Fili
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{{otherusesof|Fili}}
{{portalpar|Ireland}}
A '''fili''' was a member of an elite [[Social class|class]] of [[Irish poetry|poets]] in [[Ireland]], up into the [[Renaissance]], when the Irish class system was dismantled.
== Elite Scholars ==
[[Eleanor Hull]]’s ''Textbook of Irish Literature'' says:
: "The ''file'' is to be regarded as in the earliest times as combining in his person the functions of [[Magician (paranormal)|magician]], lawgiver, [[judge]], counsellor to the chief, and [[poet]]. Later, but still at a very early time, the offices seem to have been divided, the [[brehon law|brehons]] devoting themselves to the study of law, and the giving of legal decisions, the [[druid]]s arrogating to themselves the [[supernatural]] functions, with the addition, possibly of some [[priest]]ly offices, and the ''filí'' themselves being henceforth principally as poets and [[philosophy|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]], [[sacrifice|sacrificing]] priests."
==Oral Tradition==
The fili maintained an [[Oral literature|oral tradition]] that pre-dated the [[Celtic Christianity|Christianization]] of Ireland. In this tradition, poetic and musical forms are important not only for [[aesthetics]], but also for their [[mnemonic]] value. The tradition allowed plenty of room for improvisation and personal expression, especially in regard to creative [[hyperbole]] and clever [[kenning]]. 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-Christian
[[Irish mythology|myth and epic literature]] remained largely intact many centuries into the Christian era. Much of it was first recorded in writing by scholarly Christian [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|monks]]. 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, [[Hagiography|saint tales]] and so forth which collectively resulted in the largest corpus of non-Latin literature seen in [[Europe]] since [[Ancient Greece]].
See '''[[Early Irish literature]]''' for more details.
== Decline ==
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 birth right. The greatest of these families included the O'Higgins who were hereditary filí in more than one Gaelic house such as The O'Conors, The MacDermotts, The McDonagh and O'Doherty. The hereditary poets that were a fixure of court life in [[History of Ireland|medieval Ireland]] serving as entertainers, advisors and [[genealogists]] maintained practices of and enjoyed a similar status as the pre-Christian fili. But from the 12th century onwards, [[Norman Ireland|Anglo-Norman]] elements had increasing influence on Irish society. As [[Gaels|Gaelic]] culture waned, these folk became increasingly involved with written literature and such non-native traditions as [[heraldry]]. Eventually [[classical literature]] and the [[Romance (genre)|Romantic literature]] that grew from the [[troubadour]] tradition of the [[Southern France|langue d'oc]] superseded the material that that would have been familiar to the ancient fili.
See '''[[Bard]]''' for more details.
== Legacy ==
Fortunately, many manuscripts preserving the tales once transmitted by the fili have survived. This literature contributes much to the modern understanding of [[druids]], [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic religion]] and the [[Celt|Celtic world]] in general.
Besides its value to historians, this canon has contributed a great deal to modern literature beginning with retellings by [[William Butler Yeats]] and other authors involved with the [[Celtic Revival]]. Soon after, [[James Joyce]] drew from material less explicitly. Now [[fantasy literature]] and [[Fantasy art|art]] draws heavily from these tales and characters such as [[Cúchulainn]], [[Fionn mac Cumhaill|Finn McCool]] and the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] are relatively familiar.
Through such traditional musicians as [[Turlough 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 as [[Planxty]], [[The Chieftains]], and [[The Dubliners]].
Perhaps most notably,in their subject matter and techniques, the [[seanachie]] are very much the inheritors of the ancient Irish traditional of oral literature.
The modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic words for "poet" are derived from ''fili''.
*[[Old Irish]]: '''fili''', plural '''filid'''
*Modern [[Irish Language|Irish]]: '''file''', plural '''filí'''
*[[Scots Gaelic]]: '''filidh''', plural '''filidhean'''
Finally, practitioners of [[Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism]] are working to reconstruct trance and visionary techniques that were used by the ''filid'', such as ''[[imbas forosnai]]'' and aspects of the ''tarbhfeis'' ritual.
==See also==
*[[Bard]]
*[[Druid]]
*[[Early Irish literature]]
*[[Gorsedd]]
*[[Rhapsode]]
*[[Seanachie]]
*[[Skald]]
*[[Vates]]
==References==
* {{Dwelly}} (Filidh)
[[Category:Irish mythology]]
[[Category:Ancient Ireland]]
[[Category:Scottish folklore]]
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[[pl:Filidowie]]
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