Judge Not Storyteller

The article by Beverly Beyer and Ed Rabey (“Donegal Weaves a Poetic Spell of Enchantment,” March 15) describes a brehon as a storyteller. This was not the case, as the class of brehon did not exist until the 1st Century AD. Prior to this, the functions of judge, along with those of poet and historian, were performed by a single class called file. The file were primarily poets and philosophers with a thorough schooling in the arts. In the 1st Century, the High King of Ireland removed the privilege of (jurisdiction) from the file and gave it to the new brehon class.

JAMES P. HUGHES

Laguna Beach