Fians, Fairies and Picts

A Norse raider descends into a dark house beneath Ireland; then light shines from a sword in a man’s hand. Was the hidden owner a Fian, a Fairy—or a people history has misnamed?

In the folklore of Ireland and Scotland, the little people dwell in hollow hills, leave ancient vessels behind, and cross paths with the Fians of old tales. Writing in the late 19th century, David MacRitchie sets these traditions beside chronicles and archaeological clues, asking whether Fians, Fairies, and Picts might be names for the same people—or close kin. If the legends preserve memories of real lives, what might their underground homes and curious customs reveal about the earliest inhabitants of the north?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.