lect06-第6章

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spoken　harshly　of　these　pecuniary　compositions　had　come　upon　a






set　of　usages　belonging　to　a　society　in　which　tribe　was






perpetually　struggling　with　tribe；　and　in　which　life　was　held






extraordinarily　cheap；　and　had　found　that；　by　this　customary　law；






the　sept　or　family　to　which　the　perpetrator　of　a　crime　belonged






forfeited　a　considerable　portion　of　its　lauds；　I　am　not　sure　that






they　would　not　have　regarded　the　institution　as　showing　for　the






age　an　extremely　strict　police。　But　in　the　infancy　of　society　a






fine　on　the　cultivating　communities；　of　the　kind　afterwards






called　pecuniary；　was　a　much　severer　punishment　than　the






forfeiture　of　land。　They　had　plenty　of　land　within　their　domains；






but　very　slight　appliances　for　cultivating　it；　and　it　was　out　of






these　last　that　compositions　were　paid。　The　system　of　course　lost






its　meaning　as　the　communities　broke　up　and　as　property　became






unequally　divided。　In　its　day；　nevertheless；　it　had　been　a　great






achievement；　and　there　are　traces　of　it　everywhere；　even　in　Roman






law；　where；　however；　it　is　a　mere　survival。






　　　　Before　I　quit　the　subject　let　me　say　something　on　the






etymology　of　the　famous　word；　Feodum；　Feud；　or　Fief。　The






derivation　from　Emphyteusis　is　now　altogether　abandoned；　and






there　is　general；　though　not　quite　universal；　agreement　that






Feodum　is　descended　from　one　or　other　of　the　numerous　family　of






old　Teutonic　terms　which　have　their　present　representative　in　the






modern　German　Vieh；　'cattle。'　There　is　supposed　to　have　been　much






the　same　transmutation　of　meaning　which　occurred　with　the






analogous　Latin　word。　Pecunia；　allied　to　pecus；　signified　first






money；　and　then　property　generally；　the　Roman　lawyers；　in　fact；






tell　us　that　it　is　the　most　comprehensive　term　for　all　a　man's






property；'　and　in　the　same　way　'feodum'　is　supposed　to　have　come






to　mean　'property；'　from　having　originally　meant　'cattle。'　The






investigations　we　have　been　pursuing　may　perhaps；　however；






suggest　that　the　connection　of　'feodum'　with　cattle　is　closer　and






more　direct　than　this　theory　assumes。　Dr　Sullivan；　I　ought　to






add；　assigns　a　different　origin　to　'feodum'　from　any　hitherto　put






forward　（Introd。　p。　ccxxvi）。　He　claims　it　as　a　Celtic　word；　and






connects　it　with　fuidhir；　the　name　of　a　class　of　denizens　on






tribal　territory　whose　status　I　am　about　to　discuss。






　　　　The　territory　of　every　Irish　tribe　appears　to　have　had






settled　on　it；　besides　the　Saer　and　Daer　Ceiles；　certain　classes






of　persons　whose　condition　was　much　newer　to　slavery　than　that　of






the　free　tribesman　who；　by　accepting　stock　from　the　Chief；　had






sunk　lowest　from　his　original　position　in　the　tribal　society。






They　are　called　by　various　names；　Sencleithes；　Bothachs；　and






Fuidhirs；　and　the　two　last　classes　are　again　subdivided；　like　the






Ceiles；　into　Saer　and　Daer　Bothachs；　and　Saer　and　Daer　Fuidhirs。






There　is　evidence　in　the　tracts；　and　especially　in　the






unpublished　tract　called　the　'Corus　Fine；'　that　the　servile






dependants；　like　the　freemen　of　the　territory；　had　a　family　or






tribal　organisation；　and　indeed　all　fragments　of　a　society　like






that　of　ancient　Ireland　take　more　or　less　the　shape　of　the






prevailing　model。　The　position　of　the　classes；　obscurely






indicated　in　Domesday　and　other　ancient　English　records　as　Cotwii






and　Bordarii；　was　probably　very　similar　to　that　of　the






Sencleithes　and　Bothachs；　and　in　both　cases　it　has　been　suspected






that　these　servile　orders　had　an　origin　distinct　from　that　of　the






