished in the first century. These Red Branch Knights were a sort
-of heroic militia, belonging to Ulster, mighty men all, who came every
-year to the palace of Emain to be trained in military science and feats
-of arms, residing for the time in a separate palace called Creeveroe or
-the Red Branch. Their greatest commander was Cuculainn, a demigod, the
-mightiest of all the Irish heroes of antiquity, whose residence was
-Dundalgan, now called the Fort of Castletown, near Dundalk. Others of
-these great heroes were Conall Kernagh, Laery the Victorious, Keltar of
-the Battles, Fergus mac Roy, and the three Sons of Usna--Naisi, Ainnle,
-and Ardan. They were in the service of Concobar or Conor mac Nessa, king
-of Ulster, who feasted the leading heroes every day in his own palace.
-
-_Third_:--The Period of the Fena of Erin, belonging to a time two
-centuries later than the stories of the Red Branch. The Fena of Erin, who
-flourished in the time of King Cormac mac Art, in the third century, were
-a body of militia kept for the defence of the throne, very like the Red
-Branch Knights. Their most celebrated leader was King Cormac's son-in-law,
-Finn, the son of Cumal--or Finn mac Coole, as he is commonly called--who
-of all the ancient heroes of Ireland is at the present day best remembered
-in tradition. We have in our old manuscripts many beautiful stories of
-these Fena, like those of the Red Branch Knights.
-
-_Fourth_:--Stories founded on events that happened after the dispersal of
-the Fena (in the end of the third century). Many fine stories--nearly all
-of them more or less historical--belong to this Period.
-
-The stories of the Red Branch Knights form the finest part of our ancient
-Romantic Literature. The most celebrated of all these is the
-Tain-bo-Quelne, the epic or main heroic story of Ireland. It relates how
-Maive, queen of Connaught, who resided in her palace of Croghan, set out
-with her army for Ulster on a plundering expedition, attended by all the
-great heroes of Connaught. The invading army entered that part of Ulster
-called Quelna or Cooley, the territory of the hero Cuculainn, the north
-part of the present county Louth, including the Carlingford peninsula. At
-this time the Ulstermen were under a spell of feebleness, all but
-Cuculainn, who had to defend single-handed the several fords and passes,
-in a series of single combats, against Maive's best champions. She
-succeeded in this first raid, notwithstanding Cuculainn's heroic defence,
-and brought away a great brown bull--which was the chief motive of the
-expedition--with flocks and herds beyond number. At length, the Ulstermen,
-having been freed from the spell, pursued the raiders, and attacked and
-routed the Connaught army. The battles, single combats, and other
-incidents of this war, form the subject of the Tain, which consists of one
-main story, with about thirty shorter tales grouped round it.
-
-Of the Cycle of Finn and the Fena of Erin we have a vast collection of
-stories. In these we read about Finn himself and his mighty exploits;
-about Ossian his son, the renowned hero-poet; about Oscar the brave and
-gentle, the son of Ossian; about Dermot O'Dyna, brave, honourable,
-generous, and self-denying, perhaps the finest hero of any literature; and
-many others. The Tales of the Fena, though not so old as those of the Red
-Branch Knights, are still of great antiquity.
-
-Some of the Irish tales are historical, _i.e._, founded on historical
-events--history embellished with some fiction; while others are altogether
-fictitious--creations of the imagination, but always woven round
-historical personages. From this great body of stories it would be easy to
-select a large number, powerful in conception and execution, very
-beautiful, high and dignified in tone and feeling, many of them worthy to
-rank with the best literature of their kind in any language. The stories
-of the Sons of Usna,[5] the Children of Lir,[6] the Fingal Ronain, the
-Voyage of Maeldune,[6] The Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra,[6] Da Derga's
-Hostel, The Pursuit of Dermot and Grania,[6] the Boroma, and the Fairy
-Palace of the Quicken Trees[6]--all of which have been published with
-translations--are only a few instances in point. And it would be easy to
-name many others if our space permitted.
-
-On the score of morality and purity the Irish tales can compare favourably
-with the corresponding literature of other countries; and they are much
-freer from objectionable matter than the works of many of those early
-English and Continental authors which are now regarded as classics. Of one
-large collection of Irish tales, the great Irish scholar Dr. Whitley
-Stokes, a Dublin man, says:--"The tales are generally told with sobriety
-and directness: they evince genuine feeling for natural beauty, a passion
-for music, a moral purity, singular in a mediaeval collection of stories, a
-noble love of manliness and honour." On the Irish Tales in general Dr.
-Kuno Meyer, a German, one of the greatest living Celtic scholars, justly
-remarks:--"The literature of no nation is free from occasional grossness;
-and considering the great antiquity of Irish literature, and the
-primitive life which it reflects, what will strike an impartial observer
-most is not its license or coarseness, but rather the purity, loftiness,
-and tenderness which pervade it."
-
-The tales were brought into direct touch with the people, not by
-reading--for there were few books outside libraries, and few people were
-able to read them--but by Recitation: and the Irish of all classes, like
-the Greeks, were excessively fond of hearing tales and poetry recited.
-There were professional shanachies and poets whose duty it was to know by
-heart numerous old tales, poems, and historical pieces, and to recite them
-at festive gatherings for the entertainment of the chiefs and their
-guests: and every intelligent person was supposed to know a reasonable
-number of them by heart, so as to be always ready to take a part in
-amusing and instructing his company.
-
-The tales of those times correspond with the novels and historical
-romances of our own day, and served a purpose somewhat similar. Indeed
-they served a much higher purpose than the generality of our novels; for
-in conjunction with poetry they were the chief agency in
-education--education in the best sense of the word--a real healthful
-informing exercise for the intellect. They conveyed a knowledge of
-history and geography, and they inculcated truthfulness, manliness, help
-for the weak, and all that was noble and dignified in thought, word, and
-action. Along with this, the greater part of the history, tradition,
-biography, and topography of the country, as well as history and geography
-in general, was thrown into the form of verse and tales, so that the
-person who knew a large number of them was well educated, according to
-what was required in those times. Moreover, this education was universal;
-for, though few could read, the knowledge and recitation of poetry and
-stories reached the whole body of the people. This ancient institution of
-story-telling held its ground both in Ireland and Scotland down to a
-period within living memory.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN MUSIC.
-
-
-From the very earliest ages Irish musicians were celebrated for their
-skill, not only in their own country but all over Europe. Our native
-literature, whether referring to pagan or Christian times, is full of
-references to music and to skilful musicians, who are always spoken of in
-terms of the utmost respect.
-
-Everywhere through the Records we find evidences that the ancient Irish,
-both high and low, were passionately fond of music. It was mixed up with
-their daily home-life, and formed part of their amusements, meetings, and
-celebrations of every kind. In the religious tales music is always one of
-the delights of heaven; and a chief function of the angels who attend on
-God is to chant music of ineffable sweetness to Him, which they generally
-do in the shape of beautiful white birds. A good example of the people's
-intense fondness for music is found in an old Irish religious poem, in
-which the hard lot of Adam and Eve for a whole year after their expulsion
-from Paradise is described, when they were--as the poem expresses
-it--"without proper food, fire, house, _music_, or raiment." Here music is
-put among the necessaries of life, so that it was a misery to be without
-it.
-
-In the early ages of the Church many of the Irish ecclesiastics took
-delight in playing on the harp; and in order to indulge in this innocent
-and refining taste they were wont to bring with them, on their missionary
-journeys, a small portable harp, with which they beguiled many a weary
-hour after their hard work.
-
-In very early times Irish professors of music were as eagerly sought after
-on the Continent as those of literature and general learning, so that they
-were sometimes placed at the head of great music-schools. At a later time
-it was quite common among the Welsh bards to come over to Ireland to
-receive instruction from the Irish harpers. In the eleventh century one of
-the Welsh kings, Griffith ap Conan, brought over to Wales a number of
-skilled Irish musicians, who, in conference with the native Welsh bards,
-carried out some great improvements in Welsh music. Ireland was long the
-school for Scottish harpers also, who regularly came over, like those of
-Wales, to finish their musical education--a practice which continued down
-to about 150 years ago.
-
-Giraldus Cambrensis, a Welshman, who visited Ireland in 1185, though very
-much prejudiced against the Irish, says that Irish harpers were
-incomparably more skilful than those of any other nation he had ever heard
-play. From that period, in spite of wars and troubles, music continued to
-be cultivated, and there was an unbroken succession of great professional
-harpers, till the end of the eighteenth century, when, for want of
-encouragement in the miserable condition of the country under the penal
-laws, the race died out.
-
-The Harp is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature: it is constantly
-mixed up with our oldest legends; and it was in use from the remotest
-pagan times. The old Irish harps were of a medium size, or rather small,
-the average height being about thirty inches: and some were not much more
-than half that height. They had strings of brass wire which were tuned by
-a key, not very different from the present tuning-key. Irish harpers
-always played with the fingers or with the finger-nails.
-
-The Irish had a small stringed instrument called a Timpan, which had only
-a few strings. It had a body like a flat drum, to which at one side was
-attached a short neck: the strings were stretched across the flat face of
-the drum and along the neck: and were tuned and regulated by pins or keys
-and a bridge. It was played with a bow or with the finger-nail, or by both
-together, while the notes were regulated in pitch--or 'stopped' as
-musicians say--with the fingers of the left hand, like those of a fiddle
-or guitar. This little instrument was a great favourite, and is constantly
-mentioned in Irish literature.
-
-Harpers and timpanists were honoured in Ireland beyond all other
-musicians; and their rights and privileges were even laid down in the law.
-Kings had always harpers in their service, who resided in the palaces and
-were well paid for their services.
-
-The harp and timpan were the chief instruments of the higher classes, many
-of whom played them as an accomplishment, as people now play the piano and
-guitar. But the bagpipe was the great favourite of the common people. The
-form in use was what we now call the Highland or Scotch pipes--slung from
-the shoulder: the bag inflated by the mouth. This form of pipes took its
-rise in Ireland: and it was brought to Scotland in early ages by those
-Irish colonists already spoken of (page 11). There is another and a better
-kind of bagpipes, now common in Ireland, resting on the lap when in use,
-and having the bag inflated by a bellows: but this is a late invention.
-
-The old Irish had also Whistles and Flageolets, with holes for the fingers
-and blown by the mouth, much like those of the present day. Some
-flageolets were double, and some even triple, _i.e._, with two, or with
-three, pipes, sounded by a single mouthpiece, and having holes which were
-all stopped by the fingers. On many of the great stone crosses are
-sculptured harp-players and pipe-players, from which we learn a great deal
-about the shapes and sizes of the several instruments.
-
-The Irish had curved bronze Trumpets and Horns of various shapes and
-sizes, which, judging from the numbers found buried in clay and bogs, must
-have been in very general use. In the National Museum in Dublin is a
-collection of twenty-six ancient trumpets, varying in length from 8 feet
-down to 18 inches. The larger ones are of most admirable workmanship,
-formed by hammering; curved, jointed, ornamented, and riveted with
-extraordinary skill and perfection of finish.
-
-Among the household of every king and chief there was a band of
-trumpeters--as there were harpers--who were assigned their proper places
-at feasts and meetings. Trumpets were used for various purposes:--in war;
-in hunting; for signals during meetings and banquets; as a mark of honour
-on the arrival of distinguished visitors; and such like. For war purposes,
-trumpeters had different calls for directing movements--for battle, for
-unyoking, for marching, for halting, for retiring to sleep, for going into
-council, and so forth.
-
-The ancient Irish were very fond of a _Craebh ciuil_ [crave-cule], or
-'musical branch,' a little branch on which were suspended a number of
-diminutive bells, which produced a sweet tinkling when shaken: a custom
-found also in early times on the Continent. The musical branch figures
-much in Irish romantic literature.
-
-The music of ancient Ireland consisted wholly of short airs, each with two
-strains or parts--seldom more. But these, though simple in comparison with
-modern music, were constructed with such exquisite art that of a large
-proportion of them it may be truly said no modern composer can produce
-airs of a similar kind to equal them.
-
-The Irish musicians had various '_Styles_,' three of which are very often
-mentioned in tales and other ancient Irish writings: of these, numerous
-specimens have come down to the present day. The style they called
-'Mirth-music' (_Ganntree_) consisted of lively airs, which excited to
-cheerfulness, mirthfulness, and laughter. These are represented by our
-present dance tunes, such as jigs, reels, hornpipes, and other such
-spirited pieces, which are known so well in every part of Ireland. The
-'Sorrow-music' (_Goltree_) was slow and sad, and was always sung on the
-occasion of a death. We have many airs belonging to this style, which are
-now commonly called _Keens_, i.e., laments, or dirges. The 'Sleep-music'
-(_Suantree_) was intended to produce sleep; and the tunes belonging to
-this style were plaintive and soothing. Such airs are now known as
-lullabies, or nurse-tunes, or cradle-songs, of which numerous examples are
-preserved in collections of Irish music. They were usually sung to put
-children to sleep. Though there are many tunes belonging to these three
-classes, they form only a small part of the great body of Irish music.
-
-Music--as already remarked--entered into many of the daily occupations of
-the people. There were special spinning-wheel songs, which the women sang,
-with words, in chorus or in dialogue, when employed in spinning. At
-milking-time the girls were in the habit of chanting a particular sort of
-air, in a low gentle voice. These Milking-songs were slow and plaintive,
-something like the nurse-tunes, and had the effect of soothing the cows
-and of making them submit more gently to be milked. This practice was
-common down to fifty or sixty years ago; and I well remember seeing cows
-grow restless when the song was interrupted, and become again quiet and
-placid when it was resumed. The same custom was common in the Highlands of
-Scotland. While ploughmen were at their work they whistled a sweet, slow,
-and sad strain, which had as powerful an effect in soothing the horses at
-their hard labour as the milking-songs had on the cows: and these
-Plough-whistles also were quite usual till about half a century ago.
-
-Special airs and songs were used during working time by smiths, by
-weavers, and by boatmen. There were, besides, hymn-tunes; and young people
-had simple airs for all sorts of games and sports. In most cases words
-suitable to the several occasions were sung with lullabies, laments, and
-occupation-tunes. Examples of all the preceding classes of melodies will
-be found in the collections of Irish airs by Bunting, Petrie, and Joyce.
-
-The Irish had numerous war-marches, which the pipers played at the head of
-the clansmen when marching to battle, and which inspired them with courage
-and dash for the fight. This custom is still kept up by the Scotch; and
-many fine battle-tunes are printed in Irish and Scotch collections of
-national music.
-
-The man who did most in modern times to draw attention to Irish music was
-Thomas Moore. He composed his exquisite songs to old Irish airs. They at
-once became popular, not only in the British Islands, but on the
-Continent and in America; and Irish music was thenceforward studied and
-admired where it would have never been heard of but for Moore.
-
-Of the entire body of Irish airs that are preserved, we know the authors
-of only a very small proportion; and these were composed within the last
-two hundred years. Most of the remaining airs have come down from old
-times, scattered fragments of exquisite beauty that remind us of the
-refined musical culture of our forefathers. No one now can tell who
-composed "The Coolin," "Savourneen Dheelish," "Shule Aroon," "Molly
-Asthore," "Eileen Aroon," "Garryowen," "The Boyne Water," "Patrick's Day,"
-"Langolee," "The Blackbird," or "The Girl I left behind me"; and so of
-many other well-known and lovely airs.
-
-The national music of Ireland and that of Scotland are very like each
-other, and many airs are common to both countries: but this is only what
-might be expected, as we know that the Irish and the Highland Scotch were
-originally one people, and kept up mutual intercourse down to recent
-times.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN ART.
-
-
-The old Irish people became wonderfully skilful in some branches of Art;
-and many specimens of their handiwork still remain--preserved through the
-wreck of ages--which exceed in beauty of design and in perfection of
-execution all works of the kind done by the artists of other nations.
-
-While Art was cultivated in several branches, the Irish attained more
-skill in Ornamental Penwork than in any other. They took special delight,
-and used their utmost efforts, in ornamenting religious and devotional
-books, especially the Gospels and other parts of the Holy Scripture; for
-they justly considered that to beautify the sacred writings was one way of
-honouring and glorifying God.
