Mab
Mab was a figure made popular in the 16th and 17th centuries as a Queen of the tiny fairies. It was said that she traveled in a carriage drawn by insects and was the source of dreams (Briggs, 1976). She was said to tangle a person’s hair while they slept and it was thought very unlucky to untangle these Elf-knots, which had to be left in untouched. By some accounts Mab is the midwife of the fairies, a handmaiden of the Queen, and a type of pixy who misleads travelers (Brigg, 1976).
Medb
Medb, also spelled Meave, is a pseudo-historic queen in Ireland and possibly originally a sovereignty Goddess, Meave later came to have some association as a Fairy Queen. There is a great deal of confusion, however, between Meave and the later Mab, who are very distinct figures with unfortunately similar names.
Midir
As with many of those listed here, Midir was one of the Tuatha De Danann who some later believed became a Fairy King. His home was in the sí of Bri Leith, modern day Ardagh Hill in county Longford (MacNeill, 1962). His most well-known myth is the Tochmarc Etaine, the story of his marrying his second wife, Etain, who was transformed into a fly by his jealous first wife, Fuamnach. Etain was eventually reborn as a human and married to a human king, and when Midir finally found her again he had to win her away from her new husband. After successfully winning a kiss from her, which restored her memory of her previous life as his wife, he transformed them both into swans and they flew away. In recent folklore he is known as Midas of the mountain and it is said that children who wander on his hill at the beginning of August run the risk of being taken into it (MacNeill, 1962).
Nicnevin
Possibly a name for the Gyre-Carling, but also possibly a Fairy Queen in her own right. A Queen of Elphame and some say of the Unseelie Court, and also said to be Queen of witches and a powerful witch herself (Briggs, 1976). November 11th is the old date of Samhain (before the calendar shift) and is the day most strongly associated with Nicnevin, when it is said she rides out with her court.
In Scots it’s said her name means daughter (nic) of the little saint (náomhín). This follows a pattern of witches who have names relating to positions in the Church, including both Nicnevin and her cousin Nikclethin (daughter of the cleric) (DSL, 2016). Other people today claim it means daughter of Nemhain, an Irish Goddess. It may also be related to the Irish word for ‘bone’ cnáim, hence cnámhín ‘little bones’, which is the etymology I personally favor, daughter of little bones being so very evocative. Ultimately it is uncertain what the name means.
Sir Walter Scott says of her:
A gigantic and malignant female, the Hecate of this mythology, who rode on the storm and marshalled the rambling host of wanderers under her grim banner. This hag…was called Nicneven in that later system which blended the faith of the Celts and of the Goths on this subject. The great Scottish poet Dunbar has made a spirited description of this Hecate riding at the head of witches and good neighbours (fairies, namely), sorceresses and elves, indifferently, upon the ghostly eve of All-Hallow Mass.
(Scott, 1830)
Oberon
First mentioned as a King of the Fairies in a 15th century French romance, Oberon also appeared in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream paired with the Fairy Queen Titania (Briggs, 1976). In contrast other sources say his queen was Mab, and while Shakespeare described Oberon as human sized, in the French story he was the size of a toddler (Briggs, 1976). This may reflect the shape-shifting powers of the fairies or the use of glamour to alter perceptions, or perhaps merely indicate the same name being used for two different Fairy Kings between cultures. In Huon of Bordeaux, the first place Oberon appears as a Fairy King, he is described as small and deformed, yet extremely handsome, wearing a jeweled gown that glows. This Oberon carries a bow that never misses and a magical horn that cures all illnesses and acts as a cornucopia. A 16th century literary source described Oberon as tiny and said he could not bear sunlight and fled the light of day (Purkiss, 2000). The name Oberon is also strikingly similar to names used for familiar spirits during the Renaissance, including ‘Auberon’ and ‘Oberycom’; in this guise he was invoked as a spirit of luck and to gain power for the person calling him (Briggs, 1976; Purkiss, 2000). This could mean that Oberon was a general term for a powerful male fairy that was later applied as a name for Fairy Kings. In that case, if we also view Diana/Titania as a similar generic name applied to a Fairy Queen there is a logic in pairing the two together.
Titania
Likely a form of the name Diana, this was an uncommon name for the Fairy Queen that was used by Shakespeare (Briggs, 1976). Shakespeare’s Titania is proud and willing to contend with her own husband for what she wants, which in the play was the possession of a changeling boy.
Una
Also spelled Oona, she was the Fairy Queen of Connacht and wife of King Finnbheara. Described as a peerless beauty, in one story she appeared with him on Samhain night wearing a silver veil; she is also described as wearing ‘silver gossamer’ and with long blond hair that touches the ground (Briggs, 1976). She was said to have 17 sons, and although she is associated with Finnbheara’s sí at Cnoc Meadha she also had her own home at Cnoc Sidh Una (Knockshegouna) in Ireland (MacKillop, 1998). There is a story of Cnoc Meadha that tells of a farmer who tried to graze his sheep on the hillside, but all his workers were driven off by the Good People. Finally he hired a piper who knew of the hill’s reputation and was willing to take on the work anyway. The piper went out with the sheep and as night fell began playing his pipes, ignoring all the things the fairy folk did to try to frighten him. Finally a great cow appeared, but before she could harm him the piper leaped on her back; the cow in turn leaped off the hill entirely and landed many miles away. The piper clung to her and when she landed he exclaimed at what an amazing jump it had been. At his words the cow turned into Una, the Fairy Queen, and she proclaimed herself impressed by the man’s courage and gave him her permission to keep sheep on the fairy’s hill.
