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<fili > (plural:filid,filidh).
..."Member of a privileged
powerful caste of poets,
diviners andseers in early Ireland.
To be distinguished from the
lower-statusbard and thebrehon...[1]
Thefili (orfilè)[a][b] (Old Irish pronunciation:[/ˈfʲilʲi/]), pluralfilid,filidh (or filès), was a member of an elite class of poets inIreland, and laterScotland, up until theRenaissance.[c] The filid were believed to have the power ofdivination, and therefore able to foresee, foretell, predict – important events.[d][e]
In an early society where most people were illiterate – including its hierarchy of chieftains, sub-kings and kings – theoral tradition was an important means of communicating current news and historical events.[f][g] As both a poet andstoryteller, the fili would hope to gain a professional reputation for the authenticity and reliability of their information.[h]
The termfili likely derives fromprimitive Irish ᚃᚓᚂᚔᚈᚐᚄ]VELITAS]; fromProto-Celtic *weleti ("to see"); andProto-Indo-European *wel- ("to see, perceive").[i] An etymology from PIEwelo- is offered by Matasović.[4]He notes: "The semantic development of Olr.fil was from 'Lo, behold' (lmpv.of*wel-o- 'see') to 'there is'. Olr.file [d m] 'poet' is a derivative from this root (cf. Ogam Gen. sg. VELITAS). The original meaning was 'seer', PCelt.*wel-et-."
The word "fili" is thought to derive from the Proto-Celtic*widluios, meaning "seer, one who sees" (attested on theGaulish inscription from Larzac as "uidluias", which is the feminine genitive singular form), derived ultimately from the verb*widlu-, "to see". To be compared to theLatinevatis and theAncient Greekouateis, stemmed in Gaulish, modernvate improperly writtenovate but still used by theOBODneodruids.
There were seven orders offili, the highest order being theollam,[a][j] which required at least 12 years of training.[k] The ollam were required to commit to memory 250 major tales and 350 minor ones.[f]
TheOllamh Érenn was the master poet ofGaelic Ireland (the whole of Ireland "beyondThe Pale"). There was a hierarchy of master poets:
Inmedieval Scotland theOllamh rig Alban – 'Master poet of Scotland' – was an important member of the kings court. Whenever a new king wasinaugurated, it was necessary for the Ollamh rig to recite the future kingsgenealogy, in order to verify his legitimate right to succeed.[l][m]
| Phrase | English | Scottish Gaelic |
|---|---|---|
| Ollamh rig Alban | Master poet of Scotland | <Alba> Scotland |
| An Ollaimh Righ | The master poet of the king | <rìgh> king |
| Do gairm rig | Proclamation of the king | <gairm>proclamation |
The ancient traditions of theinauguration ceremony atScone beside theRiver Tay in Scotland, including the recital of the future kings ancestry, probably originated from theHill of Tara inCounty Meath,Ireland.[n]
Those traditions were introduced into ScottishDal Riata – from Irish Dal Riata – where the ceremony was known asdo gairm rig ..."Proclamation of the king".[o] The Dal Riata community later moved east to thePerthshire region of Scotland, followingViking attacks on the west coast in the 9th century.[p]
Viking attacks on the north east coast of Pictland resulted in a power vacuum,[q] and an opportunity forKenneth MacAlpin to become the first leader of both Dal Riata and Pictland.[r] A new royal power base andinauguration site was created atScone beside theRiver Tay.[s]
The termpoet is misleading, because the filid were alsoseanchaí – historians – who advised chieftains and kings on political matters.[c][g] The filid were believed to have the power ofdivination, and therefore able to foresee, foretell, predict – important events.[d]
The termpoet is misleading, because the filid had extraordinary power and influence over the kings and political leaders who sponsored them. It was important for leaders to treat the filid with respect, and to reward them handsomely, in order to get good quality information on current affairs. The filid had the ability to portray their sponsors in a positive or negative way, and to influence neighbouring leaders.[t]
At the darker and more extreme end of the scale – if leaders failed to treat the filid with due respect – they ran the risk of satire – a kind of blackmail – whereby the filid mightridicule them in front of neighbouring leaders.[u][v]
The filid were believed to have the power ofdivination, and therefore able to foresee, foretell, predict – important events. It was also feared that they might have the power toinfluence future events.[w][x]
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The tales regaled by thefilid were classified as:[3]
| Old Irish | English | |
|---|---|---|
| togla | destructions | |
| tana | cattle raids | |
| tochmarca | wooings | |
| catha | battles | |
| uatha | terrors | |
| immrama | voyages | |
| aite | deaths | |
| fessa | feasts | |
| forbassa | sieges | |
| echtrae | adventure journeys | |
| aitheda | elopements | |
| airgne | plunderings | |
Bérla na filed – "language of the poets" – was possibly an esoteric mix of:[Web 1]
According to theTextbook of Irish Literature, byEleanor Hull:
Thefile is to be regarded as in the earliest times as combining in his person the functions of magician, lawgiver, judge, counsellor to the chief, and poet. Later, but still at a very early time, the offices seem to have been divided, thebrehons devoting themselves to the study of law, and the giving of legal decisions, the druids arrogating to themselves the supernatural functions, with the addition, possibly of some priestly offices, and thefilí themselves being henceforth principally as poets and philosophers. The division seems to have already existed in Ireland at the time of St Patrick, whose preaching brought him into constant opposition with the druids, who were evidently, at that time, regarded as the religious leaders of the nation, though there does not seem to be much sign that they were, as they undoubtedly were, even at an earlier age in Britain and Gaul, sacrificing priests.
