Chapter II: Part 2

It is incredible that such a band as the fiann should have existed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. A number of sagas older in date than the Ossianic stories have been preserved, which deal with events happening in the reigns of Art son of Conn (166-196), Lugaid mac Con (196-227), and Cormac mac Airt (227-266), but none of these in their oldest shape contain any allusion whatsoever to Find and his warriors. In the history of the Boroma, contained in the book of Leinster, Find is merely a Leinster chieftain who assists Bressal the king of Leinster against Coirpre Lifeochair. It can be shown that Find was originally a figure in Leinster-Munster tradition previous to the Viking age, but we have no documentary evidence concerning him at this time. He seems primarily to have been regarded as a poet and magician. Later he appears to have been transformed into a petty chief, and Zimmer even tried to show that his personality was developed in Leinster and Munster local tradition out of stories clustering round the figure of the Viking leader Ketill Hviti (Caittil Find), who was slain in 857. By the year 1000 Find was certainly connected in the minds of the people with the reign of Cormac mac Airt, but the process is obscure. Recently John MacNeill has pointed out that in the oldest genealogies Find is always connected with the Ui Tairrsigh of Failge (Offaley, a district comprising the present county of Kildare and parts of King's and Queen's counties). The Ui Tairrsigh were undoubtedly of Firbolg origin, and MacNeill would account in this manner for the slow acceptance of the stories by the conquering Milesians. Whilst the Ulster epic was fashionable at court, the subject races clung to the Fenian cycle. For the last 800 years Find has been the national hero of the Gaelic-speaking populations of Ireland, the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Man. See also CELT (subsection _Irish Literature_).

AUTHORITIES.--A. Nutt, _Ossian and the Ossianic Literature_ (London,
1899); H. Zimmer, "Keltische Beitrage iii.," _Zeitschrift fur
deutsches Altertum_ (1891), vol. xxxv. pp. 1-172; L.C. Stern, "Die
Ossianischen Heldenlieder," _Zeitschrift fur vergleichende
Litteraturgeschichte_ (1895; trans, by J.L. Robertson in _Transactions
of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, 1897-1898, vol. xxii. pp.
257-325); J. MacNeill, _Duanaire Finn_ (London, 1908). (E. C. Q.)

FINNO-UGRIAN, or Finno-Ugric, the designation of a division of the Ural-Altaic family of languages and their speakers. The first part is the name given by their neighbours, though not used by themselves, to the inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic. It is probably the same word as the Fenni of Tacitus and [Greek: Phinnoi] of Ptolemy, though it is not certain that those races were Finns in the modern sense. It possibly means people of the fens or marshes, and corresponds to the native word _Suomi_, which appears to be derived from _suo_, a marsh. Finn and Finnish are used not only of the inhabitants of Finland but also in a more extended sense of similar tribes found in Russia and sometimes called Baltic Finns and Volga Finns. In this sense the Esthonian tribes (Baltic), the Laps, the Cheremis and Mordvins (Volga), and the Permian tribes are all Finns. The name is not, however, extended to the Ostiaks, Voguls and Magyars, who, though allied, form a separate subdivision called Ugrian, a name derived from Yura or Ugra, the country on either side of the Ural Mountains, and first used by Castren in a scientific sense.

The name Finno-Ugric is primarily linguistic and must not be pressed as indicating a community of physical features and customs. But making allowance for the change of language by some tribes, the Finno-Ugrians form, with the striking exception of the Hungarians, a moderately homogeneous whole. They are nomads, but, unlike the Turks, Mongols and Manchus, have hardly ever shown themselves warlike and have no power of political organization. Those of them who have not come under European influence live under the simplest form of patriarchal government, and states, kings or even great chiefs are almost unknown among them.

Their headquarters are in Russia. From the Baltic to south Siberia extends a vast plain broken only by the Urals. Large parts of it are still wooded, and the proportion of forest land and marsh was no doubt much greater formerly. The Finno-Ugric tribes seem to shun the open steppes but are widely spread in the wooded country, especially on the banks of lakes and rivers. Their want of political influence renders them obscure, but they form a considerable element in the population of the northern, middle and eastern provinces of Russia, but are not found much to the south of Moscow (except in the east) or in the west (except in the Baltic provinces). The difference of temperament between the Great Russians and the purer Slavs such as the Little Russians is partly due to an infusion of Finnish blood.

Physically the Finno-Ugric races are as a rule solidly built and, though there is considerable variation in height and the cephalic index, are mostly of small or medium stature, somewhat squat, and brachy- or mesocephalic. As a rule the skin is greyish or olive coloured, the eyes grey or blue, the hair light, the beard scanty. Most of them seem deficient in energy and liveliness, both mental and physical; they are slow, heavy, conservative, somewhat suspicious and vindictive, inclined to be taciturn and melancholy. On the other hand they are patient, persevering, industrious, faithful and honest. When their natural mistrust of strangers is overcome they are kindly and hospitable.

I. _Tribes and Nations._--The Ugrian subdivision, which seems to be in many respects the more primitive, consists of three peoples standing on very different levels of civilization, the Ostiaks and Voguls and the Hungarians.

Ostiaks.

Voguls.

The _Ostiaks_ (Ostyaks or Ostjaks) are a tribe of nomadic fishermen and hunters inhabiting at present the government of Tobolsk and the banks of the Obi. They formerly extended into the government of Perm on the European side of the Ural Mountains. The so-called Ostiaks of the Yenisei appear to be a different race and not to belong to the Finno-Ugrian group. The Ostiaks are still partially pagan and worship the River Obi. Allied to them are the _Voguls_, a similar nomadic tribe found on both sides of the Urals, and formerly extending at least as far as the government of Vologda. The languages of the Ostiaks and Voguls are allied, though not mere dialects of one another, and form a small group separated from the languages of the Finns both Western and Eastern. For further details of these and other tribes see under the separate headings.