End Notes
1. The idea of a person of import riding a white horse shows up repeatedly throughout fairylore. We see Fairy Queens on white horses, Tam Lin is described as riding a white horse as a token of his renown, and in an anecdote from Ireland in 1911 we see a man who was taken by the fairies and as the story goes ‘made an officer among them’ described as riding on a white horse (see MacNeill ‘Festival of Lughnasa’, p 585).
2. The subject of fairies as familiar spirits for witches will be discussed in greater depth later in this book
3. Interestingly, although Finnbheara is usually given as the name of the Fairy King of Connacht in the story De Chophur in Da Muccida it is said that Connacht’s Fairy King is named Ochaill Ochni. This obscure character is not to my knowledge mentioned elsewhere. The name Ochaill may be related to the word for ‘hot-tempered’.
4. Nudd may mean mist, as a form of nudden; Nudd is considered a probable cognate of the Irish Nuada.
Chapter 5
Denizens of Fairy
Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.’
Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies
Discussing the beings who exist in Fairy is always a difficult subject to tackle because, like so many other things fairy-related, there are very few hard and fast definitions and a lot of names for beings, which can change their meaning depending on context or circumstance. On the same hand though it is important to have some sense of which beings exist within Fairy and generally who and what they are, and what can be expected from them. It would be
impossible to discuss every kind of fairy in any real depth so what I would like to do here is look at some of the different generalized groups of beings within the larger category of fairies as well as a few specific types that are more well-known, but perhaps not well understood. For those who are looking for a more exhaustive listing of every type of fairy, particularly Celtic, I recommend Katherine Briggs book A Dictionary of Fairies, which is both relatively complete and in-depth in its listing and also well researched.
Before we begin discussing some of the beings of Fairy it would also be best for us to remember that the standards we judge by are not universal. What we find beautiful may be ugly to another being, for even the Aos Sí must be ugly to a Goblin who measures beauty by their own kin. We should not fall into the trap of thinking we are the measure of beauty, size, ability, skill, or anything else especially as we seek to understand the beings of Fairy. Although we may sometimes have the idea that all fairies are peerlessly beautiful, it is quite common in folklore to see fairies described as deformed, grotesque, or terrifying in appearance; I suggest leaving behind our human aesthetic and approaching the subject without expectations.
It may also seem as if the majority of the beings listed here are more negative, but that is not because the majority of fairies are themselves more negative. Rather there are two reasons for this. One, this section looks primarily at types of beings that are more general in nature, rather than overly specific, and when looking at generalities it will naturally include both good and bad qualities. Secondly, keep in mind that there is a longstanding prohibition against speaking too much of positive experiences with fairies, lest you offend them and lose their good favor, but there is an equally long-standing practice of passing on tales that act as warnings to others of things that might be dangerous. I believe that the actual reality is more balanced than it might appear, just as each being of Fairy is both helpful and harmful depending on context and the actual numbers of helpful and harmful fairies is probably also relatively balanced.
Aos Si
Aos sí and Daoine Sí both mean ‘people of the fairy hills’ and are used more or less interchangeably. The terms come from the belief that these beings dwell within the hollow hills, called sí, which are entrances to the Otherworld. As with many of the other groups of fairies we are discussing, the Aos Sí are both a specific group and also a rather general term that applies to a range of different beings. The Aos Sí are most strongly associated with the old Gods and with the nobility of the fairies, and may perhaps be described as the most powerful of the Other Crowd, and generally the monarchy of it, although folklore shows that other types of fairies may have their own Kings and Queens as well. The Aos Sí are the ones in particular that may be called the Gentry or the Daoine Uaisle (Noble People).
Although the name itself emphasizes the fairy hills, the Aos Sí are not limited to the fairy mounds, but can be found as well on mystical islands, usually located in the west, which were sometimes seen in the distance, but could never be reached (McNeill, 1956). Looking at Irish fairylore we see that they are also associated with islands, bogs, lakes, trees, and the air (O hOgain, 2006). Within these fairy hills and other gateways into their realms we find stories of the Aos Sí living in grand palaces and beautiful halls. The lands within the Otherworld are described as beautiful beyond belief, rich in resources of all kinds, and peaceful (Firth-Green, 2016).
