Your judgments
Each case asks for your judgment before it shows you the law. Here are the judgments you have given, each beside the law’s own answer.
One stroke for each case: green where you and the law agreed, red where you differed, dotted where you read the law first. Kept only in this browser, and nobody else sees it. The rank is our own game, not history.
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Neighbours and their animals
- The Felled OakA man cuts down an oak that stands on his neighbour’s land. What does he owe?The worth of the oak, as the neighbours reckon its timber and acorns.A fine of five séts, less something for the barley the oak had shaded.A fine of five séts, and a milch cow for cutting it through at the base.
- The Neighbour’s ApplesAn apple tree on one man’s land drops its fruit on his neighbour’s. Whose is the fruit?All Tadhg’s. In the fourth year the whole of it goes to the neighbour.Ronán’s and Tadhg’s in equal shares, as in every other year.All Ronán’s. He planted the tree, and the fourth year is his in return.
- The Gap in the FenceA neighbour’s oxen break through a poor fence and eat your barley. Can you claim?Yes. Broccán’s oxen ate the barley, whatever the state of the fence.No. His own fence was not good enough, so he has no claim.Half. The oxen strayed, but the fence should have held them.
- The Dog on the Neighbour’s LandA dog fouls a neighbour’s field. What does its owner owe?She clears the dirt away and pays a measure of grain, as for a straying hen.She clears the dirt away, and nothing more is owed for a dog’s mess.She clears the dirt away and gives him as much butter, curds and dough.
- The Rooting PigsA neighbour’s pigs tear up your field. How does the law decide when you can graze it again?The loan of other land until the damaged field is fit to graze again.The same fine as for cattle that break in and graze, and no more.The pigs themselves, which are forfeit to her for the harm they did.
- The Pet WolfA tame wolf goes over the hedge and kills a neighbour’s hen. Who answers for a wild thing that has been made a pet?Yes. A wild thing kept as a pet is its owner’s to answer for.No. A wolf follows its nature, tame or not, and no one answers.Only if the wolf had killed before, and he had been warned of it.
Bees
- The Bee That Blinded a KingA bee blinds a man in one eye, and no one can say which of the beekeeper’s hives it came from. What does the law do?Lots are cast on all his hives, and the hive the lot falls on is forfeit.The beekeeper pays what a man would pay who had put out the eye himself.Nothing is owed, since no one can say which hive the bee came from.
- The Swarm in the GreenA man finds a stray swarm of bees. Whose is it?A third of its produce. Two thirds go to the owner of the green.Half of its produce. The owner of the green has the other half.A quarter of its produce. The rest goes to the owner of the green.
Injury, accident and need
- Nine Days’ CareA man is wounded in a quarrel and cannot work. Who nurses him, and who pays?He stays at home with his kin, and the man who hurt him pays them for his keep and care.He is taken to a third party’s house and nursed at the cost of the man who hurt him.The man who hurt him takes him into his own house and nurses him until he is well.
- The Smith’s ForgeA boy creeps up to a smith at work and is burned. Does the smith pay?No. The boy went too near a smith at his work, and no one pays.Yes. A craftsman answers for whatever harm his work does to others.In part. He pays for the boy’s healing, but no fine on top of it.
- The Woodcutter’s ShoutA felled tree strikes a passer-by. Does the woodcutter pay?No. Felling is lawful work, and a falling tree is an accident.Yes. He let the tree fall without a shout of warning.Only if he saw the boy on the path and let it fall anyway.
- The Overloaded FerryA ferry sinks and a passenger drowns. Does the ferryman pay?No. Whoever steps into a ferryboat takes the risk on himself.Yes. He set out with too many aboard, and in a storm.Only in part. The men chose to cross, and they share the blame.
- The Boys’ GamesA boy is hurt at a game. Who owes him?The thrower’s kin must have the injured boy nursed until he is well.Nothing is owed. A boy hurt at a game has no claim against another.The thrower’s kin pay a fine, as they would for any other wound.
- The CravingA pregnant woman takes a handful of her neighbour’s barley. Is it theft?Yes. Want excuses a starving beggar, and she is not one.No, but only if she had first asked him and been refused.No. A morsel craved by a pregnant woman carries no penalty.
- The Body-FineA free man is killed. Who is paid, and by whom?His close kin on his father’s side, who share it among them.His father’s kin and his mother’s kin, in equal shares.The king of the túath, whose peace the killing broke.
Debt and distraint
- Fasting upon a LordA lord’s cattle are driven across a woman’s land, and the lord will not pay the fine. What can she do?The five séts, as before. His supper is his own affair.The five séts, and her honour-price for the insult.Ten séts: twice the fine, for eating while she fasted.
- Distraint on the PhysicianA physician owes a debt and will not pay. What does the plaintiff do?Give notice, wait out the days, and drive off his cattle.Sit fasting outside his house from sundown to sunrise.Carry off the horse-whip and the lancet he works with.
- The Cow That Had Just CalvedA creditor drives off a cow that has just calved. Is that lawful distraint?A lawful distraint. He gave notice and waited out the days.An improper one, and the debt he was owed is now cancelled.An improper one, and he can be fined five séts for it.
- The Surety Beyond His MeansA man stands surety for a debt larger than his honour-price. Does his suretyship hold?In full. A man who gives his word is bound by all of it.As far as his honour-price, and no further.Not at all. He promised more than he was worth.
- The Bargain Made in DrinkA man sells his best mare at a feast, while drunk. Is the sale binding?No. A sale agreed while a man was drunk does not bind him.Yes. The price was named aloud and sureties stood for it.No, but he must pay Lugaid for going back on his word.
Honour, kings and judges
- The King Who Was Satirised and PraisedA king is satirised, and then a praise-poem for him is published. Is his honour still harmed?Nothing. The king is still owed his honour-price for the satire.It cancels the satire, and the king’s honour is restored.It halves the debt. Praise cannot undo all of the harm.
- The Poet’s WarningA lord will not pay what he owes. When may a poet lawfully turn to satire?Ten days after he gives notice, if the lord has not answered.Only when a judge has heard the claim and found for him.Thirty days after he gives notice, if the lord has not answered.
- The King and the AxeA king takes up an axe and does a day’s work with his own hands. What becomes of his honour-price?It falls to a commoner’s, for as long as he is at the work.It is untouched. A king may put his own hands to what he likes.It is lost altogether, as when a king tolerates a satire.
Marriage
- The Wife’s GroundsA husband strikes his wife to correct her. When may she divorce him?Only if he had struck her without a cause.Only if the blow had left a blemish on her.Only if he struck her again after a warning.