The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-01-12
Their Brehon Laws Provided For Special
Penalties For Those Who Injued a
.> Harper or His Harp.
The Harper, the Piper and the Poet Were
Men Of Social Standing and Greatly
>~ Esteemed by the Irish.

"Feis ceoil agus. rinnce" is the head
ing Of a little card lying before me,
says Mary A. Grove in the New
World.
How the words set one to dreaming
Of the Irish Renaissance, with it's pos
sibilities. The question comes to one
who ponders on the subject. how long
shall Trinity College be the custodian
Of those Gaelic manuscripts stored in
her underground room, uncatalogued,
untranslated? Can this movement
create such current of life that a
worthier guardian shall be found for
manuscripts sacred, If for nothing else
in that they represent the life work
Of the noblest minds, Of our past?
When learned professor Of this in
stitution declares without the proper
qualification Tor judgment that 1.-The
mass Of material is out of all propor-
ton to It's value as literature" that
"the value as literature IS small one
sigfs, how long, oh, how long
When this Gaelic Revival shall have
established as institute whose pride
SHAH be the care Of these manuscripts.
continental monasteries and libraries
searching for. long forgotten but now
precious manuscripts will generously
come forward with their testimony to
Irish l1eirship in noble literary patri-
mony.
Then for the general movement one
thanks God that the day is far off
when a Rosetta stone must be found
to give the world knowledge of their
contents.
"Feis!" With this word is bound up
many OF the past glories Of Erin. 1t
recalls the royal gatherings Of thou
sands from al parts of Ireland as we'll
as Scotland i'll the days Of the Cen
tile Gaer' and i'll early Christian days.
It recalls the proud boast of those
early days that these vast gatherings
were held for days without breach Of
law, without crime, without violence,
without dishonor.''
It recalls the Tara Of Laoghaire be-
fore whom st. Patrick poured forth the
story Of Christ with such wonderful
effect. One secs the royal Druids van-
quished by Christ's champion and 81
fenced if not convinced when their
Ard-ri gave permission to carry the
gospel to his people.
10 the scattered sons Of Erin the
word "Feis' recalls the "Fair Day" of
his native town, the commercial sue
cessor of the "Feis' Of history, and
many are the pleasant memories clus-
tering around the well-beloved Fair
Day."
But of more immediate interest to
Irish lad and lass is the "Ceoil' Of that
head line Music is not an art or
pleasure of the past only. it is living
force Of today. AS people Of great
sensibility the Celt has been at all
times proficient in music and suscept-
ible to its powers. Even as pagans the
art was highly cultivated. 1t is Of
exceedingly great interest to find the
Irish people giving attention to the
comfort and protection Of their nu-
.icians through the PRONUNCIATION OF
national laws.
Their Brehon laws, centuries older
than the introduction Of Christianity,
give testimony to the esthetic strain
in this pagan people, Quaint, indeed,
to modern ears sound these laws; one
who knocks the nail off the finger Of
q harper was to. be fined more than If
he had inflicted similar injury upon
any other. person; the tuning-key for
the harp was considered SO important
that a penalty was affixed in case that
it was not returned promptly when
lent. The ancient laws gave to the
harper a social standing with chief
OF high degree.
Musical instruments OF the three
stages Of musical progression were
"
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