DeDanaan

Filed by Aine MacDermot

The Fenian Cycle

The Fenian Cycle (also known as the Fionn Cycle, Finn Cycle, Fianna Cycle, Finnian Tales, Fian Tales, Fáinne Cycle, Feinná Cycle, Ossianic Cycle and Fianaigecht) which became prominent in the late Middle Irish period, is 300 years later than the Ulster Cycle. Paganism is modified and Christianity is represented as coming in the extreme old age of Ossian, the poet of the Fenians. The temper is more romantic than epic — the lyrics sing more of nature, love, and separation than of war and death. The characteristic form of this cycle is the ballad. Its ideal hero is Finn, the Irish counterpart of the Welsh Arthur. The Fenian cycle begins with the composition of the long Acallam na Senérech [colloquy of the old men], c.1200, and is a body of prose and verse centering on the exploits of the mythic hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his warriors the Fianna Éireann. The great prose story of the cycle is Tóraigheacht Agus Ghráinne [the pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne], a variant of the Ulster story of Deirdre.

Except for Deirdre, the Ulster tales have largely been forgotten while Fenian legends have survived to modern times, especially in Scotland. The variety of motifs encompassed by the cycles — the doomed lovers, the knights-errant, adventures in an earthly paradise, visions and voyages — influenced medieval romance. The privileged position held by the poet in ancient Ireland was continued after the advent of Christianity. Poets, who were the successors of pagan priests, became guardians of the native tradition, and, after the coming of the Norman English in the 12th and 13th cent., the spokesmen of Gaelic culture. The late medieval prose includes one of the most celebrated Gaelic narrative collections, The Three Sorrows of Storytelling.

Like the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle is concerned with the deeds of Irish heroes. The stories of the Fenian Cycle appear to be set around the 3rd century and mainly in the provinces of Leinster and Munster. They differ from the other cycles in their strength of their links with the Irish-speaking community in Scotland and there are many extant Fenian texts from that country. They also differ from the Ulster Cycle in that the stories are told mainly in verse and that in tone they are nearer to the tradition of romance than the tradition of epic. The stories concern the doings of Fionn mac Cumhail and his band of soldiers, the Fianna. Through the ages in ballads and stories, Fionn has emerged as one the most popular Irish folk heroes. Fionn, who is sometimes called Fingal, was introduced to the English-speaking world in Fragments of Ancient Poetry Collected in the Highlands of Scotland (1760), a work composed by 18th-century Scottish poet James MacPherson and falsely attributed to Ossian (also known as Oisin).

The single most important source for the Fenian Cycle is the Colloquy of the Old Men (Acallamh na Senérach), which is found in two 15th century manuscripts, the Book of Lismore and Laud 610, as well as a 17th century manuscript from Killiney, Co. Dublin. The text is dated from linguistic evidence to the 12th century. The text records conversations between the last surviving members of the Fianna and St Patrick and runs to some 8,000 lines. The late dates of the manuscripts may reflect a longer oral tradition for the Fenian stories.

The Fianna of the story are divided into the Clann Baiscne, led by Fionn, and the Clann Morna, led by his enemy, Goll mac Morna. Goll killed Fionn’s father, Cumall, in battle and the boy Fionn was brought up in secrecy. As a youth, while being trained in the art of poetry, he accidentally burned his thumb on the Salmon of Knowledge, which allowed him to suck or bite his thumb in order to receive bursts of stupendous wisdom. He took his place as the leader of his band and numerous tales are told of their adventures. Two of the greatest Irish tales, Toraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne (The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne) and Oisin in Tir na nOg form part of the cycle. The Diarmuid and Grainne story, which is one of the few Fenian prose tales, is the Celtic source of Tristan and Isolde.

The world of the Fenian Cycle is one in which professional warriors spend their time hunting, fighting, and engaging in adventures in the spirit world. New entrants into the band are expected to be knowledgeable in poetry as well as undergo a number of physical tests or ordeals. Again, there is no religious element in these tales unless it is one of hero-worship. Fionn later appears in The Wanderings of Oisin, (1889) a poem by William Butler Yeats; At Swim-Two-Birds (1939), a novel by Flann O’Brien; and Finnegan’s Wake (1939), a novel by James Joyce that adapts the story of the Fenian hero.

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