 |
 |
|  |
 |
|
|
| |
|
 reland is like a marvelous old woman that has managed to hold her beauty without the aid of cosmetics. See the wise emerald eyes that yet twinkle with mysterious secrets. A touch of gray in the hair only lends an ennobled air. Her stature is still proud and tall. Her magnetic quality seems to symbolize the eternal human quest for freedom and she seems to hauntingly hold captive her exiled children.
On the surface, Irish society seems conservative, Catholic dominated and perhaps patriarchal. Yet, if you ever chance to glimpse beyond the surface, you will find something far different. One proud acquaintance of mine, a retired Fire Department Superintendent and staunchly Catholic, spoke knowingly and freely of "the little people" and other deliciously Pagan things. His words were not words of derision or jest and they were warm and familiar. New paint only masks old wood. A singular product of ancient Ireland was her Laws. Now popularly known as Brehon Law, in honor of those who served as law-givers. The Brehon Law covered all relationships between individuals, social and moral. So balanced and just was the ancient law that it was adopted by the majority of the Norman conquerors and held sway among the populace until ruthlessly put down by the Cromwellian forces in the 17th century. When it comes to the Laws of Ireland today, we see only the façade of modern influence. We don't see the ancient Brehon Law that sustained the hardy Irish through Dante-esque times. We don't see the Law that placed honor before all. We don't see the equality of gender that placed women at the head of both profession and Clan leadership equally with men. What we see is a reflection of a once proud culture through the distorted window of forcefully imposed foreign law. We see but faint shadows of ancient honorable culture that powerful invaders did their best to eradicate by fire and sword, where ancient manuscripts were destroyed and their keepers massacred, where honor was no longer of valued, where education of the natives was a crime punishable by death and where worship of anything but the Christian God and at Christian sites brought quick and final judgement. Even in their coming, the invaders, first the Christian armies, then Viking and Norman, found the ancient Irish Law system superior to the point of emulation and, to an extent, assimilation. Though our only available resources are manuscripts compiled primarily by Christian monks, analysis proves enlightening. The earliest Irish law texts date to the early 7th century. These seem to give us the least distorted view of Law prior to the inexorable erosion that coincided with the increasing influence of first the Catholic Church and finally the Norman conquerors of the 12th century. Of course, studies of ancient Law tracts can be quite confusing. One primary reason is that there was no such thing as a truly national government or national law until well into the 9th century. Thus, early-recorded law was a local product for local consumption. By local, I mean the political unit which recorded or re-recorded it, whether tribal Tuatha or Monastery. For example, the much-noted Book of Aicill, written in the 7th century by the monk Ceannfalad, is reputedly the recording of the Laws of Cormac, a Munster king of the 3rd century. Another, the famed Senchus Mor, claims to be the Laws as set down by the venerable "Saint Patrick" himself. How that could happen when Patrick passed in the early 6th century and the Senchus wasn't written until mid to late 8th century? The answer is difficult to imagine. But let's go back a bit in history. The Brehon Law, as it came to be known, seems to have been brought into Ireland by the Tuatha de Danann in the 18th century BC. Even then, there seems to have been some similarity between the de Danann and their immediate predecessors, the Firbolg. For, if you recall, at the First Battle of Magh Tuired, the Firbolg requested first a delay, then a final battle of equal numbers. The Tuatha de Danann, under the Laws of Battle to which they both adhered, reluctantly agreed. So at least in part, the two peoples had similar laws. Another clue to the antiquity of the Law in Ireland are the golden torques dated 18th to 15th century BC, a date prior to the arrival of the Milesians, who arrived in the 13th century BC. As the old myths tell us, the torque was not just a piece of jewelry. It was a badge and symbol of its wearer. The torque was a device to insure absolute accuracy by the reciter of the Law, the Brehon. The belief was that if its wearer spoke falsely, the torque would tighten and choke the wearer. Thus it appears the Brehon Law (or at least its foundation) existed in Ireland during the time of the Tuatha de Danann and possibly before. Many suppose that the Brehon, or reciters of the Law, served as judges. Actually, the Brehon was simply the legal expert who also served as Law Library. In the event that judgement must be forced, it was the Rí (ruler) who, in consultation with the Law reciters gave judgment. However, even the Rí was not the final authority. A ruler who became unpopular could be voted from office. Ultimate control was the moral power of public opinion. Every individual felt is his or her bound duty to ensure that their venerated Brehon Law was upheld. By necessity, any successful law system must be fully supported by the people and it must be dynamic. In other words, it must change and modify to suit the needs of those whom employ it. The Brehon Law was dynamic from earliest times. The first major changes seem to have occurred after the arrival of the Milesians in Ireland. The Milesians appear to have been more war-like and leave considerable evidence of having been a warrior society. Thus the old Law had to adjust to this new mind-set. The next major changes were brought about by a growing Christian influence from about the 7th and 8th centuries. When the Christian clerics first began to arrive in Ireland, they found the Brehon Law superior to the Roman law they followed in many ways. Further, being strangers in a distant land, it was expedient to adapt to the ways of the culture among whom they now lived. Even when the monasteries began to be established, the Brehon Law had advantages. Under Brehon Law, the higher authority was local authority. Each tribe or clan had its own variations particular to their own needs. Since, under Brehon Law, the