Magyars or Hungarians.

According to the legend, Nimrod had two sons, Hunyor and Magyor. They married daughters of the prince of the Alans and became the ancestors of the two kindred nations, Huns and Magyars or Hungarians. This story corresponds with what can be ascertained scientifically about the origin of these peoples. It is probable that the Huns and Magyars were allied tribes of mixed descent comprising both Turkish and Finno-Ugrian elements. The language is indisputably Finno-Ugrian, but the name Hungarian seems to lead back to the form Un-ugur, and to suggest Turkish connexions which are confirmed by the warlike habits of the Huns and Magyars. The same name possibly occurs in the form Hiung-nu as far east as the frontiers of China, but recent authorities are of opinion that the tribes from whom the present Hungarians are descended were formed originally in the Terek-Kuban country to the north of the Caucasus, where a mixture of Turkish and Ugrian blood took place, a Ugrian language but Turkish mode of life predominating. They were also influenced by Iranians and the various tribes of the Caucasus. Both Huns and Magyars moved westwards, but the Huns invaded Europe in the 5th century and made no permanent settlement in spite of the devastation they caused, whereas the Magyars remained for some centuries near the banks of the Don. According to tradition they were compelled to leave a country called Lebedia under the pressure of nomadic tribes, and moved westward under the leadership of seven dukes. They conquered Hungary in the years 884-895, and the first king of their new dominions was called Arpad. For the chequered and often tragic history of the country see HUNGARY. The Magyars were converted to Christianity in the 11th century and adhered to the Roman not the Eastern Church. They have in all probability entirely lost their ancient physique, but have retained their language, and traces of their older life may be seen in their fondness for horses and flocks.

Permians and Syryenians.

The following are the principal Finnish peoples. The _Permians_ and _Syryenians_ may be treated as one tribe. The latter name is very variously spelt as Syrjenian, Sirianian, Zyrjenian, Zirian, &c. They both call themselves Komi and speak a mutually intelligible language, allied to Votiak. The name Bjarmisch is sometimes applied to this sub-group. Both Permians and Syryenians are found chiefly in the governments of Perm, Vologda and Archangel, but there are a few Syryenians on the Siberian side of the Urals. The Syryenian headquarters are at the town of Ishma on the Pechora, whereas the name Permian is more correctly restricted to the inhabitants of the right bank of the upper Kama. Both probably extended much farther to the west in former times. The Syryenians are said to be more intelligent and active than most Finnish tribes and to make considerable journeys for trading purposes. They are possibly a mixed race.

Votiaks.

The _Votiaks_ are a tribe of about a quarter of a million persons dwelling chiefly in the south-eastern part of the government of Viatka. Their language indicates that they have borrowed a good deal from the Tatars and Chuvashes, and they seem to have little individuality, being described as weak both mentally and physically. They call themselves Ud-murt or Urt-murt. About the 16th century some of them migrated, doubtless under the pressure of Russian advance, into the government of Ufa and, the country being more fertile, are said to have improved in physique.

Cheremissians.

The _Cheremissians_, or Tcheremissians or Cheremis, who call themselves Mari, inhabit the banks of the Volga, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Kazan. Those inhabiting the right bank of the Volga are physically stronger and are known as Hill Cheremiss. The evidence of place names makes it probable that their present position is the result of their being driven northwards by the Mordvins and then southwards by the Russians. There is some discrepancy between their language and their physical characteristics. The former shows affinities to both Mordvinian and the Permian group, but their crania are said to be mainly dolichocephalic, and it has been suggested that they are connected with the neolithic dolichocephalic population of Lake Ladoga. They are gentle and honest, but neither active nor intelligent.

Mordvinians.

The _Mordvinians_, also called Mordva, Mordvins and Mordvs, are scattered over the provinces near the middle Volga, especially Nizhniy Novgorod, Kazan, Penza, Tambov, Simbirsk, Ufa and even Orenburg. Though not continuous, their settlements are considerable both in extent and population. They are the most important of the Eastern Finns, and their traditions speak of a capital and of a king who fought with the Tatars. They are mentioned as Mordens as early as the 6th century, but do not now use the name, calling themselves after one of their two divisions, Moksha or Erza. Their country is still covered with forest to a large extent. Their language is on the one side allied to Cheremissian. On the other it shows a nearer approach to Finnish (Suomi) than the other Eastern languages of the family, but it has also constructions peculiar to itself.

Lapps.

The _Lapps_ are found in Norway, Sweden and Finland. They call themselves Sabme, but are called Finns by the Norwegians. They are the shortest and most brachycephalic race in Europe. The majority are nomads who live by pasturing reindeer, and are known as Mountain Lapps, but others have become more or less settled and live by hunting or fishing. From ancient times the Lapps have had a great reputation among the Finns and other neighbouring nations for skill in sorcery.

Esthonians.

The _Esthonians_ are the peasantry of the Russian province Esthonia and the neighbouring districts. They were serfs until 1817 when they were liberated, but their condition remained unsatisfactory and led to a serious rebellion in 1859. They are practically a branch of the Finns, and are hardly separable from the other Finnish tribes inhabiting the Baltic provinces. The name Est or Ehst, by which they are known to foreigners, appears to be the same as the Aestii of Tacitus, and to have properly belonged to quite a different tribe. They call themselves Ma mes, or country people, and their land Rahwama or Wiroma (cf. Finnish, Virolaiset, Esthonians.) Though not superior to other tribes in general intelligence, they have become more civilized owing to their more intimate connexion with the Russian and German population around them.

Livonians.

