Women and MarriageThe right of women to have greater freedom, independence and rights to property.
Divorce provided either party be impotent/barren or homosexuality on the husband's part, after which property is divided according to what contribution each spouse had made to the household.
A husband while legally permitted to hit his wife to "correct" her, but if the blow left a mark she was entitled to the equivalent of her bride-price in compensation and could, if she wished, divorce him.
Property of a household could not be disposed of without the consent of both spouses.
However, in the event of suit from an outside party a spouse is not permitted to act as witnesses, their testimony being considered "biased and dishonest."
KingshipThe basic unit of political organization provided for was the tuath (tribal or petty kingdom), headed by a rí (king). Kingship of a tuath was not inherited by primogeniture: a new king would be elected by the aristocracy of the tribe from a number of eligible candidates.
Any adult who was the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a previous king, in direct line, was eligible, although one with a physical "blemish" (e.g. a missing limb) was not eligible. This led to many contenders intentionally blinding their rivals for the succession.
Often, a king would choose a tánaiste (heir apparent, literally "second") who would be best placed to succeed at his death. Kings were themselves subject to the law and had little power to create laws or issue edicts except in emergencies.
These tuatha were, by convention, grouped into four over-kingdoms or provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster, and Connacht. Each province had a king, normally chosen from among the kings of the tuatha, who exercised some power over the other kings in the province. The provincial kings were supposedly subject to a High King, who ruled from Tara in the "fifth royal province" of Mide.
ClientshipA member of the property-owning classes could advance himself by becoming a "free client" of a more powerful lord. The lord would make his client a grant of property for a fixed period of time.
The client would owe service to his lord, and at the end of the grant period would return the grant with interest. Any increase beyond the agreed interest was his to keep. This allowed for a certain degree of social mobility as an astute free client could increase his wealth until he could afford to have clients of his own, thus becoming a lord in his own right.
A poorer man could become a "base client" by selling a share in his honor-price, making his lord entitled to part of any compensation due him. The lord would make him a smaller grant of land or livestock, for which the client would pay rent in produce and manual labor. A man could be a base client to several lords simultaneously.
GravelkindGavelkind was a species of tribal succession, by which the land was divided at the death of the holder amongst his sons. Illegitimate sons, but not daughters, were included in the division. The Normans gave this Irish inheritance law the name Gavelkind due to its apparent similarity to Saxon inheritance in Kent.
Often the father prescribed the division before his death. A variant occurred whereby the youngest son divided the land into equal parts. The eldest chose first, followed by the second and so on until the youngest received the remaining land.
