Fianna

''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young men, often from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, "who had left fosterage but had not yet inherited the property needed to settle down as full landowning members of the ''túath''". For most of the year they lived in the wild, hunting, cattle raiding other Irish clans, training, and fighting as mercenaries. Scholars believe the ''fian'' was a rite of passage into manhood, and have linked ''fianna'' with similar young warrior bands in other early European cultures.

They are featured in a body of Irish legends known as the 'Fianna Cycle' or 'Fenian Cycle', which focuses on the adventures and heroic deeds of the ''fian'' leader Fionn mac Cumhaill and his band. In later tales, the ''fianna'' are more often depicted as household troops of the High Kings.

The Fenian Brotherhood of the 19th-century and the '' Fianna Éireann'', an Irish nationalist youth organisation of the 20th century, are named after them.

Historicity

The historical institution of the ''fían'' is known from references in early medieval Irish law tracts. A ''fían'' (plural ''fíana'' or ''fianna'') was a small band of roving hunter-warriors. It was made up of landless young men of free birth, often young aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had not yet inherited the property needed to settle down as full landowning members of the ''túath''".McCone, Kim. ''Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Literature''. 1990. p205. A member of a ''fían'' was called a ''fénnid''; the leader of a ''fían'' was a ''rígfénnid'' (literally "king-''fénnid''"). The ''fían'' way of life was called ''fíanaigecht'' and involved living in the wild, hunting, raiding, martial and athletic training, and even training in poetry. They also served as mercenaries. Wild animals, particularly the wolf and the deer, seem to have been ''fían'' mascots. Some sources associate ''fianna'' with the outdoor cooking pits known as '' fulacht fiadh''.

Many of the first mentions of ''fianna'' are connected with ''Scoti'' raids in Britain during the end of the Roman rule.Harry Roe, Ann Dooley (editors). '' Tales of the Elders of Ireland''. Oxford University Press, 1999. pp.xi - xiii

Geoffrey Keating, in his 17th-century '' History of Ireland'', says that during the winter the ''fianna'' were quartered and fed by the nobility, during which time they would keep order on their behalf, but during the summer/autumn, from Beltaine to Samhain, they were obliged to live by hunting for food and for pelts to sell. Keating's ''History'' is more a compilation of traditions than a reliable history, but in this case scholars point to references in early Irish literature and the existence of a closed hunting season for deer and wild boar between Samhain and Beltaine in medieval Scotland as corroboration. Hubert Thomas Knox (1908) likened the ''fianna'' to "bodies of Gallowglasses such as appeared in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but then under command of adventurers who were not inhabitants of the province, Free Companies who sold their services to any one who could raise their wages".

Joseph Nagy writes that the ''fían'' seemingly "served a vital function in siphoning off undesirable elements ..providing an outlet for rambunctious behaviour", and was a rite of passage that prepared young men for adult life. Katharine Simms writes that "While most members eventually inherited land, married and settled down, some passed their lives as professional champions, employed by the rest of the population to avenge their wrongs, collect debts, enforce order at feasts and so forth".

The ''fían'' was a tolerated institution in early Irish secular society, and secular literature continued to endorse it down to the 12th century. However, the institution was not favoured by the church, and it is likely the church was key in the demise of the ''fían''. Churchmen sometimes referred to them as ''díberga'' (which came to mean 'marauders') and ''maicc báis'' ('sons of death'), and several hagiographies tell of saints converting them from their "non-Christian and destructive ways".

They are described as having a ''cúlán'' hairstyle: long at the back, with the scalp partly shaved. Some are also described as having strange or 'devilish' marks on their head; this has been taken to mean tattoos.

Origins

Scholars have linked the ''fianna'' with similar young warrior bands in other early European cultures, and suggest they all derive from the *'' kóryos'' which is thought to have existed in Proto-Indo-European society.

Linguist Ranko Matasović, author of the ''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic'', derives the name ''fíana'' from reconstructed Proto-Celtic ''*wēnā'' (a troop), from Proto-Indo-European ''*weyh'' (to chase, pursue), and says the Irish ethnic name '' Féni'' is probably related. Kim McCone derives it from Proto-Celtic ''*wēnnā'' < ''*wēd-nā'' (wild ones).

