Celtic fairy traditions
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Finn and his companions follow a fairy woman disguised as a fawn into a mountain palace. The hospitable hall contains food, music, and a crystal chair, so pursuit leads to encounter rather than an ordinary capture. Another narrative identifies King Mongan as Finn reborn. Cailte’s arrival from the Otherworld restores knowledge of an earlier battle and reveals the king’s concealed identity.
Also known as Finn · Find
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In the sources
Principal account
ReportedFinn and his companions follow a fairy woman disguised as a fawn into a mountain palace. The hospitable hall contains food, music, and a crystal chair, so pursuit leads to encounter rather than an ordinary capture.
Further detail
ReportedAnother narrative identifies King Mongan as Finn reborn. Cailte’s arrival from the Otherworld restores knowledge of an earlier battle and reveals the king’s concealed identity.
Context & interpretation
Evans-Wentz combines named informants, manuscript narratives, and his own psychical theory in a 1911 survey. This entry preserves those distinctions: collected belief and literary tradition do not establish the physical existence of an Otherworld.
Original passages
Source 1
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
fairy palace which no man save Finn and six companions, Caeilte being one of these, ever entered. The Fenians, while hunting, were led thitherOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 324
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0324
- Original scan leaf
- 325
- Recorded leaf number
- 325
- Current Reader position
- 320
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
.king before whom he spoke, was the reincarnation of Find : — * We were with thee,' said Cailte, addressing the king. * WeOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Celtic fairy traditions; active reader leaf 402
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0045-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0045-E001-P0402
- Original scan leaf
- 403
- Recorded leaf number
- 403
- Current Reader position
- 398
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Mongan
King whose concealed identity as Finn is exposed in a wager.
Same subject and traditionConnla
Prince invited into a deathless land by a fairy woman.
Same subject and traditionCú Chulainn
Ulster hero drawn into the conflicts and affections of the Sidhe.
Same subject and traditionOisín
Fenian hero whose return from Fairyland exposes the passage of centuries.