The Real Fionn Mac Cumhaill
Art by Jim FitzPatrick
Anyone who knows anything about Irish mythology is familiar the name Fionn Mac Cumhaill, or at least with its Anglicized version, Finn MacCool. Many doubtlessly know a few folktales about Fionn— such as his rather comical confrontation with the Scottish giant Benandonner— or have read some of the various version of the Fenian Cycle appearing in books. Significantly fewer, however, may be aware that this is likely only a part of Fionn’s story, and that some of what we “know” about the hero may be completely incorrect.
I am referring in particular to Fionn’s origin. Most versions of the Fenian cycle, from the twelfth-century Lebar na nUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow) onward provide the hero with noble-born parents, although the exact circumstances of his conception and birth sometimes vary a little. But here’s the thing: all of them are likely wrong. Why? It comes down to one word, or, more specifically, one name.
Before we begin, however, it’s vital to understand that Celtic myths such as the Fenian Cycle (or the Ossian Cycle, as it was reputedly first created by Fionn’s son Oisin,) were oral traditions for centuries, possibly more than a millennia, before they were ever written down. This, along with the fact that some of the earliest writings have been lost, means that there can often be missing information and mistakes. Add to that the tendency of the Medieval Catholic Church to rewrite old myths into Christianized morality tales, and it’s easy to see how parts of Fionn’s original story might be forgotten or changed.
With that being said, let’s continue to the aforementioned question of Fionn’s surname. Cumhaill, also spelled Cumaill, is actually based on an old Gaelic word: cumhal, meaning bondwoman. Thus Mac Cumhaill literally means “Son of the Servant Girl.” As you can imagine, the only reason why a person would be known by such a name is if their father was either unknown or chose not to acknowledge them. Young Fionn was quite literally a Nobody.
So why, then, was a chieftain named Cumhaill invented to be Fionn’s father? The answer is simple. It appears that the hero was given a noble lineage that was felt to be more appropriate. This may, in part, be due to the time period during which these tales were transcribed. Earlier texts concerning Fionn, from the eighth through tenth centuries, deal solely with his adult life. (These include works such as Bruiden Âtha Í, Reicne Fothaid Canainne, and The Quarrel between Finn and Oisin.) It’s only beginning in the twelfth century that we find references to Fionn’s birth and supposed noble parentage, with the most important reference to the hero’s early life coming from “Bodleian Laud Misc. MS 610,” an insert in the Book of the White Earl. This is significant because, by the latter Middle Ages, the idea that God purposefully chose political leaders had become widely accepted—an idea that would eventually grow into the concept of the Divine Right of Kings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The problem, of course, is that if a ruler is going to announce that he is king because God wants him to be king, he can’t very well have stories floating around about how the bastard son of s servant pulled himself up by the proverbial bootstraps to become a great leader.
It’s interesting to note that this does not appear to be the only character from Celtic myth who was given an invented noble lineage in later texts. For example, Scathach, the warrior queen of An t-Eilean Sgitheanach, the modern day Isle of Skye, is called the Daughter of Ard-Greimne. While a king by the name Ard-Greimne was later created, the word actually means “the High Place.” As you can probably guess, only someone of common birth would have been named for the location of their village rather than for a renown ancestor, making it likely that her family were aithech, or independent farmers.
Indeed, Lebor na hUidre, or the Book of the Dun Cow, contains another tantalizing clue to Fionn’s common birth in Compert Mongáin ocus Serc Duibe-Lácha do Mongán, which suggests that Mongán and Fionn Mac Cumhaill are the same person. This is important because, as is seen in hero myths from around the world, Mongán is fathered by a God, in this case Manannán Mac Lir, on a mortal woman. Some argue that this may have been a common practice when storytellers either did not know the origins of a hero, or wanted to invent a more illustrious birth for them. Thus it again hints and the possibility of an unknown father. (It’s also interesting to note here that all tales agree on the fact that Fionn was, indeed, part-Tuatha de Danann, although the stories vary on which Lord of the Sidhe the hero is related to, and just how close that blood tie is. If nothing else, the divine ancestry certainly explains a lot.)
But, if Fionn was really a Nobody, then how did he become the leader of his own warrior band? Shouldn’t that have been impossible? Far from it. According to both The Celtic Realms by Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick as well as Cattle-Lords and Clansmen by Nerys Thomas Patterson, the pre-Christain Celts had a sort of fluid cast system. A person could rise or fall through the social ranks by honor, reputation, and achievements. Essentially, who your parents were and where you came from mattered less than what you could do. We even see that kings were chosen not based solely on lineage but by a ceremony called The Tarbfheis, in which a Druid would be offered a feast, with a cooked bull as a centerpiece, and would then use dreams and omens to determine who the next ruler would be. Thus, it is actually not at all unusual, from an ancient Celtic perspective, for a person of common birth to rise to a higher rank, provided, of course, that he or she had a great enough reputation and of list of deeds.
So, could Fionn Mac Cumhaill have really been one of ancient Ireland’s greatest original rags-to-riches stories? There is certainly evidence to suggest it. In my opinion, that would make the hero’s tale even more interesting and impressive. Unfortunately, with no records of the earliest oral versions of the cycles, it is impossible to be certain. However, it is an undeniable, and very intriguing, possibility.