Cattle Lords and Clansmen

Nerys T. Patterson

Description

In Cattle Lords and Clansmen, Nerys Patterson provides an analysis of the social structure of medieval Ireland, focusing on the pre-Norman period. By combining difficult, often fragmentary primary sources with sociological and anthropological methods, Patterson produces a unique approach to the study of early Ireland—one that challenges previous scholarship. The second edition includes a chapter on seasonal rhythm, material derived from Patterson’s post-1991 publications, and an updated bibliography.

Sujets

• Legal History
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Ireland
• Anthropology
• Stephen Ireland
• LAW
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 avril 1994
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268161460
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

CATTLE-LORDS AND CLANSMEN
THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF EARLY IRELAND
CATTLE-LORDS AND CLANSMEN
THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF EARLY IRELAND
NERYS THOMAS PATTERSON
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS
NOTRE DAME
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved
Copyright 1994 by University of Notre Dame
Published in the United States of America
Previously Published as Cattle Lords and Clansmen: Kinship and Rank in Early Ireland
Reprinted in 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Patterson, Nerys Thomas.
Cattle-lords and clansmen : the social structure of early Ireland / Nerys Thomas Patterson. - 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 13: 978-0-268-00800-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 10: 0-268-00800-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Social structure-Ireland-History. 2. Kinship-Ireland-History. 3. Ireland-Social life and customs-To 1500. 4. Civilization, Medieval. 5. Civilization, Celtic. I. Title.
GN585.17P38 1994
306.83 09415-dc20
93-45597
CIP
ISBN 9780268161460
This book is printed on acid-free paper .
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail] .
I FY MHLANT
for my children
RHIANNON A BARBARA
Rhiannon and Barbara
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Preface to the second edition .
Abbreviations
1 Reconstructing Early Irish Society: Sources and Scholarship
2 The Development of Early Irish Law and Society
3 The Material Context of Social Relations
4 The Spatial Organization of Society
5 The Seasonal Rhythms of Social Life
6 The Political Economy: Clientship
7 Rank
8 Close Kin and Neighbors: Gelfhine and Comaithches
9 The Forms of Irish Kinship
10 The Corporate Fine : Control of Economic Action
11 Marriage, Sexual Relations, and the Affiliation of Children
12 Kinship and the Proto-State
Appendix
Glossary I : Terms for kinship relations .
Glossary II : Irish terms .
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
1. Map: Ireland in the ninth century. Major political divisions .
2. Map: agricultural potential of Irish lands .
3. Diagram of the agnatic descent group, fine .
4. A model of the relationship of rank to descent, based on Cr th Gablach .
5. Chart: Rank and property amongst commoners .
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The first edition of this book was published as a library edition by Garland, New York, in the series, Harvard Studies in Sociology (A. S rensen and L. Greenfeld, eds., 1991). It originated in my 1981 dissertation for the Harvard Departments of Sociology and of Celtic Languages and Literatures, but was supplemented by several years of post-doctoral work, undertaken while I taught in the Celtic Department at Harvard.
In the Preface to the first edition I emphasized that Irish sources can be used to consider questions in European cultural history, especially the materialism of early European social values. I still think this is the case and hope to complete a study of the European goodliness complex, in which goods and goodness merged ideologically. However, it now seems to me that a historical sociological study of Irish society needs no justification beyond itself. Ireland was European but differed from the mainstream in several ways, and deserves to be known by all medievalists as part of the range of European social types. For the same reason, anthropologists, archaeologists and sociologists who engage in comparative studies ought also to be more aware of the nature of this society.
In this second edition a new chapter has been added that deals with the seasonal rhythms of social life ( Ch. 5 ). This is intended to breathe some life into the abstract model of social relations that the book as a whole presents. Sociologists familiar with the work of the late Prof. George Homans, my thesis director in Sociology, will recognize his influence here. I am grateful to James Langford, Director of Notre Dame University Press, for giving me the opportunity to present this fresh material. The second edition also takes account of recent contributions to the field of Irish historical research. Another improvement is that this volume includes an index. I have taken the opportunity to correct mistakes in the first edition, though doubtless there remain many imperfections.
