|
WELSH FAERIES
The Celtic past of Wales includes some fairy lore that was
lost in England, a country more affected by the Roman and
Norman invasions. In Wales there are tales of humans being
trapped in the fairy realm, especially by means of dancing.
There are many tales of intermarriage between faeries and
humans, and advice on how to make sure you actually have a
fully human mate. Marriage in fairyland can be good or it can
be an enslavement. You can never see family again, and may
forget your human existence, but if you are happy, then the
Welsh wish you well. Wales is a country full of Celtic King
Arthur lore. They related Arthur and Queen Guinevere to fairy
lore. Guinevere means "white phantom" and some believe her
abduction by Arthur was an abduction by faeries of whom Arthur
was king. He captured her in May, a month in which it was
traditionally thought unwise to marry. This links both Arthur
and Guinevere to the pagan belief that deities, and nature
spirits also, mate at Beltane. Guinever had knights who often
dressed in green, a traditional color of the fairies, and they
were all excellent horsemen, another fairy trait. Morgan Le
Fay, Arthur's sister, was said to have lived underground,
possibly a fairy burgh. |
|
Here is the partial list of Welsh faeries (fairies):
|
|
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. No one has ever seen his face.
|
|
|
BENDITH Y MAMAU (THE MOTHERS' BLESSING): A rather
unpleasant clan of Welsh fairies. They are ugly creatures,
and sometimes regarded as the result of interbreeding
between goblins and fairies. They steal children and
substitute them for their own ugly ones, called Crimbils.
Through the intervention of a witch, the parents can
regain the stolen child, who will remember nothing of its
time with the Bendith Y Mamau, except for a vague
recollection of sweet music.
|
|
|
BWBACHOD (HOUSEHOLD FAIRIES): |
|
|
CEFFTK DWR: Similar to the Irish / Scottish water
fairy shaped like a horse called the Kelpie. |
|
|
COBLYNAU (MINE FAIRIES): Similar to
Cornish knockers, coblynau are Welsh mine faeries. They
are not dangerous, they simply take great delight in
mimicking the miners.
|
|
|
CWN ANNWN (KOON ANOON / WHITE DOGS): Faerie dogs that can be seen
crossing the moors and wastelands at night. They are known
in England as Black Angus, in Scotland as cu
sith and in Germany as Gabriel's hounds. Hounds of Arawn, later called hell
hounds. They are usually seen as a portent of death.
|
|
|
CYHRAETH: Similar to the Irish
banshee, the cyhraeth cries or moans when multiple
deaths, such as epidemics or accidents, are about to
occur.
|
|
|
ELLYLLON (ELVES):
Faeries who live on faerie butter (fungus found on the
roots of old trees) and toadstools. They have been known
to transport themselves by riding on eggshells.
|
|
|
GWARTHEG Y LLYN: Welsh faerie
cattle. |
|
|
GWRAGEDD
ANNWN: Welsh lake faeries
of Ladies of the Lake from the folklore of Wales.
Described as being beautiful maidens with long golden
hair. They are said to be gentle and live harmoniously in
families under the lakes and sometimes marry mortals.
|
|
|
GWYLLION: Mountain fairies. |
|
|
PLANT ANNWN: Faeries of the underworld. They are guarded
by the cwn annwn "White Hounds".
|
|
|
PWCCA: |
|
|
TYLWYTH TEG (FAIR PEOPLE): Welsh fairies who live in lakes
or streams or in hollows of the hills. The females are
called y mamau (the mothers), a title which links
them to the pagan Celtic deities, the Matres.
Associated with them are the usual traditions of moonlight
dance, the supernatural passage of time, the stealing of
children, and the substitution of changelings. They are
especially interested in children with golden hair. Their
favorites they enrich with precious gifts, which disappear
when these gifts are spoken of.
|
Welsh faeries
are said to resemble beautiful fair humans with golden hair.
They usually wear green, but the courtiers of the Welsh Fairy
King Gwyn ap Knudd are described as being dressed in red and
blue silk. Smaller fairies are more beautiful and virtuous and
taller fairies are more dishonest. One group is tiny--the
other group is as tall as a man's knee. Welsh faeries are
traditionally depicted as courtly, almost medieval
appearance and they love horses. Welsh folklore cites red and
white as the colors of the fairy folk, colors repeated in
the fairy choice of dress and in their color of pets. Red
and white are two of the three colors of the triple goddess,
which seems to indicated how closely intertwined the faery
lore is with pagan deities.
The Welsh name use for fairies is y Tylwyth Teg, which mean "the
fair folk".
Fairy elves,
Whose midnight revels, by a forest side
Or fountain, some belated peasant sees,
Or dreams he sees, while overhead the moon
Sits arbitress.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
|
