Skene, the Fians were either
Fairies or Cruithne. Now, Cruithne is simply a Gaelic name for the
Picts. Consequently, the Fians were either Fairies or Picts--according
to Dr. Skene. In one traditional story, already referred to, the Fians
seem to be unhesitatingly regarded as Picts. This story, obtained in
Sutherlandshire, tells how a certain king lived for a year with a
_banshee_, or fairy woman,[45] by whom he had a son. When this son grew
up he went to the country of the Fians,[46] and there he entered into
the service of their king, who was no other than the celebrated Oisin.
The Gaelic narrator calls him "Oisin, Righ na Feinne," that is, "Ossian,
King of the Fians"; but the collector of the story,[47] who had no doubt
obtained the translation on the spot, renders _Righ na Feinne_ as "King
of the Picts." No explanation or comment is given, and one is therefore
led to infer that in Sutherlandshire _Feinne_ is without question
regarded as a Gaelic name for the Picts. This identity is, indeed, borne
out otherwise. There is a Gaelic saying in Glenlyon, Perthshire, to the
effect that "Fin had twelve castles" in that glen, and the remains of
these "castles," all said to have been built by him and his Fians, and
of which one in particular is styled "Castle Fin,"[48] are known to the
English-speaking people of Scotland as "Picts'" houses.
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