manuscripts
The Corpus Iuris Hibernici (CIH) is an invaluable collection of medieval Irish legal texts that sheds light on the native legal system of Ireland, known as Brehon Law. This extraordinary…
Background Pangur Bán or “White Pangur” is an anonymous poem written in Old Irish around the 9th century originating, it is presumed, from the Abbey of Reichenau; a Benedictine Monastery…
It is a little known fact that the history of copyright law begins with the Brehon Laws of Ancient Ireland over 1000 years before it appeared in English legislation. Who…
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) is a fantastic resource that allows you to explore high quality scanned images of Irish manuscripts. This collection of beautifully ornate manuscripts can be viewed…
The mythology of ancient Ireland is made up of a number literary epics and tales of ‘gods and men’ that interlink and cross-over one another to form a rich and…
Written around 700 AD the Crith Gablach, which means ‘branched purchase’, set out the principle guidelines that should be aspired to in an ideal society. Ancient Ireland could be described as…
This poetic manuscript declares the King of Munster to be supreme and makes reference to monasteries in Emly and Cork; both counties of that province. For this reason, it is…
The significance of status in early Irish society cannot be over-emphasised. Several important texts outline the intricate classifications which were based primarily on hereditary rights, kin-ship, property ownership, and, in…
The Book of Aicill relates to the criminal law and is often discussed as being on par in significance with the Senchus Mór; although, the latter deals with civil law.…
The Senchus Mór (pronounced: shen-kus moor) is one of the most important legal texts from early Ireland and it means the ‘Great Ancient Tradition’. However, the most all-encompassing word for this body…