The tríocha céad, also known as trícha cét, meaning "thirty hundreds", was a unit of land-holding in eleventh and twelfth century Ireland. [1] [2] The term appears to relate to the number of troops an area could raise. [1]
Background
Described as a "spatial unit of royal tenure, taxation, local government, and military levy", the trícha cét largely corresponded to a local petty kingdom ruled by a petty king. [3] A minority, however, were ruled by a taisaig (leader) or an airríg (governor), appointed by a superior kings. [3]
In the province of Ulster, a tríocha céad was subdivided into roughly twenty-eight baile biadhtaigh, meaning "lands of a food-provider", and around 463 seisrigh, meaning "six-horse plough-teams". [1]
During the eleventh century, the system became established across the island, a refinement on a pre-existing system. [3]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c Place Names NI - Land units
- ^ MacCotter 2008, p. 13.
- ^ a b c MacCotter 2008, p. 22.
Sources
- MacCotter, Paul (2008). Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-098-4.