-
-The special Irish style of pen ornamentation was developed by successive
-generations of artists, who brought it to marvellous perfection. Its most
-marked feature is interlaced work formed by bands and ribbons, which are
-curved and twisted and interwoven in the most intricate way, something
-like basket-work infinitely varied in pattern. Here and there among the
-complicated designs may be seen strange half-formed faces of animals, and
-sometimes human faces, or full figures of men or of angels. But vegetable
-forms are very rare.
-
-What most astonishes a person examining this work is the amazing variety
-and minuteness of the patterns, and the perfect smoothness and evenness of
-the curves, as if they had been traced by compasses or some other fine
-instruments; though they were all drawn by the unaided hand. The scribes
-usually made the capital letters very large, so as sometimes to fill
-almost an entire page; and on these they exerted their utmost skill. They
-painted the open spaces of the letters and ornaments in brilliant colours:
-and in this art--an art usually designated 'Illumination'--the old Irish
-scribes also excelled.
-
-Several manuscript-books, ornamented in this manner, have been preserved,
-of which it will be sufficient to mention one here--The Book of Kells, now
-in Trinity College, Dublin, though there are several others almost equally
-beautiful. It is a copy of the Four Gospels in Latin, written on vellum in
-the seventh or eighth century. Miss Margaret Stokes, of Dublin, a skilled
-artist and a great judge of such matters, who has carefully examined this
-book, thus speaks of it:--"No effort hitherto made to transcribe any one
-page of this book has the perfection of execution and rich harmony of
-colour which belongs to this wonderful book. It is no exaggeration to say
-that, as with the microscopic works of nature, the stronger the magnifying
-power brought to bear upon it, the more is this perfection seen. No single
-false interlacement or uneven curve in the spirals, no faint trace of a
-trembling hand or wandering thought can be detected. This is the very
-passion of labour and devotion, and thus did the Irish scribe work to
-glorify his book."
-
-Professor Westwood, of Oxford--an English gentleman--who examined the best
-specimens of penwork all over Europe, speaks even more strongly. "The Book
-of Kells," he says, "is the most astonishing book of the Four Gospels
-which exists in the world. How men could have had eyes and tools to work
-out the designs, I am sure I, with all the skill and knowledge in such
-kind of work which I have been exercising for the last fifty years, cannot
-conceive. I know pretty well all the libraries in Europe where such books
-as this occur, but there is no such book in any of them. There is nothing
-like it in all the books which were written for Charlemagne and his
-successors."
-
-There was a book like this, long since lost, in St. Brigit's convent of
-Kildare, which was shown to the Welshman Giraldus Cambrensis more than
-seven hundred years ago, and which so astonished him that he has recorded
-a legend--to which he devotes a separate chapter of his book--that it was
-written under the direction of an angel. He described it; and his
-description would now exactly apply to the Book of Kells. But in those
-times there were many such books. We can hardly be surprised at Giraldus's
-legend; for whoever looks closely into some of the lovely pages of the
-Book of Kells--even in the photographic reproductions--will be inclined to
-wonder how any human head could have designed, or how any human hand could
-have drawn them.
-
-These beautiful books were all written by Christian artists. We do not
-know if there was any attempt to ornament books in pagan times. But the
-pagan Irish, long before the introduction of Christianity, practised art
-of another kind--Metal-work--and attained great perfection in it. Those
-old artists exercised their skill in making and ornamenting shields;
-trumpets; swords with their hilts and scabbards; chariots; bridles;
-brooches; gold gorgets or circlets for the neck; and so forth.
-
-We can now judge of their handiwork for ourselves; for numerous beautiful
-specimens are preserved in our museums. The most remarkable are what are
-now commonly called 'Crescents,' of which we have many in the National
-Museum, in Dublin. These are broad circlets of pure gold to be worn round
-the neck, all covered over with ornamental designs. Both the general shape
-and the designs were produced by hammering with a mallet and punches on
-shaped solid moulds. The patterns and workmanship are astonishingly fine,
-showing extraordinary skill in manipulation: they are indeed so
-complicated and perfect that it is difficult to understand how they could
-have been produced by mere handwork, with hammers, punches, and moulds.
-Yet they could have been made in no other way.
-
-We may see then that when St. Patrick arrived, in the fifth century, he
-found the art of working in metals already highly developed. We know that
-he kept, as part of his household, smiths, brasiers, goldsmiths, and other
-artists, who were constantly employed in making crosses; crosiers;
-chalices; bells; and such like.
-
-On the score of obtaining skilled workmen there was no difficulty, for he
-had plenty of pagan artists to choose from, who, on their conversion,
-turned their skill to Christian work, and found little difficulty in
-adapting their cunning fingers to new objects and to new forms of
-ornamentation. So the primitive pagan artistic metal work was continued on
-and improved in Christian times, and was brought to the highest perfection
-in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The ornamentation was generally like
-that used in manuscripts (p. 92).
-
-Many of the beautiful objects made by those accomplished artists are now
-preserved in museums; some of them will bear comparison with the best
-works of the kind executed by artists of other countries; and a few might
-be found to bear the palm from all.
-
-The three objects that are usually brought forward as examples of the best
-workmanship of the Irish Christian artists are the Cross of Cong, the
-Ardagh Chalice, and the Tara Brooch, all of which may be seen in the
-National Museum in Dublin: but there are many others in the same museum
-almost equally beautiful. These three will be found pretty fully
-described, with illustrations, in the two Social Histories of Ancient
-Ireland. The Tara Brooch was shown some years ago in one of the great
-London exhibitions, and drew the eyes of all visitors. One English writer,
-who examined it and wrote an account of it, says that he found a
-difficulty in conceiving how any fingers could have made it, and that it
-looked more like the work of fairies than of a human artist.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PHYSICIANS WERE SKILLED IN MEDICINE.
-
-
-Among most nations of old times there were great leeches or physicians,
-who were considered so skilful that the people believed they could cure
-wounds and ailments as if by magic. In some countries they became gods, as
-among the Greeks.
-
-The ancient Irish people, too, had their mighty leech, a Dedannan named
-Dianket, who, as they believed, could heal all wounds and cure all
-diseases; so that he became the Irish God of Medicine. He had a son,
-Midac, and a daughter, Airmeda, who were both as good as himself; and at
-last Midac became so skilful that his father killed him in a fit of
-jealousy. And after a time there grew up from the young physician's grave
-365 herbs from the 365 joints and sinews and members of his body, each
-herb with mighty virtue to cure diseases of the part it grew from. His
-sister Airmeda plucked up these herbs, and carefully sorting them, wrapped
-them up in her mantle. But the jealous old Dianket came and mixed them all
-up, so that no one could distinguish them: and but for this--according to
-the legend--every physician would now be able to cure all diseases without
-delay, by selecting and applying the proper herbs.
-
-Leaving these shadowy old-world stories, let us come down to later times,
-when we shall, as it were, tread on solid ground. We find in some
-authorities a tradition that in the second century before the Christian
-era, Josina, the ninth king of Scotland, was educated in Ireland by the
-Irish physicians, and that he afterwards wrote a treatise on the virtues
-and powers of herbs. Though we may not quite believe this tradition, it
-shows that the Irish medical doctors had a reputation abroad for great
-skill at a very early period.
-
-Surgeons and doctors figure conspicuously in the old tales of the Red
-Branch Knights, and indeed in very many others, whether historical or
-romantic and fictitious: as well as in the strictly historical writings. A
-medical staff always accompanied armies, each man having, slung from his
-shoulder, a bag full of herbs, ointments, bandages, and such other medical
-appliances as were used at the time. They followed in the rear of the
-army--each company under one head doctor; and at the end of each day's
-fighting--or during the fighting when possible--they came forward and
-applied their salves.
-
-We are all now familiar with the humane practice of giving medical aid to
-the wounded after the battle, without distinction of friend or foe. The
-same practice was common in Ireland two thousand years ago. We read in one
-of the Tales, that when Kehern, a famous Ulster hero, returned from
-fighting, all covered with wounds, the Ulstermen sent a request to the
-Connaught camp--_i.e._, the camp of the enemy--for physicians, as it
-happened that none of the Ulster leeches were just then at hand: and
-physicians were promptly despatched with the messenger.
-
-A king or a great chief had always a physician as part of his household,
-to attend to the health of his family. The usual remuneration of these men
-was a residence and a tract of land in the neighbourhood, free of all rent
-and taxes, together with certain allowances: and the medical man might, if
-he chose, practise for fee outside the household. Some of those in the
-service of great kings had castles, and lived in state like princes. Those
-not so attached lived on their fees, like many doctors of the present day:
-and the fees for the various operations or attendances were laid down in
-the Brehon Law.
-
-Though medical doctors were looked up to with great respect, they had to
-be very careful in exercising their profession. A leech who through
-carelessness, or wilful neglect, or gross want of skill, failed to cure a
-wound, might be brought before a brehon or judge, and if the case was
-proved home against him, he had to pay the same fine to the patient as if
-he had inflicted the wound with his own hand, besides forfeiting his fee.
-
-Medicine, as a profession, like Law, History, etc., often ran in families
-in Ireland, descending regularly from father to son; and several Irish
-families were distinguished leeches for generations, such as the O'Shiels,
-the O'Cassidys, the O'Hickeys, and the O'Lees.
-
-Each medical family kept a book, which was handed down reverently from
-father to son, and in which was written, in Irish or Latin, all the
-medical knowledge derived either from other books or from the actual
-experience of the various members of the family; and many of these old
-volumes, all in beautiful handwriting, are still preserved in Dublin and
-elsewhere. As showing the admirable spirit in which those good men studied
-and practised their profession, and how much they loved it, it is worth
-while to give a translation of the opening statement, a sort of preface,
-in the Irish language, written at the beginning of one of these books,
-nearly six hundred years ago:--
-
-"May the good God have mercy on us all. I have here collected practical
-rules of medicine from several works, for the honour of God, for the
-benefit of the Irish people, for the instruction of my pupils, and for the
-love of my friends and of my kindred. I have translated many of them into
-Gaelic from Latin books, containing the lore of the great leeches of
-Greece and Rome. These are sweet and profitable things which have been
-often tested by us and by our instructors.
-
-"I pray God to bless those doctors who will use this book; and I lay it as
-an injunction on their souls, that they extract knowledge from it not by
-any means sparingly, and that they do not neglect the practical rules
-herein contained. More especially I charge them that they do their duty
-devotedly in cases where they receive no payment on account of the poverty
-of their patients.
-
-"Let every physician, before he begins his treatment, offer up a secret
-prayer for the sick person, and implore the heavenly Father, the Physician
-and Balm-giver of all mankind, to prosper the work he is entering upon,
-and to save himself and his patient from failure."
-
-There is good reason to believe that the noble and kindly sentiments here
-expressed were generally those of the physicians of the time; from which
-we may see that the old Irish medical doctors were quite as devoted to
-their profession, as eager for knowledge, and as anxious about their
-patients as those of the present day.
-
-The fame of the Irish physicians reached the Continent. Even at a
-comparatively late time, about three hundred years ago, when medicine had
-been successfully studied and practised in Ireland for more than a
-thousand years, Van Helmont, a well-known and distinguished physician of
-Brussels, in a book written by him in Latin on medical subjects, praises
-the Irish doctors, and describes them correctly as follows:--
-
-"In the household of every great lord in Ireland there is a physician who
-has a tract of land for his support, and who is appointed to his post, not
-on account of the great amount of learning he brings away in his head from
-colleges, but because he is able to cure diseases. His knowledge of the
-healing art is derived from books left him by his forefathers, which
-describe very exactly the marks and signs by which the various diseases
-are known, and lay down the proper remedies for each. These remedies
-[which are mostly herbs], are all produced in that country. Accordingly,
-the Irish people are much better managed in sickness than the Italians,
-who have a physician in every village."
-
-The Irish physicians carefully studied all the diseases known in their
-time, and had names for them--names belonging to the Irish language, and
-not borrowed from other countries or other languages. They investigated
-and noted down the qualities and effects of all curative herbs (which had
-Gaelic, as well as Latin, names); and they were accordingly well known
-throughout Europe for their knowledge and skill in medicinal botany.
-
-There were Hospitals all over the country, some in connexion with
-monasteries, and managed by monks, some under the lay authorities; and one
-or more doctors with skilled nurses attended each hospital, whether lay or
-monastic. The Brehon Law laid down regulations for the lay hospitals:--for
-instance, that they should be kept clean, and should have four open doors
-for ventilation, that a stream of clear water should run across the house
-through the middle of the floor, that the patients should not be put into
-beds forbidden by the physician, that noisy talkative persons should be
-kept away from them; and many other such like. There were no such
-regulations for the monastic hospitals, as being unnecessary. The
-provision about the open doors and the stream of water may be said to have
-anticipated by more than a thousand years the present open-air treatment
-of consumption. Those who had means were expected to pay for food,
-medicine, physician, and attendance: but the poor were received and
-treated free.
-
-If a person wounded or injured another unlawfully, he was obliged to pay
-for "sick maintenance," _i.e._, the cost of maintaining the wounded person
-in a hospital till recovery or death; which payment included the fees of
-the physician and of one or more nurses.
-
-It is pleasant to know that the Irish physicians of our time, who, it is
-generally agreed, are equal to those of any other country in the world,
-can look back with respect, and not without some feeling of pride, to
-their Irish predecessors of the times of old.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-HOW THEY BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES.
-
-
-Before the introduction of Christianity, buildings of every kind in
-Ireland were generally round or oval. The quadrangular shape, which was
-used in the churches in the time of St. Patrick, came very slowly into
-use; and round structures finally disappeared only in the fourteenth or
-fifteenth century. But the round shape was not universal, even in the most
-ancient period. Look at the plan of Tara, at the beginning of this book,
-and you will see that the Banqueting Hall was quadrangular, the only
-building of this shape on the whole hill. And in this respect Tara may be
-said to represent the proportion for the whole of Ireland: that is to say,
-while the generality of buildings were oval or round, some--very much the
-fewer in number--were quadrangular, sometimes long in shape, sometimes
-square.
-
-There were many centres of population, though they were never surrounded
-by walls; and the dwellings were detached and scattered a good deal--not
-closely packed as in modern towns. The dwelling-houses, as well indeed as
-the early churches, were nearly always of wood, as that material was much
-the most easily procured. But although wood-building was general in
-Ireland before the twelfth century, it was not universal: for many stone
-churches, as we have seen, were erected from the time of the introduction
-of Christianity; and there were small stone houses from time immemorial.
-
-The dwelling-houses were almost always constructed of Wickerwork. The wall
-was formed of long stout poles standing pretty near each other, with their
-ends fixed deep in the ground, the spaces between closed in with rods and
-twigs neatly and firmly interwoven; generally of hazel. The poles were
-peeled and polished smooth. The whole surface of the wickerwork was
-plastered on the outside, and made brilliantly white with lime, or
-occasionally striped in various colours; leaving the white poles exposed
-to view.
-
-In many superior houses, and in churches, a better plan of building was
-adopted, by forming the wall with sawed planks instead of wickerwork. In
-the houses of the higher classes the doorposts and other special parts of
-the dwelling and furniture were often made of yew, carved, and ornamented
-with gold, silver, bronze, and gems.
-
-In the sunniest and pleasantest part of the homestead the women had a
-separate apartment or a separate house for themselves, called a 'Greenan'
-meaning a 'sunny apartment' or a summer-house; to which they retired
-whenever they pleased.
-
-The roof was covered with straw, or rushes, or reeds, or with thin boards
-of oak, laid and fastened so as to overlap, like our slates and tiles.
-Occasionally churches were roofed with lead.
-
-In great houses there were separate sleeping-rooms. But among the ordinary
-run of comfortable, well-to-do people, including many of the upper
-classes, the family commonly lived, ate, and slept in the one principal
-apartment, as was the case in the houses of the Anglo-Saxons, the English,
-the Germans, and the Scandinavians of the same period. But the
-sleeping-places and beds were shut in from view; for in at least the
-better class of houses in Ireland there were, ranged along the wall,
-little compartments or cubicles, each containing a bed, or sometimes more,
-for one or more persons, with its head to the wall. The wooden partitions
-enclosing the beds were not carried up to the roof; they were probably
-about eight or nine feet high, so that the several compartments were open
-at top.
