Myths and Legends: Journeys Through Time
Faeries
Tinkerbell was one. Thumbelina was rumored to be one. Amy Brown is famous for her drawings and art of them. Little girls love them. The Grimm Brothers wrote tales about them…well not exactly about them but tales within their realm. What or who are they? They’re fairies. More specifically…the fae or fair folk. Fairy is derivative of an old Middle English word, faierie also spelled fayerye, feirie, and feirie, which in itself is pulled from the the Old French language; faerie or in Modern French féerie. Originally this word meant, not the people but the land, activity, or characteristic of legendary people of folklore and romance. People like Hercules, Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Cassandra from Greek mythology, the Native American Thunderbirds….all of these people or beings would have at one point been considered fairies because their relam is that of folklore or magic. It’s a little interesting to note that the actual word goes all the way back to the Latin word fata.. which meant Fate. Literally when one spoke of the fae folk or fairies, they were speaking of what the three Fates, Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis had in mind. In short..to speak of the fae folk was the speak of chance and fate. Over time…the word fairy came to mean little people. Specifically…little mischievous, prank playing , enticing, magical little folks. Some were or are helpful. Some loathe mortals and want to do nothing but put an end to them. Beings like the Irish leprechaun, Scottish banshee, pixies, nixies, water sprites, everything and anything magical or unusual were considered fairy or fae. Some legends separate the fae folk into two categories. Good fae folk….helpful beings kind of like Tinkerbell, the Lady of the Lake, the fairy god mothers from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty…beings like these often protected forests, knew how to protect mortals, were kind to mortals and would help if asked politely. Not so nice fae folk like kelpies, nixies, in some cases brownies…all these fae folk sought out to destroy mortals. Kelpies…they would often take the form of a beautiful horse in the water. The second somebody touched it…they became stuck to the Kelpie. The Kelpie would then drag the poor soul out into the water and drown them. Sometimes it was to feed…most often it was simply because they could. Brownies were very rarely mean….or good. Mostly brownies were the helpful sort of fairy. They were the type that would clean your house at night, straighten things up, put an item thought to belong lost in the right spot for you to find. Pixies…pixies could go either way. Sometimes they were helpful, sometimes they used their beauty to lure men and women into traps. If they were in an especially mean mood..they would seduce their choosen victim to death. All in all…to play in the realm of fairies is to play with chance and fate. You may make it back to the mortal realm…or you may be stuck in the fairie’s realm forever. If you do make it back to the mortal realm..you may or may not be considered a friend…able to return at will. For the most part…as with all magical creatures, the fae folk are apt to leave you alone… unless you wander into their realm….then they mess with you a little bit. How much depends on your reaction. If you’re polite..you have a better chance of being left alone. If you’re mean…well you’ll be dealt with accordingly.