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law, while the Book of Acaill deals with criminal law. Both of these are to be found in the Book of the Dun Cow, which is one of the most complete copies of the tracts that survives. The language of Irish law, Bérla Féini as it is called, is ancient. In spite of English attempts to destroy this law system, it persisted for centuries, with many English colonists turning to it for judgments. Even through the seventeenth century the laws were still in use in parts of Ireland. They were finally suppressed during the Penal Law period.
Comparisons with the codified Welsh Law system, the Laws of Hywl Dda, are fascinating as they show a commonality of social perceptions.
The most detailed account of the Brehon Law system is given in the six volumes of Ancient Laws of Ireland, Dublin, 1865–1901.
[I] The historical Christian saint appears here because of his fabulous voyage, Navigatio Sancti Brendani (The Voyage of Brendan), which became one of the most popular stories during the Middle Ages and was translated into many European languages. The tale seems to have been based on the earlier “Voyage of Mael Dúin.” Like Mael Dúin, Brendan discovers an island populated by spirits in the form of birds, finds a crystal column in the sea, sails a translucent sea, and comes upon an island of giant smiths. One point of difference is that Brendan lands on an island that turns out to be Jasconius, a giant whale, and finds himself becalmed in the Sargasso Sea.
[I] There are three characters named Bres: a Dé Danaan who was killed in the first battle of Magh Tuireadh; a son of the Fomorii Balor, mentioned in the story of the children of Tuireann; and, more well known, the son of Elatha, the Fomorii king, who marries Brigid, the goddess of fertility, who becomes ruler of the Dé Danaan when Nuada loses his hand. Bres was handsome but a tyrant, and when he is displayed as ruler, he seeks the aid of the Fomorii and sets in motion the events leading to the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. He is captured and his life is spared by the Dé Danaan on condition that he advise them about agriculture, and, for a while, he appears as an agricultural divinity.
(Brezhonek) The language of Brittany, which diverged from a common British Celtic (Brythonic) in the fifth century a.d. It is estimated that there are currently 800,000 speakers of the language
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