lect06-第3部分

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which　prevailed　in　those　times。　Families　　real　or






artificial…natural　or　formed　by　agreement　　were　responsible　for






the　offences　and　even　for　the　civil　liabilities　of　their　members；






but　corporate　responsibility　must　have　been　replaced；






conveniently　for　all　persons　concerned；　by　the　responsibility　of






a　single　lord；　who　could　prevent　injury　and　pay　compensation　for






it；　and　whose　testimony；　in　compurgation　and　other　legal






proceedings；　had　a　weight　often　assigned　to　it　exceeding　that　of






several　inferior　persons　combined。　More　generally；　but　with　at






least　equal　plausibility；　we　can　lay　down　that　the　general






disorder　of　the　world　had　much　to　do　with　the　growth　of　the　new






institutions；　and　that　a　little　society　compactly　united　under　a






feudal　lord　was　greatly　stronger　for　defence　or　attack　than　any






body　of　kinsmen　or　co…villagers　and　than　any　assemblage　of






voluntary　confederates。　It　would　be　absurd；　however；　to　suppose






that　we　have　materials　for　a　confident　opinion　as　to　men's






motives　for　submitting　themselves　to　a　change　which　was　probably






recommended　to　them　or　forced　on　them　by　very　various






circumstances　in　different　countries　and　in　relatively　different






stages　of　society。






　　　　I　do　not　wish　to　generalise　unduly　from　the　new　information






furnished　by　the　Brehon　law；　but　there　has　long　been　a　suspicion






（I　cannot　call　it　more）　among　learned　men　that　Celtic　usages






would　throw　some　light　on　Commendation；　and；　at　any　rate；　amid






the　dearth　of　our　materials；　any　addition　to　them　from　an






authentic　source　is　of　value。　Let　me　again　state　the　impression　I






have　formed　of　the　ancient　Irish　land…system；　in　the　stage　at






which　it　is　revealed　to　us　by　the　Brehon　tracts。　The　land　of　the






tribe；　whether　cultivated　or　waste；　belongs　to　the　tribe；　and






this　is　true；　whether　the　tribe　be　a　joint…family　of　kinsmen　or　a






larger　and　more　artificial　assemblage。　Such　theoretically　is　the






principle；　if　the　traditional　view　of　the　primitive　state　of






things　may　be　called　a　theory。　But　much　of　the　territory　of　the






larger　tribes　hag　been　permanently　assigned　to　Chiefly　families






or　to　smaller　sub…divisions　of　tribesmen；　and　the　land　of　the






smaller　sub…divisions　tends　ever　to　become　divided　among　their






members；　subject　to　certain　reserved　rights　of　the　collective






brotherhood。　Every　considerable　tribe；　and　almost　every　smaller






body　of　men　contained　in　it；　is　under　a　Chief；　whether　he　be　one






of　the　many　tribal　rulers　whom　the　Irish　records　call　Kings；　or






whether　he　be　one　of　those　heads　of　joint…families　whom　the






Anglo…Irish　lawyers　at　a　later　date　called　the　Capita






Cognationum。　But　he　is　not　owner　of　the　tribal　laid。　his　own　land






he　may　have；　consisting　of　private　estate　or　of　official　domain；






or　of　both；　and　over　the　general　tribal　land　he　has　a　general






administrative　authority；　which　is　ever　growing　greater　over　that






portion　of　it　which　is　unappropriated　waste。　He　is　meanwhile　the






military　leader　of　his　tribesmen；　and；　probably　in　that　capacity；






he　has　acquired　great　wealth　in　cattle。　It　has　somehow　become　of






great　importance　to　him　to　place　out　portions　of　his　herds　among






the　tribesmen；　and　they　on　their　part　occasionally　find






themselves　through　stress　of　circumstance　in　pressing　need　of






cattle　for　employment　in　tillage。　Thus　the　Chiefs　appear　in　the






Brehon　law　as　perpetually　'giving　stock；'　and　the　tribesmen　as






receiving　it。　The　remarkable　thing　is；　that　out　of　this　practice






grew；　not　only　the　familiar　incidents　of　ownership；　such　as　the






right　to　rent　and　the　liability　to　pay　it；　together　with　some






other　incidents　less　pleasantly　familiar　to　the　student　of　Irish






history；　but；　above　and　besides　these；　newly　all　the　well…known






incidents　of　feudal　tenure。　It　is　by　taking　stock　that　the　free






Irish　tribesman　becomes　the　Ceile　or　Kyle；　the　vassal　or　man　of






his　Chief；　owing　him　not　only　rent　but　service　and　homage。　The






exact　effects　of　'commendation'　are　thus　produced；　and　the






interesting　circumstance　is　that　they　are　produced　from　a　simple






and　intelligible　motive。　The　transaction　between　Chief　and　Vassal






is　very　burdensome　to　the　latter；　but　the　necessity　which　leads






to　it　is　pressing；　and　the　force　of　this　necessity　would　be






greater　the　more　primitive　the　society　in　which　it　arose；　and　the






more　recent　its　settlement　on　its　lands。　All　this　is　especially






instructive；　because　there　is　no　reason　whatever　to　suppose　that






Beneficiary　grants　and　Commendation　arose　suddenly　in　the　world






at　the　disruption　of　the　Roman　Empire。　They　were　probably；　in






some　form　or　other；　deeply　seated　among　the　rudimentary　usages　of






all　Aryan　societies。






　　　　The　new　position　which　the　tribesman　assumed　through






accepting　stock　from　a　Chief　varied　according　to　the　quantity　of






stock　he　received。　If　he　took　much　stock　he　sank　to　a　much　lower






status　than　if　he　had　taken　little。　On　this　difference　in　the






quantity　accepted　there　turns　the　difference　between　the　two






great　classes　of　Irish　tenantry；　the　Saer　and　Daer　tenants；






between　whose　status　and　that　of　the　free　and　higher　base　tenants






of　an　English　manor　there　is　a　resemblance　not　to　be　mistaken。






The　Saer…stock　tenant；　distinguished　by　the　limited　amount　of






stock　which　he　received　from　the　Chief；　remained　a　freeman　and






retained　his　tribal　rights　in　their　integrity。　The　normal　period






of　his　tenancy　was　seven　years；　and　at　the　end　of　it　he　became　en






titled　to　the　cattle　which　had　been　in　his　possession。　Meantime






he　had　the　advantage　of　employing　them　in　tillage；　and　the　Chief






on　his　part　received　the　'growth　and　increase　and　milk；'　the






first　two　words　implying　the　young　and　the　manure。　So　far　there






is　nothing　very　remarkable　in　the　arrangement；　but　it　is






expressly　laid　down　that　besides　this　it　entitled　the　Chief　to






receive　homage　and　manual　labour；　manual　labour　is　explained　to






mean　the　service　of　the　vassal　in　reaping　the　Chief's　harvest　and






in　assisting　to　build　his　castle　or　fort；　and　it　is　stated　that；






in　lieu　of　manual　labour；　the　vassal　might　be　required　to　follow






his　Chief　to　the　wars。　Any　large　addition　to　the　stock