By Breandán Ó Ciarraí
© 2003

Sinnsreachd tuatha and clanna in the modern day and age are, as has often been lamented, a people bereft of a homeland. With Éireann being governed by the EU and losing touch with it’s Gaelic heritage, and so many of those who follow Gaelic native culture and belief being lost in the exile of diaspora, we must live within host nations not of our making in order to survive. Just as the Jews did for quite some time prior to the founding of Israel, so must we wait for the day somewhere in the future when we once again have a sovereign homeland of our own. Until that time, the laws of our ancestors, the Fénechas, and their evolutionary descendants, the Nuafhéineachas, are relegated to cultural law rather than legal code. To that end, a study of the Fénechas, more commonly known by the crude Anglicization “Brehon Law”, is less one of governing penal and civil code and more one of cultural definition and social order.

Starting from the broadest delineation of legal status within the Fénechas, we find the separation of those to whom the Fénechas applies, and those to whom it does not. This centers around the core socio-political unit known as the Tuath, or "tribe" as it has often been roughly translated, which is the basic core legal entity around which all other definitions of legal status revolve. The foremost of these distinctions is between members of a tuath and their allies, known as auraid (aurad singularly, áraí in modern Gaeilge), and outsiders to whom the Fénechas does not apply, called deoraid (deorad singularly, deoraí in modern Gaeilge), or "outsider". In the Nuafhéineachas, deoraí refers to anyone not of traditional Gaelic culture, and áraí refers to one who is a part of it, though tuathánach ("member of a tribe") or Sinsearaí are more common terms.

The old Fénechas basically states that the outsider has no legal rights in the tuath and can be dealt with in any manner desired without such acts being legal offences, unless there is a treaty with the tuath the outsider came from. The Nuafhéineachas is, of course, a great deal more humane. Simply, one who is a deoraí is not expected to follow our laws and customs, but, neither are they trusted. A deoraí has no legal or social worth to us except that which they earn through their deeds, and their word is worthless among us. Whereas another Gael giving their word on something is akin to a legal contract according to the Nuafhéineachas, the deoraithe have never shown a large-scale tendency to act with honor, and thus their word is dubious at best. They have to earn our trust and respect for their word to have meaning among us.

Among the auraid, there is further legal delineation of status. The first of these is rank. Within the Fénechas and Nuafhéineachas, the higher one's rank, the more legal standing they have. Likewise, the higher the rank, the more is expected of and the more responsibilities one has. Traditionally, the Fénechas had a hierarchal view of how offenses were dealt with between ranks. To quote Professor Kelly-

This legal weight is measured by Lóg nEnech, which means "The Price of One's Face", and is that person's honor price. I will discuss the various levels of Lóg nEnech a little later. The separation of rank basically breaks down into three key groups- the Fuídreacha, or the unfree persons, the Aitheach, or common folk, and the Úaisle, or nobility. Each of these ranks is even further divided by occupation. wealth, land ownership and stature.

Fuídreacha- Among the fuídreacha, there existed a plethora of different classes of persons and sub-ranks. The lowest of these was the Múg, or male slave. Slavery was a practice common among the many peoples throughout the world at that time, but within Celtic society it was possible for a slave to earn their freedom and gain status among the tuath. In many ways, it was more of an indentured servitude. The next lowest of the Fuídreacha is the Cúmhal, or female slave. The Cúmhal was also a unit of measuring wealth, and honor price was sometimes measured using this standard. More commonly, the sét (séoit plural) was used, which I will describe momentarily. The third lowest of the Fuídreacha is the Senchléithe, who is not a slave, but is not entirely free either. The Senchléithe was a form of peasant-like class of persons who work the land of a higher-ranking person, own no land of their own, and often inherit their status. In many ways, they are identical to the peasant of the later feudal system in that they worked the land of a lord who in turn allowed them to live on his land and under his or her protection. Equal in status to some extent is the Bothach, or laborer who owned no land. Effectively, these were people who were allowed to live on unused land of the tuath in exchange for their work as unskilled labor. Though they were not beholden to any lord and could move on if they so chose, neither did they live under the protection nor were they provided for by said lord. Thus, while more free in their actions than the Senchléithe, they were in a more tenuous position. The highest ranking of the Fuídreacha was the Fuídir. These were similar to the Senchléithe in that they worked the land for a lord in exchange for his protection, but they were not bound to remain such, and could work their way up the chain into being landowners, and thereby rise to the status of Aithech.

Within the Nuafhéineachas of Tuath na Ciarraide, we have two classes of Fuídreacha- the Fuídir, who is someone from outside of our tuath and blood families that we have fostered in, and is still learning our ways; and the Fir/Ban Midboth, who are children born and raised among our tuath who are over the age of ten, but not yet adults. As slavery ended amongst the Gael many centuries ago, and any Gael today would find the concept abhorrent, we gladly left that part of our past behind us. Today the Fuídreacha is a class of learners, those who do not yet know enough of our ways to be expected to be able to follow our customs effectively, but who are still áraí.

