Laws of Hospitality and Protection

Fergus Kelly mentions 3 types of outsider though the distinctions among them in the legal tracts aren't always clear.

The literal meaning of ambue seems to be 'non person'. Heptad 16 states that its not a legal offence to avoid payment of a body fine for such. This would mean that an ambue can be killed or injured with impunity. Kelly further states that because of his lack of status, he can't get anyone to act as a valid surety for him (Heptad 30-31) or give a valid pledge on his behalf (Heptad 32). This excludes him from normal legal agreements and remedies.

The second type, cu glas (literally 'grey dog') is explained to be an exile from overseas by a 9th century legal glossator. Most references to this status deal with the legal consequences of his marriage to a woman of the tuath. Being an outsider, he has no honor price on his own, but if the union is recognized by the wife's kin, then he is said to have half his wife's honor price but no ability to make any legal contracts without her permission and she pays any fines or debts he incurs.

Occasionally a third outsider is mentioned, that of the murchoirthe. Literally this is 'one thrown up by the sea, a castaway'. He has no legal standing unless taken in to service at which time his honor price is then 1/3 that of his master.

Refusal of hospitality

To refuse someone food and shelter where it is due would make the offender guilty of the offence of esa/in Hospitality is the duty of every freeman. Refusal requires a compensation equal to their honor price. Now there are of course exceptions to this. The rank of fer midboth and o/caire which had to only provide hospitality to thier lord as set in the clientship contract due to their lack of property. There are instances where hospitality would need to be refused such as in the case of a known criminal. One such as this must not be fed or protected. If someone indirectly causes another to refuse hospitality, he must himself pay the honor price of the embarrassed host. An example of this would be not returning borrowed food.

The obligation of hospitality falls to some degree on all householders. To refuse food and shelter where it is due is to be guilty of the offence of esain, literally, 'driving away'. In Heptad 15, there is a list of women who lose their honor price and it includes 'the woman who refuses hospitality to every 'law abiding person'. (emphasis mine) Of course there are circumstances where hospitality must be refused. Such as a criminal who can't be fed or protected. And according to the text on Sunday observances, he who supplies food to one who labors on Sunday is as guilty as the offender himself.

A person who is refused hospitality is paid his full honor price. Again, since an outsider has a lack of status within the tuath, he has no surety nor pledge and no recourse within the law.

A very important principle of Irish law is the right of any freeman to provide legal protection to another person of equal or lesser rank for a specified period of time (an aire ard - high lord - 15 days, an aire tuiseo - lord of precedence - 10 days). To kill or injure a person under protection is to commit the crime of diguin, 'violation of protection'. The fine for this violation is the payment of the protector's honor price as well as the appropriate payment to the victim or kin.

It was illegal, even for a cleric or a laymen of nemed rank to give protection to various categories of offenders - runaway wife or slave, a fugitive killer, an absconder from his kindred, a son who fails to look after his father, just to name a few.

Source

A Guide to Early Irish Law, Fergus Kelly, Dublin Institute for Advance Studies, 1998