The fili maintained anoral tradition that predated theChristianisation of Ireland. In this tradition, poetic and musical forms are important not only foraesthetics, but also for theirmnemonic value. The tradition allowed plenty of room for improvisation and personal expression, especially in regard to creativehyperbole and cleverkenning. However, the culture placed great importance on the fili's ability to pass stories and information down through the generations without making changes in those elements that were considered factual rather than embellishment.
In this manner, a significant corpus of pre-Christianmyth and epic literature remained largely intact many centuries into the Christian era. Much of it was first recorded in writing by scholarly Christianmonks. The synergy between the rich and ancient indigenous oral literary tradition and the classical tradition resulted in an explosion of monastic literature that included epics of war, love stories, nature poetry,saint tales and so forth which collectively resulted in the largest corpus of non-Latin literature seen in Europe sinceAncient Greece.
The ultimate accommodation of Christianity within Irish Gaelic society resulted in a strain on the resources of the Chiefs and in that they were required to provide land and titles for both fili and bishop alike. Consequently, a decision was made in the 6th century to limit the number of fili to certain families who were respected and believed to be poets as a birthright. The greatest of these families included theÓ Dálaigh (O'Daly), several of whom were accorded the rank of 'chiefollamh of poetry of all Ireland,' andÓ hUiginn (O'Higgins) who were hereditary filí in more than one Gaelic house such as O'Conor Slighit, The MacDermotts, The McDonagh and O'Doherty. TheÓ Cobhthaigh (Coffey's) were known as the fili of Uisneach.
TheÓ Maol Chonaire were chieflyOllamhs of theSíol Muireadhaigh, theÓ Conchubhair Donn and theMacDermot ofMoylurg, although this family was also associated with Ulster and spread from Connacht into the courts of Munster and Leinster. Finally theÓ Cléirighs who served the O'Donnel chieftains of Tír Connell.
The hereditary poets that were a fixture of court life inmedieval Ireland serving as entertainers, advisors andgenealogists maintained practices of and enjoyed a similar status as the pre-Christian fili. But from the 12th century onwards,Anglo-Norman elements had increasing influence on Irish society. AsGaelic culture waned, these folk became increasingly involved with written literature and such non-native traditions asheraldry. Nonetheless in Gaelic society the chief filí of the province, orOllamh, was seen as equal status to the Ard-rí, or High King. This high social status existed right intoElizabethan times, when English nobility were horrified to see the Gaelic chieftains not just eating at the same table as their poets, but often from the same dish. Eventuallyclassical literature and theRomantic literature that grew from thetroubadour tradition of thelangue d'oc superseded the material that would have been familiar to the ancient fili.
Many manuscripts preserving the tales once transmitted by the fili have survived. This literature contributes much to the modern understanding ofdruids,Celtic religion and theCeltic world in general.
Besides its value to historians, this canon has contributed a great deal to modern literature beginning with retellings byWilliam Butler Yeats and other authors involved with theCeltic Revival. Soon after,James Joyce drew from material less explicitly. Nowfantasy literature andart draws heavily from these tales and characters such asCúchulainn,Finn McCool and theTuatha Dé Danann are relatively familiar.
Through such traditional musicians asTurlough O'Carolan (who died in 1738 and is often lauded as "the last of the bards") and countless of his less-known or anonymous colleagues, the musical tradition of the fili has made its way to contemporary ears via artists such asPlanxty,The Chieftains, andThe Dubliners.
In their subject matter and techniques, theseanachie are considered the inheritors of the ancient Irish tradition of oral literature.[Web 2]
The modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic words for "poet" are derived fromfili.
Finally, practitioners ofCeltic Reconstructionist Paganism are working to reconstruct trance and visionary techniques that were used by thefilid,[citation needed] such asimbas forosnai and aspects of thetarbhfeis ritual.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hyde, Douglas (1913). "Irish Literature".Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8.
