The  tribesman  who  placed  himself  under  the
protection  of  a  chief,  and  who  held  land,  whether  it
was  the  private  property  of  the  lessor  or  a  part  of  the
general  tribe-land,  was,  as  already  explained,  a  Ceile
[cail'eh]  or  tenant;  also  called  feme  and  aithech,  i.e.  a
plebeian,  farmer,  or  rent-payer.  But  a  man  who
takes  land  must  have  stock — cows  and  sheep  for  the
pasture-land,  horses  or  oxen  to  carry  on  the  work  of
tillage.  A  small  proportion  of  the  ceiles  had  stock  of
their  own,  but  the  great  majority  had  not.  Where
the  tenant  needed  stock  it  was  the  custom  for  the
chief  to  give  him  as  much  as  he  wanted  at  certain
rates  of  payment.  This  custom  of  giving  and  taking
stock  on  hire  was  universal  in  Ireland,  and  was
regulated  in  great  detail  by  the  Brehon  Law.