_Livs_, _Livlanders_ or _Livonians_ is the name given to the old Finnish-speaking population of west Livland or Livonia and north Kurland. We hear of them as a warlike and predatory pagan tribe in the middle ages, and it is possible that they were a mixed Letto-Finnish race from the beginning. In modern times they have become almost completely absorbed by Letts, and their language is only spoken in a few places on the coast of Kurland. It has indeed been disputed if it still exists. It is known as Livish or Livonian and is allied to Esthonian.

Votes.

The _Votes_ (not to be confounded with the Votiaks), also called southern Chudes and Vatjalaiset, apparently represent the original inhabitants of Ingria, the district round St Petersburg, but have decreased before the advance of the Russians and also of Karelians from the north. They are heard of in the 11th century, but now occupy only about thirty parishes in north-west Ingria.

Vepsas.

The _Vepsas_ or _Vepses_, also called Northern Chudes, are another tribe allied to the Esthonians, but are more numerous than the Votes. They are found in the district of Tikhvinsk and other parts of the government of Old Novgorod, and apparently extended farther east into the government of Vologda in former times. Linguistically both the Votes and Vepsas are closely related to the Esthonians.

Finns.

The _Finns_ proper or Suomi, as they call themselves, are the most important and civilized division of the group. They inhabit at present the grand duchy of Finland and the adjacent governments, especially Olonetz, Tver and St Petersburg. Formerly a tribe of them called Kainulaiset was also found in Sweden, whence the Swedes call the Finns Qven. At present there are two principal subdivisions of Finns, the Tavastlanders or Hamalaiset, who occupy the southern and western parts of the grand duchy, and the Karelians or Karjalaiset found in the east and north, as far as Lake Onega and towards the White Sea.

The former, and generally speaking, all the inhabitants of the grand duchy have undergone a strong Swedish influence. There is a considerable admixture of Swedish blood; the language is full of Swedish words; Christianity is universal; and the upper classes and townspeople are mainly Swedish in their habits and speech, though of late a persistent attempt has been made to Russify the country. The Finns have much the same mental and moral characteristics as the other allied tribes, but have reached a far higher intellectual and literary stage. Several collections of their popular and mythological poetry have been made, the most celebrated of which is the _Kalewala_, compiled by Lonnrot about 1835, and there is a copious modern literature. The study of the national languages and antiquities is prosecuted in Helsingfors and other towns with much energy: several learned societies have been formed and considerable results published, partly in Finnish. It is clear that this scientific activity, though animated by a patriotic Finnish spirit, owes much to Swedish training in the past. Besides the literary language there are several dialects, the most important of which is that of Savolaks.

Karelians.

The _Karelians_ are not usually regarded as separate from the Finns, though they are a distinct tribe as much as the Vepsas and Votes. Living farther east they have come less under Swedish and more under Russian influence than the inhabitants of West Finland; but, since many of the districts which they inhabit are out of the way and neglected, this influence has not been strong, so that they have adopted less of European civilization, and in places preserved their own customs more than the Westerners. They are of a slighter and better proportioned build than the Finns, more enterprising, lively and friendly, but less persevering and tenacious. They number about 260,000, of whom about 63,000 live in Olonetz and 195,000 in Tver and Novgorod, but in the southern districts are less distinguished from the Russian population. They belong to the Russian Church, whereas the Finns of the grand duchy are Protestants. There also appear to be authentic traces of a Karelian population in Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Vologda and Tambov. It was among them that the _Kalewala_ was collected, chiefly in East Finland and Olonetz.

Samoyedes.

There is some difference of opinion as to whether the _Samoyedes_ should be included among the Finno-Ugrian tribes or be given the rank of a separate division equivalent to Finno-Ugrian and Turkish. The linguistic question is discussed below. The Samoyedes are a nomad tribe who wander with their reindeer over the treeless plains which border on the White and Kara seas on either side of the Urals. In culture and habits they resemble the Finno-Ugrian tribes, and there seems to be no adequate reason for separating them.

Other inclusions.

Various other peoples have been referred to the Finno-Ugrian group, but some doubt must remain as to the propriety of the classification, either because they are now extinct, or because they are suspected of having changed their language.

The original Bulgarians, who had their home on the Volga before they invaded the country which now bears their name, were probably a tribe similar to the Magyars, though all record of their language is lost. It has been disputed whether the Khazars, who in the middle ages occupied parts of south Russia and the shores of the Caspian, were Finno-Ugrians or Turks, and there is the same doubt about the Avars and Pechenegs, which without linguistic evidence remains insoluble. Nor is the difference ethnographically important. The formation of hordes of warlike bodies, half tribes, half armies, composed of different races, was a characteristic of Central Asia, and it was probably often a matter of chance what language was adopted as the common speech.

At the present day the Bashkirs, Meshchers and Tepters, who speak Tatar languages, are thought to be Finnish in origin, as are also the Chuvashes, whose language is Tatar strongly modified by Finnish influence. The little known Soyots of the head-waters of the Yenisei are also said to be Finno-Ugrians.

The name Chude appears to be properly applied to the Vepsas and Votes but is extended by popular usage in Russia to all Finno-Ugrian tribes, and to all extinct tribes of whatever race who have left tombs, monuments or relics of mining operations in European Russia or Siberia. Some Russian archaeologists use it specifically of the Permian group. But its extension is so vague that it is better to discard it as a scientific term.

II. _Languages._--The Finno-Ugric languages are generally considered as a division of the Ural-Altaic group, which consists of four families: Turkish, Mongol, Manchu and Finno-Ugric, including Samoyede unless it is reckoned separately as a fifth. The chief character of the group is that agglutination, or the addition of suffixes, is the only method of word-formation, prefixes and significant change of vowels being unknown, as is also gender. This suggests an affinity with many other languages, such as the ancient Accadian or Sumerian, and Japanese. A connexion between the Finno-Ugric and Dravidian languages has also been suggested. On the other hand, the more highly developed agglutinative languages, such as Finnish, approach the inflected Aryan type, so that the Aryan languages may have been developed from an ancestor not unlike the Ural-Altaic group.

