The passage goes on to mention the case of his having made choice ‘to have honour-price in right of his relations or in right of his chief.’
In the Senchus Mor (i. p. 275), without direct mention of the case of homicide, is the following statement:—
The honour-price is fourfold. Full honour-price is due to one for his father, half honour-price for his father’s brother, one third honour-price for his son or his daughter, one fourth honour-price for his grandson.
On the whole it may be gathered from the Brehon tracts that, whilst the coirp-dire or body fine was a fixed amount, the eric or full payment was complex, involving, besides the coirp-dire, the honour-price of the slayer according to his rank, and also payments to the relations of the slain, regulated by their honour-price and rank, and nearness of relationship to the slain person, by way of reparation for the insult or injury involved, or for breach of their protection, &c.
In order to judge how much these payments of honour-price added to the eric, we must seek to learn something of the character of the various grades and ranks, and the amount of the honour-price of each.
III. THE GRADATIONS IN RANK UNDER THE BREHON LAWS.
The gradations in the honour-price, as stated in the ‘Crith Gabhlach,’ become very important from the light thrown by them upon the structure of tribal society in Ireland.
The ‘midboth’ or ordinary freeman and his food allowance.
At the bottom of the list of these grades is mentioned the midboth man or ordinary freeman without land or cows (?). He is said to be entitled, as food allowance, to the humblest fare of ‘milk and stirabout’ and for himself alone (iv. 301).
His honour-price is only a dairt heifer or colpach heifer, and his honour-price (as that of other grades) is also the limit of the value of his oath or pledge. He is a man who has not yet attained to a household of his own. When he has done that he seems to rise to the next rank of an og-aire, i.e. a young aire.