13Hutton, Ronald. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell, 1991. 173.
The Brennemans have described such a sacred marriage to the land by the ruler: "The king or chieftain, then, was married to the goddess of the place, his tuath, through ritual acts at the well. This place" was defined by its natural configurations, through which its power emanated. Because the chieftain was married to this actual place, it was not possible to take land from others through warring activities. Rather, he could take hostages in the form of powerful persons; but the marriage of chief to place is never broken, and its center remained the sacred spring, site of the inauguration ritual." (Brenneman, Walter L., and Mary G. Brenneman. Crossing the Circle at the Holy Wells of Ireland. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1995. 36.)