The Finno-Ugrian languages are distinguished from the other divisions of the Ural-Altaic group both in grammar and vocabulary. Compared with Mongol and Manchu they have a much greater wealth of forms, both in declension and conjugation; the suffixes form one word with the root and are not wholly or partially detachable postpositions; the pronominal element is freely represented in the suffixes added to both verbs and nouns. These features are also found in the Turkish languages, but Finno-Ugrian has a much greater variety of cases denoting position or motion, and the union of the case termination with the noun is more complete; in some languages the object can be incorporated in the verb, which does not occur in Turkish, but the negative is rarely (Cheremissian) thus incorporated after the Turkish fashion (e.g. _yazmak_, "to write"; _yazmamak_, "not to write"), and in some languages takes pronominal suffixes (Finnish _en tule_, _et tule_, _eivat tule_, "I, you, they do not come"). Vowel-harmony is completely observed in Finnish and Magyar, but in the other languages is imperfectly developed, or has been lost under Russian influence. Relative pronouns and particles exist and are fully developed in some languages. The tendency to form compounds, which is not characteristic of Turkish, is very marked in Finnish and Hungarian, and is said also to be found in Samoyede, Cheremissian and Syryenian. The original order in the sentence seems to be that the governing word follows the word governed, but there are many exceptions to this, particularly in Hungarian where the arrangement is very free.

In vocabulary the pronouns agree fairly well with those of Turkish, Mongol and Manchu, but there is little resemblance between the numbers. Many of the languages contain numerous Tatar and Turkish loan-words, but with this exception the resemblance of vocabulary is not striking and indicates an ancient separation. But the similarity in the process of word-building and of the elements used, even if they have not the same sense, as well as analogies in the general construction of sentences and in some details (e.g. the use of the infinitive or verbal substantive), seem to justify the hypothesis of an original relationship with the Turkish languages, which in their turn have connexions with the other groups.

Samoyede is classed by some as a separate group and by some among the Finno-Ugrian languages, but it at any rate displays a far closer resemblance to them in both grammar and vocabulary than do any of the Turkish languages. The numerals are different, but the personal and interrogative pronouns and many common words (e.g. _joha_, "river," Finn. _joki_; _sava_, "good," Finn, _hywa_; _kole_, "fish," Finn, _kala_) show a considerable resemblance. The inflection of nouns is very like that found in Finno-Ugrian but that of the verb differs, verb and noun being imperfectly differentiated. In detail, however, the verbal suffixes show analogies to those of Finno-Ugrian. Vowel-harmony and weakening of consonants occur as in Finnish.

Excluding Samoyede, the Finno-Ugrian languages may be divided into two sections: (1) Ugrian, comprising Ostiak, Vogul and Magyar; and (2) Finnish. The Permian languages (Syryenian, Permian and Votiak) form a distinct group within this latter section, and the remainder may be divided into the Volga group (Cheremissian and Mordvinian) and the West Finnish (Lappish, Esthonian and Finnish proper).

The Ugrian languages appear to have separated from the Finnish branch before the systems of declension or conjugation were developed. Their case suffixes seem to be later formations, though we find, _t_, _tl_ or _k_ for the plural and traces of _l_ as a local suffix. Ostiak and Vogul, like Samoyede, have a dual. Moods and tenses are less numerous but the number of verbal forms is increased by those in which the pronominal object is incorporated. Hungarian has naturally advanced enormously beyond the stage reached by Ostiak and Vogul, and shows marks of strong European influence, but also retains primitive features. Vowel-harmony is observed (_varok_, "I await," but _verek_, "I strike"). The verb has two sets of terminations, according as it is transitive or intransitive, and the pronominal object is sometimes incorporated. Alone among Finno-Ugrian languages it has developed an article, and the adjective is inflected when used as a predicate though not as an attribute (_Jo emberek_, "good men," but _Az emberek jok_, "the men are good"). There is great freedom in the order of words and, as in Finnish, a tendency to form long compounds.

The Finnish languages are not divided from the Ugrian by any striking differences, but show greater resemblances to one another in details. None of them have a dual and only Mordvinian an objective conjugation. The case system is elaborate and generally comprises twelve or fifteen forms. The negative conjugation is peculiar; there are negative adjectives ending in _tem_ or _tom_ and abessive cases (e.g. Finnish _syytta_, without a cause, _tiedotta_, without knowledge).

Permian, Syryenian and Votiak exhibit this common development less fully than the more western languages. They are less completely inflected than the Finnish languages and more thoroughly agglutinative in the strict sense. In vocabulary, e.g. the numerals, they show resemblances to the Ugrian division. Syryenian has older literary remains than any Finno-Ugrian language except Hungarian. In the latter part of the 14th century Russian missionaries composed in it various manuals and translations, using a special alphabet for the purpose.

Unlike the Finnish and Esthonian branch, the languages of the Volga Finns (Mordvinian and Cheremissian) have been influenced by Russian and Tatar rather than by Scandinavian, and hence show apparent differences. But Mordvinian has points of detailed resemblance to Finnish which seem to point to a comparatively late separation, e.g. the use of _kemen_ for ten, _-nza_ as the possessive suffix of the third personal pronoun, the regular formation of the imperfect with _i_, the infinitive with _ma_, and the participle with _f_ (Finnish _va_). On the other hand it has many peculiarities. It retains an objective conjugation like the Ugrian languages, and has developed two forms of declension, the definite and indefinite.

