HOW THEY BUILT AND ARRANGED THEIR HOUSES.

Before the introduction of Christianity, buildings of every kind in Ireland were generally round or oval. The quadrangular shape, which was used in the churches in the time of St. Patrick, came very slowly into use; and round structures finally disappeared only in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. But the round shape was not universal, even in the most ancient period. Look at the plan of Tara, at the beginning of this book, and you will see that the Banqueting Hall was quadrangular, the only building of this shape on the whole hill. And in this respect Tara may be said to represent the proportion for the whole of Ireland: that is to say, while the generality of buildings were oval or round, some—very much the fewer in number—were quadrangular, sometimes long in shape, sometimes square.

There were many centres of population, though they were never surrounded by walls; and the dwellings were detached and scattered a good deal—not closely packed as in modern towns. The dwelling-houses, as well indeed as the early churches, were nearly always of wood, as that material was much the most easily procured. But although wood-building was general in Ireland before the twelfth century, it was not universal: for many stone churches, as we have seen, were erected from the time of the introduction of Christianity; and there were small stone houses from time immemorial.

The dwelling-houses were almost always constructed of Wickerwork. The wall was formed of long stout poles standing pretty near each other, with their ends fixed deep in the ground, the spaces between closed in with rods and twigs neatly and firmly interwoven; generally of hazel. The poles were peeled and polished smooth. The whole surface of the wickerwork was plastered on the outside, and made brilliantly white with lime, or occasionally striped in various colours; leaving the white poles exposed to view.

In many superior houses, and in churches, a better plan of building was adopted, by forming the wall with sawed planks instead of wickerwork. In the houses of the higher classes the doorposts and other special parts of the dwelling and furniture were often made of yew, carved, and ornamented with gold, silver, bronze, and gems.In the sunniest and pleasantest part of the homestead the women had a separate apartment or a separate house for themselves, called a ‘Greenan’ meaning a ‘sunny apartment’ or a summer-house; to which they retired whenever they pleased.

The roof was covered with straw, or rushes, or reeds, or with thin boards of oak, laid and fastened so as to overlap, like our slates and tiles. Occasionally churches were roofed with lead.

In great houses there were separate sleeping-rooms. But among the ordinary run of comfortable, well-to-do people, including many of the upper classes, the family commonly lived, ate, and slept in the one principal apartment, as was the case in the houses of the Anglo-Saxons, the English, the Germans, and the Scandinavians of the same period. But the sleeping-places and beds were shut in from view; for in at least the better class of houses in Ireland there were, ranged along the wall, little compartments or cubicles, each containing a bed, or sometimes more, for one or more persons, with its head to the wall. The wooden partitions enclosing the beds were not carried up to the roof; they were probably about eight or nine feet high, so that the several compartments were open at top.The homesteads had to be fenced in to protect them from robbers and wild animals. This was usually done by digging a deep circular trench, the clay from which was thrown up on the inside. This was shaped and faced; and thus was formed, all round, a high mound or dyke with a trench outside, and having one opening for a door or gate. Whenever water was at hand the trench was flooded as an additional security: and there was a bridge opposite the opening, which was raised, or closed in some way, at night. The houses of the Gauls were fenced round in a similar manner.

Numbers of these old circular forts still remain in every part of Ireland, but more in the south and west than elsewhere; many of them still very perfect: but of course the timber houses erected within them are all gone. Almost all are believed in popular superstition to be the haunts of fairies. They are still known by the old names—lis, rath, brugh, mÚr, dÚn, moat, cashel, and caher: the cashels, mÚrs, and cahers being usually built of stone without mortar. The forts vary in size from 40 or 50 feet in diameter, through all intermediate stages up to 1,500 feet: the size of the homestead depending on the rank and means of the owner.Very often the flat middle space is raised to a higher level than the surrounding land, and sometimes there is a great mound in the centre, with a flat top, on which the strong wooden house of the chief stood. The outer defence, whether of clay, or stone, or timber, that surrounded the homestead was generally whitened with lime; and on the top all round, there was a hedge or strong palisade for additional security. Beside almost every homestead was a Kitchen Garden for table vegetables. And hard by were several enclosed spaces for various purposes, such as games and exercises, storing up the corn in stacks, securing the cattle at night, etc.

For greater security, dwellings were often constructed on artificial islands made with stakes, trees, and bushes, covered with earth and stones, in shallow lakes, or on small flat natural islands if they answered. These were called by the name Crannoge. Communication with the shore was carried on by means of a small boat, commonly dug out of one tree-trunk. The remains of these crannoges may still be seen in some of our small shallow lakes. In most of them old ferry-boats have been found, of which many specimens are now preserved in museums.