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Celtic Social Structure
It's dangerously easy to put forward that the Brehon Law gives us a detailed account of the Celtic Social structure. We have to realise though that what is known as the Brehon Law survived for over 3000 years, during which the Celtic Irish society was liable to major changes such as a dramatic increase of agricultural activity, Christianisation, the Anglo-Norman invasion and foreign settlers from Scandinavia and Britain. All things considered it seems pretty safe to assume that during all these years laws have been adjusted to keep up with the changes of the increasing complexity of society.
In the light of the above we don't think someone can provide an accurate insight in the strata and organisation of the Irish society in the course of the duration of the Brehon Law, but in the meantime many are pretending. We have tried to deduce some sort of consensus, enabling our visitors to get a sense of the complexity, hierarchy and democracy in ancient and mediaeval Ireland.
Tuatha and finna
First of all we have to clarify the term tuath. In its contemporary usage tuath is often translated as tribe or clan. Both terms however suggest a common origin of its members and this feature only applied in the early years of the Celtic civilisation.
In the beginning each tuath had his own genesis and its members justifiably boasted about their shared descent. The tuath was ruled by a chieftain, the Rí Tuath, or King of the Tribe. In time territory was conquered and lost, some tuatha vanished completely while others appeared out of nowhere. Apart from these territorial changes the composition of the population altered by expelling improper members on one hand, and adopting travelers, valuable craftsmen, clever warriors and other desirable flaiths, or nobles, on the other. Consequently the tuath gradually became merely a geographical and political entity, comparable to a state, whereas the tribe or clan remained the basic social structure based on shared ancestry. As this process developed the term fine, literally family, came into fashion to underline blood relationships.
The fine, determined to preserve its pedigree, was a neatly arranged structure which consisted of seventeen males. The structure was not particularly hierarchical and is best described as concentric circles.
The inner circle, the geil fine, or inner family, consisted of the ceann fine, or the head of the family, and four members. The geil fine was enclosed by three other circles, representing three groups of four members each: the deirbh fine, or true family, iar fine, after family, and the inn fine, or end family. The structure was set in motion when a new male member was born. The newborn baby boy automatically entered the circle from which his father was a member and the eldest member of that circle moved outwards to a broader circle, on which the eldest member of that circle had to make way and so on. Consequently the birth of a male always resulted in a senior member of the inn fine who moved out from this fine altogether. Depending on his age, wealth and merits he could establish his own fine, spent his remaining years as member of the sept or apply for the title flaith.
The details of this structure varied slightly during the years and there might have been regional differences in the execution, some finna for example are known to elect the members of the geil fine, but the main essences of the system remained relatively unharmed. A particular interesting aspect of this system was the trigger and the direction of the movement caused by it. In most similar family systems the death of a member caused a movement towards the title paterfamilias, whereas a birth triggered a movement away from that title in the fine system.
A bit of track perhaps, but too interesting to pass by without noticing, is the suggestion of some authors that the Red Hand of O'Neill somehow or the other reflects the fine system. According to one interpretation the five fingers refers to the five spheres of the fine, namely the ceann fine, geil fine, deirbh fine, iar fine and inn fine. Others drift towards the idea that the wrist represents the Rí Tuath and the fingers the five members of the gail fine.
If your interest in Ireland lasts a while you may have noticed that the name Niall, or Uí Niall, meaning descendants from Niall, and its Anglicised version O'Neill, frequently pops up every now and then in Irish history. This is not only because the O'Neill clan was extremely powerful, but also because it was a huge family and in fact it still is. A study conducted at Trinity College in Dublin revealed that specific markers in the Y chromosome in one out of every twelve Irishman living in Ireland can be traced back to just one man: the fifth century Ard Rí Niall Noigíallach, better known as Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Social Stratification
Social stratification in the Celtic society
As any society the Celtic Irish community was neatly arranged in layers and sub-layers. As already discussed above the society, and by that its composition, evolved in the course of the years. Consequently the number, names and characteristics of the social classes was liable to changes, therefore we can only present a cross section.
Like society itself the social status of a person wasn't a static fact of life in ancient Ireland. Most famous example is that kings and other leader as a rule had to be elected. Nobility too wasn't based on kinship. On the contrary, nobility was an individual title granted by personal merits and dedication. In general the title died with its holder, unless the family had proven to maintain a certain degree of wealth for some generations in a row.
Obviously the system also worked the other way around. A king who lost a limb during battle was no longer fit to rule and consequently discharged and a farmer unable to pay his debts was deprived from his civil rights.
Roughly speaking the Celtic society knew three social classes, each of which was subdivided in several sub-classes.