Cheremissian has affinities to both the Permian languages and Mordvinian. It resembles Syryenian in its case terminations and also in marking the plural by interposing a distinct syllable (Syry. _yas_, Cher. _vlya_) between the singular and the case suffixes. Most of the numerals are like Syryenian but _kandekhsye_, _indekhsye_, for eight and nine, recall Finnish forms (_kahdeksan_, _yhdeksan_), as do also the pronouns.

The connexion between the various West Finnish languages is more obvious than between those already discussed. Lappish (or Lapponic) forms a link between them and Mordvinian. Its pronouns are remarkably like the Mordvinian equivalents, but the general system of declension and conjugation, both positive and negative, is much as in Finnish. Superficially, however, the resemblance is somewhat obscured by the difference in phonetics, for Lappish has an extraordinary fondness for diphthongs and also an unusually ample provision of consonants.

The affinity of Esthonian (together with Votish, Vepsish and Livish) to Finnish is obvious not only to the philologist but to the casual learner. In a few cases it shows older forms than Finnish, but on the whole is less primitive and has assumed under foreign influence the features of a European language even more thoroughly. The vowel-harmony is found only in the Dorpat dialect and there imperfectly, the pronominal affixes are not used, and the negative has become an unvarying particle, though in Vepsish and Votish it takes suffixes as in Finnish. On the other hand, the laws for the change of consonants, the general system of phonetics, the declension, the pronouns and the positive conjugation of the verb all closely resemble Finnish. Esthonian has two chief dialects, those of Reval and Dorpat, and a certain amount of literary culture, the best-known work being the national epic or _Kalewi-poeg_.

Finnish proper is divided into two chief dialects, the Karelian or Eastern, and the Tavastland or Western. The spoken language of the Karelians is corrupt and mixed with Russian, but the _Kalewala_ and their other old songs are written in a pure Finnish dialect, which has come to be accepted as the ordinary language of poetry throughout modern Finland, just as the Homeric dialect was used by the Greeks for epic poetry. It is more archaic than the Tavastland dialect and preserves many old forms which have been lost elsewhere, but its utterance is softer and it sometimes rejects consonants which are retained in ordinary speech, e.g. _saa'a, kosen_ for _saada, kosken_.

The affinity of Finnish to the more eastern languages of the group is clear, but it has been profoundly influenced by Scandinavian and in its present form consists of non-Aryan material recast in an Aryan and European mould. Not only are some of the simplest words borrowed from Scandinavian, but the grammar has been radically modified. Un-Aryan peculiarities have been rejected, though perhaps less than in Esthonian. The various forms of nouns and verbs are not merely roots with a string of obvious suffixes attached, but the termination forms a whole with the root as in Greek and Latin inflections; the adjective is declined and compared and agrees with its substantive; compound tenses are formed with the aid of the auxiliary verb, and there is a full supply of relative pronouns and particles.

Finnish and Hungarian together with Turkish are interesting examples of non-Aryan languages trying to participate, by both translation and imitation, in the literary life of Europe, but it may be doubted if the experiment is successful. The sense of effort is felt less in Hungarian than in the other languages; though they are admirable instruments for terse conversation or popular poetry, there appears to be some deep-seated difference in the force of the verb and the structure of phrases which renders them clumsy and complicated when they attempt to express sentences of the type common in European literature.

III. _Civilization and Religion._--The Finno-Ugric tribes have not been equally progressive; some, such as the Finns and Magyars, have adopted, at least in towns, the ordinary civilization of Europe; others are agriculturists; others still nomadic. The wilder tribes, such as the Ostiaks, Voguls and Lapps, mostly consist of one section which is nomadic and another which is settling down. The following notes apply to traces of ancient conditions which survive sporadically but are nowhere universal. Few except the Hungarians have shown themselves warlike, though we read of conflicts with the Russians in the middle ages as they advanced among this older population. But most Finno-Ugrians are astute and persevering hunters, and the Ostiaks still shoot game with a bow. The tribes are divided into numerous small clans which are exogamous. Marriage by capture is said to survive among the Cheremiss, who are still polygamous in some districts, but purchase of the bride is the more general form. Women are treated as servants and often excluded from pagan religious ceremonies. The most primitive form of house consists of poles inclined towards one another and covered with skins or sods, so as to form a circular screen round a fire; winter houses are partly underground. Long snow-shoes are used in winter and boats are largely employed in summer. The Finns in particular are very good seamen. The Ostiaks and Samoyedes still cast tin ornaments in wooden moulds. The variation of the higher numerals in the different languages, which are sometimes obvious loan words, shows that the original system did not extend beyond seven, and the aptitude for calculating and trading is not great. Several thousands of the Ostiaks, Voguls and Cheremiss are still unbaptized, and much paganism lingers among the nominal Christians, and in poetry such as the _Kalewala_. The deities are chiefly nature spirits and the importance of the several gods varies as the tribes are hunters, fishermen, &c. Sun or sky worship is found among the Samoyedes and _Jumala_, the Finnish word for god, seems originally to mean sky. The Ostiaks worship a water-spirit of the river Obi and also a thunder-god. We hear of a forest-god among the Finns, Lapps and Cheremiss. There are also clan gods worshipped by each clan with special ceremonies. Traces of ancestor-worship are also found. The Samoyedes and Ostiaks are said to sacrifice to ghosts, and the Ostiaks to make images of the more important dead, which are tended and honoured, as if alive, for some years. Images are found in the tombs and barrows of most tribes, and the Samoyedes, Ostiaks and Voguls still use idols, generally of wood. Animal sacrifices are offered, and the lips of the idol sometimes smeared with blood. Quaint combinations of Christianity and paganism occur; thus the Cheremiss are said to sacrifice to the Virgin Mary. The idea that disease is due to possession by an evil spirit, and can be both caused and cured by spells, seems to prevail among all tribes, and in general extraordinary power is supposed to reside in incantations and magical formulae. This belief is conspicuous in the _Kalewala_, and almost every tribe has its own collection of prayers, healing charms and spells to be used on the most varied occasions. A knowledge of these formulae is possessed by wizards (Finnish noita) corresponding to the Shamans of the Altaic peoples. They are exorcists and also mediums who can ascertain the will of the gods; a magic drum plays a great part in their invocations, and their office is generally hereditary. The non-Buddhist elements of Chinese and Japanese religion present the same features as are found among the Finno-Ugrians--nature-worship, ancestor-worship and exorcism--but in a much more elaborate and developed form.

