# Derbfine

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{{Short description|Early Irish patrilineal social system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The '''derbfine''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˌ|d|ɛr|ᵻ|ˈ|v|i:|n|i}} {{respell|DERR|iv|EE|nee}}; {{langx|ga|dearbhfhine}} {{IPA|ga|ˌdʲaɾˠəˈvʲɪnʲə|}}, from {{Lang|ga|derb}} 'real' + {{Lang|ga|fine}} 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'<ref>electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.v. [http://www.dil.ie/search?search_in=headword&q=derbfine derbḟine]</ref>) was a term for [patrilineal group](/source/patrilineality)s and power structures defined in the first written tracts in [early Irish law](/source/early_Irish_law). Its principal purpose was as an institution of property inheritance, with property redistributed on the death of a member to those remaining members of the derbfine. Comprising all the patrilineal descendants over a four-generation group with a common great-grandfather, it gradually gave way to a smaller three-generation kinship group, called the {{Lang|ga|gelfine}}.

Within a [clan](/source/clan), on the death of its chief or king, the surviving members of its derbfine would elect from their number a new chief and/or elect his successor, or ''[Tánaiste](/source/T%C3%A1naiste)'' (in English, his [Tanist](/source/Tanistry)). A larger number of clan members, either allies or cousins who were too distantly related to be members of the derbfine, would not have a direct say in such an election. The frequent recitations of a clan's [genealogy](/source/genealogy) by its [bard](/source/bard)s was therefore a reminder of who was currently in or out of the clan's derbfine as much as it was a claim to ancient lineages.

Professor [Francis John Byrne](/source/Francis_John_Byrne) of [University College Dublin](/source/University_College_Dublin) also identified an {{Lang|ga|indfine}} system used in some clans before the year 1000, with membership going back to a common great-great-great-grandfather, perhaps necessary at a time of frequent warfare.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In a broader European context, membership of a derbfine was similar to holding the rank of ''[prince du sang](/source/prince_du_sang)'' in France.

==Comparable systems==
In [later Anglo-Saxon England](/source/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England), princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship were known as [ætheling](/source/%C3%A6theling)s (eg. [Edgar Atheling](/source/Edgar_Atheling)). In Wales, an ''[edling](/source/edling)'' was the term for an accepted [heir apparent](/source/heir_apparent) of a reigning Welsh monarch.

The inheritance of the Norman royal line on the death of [Stephen, King of England](/source/Stephen%2C_King_of_England) and his succession by his cousin, [Henry II](/source/Henry_II_of_England), is similar. Stephen's son was disinherited by consent, and Henry was chosen as the equivalent of [tánaiste](/source/tanistry) or next chieftain and succeeded to the English throne in 1154. The system was again attempted during the incapacity of [Henry VI of England](/source/Henry_VI_of_England), when the [House of York](/source/House_of_York) obtained the support of some royal cousins to take the throne in 1461. By then, the norm in Europe was the system of [primogeniture](/source/primogeniture), which led on to the turbulent succession crises and policies of [Henry VIII of England](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England) in 1527–36.

==See also==
* [Appanage](/source/Appanage)
* [Earl of Tyrone](/source/Earl_of_Tyrone)
* [Surrender and regrant](/source/Surrender_and_regrant)

==References==
*Marie Therese Flanagan, ''Irish Society, Anglo Norman Settlers, Angevin Kingship'' (OUP 1998)
*FJ Byrne, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings'' (various reprints)

==References==
<references />

Category:Medieval history of Ireland
Category:Anthropology
Category:Inheritance
Category:Law of Ireland

{{Ireland-law-stub}}

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