aws but they are some of the earliest recorded. Im using the Roman Law because that was the main influence on laws during the times of the Brehon Laws. We know much of our information, if it can be called such, not by historical writings but by literature such as the Greek Homeric poems. An essay by Henry Maine on Ancient Laws states, When a king decided a dispute by a sentence, the judgment was assumed to be the result of direct inspiration. Customary Law, or an era of codes, was the period of ancient laws such as the Twelve Tables. The aristocracy during the time of Customary Law found it very easy to monopolize their legal knowledge. It is easy to imagine then that the lower classes were not given as many rights as those of the aristocracy. That would not be common of any law during that time. One thing that I found to be exceptionally interesting when studying the Brehon Laws was who enforced the Brehon Laws. The job was done by a specialized group of well trained Druids, a religious group of Celts, called the Brithem or Brehon. The training of the Brehons was a long and tiring process and the memorization of long tracts of law was essential. Learning the intricacies of such complex law tracts was mandatory. Alix Morgan MacAnTsaoir says, Brehons were reciters of the law and Brehons were held personally responsible for damages if they gave false interpretation or recited the law incorrectly. Only after the law was recited by the Brehon could the King or Queen make the judgment. Then as now Truth and Justice were the code of the Celtic people. The difference I found in this to the English laws was that there was that the King or Queen was the one to make the decision and they did not have to wait for somebody to recite them the law. It seemed to me that the Irish had a very formal and good system. The issues of personal matters were handled very differently by the Irish and the English. The Brehon Laws gave many more...
