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Filí
< fili > (plural: filid, filidh).
..."Member of a privileged
powerful caste of poets,
diviners and seers in early Ireland.
To be distinguished from the
lower-status bard and the brehon...
The fili (or filè) (Old Irish pronunciation: [/ˈfʲilʲi/]), plural filid, filidh (or filès), was a member of an elite class of poets in Ireland, and later Scotland, up until the Renaissance. The filid were believed to have the power of divination, and therefore able to foresee, foretell and predict important events.
In an early society in which most people were illiterate – including its hierarchy of chieftains, sub-kings and kings – the oral tradition was an important means of communicating current news and historical events. As both a poet and storyteller, the fili would hope to gain a professional reputation for the authenticity and reliability of their information.
The term fili likely derives from primitive Irish ᚃᚓᚂᚔᚈᚐᚄ]VELITAS]; from Proto-Celtic *weleti ("to see"); and Proto-Indo-European *wel- ("to see, perceive"). An etymology from PIE welo- is offered by Matasović. 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 the Gaulish inscription from Larzac as "uidluias", which is the feminine genitive singular form), derived ultimately from the verb *widlu-, "to see". This can be compared to the Latin vatis and the Ancient Greek ouateis, stemmed in Gaulish, modern vate improperly written ovate but still used by the OBOD neodruids.
There were seven orders of fili, the highest order being the ollam, which required at least 12 years of training. The ollam were required to commit to memory 250 major tales and 350 minor ones.
The Ollamh Érenn was the master poet of Ireland. There was a hierarchy of master poets:
In medieval Scotland the Ollamh rig Alban – 'Master poet of Scotland' – was an important member of the king's court. Whenever a new king was inaugurated, it was necessary for the Ollamh rig to recite the future king's genealogy, in order to verify his legitimate right to succeed.
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Filí
< fili > (plural: filid, filidh).
..."Member of a privileged
powerful caste of poets,
diviners and seers in early Ireland.
To be distinguished from the
lower-status bard and the brehon...
The fili (or filè) (Old Irish pronunciation: [/ˈfʲilʲi/]), plural filid, filidh (or filès), was a member of an elite class of poets in Ireland, and later Scotland, up until the Renaissance. The filid were believed to have the power of divination, and therefore able to foresee, foretell and predict important events.
In an early society in which most people were illiterate – including its hierarchy of chieftains, sub-kings and kings – the oral tradition was an important means of communicating current news and historical events. As both a poet and storyteller, the fili would hope to gain a professional reputation for the authenticity and reliability of their information.
The term fili likely derives from primitive Irish ᚃᚓᚂᚔᚈᚐᚄ]VELITAS]; from Proto-Celtic *weleti ("to see"); and Proto-Indo-European *wel- ("to see, perceive"). An etymology from PIE welo- is offered by Matasović. 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 the Gaulish inscription from Larzac as "uidluias", which is the feminine genitive singular form), derived ultimately from the verb *widlu-, "to see". This can be compared to the Latin vatis and the Ancient Greek ouateis, stemmed in Gaulish, modern vate improperly written ovate but still used by the OBOD neodruids.
There were seven orders of fili, the highest order being the ollam, which required at least 12 years of training. The ollam were required to commit to memory 250 major tales and 350 minor ones.
The Ollamh Érenn was the master poet of Ireland. There was a hierarchy of master poets:
In medieval Scotland the Ollamh rig Alban – 'Master poet of Scotland' – was an important member of the king's court. Whenever a new king was inaugurated, it was necessary for the Ollamh rig to recite the future king's genealogy, in order to verify his legitimate right to succeed.