IV. _History._--Most of the Finno-Ugrian tribes have no history or written records, and little in the way of traditions of their past. In their later period the Hungarians and Finns enter to some extent the course of ordinary European history. For the earlier period we have no positive information, but the labours of investigators, especially in Finland, have collected a great number of archaeological and philological data from which an account of the ancient wanderings of these tribes may be constructed. Barrows containing skulls and ornaments may mark the advance of a special form of culture, and language may be of assistance; if we find, for instance, a language with loan words of an archaic type, we may conclude that it was in contact with the other language from which it borrowed at the time when such forms were current. But clearly all such deductions contain a large element of theory, and the following sketch is given with all reserve.

The Finno-Ugrian tribes originally lived together east of the Urals and spoke a common language. It is not certain if they were all of the same physical type, for the association of different races speaking one language is common in central Asia. They were hunters and fishermen, not agriculturists. At an unknown period the Finns, still undivided, moved into Europe and perhaps settled on the Volga and Oka. They had perhaps arrived there before 1500 B.C., learned some rudiments of agriculture, and developed their system of numbers up to ten. They were still in the neolithic stage. About 600 B.C. they came in contact with an Iranian people, from whom they learned the use of metals, and borrowed numerals for a hundred (Finnish _sata_, Ostiak _sat_, Magyar _szaz_; cf. Zend _sata_) and a thousand (Magyar _ezer_; cf. _hazanra_ and _hazar_). Magyar and some other languages also borrowed a word for ten (_tiz_, cf. _das_). This Iranian race may perhaps have been the Scythians, who are believed by many authorities to have been Iranians and to be represented by the Osetians of the Caucasus. There was probably a trade route up the Volga in the 4th century B.C. About that time the Western Finns must have broken away from the Mordvinians and wandered north-westwards. At a period not much later than the Christian era, they must have come in contact with Letto-Lithuanian peoples in the Baltic provinces, and also with Scandinavians. Whether they came in contact with the latter first in the Baltic provinces or in Finland itself is disputed, as there may have been Scandinavians in the Baltic provinces. But the distribution of tombs and barrows seems to indicate that they entered Finland not from the east through Karelia but from the Baltic provinces by sea to Satakunta and the south-east coast, whence they extended eastwards. From both Lithuanians and Scandinavians they borrowed an enormous quantity of culture-words and probably the ideas and materials they indicate. Thus the Finnish words for gold, king and everything concerned with government are of Scandinavian origin. Their migration to Finland was probably complete about A.D. 800. Meanwhile the Slav tribes known later as Russians were coming up from the south and pressed the Finns northwards, overwhelming but not annihilating them in the country between St Petersburg and Moscow. The same movement tended to drive the Eastern Finns and Ugrians backwards towards the east. The Finns know the Russians by the name of _Venaja_, or Wends, and as this name is not used by Slavs themselves but by Scandinavians and Teutons, it seems clear that they arrived among the Finns as greater strangers than the Scandinavians and known by a foreign name. Christianity was perhaps first preached to the Finns as early as A.D. 1000, but there was a long political and religious struggle with the Swedes. At the end of the 13th century Finland was definitely converted and annexed to Sweden, remaining a dependency of that country until 1809, when it was ceded to Russia.

The Ugrians and Eastern Finns took no part in the westward movement and did not fall under western influences but came into contact with Tatar tribes and were more or less Tatarized. In some cases this took the form of the adoption of a Tatar language, in others (Mordvin, Cheremis and Votiak) a large number of Tatar words were borrowed. We also know that there were considerable settlements of these tribes, perhaps amounting to states, on the Volga and in south-eastern Russia. Such was Great Bulgaria, which continued until destroyed by the Mongols in 1238. The pressure of tribes farther east acting on these settlements dislodged sections of them from time to time and created the series of invasions which devastated the East Roman empire from the 5th century onwards. But we do not know what were the languages spoken by the Huns, Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Avars, so that we cannot say whether they were Turks, Finns or Ugrians, nor does it follow that a horde speaking a Ugrian language were necessarily Ugrians by race. An inspection of the performances of the various tribes, as far as we can distinguish them, suggests that the Turks or Tatars were the warlike element. The names Hun and Hungarian may possibly be the same as Hiung-nu, but we cannot assume that this tribe passed across Asia unchanged in language and physique. The Hungarians entered on their present phase at the end of the 9th century of this era, when they crossed the Carpathians and conquered the old Pannonia and Dacia. For half a century or so before this invasion they are said to have inhabited Atelkuzu, probably a district between the Dnieper and the Danube. The isolated groups of Hungarians now found in Transylvania and called Szeklers are considered the purest descendants of the invading Magyars. Those who settled in the plains of Hungary probably mingled there with remnants of Huns, Avars and earlier invaders, and also with subsequent invaders, such as Pechenegs and Kumans.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Among the older writers may be mentioned Strahlenberg
(_Das nord- und ostliche Theil von Europa und Asia_, 1730), Johann
Gottlieb Georgi (_Description de toutes les nations de l'empire de la
Russie_, French tr., St Petersburg, 1777); but especially the various
works of Matthias A. Castren (1852-1853) and W. Schott (1858). Modern
scientific knowledge of the Finno-Ugrians and their languages was
founded by these two authors. Among newer works some of the most
important separate publications are: J.R. Aspelin, _Antiquites du nord
finno-ougrien_ (1877-1884); J. Abercromby, _Pre- and Proto-historic
Finns_ (1898); and A. Hackmann, _Die altere Eisenzeit in Finnland_
(1905).

