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BRITISH (ENGLISH) FAERIES
The British Isles has a rich history of folklore that can
be attributed to a mix of cultural identity from region to
region. Great Britain may have been a small island nation,
but it had many separate diverse peoples who came to the
isle from other parts of Europe. Britain has had a turbulent
history. Invaders and settlers brought with them their own
beliefs and lore. During the ensuing years, the handed down
fables from bygone eras began to blend together with the
older traditions and the result is a diverse potpourri of
beliefs, perhaps more varied than any other area in the
world.
Some stories seem to be widespread, such as the tradition
of sleeping warriors under hollow hills and the wild hunt,
often incorporating local heroes, while other stories are
limited to a small geographic area.
The Faerie in England is a blending of the Germanic
dwarf-elf people and the Celtic people of the hills. The
translation of the French romance of Huon of Bordeaux. From
this translation came idea of an organized Faerie world. The
Faeries of Spencer and Shakespeare evolved from this
translation.
Great Britain encompasses the countries of England,
Wales and
Scotland.
Across the Irish Sea, the small island nation of
Ireland also has a
diverse list of fairies to add to the mis. The fairies
discussed on this page are the English variety.
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Here is the partial list of British (English) faeries:
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ANKOU (GRIM REAPER): Can be
found in Brittany, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland. He is also
known as Father Time. He drives a black cart or
coach, and brings death. He is always dressed in a hooded
cape. No one has ever seen his face.
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ANTHROPOPHAGI: A headless
cannibal whose eyes rest on his shoulders and whose mouth
is in the middle of his chest. Folklorists believe this
legend migrated from northern Africa to Britain in the
early Dark Ages.
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ASRAI: The Asrai live only in deep waters. Once every
century, an Asrai rises to the surface to gaze at the
full-moon. It is the moonlight that gives the Asrai
shape, and the slightest touch of sunlight will kill an
Asrai immediately. Asrai are from two to four feet high
and are said to be very beautiful. Asrai are found in
England and can live for several centuries. small,
delicate female faeries who melt into a pool of water
when captured or exposed to sunlight
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BLACK ANGUS: English faerie
dogs that can be seen crossing the moors and wastelands at
night. They are known in Scotland as cu sith, in Wales as
cwn annwn (white dogs) and in Germany as Gabriel's Hounds.
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BOGEYMAN: A malevolent
creature from British folklore. Some of them are merely
troublesome and rather harmless, but others are truly
evil.
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BOGGANS: Peat or bog
faeries. They have bulbous, mud-covered bodies and long
spindly legs and arms. They are known as boggles to
the Cornish, and in Ireland are called ballybogs.
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BOGGART: Mischievous
spirits responsible for mishaps and poltergeist activity
within the home and in the countryside. |
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COTTINGLEY FAERIES: Perhaps the most famous English Faerie tale was the
Cottingley Faeries. Elsie Wright and Frances Griffins of
England in 1917 took pictures of Faeries, which Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle included in The Coming of the Fairies.
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Cottingley_Fairies/
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DUERGARS (GRAY
DWARVES): A malicious form of Dwarf from
Northern England. They revel in tricking people into
dying. |
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ELVES (ADDLER): British Elves are not really a separate race, but
humans with an 'Elvish' culture. |
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FEEORIN: A type of diminutive fairy in the folklore of
England. It is also the collective word for fairies who
are usually friendly towards mankind, or at least neutral.
They are depicted as small creatures with a green skin and
wearing red hats. They enjoy singing and dancing.
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HABONDE: Fairy in English folklore who was said to be the
consort of Hobany. Described as a beautiful young woman
with dark plaited hair, wearing on her head a golden
circlet on which there is a star. This signifies that she
is queen of the fairies, possibly the French fairies.
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HAG: A fairy from the
British Isles. She is said to be the traces of the most
ancient goddesses.
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JENNY GREENTOOTH: Water Woman;
known in Germany as the weisse frau and in Ireland
as bean-fionn.
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PIXIES (PIXY): Mischievous characters who often take the form of
hedgehogs.
A Devonshire fairy, same as puck. Pixies have been
described as "small beings without wings. They hop! They
have spiny feet and long legs.
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POLTERSPRITE: It has become the fashion to blame knocking
and rapping sounds on Poltergeists, but this can also
mean that a Poltersprite has moved in. Poltersprites can
be very helpful around the house and are harmless unless
offended. Poltersprites just plain love to make noise.
They will toss rocks on top of roofs, open and close
doors with creaky hinges, and rattle dishes and
silverware. Poltersprites are known by many names. Some
of them are: Knocky Bah, Poppele, and Bubak.
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PUCK:
A merry little fairy spirit, full of fun and harmless
mischief. A malicious fairy or demon. In Elizabethan lore
he was a mischievous, brownielike fairy also called
Robin Goodfellow, or hobgoblin. As one of the
leading characters in William Shakespeare's Midsummer
Night's Dream, Puck boasts of his pranks of changing
shapes, misleading travelers at night, spoiling milk,
frightening young girls, and tripping venerable old dames.
The Irish pooka, or púca, and the Welsh
pwcca are similar household spirits.
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URGAN: Born and christened a mortal, but stolen by the
king of the fairies and brought up in elf-land in English
folklore.
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I know a bank where
the wild thyme blows,
Where oxslips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and the eglantine.
There sleeps Titania sometimes of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight...
William Shakespeare, Faerie Flowers
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