was called the Brehon, or the judge.  These judges took ‘pawns’ of both the parties, and then judged according to their own discretion.  Their property was neutral, and the Irishmen would not prey upon them.  They had great plenty of cattle, and they harboured many vagabonds and idle persons.  They were the chief maintainers of rebels, but when the English army came to their neighbourhood they fled to the mountains and woods ’because they would not succour them with victuals and other necessaries.’  The next sort was called Shankee, who had also great plenty of cattle wherewith they succoured the rebels.  They made the ignorant men of the country believe that they were descended from Alexander the Great, or Darius, or Caesar, ’or some other notable prince, which made the ignorant people run mad, and care not what they did.’  This, the correspondent remarked, ‘was very hurtful to the realm.’  Not less hurtful were the third sort called Denisdan, who not only maintained the rebels, but caused those that would be true to become rebellious—­’thieves, extortioners, murderers, raveners, yea, and worse if it was possible.’  These seem to have been the historians or chroniclers of the tribe.  If they saw a young man, the descendant of an O’ or a Mac, with half a dozen followers, they forthwith made a rhyme about his father and his ancestors, numbering how many heads they had cut off, how many towns they had burned, how many virgins they had deflowered, how many notable murders they had done, comparing them to Hannibal, or Scipio, or Hercules, or some other famous person—­’wherewithal the poor fool runs mad, and thinks indeed it is so.’  Then he will gather a lot of rascals about him, and get a fortune-teller to prophesy how he is to speed.  After these preliminaries he betakes himself with his followers at night to the side of a wood, where they lurk till morning.  And when it is daylight, then will they go to the poor villages, not sparing to destroy young infants and aged people; and if a woman be ever so great with child, her will they kill, burning the houses and corn, and ransacking the poor cots; then will they drive away all the kine and plough-horses, with all the other cattle.  Then must they have a bagpipe blowing before them, and if any of the cattle fortune to wax weary or faint they will kill them rather than it should do the owner good; and if they go by any house of friars, or religious house, they will give them two or three beeves, and they will take them and pray for them, yea, and praise their doings, and say, ’His father was accustomed so to do, wherein he will rejoice.’  The fourth class consisted of ‘poets.’  These men had great store of cattle, and ’used all the trade of the others with an addition of prophecies.  They were maintainers of witches and other vile matters, to the blasphemy of God, and to the impoverishing of the commonwealth.’