The recent literature on the origin, customs, antiquities and
languages of these races is voluminous, but is contained chiefly not
in separate books but in special learned periodicals. Of these there
are several: _Journal de la Societe Finno-ougrienne_ (Helsingfors)
(_Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja_); _Finnisch-Ugrische
Forschungen_ (Helsingfors and Leipzig); _Mitteilungen der
archaologischen, historischen und ethnographischen Gesellschaft der
Kais. Universitat zu Kasan; Keleti Szemle or Revue orientale pour les
etudes ouralo-altaiques_ (Budapest). In all of these will be found
numerous valuable articles by such authors as Ahlqvist, Halevy,
Heikel, Krohn, Muncacsi, Paasonen, Setala, Smurnow, Thomsen and
Vambery.

The titles of grammars and dictionaries will be found under the
headings of the different languages. For general linguistic questions
may be consulted the works of Castren, Schott and Otto Donner, also
such parts of the following as treat of Finno-Ugric languages: Byrne,
_Principles of the Structure of Language_, vol. i. (1892); Friedrich
Muller, _Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft II._, Band ii., Abth. 1882;
Steinthal and Misleli, _Abriss der Sprachwissenschaft_ (1893).
(C. El.)

FINSBURY, a central metropolitan borough of London, England, bounded N. by Islington, E. by Shoreditch, S. by the city of London and W. by Holborn and St Pancras. Pop. (1901) 101,463. The principal thoroughfares are Pentonville Road, from King's Cross east to the Angel, Islington, continuing E. and S. in City Road and S. again to the City in Moorgate Street; Clerkenwell Road and Old Street, crossing the centre from W. to E., King's Cross Road running S.E. into Farringdon Road, and so to the City; St John Street and Road and Goswell Road (the residence of Dickens' Pickwick) running S. from the Angel towards the City; and Rosebery Avenue running S.W. from St John Street into Holborn. The commercial character of the City extends into the southern part of the borough; the residential houses are mostly those of artisans. Local industries include working in precious metals, watch-making, printing and paper-making.

An early form of the name is Vynesbury, but the derivation is not known. The place was supposed by some to take name from an extensive fen, a part of which, commonly known as Moorfields (cf. Moorgate Street), was drained in the 16th century and subsequently laid out as public grounds. It was a frequent resort of Pepys, who mentions its houses of entertainment and the wrestling and other pastimes carried on, also that it furnished a refuge for many of those whose houses were destroyed in the fire of London in 1666. Bookstalls and other booths were numerous at a somewhat later date. The borough includes the parish of Clerkenwell (q.v.), a locality of considerable historic interest, including the former priory of St John, Clerkenwell, of which the gateway and other traces remain. Among several other sites and buildings of historical interest the Charterhouse (q.v.) west of Aldersgate Street, stands first, originally a Carthusian monastery, subsequently a hospital and a school out of which grew the famous public school at Godalming. Bunhill Fields, City Road, was used by the Dissenters as a burial-place from the middle of the 17th century until 1832. Among eminent persons interred here are John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, Susanna, mother of John and Charles Wesley, and George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends. A neighbouring chapel is intimately associated with the Wesleys, and the house of John Wesley is opened as a museum bearing his name. Many victims of the plague were buried in a pit neighbouring to these fields, near the junction of Goswell Road and Old Street. To the south of the fields lies the Artillery Ground, the training ground of the Honourable Artillery Company, so occupied since 1641, with barracks and armoury. Sadler's Wells theatre, Rosebery Avenue, dating as a place of entertainment from 1683, preserves the name of a fashionable medicinal spring, music room and theatre, the last most notable in its connexion with the names of Joseph Grimaldi the clown and Samuel Phelps. Other institutions are the technical college, Leonard Street, and St Mark's, St Luke's and the Royal chest hospitals. At Mount Pleasant is the parcels department of the general post office, and at Clerkenwell Green the sessions house for the county of London (north side of the Thames). Adjacent to Rosebery Avenue are reservoirs of the New River Head. The municipal borough coincides with the east and central divisions of the parliamentary borough of Finsbury, each returning one member. The borough council consists of a mayor, 9 aldermen and 54 councillors. Area, 589.1 acres.

FINSTERWALDE, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Little Elster, 28 m. W.S.W. of Cottbus by rail. Pop. (1905) 10,726. The town has a Gothic church (1581), a chateau, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries, flour and saw mills and factories for machine building. The town, which is first mentioned in 1288, came into the possession of electoral Saxony in 1635 and of Prussia in 1815.

