CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER. | PAGE | |
| [I.] | How the Ancient Irish People were Governed by their Kings and Chiefs | [1] |
| [II.] | How the Warlike Old Irish Conquered Foreign Lands | [8] |
| [III.] | How Kings, Chiefs, and People Were Subject to the Brehon Laws | [17] |
| [IV.] | How the Ancient Irish Lived As Pagans | [24] |
| [V.] | How the Irish People Lived As Christians | [33] |
| [VI.] | How Ireland became the Most Learned Country in Europe | [40] |
| [VII.] | How the Irish Missionaries and Scholars Spread Religion and Learning in Foreign Countries | [51] |
| [VIII.] | How the Ancient Irish Wrote down all their Literature, and how Books Increased and Multiplied | [60] |
| [IX.] | How the Irish Scholars Compiled their Annals | [67] |
| [X.] | How the Irish derived Amusement and Instruction from Historical and Romantic Tales | [74] |
| [XI.] | How the Ancient Irish Excelled in Music | [82] |
| [XII.] | How the Ancient Irish Excelled in Art | [92] |
| [XIII.] | How the Ancient Irish Physicians were Skilled in Medicine | [98] |
| [XIV.] | How the Old Irish People Built and Arranged their Houses | [106] |
| [XV.] | How they ate, Drank, Feasted, and Entertained | [111] |
| [XVI.] | How the People Dressed | [121] |
| [XVII.] | How they Fenced in and Tilled their Land | [129] |
| [XVIII.] | How Irish Handicraftsmen Excelled in their Work | [131] |
| [XIX.] | How they Prepared and Made up Clothing Materials | [138] |
| [XX.] | How the Irish Travelled on Land and Water | [143] |
| [XXI.] | How the People Held Great Conventions and Fairs; and how they Amused Themselves | [148] |
| [XXII.] | How the Character of the Old Irish People showed itself in various Circumstances and on various Occasions | [158] |
| Index | [169] |
ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION.
CHAPTER I.
HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS AND CHIEFS.
There were in Ireland, from times beyond the reach of history, kings, who were of various grades according to the extent of the country or district they ruled over. The highest of all was the king of Ireland, who lived in the royal palace at Tara. He was called the Ard-ri [ard-ree], i.e., ‘High king’ or Over-king, because he claimed authority over all the others. There was also a king over each of the five provinces—Leinster, Munster, Connaught, Ulster, and Meath—who were subject to the Ard-ri. The provinces were divided into a number of territories, over which were kings of a still lower grade, each under the king of his own province. If the district was not large enough to have a king, it was ruled by a chief, who was subject to the king of the larger territory in which the district was included.