1 Christophe Archan The five paths to a judge: an interpretation of Cóic Conara Fugill (Five Paths to Judgement)1 Les cin chemins vers un juge : une interpr!tation du Cóic Conara Fugill (Cinq chemins du jugement) A"stract: This interpretation o#ers an anal%sis "ased on the Small Primer (Uraicecht Becc)& a te't (hich may come from the same schoo$ as Cóic Conara Fugill) A passage from that tract about social ranks notab$% presents a hierarch% of three judges& (ho seem to correspond to the first three procedures of the Five Paths of Judgement) The choice of the right procedure (ould then actual$% "e the choice of the right judge) A first "$oc* of three paths (ould then "e distinguished& to (hich a second b$oc* of t(o paths wou$d then be added) +!sum! : Cette interpr!tation pr!sente une anal%se fond!e sur $a Petite introduction (Uraicecht Becc)& un te'te ui provient sans doute de $a m,me !co$e ue $es Cóic Conara Fugill) -n passage de ce trait! sur les rangs sociaux pr!sente une hiérarchie de trois juges ui sem"$e correspondre aux trois premières proc!dures des Cinq chemins du jugement. Choisir $a "onne proc!dure reviendrait en fait / choisir $e "on juge) -n premier groupe de trois proc!dures pourrait ,tre identifi!& auque$ un second groupe de deux proc!dures aurait ét! ajout!) 0e%(ords: 1ar$% 2rish Law 3 procedure 3 trial 3 c$assification 4 2rish *ing as judge 3 judges 3 recourse to appeal 5ots4c$!s : droit ir$andais ancien 3 proc!dure 3 proc.s 3 c$assification 3 roi ir$andais ui juge 3 juges 3 proc!dures d6appe$ 1) To(ards the end of the tract entit$ed Cóic Conara Fugil$ (Five Paths to Judgement)7& the author as*s (h% there are five paths of judgement) And he ends up giving the ans(er: 89o that un$earned peop$e and those ignorant in $aw cannot take $egal action against those (ho have a *no($edge in $aw: ;) <e have to admit& indeed& a=er a first reading of the tract& that the aim of the author has certain$% "een reached) 2n a general (ay& not al$ $aw tracts are so o"scure and re uire such a great master% of the *e%s of reading as the Five Paths) The jurists& pro"ab$% jealous of their prerogatives& seem to have taken particu$ar care to protect the procedure& which is at the heart of law) 1 This artic$e is an expanded version of a paper (hich 2 gave at Jesus College >'ford on ? 5ay 7@13 at the conference on Celtic Legal Procedure organiAed "% T. 5) Charles41d(ards and Jaque$ine Bemmer& and also at the School of Celtic 9tudies ionól on 16 Novem"er 7@13) 2 (arm$% than* the organiAers of those conferences as (e$$ as Professors Fergus 0e$$% and Liam Breatnach for inviting me and 2 am most gratefu$ to Professor Fergus 0e$$% for reading a draft of this article) An% errors are m% o(n responsi"ilit%) 7 This tract (Eth4Fth centur%) is the main source oG inGormation on procedure& edited and translated "% +) Thurne%sen& Cóic conara !ugill HCCFI" #ie F$nf %ege &um Urteil" 'in altirischer e(t herausgege)en" $)erset&t und erl*utert" +)handlungen d, preussischen +kademie der %issenscha/en" Jahrgang 197J& Phi$osophisch4historische 0lasse nr)E& Berlin& 1?7CK Ch) Archan& Les chemins du jugement. Proc0dure et science du droit dans l12rlande m0di0vale& Paris& 2@@E) ; #1!u)thach )or) E aneolach E 3ssa !ainn arna tista4 )uir) no aneolaig do acrau eolach& Cor-5 2ur4 6i)ernici HC26I& ed) L) A) Binch%& Du"$in& 1?EF& [email protected] CCF& p. 7;47M (version R§2;)) C$ioOTh!mis - nP1@& 201C 7 Christophe Archan 7) There are a fe( tracts specialiAed in the matter& (hich have "een investigated "% Fergus 0e$$%& in his famous 7uideM. But Cóic Conara Fugill is the most comp$ete one) 2t envisages five procedures according to the nature of the cases: 1) serious crimes& disputes $in*ed to $and propert% or to po(er and 8great difficu$ties:& 7) the validit% of contracts& and some o#ences& ;) the "alancing of contracts& 4) disputes concerning dependent peop$e& J) the right to as* for rejudgement) The procedures a$$ "ear names (hose mere evocation doesn6t al$o( us to give a precise definition: 8Truth: (8ír), 8+ight: (dliged), 8Justice: (cert) 8Lue: (t0chta) and the right to as* for rejudgement (cóir n-athchomairc). The parties or their $aw%ers have to choose the appropriate procedure and fo$$o( it ti$$ the sentence is passed& (ithout changing it) There are several versions of that tractJ) The% are al$ contained in manuscripts (hich (ere (ritten as $ate as from the 17th to the 1Cth centuries) Ho(ever& we kno( that the te't itse$f was composed in the 7th or 8th centur%) ;) T(o scho$ars have provided e'p$anations of this te't) +udo$ph Thurne%sen (rites in his 1?7C edition& that the names of the procedures correspond to the uestion that the judge as*s himse$f in various situations) For instance& he as*s himse$f for 8ír; 82st er es (ir*$ich (iar 8ír) oder ist er es nichtS:C) For dliged& he as*s himse$f: 8Besteht ein gT$tiger also einAuhaltender Uertrag oder nichtS:E) The third procedure is used& according to Thurne%sen& in cases of hidden defects (hich on$% "ecome apparent $ater F) The uestion of the status of dependent peop$e and of their $eve$ of freedom is sett$ed "% fo$$o(ing the third procedure& particu$ar$% "% resorting to senchaide 8die 0enner der Uergangenheit:?