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A fairy ('''fey''' or '''fae''' or '''faerie'''; collectively '''wee folk,''' '''good folk''', '''people of peace''', and other euphemisms) Briggs, Katharine Mary (1976) ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. New York, Pantheon Books . "Euphemistic names for fairies" p. 127 ISBN 0-394-73467-X is a Metaphysical Spirit or Supernatural being. The fairy is based on the ''fae'' of creature.Briggs (1976) p. xi Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and as having magical powers. Their origins are less clear in the folklore, being variously the dead, or some form of (1988) "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry", in ''A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore''. Gramercy. p.1 ISBN 0-517-489904-X These explanations are not always mutually incompatible, and they may be traceable to multiple sources. Much of the folklore about fairies revolves about protection from their malice, by such means as cold iron or charms of Rowan and Herb s, or avoiding offense by shunning locations known to be theirs.Briggs (1976) p. 335-6 In particular, folklore describes how to prevent the fairies from stealing babies and substituting Changeling s, and abducting older people as well.Briggs (1976) p.25 Many folktales are told of fairies, and they appear as characters in stories from medieval tales of chivalry, to Victorian fairy tales, and up to the present day in modern literature. NATURE Fairies are generally portrayed as human in appearance and as having supernatural abilities such as the ability to s being some of the commonly mentioned. Diminutive fairies of one kind or another have been recorded for centuries, but occur alongside the human-sized beings; these have been depicted as ranging in size from very tiny up to the size of a human child.Briggs (1976) p. 98 Even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant.Yeats (1988) p.2 Wings, while common in Victorian artwork of fairies, are very rare in the folklore; even very small fairies flew with magic, sometimes flying on Ragwort stems or the backs of birds.Briggs (1976) p.148 Various animals have also been described as fairies. Sometimes this is the result of Shapeshifting on part of the fairy, as in the case of the Selkie (seal people); others, like the Kelpie and various Black Dog s, appear to stay more constant in form.Briggs, K.M. (1967) ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature''. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. p.71 ETYMOLOGY The word ''fay'' came to English around 1400 (as ''fai'', ''fay'') from Old French ''faie'' or ''fee'' (Modern French ''fée''), earlier from the Vulgar Latin feminine '' Fata '', referring to one of the Fates , personifications of destiny (the Greek Moirae ); cf. the Italian '' Fata Morgana '' used as a translation of ''Morgan le Fay''. The concept of a ''fate'', an overseeing divine force who determines the length and eventualities of one's life, had changed over the years to refer to a spirit guiding or directing a given person (cf. Guardian Angel ), and thence broadened to refer to local Protective Spirits , or nature spirits in general. English ''fairy'' (Middle English ''faierie'') was borrowed ca. 1300 from Old French ''faerie'' "land of the ''faie'', enchantment", an noun denoting the general class, activity or habitation of the ''faie'' (''faierie'' being related to ''fai'' as e.g. ''yeomanry'' to ''yeoman'', ''foolery'' to ''fool'', or ''nunnery'' to ''nun''). From adjectival use ("fairy gold", "fairy queen" etc.) from the 15th century applied to the class of supernatural beings inhabiting ''faerie'', re-interpreted as derived from ''fair'', singular ''fairy'' with a new plural ''fairies''. The term '' Fairy Tale '' is a translation of the ''Conte de feés'' of Madame D'Aulnoy (1698). The spelling ''faerie'' first appears 1590 in Spenser's '' Faerie Queene ''. From Spenser's use, the spelling with ''-ae-'' came to be used in a dignified or poetic sense as opposed to "vulgar" tales. J. R. R. Tolkien makes use of the distinction, in '' On Fairy-Stories '' defining ''Faërie'' as "the realm or state in which fairies have their being", depicted (under the name of ''Faery'') as a mystical or visionary state in his '' Smith Of Wootton Major ''. ''Fairy Land'' is used by Shakespeare as an apposition, in the 19th century contracted to ''fairyland''. ORIGIN OF FAIRIES Folk beliefs People who believed in the existence of fairies often did not always ascribe to them a definite origin, and explanations varied culturally, regionally and temporally. One popular belief was that they were the dead, or some subclass of the dead.Lewis (1994) p. 136 The Banshee , with an Irish or Gaelic name that means simply, "fairy woman", is sometimes described as a ghost or as a harbinger of death.Briggs (1976) p.15 The Cauld Lad Of Hylton , though described as a murdered boy, is also described as a household sprite, like a Brownie .Briggs (1976) p.68-9 One tale recounted a man caught by