It is always dangerous to deal with things Keltic. So much difficulty is there in getting at any facts amidst masses of wild assertions and loose conclusions, that a prudent man may well shrink back. However, as it is worth while to give some facts respecting the actual weights of gold rings and other ornaments, I have thought it best to print the following pages.
Attempts have long ago been made to find the standard of the so-called ring money. Sir William Betham, followed by John Lindsay1, after weighing many examples, arrived at the conclusion that they are based on the ounce Troy. Now as the ounce Troy is entirely unknown to the Brehon Laws, and was only brought into Ireland by the English settlers, it is needless to argue further against that doctrine. Dr Petrie’s2 discussions about Irish coins are similarly vitiated by his treating as Troy grains the grains of wheat mentioned by the authorities.
- Irish. Let us work back from the known to the unknown.
The system in the Brehon Laws is as follows:
| 1 Cumhal (ancilla) | = | 3 Cows. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Cow | = | 1 Unga (uncia of silver). |
| 1 Unga | = | 24 Screapalls. |
| 1 Screapall | = | 3 Pinginns. |
| 1 Pinginn | = | 8 grs. of wheat. |
Unga = 576 grs. of wheat.
The ounce seems to be the highest unit of weight, and just as in the Brehon Laws an unga of silver is equated to a cow, so in early times an