Coign and livery or coyne and livery ( ga, coinmheadh is buannacht) in Gaelic Ireland was the free entertainment which a chief exacted from his subjects for his servants and followers. Originally in

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 Norma ...

it took the form of a

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

held when the chief passed through a subject's lands. By the late medieval period it was often an oppressive charge to

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

and supply the chief's professional soldiers (

kern KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...

and

gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from ga, gallóglaigh meaning foreign warriors) were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland between the mid 13t ...

es), enforced by those same soldiers. It was the most important of the exactions which lesser chiefs resented of their superiors. The

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English l ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

imposed by the English during the

Tudor conquest of Ireland The Tudor conquest (or reconquest) of Ireland took place under the Tudor dynasty, which held the Kingdom of England during the 16th century. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas, the Earl of Kildare, in the 1530s, ...

sought to abolish Gaelic customs of chiefship and replace all exactions with a single rent charged on land holdings. This was accordingly supported by the lesser chiefs, but opposed by the over chiefs such as

Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and ...

References

* * {{cite journal, last1=Empey, first1=C. A., first2=Katharine , last2=Simms, year=1975, title=The Ordinances of the White Earl and the Problem of Coign in the Later Middle Ages, journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, publisher=Royal Irish Academy, volume=75, pages=161–187, jstor=25506307 Eating parties Real property law Eminent domain Early Gaelic law

See also

References