the fairies, who found that whenever he looked steadily at one, the fairy was a dead neighbor of his.Briggs (1967) p.15 This was among the most common views expressed by those who believed in fairies, although many of the informants would express the view with some doubts.Briggs (1967) p.141 Another view held that they were an intelligent species, distinct from humans and angels.Lewis (1994) p.134 In Alchemy , in particular, they were regarded as Elemental s, such as Gnome s and Sylph s, as described by Paracelsus .Silver (1999) p.38 This is uncommon in folklore, but accounts describing the fairies as creatures of the air have been found popularly.Briggs (1967) p.146 A third belief held that they were a class of "demoted" angels.Lewis (1994) p.135-6 One popular story held that when the angels revolted, God ordered the gates shut; those still in heaven remained angels, those in hell became devils, and those caught in between became fairies.Briggs (1976) p.319 Others held that they had been thrown out of heaven, not being good enough, but were not evil enough for hell.Yeats (1988) p.9-10 This may explain the tradition that they had to pay a "teind" or tithe to Hell; as fallen angels, though not quite devils, they are subject to the Devil.Briggs (1967) p.9 A fourth belief was the fairies were devils, entirely.Lewis (1994) p.137 This belief became much more popular with the growth of Puritanism.Briggs (1976) "Origins of fairies" p.320 The Hobgoblin , once a friendly household spirit, became a wicked goblin.Briggs (1976) p.223 Dealing with fairies was in some cases considered a form of witchcraft and punished as such in this era.Briggs (1976) "Traffic with fairies" and "Trooping fairies" pp.409-12 Disassociating himself from such evils may be why Oberon, in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream '', carefully observed that neither he nor his court feared the church bells.Lewis (1994) p.138 The belief in their angelic nature was less common than that they were the dead, but still found popularity, especially in Theosophist circles.Briggs (1967) pp.143-7 Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) ''The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries''. New York, Citadel. pp.167,243,457 ISBN 0-8065-1160-5 Informants who described their nature sometimes held aspects of both the third and the fourth view, or observed that the matter was disputed. A less-common belief was that the fairies were actually humans; one folktale recounts how a woman had hidden some of her children from God, and then looked for them in vain, because they had become the hidden people, the fairies. This is parallel to a more developed tale, of the origin of the Scandinavian Huldra . Sources of beliefs One theory for the source of fairy beliefs was that a race of diminutive people had once lived in the Celtic Nations and British Isles , but been driven into hiding by invading humans. They came to be seen as another race, or possibly spirits, and were believed to live in an Otherworld that was variously described as existing underground, in hidden hills (many of which were ancient burial mounds), or across the Western Sea. Some archaeologists attributed Elfland to small dwellings or underground chambers where diminutive people might have once lived.Yolen, Jane (2000) ''Touch Magic''. p.49 ISBN 0-87483-591-7 In popular folklore, flint arrowheads from the Stone Age were attributed to the fairies as "elf-shot".Froud, Brian and Lee, Alan (1978) ''Faeries''. New York, Peacock Press ISBN 0-553-01159-6 The fairies fear of iron was attributed to the invaders having iron weapons, whereas the inhabitants had only flint and were therefore easily defeated in physical battle. Their green clothing and underground homes were credited to their need to hide and camouflage themselves from hostile humans, and their use of magic a necessary skill for combating those with superior weaponry. In Victorian beliefs of evolution, cannibalism among "ogres" was attributed to memories of more savage races, still practicing it alongside "superior" races that had abandoned it.Silver (1999) p.45 Selkie s, described in fairy tales as shapeshifting seal people, were attributed to memories of skin-clad "primitive" people traveling in kayaks. African pygmies were put forth as an example of a race that had previously existed over larger stretches of territory, but come to be scarce and semi-mythical with the passage of time and prominence of other tribes and races.Silver (1999) p.50 Another theory is that the fairies were originally worshiped as gods, but with the coming of Christianity, they lived on, in a dwindled state of power, in folk belief. Many beings who are described as deities in older tales are described as "fairies" in more recent writings. Victorian explanations of mythology, which accounted for all gods as metaphors for natural events that had come to be taken literally, explained them as metaphors for the night sky and stars.Silver (1999) p.44 A third theory was that the fairies were a folkloric