lect03-第6章

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would　not　for　a　moment　be　understood　to　assert　that　this　series






of　changes　can　be　divided　into　stages　abruptly　separated　from　one






another。　The　utmost　that　can　be　affirmed　is　that　certain　periods






in　this　history　are　distinguished　by　the　predominance；　though　not






the　exclusive　existence；　of　ideas　proper　to　them。　Here；　as






elsewhere；　the　world　is　full　of　'survivals；'　and　the　view　of






society　as　held　together　by　kinship　still　survives　when　it　is






beginning　to　be　held　together　by　land。　Similarly；　the　feudal






conception　of　social　relations　still　exercises。　powerful






influence　when　land　has　become　a　merchantable　commodity。　There　is






no　country　in　which　the　theory　of　land　as　a　form　of　property　like






any　other　has　been　more　unreservedly　accepted　than　our　own。　Yet






English　lawyers　live　in　faece　feodorum。　Our　law　is　saturated　with






feudal　principles；　and　our　customs　and　opinions　are　largely






shaped　by　them。　Indeed；　within　the　last　few　years　we　have　even






discovered　that　vestiges　of　the　village…community　have　not　been






wholly　effaced　from　our　law；　our　usages；　and　our　methods　of






tillage。






　　　　The　caution　that　the　sequence　of　these　stages　does　not　imply






abrupt　transition　from　any　one　to　the　next　seems　to　me　especially






needed　by　the　student　of　the　Ancient　Laws　of　Ireland。　Dr






Sullivan；　of　whose　Introduction　to　the　lately　published　lectures






of　O'Curry　I　have　already　spoken；　dwells　with　great　emphasis　on






the　existence　of　private　property　among　the　ancient　Irish；　and　on






the　jealousy　with　which　it　was　guarded。　But　though　it　is　very






natural　that　a　learned　Irishman；　stung　by　the　levity　which　has






denied　to　his　ancestors　all　civilised　institutions；　should　attach






great　importance　to　the　indications　of　private　ownership　in　the






Brehon　law；　I　must　say　that　they　do　not；　in　my　judgment；






constitute　its　real　interest。　The　instructiveness　of　the　Brehon






tracts；　at　least　to　the　student　of　legal　history；　seems　to　me　to






arise　from　their　showing　that　institutions　of　modern　stamp　may　be






in　existence　with　a　number　of　rules　by　their　side　which　savour　of






another　and　a　greatly　older　order　of　ideas。　It　cannot　be　doubted；






I　think；　that　the　primitive　notion　of　kinship；　as　the　cement






binding　communities　together；　survived　longer　among　the　Celts　of






Ireland　and　the　Scottish　Highlands　than　in　any　Western　society；






and　that　it　is　stamped　on　the　Brehon　law　even　more　clearly　than






it　is　upon　the　actual　land…law　of　India。　It　is　perfectly　true






that　the　form　of　private　ownership　in　land　which　grew　out　of　the






appropriation　of　portions　of　the　tribal　domain　to　individual






households　of　tribesmen　is　plainly　recognised　by　the　Brehon






lawyers；　yet　the　rights　of　private　owners　are　limited　by　the






controlling　rights　of　a　brotherhood　of　kinsmen；　and　the　control






is　in　some　respects　even　more　stringent　than　that　exercised　over






separate　property　by　an　indian　village…community。　It　is　also　true






that　another　form　of　ownership　in　land；　that　which　had　its　origin






in　the　manorial　authority　of　the　lord　over　the　cultivating　group；






has　also　begun　to　show　itself；　yet；　though　the　Chief　of　the　Clan






is　rapidly　climbing　to　a　position　answering　to　the　Lordship　of　a






Manor；　he　has　not　fully　ascended　to　it；　and　the　most　novel






information　contained　in　the　tracts　is　that　which　they　supply






concerning　the　process　of　ascent。






　　　　The　first　instructive　fact　which　strikes　us　on　the　threshold






of　the　Brehon　law　is；　that　the　same　word；　'Fine；'　or　Family；　is