A limitation of this book is that it does not discuss monastic estates and communities. This is simply too big a subject to be encompassed alongside a full treatment of secular society. Readers should realize, however, that in addition to the social groups depicted here, there existed monastic estates that in many ways resembled those of the secular clans, but also differed significantly in that the clerical nobility did not devote themselves to warfare, but merely resorted to it when need be. Monastic clans were competitive, but they tended to expand on the heels of military conquest by the secular clans to which they were allied and were also often related through kinship (Charles-Edwards 1984: 128).
I have retained most of the features of the first edition s scholarly apparatus . Following standard practice in social anthropology I cite vernacular terms for native institutions, so as not to introduce cultural assumptions into the discussion of textual evidence. Since too much vernacular can daze the reader, however, I sometimes revert to English terms after the meaning of the Irish term has been distinguished. Wherever I have noted that a term is capable of literal translation, my authority is the Royal Irish Academy s Dictionary of the Irish Language (DIL ); I have not footnoted such references. A glossary of Irish terms is given at the end of the book. I have kept the use of technical terms for kinship and other social relations to a minimum, but a glossary of these is also provided. To save space, abbreviations of the titles of law-tracts have unfortunately been used frequently. As to the orthography of Irish proper nouns, I confess to an inconsistent approach: where these are simple, or would be familiar to anyone with some knowledge of Irish tradition, I have retained the Irish spelling (e.g. C Chulainn), but otherwise I use Anglicized forms (e.g. Moytura for Mag Tuired ).
For reasons of economy, I have curtailed the quotation of text, giving only short citations from one text of the original Irish printed primary sources, and confining these to the footnotes. Following established usage, canonical text (i.e. original old text), is written in upper case, while commentaries and glosses are in lower case. Where the passage in question is long, I have in many cases cited only the incipit or a short quotation. Moreover, where a point is well established, I have given only the line numbers in the modem diplomatic edition of the law-tracts, the Corpus Iuris Hibernici (Binchy 1978), or a reference to the source and discussion of the point in Kelly s Guide to Early Irish Law or in Studies in Early Irish Law . Only where I believe the point or the source has not been widely discussed by specialists in the law-tracts, do I cite whole passages of original text in the notes. My purpose, in general, is to offer convenient references to the printed source in CIH or other authoritative editions, rather than exhaustive evidence that the point is supported by the citation. Experts in the Old Irish law-tracts may thus draw their own conclusions as to whether I have mis- or over-interpreted a passage.
As to translations, the Old Irish language of the law-tracts is such a notoriously difficult field of study, that I have as far as possible, depended on established scholarly editions and translations. Where these are available only in German, as is the case with Thurneysen s works, I have offered paraphrases of his translations rather than quotations in German. Where it has been necessary to cite translations from AL , I have in some cases modified these, usually by interpolating an explanation between clauses according to how I understand the Irish text. (Needless to say, I do not claim to offer definitive translations.) The interpolations, are intended to indicate the sense of the passage, which the literal translation in AL often obscures. Readers wishing to consult the sources should note that the references provided in the footnotes are to the line numbers in CIH , to line numbers in the text of Cr th Gablach (page numbers in references to CG indicate the editor s discussion and notes), and to the page and line numbers of the English translation of the passage in AL , where the source has been translated in that edition.
My thanks are again owed to those who contributed to the first edition of this book: the members of my thesis committee, the late George Homans, Charles Dunn and Elizabeth Gray; Jack Goody, Jane Guyer, Pauline Peters, and the late Victor Turner, who offered valuable comments during an early stage of the research; former members and affiliates of the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures at Harvard, notably Bettina Arnold, John V. Kelleher, Proinsias Mac Cana, John Carey, John Koch, Jean Rittmueller, Lionel Joseph, Bill Mahon, Dorothy Africa, and Paul Jefferiss. Margo Granfors and Suzanne Washington made valuable technical contributions to the original MS production. Others who deserve thanks for helpfulness at various times are Thomas Bisson, Wallace MacCaffrey, Robin Chapman Stacey, Fergus Kelly, Steven Ellis, Francis J. Byrne, and D. Ellis Evans. In addition, I wish to thank the following for