& the custodians of the past1@) Final$%& the fifth path al$o(s the parties (ho are not capab$e of determining "% themse$ves the path to fo$$o( to as* the judge before the start of the trial11) M) A fe( decades $ater& +o"in Chapman 9tace% o#ers another interpretation of the te't& "ased on the sureties re uired for each procedure) According to her& a $in* "et(een the nature of the suret% (hich is re uired and the nature of the case can "e estab$ished) 9o& 8ír& (hich also means 8ordeal:& (ou$d concern the disputes sett$ed "% the judgement of Vod& "ecause a 8true-gage: (8írgille) (ou$d "e necessar%) An association "et(een naidm-sureties17 and contractual entit$ement is 8a natural one: for the second procedure (dliged)) Vages are 8one of the most common forms of securit% for payments o(ed: 1; and +o"in Chapman 9tace% thin*s the% are given to sett$e disputes over unfair e'changes of the third procedure (cert)) The paying suret% (r<th) is $in*ed to t0chta (fourth procedure), "ecause it is o=en used (hen the parents6 or $ords6 responsi"i$it% for the acts of their su"ordinates is invo$ved) Final$%& cóir n: athchomairc (ou$d "e a 8catch4a$$: procedure& as (ou$d "e the guarantor (ho is $in*ed to it: a hostage (aitire) (ho is $in*ed to no particu$ar contract) That fifth path then corresponds to a stage through (hich al$ c$aims (ou$d progress) At that point& the proper path (as chosen and the proper guarantors e'changed1M) 2t is c$ear that sureties p$a% an important part in a trial in 2re$and& and that to each path corresponds a particu$ar suret%& (hich& as Ro"in Chapman Stace% writes& has a lin* (ith the ver% nature of the case) But is it rea$$% according to the sureties that the cases are sharedS J) Without uestioning the $in*s "et(een sureties and the nature of the cases of each procedure demonstrated b% Ro"in Chapman Stace%& I o#er a di#erent anal%sis& b% using the Small Primer (Uraicecht M Fergus Ke$$%& + Guide to Early Irish La> [7'2LI& Du"lin& 19FF) J Ra(linson B J@7 (R)& C26 77@@.1-77@;)JK V ; (-)& C26 7757.1247761.17K 1gerton FF (1)& C26 [email protected])7;K R) ;) 18 (R)& C26 1@7E)71410M1.3FK R) ;) 18& (>)& C26 1018)7C4;?) 9ee L) Breatnach& + Com-anion to the Cor-5 2ur4 6i)ernici& Lu"$in& 7@@J& p. 7;;47;M) C CCF& p. F) But it is a ver% general uestion (hich can "e posed for the other procedures& as +o"in Chapman 9tace% ver% right$% remarks& he Road to Judgment. From Custom to Court in Medieval Ireland and Wal,& Philadelphia, 19?M& p. 117. E CCF& p. F) F CCF& p. ?) ? CCF& p. 1@) 10 +) Chapman Stace%& he Road to Judgment& o-. cit.& p. 127) 11 CCF& p. 1@411. 12 Naidm; “enforcing suret%:) 13 +) Chapman Stace%& he Road to Judgment& o-. cit.& p. 121. 14 +) Chapman Stace%& 2)idem& p. 12M4J) C$ioOTh!mis - nP1@& 201C ; Christophe Archan Becc), a te't (hich may come from the same schoo$ as Cóic Conara Fugill1J) A passage from that tract about social ran*s notab$% presents a hierarch% of three judges& (ho seem to correspond to the first three procedures of the Five Paths of Judgement) The choice of the right procedure (ou$d then actual$% "e the choice of the right judge) A first "$oc* of three paths (ou$d then "e distinguished& to (hich a second one (ou$d then be added1C) C) A=er sho(ing the method used as regards social c$assification (hich may have "een app$ied to the judicial fie$d (2)), 2 (i$$ present the first group of three procedures (22)), a group to (hich t(o other paths have been added (222))) 2) Procedure and c$assification E) The (i$$ to estab$ish a c$assification is visi"$e from the ver% "eginning of the tract& (hen the author (rites: 8Five paths of judgement are "eing e'amined here:1E) And the uestion that immediate$% comes to mind is (h% there are five proceduresS A difficu$t uestion) Let6s content ourse$ves first& (ith o"serving the authors of law te'ts at wor*& whi$e the% are e$aborating such c$assifications) F) 2t is the case in versions 1 and R of the Five -aths (ith the seven categories of things (hich compose the procedure (N7), the three e$ements of *no($edge necessar% for those categories (N;), the three 8things: that repress falsehood and testif% to truth and right (§4), the eight 8things: a $aw%er can do "efore his ($egal) action (NC), the t(e$ve 8things: a $aw%er can do during his action (NE), the five 8things: a $aw%er can do after his action (NF), the eight steps of the procedure (N1C), and the five foundations