Aitheach- Within the old Fénechas, there is much confusion regarding the Aitheach, as some tuatha had certain sub-classes, and others did not. So, I will cover the basic ones that are pretty much universal. The lowest rank of Aitheach traditionally was the Fer Midboth (man of "middle huts"). There were actually two levels of fer midboth rank in early Ireland, Dara Fer Midboth and Chéad Fer Midboth (first and second, respectively). These were young men who were setting out on their own, having just reached adulthood, but still mostly dependant upon their parents for economic viability. In other words, they were the equivalent to the 18-23 crowd in modern Western society. Because they were dependent on their parents for wealth for the most part, they had little legal standing in and of themselves, and thus, did not have some of the adult rights they gained later on when they were able to stand on their own two feet. The Fer Midboth, much like similar-aged youth in Western society today, made up the bulk of the common soldiers in Gaelic armies.

The next highest Aitheach is the ócaire, the general common adult freeman. Mostly made up of farmers, these ócairí were the lowest ranking landowners, often coming from among the Fer Midboth rank when a grandfather or other elder died, and everyone moved up a notch within the family. The ócaire had Lóg nEnech of 1/2 of a cúmhal (1.5 milk-cows), and was the client of a lord, from whom he received a fief of 8 cows, and in return he provided food-rent and services. Generally, the ócaire had a dwelling-house measuring roughly 20' in diameter on land worth 7 cúmhail (21 milk-cows), and owned 7 cows, a bull, 7 pigs, 7 sheep and a horse. He had a quarter-share in a plow team and a share in a kiln, a mill and a barn. If the ócaire acquired enough land, cattle and other wealth, he could rise to the rank of Bóaire.

The bóairí were prosperous farmers, similar in most respects to the ócairí except in wealth and status. The typical bóaire had Lóg nEnech of 3 séoit (2.5 milch-cows), possessed a half-share in a plow team, and a house of comparable or larger size and double the land value of an ócaire. Other classes often considered a part of the Aitheach are the mruigfher, which was an even wealthier version of a bóaire (having twice the cattle and land) that seems to have been one of the major players in land lording outside of the airí ranks (see below), and the fer fothlai. Fer fothlai seem to have been a transitory class between the Aitheach and the Úaisle, becoming an Aire Coisring after an unspecified achievement. (see Kelly, Guide to Early Irish Law p.28)

Within the Nuafhéineachas, things have shifted a bit. We use the ócaire, bóaire, mruigfher, etc. within our social structure, but not all among those ranks are farmers. Few of them are, in fact. Rather than rank based on occupation, this structure is based more on a combination of skill, education, dedication, and financial capability. For example, laochra, ceardaithe, and féine of all sorts who have accomplished greater levels of education, skill, accomplishments, and wealth rise up in rank accordingly.

Úaisle- The nobility among the ancient Gael was never the kind one sees in later medieval forms, but more of a martial/intellectual meritocratic hierarchy called Tanistry. Tanistry focuses less on blood-descent, such as that found in later primogeniture that pushed it out with the Anglicization of Ireland, and is more centered on the achievement of status through deeds and accomplishments over four generations. So, while it is a multigenerational effort to rise to the úaisle, it is because four generations of one’s family continued to prove their worth, thus guaranteeing that it was not simply a fluke of one generation achieving greatness. However, one can fall from grace much easier than one rises to it, and thus remaining among the úaisle takes effort.

The core of the úaisle are the Aire (lord), or member of the elite of the military aristocracy, and the Nemed (lit. "sacred"), or learned noble. Arguments have raged back and forth as to who was what and which class was higher, and this academic and scholarly warfare has clouded an already unclear subject. The whole debate boils down to two basic camps, however- those who believe the airí were the core of the socio-political structure and the nemhedacha were a less-powerful element, and those who believe the nemhedacha were the core of the socio-political structure and the airí were simply a warband of wealthy landowners. It has been my conclusion that both camps are right and wrong, after a fashion, with the truth of the matter being somewhere between these two camps’ viewpoints.