belief concerning the dead. This noted many common points of belief, such as the same legends being told of ghosts and fairies, the Sidhe Mounds in actuality being burial mounds, it being dangerous to eat food in both Fairyland and Hades, and both the dead and fairies living underground.Silver (1999) p.40-1 FAIRIES IN LITERATURE AND LEGEND ]] The question as to the essential nature of fairies has been the topic of myths, stories, and scholarly papers for a very long time. Terri Windling , " Fairies in Legend, Lore, and Literature " Practical beliefs and protection When considered as beings that a person might actually encounter, fairies were noted for their mischief and malice. Some pranks ascribed to them, such as tangling the hair of sleepers into " Elf-locks ", stealing small items or leading a traveler astray, are generally harmless. But far more dangerous behaviours were also attributed to fairies. Any form of sudden death might stem from a fairy kidnapping, with the apparent corpse being a wooden stand-in with the appearance of the kidnapped person.Briggs (1976) p.25 Consumption ( Tuberculosis ) was sometimes blamed on the fairies forcing young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away from lack of rest.Briggs (1976) p.80 Fairies Riding domestic animals, such as cows, could cause paralysis or mysterious illnesses. As a consequence, practical considerations of fairies have normally been advice on averting them. In terms of protective charms, , and Four-leaf Clover s, among others. Some lore is contradictory, such as Rowan trees in some tales been sacred to the fairies, and in other tales being protection against them. In Newfoundland folklore, the most popular type of fairy protection is bread, varying from stale bread to Hard Tack or a slice of fresh home-made bread. The belief that bread has some sort of special power is an ancient one. Bread is associated with the home and the hearth, as well as with industry and the taming of nature, and as such, seems to be disliked by some types of fairies. On the other hand, in much of the Celtic Folklore , baked goods are a traditional offering to the folk, as are cream and butter!Evans-Wentz (1990) “The prototype of food, and therefore a symbol of life, bread was one of the commonest protections against fairies. Before going out into a fairy-haunted place, it was customary to put a piece of dry bread in one’s pocket.”Briggs (1976) p. 41 Bells also have an ambiguous role; while they protect against fairies, the fairies riding on horseback -- such as the fairy queen -- often have bells on their harness. This may be a distinguishing trait between the Seelie Court from the Unseelie Court , such that fairies use them to protect themselves from more wicked members of their race.Briggs (1976) "Bells" p.20 Another ambiguous piece of folklore revolves about poultry: a cock's crow drove away fairies, but other tales recount fairies keeping poultry.Briggs (1967) p.74 In County Wexford , Ireland , in 1882, it was reported that “if an infant is carried out after dark a piece of bread is wrapped in its bib or dress, and this protects it from any witchcraft or evil.” Opie, Iona and Tatem, Moira (eds) (1989) ''A Dictionary of Superstitions'' Oxford University Press . p. 38 While many fairies will confuse travelers on the path, the s were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act.Lenihan (2004) p.125 Fairy trees, such as Thorn Trees , were dangerous to chop down; one such tree was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road being widened for seventy years.Silver (1999) p.152 Good house-keeping could keep Brownie s from spiteful actions, and such water hags as Peg Powler and Jenny Greenteeth , prone to drowning people, could be avoided by avoiding the bodies of water they inhabit. It was believed that fairies could be made visible by bending a grass leaf into a circle and "by looking through nature one could see into the world of nature". Other actions were believed to offend fairies. Brownie s were known to be driven off by being given clothing, though some folktales recounted that they were offended by inferior quality of the garments given, and others merely stated it, some even recounting that the brownie was delighted with the gift and left with it.Briggs (1976) "Brownies" p.46 Other brownies left households or farms because they heard a complaint, or a compliment.Briggs (1967) p.34 People who saw the fairies were advised not to look closely, because they resented infringements on their privacy.Briggs (1976) "Infringement of fairy privacy" p.233 The need to not offend them could lead to problems: one farmer found that fairies threshed his corn, but the threshing continued after all his corn was gone, and he concluded that they were stealing from his neighbors, leaving him the choice between offending them, dangerous in itself, and profiting by the theft.Briggs (1976) "Fairy morality" p.115 Millers were thought by the Scots to be "no canny" due to their ability to control the forces of nature, such as fire