V. HOW THE IRISH PEOPLE LIVED AS CHRISTIANS 33 VI. HOW IRELAND BECAME THE MOST LEARNED COUNTRY IN EUROPE 40 VII. HOW THE IRISH MISSIONARIES AND SCHOLARS SPREAD RELIGION AND LEARNING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 51 VIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH WROTE DOWN ALL THEIR LITERATURE, AND HOW BOOKS INCREASED AND MULTIPLIED 60 IX. HOW THE IRISH SCHOLARS COMPILED THEIR ANNALS 67 X. HOW THE IRISH DERIVED AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION FROM HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC TALES 74 XI. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN MUSIC 82 XII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH EXCELLED IN ART 92 XIII. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PHYSICIANS WERE SKILLED IN MEDICINE 98 XIV. HOW THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES 106 XV. HOW THEY ATE, DRANK, FEASTED, AND ENTERTAINED 111 XVI. HOW THE PEOPLE DRESSED 121 XVII. HOW THEY FENCED IN AND TILLED THEIR LAND 129 XVIII. HOW IRISH HANDICRAFTSMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR WORK 131 XIX. HOW THEY PREPARED AND MADE UP CLOTHING MATERIALS 138 XX. HOW THE IRISH TRAVELLED ON LAND AND WATER 143 XXI. HOW THE PEOPLE HELD GREAT CONVENTIONS AND FAIRS; AND HOW THEY AMUSED THEMSELVES 148 XXII. HOW THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD IRISH PEOPLE SHOWED ITSELF IN VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS 158 INDEX 169 ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION. CHAPTER I. HOW THE ANCIENT IRISH PEOPLE WERE GOVERNED BY THEIR KINGS AND CHIEFS. There were in Ireland, from times beyond the reach of history, kings, who were of various grades according to the extent of the country or district they ruled over. The highest of all was the king of Ireland, who lived in the royal palace at Tara. He was called the Ard-ri [ard-ree], _i.e._, ‘High king’ or Over-king, because he claimed authority over all the others. There was also a king over each of the five provinces--Leinster, Munster, Connaught, Ulster, and Meath--who were subject to the Ard-ri. The provinces were divided into a number of territories, over which were kings of a still lower grade, each under the king of his own province. If the district was not large enough to have a king, it was ruled by a chief, who was subject to the king of the larger territory in which the district was included.