The representation in Old Irish law texts of the legal position of women in early medieval Ireland as regards the ownership of property

Abstract

This thesis is a detailed analysis of women's property rights in early Irish law, and their extended legal rights arising from their ownership of property. Property in early Irish society is defined as both moveables and immoveables. Each chapter deals with a specific legal right, ranging from the rights a woman had to property through marriage, to a woman owning property in her own right, and therefore also the passing of property upon the death of a female land owner. Two of the chapters discuss legal procedures a woman was entitled to perform in regard to property. One of them regarding a claim to payment for property she was already in possession of, the other regarding the procedure which was used in order to take possession of land a person had a hereditary claim to. The final chapter presents a comparison with the laws regarding women and property in the Middle Welsh laws, and discusses the differences and similarities between the two legal systems.