-
-The homesteads had to be fenced in to protect them from robbers and wild
-animals. This was usually done by digging a deep circular trench, the clay
-from which was thrown up on the inside. This was shaped and faced; and
-thus was formed, all round, a high mound or dyke with a trench outside,
-and having one opening for a door or gate. Whenever water was at hand the
-trench was flooded as an additional security: and there was a bridge
-opposite the opening, which was raised, or closed in some way, at night.
-The houses of the Gauls were fenced round in a similar manner.
-
-Numbers of these old circular forts still remain in every part of Ireland,
-but more in the south and west than elsewhere; many of them still very
-perfect: but of course the timber houses erected within them are all gone.
-Almost all are believed in popular superstition to be the haunts of
-fairies. They are still known by the old names--_lis_, _rath_, _brugh_,
-_mur_, _dun_, _moat_, _cashel_, and _caher_: the cashels, murs, and cahers
-being usually built of stone without mortar. The forts vary in size from
-40 or 50 feet in diameter, through all intermediate stages up to 1,500
-feet: the size of the homestead depending on the rank and means of the
-owner.
-
-Very often the flat middle space is raised to a higher level than the
-surrounding land, and sometimes there is a great mound in the centre, with
-a flat top, on which the strong wooden house of the chief stood. The outer
-defence, whether of clay, or stone, or timber, that surrounded the
-homestead was generally whitened with lime; and on the top all round,
-there was a hedge or strong palisade for additional security. Beside
-almost every homestead was a Kitchen Garden for table vegetables. And hard
-by were several enclosed spaces for various purposes, such as games and
-exercises, storing up the corn in stacks, securing the cattle at night,
-etc.
-
-For greater security, dwellings were often constructed on artificial
-islands made with stakes, trees, and bushes, covered with earth and
-stones, in shallow lakes, or on small flat natural islands if they
-answered. These were called by the name _Crannoge_. Communication with the
-shore was carried on by means of a small boat, commonly dug out of one
-tree-trunk. The remains of these crannoges may still be seen in some of
-our small shallow lakes. In most of them old ferry-boats have been found,
-of which many specimens are now preserved in museums.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-HOW THEY ATE, DRANK, FEASTED, AND ENTERTAINED.
-
-
-Dinner, the principal meal of the day, was taken late in the afternoon;
-and there was commonly a light repast or luncheon, called 'Middle-meal,'
-between breakfast and dinner. It was the custom to have better food on
-Sundays and church festivals than on the other days.
-
-Among the higher classes great care was taken to seat family and guests at
-table in the order of rank; and any departure from the established usage
-was sure to lead to quarrels. The king was always attended at banquets by
-his subordinate kings, and by other lords and chiefs. Those on his
-immediate right and left had to sit at a respectful distance. While King
-Cormac Mac Art sat at dinner, fifty military guards remained standing near
-him.
-
-The manner of arranging the banquets at Tara was generally followed at
-other royal entertainments. The Banquet-hall here was a long building,
-with tables arranged along both side-walls. Immediately over the tables
-were a number of hooks in the wall at regular intervals to hang the
-shields on. Just before the beginning of the feast all persons left the
-hall except three:--A _Shanachie_ or historian: a marshal to regulate the
-order: and a trumpeter. The king and his subordinate kings having first
-taken their places at the head of the table, the professional ollaves sat
-down next them. Then the trumpeter blew the first blast, at which the
-shield-bearers of the lordly guests (for every chief and king had his
-shield-bearer or squire) came round the door and gave their masters'
-shields to the marshal, who, under the direction of the shanachie, hung
-them on the hooks according to rank, from the highest to the lowest. At
-the next blast the guests all walked in leisurely, each taking his seat
-under his own shield (which he knew by special marks).
-
-Only one side of the tables was occupied, namely, the side next the wall:
-and in order to avoid crowding, the shields were hung at such a distance
-that when the guests were seated "no man of them would touch another."
-This arrangement at table according to rank was continued in Ireland and
-Scotland down to a recent period, as Scott often mentions in his novels;
-and it continues still everywhere, though in a less strict form.
-
-At all state banquets particular joints were reserved for certain chiefs,
-officials, and professional men, according to rank. A thigh was laid
-before a king, and also before an ollave poet; a haunch before a queen; a
-leg before a young lord; a head before a charioteer, and so on. A similar
-custom existed among the ancient Gauls and also among the Greeks. A
-remnant of this old custom lingered on in Scotland and Ireland down to a
-period within our own memory. Seventy years ago in some parts of Ireland,
-when a farmer killed a bullock or a pig, he always sent the head to the
-smith, so that at certain times of the year you might see the smith's
-kitchen garnished with forty or fifty heads hanging round the walls.
-
-In the time of the Red Branch Knights, it was the custom to assign the
-choicest joint or animal of the whole banquet to the hero who was
-acknowledged by general consent to have performed the bravest and greatest
-exploit. This piece was called _curath-mir_, i.e., 'the hero's morsel or
-share'; and there were often keen contentions among the Red Branch heroes,
-and sometimes fights with bloodshed, for this coveted joint or piece. This
-usage, which prevailed among the continental Celts in general, and which
-also existed among the Greeks, continued in Ireland to comparatively late
-times.
-
-Tables were, as we have seen, used at the great feasts. But at ordinary
-meals, high tables, such as we have now, do not seem to have been in
-general use. There were small low tables, each used no doubt for two or
-more persons. Often there was a little table laid beside each person, on
-which his food was placed--the meat on a platter.
-
-Forks are a late invention: of old the fingers were used at eating. In
-Ireland, as in England and other countries in those times, each person
-held his knife in the right hand, and used the fingers of the left instead
-of a fork. The Greeks and Romans had no forks at meals: they used the
-fingers only, and were supplied with water to wash their hands after
-eating.
-
-As early as the eighth or ninth century the Irish of the higher classes
-used napkins at table, for which they had a native word _lambrat_, i.e.,
-'hand-cloth.' I suppose the chief use they made of it was to wipe the
-left-hand fingers; which was badly needed. It was the custom, both in
-monastic communities and in secular life, to take off the shoes or sandals
-when sitting down to dinner; which was generally done by an attendant.
-The Romans we know had the same custom. The Irish did not sit up at dinner
-as we do now; but, like the Romans, they reclined on couches on which the
-feet also rested; and this was why the shoes were taken off.
-
-In old times people were quite as fond of intoxicating drinks at dinners
-and banquets as they are now. They sometimes drank more than was good for
-them too: yet drunkenness was looked upon as reprehensible. At their
-feasts they often accompanied their carousing with music and singing.
-Besides plain water and milk, the chief drinks were Ale and Mead or
-metheglin, which were made at home; and Wine which was imported from
-France.
-
-In great houses there were professional cooks, who, while engaged in their
-work, wore a linen apron round them from the hips down, and a flat linen
-cap on the head. But among ordinary families the women did the cooking.
-
-Meat and fish were cooked by roasting, boiling, or broiling. A spit
-(_bir_), made of iron, was regarded as an important household implement.
-But the spits commonly used in roasting, as well as the skewers for
-trussing up the joint, were pointed hazel-rods, peeled and made smooth
-and white. Meat, and even fish, while roasting, were often basted with
-honey or with a mixture of honey and salt.
-
-In the house of every chief and of every brewy (see p. 119 below) there
-was at least one bronze Caldron for boiling meat. It was highly valued, as
-a most important article in the household; and it was looked upon as the
-special property of the chief or head of the house--much in the same way
-as his sword and shield. Everywhere we meet with passages reminding us of
-the great value set on these caldrons. One of them was regarded as a fit
-present for a king. The caldron was supposed to be kept in continual use,
-so that food might be always ready for guests whenever they happened to
-arrive. Many bronze caldrons have been found from time to time, and are
-now preserved in the National Museum, Dublin--several of beautiful
-workmanship.
-
-In early ages kitchen utensils were everywhere regarded as important. The
-inventory of the jewels of the English King Edward III. gives a list of
-his frying-pans, gridirons, spits, etc. There is a curious provision in
-the Brehon Law that if any accident occurred to a bystander by the lifting
-of the joint out of the boiling caldron, the attendant was liable for
-damages unless he gave the warning:--"Take care: here goes the fleshfork
-into the caldron!"
-
-Milk was used both fresh and sour: butter was made in a small hand-churn;
-and cheese of various kinds was made from curds. There were water-mills
-and querns to grind corn, and sieves to separate the ground corn into meal
-and flour. The staple food of the great mass of the people was porridge,
-or, as it is now called in Ireland, stirabout, made of meal, generally
-oatmeal. It was eaten with honey, butter, or milk, as _kitchen_ or
-condiment.
-
-All the various kinds of meal and flour were baked into cakes or loaves of
-different shapes. Flour was usually mixed with water to make dough: but
-bread made of flour and milk was also much in use. Honey was often kneaded
-up with cakes as a delicacy: and occasionally the roe of a salmon was
-similarly used. Wheaten bread was considered the best, as at present:
-barley-bread was poor. Yeast, or barm, or leaven was used both in baking
-and in brewing.
-
-The management of Bees was universally understood, and every comfortable
-householder kept hives in his garden. Wild bees, too, swarmed
-everywhere--much more plentifully than at present, on account of the
-extent of woodland. Accordingly honey was very plentiful, and was used
-with all sorts of dishes. Often at meals each person had placed before him
-on the table a little dish, sometimes of silver, filled with honey; and
-each morsel whether of meat, fish, or bread was dipped into it before
-being conveyed to the mouth. Honey was the chief ingredient in the making
-of mead.
-
-As the country abounded in forests, thickets, and brakes, the most common
-Fuel for domestic use was wood: but peat or turf was also much used, cut
-from a bank with a _slaan_ or turf-spade as at present. Founders and other
-workers in metal used wood-charcoal, of which that made from birch-wood
-gave the greatest heat.
-
-Flint and steel with tinder (or _spunk_) were used for striking and
-kindling fire. The whole kindling-gear--flint, steel, and tinder--was
-carried in the girdle-pocket, so as to be ready to hand; and accordingly,
-fire struck in this way was called _tinne-crassa_, 'girdle-fire.'
-
-For Light, dipped candles were used in the better class of houses. Poor
-people used dipped rushes, which gave a feeble light and burned out
-quickly. In the houses of the rich they used beeswax candles, as indeed we
-might expect from the great abundance of bees.
-
-Hospitality and generosity were virtues highly esteemed in ancient
-Ireland; in the old Irish Christian writings indeed they are everywhere
-praised and inculcated as religious duties; and in the secular literature
-they are equally prominent. The higher the rank of the person the more was
-expected from him, and a king should be hospitable without limit. There
-were all over the country Public Hostels for the free lodging and
-entertainment of travellers. At the head of each was an officer called a
-_Brewy_ or _Beetagh_, a public hospitaller or hosteller, who was held in
-high honour.
-
-In order to be at all times ready to receive visitors, a brewy was bound
-to have three kinds of meat cooked and ready to be served up to all who
-came; three kinds of raw meat ready for cooking; besides animals ready for
-killing. In one of the law tracts a brewy is quaintly described as "a man
-of three snouts":--viz. the snout of a live hog rooting in the fields; the
-snout of a dead hog on the hooks cooking; and the pointed snout of a
-plough: meaning that he had plenty of live animals and of meat cooked and
-uncooked, with a plough and all other tillage appliances.
-
-There should be a number of open roads leading to the house of a brewy, so
-that it might be readily accessible: and on each road a man was stationed
-to make sure that no traveller should pass by without calling to be
-entertained; besides which a light was to be kept burning on the lawn at
-night to guide travellers from a distance. To enable him to meet this
-great expense and to pay himself into the bargain, a brewy was allowed a
-great tract of land free.
-
-Besides the hostels, there were the monasteries, too, where travellers
-were also boarded and lodged free for the time. And along with all this
-the people were kind and hospitable in their own houses to strangers and
-visitors. So we see that travellers were quite as well off then as now:
-indeed in one respect much better off: for whereas we have to pay a smart
-charge in an inn or hotel, there was in those times a hearty welcome and
-no charge at all.
-
-The Irish missionaries carried this fine custom to the Continent in early
-ages, as they did many others: for they established free hostels in France
-and Germany, in places where there were no monasteries, chiefly for the
-use of pilgrims on their way to Rome.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-HOW THE PEOPLE DRESSED.
-
-
-An oval face, broad above and narrow below, golden hair, fair skin, white,
-delicate, and well-formed hands with slender tapering fingers: these were
-considered as marking the type of beauty and of high family descent; they
-were the Marks of Aristocracy. To these natural advantages the people
-added by the usual artificial means. Among the higher classes the
-finger-nails were kept carefully cut and rounded. It was considered
-shameful for a man of position to have rough unkempt nails.
-Crimson-coloured finger-nails were greatly admired; and ladies sometimes
-dyed them this colour. Deirdre, uttering a lament for the sons of Usna,
-says:--"I sleep no more, and I shall not crimson my nails; no joy shall
-ever again come upon my mind."
-
-Ladies often dyed the eyebrows black with the juice of some sort of berry.
-We have already seen (p. 54) that the Irish missionary monks sometimes
-painted or dyed their eyelids black. An entry in Cormac's Glossary plainly
-indicates that the blush of the cheeks was sometimes heightened by a
-colouring matter obtained from the alder tree: and the sprigs and berries
-of the elder were applied to the same purpose. Among Greek and Roman
-ladies the practice was very general of painting the cheeks, eyebrows, and
-other parts of the face.
-
-Both men and women wore the hair long, and commonly flowing down on the
-back and shoulders. The hair was combed daily after a bath. The heroes of
-the Fena of Erin, before sitting down to their dinner after a hard day's
-hunting, always took a bath and carefully combed their long hair.
-
-Among the higher classes in very early times great care was bestowed on
-the hair; its regulation constituted quite an art; and it was dressed up
-in several ways. Very often the long hair of men, as well as of women, was
-elaborately curled. Conall Kernach's hair, as described in the story of Da
-Derga, flowed down his back, and was done up in "hooks and plaits and
-swordlets." The accuracy of this and other similar descriptions is fully
-borne out by the most unquestionable authority of all, namely, the figures
-in the early illuminated manuscripts and on the shrines and high crosses
-of later ages. In nearly all the figures of the Book of Kells, for example
-(seventh or eighth century), the hair is combed and dressed with the
-utmost care, so beautifully adjusted indeed that it could have been done
-only by skilled professional hairdressers, and must have occupied much
-time. Whether in case of men or women, it hangs down both behind and at
-the sides, and is commonly divided the whole way, as well as all over the
-head, into slender fillets or locks, which sometimes hang down to the eyes
-in front. I do not find mentioned anywhere that the Irish dyed their hair,
-as was the custom among the Greeks and Romans.
-
-The men were as particular about the beard as about the hair. The fashion
-of wearing the beard varied. Sometimes it was considered becoming to have
-it long and forked, and gradually narrowed to two points below.
-Sometimes--as shown in many ancient figures--it falls down in a single
-mass; while in a few it is cut straight across at bottom not unlike
-Assyrian beards. Nearly all have a mustache, in most cases curled up and
-pointed at the ends as we often see now. In many the beard is carefully
-divided into slender twisted fillets, as described above for the hair.
-Kings and chiefs had barbers in their service to attend to all this.
-Razors were used made of bronze as hard as steel, as we know by finding
-them mentioned in Irish documents as early as the eighth century; and many
-old bronze razors are now preserved in museums.
-
-From what precedes it will be understood that combs were in general use
-with men as well as with women; and many specimens of combs are now found
-in the remains of ancient dwellings.
-
-Bathing was very usual, at least among the upper classes, and baths and
-the use of baths are constantly mentioned in the old tales and other
-writings. In every public hostel, in every monastery, and in every
-high-class house, there was a bath, with its accompaniments. Soap was used
-both in bathing and washing.
-
-Woollen and linen clothes formed the dress of the great mass of the
-people. Both were produced at home; and in chapter xix. the modes of
-manufacturing them will be mentioned. Silk and satin, which were of course
-imported, were much worn among the higher classes. The furs of animals,
-such as seals, otters, badgers, foxes, etc., were much used for capes and
-jackets, and for the edgings of various garments, so that skins of all the
-various kinds were valuable. They formed, too, an important item of
-everyday traffic, and they were also exported.
