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A fili was a member of an elite class of poets in Ireland, up into the Renaissance, when the Irish class system was dismantled. Image File history File links Portal. ... Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. ... A 1907 engraving of William Butler Yeats, one of Irelands best-known poets. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ...

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, lawgiver, judge, counsellor to the chief, and poet. Later, but still at a very early time, the offices seem to have been divided, the brehons 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 the filí 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."

It has been suggested that mage: be merged into this article or section. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... A poet is someone who writes poetry. ... The Brehon Laws were statutes that governed everyday life and politics in Ireland until the Norman invasion of 1171 (the word Brehon is an Anglicisation of breitheamh (earlier brithem), the Irish word for a judge). ... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Roman Catholic priests in clerical clothing. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Statue of Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (died March 17, 462, 492, or 493), is the patron saint of Ireland. ... Preaching is the most important element in the protestant churches. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacer, sacred; sacred + facere, to make) is commonly known as the...

Oral Tradition

The fili maintained an oral tradition that pre-dated the 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 regards 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. Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken (oral) word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: English mnemonics A mnemonic (pronounced in Received Pronunciation) is a memory aid, and most serve an educational purpose. ... Look up hyperbole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In literature, a kenning is a compound poetic phrase, a figure of speech, substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. ...

In this manner, a significant corpus of pre-Christian myth and epic literature remained largely intact many centuries into the Christian era. Much of it was first recorded in writing by scholarly Christian monks. The synergy between the rich and ancient indigineous oral literary tradition and the classical tradition resulted in an exlposion 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 since Ancient Greece. 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. ... It has been suggested that Schottenklöster be merged into this article or section. ... Hagiography is the study of saints. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around one thousand years. ...

See Early Irish literature for more details. Old Irish and Middle Irish literature // Old Irish The earliest existing examples of the written Irish language as preserved in manuscripts do not go back farther than the 8th century; they are chiefly found in Scriptural glosses written between the lines or on the margins of religious works in Latin...

Decline

The hereditary poets that were a fixure of court life in 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, Anglo-Norman elements had increasing influence on Irish society. As Gaelic culture waned, these folk became increasingly involved with written literature and such non-native traditions as heraldry. Eventually classical literature and the Romantic literature that grew from the troubadour tradition of the langue d'oc superseded the material that that would have been familiar to the ancient fili. The first known human settlement in Ireland began around 8000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived from Britain and continental Europe, probably via a land bridge. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... A tower house near Quin. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... As a literary genre, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. ... A troubadour composing lyrics, Germany c. ... This region consists of the southern part of France. ...

See Bard for more details. A bard is a poet or singer, in religious or feudal contexts. ...

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 religion and the Celtic world in general. Druidry or Druidism was the religion of the ancient druids, the priestly class in ancient Celtic and Gallic societies through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles. ... Celtic polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts. ... Celts redirects here. ...

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 art draws heavily from these tales and characters such as Cúchulainn, Finn McCool and the Tuatha Dé Danann are relatively familiar. W.B. Yeats in Dublin on 24 January 1908. ... The Celtic Revival, also known as the Irish Literary Revival, was begun by Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and William Butler Yeats in Ireland in 1896. ... James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (Irish Seamus Seoighe; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish writer and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. ... Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. ... Fantasy Art by Boris Vallejo Fantasy Art by George Grie Fantasy Art by Michael Parkes Fantasy Art by Heinz Zander Fantasy art is a genre of art that depicts magical or other supernatural themes, ideas, creatures or settings. ... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ... Fionn mac Cumhaill (pronounced /fuN mÉ™ ku:L/, /fiN mÉ™ ku:L/, /fu:n mÉ™ ku:l/ or /foun mÉ™ ku:l/ according to dialect)(earlier Finn or Find mac Cumail or mac Umaill, later Anglicised to Finn McCool) was a hunter-warrior of the Gaelic... The Tuatha Dé Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu) were the fifth group of inhabitants of Ireland, according to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions) tradition. ...

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. Turlough OCarolan (Irish name Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin, 1670 - March 25, 1738) was a blind, itinerant Irish harper and composer whose great fame is due to his gifts for composition and verse. ... Planxty was an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s by Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine (a founder of the Irish mid-sixties group Sweeneys Men), and Liam OFlynn (piper). ... The Chieftains are an Irish musical group founded in 1962, known for performing and popularizing Irish traditional music. ... The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962, making them one of the older bands still playing music today. ...

Perhaps most notably,in their subject matter and techniques, the seanachie are very much the inheritors of the ancient Irish traditional of oral literature. A seanachie (pronounced shan-a-key or shawn-a-key) is a traditional Irish story teller. ...

The modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic words for "poet" are derived from fili.

• Old Irish: fili, plural filid
• Modern 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. Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism (CR) is a polytheistic, animistic, religious and cultural movement. ... Imbas forosnai, also known as Himbas Forosnai, Imbus For Osna, and Imus For Osna, is a special gift of clairvoyance believe to be possesed by the poets, particularly the Ollam of the Fili, in Early Ireland. ...

See also

• Bard
• Druid
• Early Irish literature
• Gorsedd
• Rhapsode
• Seanachie
• Skald
• Vates

A bard is a poet or singer, in religious or feudal contexts. ... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ... Old Irish and Middle Irish literature // Old Irish The earliest existing examples of the written Irish language as preserved in manuscripts do not go back farther than the 8th century; they are chiefly found in Scriptural glosses written between the lines or on the margins of religious works in Latin... A gorsedd (SAMPA /gO:rsED/), occasionally spelled gorseth, plural gorseddau, is a community of bards. ... In classical antiquity, a rhapsode was a professional reciter of poetry, especially the epics of Homer, but also the wisdom-verse of Hesiod and the satires of Archilochus, among others. ... A seanachie (pronounced shan-a-key or shawn-a-key) is a traditional Irish story teller. ... The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ... Vates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Reference

• This article incorporates text from “Dwelly’s [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary” (1911) (Filidh)