CHAPTER II.

THE FIRST AGES.

Since we have no Roman accounts of the form of government
or state of society in ancient Erin, we must only depend
on the Bards and Story-tellers, so far as their statements
are credible and agree with each other. On certain main
points they do agree, and these are the points which it
seems reasonable for us to take on their authority.

As even brothers born of the same mother, coming suddenly
into possession of a prize, will struggle to see who can
get the largest share, so we find in those first ages a
constant succession of armed struggles for power. The
petty Princes who divided the Island between them were
called _Righ_, a word which answers to the Latin _Rex_
and French _Roi_; and the chief king or monarch was called
_Ard-Righ_, or High-King. The eldest nephew, or son of
the king, was the usual heir of power, and was called
the _Tanist_, or successor; although any of the family
of the Prince, his brothers, cousins, or other kinsmen,
might be chosen _Tanist_, by election of the people over
whom he was to rule. One certain cause of exclusion was
personal deformity; for if a Prince was born lame or a
hunchback, or if he lost a limb by accident, he was
declared unfit to govern. Even after succession, any
serious accident entailed deposition, though we find the
names of several Princes who managed to evade or escape