-
-The ancient Irish loved bright colours. In this respect they resembled
-many other nations of antiquity--as well indeed as of the present day; and
-they illustrated Ruskin's saying--"Whenever men are noble they love bright
-colour, and bright colour is given to them in sky, sea, flowers, and
-living creatures." The Irish love of colour expressed itself in all parts
-of their raiment; and we know that they well understood the art of dyeing.
-The several articles of dress on one person were usually coloured
-differently. Even the single outer cloak was often striped, spotted, or
-chequered in various colours. King Domnall, in the seventh century, on one
-occasion sent a many-coloured tunic to his foster-son Prince Congal: like
-Joseph's coat of many colours.
-
-A very common article of dress was a large cloak, generally without
-sleeves, varying in length, but commonly covering the whole person from
-the shoulders down. The people also wore a tight-fitting coat with
-sleeves, something like our present frock-coat; but it was much shorter
-and without a collar, and it was kept tight by a belt round the waist. A
-short cape was often worn on the shoulders, sometimes carrying a hood to
-cover the head. The outer covering of the general run of the peasantry was
-just one loose sleeved coat or mantle, generally of frieze, which covered
-them down to the ankles; and which they wore winter and summer. Women
-commonly wore a long loose cloak, with a hood, a fashion which is common
-at the present day. The over-garments were fastened by brooches, pins,
-buttons, girdles, strings, and loops, many of them beautifully made and
-ornamented.
-
-The ancient Irish wore a trousers which was so tight-fitting as to show
-perfectly the shape of the limbs. When terminating below the ankles it was
-held down by a slender strap passing under the foot. Like other Irish
-garments it was generally striped or speckled in various colours. Leggings
-of cloth or of thin soft leather were used, and were laced on by strings
-tipped with white bronze, the bright metallic extremities falling down
-after lacing, so as to form pendant ornaments. A _kilt_ was often worn, in
-which case the legs were left bare at the knees, with leggings below: for
-the kilt is of Irish origin, and was brought--like many other fashions--by
-the early colonists to Scotland, where it is still held on, while it has
-been long disused in Ireland.
-
-Both men and women wore a garment of fine texture next the skin, commonly
-made of wool or linen, but sometimes of silk or satin, embroidered with
-devices in gold or silver thread worked with the needle.
-
-Girdles were commonly worn round the waist inside the outer loose mantle:
-those used by high-class people were often elaborately ornamented so as to
-be worth as much as from L40 to L100 of our present money. Garters were
-worn, partly for use, partly for ornament: often they were made of very
-expensive materials. Gloves were very common among all classes high and
-low, and were often highly ornamented.
-
-The men wore a hat of a conical shape without a leaf; but among the
-peasantry, men, in their daily life, commonly went bare-headed, wearing
-the hair long behind so as to hang down on the back, and clipped short in
-front. Married women usually had the head covered either with a hood or
-with a long web of linen wreathed round and round in several folds. The
-veil was in constant use among the higher classes, and when not actually
-worn was usually carried, among other small articles, in a lady's
-ornamental hand-bag.
-
-Shoes were often made of untanned hide stitched with thongs, with several
-layers for a sole. But there was a more shapely shoe, made of fully tanned
-leather, having serviceable sole and heel, and often ornamented with
-patterns stamped in.
-
-The Irish were excessively fond of personal ornaments, which among the
-higher classes were made of expensive materials, such as gold, silver,
-gems, white bronze, etc. They wore rings and bracelets of various shapes
-on the fingers (including the thumb), round the wrist and forearm, and
-even round the leg above the ankle. Necklaces were very common, from the
-cheapest kind up to those with the studs made of gold, pearls, and other
-gems, all of which materials were found native.
-
-They had torques for the neck made of twisted gold bars; and the elaborate
-and immensely expensive crescents or gorgets have been already described
-(p. 96). There was a gold ornament--a kind of open ring with bosses or
-buttons on the ends--called _Bunne-do-at_, worn on the breast: suspended
-from an ornamented button. Thin circular gold plates were also worn
-fastened on the breast: and as for brooches, they were of all shapes and
-sizes, some plain, simple, and cheap, some of gold or other expensive
-material, of elaborate workmanship.
-
-Pictures and full descriptions of all these ornaments will be found in
-either of the two Social Histories.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-HOW THEY FENCED IN AND TILLED THEIR LAND.
-
-
-Ever since that remote time when legend and history begin to give us
-glimpses of the occupations of the inhabitants of this country, we find
-them engaged in Agriculture and Pasturage. For both of these purposes open
-land was necessary; and accordingly, people worked hard in old times to
-clear the land from wood. But there was always more pasturage than
-tillage.
-
-In very early ages there was little need of fences, for the people were
-few and the land was mostly common property. But as the population
-increased it became more and more necessary to fence off the portions
-belonging to different individuals. The Brehon Law describes the several
-kinds of farm fences, some of which are still used; and it lays down
-strict rules regarding them.
-
-Fences or merings of a more enduring kind were needed to bound off large
-territories or sub-kingdoms. There were several kinds of these territorial
-boundaries, some natural, some artificial, the most usual being rivers,
-roads, pillar-stones, and great ramparts of earth sometimes extending for
-miles.
-
-Manure--chiefly stable-manure--is often mentioned in the Brehon Laws. The
-laws also take account of several things that add to the value of land;
-such as a wood properly fenced in: a mine of copper or iron: the site of
-an old mill [with millrace and other accessories, rendering easy the
-erection of a new mill]: a road opening up communication: situation by the
-sea, by a river, or by a cooling-pond for cattle. The art of obtaining
-water by digging deeply into the ground was understood and practised.
-
-Most of the native crops now in use were then known and cultivated: chief
-among them being corn of various kinds. Nearly all the agricultural
-implements now known were then used:--such as ploughs, sickles, spades and
-shovels, flails, rakes, clod-mallets, etc.
-
-The chief farm animals were cows, pigs, sheep; and oxen, which were used
-for ploughing and for drawing waggons. Horses were not then so much used
-in farm-work as they are now. Pigs were kept in great droves at very
-little expense; for as forests abounded everywhere, the animals were
-simply turned out into the woods in care of a keeper, and fed on nuts,
-roots, and whatever else they could pick up.
-
-Cows and sheep were very often grazed on 'Commons,' _i.e._, tracts of
-grassy uncultivated land lying near a village--generally upland or
-mountain land--which belonged to the whole of the village or townland, but
-not to any particular individuals. These commons exist to this day near
-many villages, and are still used as in old times.
-
-Women always did the milking, except of course in monasteries, where no
-women were employed, and the monks had to do all the work of the
-community.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-HOW IRISH HANDICRAFTSMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR WORK.
-
-
-All the chief materials for the work of the various crafts were produced
-at home. Of wood there was no stint: and there were mines of copper, iron,
-lead, and possibly of tin, which were worked with intelligence and
-success.
-
-From the most remote times there were in Ireland professional architects
-or builders, as there were smiths, poets, historians, physicians, and
-druids; and we find them mentioned in our earliest literature. There were
-two main branches of the builder's profession:--stone-building and
-wood-building. An ollave builder was supposed to be master of both.
-
-The most distinguished ollave builder of a district was taken into the
-direct service of the king, and received from him a good yearly stipend:
-for which he was to oversee and have properly executed all the king's
-building and other structural works. In addition to this he was permitted
-to exercise his art for the general public for pay: and as he had a great
-name, and had plenty of time on hands, he usually made a large income.
-
-The three chief metal-workers were the _Gobha_ [gow], the _Caird_, and the
-_Saer_. The gobha was a smith--a blacksmith; the caird, a worker in brass,
-gold, and silver--a brasier, goldsmith, or silversmith; the saer, a
-carpenter or a mason--a worker in wood or stone.
-
-We have already seen that the ancient Irish were very skilful in metallic
-art. Metallic compounds were carefully and successfully studied, copper
-commonly forming one of the ingredients. The most general alloy was
-Bronze, formed of copper and tin: but brass, a compound of copper and
-zinc, was also used. There were two kinds of bronze:--red bronze, used for
-spear-heads, caldrons, etc.; and white bronze, which was much more
-expensive, and used for ornamental works of art--fine metal-work of all
-kinds.
-
-The exquisite skill of the ancient Irish brasiers is best proved by the
-articles they made, of which hundreds are preserved in our museums. The
-gracefully-shaped spear-heads, which, in point of artistic excellence, are
-fully equal to any of those found in Greece, Rome, or Egypt, were cast in
-moulds: and we have not only the spear-heads themselves but many of the
-moulds, usually of stone. In one glass case in the National Museum there
-are more than forty moulds for bronze axes, spear-heads, arrow-heads,
-etc.: some looking as fresh as if they had been in use yesterday. The old
-cairds were equally accomplished in making articles of hammered bronze, of
-which the most characteristic and important are the great trumpets (page
-87 above) and the beautifully-formed caldrons (page 116)--many of
-admirable workmanship--made of a number of bronze plates, hammered into
-shape and riveted together.
-
-In old times in Ireland, blacksmiths were held in great estimation; and in
-the historical and legendary tales, we find smiths entertaining kings,
-princes, and chiefs, and entertained by them in turn. We know that Vulcan
-was a Grecian god; and the ancient Irish had their smith-god, Goibniu,
-the Dedannan, who figures in many of the old romances.
-
-The old Irish smith's anvil was something like the anvil of the present
-day, but not quite so large and heavy: it had the usual long snout, and
-was fixed firmly on a block. There were sledges and hand-hammers, pincers
-or tongs, and a water-trough. The bellows was very different from the
-present smith's bellows: it had two air-chambers of wood and leather lying
-side by side and communicating with the blowing-pipe. These were worked by
-a bellows-blower, who stood with his feet on the two upper boards, and
-pressed them down alternately, by which the two chambers were emptied in
-turn into the main pipe, so as to keep up a continuous blast. It should be
-remarked that in private houses they used a different sort of bellows,
-commonly called a 'blower,' which was held in the lap, and worked by
-turning a handle: this, by means of cog-wheels, caused a number of little
-fans in the inside to revolve rapidly, and thus to force a current through
-the pipe.
-
-The fuel used by metal-workers was wood-charcoal. The smith's furnace was
-made of moist clay, specially prepared, a sort of fire-clay, which was
-renewed from time to time when needed. This furnace surrounded and
-confined the fire on four sides, otherwise the light charcoal would be
-scattered by the blast of the bellows.
-
-There was plenty to do for carpenters and other wood-workers, more indeed
-than for almost any other tradesmen, as the houses were then nearly all
-made of wood.
-
-The yew-tree was formerly very abundant. Its wood was highly valued and
-used in making a great variety of articles: so that working in yew was
-regarded as one of the most important of trades. It required great skill
-and much training and practice: for yew is about the hardest and most
-difficult to work of all our native timber: and the cutting-tools must
-have been particularly fine in quality. Various domestic vessels were made
-from it, and it was used for doorposts and lintels and other prominent
-parts of houses, as well as for the posts, bars, and legs of beds and
-couches, always carved. Yew-carving accordingly gave much employment.
-There were also painters and metal-engravers; and here it is just as well
-to remark once for all, that the various articles of everyday life--hats,
-curraghs, shoes, book-covers, shields, chariots, leather, and so on, were
-made by special tradesmen (or women), all with their several suitable
-tools and instruments. The makers of vessels of wood, metal, and clay
-were very numerous, and they were quite as skilful and dexterous as those
-of the present time. A thousand years ago the Irish coopers were able to
-make vessels of staves bound with hoops, like our tubs and churns, as
-water-tight and as serviceable as those made by the best coopers of our
-day.
-
-The tools used by the various tradesmen are often mentioned in the Brehon
-Laws, from which we learn that there was as great a variety in Ireland
-then as there is now: but our limited space will only allow us to barely
-mention a few. There were saws, axes, hatchets, and hammers of various
-shapes and sizes; an adze for coopers and shield-makers; compasses for
-circles; planes both for flat surfaces and for moulding; lathes and
-potter's wheels for turning in wood and soft clay; chisels and gouges,
-awls, and augers. Besides the common whetstone they used a circular
-grindstone, which was turned on an axis by a cranked handle like those now
-in use.
-
-Numerous stone structures erected in Christian times, but before the
-Anglo-Norman invasion, with lime-mortar, still remain all over the
-country, chiefly primitive churches and round towers. It is only necessary
-to point to the round towers to show the admirable skill and the delicate
-perception of gracefulness of outline possessed by the ancient Irish
-builders. A similar remark might be made regarding many of the ancient
-churches.
-
-Artificers of all kinds held a good position in society and were taken
-care of by the Brehon Law. Among the higher classes of craftsmen a builder
-of oratories or of ships was entitled to the same compensation for any
-injury inflicted on him in person, honour, or reputation, as the lowest
-rank of noble: and similar provisions are set forth in the law for
-craftsmen of a lower grade.
-
-No individual tradesman was permitted to practise till his work had been
-in the first place examined at a meeting of chiefs and specially qualified
-ollaves, held either at Croghan or at Emain, where a number of craftsmen
-candidates always presented themselves. But besides this there was another
-precautionary regulation. In each district there was a head-craftsman of
-each trade, designated _sai-re-cerd_ [see-re-caird], _i.e._, "sage in
-handicraft." He presided over all those of his own craft in the district:
-and a workman who had passed the test of the examiners in Croghan or Emain
-had further to obtain the approval and sanction of his own head craftsman
-before he was permitted to follow his trade in the district. It will be
-seen from all this that precautions were adopted to secure competency in
-handicrafts similar to those now adopted in the professions.
-
-Young persons learned trades by apprenticeship, and commonly resided
-during the term in the houses of their masters. They generally gave a fee:
-but sometimes they were taught free or--as the law-tract expresses
-it--"for God's sake." When an apprentice paid a fee, the master was
-responsible for his misdeeds: otherwise not. The apprentice was bound to
-do all sorts of menial work--digging, reaping, feeding pigs, etc.--for his
-master, during apprenticeship.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-HOW THEY PREPARED AND MADE UP CLOTHING MATERIALS.
-
-
-The wool was taken from the sheep with a shears having two blades and two
-handles, much the same as our present hedge-shears. After the shearing the
-whole work up to the finished cloth was done by women, except fulling,
-which was regarded as men's work. The wool, after shearing, was sorted
-and scoured to remove the grease, and then carded into soft little rolls
-ready for spinning. Both wool and flax were spun with the distaff and
-spindle as in other countries; for the spinning-wheel was not invented
-till the fifteenth or sixteenth century.
-
-The thread was woven in a hand-loom, nearly always by women in their own
-homes. Ladies of high rank practised weaving long ornamental scarfs as an
-accomplishment, which they did by means of a long thin lath--something
-like our crochet work--as the Greek ladies of old practised weaving
-ornamental webs. The woollen cloth was fulled or thickened by men who
-practised fulling as a distinct trade.
-
-Our records show that linen was manufactured in Ireland from the earliest
-historic times. It was a very common article of dress, and was worked up
-and dyed in a great variety of forms and colours, and exported besides to
-foreign nations. So that the manufacture for which Ulster is famous at the
-present day is merely an energetic development of an industry whose
-history is lost in the twilight of antiquity.
-
-The flax, after pulling, was tied up in sheaves and dried, after which it
-was put through various stages of preparation much like those of the
-present day. After spinning, the thread was finally wound in balls ready
-for weaving.
-
-The beautiful illumination of the Book of Kells, the Book of Mac Durnan,
-and numerous other old manuscripts, proves that the ancient Irish were
-very skilful in colours: and the art of dyeing was well understood. The
-dyestuffs were not imported: they were all produced at home, and were
-considered of great importance.
-
-The people understood how to produce various shades by the mixture of
-different colours, and were acquainted with the use of mordants for fixing
-the dyes. One of these mordants, alum, is a native product, and was
-probably known in very early times. Dyeing was what we now call a cottage
-industry, _i.e._, the work was always carried on in the house: as I saw it
-carried on in the homes of Munster more than half a century ago.
-
-The cloth was dyed by being boiled with the several dyestuffs. The
-dyestuff for black was a sediment or deposit of an intense black found at
-the bottom of pools in bogs.
-
-A crimson or bright-red colour was imparted by a plant which required good
-land, and was cultivated in beds like table-vegetables, requiring great
-care. There were several stages of preparation; but the final dyestuff was
-a sort of meal or coarse flour of a reddish colour.