Rí - Royalty
The head of state was, technically speaking, the Ard Rí na hÉireann, meaning High King of Ireland or Supreme King of Ireland. The concept of kingship however differs on several significant points from what was common in those days. Firstly the title wasn't based on kinship, but on elections. In theory every sane, able-bodied and well educated person of full age with a flawless track record in both civilian as military aspect was eligible for this function. The actual practice however was wilful and lower kings, and other leading figures from powerful families or with a solid old boys network attending the Great Fair at Tara, had an advantage.
Secondly the Ard Rí was not empowered to make laws, his job was only to uphold them. Due to these restrictions the role of Ard Rí was merely ceremonial. His main task, and challenge, was to keep the lower kings at ease by hosting and preceding the triennial Feis Teamhrach, or Great Fair, which was held on his ceremonial seat at the Hill of Tara in his ceremonial realm Míd, roughly the modern counties Meath and Westmeat.
The honourable job of Ard Rí was often practised by a former Rí Cuicidh, or King of the Province. Depending on the era Ireland encompassed, apart from the province Míd, three to four provinces, and just as much Rí Cuicidh. Throughout the years this second highest layer of the power pyramid called the tune. They made the rules, collected tributes and received alliances from the lower kings. The power of the kings of the province was only limited by a then extremely progressive concept of landownership due to which the territory under jurisdiction of the Rí Cuicidh was separated from the authority over the actual soil and its produce. This concept was incomprehensible for the English at that time and thwarted the execution of the Treaty of Windsor. Rory O'Connor, who had signed the treaty in his capacity of Ard Rí, was to remain Ard Rí. That is, until the English king Henry II found out that the Ard Rí had no territorial authority in Ireland whatsoever. To tackle this issue Rory O'Connor was demoted to King of Connaught. In the quality of Rí Cuicidh he was able to give up territorial claims of substantial parts of Ireland, but he was in no position to force lower kings to surrender their estates and to swear alliance to King Henry II. In order to gain ownership of Ireland the English had to persuade each and every single landowner to surrender.
The role of the Rí Cuicidh can be compared with treasurer and warden of his province, whereas the Ard Rí was the spiritual leader responsible for unity and social coherence of the Irish Celtic society. Both roles were important, but the real pillar of the Celtic community was formed by the lowest level of royalty.
The Rí Tuath was in charge of the daily routine of managing his tuath, generally translated as tribe, but state would be more suitable. The tuath, sometimes also referred to as cinel, was the smallest political entity of the Celtic society. At any point between, let's say, the fifth and twelfth century Ireland consisted of about 150 tuatha.
In contrast to the romantic ideas of living in ancient Ireland peace reigned as often as not. Just like their colleague clan leaders around the globe the Rí Tuath waged wars against their neighbours to gain more or better land, cattle and women. Even monasteries weren't sacred. In fact it is estimated that every single dwelling and monastery raided by the Vikings, who made name as bestial warriors, already had been sacked sometime in history by Irish warlords. Sometimes Rí Tuatha entered into, whether ad hoc or not, alliances presided by an elected chairman, the Rí Mór Tuath, meaning King of the Greater Tribe or King of the Extended Tribe.
Flaiths - The Nobility
Apart from the various strata of kings the upper-class of the Irish Celtic society, the so-called aires, meaning princes or chiefs, was made up of flaiths, commonly translated as nobles, also known as nemedh, meaning privileged. In theory every man of great merit was eligible to become a flaith. Please note: the men was ennobled, not his family! This idea of richly deserved nobility is in sharp contrast with the concept of inheritable nobility, by which titles of nobility pass on from one generation to the next, as commonly adhered in ancient and mediaeval Europe. In theory the privileges granted to the ennobled men, such as cattle, fields and occasionally tenants to work the fields, expired at his death, but in time it became common practise that these rights passed on to his relatives.
The composition of the Celtic aristocratic class was also rather unique. Apart from the to be expected statesmen, breitheamh, or judges, and praiseworthy warriors the Irish aristocracy was made up from outstanding ollamhs, meaning storytellers, druids, bards and craftsmen such as blacksmiths. For centuries this pick of the bunch had preserved the Celtic heritage and the Irish lifestyle. In the early seventeenth century however this vital knowledge bank was on the verge of falling apart when large numbers of prominent flaiths followed the Rí Tuatha in the Flight of the Earls.
Occupational groups such as druids, bards and blacksmiths enjoyed certain privileges just because of their profession.