applied　to　all　the　subdivisions　of　Irish　society。　It　is　used　for






the　Tribe　in　its　largest　extension　as　pretending　to　some　degree






of　political　independence；　and　for　all　intermediate　bodies　down






to　the　Family　as　we　understand　it；　and　even　for　portions　of　the






Family　（Sullivan；　'Introduction；　clxii）。　It　seems　certain　that






each　of　the　various　groups　into　which　ancient　Celtic　society　was






divided　conceived　itself　as　descended　from　some　one　common






ancestor；　from　whom　the　name；　or　one　of　the　names；　of　the　entire






body　of　kinsmen　was　derived。　Although　this　assumption　was　never






in　ancient　Ireland　so　palpable　a　fiction　as　the　affiliation　of






Greek　races　or　communities　on　an　heroic　eponymous　progenitor；　it






was　probably　at　most　true　of　the　Chief　and　his　house　so　far　as






regarded　the　Irish　Tribe　taken　as　a　political　unit。　But　it　is






probable　that　it　was　occasionally；　and　even　often　true　of　the






smaller　group；　the　Sept；　sub…Tribe；　or　Joint　Family；　which






appears　to　me　to　be　the　legal　unit　of　the　Brehon　tracts。　The






traditions　regarding　the　eponymous　ancestor　of　this　group　were






distinct　and　apparently　trustworthy；　and　its　members　were　of　kin






to　one　another　in　virtue　of　their　common　descent　from　the






ancestor　who　gave　his　name　to　all。　The　chief　for　the　time　being






was；　as　the　Anglo…Irish　judges　called　him　in　the　famous　'Case　of






Gavelkind；'　the　caput　cognationis。






　　　　Not　only　was　the　Tribe　or　Sept　named　after　this　eponymous






ancestor；　but　the　territory　which　it　occupied　also　derived　from






him　the　name　which　was　in　commonest　use。　I　make　this　remark






chiefly　because　a　false　inference　has　been　drawn　from　an






assertion　of　learned　men　concerning　the　connection　between　names






of　families　and　names　of　places；　which　properly　understood　is






perfectly　sound。　It　has　been　laid　down　that；　whenever　a　family






and　place　have　the　same　name；　it　is　the　place　which　almost






certainly　gave　its　name　to　the　family。　This　is　no　doubt　true　of






feudalised　countries；　but　it　is　not　true　of　countries　as　yet






unaffected　by　feudalism。　It　is　likely　that　such　names　as






'O'Brien's　Country'　and　'Macleod's　Country'　are　as　old　as　any






appropriation　of　land　by　man；　and　this　is　worth　remembering　when






we　are　tempted　to　gauge　the　intelligence　of　an　early　writer　by






the　absurdity　of　his　etymologies。　'Hibernia'　from　an　eponymous






discoverer；　'Hyber；'　sounds　ridiculous　enough；　but　the　chronicler






who　gives　it　may　have　been　near　enough　the　age　of　tribal　society






to　think　that　the　connection　between　the　place　and　the　name　was






the　most　natural　and　probable　he　could　suggest。　Even　the　most






fanciful　etymologies　of　the　Greeks；　such　as　Hellespont；　from






Helle；　may　have　been　'survivals'　from　a　primitive　tribal　system






of　naming　places。　In　the　relation　between　names　and　places；　as　in






much　more　important　matters；　feudalism　has　singularly　added　to






the　importance　of　land。






　　　　Let　me　now　state　the　impression　which；　partly　from　the






examination　of　the　translated　texts；　legal　and　non…legal；　and






partly　by　the　aid　of　Dr。　Sullivan's　Introduction；　I　have　formed






of　the　agrarian　organisation　of　an　Irish　Tribe。　It　has　been　long






settled；　in　all　probability；　upon　the　tribal　territory。　It　is　of






sufficient　size　and　importance　to　constitute　a　political　unit；






and　possibly　at　its　apex　is　one　of　the　numerous　chieftains　whom






the　Irish　records　call　Kings。　The　primary　assumption　is　that　the






whole　of　the　tribal　territory　belongs　to　the　whole　of　the　tribe；






but　in　fact　large　portions　of　it　have　been　permanentl