-
-The stuff for dyeing blue was obtained from the woad-plant (called in
-Irish _glasheen_) after several stages of preparation, till it was made
-into cakes fit for use. A beautiful purple was produced from a sort of
-lichen growing on rocks, after careful preparation. A still more splendid
-purple was obtained from a little shellfish or cockle. This method of
-obtaining purple was practised also by the ancient Britons or Welsh; and
-by the same process was produced the celebrated Tyrian purple in still
-more distant ages.
-
-For sewing, woollen thread was usually employed. Women sewed with a needle
-furnished with an eye as at present. From an early time needles were made
-of steel, but in primitive ages of bronze. In those days a steel or bronze
-needle was difficult to make; so that needles were very expensive: the
-price of an embroidering needle was an ounce of silver. The old Irish
-dressmakers were accomplished workers. The sewing on ancient articles of
-dress found from time to time is generally very neat and uniform: one
-writer describes the sewing on a fur cape found in a bog as "wonderfully
-beautiful and regular."
-
-Embroidery was also practised as a separate art or trade by women. An
-embroiderer kept for her work, among other materials, thread of various
-colours, as well as silver thread, and a special needle. The design or
-pattern to be embroidered was drawn and stamped beforehand, by a designer,
-on a piece of leather, which the embroiderer placed lying before her and
-imitated with her needle. This indicates the refinement and carefulness of
-the old Irish embroiderers. The art of stamping designs on leather, for
-other purposes as well as for embroidery, was carried to great perfection,
-as we know from the beautiful specimens of book-covers preserved in our
-museums.
-
-Ladies of the highest rank practised needlework and embroidery as an
-accomplishment and recreation. For this purpose they spun ornamental
-thread, which, as well as needles, they constantly carried about in a
-little ornamented hand-bag.
-
-The art of tanning leather--generally with oak-bark--was well understood
-in Ireland. By the process of tanning, the hide was thickened and
-hardened, as at present. Tanned leather was used for various purposes, one
-of the principal being as material for shoes; and we know that curraghs
-or wicker-boats were often covered with leather. A jacket of hard, tough,
-tanned leather was sometimes worn in battle as a protecting corselet.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-HOW THE IRISH TRAVELLED ON LAND AND WATER.
-
-
-That the country was well provided with roads we know from our ancient
-literature, and from the general use of chariots. They were not indeed
-anything like our present hard, smooth roads, but constructed according to
-the knowledge and needs of the period, sometimes laid with wood and stone,
-sometimes not, but always open and level enough for car and horse traffic.
-There were five main roads leading from Tara through the country in
-different directions: and numerous roads--all with distinct names--are
-mentioned in the annals. Many of the old roads are still traceable: and
-some are in use at the present day, but so improved to meet modern
-requirements as to efface all marks of antiquity.
-
-In old times the roads seem to have been very well looked after: and the
-regulations for making and cleaning them, and keeping them in repair, are
-set forth with much detail in the Brehon Laws.
-
-Rivers were usually crossed by bridges, which were made either of planks
-or of strong wickerwork supported by piles. Where there were no bridges
-people had to wade or drive across broad shallow fords: or to use a
-ferryboat if the stream was deep; or as a last resource to swim across.
-
-The higher classes had chariots drawn by horses: usually one horse or a
-pair: but sometimes there were four. The chariot was commonly open: but
-some were covered over by an awning or hood of bright-coloured cloth,
-luxuriously fitted up, and ornamented with gold, silver, and feathers. The
-body of the chariot was made of wickerwork supported by an outer frame of
-strong wooden bars: and it was frequently ornamented with tin. The wheels
-were about four feet high, spoked, and shod round with iron. But no matter
-how carefully and beautifully it was constructed the Irish chariot, like
-those of the Greeks, Romans, and other ancient nations, was a springless
-jolting machine and made a great deal of noise. Two persons commonly rode
-in a chariot, the master and the charioteer. The general run of people
-used cars drawn by oxen.
-
-Horses were put to the same uses as at present:--riding, drawing chariots,
-racing; and more rarely ploughing, drawing carts, and as pack-animals. A
-bridle with a single rein was used in horse-riding. The rein was attached
-to a nose-band not at the side but at the top, and came to the hand of the
-rider over the animal's forehead, passing right between the eyes and ears,
-and being held in its place by a loop or ring in the face-band which ran
-across the horse's forehead. This single rein was used to restrain merely:
-it could not be used to guide. No spurs were used: the rider urged on and
-guided the horse with a rod having a hooked goad at the end. The ancient
-Irish--like the Britons, Gauls, and Romans--used no saddles: but there was
-usually a thick cloth between rider and horse. Chariot-drivers sat too far
-from the horse to make use of a horse-rod; so they used a two-rein bridle
-like ours.
-
-Those who kept horses for riding were very fond of ornamenting their
-bridles and trappings with gold, silver, and enamel: so that the bridle
-alone was often worth from five or six cows up to eighteen or twenty.
-
-The Irish used several kinds of boats, of which the commonest was the
-curragh, made of wickerwork woven round a frame of strong wattles, and
-covered with hides which were stitched together with thongs. Boats of this
-kind are still used round the coasts, but tarred canvas is employed
-instead of skins, as being cheaper. Those used on rivers and lakes and on
-short coast voyages, were small and light and covered with a single skin.
-But those intended for rough seas and long voyages were made large and
-strong, with solid wooden decks and seats, and a mast, spars, and sails,
-so that they could be propelled by oars or sails, or both together. These
-were covered with two, or with three, hides, one outside another, and the
-hides were tanned so as to make them thick and hard, much the same as our
-thick leather. Some of these were large enough to hold fifty or sixty
-people. It should be remarked that wicker-boats were also used very
-generally in Britain, and occasionally on the coasts of some parts of the
-Continent.
-
-The Irish had also ordinary wooden ships with sails and oars, and with
-sleeping-berths, like our small sailing vessels, and these they often used
-in very long voyages, either for trade or invasion. But for foreign
-expeditions their favourite vessel was the strong well-made curragh; and
-how suitable and safe these curraghs were is indicated by the fact that on
-one occasion Julius Caesar ordered a number of them to be made for use in
-some special expedition. Gildas, a British writer, tells us that whole
-armies of the Irish were often seen landing on the British shores from
-curraghs; and an ancient Irish writer says that during a certain military
-expedition the sea between Ireland and Scotland looked as if covered with
-a continuous bridge of curraghs.
-
-The people of Ireland carried on considerable trade with England,
-Scotland, and the Continent. So constant was their communication with the
-Continent, that, as we are told by a great Roman writer, foreign merchants
-were, in those early days, better acquainted with the harbours of Ireland
-than with those of Britain.
-
-The various articles mentioned in our records as brought from foreign
-lands to Ireland were imported to supplement the home produce; in which
-there was nothing more remarkable than our present importation of
-thousands of articles from foreign countries, all or most of which are
-also produced at home. The articles anciently imported were paid for in
-home commodities--skins and furs of various animals, wool and woollens,
-oatmeal, fish, salted hogs, etc.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI.
-
-HOW THE PEOPLE HELD GREAT CONVENTIONS AND FAIRS; AND HOW THEY AMUSED
-THEMSELVES.
-
-
-Public assemblies of several kinds and for various purposes were held all
-through Ireland; they were considered very important, and were looked
-forward to on the several occasions with great interest. Affairs of
-various kinds, some affecting the whole kingdom, some the particular
-province or district, were transacted at these meetings.
-
-The laws were, when necessary, publicly recited to make the people
-familiar with them. There were councils or courts to consider and settle
-such matters as the claims of individuals to certain privileges; acts of
-tyranny by rich and powerful people on their weaker neighbours; disputes
-about boundaries; levying fines; imposing taxes for the construction and
-repair of roads; and such like. In fact the functions of these meetings of
-more than a thousand years ago were in many respects like those of our
-present county and district councils. In all the assemblies of whatever
-kind there were markets for the sale and purchase of commodities.
-
-Some meetings were established and convened chiefly for the transaction of
-serious business: but even at these there were sports and pastimes: in
-others the main object was the celebration of games: but advantage was
-taken of the occasions to discuss and settle important affairs, as will be
-described farther on.
-
-The three great assemblies of Tara, Croghan, and Emain were not meetings
-for the general mass of the people, but conventions of delegates who
-represented the kingdoms and sub-kingdoms, _i.e._, the states in general
-of all Ireland, and who sat and deliberated under the presidency of the
-supreme monarch. The word _Feis_ [faish] was generally applied to these
-three meetings.
-
-The Feis of Tara, according to the old tradition, was founded by Ollam
-Fodla [Ollav-Fola], who was king of Ireland seven or eight centuries
-before the Christian era. It was originally held every third year, at
-_Samain_, i.e., 1st November. The provincial kings, the minor kings and
-chiefs, and the most distinguished ollaves (doctors) of the learned
-professions attended. According to some authorities it lasted for a week,
-i.e., _Samain_ day with three days before and three days after: but others
-say a month.
-
-Each provincial king had a separate house for himself and his retinue
-during the time; and there was one house for their queens, with private
-apartments for each, with her attendant ladies. There was still another
-house called _Relta na bh-filedh_ [Railtha-na-villa], the "Star of the
-poets," for the accommodation of the ollaves, where these learned men held
-their sittings. Every day the king of Ireland feasted the company in the
-great Banqueting Hall, which was large enough for a goodly company: for
-even in its present ruined state it is 759 feet long by 46 feet wide. The
-results of the deliberations were written in the national record called
-the Saltair of Tara. The conventions of Emain and Croghan were largely
-concerned with industrial affairs (see page 137 above).
-
-The Aenach or fair was an assembly of the people of every grade without
-distinction: it was the most common kind of large public meeting, and its
-main object was the celebration of games, athletic exercises, sports and
-pastimes of all kinds. The most important of the Aenachs were those of
-Tailltenn, Tlachtga, and Ushnagh. The Fair of Tailltenn, now Teltown on
-the Blackwater, midway between Navan and Kells, was attended by people
-from the whole of Ireland, as well as from Scotland, and was the most
-celebrated of all for its athletic games and sports: corresponding
-closely with the Olympic, Isthmian, and other games of Greece. It was held
-yearly on the 1st August, and on the days preceding and following.
-Marriages formed a special feature of this fair. All this is remembered in
-tradition to the present day: and the people of the place point out the
-spot where the marriages were performed, which they call 'Marriage
-Hollow.' The remains of several immense forts are still to be seen at
-Teltown, even larger than those at Tara, though not in such good
-preservation.
-
-The meetings at Tlachtga and Ushnagh, which have already been mentioned,
-seem originally to have been mainly pagan religious celebrations: but
-there were also games, buying and selling, and conferences on local
-affairs.
-
-At the Irish fairs, wherever held, all kinds of amusements were carried
-on; for the people loved games, sports, and fun of every kind. In order to
-make sure that there should be nothing to spoil sport, there was a very
-strict law against brawls, quarrelling, or fighting. Anyone who struck a
-blow or raised any disturbance was sure to be punished: and if it was a
-very bad case, he was put to death. So if there were any grudges between
-individuals, or families, or clans, they had to be repressed during these
-meetings. The old Greeks had a law for their games exactly similar, which
-they called the "Sacred Armistice."
-
-An Irish fair in those times was a lively and picturesque sight. The
-people were dressed in their best, and in great variety, for all, both men
-and women, loved bright colours; and from head to foot every individual
-wore articles of varied hues. Here you see a tall gentleman walking along
-with a scarlet cloak flowing loosely over a short jacket of purple, with
-perhaps a blue trousers and yellow headgear, while the next showed a
-colour arrangement wholly different; and the women vied with the men in
-variety of hues.
-
-The people were bright and intelligent and much given to intellectual
-entertainments and amusements. They loved music and singing, and took
-delight in listening to poetry, history, and romantic stories; and
-accordingly, among the entertainments and art performances was the
-recitation of poems and tales of all the various kinds mentioned at p. 75
-above, like the recitations of what were called Rhapsodists among the
-Greeks. For all of these there were sure to be special audiences who
-listened with delight to the fascinating lore of old times. Music always
-formed a prominent part of the amusements: and there was no end of
-harpers, timpanists, pipers, fiddlers, and whistle-players.
-
-In another part of the fair the people gave themselves up to uproarious
-fun, crowded round showmen, jugglers, and clowns with grotesque masks or
-painted faces, making hideous distortions, all roaring out their rough
-jests to the laughing crowd. There were also performers of horsemanship,
-who delighted their audiences with feats of activity and skill on
-horseback, such as we see in modern circuses.
-
-In the open spaces round the fair-green there were chariot and horse
-races, which were sure to draw great multitudes of spectators. Indeed some
-fairs were held chiefly for races, like those at the Curragh of Kildare,
-which was as celebrated as a racecourse twelve hundred years ago as it is
-now.
-
-Special portions of the fair-green were set apart for another very
-important function--buying and selling. There were markets for stock and
-horses, for provisions and clothes; and there you might also see foreign
-merchants from Continental countries, exhibiting their gold and silver
-articles, their silks and satins, and many strange curiosities: all for
-sale. Embroidering-women--all natives--showed off their beautiful
-designs, and often kept doing their work in presence of the spectators. A
-special space was assigned for cooking, which must have been on an
-extensive scale to feed such multitudes.
-
-At length the leaders gave the signal that the aenach was ended; and the
-people quietly dispersed to their homes.
-
-Hunting was one of the favourite amusements of the Irish. Some wild
-animals were chased for sport, some for food, and some merely to extirpate
-them as being noxious; but whatever might be the motive, the chase was
-always keenly enjoyed. It is indeed quite refreshing to read in some of
-the tales a description of a hunt and of the immense delight the people
-took in the sport and all its joyous accompaniments. The hunters led the
-chase chiefly on foot, with different breeds of hunting-dogs, according to
-the animals to be chased. The principal kinds of game were deer, wild
-pigs, badgers, otters, and wolves; and hares and foxes were hunted with
-beagles for pure amusement. Pig-hunting was a favourite sport. Wolves were
-hunted down with the great Irish wolf-dogs, some of which were as big as a
-colt or an ass.
-
-Wild animals were trapped as well as chased. There was an elaborate trap
-for deer, a deep pitfall with a sharp spear at bottom pointing upwards,
-all covered over and concealed by a _brathlang_ or light covering of
-brambles and sods. There was a special trap for each kind of animal--wolf,
-wild-hog, otter, and so forth. Birds were caught with nets and cribs: and
-indeed bird-catching was considered of such importance, that it was
-regulated by a special section of the Brehon Laws called 'Bird-net laws.'
-
-Fish were caught, as at present, with nets, with spears either single or
-pronged, and with hook-and-line. Fishing-weirs on rivers were very common.
-A man who had land adjoining a stream had the right to construct a weir
-for his own use: but according to law, he could not dam the stream more
-than one-third across, so that the fish might have freedom to pass up or
-down to the weirs belonging to others.
-
-Coursing was another amusement, as we find mentioned in our literature.
-The dogs were pitted against each other; and it was usual to see
-greyhounds, trained for this special purpose, exhibited for sale in
-markets, like cows, horses, and sheep.
-
-Hurling or goaling has been a favourite game among the Irish from the
-earliest ages: played with a ball and a _caman_ or hurley as at present.
-In the latter part of the last century it declined somewhat in popularity;
-but now there is a vigorous attempt to revive it. Our modern cricket and
-hockey are only forms of the old game of _caman_.
-
-In ancient Ireland chess-playing was a favourite pastime among the higher
-classes. Everywhere in the Tales we read of kings and chiefs amusing
-themselves with chess, and to be a good player was considered a necessary
-accomplishment of every man of high position. In every chief's house there
-was accordingly at least one set of chess appliances for the use of the
-family and guests; namely, a chequered chess-board, with chessmen and a
-bag to hold them, which was often made of woven brass wire.
-
-From the most remote times in Ireland, kings kept fools, jesters, clowns,
-and jugglers in their courts, for amusement, like kings of England and
-other countries in much later times. In the Tales we constantly read of
-such persons and their sayings and doings. They wore funny-looking
-dresses; and they amused the people something in the same way as the court
-fools and buffoons of later times--by broad impudent remarks, jests, half
-witty, half absurd, and odd gestures and grimaces. King Conari's three
-jesters were such surpassingly funny fellows that, as we are told in the
-story of Da Derga, no man could refrain from laughing at them, even though
-the dead body of his father or mother lay stretched out before him.
