Críth gablach ‘Forked purchase’
- Old Irish
- prose
- Early Irish law texts
Old Irish legal tract which offers a systematic examination of the principles of legal rank and status in early Irish society, focusing on the free and noble classes. Its composition has been dated to the first half of the eighth century.
- Old Irish
Legal poem cited at the end of Críth gablach. It numbers 104 lines in Binchy’s edition.
Legal poem cited at the end of Críth gablach. It numbers 104 lines in Binchy’s edition.
Sources
Notes
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
Numbered pp. 339–744; diplomatic edition of legal material from: London, British Library, MS Harley 432; Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1316; Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1337.
Numbered pp. 339–744; diplomatic edition of legal material from: London, British Library, MS Harley 432; Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1316; Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1337.
Secondary sources (select)
A companion to D. A. Binchy, CIH (1978). Review article: Neil McLeod, ‘Review,A true companion to the Corpus iuris Hibernici’, Peritia 19 (2005).
The early eighth-century Irish legal tract, Críth Gablach (a text on status), ends with a discussion of kingship. It is particularly interesting for its perception of the relationship between a king and his people as a contract. It is argued that the background to this view is to be found within Ireland, especially in the relationship between client kings and their overlords and between the church and the laity. Críth Gablach’s account of kingship also includes a section on the proper arrangement of the king’s household. Some elements of this section are clearly artificial, but they can be explained in terms of a desire on the part of the author to include a christian interpretation of kingship.
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