Although they are strongly associated with these Otherworldly locations the Aos Sí are not tied to them as true land or nature spirits would be and they are known to travel and move their homes. They enjoy attending mortal fairs and have been known in stories to even attend mortal festivals, such as we see with tales of Áine joining people celebrating on her hill at midsummer, or a group of boys being joined by one of the Aos Sí on Saint John’s Eve at their community’s bonfire celebration. On the quarter days – Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa – they move their homes from one hill to another, traveling along established fairy roads (McNeill, 1956). There are also tales of the Fairy Queens traveling alone and of the Fairy Rade1 riding out at specific times. The Fairy Rade was usually described as a grand procession of fairy knights, led by the Fairy Queen or King, but the name itself can indicates an armed excursion, ‘Rade’ being Scots for raid as well as ride. Fairy Rades were dangerous to any humans that they came across, but also offered the opportunity to free captives to those brave enough to confront them, such as in the case of Tam Lin who is rescued by his lover Janet during a Fairy Rade.
Physical descriptions of the Aos Sí are fairly consistent, they are generally said to be very similar to humans in height and overall appearance, usually pale, fair-haired, and finely dressed (O hOgain, 2006). Yeats describes a fairy woman in an anecdotal tale as being slightly shorter than average, with brown hair and dressed in human fashions (Yeats, 1892). In stories they are often said to wear green or grey primarily and may have blond or brown hair; they can appear alone or in groups and be male or female. Groups of fairy men sometimes appeared seeking a human to play hurling with them, apparently a requirement for them to play the game, while fairy women might appear with messages or warnings (Yeats, 1892).
The Aos Sí use their magic to either blend in with the humans around them or to become invisible; in some cases they may be seen by a person who has the Second Sight or who has dealt with them before and for some reason retains the ability to see them. Those who can see them are usually wise enough to be subtle with this knowledge, as it well known that the Aos Sí value their privacy and are quick to punish those they feel are spying on them.
There are many roads and paths, called Fairy Roads, that exist between the different fairy hills, invisible to most people. The Good Neighbors travel on these roads, especially at night, and building on or near one always leads to bad luck and often death (O hOgain, 2006). It was also very bad to engage in any activity that disturbed the homes of the Aos Sí, whether that was digging into the fairy hills or cutting down their trees because either action was likely to result in ill-luck or death (O hOgain, 2006). This belief exists to this day and has resulted in protests to divert roads around fairy trees and outrage over the destruction of fairy hills. There was a case in Ireland not too long ago of telephone poles placed too close to a fairy hill, which kept falling down; this inexplicable inability of the company to keep the poles up so close to the hill led many people to say it was the result of offending the Aos Sí.
The Good Neighbors are usually invisible to mortal eyes thanks to their magic that hides them, unless they wish to be seen or the person has the Sight. However, their presence and especially their passage can be perceived in other ways. A person may hear music, talking, or the sound of horses as the Fairy Rade passes, for example. The ability to pass by unseen relies on the use of a type of magic called glamour, one of the fairy folk’s most famous powers, which can deceive mortal senses into thinking one thing is something else. This magic is seen in many different fairy stories where a handful of leaves might seem to be a pile of gold coins, for example, or a deserted cave appear as a rich mansion.
The Aos Sí, like most other types of fairies, have been known to marry and have children with humans. There are a multitude of different versions of stories of a bride stolen by the fairies on her wedding day and taken to marry a man of the sí instead and these usually center on the Aos Sí. The Aos Sí also take musicians and midwives, but these are usually only borrowed for a time and later returned to the mortal world. Some, like Thomas the Rhymer, are taken for a specific amount of time, while others – often those who eat or drink anything in Fairy – can never leave and may remain as spouses or servants in Fairy. In some tales a person might join the fairies for a single night of dancing in a fairy ring or enter a fairy hill for what they think is only one night only to emerge and find that anywhere from seven to an hundred years have passed. The Aos Sí were also famous for stealing cattle and horses that they wanted, usually by making the animal appear to sicken and die, but sometime
s by taking them out right (O hOgain, 2006).
In Ireland the opposing groups of fairies sometimes battle during the night, often near a fairy tree, leaving behind traces of a white liquid believed to be fairy blood, which people see in the morning (O hOgain, 2006). The Gentry live in a monarchy, but there are also lower class fairies as well as the nobility, and these working class fairies might interact with humans more often than the higher class ones do (O hOgain, 2006). The Fair Folk ride on fine horses and are seen in the company of hounds; generally these animals are either black, white, or grey. The Tuatha De Danann were renowned for their fabulous horses, and these fine animals seem to have either been passed on to or shared with the Aos Sí who also have exceptional mounts (Wilde, 1888).
The Aos Sí are especially active on the quarter days, Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa. Samhain and Bealtaine in particular are times of very strong fairy influence and so great care should be taken to avoid running afoul of them during these periods (O hOgain, 2006). At Bealtaine it was believed that the Fair Folk might travel abroad, appearing as a stranger at the door asking for milk or a coal from the fire; to give either would mean giving the household’s luck away for the year to come (Wilde, 1887). At Samhain the Aos Sí are known to move from one hill to another, from their summer to winter homes, and it is quite dangerous to meet them on a fairy road that night (Estyn Evans, 1957). The Fair Folk are also especially active at twilight and midnight, although as with every other kind of fairy they are not limited in any way to these times.
Fairies Page 8