-Professional gleemen--commonly called _crossans_--travelled from place to
-place earning a livelihood by amusing the people like travelling showmen
-of the present day.
-
-There were hand-jugglers, who performed wonderful tricks of
-slight-of-hand. King Conari's head juggler and his trick of throwing up
-balls and other small articles, catching them one by one as they came
-down, and throwing them up again, are well described in the old tale of Da
-Derga:--"He had clasps of gold in his ears; and wore a speckled white
-cloak. He had nine [short] swords, nine [small] silvery shields, and nine
-balls of gold. [Taking up a certain number of them] he flung them up one
-by one, and not one of them does he let fall to the ground, and there is
-but one of them at any one time in his hand. Like the buzzing-whirl of
-bees on a beautiful day was their motion in passing one another."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII.
-
-HOW THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE SHOWED ITSELF IN VARIOUS
-CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS.
-
-
-Some of the modes of salutation and of showing respect practised by the
-ancient Irish indicate much gentleness and refinement of feeling. When a
-distinguished visitor arrived it was usual to stand up as a mark of
-respect. Giving a kiss, or more generally three kisses, on the cheek, was
-a very usual form of respectful and affectionate salutation: it was indeed
-the most general of all. When St. Columba approached the assembly at
-Drum-ketta, "King Domnall rose immediately before him, and bade him
-welcome, and kissed his cheek, and set him down in his own place."
-
-A very pleasing way of showing respect and affection, which we often find
-noticed, was laying the head gently on the person's bosom. When Erc, King
-Concobar's grandson, came to him, "he placed his head on the breast of his
-grandfather." Sometimes persons bent the head and went on one knee to
-salute a superior.
-
-Although there were no such institutions in ancient Ireland as
-pawn-offices, pledging articles as security for a temporary loan and its
-interest, was common enough. The practice was such a general feature of
-society that the Brehon Law stepped in to prevent abuses, just as our law
-now contains provisions to safeguard poor people from being wronged in
-their dealings with pawn-offices. A person might pledge any movable
-article--a horse, a brooch, a mantle, etc.--and the person holding the
-pledge might put it to its proper use while it remained with him. He was
-obliged to return it on receiving a day's notice, provided the borrower
-tendered the sum borrowed, with its interest: and if he failed to do so he
-was liable to fine. Borrowing or lending, on pledge, was a very common
-transaction among neighbours; and it was not looked upon as in any sense a
-thing to be ashamed of, as pawning articles is at the present day.
-
-There were distinct terms for all the parts of these transactions--a loan
-for kindness merely, a loan for interest, a loan in general: and interest
-was designated by two distinct words. The existence in ancient Ireland of
-the practice of pledging and lending for interest, the designation of the
-several functions by different terms, and the recognition of all by the
-Brehon Law, may be classed, among numerous other customs and institutions
-noticed throughout this book, as indicating a very advanced stage of
-civilisation. At what an early period this stage--of lending for
-interest--was reached may be seen from the fact that it is mentioned in an
-Irish gloss of twelve hundred years ago.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Old age was greatly honoured, and provision was made for the maintenance
-of old persons who were not able to support themselves. As to old persons
-who had no means, the duty of maintaining them fell of course on the
-children; and a son or daughter who was able to support parents but who
-evaded the duty was punished. If an old person who had no children became
-destitute the tribe was bound to take care of him. A usual plan was to
-send him (or her) to live with some family willing to undertake the duty,
-who had an allowance from the tribe for the cost of support.
-
-In some cases destitute persons dependent on the tribe, who did not choose
-to live with a strange family, but preferred to have their own little
-house, received what we now call outdoor relief. There was a special
-officer whose business it was to look after them: or, in the words of the
-law tract, to "oversee the wretched and the poor," and make sure that
-they received the proper allowance: like the relieving officer of our
-present poor laws. He was paid for this duty; and the law specially warned
-him not to take offence at the abuse he was likely to receive from the
-poor cross peevish old people he had in charge.
-
-Care was taken that the separate little house in which a destitute old
-person lived should be a fit and proper one; and its dimensions and
-furniture, as well as the dimensions of the little kitchen-garden, are set
-forth in the law. The law also specifies three items of maintenance--food,
-milk, and attendance; and it adds that the old person was to have a bath
-at regular intervals, and his head was to be washed every Saturday.
-
-From the arrangements here described it will be seen that there was a
-kindly spirit in the provisions for old age and destitution, and that the
-most important features of our modern poor-laws were anticipated in
-Ireland a thousand years ago.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." So says the English poet, Keats, in
-his poem of Endymion, and he enumerates various natural features and
-artificial creations as things of beauty; among many others, the sun, the
-moon, "trees old and new," clear rills, "the mid-forest brake," "all
-lovely tales that we have heard or read." If he had been in Ireland in old
-times, he would have come across delightful proofs of the truth of his
-saying everywhere among the people. They loved and had an intense
-appreciation of all things of beauty, whether natural or artificial; and
-they were remarkable for their close observation of the natural features
-of the world around them.
-
-We know all this from their poetry, their tales, and their writings in
-general, which strongly reflect this pleasing aspect of their character.
-Everywhere we meet with passages in which are noticed, with loving
-admiration, not only those features mentioned by Keats, but many others,
-such as the boom and clash of the waves, the cry of the sea-birds, the
-murmur of the wind among the trees, the howling of the storm, the sad
-desolation of the landscape in winter, the ever-varying beauty of Irish
-clouds, the cry of the hounds in full career among the glens, the beauty
-of the native music, tender, sad, or joyous, and so forth in endless
-variety.
-
-The few examples that follow here, as the reader will at once perceive,
-exhibit vividly this very fine and very attractive characteristic.
-
-The singing of birds had a special charm for the old Irish people. Comgan,
-a poet of the seventh century, standing on the great rath of Knockgraffon
-in Tipperary--one of the old Munster royal residences--which was in his
-time surrounded with woods, uttered the following verse:--
-
-  "This great rath on which I stand
-  Wherein is a little well with a bright silver drinking-cup:
-  Sweet was the voice of the wood of blackbirds
-  Round this rath of King Fiacha."
-
-Among the examples of metre given in an old Irish treatise on prosody is
-the following verse, selected merely for a grammatical purpose:--
-
-  "The bird that calls within the sallow-tree,
-  Beautiful his beak and clear his voice;
-  The tip of the bill of the glossy jet-black bird is a lovely yellow;
-  The note that the merle warbles is a trilling lay."
-
-It would be hard to find a more striking or a prettier conception of the
-power of music in the shape of a bird-song, than the account of Queen
-Blanid's three cows with their three little birds which used to sing to
-them during milking. These cows were always milked into a caldron, but
-submitted reluctantly and gave little milk till the birds came to their
-usual perch--on the cows' ears--and sang for them: then they gave their
-milk freely till the caldron was filled. This corresponds with the effect
-of the milking-songs described at p. 89. (See also for bird-songs, p.
-83.)
-
-Many students of our ancient literature have noticed these characteristics
-of the old Irish and their writings. "Another poem," writes Mr. Alfred
-Nutt, "strikes a note which remains dominant throughout the entire range
-of Ossianic Literature: the note of keen and vivid feeling for certain
-natural conditions. It is a brief description of winter:--
-
-    "A tale here for you: oxen lowing: winter snowing: summer passed away:
-    wind from the north, high and cold: low the sun and short his course:
-    wildly tossing the wave of the sea. The fern burns deep red. Men wrap
-    themselves closely: the wild goose raises her wonted cry: cold seizes
-    the wing of the bird: 'tis the season of ice: sad my tale."
-
-In a certain plain, simple prose narrative in one of our old books, where
-there is not the least effort at fine writing, it is related how, in the
-noon of a summer day, a little child fell over a cliff into the sea. The
-mother ran down shrieking expecting he was dashed to pieces: but she found
-him quite safe "sitting in the trough of the sea"--to quote the lovely
-words of the old writer--"playing with the waves. For the waves would
-reach up to him and laugh round him; and he was laughing at the waves, and
-putting the palm of his hand to the foam of the crest, and he used to lick
-it like the foam of new milk."
-
-In the Life of St. Columkille it is stated that, while residing in Iona,
-he wrote a poem in Irish, a tender reminiscence of his beloved native
-land, in which he expresses himself in this manner:--
-
-    ST. COLUMKILLE'S REMEMBRANCE OF ERIN.
-
-    "How delightful to be on Ben-Edar before embarking on the foam-white
-    sea; how pleasant to row one's little curragh round it, to look upward
-    at its bare steep border, and to hear the waves dashing against its
-    rocky cliffs.
-
-    "A grey eye looks back towards Erin; a grey eye full of tears.
-
-    "While I traverse Alban of the ravens, I think on my little oak grove
-    in Derry. If the tributes and the riches of Alban were mine, from the
-    centre to the uttermost borders, I would prefer to them all one little
-    house in Derry. The reason I love Derry is for its quietness, for its
-    purity, for its crowds of white angels.
-
-    "How sweet it is to think of Durrow: how delightful would it be to
-    hear the music of the breeze rustling through its groves.
-
-    "Plentiful is the fruit in the Western Island--beloved Erin of many
-    waterfalls: plentiful her noble groves of oak. Many are her kings and
-    princes; sweet-voiced her clerics; her birds warble joyously in the
-    woods: gentle are her youths; wise her seniors; comely and graceful
-    her women, of spotless virtue; illustrious her men, of noble aspect.
-
-    "There is a grey eye that fills with tears when it looks back towards
-    Erin. While I stand on the oaken deck of my bark I stretch my vision
-    westwards over the briny sea towards Erin."
-
-Even the place-names scattered over the country--names that remain in
-hundreds to this day--bear testimony to this pleasing feature of the Irish
-character: for we have numerous places still called by names with such
-significations as "delightful wood," "silvery stream," "cluster of nuts"
-(for a hazel wood), "prattling rivulet," "crystal well," "the recess of
-the bird-warbling," "melodious little hill," "the fragrant bush-cluster,"
-and so forth in endless variety.[7]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-There is a very old legend that Ailill Inbanna, king of Connaught in the
-sixth century, earned heaven by his noble self-sacrifice in order to save
-his people. A bitter war was waged between him and the two princes Donall
-and Fergus, sons of the king of Ireland, till at last a decisive battle
-was fought between them at a place called Cuil-Conari, in the present
-county Mayo, in which Ailill was defeated. And at the end of the day, when
-he and his army were in full retreat, the king, sitting in his chariot in
-the midst of the flying multitude, said to his charioteer:--"Cast thine
-eyes back, I pray thee, and tell me if there is much killing of my people,
-and if the slayers are near us." The charioteer did so, and said:--"The
-slaughter that is made on thy people is intolerable." Then said the
-king:--"Not their own guilt, but my pride and unrighteousness it is that
-they are suffering for. Turn now the chariot and let me face the pursuers;
-for as their enmity is against me only, if I am slain it will be the
-redemption of many." The chariot was accordingly turned round, and the
-king plunged amidst his foemen and was slain; on which the pursuit and
-slaughter ceased. That man, says the old legend, by giving up his life, in
-his repentance, to save his people, attained to the Lord's peace.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In the old Irish Canon Law, there was a merciful provision to save the
-family of a dead man from destitution if he died in debt; namely, that
-certain specified valuable articles--such as a cow, a horse, a garment, a
-bed, etc.--belonged to the family, and could not be claimed by a creditor.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The yellow plague wrought dreadful havoc in Ireland--and indeed desolated
-all Europe--in the seventh century. In Ireland at least it appears to have
-attacked adults more than children, so that everywhere through the country
-numbers of little children, whose mothers and fathers had been carried
-off, were left helpless and starving. At this same time lived Ultan, the
-kindly bishop of Ardbraccan in Meath. It wrung his heart to witness these
-piteous scenes of human suffering all round him; and he took steps, so far
-as he was able, to relieve and save the little children. He collected all
-the orphan babes he could find, and brought them to his monastery; and
-procuring a great number of cows' teats, and filling them with milk, he
-put them into the children's mouths with his own hands, and thus contrived
-to feed the little creatures. The number increased daily, so that at last
-he had as many as 150; and as he was not able to do all the work himself,
-he had to call in others to assist him in his noble labour of love.
-
-It is proper to remark here that we find other examples in history of the
-use of a cow's teat for milk-feeding, and that in Russia infants are often
-fed in this way.
-
-All this is remembered to St. Ultan down to the present day; for he is
-often mentioned in old Irish histories, almost always with a remark
-something like this:--"Little children are always playing round Ultan of
-Ardbraccan."
-
-It would be difficult to find an instance where charity is presented in
-greater beauty and tenderness than it is in this simple story of the good
-bishop Ultan.
-
-
-
-
-INDEX.
-
-
-  Adam and Eve, 83.
-
-  Adze, 136.
-
-  Aenach, a fair, chap. xxi.
-
-  Aghaboe, in Queen's County, 49.
-
-  Agriculture, 35, chap. xvii.
-
-  Agricultural implements, 130.
-
-  Aidan, St., 52, 53.
-
-  Ailech, palace in Donegal, 7.
-
-  Ailell Inbanna, king of Connaught, 166.
-
-  Aillenn, palace of, 8.
-
-  Ainnle, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Airmeda, daughter of Dianket, 98, 99.
-
-  Alban, Scotland, 11, 165.
-
-  Albinus, and Clement, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Ale, 115.
-
-  Alloys, 132.
-
-  Alum, 140.
-
-  American Universities, 44, 45.
-
-  Anglo-Normans, 10, 15, 64.
-
-  Anglo-Saxons, 52.
-
-  Angus Mac-an-oge, 28.
-
-  Animals belonging to farm, 130.
-
-  Annals, the Irish, chap. ix.
-
-  Annals of the Four Masters, 73.
-
-  Antrim, 12.
-
-  Anvil, the smith's, 134.
-
-  Apprenticeship, 138.
-
-  Architects, 131.
-
-  Ardagh Chalice, 97.
-
-  Ardan, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Ardbraccan in Meath, 168.
-
-  Ard-ri, the over-king of Ireland, 1.
-
-  Aristocracy, marks of, 121.
-
-  Armagh, 42.
-
-  Army doctors, 99, 100.
-
-  Art, chap. xii.
-
-  Art the Solitary, king of Ireland, 23.
-
-  Artificers: see Handicrafts and Art.
-
-  Assemblies, Sports, and Pastimes, chap. xxi.
-
-  Assyrian beards, 123.
-
-  Augustine, St., 52.
-
-  Augurs, 26.
-
-
-  Bagpipes, 86.
-
-  Baking, 117.
-
-  Bangor, Co. Down, 42, 43, 49.
-
-  Banqueting Hall at Tara, 106, 111, 112, 150.
-
-  Barbers, 123.
-
-  Barm, 117.
-
-  Baths and bathing, 122, 124.
-
-  Beard, 123.
-
-  Beauty of Nature and Art admired, 161 to 164.
-
-  Bede, the Venerable, 11, 50, 69, 72.
-
-  Bees, 117.
-
-  Beeswax, 118.
-
-  Beetagh, a public hosteller, 119.
-
-  Bell of the Will, the, 39.
-
-  Bellows, described, 134.
-
-  Bells, 38, 39, 88.
-
-  Ben-Edar, now the Hill of Howth, near Dublin, 165.
-
-  Bir, a spit, 115.
-
-  Birds and Bird-net Laws, 155.
-
-  Bird-singing, 162, 163.
-
-  Black in dyeing, 140.
-
-  Blacksmith, 39, 113, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Blanid, Queen, 163.
-
-  Blower, a sort of bellows, 134.
-
-  Blue, in dyeing, 141.
-
-  Boats, 110, 145, 146, 147.
-
-  Bobbio in Italy, 49.
-
-  Book of Kells, 93, 94, 95, 122, 140.
-
-  Book of Lecan, 66.
-
-  Book of Lecan, Yellow, 65.
-
-  Book of Leinster, 65.
-
-  Book of Mac Durnan, 140.
-
-  Book of the Dun Cow, 65, 74.
-
-  Books and Literature, chap. viii.
-
-  Borrowing, 159.
-
-  Boundaries of territories, 129.
-
-  Bracelets, 128.
-
-  Brasiers and their work, 97, 98, 128, 132, 133.