Different tuatha and different eras had different views and circumstances that led to one group or the other being prominent. A tuath that was in a peaceful area, especially during the Christian era with the blossoming of writing and literature, would have been run primarily by the nemhedacha, in this specific case, the clergy of the church. A tuath in a region prone to fighting, such as a border area, or during the eras when the kingdoms were regularly warring with each other, would be primarily run by the airí. Thus, there are cases where both are right. Tuath na Ciarraide and its doctrine obviously leans far more to the airí leadership end of the spectrum, and thus we are biased in that direction. Others are biased in the other direction because of a preference for the spiritual, academic and artistic pursuits that are inherent in the nemhedacha. The majority of material available on the Fénechas and Gaelic social structure is focused on the airí, and this makes it difficult to place exactly where the nemhedacha fit into things. In addition, some tracts and studies categorize the entire úaisle as being nemed, further complicating research. Sorting all of this out is an ongoing project, and as such I will only gloss over the nemhedacha at this time until I have managed to gather enough data that I trust and am willing to present with my name on it.

The nemhedacha are the intellectuals of the tuath, comprised of the draoithe (intelligencia and religious functionaries, draoi singular), filí (poets, file sing.), breithiúna (judges, breitheamh sing.), etc. A review of the Fénechas where they are described in-depth seems to show that they are on a comparable level with the airí when it came to Lóg nEnech and status, but had precedent over social and religious matters where the airí had precedent over martial, land, and foreign-policy matters, and both shared the oversight of political matters.

The airí are much easier to research, and volumes of information exists regarding this class of nobles. The airí were not just warriors, as standing armies did not exist until many centuries later. They were wealthy landowners, lords over large tracts of land who maintained clients (the aitheach and fuídreacha) and were involved in the political happenings of the tuath. The lowest rank of aire, and often considered in the same transitory position from aitheach to úaisle as the fer fothlai, was the Aire Coisring. This aire was the head of a non-noble dearbhfine, and was responsible for five clients. His dwelling was a house of 25' in diameter, with an outhouse of 19'.

The next lowest rank was the Aire Déso, traditionally the son and grandson of a noble. The Fénechas states that he should have a house of 27' in diameter, eight beds with their furnishing in it, drinking vessels, cauldrons, with the full supply of a noble's house of work-vessels, including a vat. The aire déso was the first of the true lords, being responsible for protecting the rights of his clients in regard of liabilities, justice, statute-law, and treaty-law. In addition, the aire déso was well grounded in the laws of family, tuath, lordship, government, and treaties.

The next aire was the Aire Échta, who seems to have been equivalent in grade to the aire déso because the next grade, Aire Ard, is called the "great lord" because he "is higher than the aire déso, and it is he who precedes him." (MacNeill 1926, pp. 297-8) The aire échta, which translates to mean "lord of blood vengeance" or "lord of slaughter", is so named because he is a leader of a warband of five warriors that specialized in avenging a homicide-based offence against the tuath. They were, in a way, sort of the early form of a hybrid between a SWAT team and a special forces unit. Other than this bloody function, the aire échta was identical for the most part to the aire déso.

The next highest aire was the Aire Ard, similar in most ways to the lesser aire except that he had twenty clients, ten of vassalage and ten free clients. Likewise, his Lóg nEnech was substantially higher at 15 séoit (roughly 13 milk cows).

The Aire Túise was a more significant step up in hierarchy, as he was the leader of his noble dearbhfine and could over-swear an aire árd, which means he outranked him. The aire túise was very wealthy and powerful within the tuath, having twenty-seven clients, fifteen of vassalage and twelve free, including many warriors, a house of 29' in diameter with an outhouse of 19', eight beds in his house with their full furnishings, including six couches (brothracha) with cushions and rugs, irons for every use, and bronze vessels, including a cauldron which held a beef and a bacon hog. He had significant amounts of livestock, including a hunting hound, full plowing team, cattle, work horses, and so on. Among the items mentioned in the Fénechas to be possessed by the aire túise are twelve horse-bridles, one of gold, the others of silver.

The highest ranking aire was the Aire Forgill, who in many ways was identical to the aire túise, except that he was responsible for forty clients, twenty of vassalage and twenty free, including many warriors. He dwelt in a house of 30' in diameter (huge for that day and age), with an outhouse of 20'. The furniture of his house, cattle, horse-bridles, equipment, and so forth are half again in number and value that of the aire túise.

The Nuafhéineachas recognizes all of the categories of airí based on training and, to some extent, financial capabilities and occupation. For example, an aire coisring should hold or have held the rank of E-5 (sergeant) or equivalent in the military, been trained as a leader in that capacity, be employed as a soldier, Guardsman, police officer, or similar profession, make an annual income of at least $22,000, be capable of housing and providing for five people, and capable of fulfilling all of the duties of an aire coisring. Airí échta have changed a bit, with inter-tribal feuds being a thing of the past, and are now responsible for the training of all Ciarraide laochra (warriors). They are, in essence, the Ciarraide equivalent of drill sergeants, and have the temperament to match. Though the practical application of this has changed a bit, all airí are still involved in the maintenance and management of land.

