‘The Representation in Old Irish Law Texts of the Legal Position of Women in Early Medieval Ireland as regards the Ownership of Property’. Hanne-Mette Alsos Raae Ph.D. in Léann Ceilteach / Celtic Studies. Supervised by Dr. Graham Isaac and Prof. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín. School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Roinn na Gaeilge National University of Ireland, Galway September 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration. Summary of Contents. Acknowledgements. Abbreviations. Chapter 1: Introduction. 1 1.1. Background and outline of study. 1 1.2. Previous scholarship. 3 1.2.1. Previous scholarship: women and property. 4 1.2.2. Previous scholarship: the banchomarbae. 5 1.2.3. Previous scholarship: distraint. 6 1.2.4. Previous scholarship: legal entry. 6 1.2.5. Previous scholarship: women’s contractual capacity. 7 1.2.6. Previous scholarship: passing of property. 7 1.2.7. Previous scholarship: the Welsh laws. 8 1.3. Legal Introduction. 8 1.3.1. The structure of early Irish society. 10 1.3.2. Contradictory evidence in the law texts. 12 1.3.3. The structure of the kin-group. 13 1.3.4. The territorial units in the law texts. 14 1.3.4.1. The túath. 14 1.3.4.2. The fintiu. 15 1.3.5 Categories of person. 15 1.3.5.1. The nemed. 16 1.3.5.2. The freemen. 16 1.3.6. Rank and honour-price. 17 1.3.6.1. Women as dependants. 18 1.3.6.2. Persons of no honour-price. 19 1.3.6.3. Illegal killing. 19 1.3.7. Sick-maintenance. 20 1.3.8. Marriage. 22 1.3.9. Divorce. 24 1.3.10. Inheritance. 24 1.3.11. Female evidence. 25 1.3.12. Legal entry. 26 1.3.13. Distraint. 26 1.3.13.1 Fasting. 27 Chapter 2: Women and Property. 28 2.1. Introduction. 28 2.2. Women’s legal status. 30 2.3. Cáin Lánamna. 32 2.4. Unions by betrothal. 33 2.5. Lánamnas comthinchuir. 35 2.5.1. Types of wives in the airnaidm-unions. 36 2.5.1.1. The adaltrach. 38 2.5.2. Contractual capacity. 41 2.5.3. The similarities between the cétmuinter and the mac béo-athar. 43 2.5.4. The rules regarding divorce in lánamnas comthinchuir. 45 2.5.4.1. The division of the cattle’s produce. 47 2.5.4.2. The division of grain. 50 2.5.4.3. The division of milk products. 51 2.5.4.4. The division of the labour-third. 52 2.5.4.5. The division of the salted meat. 54 2.5.4.5.1. An Old Irish gloss on spring work. 56 2.5.4.6. The division of handiwork. 61 2.5.4.7. Restitution and replacement. 63 2.6. Lánamnas mná for ferthinchur. 64 2.6.1. Contractual capacity. 64 2.6.2. Types of wives in lánamnas mná for ferthinchur. 66 2.6.3. Polygyny. 69 2.6.4. The legal capacity of the different types of wife. 73 2.6.5. Hospitality and refection. 74 2.6.6. The rules regarding divorce in lánamnas mná for ferthinchur. 76 2.6.6.1. The division of assets. 77 2.6.6.2. The early Irish equivalent of alimony. 78 Chapter 3: Banchomarbae. 80 3.1. Introduction. 80 3.2. The female heir. 80 3.2.1. The approximate occurrences of female heirs. 81 3.2.2. The legal implications of the banchomarbae. 82 3.3. The cumal as a unit of value. 83 3.3.1. Tír cumaile. 84 3.4. Lánamnas fir for bantinchur co fognam. 87 3.4.1. The husband as a ‘head of counsel’. 88 3.4.2. The role reversal of husband and wife. 90 3.4.3. The division of assets. 92 3.4.4. A husband as a dependant. 93 3.5. Personally acquired land. 96 3.5.1. Orbae cruib nó slíasta. 97 Chapter 4: Athgabál aile. 99 4.1. Introduction. 99 4.2. Distraint. 101 4.2.1. Types of distraint. 103 4.2.1.1. Athgabál íar fut. 104 4.2.1.2. Tulathgabál. 106 4.3. Athgabál aile. 107 4.3.1. Available translations. 108 4.3.2. Available text. 108 4.3.3. ‘Women in general’. 109 4.3.3.1. Bríg and Senchae. 113 4.3.3.2. The procedure in the commentary. 114 4.3.4. ‘Women’s work’. 116 4.3.4.1. ‘The completion and payment of women’s work.’ 116 4.3.4.2. ‘The materials of women’s work’. 118 4.3.4.3. ‘Work’. 124 4.3.4.4. ‘Women’s pets’. 126 Chapter 5: Bantellach. 129 5.1. Introduction. 