Heinrich Zimmer (1891), however, suggested that the ''fianna'' tales come from the heritage of the Norse-Gaels. He derived the name ''fianna'' from an Irish rendering of Old Norse ''fiandr'' "enemies" > "brave enemies" > "brave warriors". He also noted Fionn's Thumb of Knowledge is similar to the Norse tale of Sigurðr tasting Fáfnir's heart.

Legendary depiction

The ''fianna'' are the focus of a body of Irish legends known as the ''Fíanaigecht'', 'Fianna Cycle' or 'Fenian Cycle'. Most are about the adventures and heroic deeds of Finn (or Fionn) mac Cumhaill and his ''fían'' members.

In earlier tales, the various ''fianna'' groups are depicted as roving hunter-warriors, and there are many pagan and magical elements. Later tales focus on Fionn and his companions, and the ''fianna'' are more often depicted as household troops of the High Kings. These later tales usually depict the ''fianna'' as one group with two factions: the Clann Baíscne of Leinster, led by Fionn, and the Clann Morna of Connacht, led by Goll mac Morna.

Some legendary depictions of ''fianna'' seem to conform to historical reality: for example, in the Ulster Cycle the druid Cathbad leads a ''fian'' of 27 men which fights against other ''fianna'' and kills the 12 foster-fathers of the Ulster princess Ness. In response, Ness leads her own ''fian'' of 27 in pursuit of Cathbad.

War cry and mottos

The ''Dord Fian'' or ''Dord Fiansa'' was the war-cry of the ''Fianna'', and they often sounded it before and amid battle, either as a mode of communication or to put fear into their enemies. In the legend ''"The Death of Fionn"'', Fionn raises the ''Dord Fian'' when he sees his grandson Oscar fall in the '' Battle of Gabhra'' against the armies of Cairbre Lifechair, and proceeds to strike back at the enemy with great fury, killing many dozens of warriors.Augusta, Lady Gregory - ''Gods and Fighting Men (1904) Chapter - The Death of Fionn'' The ''Battle of Gabhra'' also marked the demise of the Fianna.

They had three mottoes:
*''Glaine ár gcroí'' (Purity of our hearts)
*''Neart ár ngéag'' (Strength of our limbs)
*''Beart de réir ár mbriathar'' (Action to match our speech)

Notable ''fénnid''

* Fionn mac Cumhaill: last leader of the Fianna
* Cumhall: Fionn's father, the former leader
* Goll mac Morna
* Caílte mac Rónáin
* Conán mac Morna
* Diarmuid Ua Duibhne: a warrior of the Fianna who ran off with Fionn's intended bride Gráinne and was finally killed by a giant boar on the heath of Benn Gulbain. Foster son of Aengus.
*Lughaid Lámhfhada: sorcerous warrior, nephew of Fionn, one of the four who could have untied the knots Diarmuid bound the sea-kings with, but refused to do so. Lover of Aífe, daughter of Manannán
* Oisín, son of Fionn ( Macpherson's Ossian)
*Oscar, son of Oisín
* Cael Ua Neamhnainn

Modern use of the term

In more recent history, the name '' Fianna Éireann'' has been used, as ''Fianna Fáil'' ("the ''Fianna'' of Ireland", or Inis Fáil i.e. "the isle of destiny", and hence sometimes rendered "the soldiers of destiny") has been used: as a sobriquet for the Irish Volunteers, on the cap badge of the Irish Army, the name in Irish of the Army Ranger Wing (''Sciathán Fiannóglaigh an Airm''), in the opening line of the Irish-language version of the Irish national anthem, and as the name of the Fianna Fáil political party.

See also

* Kóryos
* '' Irish Fairy Tales'', a 1920 book by James Stephens containing many tales of the Fianna

References

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Fenian Cycle
Medieval history of Ireland
Military units and formations of the Middle Ages