After the airí are the leaders of the tuath, the Ríthe (Rí sing.) Historically, there were many classes of ríthe, ranging from clan chiefs all the way up to the Árd Rí (High King) of Ireland. They were divided, just as the airí were, into ranks. The lowest of the ríthe was the Rí Tuaithe, or king/chieftain of a tribe. This lesser king was the leader of a single tuath, and in many places and during some earlier eras, was the sole ruler in the region. The middle rank of the ríthe was the Rí Ruire, who ruled over a handful of tuatha that were related by blood or marriage and had formed into a confederation. The highest rank of the ríthe is the Rí Cóicid, who ruled over one of the four great kingdoms of Éire (Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht).

The Árd Rí, the High King of Ireland, has often been argued to have been an invented position of the 10^th or 11^th century in an effort to give the Uí Niell family claim to the entirety of Éire. While there is definite evidence to show that such political manipulation was occurring at that time and in that vein, there are mentions in the records of an Árd Rí that significantly predate that period of time. However, it is a definite truth that no one could ever unite Ireland for long, even at sword-, and later, gun-point.

The dearbhfine collectively owned fintiu ("kin-land") for which, traditionally, every adult male had some degree of responsibility. Each one of these heirs worked his portion of the fintiu with his wives, children, servants, and slaves. Though the individual had a lot of freedoms in how they dealt with the land and in the manner in which they worked it, the dearbhfine still held considerable economic control over it. For example, a member of a dearbhfine must first obtain the permission of the dearbhfine as a whole should he desire to sell his land, or enter into a marriage contract which would involve that land. The legal ramifications of this oversight by the dearbhfine went much further than the disposition of fintiu. The dearbhfine was also responsible for paying for the crimes and debts of its members, punishing others for offenses against its members, and maintaining order within its own ranks so as to prevent a loss of enech, or honor.

Each dearbhfine chose from among its ranks a leader, called either Ágae Fine or Ceann Fine, who ranked among the airí. The ágae fine was chosen for his or her wealth, status, rank, wisdom, and reputation. The ágae fine represented his or her dearbhfine to the tuath, speaking for them publicly at assemblies, representing members of the dearbhfine in courts of law, and generally taking responsibility for his kin's behavior.

The Nuafhéineachas regarding fintiu is still being developed, growing in conjunction with the Community Development Project. There are some basic ideas that have been formed, however, as to the disposition of the fintiu within the community. An odd fact of irony is that the American corporate legal structure is similar in some ways to the internal economy of a tuath. This means that there exist laws that codify many of the very principles found in the old Fénechas. The relevant ones to the concept of fintiu are the laws regarding co-ops and non-profit corporations. In effect, the fintiu will be owned by the tuath as a legal entity rather than an individual (though individuals will own their own land as well), and everyone owns a number of shares based on their status within the tuath. These shares are an unusual evolution of the above-mentioned items and land possessed by a person of a certain standing.

As has been mentioned earlier, the measure of a person's status was their Lóg nEnech, which had to be paid for any major offence like murder, satire, serious injury, rape, etc. Offences which did not touch the victims honor - like minor damage to property or animal trespass, incurred lesser fines which are covered in detail throughout the many tracts of the Fénechas. A person's ability to act within the tuath in a legislative or legal capacity was directly linked to their Lóg nEnech. They could only make a contract to the value of their Lóg nEnech (an early form of credit rating, in another odd turn of irony), they could not offer themselves as collateral for any greater amount, and their oath was only worth their Lóg nEnech if a legal oath was required.

Lóg nEnech was measured by various forms of equivalency currency. In other words, whereas in the modern world, a fine for, say, trespassing would be $5,000, a defined amount of a defined currency, no such currency existed at that time. Thus, values were attributed based on the wealth and barter standard that was most common in Gaelic society- cattle. As time progressed, the standard expanded out to include other forms of currency such as silver, slaves, and fractions thereof. After the end of slavery, the cúmhal was still used, but the standard shifted from that of a female slave to a cattle-based one. At that point, the cúmhal was the equivalent of three milk cows, or six ounces of silver, and all other standards revolved around that one.

The other common measurement of currency was the sét, which was worth one-half of a milk cow or two ounces of silver, and used for lesser payments. An example of such was a fine for injury- the fine for injuring a person's shin with malice was three séoit. A chart of the comparisons between the currencies is as follows-

The Nuafhéineachas has yet to tackle the daunting task of codifying the vast number of civil offences that exist within the old Fénechas, and criminal law is, obviously, the purview of the Host Societies. Lóg nEnech among our tuath is based on the silver standard rather than the cattle standard, as the fluctuations in silver prices are far less than the wildly disparate price ranges for the many breeds of cattle in the modern day and age. Using this standard, the following chart is a good approximation of modern honor-price-