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Brehon
Brehon ( ga, breitheamh, ) is a term for a historical arbitration, mediative and judicial role in Gaelic culture. Brehons were part of the system of Early Irish law, which was also simply called "Brehon law". Brehons were judges, close in importance to the chiefs. History Ireland's indigenous system of law dates from the Iron Age. Known as Brehon law, it developed from customs which had been passed on orally from one generation to the next. Brehon law was administered by brehons. They were similar to judges, though their role was closer to that of arbitrators. Their task was to preserve and interpret the law. In the history of the Kingdom of Dublin, the Gaelic Irish recaptured the city from the Norse Vikings after the Battle of Tara. Dublin was officially founded in 988 when the Norse King Glúniairn first recognised Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill as the High King of Ireland, he also agreed to pay taxes and accept Brehon law. The city celebrated its millennium in 1988 to mark 10 ...
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Brehon Law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwent a resurgence from the 13th until the 17th century, over the majority of the island, and survived into Early Modern Ireland in parallel with English law. Early Irish law was often mixed with Christian influence and juristic innovation. These secular laws existed in parallel, and occasionally in conflict, with canon law throughout the early Christian period. The laws were a civil rather than a criminal code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts; the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early jurists. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking g ...
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Early Irish Law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwent a resurgence from the 13th until the 17th century, over the majority of the island, and survived into Early Modern Ireland in parallel with English law. Early Irish law was often mixed with Christian influence and juristic innovation. These secular laws existed in parallel, and occasionally in conflict, with canon law throughout the early Christian period. The laws were a civil rather than a criminal code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts; the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early jurists. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking g ...
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Brehon's Chair
Brehon's Chair, sometimes Druid's Chair, is a megalithic site, and national monument, in Whitechurch, Rathfarnham, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, in the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Etymology The name ''Brehon's Chair'' refers to a Victorian idea that the monument was a seat of judgement used by a Brehon (an Anglicisation of ''breitheamh'' (earlier ''brithem''), the Irish word for a judge) to administer the Brehon Laws that governed everyday life and politics in Ireland, until the Norman invasion of 1171 and in places until much later. The laws were written in the Old Irish period (ca. 600 – 900 AD) and probably reflect the traditional laws of pre-Christian Ireland. These secular laws continued to exist in parallel with, and sometimes in conflict with, Canon law, throughout the early Christian period. ''Druid's Chair'' reflects similar ideas with regard to a Celtic religious aspect. These ideas are not historically accurate, the monument actually dating from prehistoric ti ...
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Mac Fhirbhisigh
MacFirbis ( ga, Mac Fhirbhisigh), also known as Forbes, was the surname of a family of Irish hereditary historians based for much of their known history at Lecan, Tireragh (now ''Lackan'', Kilglass parish, County Sligo). They claimed descent from Dathí (d.418?/428?), said to be one of the last pagan Kings of Connacht, and were thus one of the many families who sprang from the Uí Fiachrach dynasty. The progenitors of the MacFirbis family descend from Amhailgadh, whose brothers included Fiachra Ealg (ancestor of O'Dowd) and Eocha Breac (ancestor of O'Shaughnessy). History Based initially at Cong, the family may have been erenaghs prior to becoming historians and genealogists to the Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe (branch of the Uí Fiachrach based in north Connacht) and several other patrons. While this was their main function, they also appear to have served as poets and brehons to their patrons, possibly even musicians. Among the earliest known members of the family were Amhlaoibh Mór ...
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Aonach
An aonach or óenach was an ancient Irish public national assembly called upon the death of a king, queen, or notable sage or warrior as part of ancestor worship practices. As well as the entertainment, the óenach was an occasion on which kings and notables met under truce and where laws were pronounced and confirmed. The Aonach had three functions: honoring the dead, proclaiming laws, and funeral games and festivities to entertain. The first function took between one and three days depending on the importance of the deceased, guests would sing mourning chants called the '' Guba'' after which druids would improvise songs in memory of the dead called a '' Cepóg''. The dead would then be burnt on a funeral pyre. The second function would then be carried out by the Ollamh Érenn, giving out laws to the people via bards and druids and culminating in the igniting of another massive fire. The custom of rejoicing after a funeral was then enshrined in the '' Cuiteach Fuait'', games of men ...
