Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome, s...
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There was nothing the great Finn Mac Cumhaill liked more than a feast with a story and song, except for a hunt with his hounds and his men. He was out one day hunting, enjoying the freedom of running through the land, with his hounds Bran and Sceolan by his side, and the rest of the Fianna and their dogs running behind. The dogs caught the trail of a doe, and they began to chase. Normally, the hounds of the Fianna would play with a doe a little, and take pleasure in the hunt, before bringing her down, but this time, the doe seemed to be the one in charge. She led them on a game, weaving through the forest, dancing hither and tither, and seeming to tease the hounds.
Finn was puzzled by this – he could see this was no ordinary doe – and he followed all the more eagerly, keen to catch such a prize. The doe ran so swiftly that soon the rest of Finn’s men began to fall behind, till at length there was only Finn and his two hounds keeping up with her. Then Bran and Sceolan ran out in front of him, and he saw that instead of chasing the deer, they were running by her side, gambolling playfully. He thought again that this was no ordinary deer. The deer stopped and waited for Finn to catch up to her, and when she turned to look at him with a very human look in her eyes, he thought for a third time that there was something special about her.
Then the deer turned into a beautiful young woman. She told him her name was Blaith Dearg, the daughter of Finn’s great enemy, Dearg. She had been enchanted to take on the form of a doe. She invited Finn to step onto the hill of Allen with her and join her for the night. So he did, and he gave her his love, but when Finn woke up the next day, Bran and Sceolan were whining in sadness, and Blaith Dearg was nowhere to be seen.
Finn spent a long time looking for her, but there was never any trace of her to be found, and he never found any tracks around the hill of Allen. His heart was empty, and he never forgot the great love he had for her. A year and a day later, he was on the hunt again, and once again Bran and Sceolan leapt out in front and ran ahead. Finn pursued, leaving the rest of the Fianna behind, and caught up to them at last. They were smiling the way dogs smile, and playing in front of a rowan tree, where he saw a baby sitting in the grass. He picked the baby up, and saw a doe’s tail flash as she ran into the forest. He realized that this was Blaith Dearg’s baby – his baby – so he took him in and raised him as his own son.
Finn named the boy Oisín, which meant little deer. He fostered Oisín out, and Oisín grew up to be a most beautiful man, with the purest heart and the bravest deeds, and a great love of poetry. In time he passed the tests to join the Fianna, which were:
To tie the hair into seven braids, and run through the forest with all the Fianna in pursuit, and to come out the other side without breaking a single twig, or disturbing a single bird, or loosing a single hair from the braids. To be buried up to the waist and fend off all the Fianna. To learn off eight books of poetry and be able to sing them with such beauty that all would be moved to tears. To run under a branch set at the height of your knees and jump over a branch set at the height of your heart, without slowing pace. And no man since Finn Mac Cumhaill performed these tests so well as did Oisín.
