Fianna
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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.
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 Baíscne of Leinster, led by Fionn, and the Clann Morna of Connacht, led by Goll.
Members included:
- Fionn mac Cumhail: last leader of the Fianna
- Cumhal: 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 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
- Oisín, son of Fionn mac Cumhail: (Macpherson's Ossian)
- Osgar, son of Oisín
Other uses
- Fianna can also refer to the Fianna Eireann
- Fianna is used in the name of one of the major Irish political parties, Fianna Fáil.
- Fianna can also refer to Na Fianna CLG
- Fianna is the name of a celtic tribe of werewolves in the White Wolf Game Studio roleplaying game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, inspired by the Fianna of the Fenian cycle.