-
-  Brass, 132.
-
-  Brathlang, a covering for a deer-trap, 155.
-
-  Bread, 117.
-
-  Brehon, a judge, 17.
-
-  Brehon Laws, the, chap. iii., 148.
-
-  Brendan the Navigator, St., 43.
-
-  Brewing, 117.
-
-  Brewy, a public hospitaller, 116, 119.
-
-  Bridges, 144.
-
-  Bridles, 145.
-
-  Brigit, St., 36.
-
-  Brigit, the goddesses so named, 28.
-
-  Britain, 50, 52.
-
-  Britannia, 14.
-
-  Britons, 141, 145.
-
-  Bronze, 116, 132, 133, 141.
-
-  Brooch, 126, 128.
-
-  Brugh, now Newgrange on the Boyne, 28.
-
-  Bruree, palace of, 8.
-
-  Builders, 131, 132.
-
-  Bunne-do-at, a kind of gold ornament, 128.
-
-  Butter, 117.
-
-  Buttons, 126, 128.
-
-
-  Caher in Tipperary, 8.
-
-  Caird, a brasier or silversmith, 132, 133.
-
-  Caldron, 116.
-
-  Candles, 118.
-
-  Canon Law, old Irish, 167.
-
-  Cape for shoulders, 125, 141.
-
-  Car in common use, 144.
-
-  Carding wool, 139.
-
-  Carlingford peninsula, 78.
-
-  Carntierna near Fermoy, 28.
-
-  Carpenters, 132.
-
-  Carrigcleena near Mallow, 28.
-
-  Carthage, 56.
-
-  Carving and carvers, 135.
-
-  Cashel, Rock of, 8.
-
-  Castletown Fort, near Dundalk, 77.
-
-  Celts (people), 114.
-
-  Champion, a king's, 4.
-
-  Charcoal, 118.
-
-  Chariot, 144.
-
-  Charioteer, 113, 144, 145.
-
-  Charlemagne, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Cheese, 117.
-
-  Chess and chess-playing, 156.
-
-  Christian Ireland, chap. v.
-
-  Churches, 36, 37, 136, 137.
-
-  Churn, 117.
-
-  Cleena the fairy queen, 28.
-
-  Clement and Albinus, 58, 59, 60.
-
-  Cloak, 125, 126.
-
-  Clonard in Meath, 35, 42, 43.
-
-  Clonfert in Galway, 43 (twice).
-
-  Clonmacnoise in King's County, 42.
-
-  Clontarf, Battle of, 69 to 72.
-
-  Clothes and clothing industries, chap. xix.
-
-  Clowns, 153, 156.
-
-  Coats, 125, 126.
-
-  Cogwheels, 134.
-
-  Coir Anmann, the, 73.
-
-  Colman, abbot of Lindisfarne, 53.
-
-  Colours of dress, 124, 125, 126, 152: see Dyeing.
-
-  Columba, St.: see Columkille.
-
-  Columbanus, St., 49.
-
-  Columkille, St., 29, 52.
-
-  Combs and combing, 122, 124.
-
-  Comgall, St., 43.
-
-  Commerce, 147.
-
-  Commons (land), 131.
-
-  Compasses (for circles), 136.
-
-  Conall Kernagh, 77, 122.
-
-  Conari, king of Ireland, 156, 157.
-
-  Concobar or Conor mac Nessa, 7, 76, 78, 158.
-
-  Congal, Prince, 125.
-
-  Conn the Hundred Fighter, king of Ireland, 30.
-
-  Connla of the Golden Hair, Prince, 30, 31, 32.
-
-  Convents, 36.
-
-  Cooks and cooking, 115, 116, 154.
-
-  Cooley or Quelne, 78.
-
-  Coopers, 136.
-
-  Copper, 130, 131, 132.
-
-  Copyists, 63.
-
-  Cormac Mac Art, king of Ireland, 23, 24, 77, 111.
-
-  Cormac's Glossary, written by archbishop Cormac Mac Cullenan, king of
-      Munster, died A.D. 807, 16.
-
-  Corn, 130.
-
-  Coursing and coursing hounds, 155.
-
-  Courts of justice, 17, 18.
-
-  Cows, 130.
-
-  Cow's teat as feeding-bottle, 168.
-
-  Craebh-ciuil, 88.
-
-  Craglea near Killaloe, 28.
-
-  Crannoge, a lake-dwelling, 110.
-
-  Creeveroe at Emain, 77.
-
-  Crescents for the neck, 96, 128.
-
-  Criffan the Great, king of Ireland, 14.
-
-  Crimson in dyeing, 140, 141.
-
-  Crochet-work, 139.
-
-  Croghan, palace of, 8, 78, 137, 149, 150.
-
-  Crops, 130.
-
-  Cross of Cong, the, 97.
-
-  Crossans, gleemen, 157.
-
-  Cuculainn, 77, 78.
-
-  Cuil-Conari in Connaught, 166.
-
-  Curath-mir, the hero's morsel, 113.
-
-  Curds, 117.
-
-  Curragh, a wicker-boat, a coracle, 10, 143, 145, 146, 147.
-
-  Curragh of Kildare, 153.
-
-  Cycles of Irish Tales, 76, 77, 78.
-
-
-  Danes, the, 37, 57, 64, 69, 72.
-
-  Dark Ages, 51.
-
-  Decies in Waterford, 15.
-
-  Dedannans, the colony preceding the Milesians. The Irish gods and
-      fairies were mostly Dedannans; 76: see chap. iv.
-
-  Deece baronies near Tara, 15.
-
-  Deirdre, 121.
-
-  Dermot O'Dyna, 79.
-
-  Derry, 43, 165.
-
-  Desii, the tribe of, 15.
-
-  Dianket, the Irish god of medicine, 98, 99.
-
-  Dinner, 111, 115.
-
-  Dinnree in Carlow, 8.
-
-  Dinnsenchus, the, 73.
-
-  Diseases, 104.
-
-  Distaff and spindle, 139.
-
-  Divination, 25.
-
-  Divinity taught in schools, 48.
-
-  Domnall, king of Ireland, 125, 158.
-
-  Donall, Prince, 166.
-
-  Donegal, 52.
-
-  Donegal, Monastery of, 73.
-
-  Donn, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  Dress, chap. xvi.
-
-  Drink, 115.
-
-  Druids, 24, 25, 26, 40.
-
-  Drum Ketta, 158. (See this in Index of History of Ireland.)
-
-  Drunkenness, 115.
-
-  Dundalgan, Dundalk, 77.
-
-  Dunlavin in Wicklow, 8.
-
-  Dunstan, St., 57.
-
-  Durrow in King's County, 43.
-
-  Dyeing, 139, 140, 141.
-
-  Dyeing the face, hair, etc., 121, 122, 123.
-
-  Dyfed in Wales, 15.
-
-
-  Ecclesiastical Schools, chap. vi.
-
-  Eclipses, 68, 69.
-
-  Education, 75, 81, 82.
-
-  Eevin or Eevil the fairy queen, 28.
-
-  Egypt, 50, 55.
-
-  Election of kings, 2.
-
-  Elements, worship of, 29.
-
-  Emain or Emania, 7, 76, 137, 149, 150.
-
-  Embroidery, 142, 153.
-
-  Endymion, poem of, 161.
-
-  England, 52, 53, 57, 62.
-
-  Engravers, 135.
-
-  Erc, Concobar's grandson, 158.
-
-  Eric of Auxerre, 53.
-
-  Ethicus of Istria, 61.
-
-  Eyebrows dyed black, 121.
-
-  Eyelids, dyed black, 54, 121.
-
-
-  Fairies, 27 to 32, 109.
-
-  Fairs, chap. xxi.
-
-  Farm animals, 130.
-
-  Farm fences, 129.
-
-  Farming implements, 130.
-
-  Faroe Islands, 55.
-
-  Feis, a festival, a great meeting of delegates, 149.
-
-  Fena of Erin, the, 77, 79.
-
-  Fences, 129.
-
-  Fergil the Geometer, 49.
-
-  Fergus, Angus, and Lorne, 12.
-
-  Fergus, Prince, 166.
-
-  Fergus Mac Roy, 77.
-
-  Fer-leginn, the principal of a college, 46.
-
-  Ferryboats, 110, 144.
-
-  Fiacha Mullehan, king of Ireland, 163.
-
-  Finan, abbot of Lindisfarne, 53.
-
-  Finger-nails, 121.
-
-  Finn mac Coole, or Finn, son of Cumal, 77, 79.
-
-  Finnen or Finnian, St., 35.
-
-  Fish and Fishing, 155.
-
-  Fishing weirs, 155.
-
-  Flageolets, 86.
-
-  Flax, 139, 140.
-
-  Fleshfork, 117.
-
-  Flint and steel, 118.
-
-  Food, chap. xv.
-
-  Fools (for amusement), 156.
-
-  Fords, 144.
-
-  Foreign conquests, chap. ii.
-
-  Foreign merchants, 147, 153.
-
-  Foreign missions, chap. vii.
-
-  Forge, a blacksmith's, tools in, 134.
-
-  Forks and knives, 114.
-
-  Forts, or lisses, or raths, 16, 109.
-
-  Fortune-tellers, 26.
-
-  Founders (in metals), 118, 132, 133.
-
-  Four Masters, the, 73.
-
-  France, 21, 50, 57, 58, 120.
-
-  Free circuit of kings, 5.
-
-  Frieze, 125.
-
-  Frith of Clyde, 11.
-
-  Frock-coat, 125.
-
-  Fuel, 118, 134.
-
-  Fulling cloth, 138, 139.
-
-  Furnace, 134.
-
-  Furs of animals, 124.
-
-
-  Game, different kinds of, 154, 155.
-
-  Ganntree, mirth-music, 88.
-
-  Garters, 127.
-
-  Gauls, the, 9, 109, 113, 145.
-
-  Germany, 50, 57, 120.
-
-  Gildas, the British writer, 147.
-
-  Giraldus Cambrensis, 84.
-
-  Girdle, 118, 125, 126, 127.
-
-  Glasheen, the woad-plant, 22, 23, 141.
-
-  Glastonbury, 57.
-
-  Gleemen, 157.
-
-  Gloves, 127.
-
-  Goad for horses, 145.
-
-  Goaling or hurling, 155.
-
-  Gobha, a smith, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Gods, the pagan Irish, 27 to 30.
-
-  Goibniu, the Irish smith-god, 134.
-
-  Gold-plate ornament, 128.
-
-  Goldsmiths and their work, 97, 98, 128, 132.
-
-  Goll-tree, sorrow music, 88.
-
-  Gorgets, 96, 128.
-
-  Gospels, 93, 94.
-
-  Great Britain, 50, 52, 57.
-
-  Greece, 51, 151.
-
-  Greek language, 48.
-
-  Greeks, the, 81, 113, 114, 122, 139, 144, 152.
-
-  Greenan, a summer-house, the women's apartment, 108.
-
-  Greenan Ely, 7.
-
-  Greyhounds, 155.
-
-  Griffith ap Conan, king of Wales, 84.
-
-  Grindstone, 136.
-
-  Guests, 4.
-
-
-  Hair, 122, 123, 127.
-
-  Handbag for ladies, 127, 142.
-
-  Handicrafts, chap. xviii.
-
-  Harp, the, and harpers, 83, 85, 86.
-
-  Hat, 127.
-
-  Haughton, the Rev. Dr., 70, 71.
-
-  Head covering, 127.
-
-  Heads of pigs and oxen, for smiths, 113.
-
-  Heaven, the pagan Irish, 30, 31, 32.
-
-  Heptarchy, the, 52.
-
-  Hermits, 36.
-
-  Hero's morsel, 113.
-
-  Historical and Romantic Tales, 41, chap. x.
-
-  Holyhead, 16.
-
-  Holy wells, 38.
-
-  Honey, 116, 117, 118.
-
-  Hood, 125, 127.
-
-  Horns (blowing), 87.
-
-  Horses, and horsemanship, 130, 145, 153.
-
-  Horse-rod, 145.
-
-  Hospitality, 119, 120.
-
-  Hospitals, 104, 105.
-
-  Hostels, free, 119, 120.
-
-  House, the, chap. xiv.
-
-  Household of king, 3, 4, 5.
-
-  House-steward, 3.
-
-  Hunting, 154.
-
-  Hurling or goaling, 155.
-
-
-  I-Brassil, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Iceland, 55.
-
-  Idols, the Irish, 27, 29.
-
-  Inauguration of kings, 2.
-
-  Insanity, 25.
-
-  Interest on loans, 159.
-
-  Intoxicating drink, 115.
-
-  Iona, 52.
-
-  Irishmen's cottages in Wales, 16.
-
-  Iron, 130, 131.
-
-  Island of Saints and Scholars, the, chap. vi., 51.
-
-  Isle of Man, 12, 13.
-
-  Isthmian games of Greece, 151.
-
-  Italy, 50, 57, 60.
-
-
-  Jesters, 156.
-
-  John Macananty, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  John Scotus Erigena, 49.
-
-  Joints for special persons, 113.
-
-  Joseph's coat of many colours, 125.
-
-  Josina, king of Scotland, 99.
-
-  Jugglers, 153, 156, 157.
-
-  Julius Caesar, 9, 146.
-
-
-  Keats the poet, 161.
-
-  Keens or laments, 89.
-
-  Kehern, 100.
-
-  Keltar of the Battles, 77.
-
-  Kent, 52.
-
-  Kildare, 36, 42, 95.
-
-  Kilmallock Abbey, 47, note.
-
-  Kilt, 126.
-
-  Kincora, palace of, 8.
-
-  Kings, chap. i.
-
-  Kiss on cheek as salutation, 158.
-
-  Kitchen garden, 110.
-
-  Kitchen, a relish or condiment, 117.
-
-  Kitchen utensils, 116.
-
-  Knives and forks, 114.
-
-  Knockaulin fort, 8.
-
-  Knockfierna in Limerick, 28.
-
-
-  Laeghaire, king of Ireland, 19, 26.
-
-  Laery the Victorious, 77.
-
-  Lambrat, a napkin, 114.
-
-  Lathes, 136.
-
-  Latin, 48.
-
-  Law books, 19, 20.
-
-  Law to be obeyed by kings, 6.
-
-  Lay schools, 40, 41, 42, 43.
-
-  Lead, 131.
-
-  Learning, chap. vi.
-
-  Leather and leather-work, 142, 143.
-
-  Leaven, 117.
-
-  Leggings, 126.
-
-  Letters of English alphabet, 62.
-
-  Lichen for dyeing, 141.
-
-  Liffey, the river, 72.
-
-  Light, 118.
-
-  Linen, 124, 139.
-
-  Lis or Liss, a circular fort, 16, 109.
-
-  Lismore in Waterford, 42.
-
-  Locomotion, chap. xx.
-
-  Louth, Co. of, 78.
-
-  Luncheon, 111.
-
-
-  Mac Con, king of Ireland, 22, 23.
-
-  Madness, 25.
-
-  Maive, queen of Connaught, 78.
-
-  Man, Isle of, 12, 13.
-
-  Mannanan Mac Lir, the Irish sea-god, 27, 28.
-
-  Mantle, 125.
-
-  Manure, 130.
-
-  Manuscripts, 63.
-
-  Manx language, 13.
-
-  Markets in fairs, 153.
-
-  Marriages and Marriage Hollow at Tailltenn, 151.
-
-  Marshal, the, 112.
-
-  Masons, 132.
-
-  Mead or metheglin, 115, 118.
-
-  Meals, 111.
-
-  Medical books, 101, 102.
-
-  Medicinal herbs, 98, 99, 100, 104.
-
-  Medicine and medical doctors, chap. xiii.
-
-  Metal-work and metal-workers, 95, 132, 134. See Brasiers, and Goldsmiths.
-
-  Meyer, Dr. Kuno, 80.
-
-  Midac, son of Dianket, 98.
-
-  Migrations of Irish to Scotland, 11, 12, 72.
-
-  Migrations of Irish to Wales, 13.
-
-  Milesian colony, 76.
-
-  Milk, 115, 117.
-
-  Milking, 131.
-
-  Milking-songs, 89.
-
-  Mills, 117, 130.
-
-  Mine on a farm, 130.
-
-  Mines and mining, 131.
-
-  Mirth-music, 88.