129 5.2. The regular procedure for legal entry. 130 5.2.1. Opening poem. 131 5.2.2. Prose section. 133 5.2.2.1. Céttellach. 135 5.2.2.2. Tellach medónach. 135 5.2.2.3. Tellach déidenach. 136 5.3. Legal entry for women. 137 5.3.1. Cíannacht. 137 5.3.2. The procedure of bantellach. 140 5.3.2.1. Céttellach. 141 5.3.2.2. Tellach medónach. 141 5.3.2.3. Tellach déidenach. 142 5.3.3. Evidence from the E 3.5. commentary. 143 5.3.3.1. Notice period in the E 3.5. commentary. 145 5.3.3.2. Céttellach in the E 3.5. commentary. 146 5.3.3.3. Tellach medónach in the E 3.5. commentary. 147 5.3.3.4. Tellach déidenach in the E 3.5. commentary. 148 5.3.4. Senchae and Bríg. 151 5.3.5. Seithir. 153 5.3.6. The implications of female landowners. 155 5.3.7. Illegal entry. 157 Chapter 6: Women’s Contractual Capacity. 159 6.1. Introduction. 159 6.2. Guardians and dependants. 159 6.3. Women and contracts. 162 6.3.1. Exceptions to the rule. 163 6.3.2. Increased legal standing with time or contemporaneous exceptions? 164 6.3.3. The importance of leading cases. 168 6.4. Di Astud Chor. 169 6.4.1. Women in DAC. 169 6.4.2. Contracts of two persons considered gáeth. 171 6.4.3. Contracts that are dissoluble though they are bound by sureties. 172 6.4.4. The concubine without sons. 173 6.4.5. Evidence from the commentaries. 175 6.4.5.1. ‘The four legally capable women’ in the commentaries. 175 6.4.5.2. ‘The concubine without sons’ in the commentaries. 176 6.4.5.3. The contractual capacity of ‘the four legally capable women’. 177 6.4.5.4. The contractual capacity of ‘the concubine without sons’. 179 6.4.5.5. ‘The two orders of members’. 180 6.5. The giving of gifts. 183 6.6. Bequeathing property. 184 Chapter 7: The Passing of Property. 185 7.1. Introduction. 185 7.2. Property as inheritance to a woman. 186 7.2.1. Property as inheritance to a banchomarbae. 187 7.2.2. Limitations to the inheritance. 189 7.2.2.1. Limitations to female inheritance in the glosses. 191 7.2.3. The daughters of Salphaad. 195 7.3. The distribution of a woman’s property. 196 7.3.1. The distribution of the estate of a banchomarbae. 197 7.3.1.1. The Kinship Poem. 197 7.3.2. The distribution of a woman’s personal property. 202 7.3.2.1. Bretha Étgid. 203 7.3.2.2. The division of inheritance from the different classes of women. 204 7.3.2.3. The division of liability of the different classes of women. 205 7.3.2.4. The division when there are children from consecutive marriages. 214 7.3.2.5. Inheritance by daughters. 220 7.3.2.6. The division of cin and díbad with regard to minors. 226 7.3.2.7. The status of children conceived before and after ‘the month.’ 227 Chapter 8: The Welsh Laws. 230 8.1. Introduction. 230 8.2. Manuscript introduction. 231 8.3. The life-cycle of women. 233 8.3.1. The three payments due for a woman’s sexuality. 237 8.3.1.1. Amobr. 238 8.3.1.2. Cowyll. 240 8.3.1.3. Agweddi. 241 8.4. Nau Kynywedi Teithiauc. 243 8.4.1. The different types of marriages from Nau Kynywedi Teithiauc. 245 8.4.1.1. Priodas. 245 8.4.1.2. Agweddi. 248 8.4.1.3. Caradas. 251 8.4.1.4. Deu lysuab llathlut. 252 8.4.1.5. Llathlud. 253 8.4.1.6. Beichogi twyll gwreic llwyn a pherth. 255 8.5. Prifai Gwraig. 257 8.6. Divorce. 261 8.6.1. Grounds for divorce. 261 8.6.2. Division of assets. 263 8.7. Sharing the patrimony. 271 8.7.1. Female inheritance. 275 8.7.1.1. The sons of an alltud. 276 8.7.1.2. Inheritance from a woman. 280 8.8. Women’s legal capacity. 281 8.8.1. Women acting as sureties or witnesses. 282 8.8.2. A man repenting divorcing his first wife. 282 8.8.3. Bequeathing property. 284 8.8.4. Legal capacity in regard to land. 285 8.9. Conclusion. 286 Chapter 9: Conclusion. 288 Appendix 1: Translation of athgabál aile. 303 Appendix 2: Translation of Commentary to Din Techtugud §3. 314 Bibliography. 316 I, Hanne-Mette Alsos Raae, hereby declare that all the work presented in this thesis is my original work, and no degree has previously been obtained on the basis of this work.