Bards and druids fulfilled key roles in distributing and preserving news and legends. Bards rambled throughout Ireland, collecting news about battles, marriages, births, bereavements and other issues that mattered. By exchanging and spreading the news the bards undoubtedly acted as the modern day newspapers. It is believed that bards were vital in the distribution of the miraculous ideas and deeds of the early saints, and because of this in the successful Christianisation of Ireland.
Unlike the free-thinking bards druids tried to preserve as much of the history as possible. Especially new age devotees have a tendency to depict the druid as a mystic priest wrapped up in an animal skin. This image isn't adequate for a mile or so. A druid-candidate received a stiff on-the-job training for decades on end until he had become a inexhaustible repository of legends, historical facts, scientific knowledge and theological as well as political concepts. Generally a druid was bound to his tuath as counsellor for king and farmer in worldly and in spiritual, divine matters. By their high rank in society and knowledge the druids were the silent and decisive force behind the rulers.
The high esteem of blacksmiths is partly a reflection of the importance of weapons and farming tools. Above all the status of blacksmiths was directly related with the seemingly magical activity of forging metal. Both legends and historical evident support the idea that Ireland rather suddenly entered the Iron Age, which at least suggests a sudden arrival of a tribe with superior metal working skills and consequently with better tools for farming and war. It's not entirely unthinkable that blacksmiths gained their high social status by fear and gratitude.
Féines - The Free Farmers
The bulk of the ancient Celtic society consisted of féines, which is usually translated as free farmers or freemen. They lived in privately owned cottages and kept their own cattle or worked the fields using their own means of production. Because féines owned their own cattle they are also known as bó aires, or cow chiefs. Private ownership assumes a high degree of freedom and independence, but individual freedom as we know it existed merely by the grace of the Rí Tuath who had the final say over the land. He was not only empowered, but even obliged, to grant flaiths, widows and orphans the use of land on one hand, and to sequestrate the fields and houses from expelled troublemakers and other undesirable elements on the other. Initially this construct didn't caused much hassle, because there was plenty of fertile farmland to divide among a relative small number of people. In the course of the years however the population increased and, due to the rights of inheritance, large plots had to be subdivided in small and sometimes barren allotments. Consequently some families found themselves stuck with fields unable to sustain life.
Obliged by law to support this expanding class of unfortunate farmers the Rí Tuath was left with two options. He could conquer more land from one of his neighbours, but this option was rather costly and, more importantly, fighting men were unable to look after their farm. Instead of a counter-productive war the Rí Tuath often decided to relieve these unlucky féines by letting out dwellings, cattle, sowing seed and tools. By doing so a new social group, the fuidir or céiles, meaning tenants or vassals, was born. Céiles were distinguished into two groups, the so-called daer céiles, or free tenants, and the saer céiles, unfree tenants.
In general daer céiles managed to level out their debts. They usually had ran into debts after a bad harvest or other misfortune and their indebtedness was a surveyable and temporary condition. Either with or without support of their fine these tenants managed to level out their debts after a few good harvests. The fact that daer céiles enjoyed the same right and duties as féines underlines the idea that there was no need to be ashamed of being a daer céile. On the principle that in life shit will happen every now and then the Rí Tuath offered a social safety net.
Saer Céiles - The Unfree Tenants
In contrast to the daer céiles the saer céiles, or unfree tenants, had virtually no property of their own. They had to rent most if not all means of production and, apart from their financial dependency, they were no longer féines. A saer céile was deprived from certain rights and was bound hand and foot to the Rí Tuath. In times of peace for example saer céiles had to feed and otherwise support the royal household and flaiths, and in times of war they had to accommodate warriors. In recompense for their services the saer céiles received sowing seeds or replacements for worn tools. Effectively the saer céiles were under legal restraint and this condition had adverse consequences for the esteem of his fine. The fine, to a certain extent responsible for the debts, usually couldn't bear the shame and repudiated the the black sheep. There was theoretically a possibility to escape this truly woeful condition, but without family to turn to being a saer céile was in fact a blind-alley condition.
The exclusive right from the Rí Tuath to lease out land and means of production was undermined by the practise that fields once granted to a flaith were appropriated by his family after hid death. In time these privately owned estates thrived on the labour of saer céiles. Unintentionally an Irish version of landlordism had evolved in Ireland.
Bothachs - The Cottiers
The lowest class in the Celtic community was made up from broken farmers, unskilled labourers, outcasts and criminals. These bothachs, or cottiers, had rights nor property. They didn't belong to a tuath even though they lived in the realm. For their existence the bothachs completely relied on the grace of the aires, who may or may not allow him to live on his land and to herd his cattle.