The collector of this story has assumed that it is purely imaginary. But
let it be contrasted with the following extract from the _Heimskringla_.
The period is the early part of the eleventh century, and the scene
Norway: "There was a man from the Uplands called Fin the Little, and
some said of him that he was of Finnish race. He was a remarkable [?
remarkably] little man, but so swift of foot that no horse could
overtake him.... He had long been in the service of King Hrorek, and
often employed in errands of trust.... Now when King Hrorek was set
under guards on the journey Fin would often slip in among the men of
the guard, and followed, in general, with the lads and serving-men; but
as often as he could he waited upon Hrorek, and entered into
conversation with him."[36] And, like Fin the dwarf in the Gaelic story,
this little Fin rendered great service to his king. Now, the
_Heimskringla_ Fin is unquestionably a historical personage, and the
account of him was written by a twelfth century historian. The Gaelic
story was only obtained in the Hebrides, and reduced to writing
twenty-three years ago. Although Fin of the Fians is stated in Irish
records to be the grandson of a Finland woman,[37] and although the
Scandinavian and the Hebridean tales look very much like two versions of
one story, this cannot precisely be the case, as the Fenian Fin is
placed in an earlier era than his namesake of Norway.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42