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CORNISH FAERIES

Cornwall is a small, relatively unheard of country, located at the tip of the "foot" of England on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar, in the southwest corner of the United Kingdom.

Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is also considered one of the six "Celtic nations" by many residents and scholars. There is a movement for greater autonomy from English rule and many citizens would like the country to be self-governed, as in past times. This would place them on an equal footing with England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Cornwall is famous for its legends of giants, saints, and King Arthur and his knights. The landscape abounds with historic monuments, holy wells, mines, and the like, and stories of submerged or buried cities are everyday talk out on the streets.

The Cornish believed the fairies were the souls of the ancient

 

 

Here is the partial list of Cornish faeries (fairies):

  BOGGLES: Peat or bog faeries. They have bulbous, mud-covered bodies and long spindly legs and arms. They are known as boggans to the English, and in Ireland are called ballybogs.
 
  KNOCKERS: Inhabit mines and make noise and sometimes music. They are mischievous but not usually cruel. They reward miners who leave them food or gifts with good luck. The little bearded Knockers work industriously in the mines, year in, year out. They are growing smaller with every year and soon will come the day we won't be able to see them anymore because they'll be no size at all.
 
Piskie / Pixie PISKIES (PISKY / PIXIE): Some people saw them as the souls of pagans who could not transcend to heaven, and they were also seen as the remnants of pagan gods, banished with the coming of Christianity. In tradition they are doomed to shrink in size until they disappear. The mischievous piskies are always laughing. Some claim they are the only true Cornish fairy. They are called Piskie in the north, and Pixie in the south.
 
  SPRIGGAN: Grotesque and ugly in shape. Although quite small, they have the ability to inflate themselves into monstrous forms which has led humans to believe them to be the ghosts of old giants. Apart from their useful function as guardians of hill treasure, Spriggans are an infamous band of villains, skilled thieves, thoroughly destructive and often dangerous. They are capable of robbing human houses, kidnapping children (and leaving a repulsive baby Spriggan in exhange) causing whirlwinds to destroy fields of corn, blighting crops and all manner of other unpleasant mischief.

By the moon we sport and play,
With the night begins our day:
As we dance the dew doth fall,
Trip it little urchins all:
Lightly as the little Bee,
Two by two, and three by three:
And about go we, and about go wee.

Thomas Ravenscroft, By the Moon


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