An difríocht idir athruithe ar: "Ríthe Éireann"

===Rí benn=binne==

A ''rí benn'', or ''rí tuaithe'', was most commonly a local king of a single [[túath]], although "one" túath might be many times the size of another. There are generally estimated to have been between 100 and 150 in Ireland, depending on who really qualified.

In theory, every king of a superior grade was also a ''rí benn'' himself, and exercised no direct compulsory legal authority outside his own ancestral túath.<ref>Byrne, plch. 41</ref> Kings were bound to others by military allegiance and the payment of tribute.

* [[Delbhna Tir Dha Locha|Kings of Thir Dha Locha]]

===RiRí buiden=buíonta==

A ''ri buiden'' (king of bands), also ''rirí tuath'' (king of [many] tribes) or ''ruiríruiri'' (overkingruairí), was a regional king to whom several ''rí benn'' were subordinate, and often other territories. He was in some sense still a petty king, but could also achieve provincial-level prominence, including, although rarely, the provincial kingship, and was often fully sovereign in any case. Depending on who was counted, there may have been as many as 20 genuine ''ruiri'' in Ireland at any one time.

A "king of over-kings", a ''rí ruirech'' was often a provincial (''rí cóicid'') or semi-provincial king to whom several ''ruiri'' were subordinate. They were also referred to as ''ri bunaid cach cinn'' ("ultimate king of every individual"). Several kingdoms belonging to the 1st and 2nd millennia are listed below, but do not all belong to the same periods. No more than six genuine ''rí ruirech'' were ever contemporary, with the average being three or four. Originally, there were only five provinces, at least according to legend (see the [[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]).