Everyone in early Ireland had a price on their face.

Scholars sayBefore the English courts there was another law in Ireland, kept by judges who learned it by heart. It gave every free person an honour-price, in Irish lóg n-enech, “the price of the face”. Here the law is told one case at a time, as a neighbour might have brought it to the judge. Hear the quarrel, give your own judgement, then see what the law said.

Start here

The Felled OakA man cuts down an oak that stands on his neighbour’s land. What does he owe?Hear the case

Five more to begin with

• The Bee That Blinded a KingA bee blinds a man’s eye, and no one saw which hive it came from. Who answers for it?
• Fasting upon a LordA woman is owed a debt by a lord, and the lord will not pay. What can she do?
• Nine Days’ CareA man is wounded in a quarrel and cannot work. Who nurses him, and who pays?
• The King Who Was Satirised and PraisedA poet satirises a king, and then makes a praise-poem for him. Is the king’s honour still harmed?
• The Smith’s ForgeA boy creeps up to a smith at work and is burned. Does the smith pay?

All the cases

Neighbours and their animals

• The Felled OakA man cuts down an oak that stands on his neighbour’s land. What does he owe?
• The Neighbour’s ApplesAn apple tree on one man’s land drops its fruit on his neighbour’s. Whose is the fruit?
• The Gap in the FenceA neighbour’s oxen break through a poor fence and eat your barley. Can you claim?
• The Dog on the Neighbour’s LandA dog fouls a neighbour’s field. What does its owner owe?
• The Rooting PigsA neighbour’s pigs tear up your field. How does the law decide when you can graze it again?
• The Pet WolfA tame wolf, deer or heron strays onto a neighbour’s land and does harm. Who answers?

Bees

• The Bee That Blinded a KingA bee blinds a man’s eye, and no one saw which hive it came from. Who answers for it?
• The Swarm in the GreenA man finds a stray swarm of bees. Whose is it?

Injury, accident and need

• Nine Days’ CareA man is wounded in a quarrel and cannot work. Who nurses him, and who pays?
• The Smith’s ForgeA boy creeps up to a smith at work and is burned. Does the smith pay?
• The Woodcutter’s ShoutA felled tree strikes a passer-by. Does the woodcutter pay?
• The Overloaded FerryA ferry sinks and a passenger drowns. Does the ferryman pay?
• The Boys’ GamesA boy is hurt at a game. Who owes him?
• The CravingA pregnant woman takes a handful of her neighbour’s barley. Is it theft?

Debt and distraint

• Fasting upon a LordA woman is owed a debt by a lord, and the lord will not pay. What can she do?
• Distraint on the PhysicianA physician owes a debt and will not pay. What does the plaintiff do?
• The Cow That Had Just CalvedA creditor drives off a cow that has just calved. Is that lawful distraint?

Poets, kings and honour

• The Poet’s Warning draftA lord will not pay what he owes. When may a poet lawfully turn to satire?
• The King Who Was Satirised and PraisedA poet satirises a king, and then makes a praise-poem for him. Is the king’s honour still harmed?
• The Case of Tanistry draftWho inherits land: the eldest son, or the most worthy man of the kin?

More cases are being read against their sources and will be added one at a time.