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''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') was a medieval Irish polity smaller than a kingdom. The word is from Old Irish and is often translated as "people" or "nation". It is cognate with the Welsh and Breton ''tud'' (people), Galician ''toudo'', and with Germanic ''þeudō'' (for which see theodiscus). "''Túath''" referred to both a geographical territory and the people who lived on that territory. In Modern Irish, it is spelled ''tuath'', without the fada (length mark), and means "countryside". In ancient Irish terms, a household was reckoned at about 30 people per dwelling. A ''trícha cét'' ("thirty hundreds"), was an area comprising 100 dwellings or, roughly, 3,000 people. A ''túath'' consisted of a number of allied ''trícha céta'', and therefore referred to no fewer than 6,000 people. Probably a more accurate number for a ''túath'' would be no fewer than 9,000 people. ==Social organization== The organization of ''túatha'' is covered to a great extent within the Brehon laws, Irish laws written down in the 7th century, also known as the ''Fénechas''. The social structure of ancient Irish culture was based around the concept of the ''fine'' (plural ''finte''), or family kin-group. All ''finte'' descended from a common ancestor out to four generations comprised a social unit known as a ''dearbhfhine'' (plural ''dearbhfhinte''). ''Túatha'' are often described as petty kingdoms. Due to the complex and ever-changing political nature of ancient and medieval Ireland, ''túatha'' ranged in character from petty kingdoms sovereign in their own right, to areas bound by fealty to much larger "over-kingdoms" such as Connacht or Ulaid. Thus describing their place in the socio-political structure of Ireland is varied depending on the power and influence of the individual dynasties at the time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Túath」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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