dominant　race；　and　belonged　to　the　older　or　aboriginal






inhabitants　of　the　country。　Families　or　sub…tribes　formed　out　of






them　were　probably　hewers　of　wood　and　drawers　of　water　to　the






ruling　tribe　or　its　subdivisions。　Others　were　certainly　in　a






condition　of　special　servitude　to　the　Chief　or　dependence　on　him；






and　these　last　were　either　engaged　in　cultivating　his　immediate






domain…land　and　herding　his　cattle；　or　were　planted　by　him　in






separate　settlements　on　the　waste　land　of　the　tribe。　The　rent　or






service　which　they　paid　to　him　for　the　use　of　this　land　was






apparently　determinable　solely　by　the　pleasure　of　the　Chief。






　　　　Much　the　most　important；　and　much　the　most　interesting　of






these　classes　from　the　historical　point　of　view；　was　that　just






described　as　settled　by　the　Chief　on　the　unappropriated　tribal






lands。　Indeed；　it　has　been　suggested　that　its　fortunes　are






identical　with　those　of　the　great　bulk　of　the　Irish　people。　It






consisted　of　the　Fuidhirs；　the　strangers　or　fugitives　from　other






territories；　men；　in　fact；　who　had　broken　the　original　tribal






bond　which　gave　them　a　place　in　the　community；　and　who　had　to






obtain　another　as　best　they　might　in　a　new　tribe　and　a　new　place。






The　Brehon　law　shows　by　abundant　evidence　that　the　class　must






have　been　a　numerous　one。　The　desertion　of　their　lands　by






families　or　portions　of　families　is　repeatedly　spoken　of。　Under






certain　circumstances；　indeed；　the　rupture　of　the　tribal　bond　and






the　flight　of　those　who　break　it　are　eventualities　distinctly






contemplated　by　the　law。　In　the　Brehon　law；　as　in　other　ancient






juridical　systems；　the　corporate　responsibility　of　tribes；






sub…tribes；　and　families　takes　the　place　of　that　responsibility






for　crime；　and　even　to　some　extent　of　civil　obligation；　which；






under　modern　institutions；　presses　upon　the　individual。　But　the






responsibility　might　be　prevented　from　attaching　by　compelling　or






inducing　a　member　of　the　group；　habitually　violent　or　vowed　to






revenge；　to　withdraw　from　its　circle；　and　the　Book　of　Aicill






gives　the　legal　procedure　which　is　to　be　observed　in　the






expulsion；　the　tribe　paying　certain　fines　to　the　Chief　and　the






Church　and　proclaiming　the　fugitive。　Such　provisions　assume　a






certain　order　in　the　society　to　which　they　apply；　yet　we　know　as






a　fact　that　for　many　centuries　it　was　violently　disordered。　The






result　was　probably　to　fill　the　country　with　'broken　men；'　and






such　men　could　only　find　a　home　and　protection　by　becoming






Fuidhir　tenants。　Everything；　in　short；　which　tended　to　disturb






the　Ireland　of　the　Brehon　laws　tended　to　multiply　this　particular






class。






　　　　Now；　the　Fuidhir　tenant　was　exclusively　a　dependant　of　the






Chief；　and　waS　through　him　alone　connected　with　the　Tribe。　The






responsibility　for　crime；　which　in　the　natural　state　of　Irish






society　attached　to　the　Family　or　Tribe；　attached；　in　the　case　of






the　Fuidhir；　to　the　Chief；　who　in　fact　became　to　this　class　of






tenants　that　which　their　original　tribesmen　or　kindred　had　been。






Moreover；　the　land　which　they　cultivated　in　their　place　of　refuge






was　not　theirs　but　his。　They　were　the　first　'tenants　at　will；






known　to　Ireland；　and　there　is　no　doubt　that　they　were　always






theoretically　rackrentable。　The　'three　rents；'　says　the　Senchus






Mor；　are　the　'rackrent　from　a　person　of　a　strange　tribe；　a　fair






rent　from　one　of　the　tribe；　and　the　stipulated　rent　which　is　paid






equally　by　the　tribe　and　the　strange　tribe。'　The　'person　from　a






strange　tribe'　is　undoubtedly　the