in the kiln, water in the burn, and for being able to set machinery a-whirring. Superstitious communities sometimes believed that the miller must be in league with the fairies. In Scotland fairies were often mischievous and to be feared. No one dared to set foot in the mill or kiln at night as it was known that the fairies brought their corn to be milled after dark. So long as the locals believed this then the miller could sleep secure in the knowledge that his stores were not being robbed. John Fraser, the miller of Whitehill claimed to have hidden and watched the fairies trying unsuccessfully to work the mill. He said he decided to come out of hiding and help them, upon which one of the fairy women gave him a ''gowpen'' (double handful of meal) and told him to put it in his empty ''girnal'' (store), saying that the store would remain full for a long time, no matter how much he took out.Gauldie, E. (1981) ''The Scottish Miller 1700 - 1900''. Edinburgh, John McDonald. p.187 Changelings A considerable amount of lore about fairies revolves about Changeling s, the theft of a human baby and the substitution of a fairy one or an enchanted piece of wood, and preventing a baby from being abducted. Older people could also be abducted; a woman who had just given birth and had yet to be Churched was regarded as being in particular danger.Silver (1999) p.167 A common thread in folklore is that eating the fairy food would trap the captive, as Prosperina in Hades; this warning is often given to captives who escape by other people in the fairies' power, who are often described as captives who had eaten and so could not be freed.Briggs (1976) pp.62-66 Folklore differed about the state of the captives: some held that they lived a merry life, others that they always pined for their old friends.Yeats (1988) p.47 Classifications In Scottish Folklore , fairies are divided into the ''Seelie Court'', the more beneficiently inclined (but still dangerous) fairies, and the ''Unseelie Court'', the malicious fairies. ''Trooping fairies'' refer to fairies who appear in groups and might form settlements. In this definition, ''fairy'' is usually understood in a wider sense, as the term can also include various kinds of Mythical Creatures mainly of Native Celtic origin; however, the term might also be used for similar beings such as Dwarves from German Folklore or Elves from Scandinavian Folklore . These are opposed to solitary fairies, who do not live or associate with others of their kind. Legends In many legends, the fairies are prone to kidnapping humans, either as babies, leaving Changeling s in their place, or as young men and women. This can be for a time or forever, and may be more or less dangerous to the kidnapped. In the 19th Century Child Ballad , " Lady Isabel And The Elf-Knight ", the elf-knight is a Bluebeard figure, and Isabel must trick and kill him to preserve her life.Child, Francis ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'' Child Ballad " Tam Lin " reveals that the title character, though living among the fairies and having fairy powers, was in fact an "earthly knight" and, though his life was pleasant ''now'', he feared that the fairies would pay him as their Teind (tithe) to hell. '' Sir Orfeo '' tells how Sir Orfeo's wife was kidnapped by the King of Faerie and only by trickery and excellent harping ability was he able to win her back. '' Thomas The Rhymer '' shows Thomas escaping with less difficulty, but he spends seven years in Faerie. Oisín is harmed not by his stay in Faerie but by his return; when he dismounts, the three centuries that have passed catch up with him, reducing him to an aged man.Briggs (1967) p.104 King Herla also visited Fairy and returned three centuries later; although only some of his men crumbled to dust on dismounting, Herla and his men who did not dismount were trapped on horseback, this being one folkloric account of the origin of the Wild Hunt .Briggs (1967) p.50-1 A common feature of the fairies is the use of magic to disguise appearance. ''Fairy gold'' is notoriously unreliable, appearing as Gold when paid, but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, Gorse blossoms, Gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other useless things.Lenihan (2004) p.109-10 These illusions are also implicit in the tales of '' Fairy Ointment ''. Many tales from the British islands tell of a mortal woman summoned to attend a fairy birth — sometimes attending a mortal, kidnapped woman's childbed. Invariably, the woman is given something for the child's eyes, usually an ointment; through mischance, or sometimes curiosity, she uses it on one or both of her own eyes. At that point, she sees where she is; one midwife realizes that she was not attending a great lady in a fine house but her own runaway maid-servant in a wretched cave. She escapes without making her ability known, but sooner or later betrays that she can see the fairies. She is invariably blinded in that eye, or in both if she used the ointment on both.Briggs (1976) "Fairy