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The filí (sing. file) were members of the learned class in Gaelic society that specialized in poetry.

With Amergin credited as the legendary founder, the filí are a pre-Christian tradition that served the role as seer, philosopher, counsellor to Gaelic royalty, and poet. 

The filí maintained an oral tradition referred to as the “Learned Tales” where the poetic forms allowed for easy memorization due to their mnemonic value. For this reason, Gaelic society placed great importance on one’s ability to transmit these tales with minimal changes as it is stated in tradition that a file is not a file without tales.

Once Christianity became established in Gaelic society, filí were able to co-exist with their Christian neighbors. Education was conducted at the bardic schools within Christian monasteries, administered by the Ollamh (“professor”). The sons of prestigious filí clans were trained through various grades as established in the traditional Irish legal system known as Brehon law. 

The topics covered would include the Learned Tales, various poetic metres attributed to each grade, and the Gaelic language. The incentive was to climb through the grades, where the compensation for providing services increased with each successive grade.