Fianna

In Irish mythology, the Fianna were Irish warrior-hunters who served the High King of Ireland in the 3rd century AD. Their adventures were recorded in the Fenian Cycle. Their last leader was Fionn mac Cumhail.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Members included:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Fionn mac Cumhail: last leader of the Fianna
• Cumhal: Fionn's father, the former leader
• Goll mac Morna
• Ca?lte mac R?n?in
• Con?n mac Morna
• Diarmuid Ua Duibhne: a warrior of the Fianna who ran off with Finn's bride Grainne and was finally killed by a giant boar on the heath of Benn Gulbain. Foster son of Aengus.
• Lughaid Stronghand: sorcerous warrior, nephew of Fionn mac Cumhail, one of the four who could have untied the knots Diarmuid bound the seakings with, but refused to do so. Lover of Aife, daughter of Manannan
• Ois?n, son of Fionn mac Cumhail: (Macpherson's Ossian)
• Osgar, son of Ois?n

Membership was subject to rigorous tests. In one such test the applicant would stand in a waist-deep hole armed with a shield while nine warriors threw spears at him; if he was wounded, he failed. In another his hair would be braided, and he would be pursued through the forest; he would fail if he was caught, if a branch cracked under his feet, or if the braids in his hair were disturbed. He would have to be able to leap over a branch the height of his forehead, pass under one as low as his knee, and pull a thorn from his foot without slowing down. He also needed to be a skilled poet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A fian (singular), as defined by the Brehon Laws, was a band of young men, usually young aristocrats who had not yet come into their inheritance of land, who lived apart from society as mercenaries, bandits and hunters, and could be called upon in times of war. The fianna of legend, while usually depicted as a standing army serving the High King, also appear as rival bands living rough in the woods. The two main factions in the legendary fianna were the Clann Ba?scne of Leinster, led by Fionn, and the Clann Morna of Connacht, led by Goll.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alternatives: Na Fianna, Fenians, Fianna ?ireann

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fianna: Other uses ►



 

Irish mythology: The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. Although many o...

Irish: Irish may refer to:...

High King of Ireland: Although the traditional list of those bearing the title High King of Ireland (Irish: Ard R? ?renn) goes back thousands of years, into the second millennium BC, most scholars believe that the earlier parts of the list, at least, are largely mythical. It is unclear at what point the list begins to r...