ointment" p.156 Literature " by Johann Heinrich Füssli ; scene from ''The Faerie Queen'']] Fairies appeared in Medieval Romances as one of the beings that a Knight Errant might encounter. A fairy lady appeared to Sir Launfal and demanded his love; like the fairy bride of ordinary folklore, she imposed a prohibition on him that in time he violated. Sir Orfeo 's wife was carried off by the King of Faerie. Huon Of Bordeaux is aided by King Oberon .Lewis (1994) p.129-30 These fairy characters dwindled in number as the medieval era progressed; the figures became wizards and enchantresses.Briggs (1976) "Fairies in medieval romances" p.132 Morgan Le Fey , whose connection to the realm of faerie is implied in her name, in '' Le Morte D'Arthur '' is a woman whose magic powers stem from study.Briggs (1976) "Morgan Le Fay" p 303 While somewhat diminished with time, fairies never completely vanished from the tradition. '' Sir Gawain And The Green Knight '' is a late tale, but the Green Knight himself is an otherworldly being. Edmund Spenser featured fairies in '' The Faerie Queen ''.Briggs (1976) "Faerie Queen", p. 130 In many works of fiction, fairies are freely mixed with the Nymph s and Satyr s of classical tradition;Briggs (1967) p. 174 while in others (e.g. Lamia ), they were seen as displacing the Classical beings. : fairies in Shakespeare]] The smaller but harmless sorts of fairies were used by William Shakespeare in '' A Midsummer's Night Dream '', and Michael Drayton in his ''Nimphidia''; from these stem Alexander Pope 's sylphs of '' The Rape Of The Lock '', and eventually the Victorian flower fairies, with the fairies becoming prettier and smaller as time progressed. Andrew Lang , complaining of "the fairies of polyanthuses and gardenias and apple blossoms" in the introduction to '' The Lilac Fairy Book '', observed that "These fairies try to be funny, and fail; or they try to preach, and succeed."Lang, Andrew '' Preface The Lilac Fairy Book The '' included fairies in their first edition, but decided this was not authentically German and altered the language in later editions, changing each "Fee" (fairy) to an enchantress or wise woman.Tatar, Maria (2003) ''The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales''. Princeton University Press. p.31 ISBN 0-691-06722-8 J. R. R. Tolkien described these tales as taking place in the land of Faerie .Tolkien, J. R. R. "On Fairy-Stories", ''The Tolkien Reader'', p.10-11 Additionally, not all folktales that feature fairies are generally categorized as fairy tales. Fairies in literature took on new life with Romanticism . Writers such as Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg were inspired by folklore which featured fairies, such as the Border Ballad s. This era saw an increase in the popularity of collecting of fairy folklore, and an increase in the creation of original works with fairy characters. Briggs, (1967) pp. 165-7 In Rudyard Kipling 's ''Puck of Pook's Hill'', Puck holds to scorn the moralizing fairies of other Victorian works.Briggs (1967) p.203 The period also saw a revival of older themes in Fantasy literature, such as C.S. Lewis's Narnia books which, while featuring many such classical beings as Faun s and Dryad s, mingles them freely with Hag s, Giants , and other creatures of the folkloric fairy tradition.Briggs (1967) p.209 FAIRIES IN ART .]] ''' series of photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths.]] See Also: Fairy painting Fairies have been numerously depicted in books of Fairy Tale s and sometimes as standalone works of art and Sculpture . Some artists known for their depictions of fairies include:
The Victorian era was particularly noted for fairy paintings. The Photograph s in 1917 and a number of artists turned to painting fairy themes. Following in the footsteps of the Cottingley Fairies and utilizing modern digital technology, Fantasy photographers like artist J. Corsentino created a new sub-genre of "fairy photography". 1 FAIRIES IN POPULAR CULTURE Fairies are often depicted in books, stories, and movies. A number of these fairies are from adaptations of traditional tales. Perhaps some of the most well-known fairies were popularized by Disney . Tinkerbell , from the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie 2 and the Disney Adaptation . While in Carlo Collodi 's tale '' Pinocchio '' a wooden boy receives the gift of real life from the a fairy described as the "lovely maiden with azure hair",3 who was dubbed the "Blue Fairy" for Disney's Adaptation . As would be expected, fairies appear in other media as well, including novels, video games, and music. A comprehensive list is beyond the scope of this article, but one recent and notable example is Susanna Clarke's novel '''', including retelling the story of '' Tom Tit Tot '' as her "On Lickerish Hill".Susanna Clarke ''The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories'', p 62 ISBN 1-59691-251-0 SEE ALSO REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY
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