individual monastery was considered to be independent as if they were a tribe or clan in their own right. Consequently, the Bishop of the monastery was accorded the same rights and privileges of a local Rí (ruler). This gave them an initial autonomy not only from local authority, but also, in a sense, from Roman hierarchy. The change of the old Law might best be seen if we consider the final authority of dispute, as delineated in available manuscripts. Up to the beginning of the 7th century, disputes between Rí (King or Queen) and the Bishop were generally settled by a decision of the Rí. Later, as Monastery influence grew, power shifted to that of equal status between Pagan ruler and Bishop. Finally, in those areas where the Church and its monasterial armies gained dominance, the Bishop settled disputes between Clan and Monastery. We can also note variations in penalty for specific crimes between manuscripts. In those areas where the Monastery was dependent on the good will of Pagan neighbors, penalties for specified crimes on monastery grounds were relatively light. On the other hand, when the monastery was sufficiently populated and strong, the good will of neighbors was not as critical and penalties for certain crimes were much higher. Though the Brehon Law was finally crushed during the British Cromwellian onslaught in the 17th century, it remains a fascinating study, even in modern schools of Law. Rare indeed is a modern Law University library that doesn't have its collected works on the ancient Laws of Ireland. The two most intriguing features of Brehon Law are the emphasis on Honor and Retribution. The primary plank of Brehon Law was its emphasis on Honor. If a person gave his word, he kept it. His word was his bond. An oath before witnesses was absolutely binding. Written contracts were unknown and unnecessary. With that honor was respect. Respect for self, family, clan, tribe, the Gods, the earth and the elements that nourished. The Law of Retribution, simply stated, means that the injured party is recompensed for loss. Not only was the lost item replaced, the Law of Honor dictated an honor price. That is, a person who violated the code of honor by bringing loss to another was required to forfeit a part or all of his or her honor price. Further, the higher the social stature of the perpetrator, the higher the price of wrongful acts. In addition, if an individual was unable to make proper restitution and pay the honor price, the responsibility for payment lay first on the immediate family, then the Clan. Thus, it behooved family members to ensure lawfulness not only from a personal standpoint, but also from the standpoint of association. If you saw your brother preparing to do something wrong according to the Law, it was in your own best interests to take preventive measures. There were no non-involved bystanders. Where the Church attempted to modify the Brehon Law to satisfy the Canons of the church, the English Norman invaders from the 12th century onward exerted all effort to eradicate it. Initial impact was small as the invaders could only impose their own law on such land as they held by force. Despite continued pressure, including the attempt at English colonization in the 16th century, most of the Normans gradually adapted to Irish ways, including dress, use of the language, and of course, the Brehon Law. Thus in 1578, a representative of the Crown, Sir Robert Gerard reported that "…all the Englishe, and the most part with delight, even in Dublin speak Irishe.´ He went on to speak of the adoption of Irish Laws and customs by "Englishe degenerates" who "imbrace rather Irishe braghan laws rather than sweete justice." The ancient law was not long to survive however. The final blow came with the defeat of Hugh O'Neill and his forces who had waged a bitter campaign against seemingly overwhelming odds during the "Nine Years War" (1592-1602). Still, the Irish clung stubbornly to their traditions, but the Clan system was being eroded. Absolute ownership of land had always been alien to the Irish, but that mattered little now, for it was held by foreign hands. The Cromwellian era and English and Scottish colonization of the 17th century proscripted the ancient Bardic Schools and Universities. The ensuing century saw Irish society torn apart and ground into dust as the surviving Irish became enslaved strangers in their own land. The laws of the land were now dictated by a foreign Parliament. Irish customs were brutally suppressed. The only things the Irish could claim were their souls. In the ensuing centuries, the Irish spirit has continued to flicker. The ancient Gods that once walked the land were allocated to underground Sidhes to live on unnoticed by the booted conqueror. The Brehon Law, though sadly fractured, lives on in the "Triads," mixed sometimes with Christian thought. But, they do survive. Other elements of ancient teaching were protected and have trickled down through time in the tradition of the "Seanachie" and "Anam Ciarra," passed from father to son and mother to daughter in family traditions. The flickering glimmer has finally set ablaze portions of the academic world too as archeologist, anthropologists and folk-lorists have rediscovered the long forgotten treasure. In these seemingly scattered shards lies the Golden Goblet. We of the Temple of Danann seek the value and honor of our ancestors, which is reflected in the ancient texts. We realize that we cannot restructure society as it once was, nor do we wish to. The Brehon Law of our ancestors cannot be applied to the greater society of today. However, the personal values of Honor, Love and Respect, that is so often forgotten in modern society, still have their place in our personal lives. Not only do these noble qualities have their place, we believe that these qualities must be reintroduced into the public awareness if we are to survive as a spiritual people. For that reason we study the ways of our ancestors and work towards emulating their nobler virtues. We have studied the bits and pieces of ancient myth, law and folklore searching for the central threads. What we have found we have expressed in what we call the Primary Laws. These 13 edicts capture for us the essence of the morality and spirituality of our ancestors. By following these simple directives we enrich our lives. Hopefully we also enrich the lives of those around us who wish to fill that inner void. |
