Senchas Mar.

Senchas Már [ 'ʃenxas maːr ] ("Great Tradition") is the name of the most important collection of legal texts in the Old Irish language . It was probably recorded in Northern Ireland in the first half of the 8th century .

Structure of the texts

In the Senchas Már (depending on the version) in 30 to 47 chapters, various legal areas are explained in three steps, according to the Celtic preference for triad formation. Many of these verses begin with the words ara-chan fénechus ("The Irish law sings"), which indicates the original oral transmission. The lapidary brevity of the text language already caused problems for legal scholars in the old Irish times with the interpretation, so that usually a detailed commentary glossing was added. The unequal treatment that exists in contrast to Roman law , depending on the social status of those involved, is particularly evident in the third part of the Senchas Már , Bretha Crólige . An example of both triad and lapidary conciseness is this verse:

lugu same sétaib sruithiu doén dibud ferr fer orbu

“Land is less than [other] possessions. A man is worth more than what he leaves behind. A man is better than his inheritance. "

See also

• Brehon Laws
• Aithech fortha

literature

• Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .
• Wolfgang Meid : The Celts. Reclams Universal Library , Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-15-017053-3 .
• Senchas Mar: facsimile of the oldest fragments. Stationery Office, 1931, Trinity College Library , Dublin (MS.H2.I5).
• Journal for German antiquity and German literature . tape 35 . Wiedmann'sche Buchhandlung, 1891 ( online in the Google book search).

Web link

• Chapter entry in the English language Wikipedia

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 288.
2. ↑ Wolfgang Meid: The Celts. P. 163 f.