The court · Críth Gablach and Heptads 13 and 14, as Kelly sets them out, law-texts of the 7th and 8th centuries
The scene Our telling
The cart had lost a wheel at the ford, and the load of timber lay half in the river. Eochu was riding past with only two men behind him. Half the valley was on the bank, watching and doing nothing, because the cart belonged to a man who owed them all something.
Eochu got down. He took off his cloak, held out his hand for the axe, and went down into the water himself. Behind him one of his two men looked at the other. On the bank someone laughed, and stopped.
The law
From the lawA king was expected to behave in a kingly manner. According to Críth Gablach, when he did manual work with a mallet, spade or axe, his honour-price was reduced to that of a commoner.
GlossA king’s honour-price measured his standing, so it fell when he acted below it.
From the lawThere were other ways for a king to lose his honour-price. He lost it if he went hunting alone with a hound, without a retinue, if he failed to keep his oath, if he tolerated a justified satire, or if he was guilty of kin-slaying.
GlossThese are Kelly’s examples, drawn from Críth Gablach and Heptads 13 and 14.
From the lawCowardice in battle also lowered a king’s honour-price. If he was wounded in the back of the neck while fleeing from battle, he, or his kin if he died, was entitled only to a commoner’s rate. If the wound came after he broke through the enemy’s ranks, he was entitled to a king’s.
GlossThe same wound was paid for at different rates, depending on whether the king was running away or going forward.
Weigh it
What becomes of the king’s honour-price?
The commentary
Scholars sayKelly adds that a king was expected to have a perfect body, free from blemish or disability. The only case a law-text cites is Congal Cáech, the man in our bee case. According to Bechbretha he was blinded in one eye by a bee, and this put him from the kingship of Tara. He kept the kingship of Ulster until he died in battle in the year 637.
Scholars sayKelly says that in theory a king lost his honour-price if he was defeated in battle, since defeat was taken as a sign of injustice. But the annals give no record of a king being deposed or losing rank because he lost a battle.
Where we are not sure
Scholars sayWe do not know whether the rules in Críth Gablach about a king’s honour-price were applied as written. Kelly says the classifications of rank in the law-texts can only have borne a limited resemblance to real life.
Where this comes from
- Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law (1988), on the king and his honour-price, citing Críth Gablach and Heptads 13 and 14.
- We have read Kelly’s account, not the Old Irish text.
Last checked against these books: 2026-10-05. How we read our sources · Corrections