Religion 101: Women and marriage under ancient Irish Brehon law

Long before Ireland became Christian, the pagan Irish had a religious and legal system organized by the Druids. The Druids were a combination of priests, prophets, and astrologers, and they also served as educators, judges, healers, and keepers of the calendar. Under the Brehon Law system established by the Druids, the role of women in Irish society was very different than in other European areas. Women were often warriors and they could serve as ambassadors to other countries. It is also reported that polyandry (the marriage of one woman to more than one man at the same time) and communal marriage were both present.

In his book The Druids, Peter Ellis writes:

“The position of women, as it emerges in the Brehon Law system of Ireland, at a time when women were treated as mere chattels in most European societies, was amazingly advanced.”

Peter Ellis also points out:

“A woman could inherit property and remained the owner of any property she brought into a marriage. If the marriage broke up, then she not only took out of it her own property but any property that her husband had given her during the marriage. Divorce, of course, was permitted and a woman could divorce her husband just as a husband could divorce his wife. If a man had ‘fallen from his dignity’, that is, committed a crime and lost his civil rights or been outcast from society, it did not affect the position of his wife. A woman was responsible for her own debts and not those of her husband.”

In the fifth century, Patrick (later known as St. Patrick) brought Christianity to Ireland and with it, Roman law whose patriarchal orientation was in conflict with the matriarchal orientation of Irish aboriginal society. The change to Roman law and to patriarchy was not immediate. Anne Chambers, in her biography Ireland’s Pirate Queen: The True Story of Grace O’Malley , writes:

“Gradually but insidiously the role of women was confined to childbearing, engaging in charitable deeds, for which they were occasionally lauded in the Irish annals, and being subservient to their husbands.”

As Ireland began to embrace Christianity some 1,600 years ago, the Irish retained many of their aboriginal pagan customs, blending the new Christian concepts with ancient practices. Regarding the role of women in the new Irish Christian church, Peter Ellis reports:

“Female church leaders were initially seen as equal with their male counterparts as they had been under the pre-Christian Celtic religion.”

Peter Ellis also writes:

“Women were able, initially, in accordance with Celtic philosophy, to celebrate the ‘divine sacrifice of Mass’, as well as the male priests. This incensed the sensibilities of the Roman Church, whose long struggle for domination over the Celtic Church is well documented.”

Many of the changes desired by Christianity dealt with marriage. In the early Christian era, the Irish recognized ten different kinds of marriage. In Brehon law, all of these forms of marriage were formal contracts which varied with regard to the status of the persons involved and in the contribution both parties brought into the marriage. Irish women continued to be full partners with their men, both at home and at war. Under Brehon law, women were equal to men when it came to matters of property.

The early Irish Catholicism was very different from that of the Roman Catholic Church at this time. Irish Catholics continued many of their pagan ways, including the fact that a chieftain’s coronation was not done in a church, but at the traditional pagan rath. With regard to marriage, many of the clergy, including bishops and abbots, were married. According to Anne Chambers:

“A form of Celtic trial marriage prevailed. Trial marriages were commonplace and divorce was long established as a legal right.”

Handfasts, as Celtic marriages were called, could be easily dissolved by either party during the first year. If the divorced couple had children, the children were often raised by the extended family. In general, divorce was readily available and thus consecutive marriage was a prominent feature of Irish society.

Polygyny—the marriage of a man to more than one woman at the same time—was recognized in pre-Norman Ireland. The strongest marital ties under Brehon law were with the first wife (cétmuinter). While pressures from the church reduced polygyny, this did not result in the monogamous lifelong marital pattern advocated by the church.

Within the family, women were considered to be subordinate to the male head of household (father, uncle, or brother). This diminished the woman’s personal choice in deciding who to marry. Among the nobility, marriage was often accompanied by a political settlement (an alliance, submission, pacification of an enemy) and the woman had little say in the matter.

Irish women were able to gain influence through the acquisition of wealth. In a divorce, the woman would withdraw what she had brought into the marriage as well as a percentage of the profits which had been generated during the marriage. In forming a marriage, economic factors were important. The bride would bring with her goods in the form of land or moveable wealth, such as cattle. The bride in Gaelic-Irish custom would receive a gift in return for the marriage.

One example of an upper class marriage can be seen in the marriage of Granuaile (Grace) O’Malley to Dónal O’Flaherty, which joined two strong clans. She brought with her a substantial dowry in the form of cattle, horses, sheep, and household goods. Upon the death of her husband or upon divorce, the dowry would be returned to her. Anne Chambers writes:

“Since divorce was prevalent among the Gaelic aristocracy, marriage contracts made provisions for the eventuality.”

Grace O’Malley’s second marriage was a trial marriage in which either partner could leave the marriage during the first year. According to some of the legends, at the end of the first year, she locked her husband out of the castle, and then shouted the words of divorce from the ramparts: “Richard Bourke, I dismiss you.” With this she acquired a castle and got rid of a husband.

Within the household, a husband had the legal right to strike his wife as a means of correcting her, but if the blow were to leave a mark, then she would be entitled to the equivalent of her dowry in compensation and she could, if she wished, divorce him.

In Gaelic-Irish customary law, the bride had certain rights to contract-making and responsibilities within the marriage. She retained the ties to her family which meant that she had a certain degree of independence.

In the situation where a woman would be the sole heir of the family, she was usually encouraged to marry within the kin group in order to preserve the estate. This practice was, of course, opposed by the church as it was often in violation to their teachings regarding marriage within certain degrees of affinity and consanguinity.

In summary, even after Christianity had become dominant in Ireland, marriage tended to follow the pagan customs of Brehon law rather than conforming to Roman Catholic law. While under Christianity women were destined to lose status and power, during the first few centuries of Christianity in Ireland, Irish women retained much of their power over property.