Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/274

 258 I K E L A N D [HISTORY. Hadrian s bull. and pay rent in kind. Such men, whose position was, however, thereby much altered, were called biathachs (from biad, food). A man might with the consent of his sept enter into a similar contract with the llaith of another sept, so that the Liathachs or victuallers in cluded also some of those called fuidirs. A lord might receive his biad or food at his own residence, or go to the house of his biathach accompanied by a retinue and eat it there, or send his mercenaries, horses, dogs, &c. , there, to be supported, which was the usual way. The biathachs were consequently liable to suffer great oppression. The professions accounted noble, such as those of ecna (wisdom), which included law and medicine, and filidcclit or divination, which in Christian times was that of the bards or rhymesters, formed a number of schools each under an ollam or doctor, who was provided with mensal land for the support of himself and his scholars. He was also entitled to free quarters for himself and a retinue, in cluding dogs and horses, so that when he travelled he had a kind of ambulatory school with him. The ollam bretheman or chief of a law school was the chief brithcm (brehon or judge) of his tuath. The Hay or leech had also his apprentices, and treated his surgical patients in his own house. The harper, the ccrd or artist in metals, and the smith were also provided with mensal land, and gave their skill and the product of their labour as their Ms tigi or customary tribute in return for the gifts bestowed by their chief. Popular assemblies, which were held in the open air, were of various kinds ; thus the mcthcl flatha was a gathering of the vassals of a lord to reap his corn, clear his roads, &c. The fine or sept had its special meeting, summoned by the aire fine or chief of the sept for many purposes, such as the assessment of blood-fines due from the sept, and the distribution of those due to it. The clan had also its gathering to deliberate on important questions, such as peace and war, in which every aire or fully qualified clansman had a voice. The most important of all popular assemblies was, however, the oenach or fair, summoned by a king, those summoned by the kings of provinces having the character of national assemblies. The ocnach had a fourfold object: (1) the promulgation of laws, and the rehearsal of pedigrees upon which depended the succession of the princes; (2) the recitation of poetry and tales, musical contests, exhi bition of works of artists in metals, &c., and the a vard of prizes to the professional classes ; (3) popular sports, such as horse-racing, wrestling, &c. ; and (4) the barter of all kinds of wares. The oenach in pagan times was an essentially religious festival celebrated in the great cemeteries, each clan, and in the minor fairs each sept, hold ing its assembly on the grave mound of their ancestors. Nor did it entirely lose its religious character in Christian times, for the oenach opened and closed with religious ceremonies. The women and men assembled in separate aircchta or gatherings, and no man durst enter the women s airecht under pain of death. The brithem (brehon) or judge seated on a stone chair raised above the heads of the people delivered his judgment, the silide recounted the pedigrees of tli3 chiefs, the filid sounded theirpraises and told the deeds 01 the clans in verse, the cerda or artists in metal exhibited their work. Foreign traders came thither with their wares, which they exchanged for native produce, especially for the coarse woollen fabrics which even in the 8th century were celebrated on the continent. Every one was expected to appear at the oenach or fair in his or her best clothes and ornaments, and careful provision was made by the law to prevent creditors from unjustly withholding ornaments pledged with them on the occasion of a fair. Crimes committed at an oenach or other solemn assembly could not be commuted by pay ment of fines. The inauguration of a king took place at some sacred place where there was an ancient tree or grove, the* nemet of the clan, the cutting down of which was the greatest insult a conqueror could offer to the conquered. (W. K. S.) History from the Anglo-Norman Invasion. Nicholas Breakspeare, known in history as Hadrian IV., was the only Englishman who ever filled the papal chair. Urged by the ambition proper to his office, and perhaps by an Englishman s natural pride in being able to confer favours on a king of England, he granted a bull to Henry II. in 1155 which contains this passage : &quot; There is no doubt, and your nobility acknowledges, that Ireland and all islands upon which Christ the Sun of righteousness has shone, and which have received the teachings of the Christian faith, rightfully belong to the blessed Peter and the most holy Roman Church.&quot; Believ ing that Henry was likely to use his power for the good of religion and of the church, he granted Ireland to him, reserving all ecclesiastical rights, and making one penny from each house payable yearly to St Peter. In 11 50 Dermod MacMurrough, deposed for his tyranny from the kingdom of Leinster, repaired to Henry in Aquitaine. The king was busy with the French, but gladly seized the opportunity of asserting his claim, and gave Dermod a letter authorizing him to raise forces in England. Thus armed, and provided with gold extorted from his former subjects in Leinster, Dermod went to Bristol and sought the acquaintance of Richard de Clare, a Norman noble of great ability but broken fortunes. Earl S Richard, whom later usage has named Strongbow, agreed 1; &quot; to reconquer Dermod s kingdom for him. The stipulated consideration was the hand of Eva his only child, and according to feudal law his sole heiress, to whose issue lands and kingdoms would naturally pass. But Irish customs admitted no estates of inheritance, and Eva had no more right to the reversion of Leinster than she had to that of Japan. It is likely that Strongbow had no con ception of this, and that his first collision with the tribal system was an unpleasant surprise. Passing through Wales, Dermod agreed with Robert Fitzstephen and Maurice Fitzgerald to invade Ireland in the ensuing spring. About the 1st of May 1169 Fitzstephen landed on the L Wexford shore with a small force carefully chosen from among the Welsh youth, and next day Maurice de Prender- gast brought another band nearly to the same spot. Dermod joined them, and the Danes of Wexford soon submitted. According to agreement Dermod granted the territory of Wexford, which had never belonged to him, to Robert and Maurice and their heirs for ever. And here begins the conflict between feudal and tribal law, which was destined to deluge Ireland in blood. Maurice Fitzgerald soon followed with a fresh detachment. About a year after the first landing Raymond Le Gros was sent over by Earl Richard with his advanced guard, and Strongbow himself landed near Waterford on the 23d August 1170 with 200 knights and about 1000 other troops. The natives did not understand that this invasion was quite different from those of the Danes. They made alliances with the strangers to aid them in their intestine wars, and the annalist writing in later years (Annals of Lough Ce) describes with pathetic brevity the change wrought in Ireland : &quot; Earl Strongbow came into Erin with Dermod M Murrough to avenge his expulsion by Roderick, son of Turlough O Connor ; and Dermod gave him his own daughter and a part of his patrimony, and Saxon foreigners have been in Erin since then.&quot; Most of the Norman leaders were near relations, many being descended from Nesta, daughter of Rhys Ap Tudor, prince of South Wales, the most beautiful woman of her time, and mistress of Henry I. Her children by that king were called Fitzhenry. She afterwards married Gerald de Windsor, by whom she had three sons : Maurice, ancestor of all the Geraldines; William, from whom sprang the families of Fitzmaurice, Carew, Grace, and Gerard; and David, who became bishop of St David s. Nesta s daughter Angareth, married .to William de Barri, bore Giraldus Cambrensis, and was ancestress of the Irish Barries. Raymond Le Gros, Hervey de Montmorency, and the Cogans were also descendants of Nesta, who, by her second husband Stephen the Castellan, was mother of Robert Fitzstephen. Further details must be sought in Giraldus. His prejudices and credulity make him an unsafe guide about Irish customs, but there is no valid reason to reject his statements as to his own kinsmen. While waiting for Strongbow s arrival, Raymond and Hervey were attacked by the Waterford Danes, whom ihey overthrew. Seventy prisoners were thrown over a cliff into the sea. Strongbow himself took Waterford and Dublin, and the Danish inhabitants of both readily combined with their French-speaking kinsfolk, and became firm supporters of the Anglo-Normans against the native Irish.