Origins of Fairy Lore
Fairies are a popular theme in the folklore of various cultures, largely that of Europe, and remain ever-popular in modern literature and fiction. The concept of fairies can range from being strongly or loosely based on the fae of medieval Western Europe, which, at the time was Old France. The fae of that region could be any legendary species from elves, dwarves, goblins, sprites, pixies, etc. Even in folklore that uses the specific term of “fairy” there are still many definitions according to culture as to what exactly a fairy is. Some believes that fairies were originally spirits of the dead. One example is the Irish banshee, the Gaelic term of which is “bean sí” or “bean shìth” depending on the dialect, however, they both mean fairy woman. More often than not, the banshee is describe as a female ghost.
There are Scottish beliefs also that support the fairies as being souls of the departed, such as the Cauld Lad of Hylton, which was although usually described as being the spirit of a murdered boy, was also sometimes believed to be the common household kitchen sprite, or brownie. There is another tale, recounted by a man who was captured by fairies; the man said that when he looked steadily at one of them, it appeared to be the spirit of his dead neighbour. Other sources believe the Catholic concept of Purgatory was just an invention to keep those happy that believe the Land of Fae was also the home of the souls of the dead. This realm was separate from the world of the living, but according to certain beliefs, some born with a second sight could see the place and communicate with the spirits there.
Some Christian beliefs about the fairies were that fairies were a kind of demoted angels. When the battle between God and the Devil raged in Heaven was finally ended, God locked the gates. The angels within could remain in Heaven, the Angels that were with Lucifer were cast into Hell, but some were outside the gates and caught in between. Instead of casting them into Hell as well, God allowed them to stay on earth. This is also where the legend of the fairy tithe came from; according to some sources of folklore, the fairies must pay a tithe to Hell.
As Puritanism became more and more popular, fairies, along with everything else became purely demonic. The hobgoblin, who was at one point in time nothing more than a harmless household spirit became an unholy demon from Hell, for example. Another less popular theory, is that fairies were once a living race of human beings. The race was conquered, and some fled to live in secret, and did everything possible to keep their blood pure. Among the Saxons, and Welsh folklore this is a more popular theory. One other theory, but not the last, in that there are probably hundreds of ideas, is that of the famous playwright James Barrie. In his first book about Peter Pan, titled Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens, Barrie wrote, “When the first baby laughed for the first time, his laugh broke into a million pieces, and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.”