FIORENZO DI LORENZO (c. 1440-1522), Italian painter, of the Umbrian school, lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works are still preserved in the Pinacoteca. There is probably no other Italian master of importance of whose life and work so little is known. In fact the whole edifice that modern scientific criticism has built around his name is based on a single signed and dated picture (1487) in the Pinacoteca of Perugia--a niche with lunette, two wings and predella--and on the documentary evidence that he was decemvir of that city in 1472, in which year he entered into a contract to paint an altarpiece for Santa Maria Nuova--the pentatych of the "Madonna and Saints" now in the Pinacoteca. Of his birth and death and pupilage nothing is known, and Vasari does not even mention Fiorenzo's name, though he probably refers to him when he says that Cristofano, Perugino's father, sent his son to be the shop drudge of a painter in Perugia, "who was not particularly distinguished in his calling, but held the art in great veneration and highly honoured the men who excelled therein." Certain it is that the early works both of Perugino and of Pinturicchio show certain mannerisms which point towards Fiorenzo's influence, if not to his direct teaching. The list of some fifty pictures which modern critics have ascribed to Fiorenzo includes works of such widely varied character that one can hardly be surprised to find great divergence of opinion as regards the masters under whom Fiorenzo is supposed to have studied. Pisanello, Verrocchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Benedetto Bonfigli, Mantegna, Squarcione, Filippo Lippi, Signorelli and Ghirlandajo have all been credited with this distinguished pupil, who was the most typical Umbrian painter that stands between the primitives and Perugino; but the probability is that he studied under Bonfigli and was indirectly influenced by Gozzoli. Fiorenzo's authentic works are remarkable for their sense of space and for the expression of that peculiar clear, soft atmosphere which is so marked a feature in the work of Perugino. But Fiorenzo has an intensity of feeling and a power of expressing character which are far removed from the somewhat affected grace of Perugino. Of the forty-five pictures bearing Fiorenzo's name in the Pinacoteca of Perugia, the eight charming St Bernardino panels are so different from his well-authenticated works, so Florentine in conception and movement, that the Perugian's authorship is very questionable. On the other hand the beautiful "Nativity," the "Adoration of the Magi," and the "Adoration of the Shepherds" in the same gallery, may be accepted as the work of his hand, as also the fresco of SS. Romano and Rocco at the church of S. Francesco at Deruta. The London National Gallery, the Berlin and the Frankfort museums contain each a "Madonna and Child" ascribed to the master, but the attribution is in each case open to doubt.

See Jean Carlyle Graham, _The Problem of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo_
(Perugia, 1903); Edward Hutton, _The Cities of Umbria_ (London).
(P. G. K.)

FIORENZUOLA D'ARDA, a town of Emilia, Italy, in the province of Piacenza, from which it is 14 m. S.E. by rail, 270 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 7792. It is traversed by the Via Aemilia, and has a picturesque piazza with an old tower in the centre. The Palazzo Grossi also is a fine building. Alseno lies 4 m. to the S.E., and near it is the Cistercian abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba, with a fine Gothic church and a large and beautiful cloister (in brick and Verona marble), of the 12th-14th century.

FIORILLO, JOHANN DOMINICUS (1748-1821), German painter and historian of art, was born at Hamburg on the 13th of October 1748. He received his first instructions in art at an academy of painting at Bayreuth; and in 1761, to continue his studies, he went first to Rome, and next to Bologna, where he distinguished himself sufficiently to attain in 1769 admission to the academy. Returning soon after to Germany, he obtained the appointment of historical painter to the court of Brunswick. In 1781 he removed to Gottingen, occupied himself as a drawing-master, and was named in 1784 keeper of the collection of prints at the university library. He was appointed professor extraordinary in the philosophical faculty in 1799, and ordinary professor in 1813. During this period he had made himself known as a writer by the publication of his _Geschichte der zeichnenden Kunste_, in 5 vols. (1798-1808). This was followed in 1815 to 1820 by the _Geschichte der zeichnenden Kunste in Deutschland und den vereinigten Niederlanden_, in 4 vols. These works, though not attaining to any high mark of literary excellence, are esteemed for the information collected in them, especially on the subject of art in the later middle ages. Fiorillo practised his art almost till his death, but has left no memorable masterpiece. The most noticeable of his painting is perhaps the "Surrender of Briseis." He died at Gottingen on the 10th of September 1821.

FIR, the Scandinavian name originally given to the Scotch pine (_Pinus sylvestris_), but at present not infrequently employed as a general term for the whole of the true conifers (_Abielineae_); in a more exact sense, it has been transferred to the "spruce" and "silver firs," the genera _Picea_ and _Abies_ of most modern botanists.

The firs are distinguished from the pines and larches by having their needle-like leaves placed singly on the shoots, instead of growing in clusters from a sheath on a dwarf branch. Their cones are composed of thin, rounded, closely imbricated scales, each with a more or less conspicuous bract springing from the base. The trees have usually a straight trunk, and a tendency to a conical or pyramidal growth, throwing out each year a more or less regular whorl of branches from the foot of the leading shoot, while the buds of the lateral boughs extend horizontally.

In the spruce firs (_Picea_), the cones are pendent when mature and their scales persistent; the leaves are arranged all round the shoots, though the lower ones are sometimes directed laterally. In the genus _Abies_, the silver firs, the cones are erect, and their scales drop off when the seed ripens; the leaves spread in distinct rows on each side of the shoot.

The most important of the firs, in an economic sense, is the Norway spruce (_Picea excelsa_), so well known in British plantations, though rarely attaining there the gigantic height and grandeur of form it often displays in its native woods. Under favourable conditions of growth it is a lofty tree, with a nearly straight, tapering trunk, throwing out in somewhat irregular whorls its widespreading branches, densely clothed with dark, clear green foliage. The boughs and their side-branches, as they increase in length, have a tendency to droop, the lower tier, even in large trees, often sweeping the ground--a habit that, with the jagged sprays, and broad, shadowy, wave-like foliage-masses, gives a peculiarly graceful and picturesque aspect to the Norway spruce. The slender, sharp, slightly curved leaves are scattered thickly around the shoots; the upper one pressed towards the stem, and the lower directed sideways, so as to give a somewhat flattened appearance to the individual sprays. The elongated cylindrical cones grow chiefly at the ends of the upper branches; they are purplish at first, but become afterwards green, and eventually light brown; their scales are slightly toothed at the extremity; they ripen in the autumn, but seldom discharge their seeds until the following spring.