Tuath
Encyclopedia
Túath is an Old Irish word, often translated as "people" or "nation". It is cognate with the Welsh and Breton tud (people), and with the Germanic þeudō (for which see theodiscus).
"Túath" referred to both the people who lived in the territory, and the territory they controlled. In Modern Irish
it is spelled tuath, without the síneadh
(length mark).
In ancient Irish terms, a household was reckoned at about thirty people per dwelling. A trícha cét
("thirty hundreds"), was an area comprising a hundred dwellings or, roughly, three thousand people. A túath consisted of a number of allied trícha céta, and therefore referred to no fewer than 6,000 people. Probably a more accurate number for a túath would be no fewer than 9,000 people.
The social structure of ancient Irish culture was based around the concept of the fine (plural finte), or family kin-group. All finte descended from a common ancestor out to four generations comprised a social unit
known as a dearbhfhine
(plural dearbhfhinte). These dearbhfhinte characterized the rulings family or families of the túath regardless of its size. Túatha are often described as petty kingdom
s. Due to the complex and ever-changing political nature of ancient Ireland, túatha ranged from being sovereign, locally autonomous kingdom
s to states comprising a much larger sovereign kingdom, such as Connacht or Ulaid, and thus describing their place in the socio-political structure of Ireland is varied depending on the power and influence of the individual dynasties. Also much varies depending on what era one is referring to.
"Túath" referred to both the people who lived in the territory, and the territory they controlled. In Modern Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
it is spelled tuath, without the síneadh
Acute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
(length mark).
In ancient Irish terms, a household was reckoned at about thirty people per dwelling. A trícha cét
Trícha cét
A Trícha cét or triocha cét was a a territorial unit ... to the eleventh and twelfth centuries [1] in medieval Ireland. It was succeeded by the cantred.Paul MacCotter describes it as:...
("thirty hundreds"), was an area comprising a hundred dwellings or, roughly, three thousand people. A túath consisted of a number of allied trícha céta, and therefore referred to no fewer than 6,000 people. Probably a more accurate number for a túath would be no fewer than 9,000 people.
Social organization
The organization of túatha is covered to a great extent within the Brehon laws, Irish laws written down in the 7th century, also known as the Fénechas.The social structure of ancient Irish culture was based around the concept of the fine (plural finte), or family kin-group. All finte descended from a common ancestor out to four generations comprised a social unit
Social unit
Social unit is a term used in sociology, anthropology, ethnology, and also in animal behaviour studies, zoology and biology to describe a social entity which is part of and participates in a larger social group or society....
known as a dearbhfhine
Derbfine
The derbfine was an Irish agnatic kinship group and power structure as defined in the law tracts of the eighth century. Its principal purpose was as an institution of property inheritance, with property redistributed on the death of a member to those remaining members of the derbfine...
(plural dearbhfhinte). These dearbhfhinte characterized the rulings family or families of the túath regardless of its size. Túatha are often described as petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
s. Due to the complex and ever-changing political nature of ancient Ireland, túatha ranged from being sovereign, locally autonomous kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
s to states comprising a much larger sovereign kingdom, such as Connacht or Ulaid, and thus describing their place in the socio-political structure of Ireland is varied depending on the power and influence of the individual dynasties. Also much varies depending on what era one is referring to.
Historical examples
- Osraige - túath that later became the kingdom of the same name in the Christian era.
- Dál RiataDál RiataDál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
- the túath that became a confederation of túatha and eventually settled in AlbaAlbaAlba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
, creating the modern nation of ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.