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Ollamh Érenn
The Ollamh Érenn () or Chief Ollam of Ireland was a professional title of Gaelic Ireland. Background An (literally 'most great') was a poet or bard of literature and history. Each chief or had its own . The head ollam of a province such as Ulster would have been the head of all the ollams in that province, and would have been a social equal of the provincial king. Over all the provincial ollams was the (, , ) who held the official post of Chief-Ollamh of Ireland or "". Generally within a Gaelic region or Kingdom, one particular (the most powerful one), would provide an and Overking (Ruiri) for the entire region. An example is in , over all power was hotly contested and at times swapped between the ruling territory rival dynasties or Sept of the and . The Poetic Courts According to Daniel Corkery, in 18th century Munster, a custom similar to the Welsh Eisteddfod continued long after the destruction of the Irish clan system. In what was also both mimicry and satire of ...
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Diarmait Mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died ) was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ''ban-feis'' or marriage to goddess of the land. While many later stories were attached to Diarmait, he was a historical ruler and his descendants were of great significance in Medieval Ireland. Sources It is believed that the earliest of the Irish annals which came to make up the lost '' Chronicle of Ireland'' were kept as a contemporary record from no later than the middle of the 7th century, and may be rather older as it has been argued that many late 6th century entries have the appearance of contemporary recording. There is general agreement that the annals are largely based, in their earliest contemporary records, on a chronicle kept at the monastery on Iona, and that the recording moved to somewhere in the midlands of Ireland only around 740. Although it is thus possible that the records of Diarmait ...
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Canon Law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law, or operational policy, governing the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches), the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the individual national churches within the Anglican Communion. The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these four bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was originally a rule adopted by a church council; these canons formed the foundation of canon law. Etymology Greek / grc, κανών, Arabic / , Hebrew / , 'straight'; a rule, code, standard, or measure; the root meaning in all these languages is 'reed'; see also the Romance-language ancestors of the Engli ...
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Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland. In antiquity, the Gaels traded with the Roman Empire and also raided Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland and the Isle of Man. There was also some Gaelic settlement in Wales, as well as cultural influence through Celtic Christianity. In the Viking Age, small numbers of Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels. In the 9th century, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba. Meanwhile, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King often claiming lordship over ...
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Ollam
An or ollamh (; anglicised as ollave or ollav), plural ollomain, in early Irish literature, is a member of the highest rank of filí. The term is used to refer to the highest member of any group; thus an ''ollam brithem'' would be the highest rank of judge, and an ''ollam rí'' the highest rank of king. Ollav was also applied to a druidic rank; meaning much the same as "professor", or person of great learning. Typically the ollav/ollam was endowed with a distinction equal to that of a king, and could therefore wear six colours. There was an official post in ancient Ireland called the "Rí Ollam" or "Ard Ollam" or Chief Ollam of Ireland. The holder of the post had a standing equal to the High King of Ireland. Ollamh Fodhla was the title of the mythical 18th High King of Ireland who is said to have first formed the assembly known as the ''Feis Teamhrach'', or Feast of Tara around 1300 BCE. Literary fosterage In Ancient Ireland, ollams taught children either for payment or for ...
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The Hill Of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age—including a passage tomb (the "Mound of the Hostages"), burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone (believed to be the ''Lia Fáil'' or "Stone of Destiny"), and a ceremonial avenue. There is also a church and graveyard on the hill. Tara forms part of a larger ancient landscape and Tara itself is a protected national monument under the care of the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Irish Government. Name The name ''Tara'' is an anglicization of the Irish name or ('hill of Tara'). It is also known as ('Tara of the kings'), and formerly also ('the grey ridge'). The Old Irish form is . It is believed this comes fro ...
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