-
-  Missionaries, chap. vii., 120, 121.
-
-  Monasterboice near Drogheda, 43.
-
-  Monasteries, 34, 35, 36, 120.
-
-  Monastic schools, 40 to 51.
-
-  Monks, 34.
-
-  Montalembert, 55.
-
-  Moore, Thomas, 90.
-
-  Mortar, 136.
-
-  Moulds for metal-casting, 133.
-
-  Moy Mell, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Munster, 11, 140.
-
-  Music, chap. xi., 115, 152.
-
-  Musical Branch, 88.
-
-  Mythological period of Irish Tales, 76.
-
-
-  Naas in Kildare, 8.
-
-  Nails (of fingers), 121.
-
-  Naisi, son of Usna, 77.
-
-  Names of Places, 165, 166.
-
-  Napkins, 114.
-
-  Nature closely observed, 162.
-
-  Necklaces, 128.
-
-  Necklets, 96.
-
-  Needle and needlework, 141, 142.
-
-  Niall of the Nine Hostages, 14, 15.
-
-  Nobles, 2.
-
-  Norsemen, 12.
-
-  Northumberland, Northumbria, and Northumbrians, 52, 53.
-
-  Nuns, 36.
-
-
-  O'Cassidys, the, 101.
-
-  O'Clerys, the, 73.
-
-  O'Curry, Professor Eugene, 20.
-
-  O'Donovan, Dr. John, 20, 73.
-
-  Ogham writing, 61, 62.
-
-  O'Hickeys, the, 101.
-
-  Old age and destitution, provision for, 160.
-
-  O'Lees, the, 101.
-
-  Ollam Fodla, king of Ireland, 149.
-
-  Ollave, a doctor of any profession, 3, 112, 113, 132, 149.
-
-  O'Loghlin, Donall, king of Ireland, 39.
-
-  Olympian games of Greece, 151.
-
-  O'Mulconry, Ferfesa, 73.
-
-  Orkney Islands, 55.
-
-  Ornaments, personal, 128.
-
-  Oscar, son of Ossian, 79.
-
-  O'Shiels, the, 101.
-
-  Ossian, son of Finn, 79.
-
-  Oswald, king of Northumbria, 53.
-
-  Outdoor relief, 160.
-
-  Oxen, 130.
-
-
-  Pagan Ireland, chap. iv.
-
-  Pagan schools, 40.
-
-  Painters, 135.
-
-  Painting or dyeing the face, 121, 122.
-
-  Palaces, 6, 7, 8.
-
-  Paris, 49, 59.
-
-  Pasturage and tillage, chap. xvii.
-
-  Patrick, St., 15, 19, 26, 29, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 61, 96.
-
-  Pavia in Italy, 60.
-
-  Peat, 118.
-
-  Penal Laws, 85.
-
-  Penwork, 92.
-
-  Periods or cycles of Irish Tales, 76, 77, 78.
-
-  Picts and Scots, 10, 13, 14.
-
-  Pigs, 130.
-
-  Pillar-stones as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Pillar-stones as idols, 29.
-
-  Pins, 126.
-
-  Place-names, 165, 166.
-
-  Planes (carpentry), 136.
-
-  Pledging for loan, 159.
-
-  Plough whistles, 90.
-
-  Poets and poetry, 41, 81, 82.
-
-  Pond for cattle, 130.
-
-  Poor-laws, 160, 161.
-
-  Poor scholars, 44, 45.
-
-  Pope, the, 56.
-
-  Porridge, 117.
-
-  Potters wheel, 136.
-
-  Printing, 60.
-
-  Professions, 3, 41, 101.
-
-  Provinces, the five, 1.
-
-  Purple in dyeing, 141.
-
-
-  Quelne or Cooley, 78.
-
-  Querns, 117.
-
-
-  Races, 153.
-
-  Ramparts as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Rath or lis, a circular fort, 16, 109.
-
-  Razors, 123.
-
-  Recitation of stories and poems, 81, 152.
-
-  Red in dyeing, 140.
-
-  Red Branch Knights, 7, 76 to 79, 113.
-
-  Relieving officer, 161.
-
-  Relta na bh-filedh, the meeting-house for the ollaves at Tara, 150.
-
-  Residences of kings, 6, 7, 8.
-
-  Retinue of kings, 3, 4.
-
-  Revenue of kings, 5.
-
-  Rhapsodists of Greece, 152.
-
-  Rings, 128.
-
-  Rivers as boundaries, 129.
-
-  Road through or by farm, 130.
-
-  Roads, 143, 144.
-
-  Roads as boundaries between territories, 129.
-
-  Rock of Cashel, 8.
-
-  Roman classical writers, 10, 11.
-
-  Roman walls between England and Scotland, 11.
-
-  Romans, 114, 115, 122, 144, 145.
-
-  Rome, 51, 56.
-
-  Rosscarbery in Cork, 43.
-
-  Round Towers, 37, 136, 137.
-
-  Rushlight, 118.
-
-  Ruskin, 125.
-
-
-  Sacred groves round monasteries, 39.
-
-  Sacred armistice of the Greeks, 152.
-
-  Saer, a mason or carpenter, 133.
-
-  Sai-re-caird, a head craftsman, 137.
-
-  Salmon, 117.
-
-  Salt, 116.
-
-  Saltair, of Tara, 150.
-
-  Salutation, modes of, 158.
-
-  Samain, 1st November, 149.
-
-  Satin, 124, 126.
-
-  Schools and colleges, chap. vi.
-
-  Science, various branches of, taught in Irish schools, 48.
-
-  Scotland, 10, 11, 12, 52, 72, 82, 86, 89, 90, 91, 112, 113, 126, 150.
-
-  Scots, _i.e._, the Irish, 9, 10, 58.
-
-  Scottish harpers and music, 84.
-
-  Scrabo near Newtownards, 28.
-
-  Scribes, 63.
-
-  Scriptures, the Holy, 48.
-
-  Sedulius, 49.
-
-  Senchus Mor, Great Law Book, 19, 20.
-
-  Sewing, 141.
-
-  Shanachie, a storyteller, a historian, 74, 81, 112.
-
-  Shears, 138.
-
-  Shee, fairies and fairy-dwellings, 27, 28, 29.
-
-  Sheep, 130.
-
-  Shellfish in dyeing, 141.
-
-  Shield, 112.
-
-  Ships, 146.
-
-  Shirt, 126.
-
-  Shoes, 127.
-
-  Shoes taken off at meals, 115.
-
-  Showmen, 153.
-
-  Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell, 39.
-
-  Silversmiths: see Goldsmiths.
-
-  Sick maintenance in a hospital, 105.
-
-  Sieves, 117.
-
-  Silk, 124, 126.
-
-  Singing, 115, 152.
-
-  Singing of birds, 162.
-
-  Skewers, 115.
-
-  Slaan, a turf-spade, 118.
-
-  Sleeping accommodation, 108.
-
-  Sleep-music, 89.
-
-  Smiths, 39, 113, 132, 133, 134.
-
-  Soap, 124.
-
-  Solway Frith, 11.
-
-  Soothsayers, 26.
-
-  Sorrow-music, 88.
-
-  Spear-heads, 133.
-
-  Speckled Book, 65.
-
-  Spinning, spindles, and wheel, 139, 140.
-
-  Spinning-wheel songs, 89.
-
-  Spit for cooking, 115, 116.
-
-  Spunk, tinder, 118.
-
-  Spurs, none used, 145.
-
-  Squire or shield-bearer, 112.
-
-  Steel, 141.
-
-  Stilicho, 14.
-
-  Stirabout, 117.
-
-  Stokes, Miss Margaret, 93.
-
-  Stokes, Dr. Whitley, 80.
-
-  Stone-building, 107, 132, 136.
-
-  Stuarts, the, 12.
-
-  Styles of Irish music, 88.
-
-  Suantree, sleep-music, 89.
-
-  Swimming, 144.
-
-
-  Tables, 114.
-
-  Tailltenn, fair of, 150.
-
-  Tain bo Quelne, story of the, 78, 79.
-
-  Tales, the Irish Historical and Romantic, 41, chap. x.
-
-  Tanning, 142, 143.
-
-  Tara, 1, 7, 26, 111, 143, 146, 149.
-
-  Tara, Plan of, _Frontispiece_.
-
-  Tara Brooch, 97.
-
-  Teernanoge or Tirnanoge, the pagan Irish heaven, 30.
-
-  Teltown in Meath: see Tailltenn.
-
-  Theodosius, 13.
-
-  Theology, 48.
-
-  Things of beauty, 161, 162.
-
-  Three Orders of Irish Saints, 34 to 36.
-
-  Tierna, the fairy king, 28.
-
-  Tillage and pasturage, chap. xvii.
-
-  Timpan and timpanists, 85, 86.
-
-  Tin, 131, 132.
-
-  Tinder, 118.
-
-  Tinne-crassa, fire from flint and steel, 118.
-
-  Tirconnell, now Donegal, 52.
-
-  Tlachtga, fair of, 150, 151.
-
-  Todd, the Rev. Dr., 70, 71.
-
-  Tools of various handicraftsmen, 136.
-
-  Torques for the neck, 128.
-
-  Towns, 106.
-
-  Trades, how learned, 138.
-
-  Tradesmen of the various crafts, 135: see Handicrafts.
-
-  Traps for wild animals, 154, 155.
-
-  Travelling, 143.
-
-  Trousers, 126.
-
-  Trumpets and trumpeters, 87, 112, 133.
-
-  Turf for firing, 118.
-
-  Tyrian purple, 141.
-
-
-  Ulster, 76, 78, 139.
-
-  Ultan, St., 167, 168.
-
-  Universities, the Irish, 48.
-
-  Ushnagh, fair of, 150, 151.
-
-  Usna, sons of, 77.
-
-
-  Van Helmont, the physician, 103.
-
-  Various customs, chap. xxii.
-
-  Veil, 127.
-
-  Verse, 81, 82.
-
-  Vessels, makers of, 136.
-
-  Vulcan, 133.
-
-
-  Wales, 10, 15, 16.
-
-  War of the Irish with the Danes, 69, 70.
-
-  Warfare, chap. ii.
-
-  War-marches (music), 90.
-
-  Water, digging for, 130.
-
-  Watermills, 117.
-
-  Wax candles, 118.
-
-  Weaving, 139.
-
-  Weirs for fishing, 155.
-
-  Wells, 29, 37, 38.
-
-  Welsh, 84, 141.
-
-  Westwood, Professor, 94.
-
-  Whistles, 86.
-
-  Wickerwork building, 107, 144.
-
-  Wine, 115.
-
-  Wolfdog, 154.
-
-  Wolves, 154.
-
-  Wood, a, on a farm, 130.
-
-  Wood cleared off the land, 129.
-
-  Wood for working, 131.
-
-  Wood-building, 107, 132.
-
-  Wood-workers, 135: see Carpenters.
-
-  Wool and woollens, 124, 126, 138, 139, 141.
-
-  Writing, art of, 60, 61.
-
-
-  Yeast, 117.
-
-  Yellow Book of Lecan, 65.
-
-  Yellow Plague, the, 167.
-
-  Yew-tree and wood, 135.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Many of the provisions of the Brehon Laws, such as those relating to
-Land, to Offences, Compensations, and Punishments; to Professions, Trades,
-and Industries; to the mutual duties of the various classes of people,
-from the king down to the slave; to the modes of summoning wrong-doers
-before the brehons' courts, with a description of the manner in which
-trials were conducted; and various other details, will be found in my two
-Social Histories of Ancient Iceland.
-
-[2] Freely translated (in "Old Celtic Romances") by Dr. Joyce, from the
-old poem in the original Irish version.
-
-[3] I saw the same custom in full swing in some of the lay schools before
-1847. Many a time I prepared my lesson--with some companions--sitting on
-the grass beside the old abbey in Kilmallock, or perched on the top of the
-ivy-mantled wall.
-
-[4] The Irishmen who went to the Continent in those times always took
-Latin names, which were generally translations of their Irish names.
-
-[5] Translated in my "Reading Book in Irish History."
-
-[6] Translated in my "Old Celtic Romances."
-
-[7] For the originals of all the above names, and for numerous others of a
-like kind, see Irish Names of Places, vol. II., chap. IV., on "Poetical
-and Fancy Names."
-
-
-
-
-WORKS BY P. W. JOYCE, M.A., LL.D., T.C.D.; M.R.I.A.
-
-  ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE
-  ANCIENT LAWS OF IRELAND;
-  PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, IRELAND;
-  LATE PRINCIPAL, MARLBOROUGH STREET TRAINING COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
-
-
-_Two Splendid Volumes, richly gilt, both cover and top._
-
-_With 361 Illustrations. Price L1 1s. net._
-
-A SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND.
-
-A Complete Survey of the Social Life and Institutions of Ancient Ireland.
-All the important Statements are proved home by references to authorities
-and by quotations from ancient documents.
-
-Of the 31 Chapter headings, 27 are the same as those given below for the
-Smaller Social History.
-
-
-_One Vol., Cloth gilt. 598 pages, 213 Illustrations. Price 3s. 6d. net._
-
-A SMALLER SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND,
-
-Treating Of the Government, Military System, and Law; Religion, Learning,
-and Art; Trades, Industries, and Commerce; Manners, Customs, and Domestic
-Life of the Ancient Irish People.
-
-Traverses the same ground as the larger work above; but besides
-condensation, most of the quotations and nearly all the references to
-authorities are omitted in this book.
-
-PART I.--Government, Military System, and Law.--Chapter I. A Preliminary
-Bird's-eye View--II. Government by Kings--III. Warfare--IV. The Brehon
-Laws.
-
-PART II.--Religion, Learning, and Art.--Chapter V. Paganism--VI.
-Christianity--VII. Learning and Education--VIII. Irish Language and
-Literature--IX. Ecclesiastical and Religious Writings--X. Annals,
-Histories, and Genealogies--XI. Historical and Romantic Tales--XII.
-Art--XIII. Music--XIV. Medicine and Medical Doctors.
-
-PART III.--Social and Domestic Life.--Chapter XV. The Family--XVI. The
-House--XVII. Food, Fuel, and Light--XVIII. Dress and Personal
-Adornment--XIX. Agriculture and Pasturage--XX. Workers in Wood, Metal, and
-Stone--XXI. Corn Mills--XXII. Trades and Industries connected with
-Clothing--XXIII. Measures, Weights, and Mediums of Exchange--XXIV.
-Locomotion and Commerce--XXV. Public Assemblies, Sports, and
-Pastimes--XXVI. Various Social Customs and Observances--XXVII. Death and
-Burial. Index.
-
-
-_Third Edition. Thick Crown 8vo. 565 pages. Price 10s. 6d._
-
-A SHORT HISTORY OF IRELAND
-
-FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1608.
-
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-_Cloth gilt. 528 pages. Price 3s. 6d._
-
-_Published in December, 1897: now in its 70th Thousand._
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-
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-
-Including a Facsimile in full colours of a beautiful Illuminated Page of
-the Book of Mac Durnan, A.D. 850.
-
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-Australia and New Zealand; and also by the Catholic School Board of New
-York for their Schools.
-
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-_Cloth. 312 pages. 24th Thousand. Price 2s._
-
-A CONCISE HISTORY OF IRELAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1837.
-
-With Introductory Chapters on the Literature, Laws, Buildings, Music, Art,
-&c., of the Ancient Irish People.
-
-
-_Cloth. 160 pages. Price 9d._
-
-OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1905.
-
-_50th Thousand._
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-"This little book is intended mainly for use in schools; and it is
-accordingly written in very simple language. But I have some hope that
-those of the general public who wish to know something of the subject, but
-who are not prepared to go into details, may also find it useful.... I
-have put it in the form of a consecutive narrative, avoiding statistics
-and scrappy disconnected statements."--_Preface._
-
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-_New Edition. Cloth. Price 3s. 6d._
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-Saints Brigit and Columkille; several of the Old Irish Romantic Tales,
-including the "Sons of Usna," the "Children of Lir," and the "Voyage of
-Maeldune"; the history of "Cahal-More of the Wine-red Hand," and of Sir
-John de Courcy; an account of Ancient Irish Physicians, and of Ancient
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-
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-_Fourth Edition. 4to. Price--Cloth, 3s.; Wrapper, 1s. 6d._
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