poet, a jealous and embittered old man, and a strong
and vigorous hunter/warrior; thus he reflects many
aspects of the human condition. This complexity of
character, coupled with repeated evocation of the beau-
ties of nature, the clever use of dinnshenchas (place-
name lore), and the recurring presence of magic and
the supernatural have combined to place Fíanaigecht
at the very heart of Irish culture, as is still the case in
the modern folk tradition.
KEVIN MURRAY
References and Further Reading
Almqvist, Bo, Séamas Ó Catháin, and Pádraig Ó Héalaí, ed.
Fiannaíocht: Essays on the Fenian Tradition of Ireland and
Scotland (An Cumann le Béaloideas Éireann, 1987) [= Béa-
loideas 54-5 (1986−1987)].
Carey, John, ed. Duanaire Finn: Reassessments. Subsidiary
Series xiii. London: Irish Texts Society, 2003.
Dooley, Ann, and Harry Roe. Tales of the Elders of Ireland.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Meyer, Kuno. Fianaigecht. Todd Lecture Series xiv. Dublin:
Royal Irish Academy, 1910.
MacNeill, Eoin, and Gerard Murphy. Duanaire Finn, 3 vols,
vii, xxviii, xliii. London: Irish Texts Society, 1908−1953.
Murphy, Gerard. The Ossianic Lore and Romantic Tales of
Medieval Ireland. Cork: Mercier Press, 1955.
Nagy, Joseph Falaky. The Wisdom of the Outlaw: The Boyhood
Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1985.
Ó Fiannachta, Pádraig, ed. An Fhiannaíocht, Léachtaí Cholm
Cille xxv. Maigh Nuad: An Sagart, 1995.
Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. Fionn mac Cumhaill: Images of the Gaelic
Hero. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1988.
See also Historical Tales; Laigin; Mythological
Cycle; Ulster Cycle
FERMORY, BOOK OF
See Duanairí; Gerald, Third Earl of Desmond;
Gaelicization; Poetry, Irish
FEUDALISM
Feudalism is a term used by many historians to
describe the operation of medieval society. The word
derives from the Latin feodem, which can be translated
as fief or fee, the unit of land granted by a lord to a
subordinate (vassal) in return for aid and military ser-
vice. No such term was in use in the Middle Ages, the
concept of feudal tenure being devised in the sixteenth
century by French legal historians. The term gained
currency in the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, par-
ticularly with the political ideas of Baron de Montequieu
(1689−1755), who described it in terms of a break-
down of royal authority and a resultant “feudal anarchy.”
The classic twentieth-century description is that of
Marc Bloch (1886−1944), whose hugely influential
Feudal Society was published in French in 1939− 1940
and appeared in English in 1961. Bloch’s formulation
was extremely broad, but it was so by necessity since
it was an attempt to distill centuries of European civ-
ilization into a few brief lines:
A subject peasantry; widespread use of the service
tenement (i.e., the fief) instead of a salary... ; the
supremacy of a class of specialized warriors; ties of
obedience and protection which bind man to man... ;
fragmentation of authorityleading inevitably to dis-
order; and in the midst of all this, the survival of other
forms of association, family and State... such
then, seem to be the fundamental features of Euro-
pean feudalism.
Since the 1970s, feudalism has come under sus-
tained attack from historians. It is depicted, correctly,
as a construct that postdates the medieval period. This
in itself is not necessarily a problem; worse is the
fact that the term is so all-encompassing that it seems
to have almost no utility. Some have argued that it
can still be useful if it is only used to describe the
legal relationship between lord and vassal and the
services that were owed in return for tenure of land.
This, too, is much disputed. The mercurial nature
of feudalism is well demonstrated by the contrast
between traditional interpretations in mainland Europe
and in Britain. The distinctive feature of feudalism
for European historians is the fragmentation of
royal authoritythe so-called feudal anarchy of
Montesquieuwhereas for British historians its
essence is strong royal power and a precisely calcu-
lated hierarchy of land holders, the “feudal pyramid”
familiar from schooldays.Feudalism in Ireland
Feudalism is commonly thought of as coming to
England with the Norman conquest of 1066 and being
extended to Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion
of the late 1160s. It is increasingly apparent, however,
that early medieval Gaelic society was not so isolated
from the European mainstream. In the eleventh and
twelfth centuries continued contact with the continent
ensured that Irish kings acted like feudal lords, albeit
under the broad definition. By the time of the Anglo-
Norman invasion, Ireland was moving toward a strong
central kingship, and it is likely that this would increas-
ingly have conformed to feudal fashions.
With the influx of Anglo-Normans came the preco-
ciously developed institutions and system of government
of England. Ireland provided a clean slate for settlement
(much as England had in 1066), which meant that theFEUDALISM