The Hidden History of Fairies - Were They Real?

blackthorne
an interesting thought to ponder. there are two constants in almost all world cultures. one, large flying reptiles that spat fire. the other, little people. whether they are the menehunes from hawaii, kobolds, gnomes, brownies, or fairies, they all have a lot the same characteristics. small, mischievous, clever. makes one think, doesn't it?

Absolutely. These beings appear globally, and although I am only focussing on the UK it would make a fascinating study to check out the qualities and characteristics of other culture's fairies.

reply to post by beansidhe


Hey there beansidhe ... loving the thread.

I have friends who live on the Isle of Skye and there is a very strong faerie connection up there ... one that might interest you is the legend of the Faerie Flag and Dunvegan Castle.

The physical remains of this Faerie Flag are kept in the castle (home to the Chief of the Clan McCleod) ... the flag was given by the Faerie Queen who told the Chief that it would permit his family (past / present / future) 3 wishes.

The first of these wishes was made and granted back in the mists of time during an ancient clan battle ... but interestingly the second wish was made and granted as recently as WWII ... which means the Clan McCleod have one remaining wish.

I would add a picture of the remains of the Faerie Flag but I haven't yet mastered the upload feature of the new improved ATS site grrrrr !

However here is a link to relate the story of the Faerie Flag and Dunvegan Castle ...

http//www.realfairies.net/fairy_flag_of_dunvegan.htm


Besides the above there is also Faerie Glen nr Uig on the Isle of Skye ... an amazingly magickal place where my friend and I both performed a Samhaine Ritual (31st Oct) a few years ago ... very atmospheric indeed.

Once again I would add pictures (I have many) but cannot upload the things but if you type Faerie Glen into the google search bar you will see some spectacular images of this place.

Woody )O(

reply to post by woodwytch


Thank you Woodwytch, that is kind. As you can see by my puny attempts at pictures, I'm not much good at it either.

The Fairy Flag is a mystery in itself: "The flag was examined in the early 20th century by A.J.B. Wace of the Victoria and Albert Museum,[3] who concluded that the silk was woven in either Syria or Rhodes, and the darns were made in the Near East. It was his opinion that the flag, in its original state, would have been quite precious, possibly a relic like the shirt of a saint. The belief at the time of this examination was the MacLeods were descended from Harald Hardrada, who spent some time in Constantinople in the 11th century. In line with this belief, it was suggested that the flag may have passed from Harald Hardrada down to the eponymous ancestor of the clan—Leod.[4] The MacLeod Estate Office (Dunvegan Castle) website claims that experts have dated the flag to the 4th and 7th centuries—hundreds of years before the Crusades.[5]"

Fairy Flag- wikipedia


BTW Samhaine on Uig sounds absolutely gorgeous, a truly beautiful place.

This is interesting. Thanks for posting. I know fairies are real because I encountered them twice here where I live in the Appalachia's when I was young. I don't expect anyone to believe it though. Very crazy thing to have seen. I also seen the 'foot tall' elf-looking things dragging a fairy. It scared the crap out of me. I'll never forget it as long as I live.

reply to post by beansidhe



I find it a fascinating subject that we don't know enough about.
Wish people would have put more of their experiences/encounters down on paper back then instead of passing it on word of mouth.
Who knows how much information they really had on them.
I have also read how a lot of them weren't very nice, and were downright dangerous to be around.

Ten Freaky Types of Scary Fairies:

io9.com...

Thanks for an interesting read.
S&F

reply to post by Fylgje


That is a very crazy thing to have seen! I've never had an experience like that but...my mother swears that she saw two of them the day her brother died. She saw two men (6ft or so) in black coats come up the path to her house. She thought it was Jehovah's Witnesses so went storming up to the front door (she's fairly intolerant) to tell them to get lost. When she opened the door there was nobody there, and nobody to be seen in the street either. Shortly afterwards, 3 or 4 minutes, the phone rang. She found out then that her brother had drowned at sea.
She swears they were fairies, and I would never dream of telling her, or you, that it didn't happen.

reply to post by Rainbowresidue


It is very frustrating, and more so because we don't have any written records from the Picts, although they were thought to be literate. It is possible that the Picts passed on the stories rather than being the subject of it, I suppose.
Thanks for the creepy link!

reply to post by beansidhe


All my Grandparents came from Ireland. My Dads parents both came from Kerry and I can remember them telling me many a story that involved Banshee's. If memory serves right it usually preceded someone's death.
The stories were nearly all told when it was time for the children to go to bed so the adults could continue their drinking, and mandatory singing, free from us meddling kids.
Sadly by the time I was old enough to join the adults only my Nana was alive - I became quite close to her - and she would still occasionally tell tales about Banshee's and other things. To the last she was earnest in her belief of such things.

I'm sure I've read that The Celts and other people considered The British Isles a somewhat mystic place and had a certain reverence for the original inhabitants - but I could be wrong.
There is still relatively little known about the pre-Celtic people of The British Isles and many of our myths and legends have their roots in these times.
Not that I'm particularly versed in the study of such things but I tend to agree with the view that most myths and legends have some sort of base in truth and that the similarity found in the mythology of numerous societies etc may suggest some sort of common source.

I've got to say I'm very much uninformed regarding Fairies - I think the Victorian representation of them being diminutive creatures with wings has somewhat clouded most peoples perception of them.

I must say that one image of fairies that I really enjoyed was in Julian May's Saga Of Pliocene Exile, four books that I keep on meaning to re-read but have never got round to doing so.
en.wikipedia.org...

An intriguing subject - I sometimes wish I had more time to read about such things.

Fairies and those fairy behaviors arent only found in European lore

Im Blackfeet/Siksika.. as in cdib card carrying blackfeet. Many tribes have a sort of fairy in their lore. With the blackfeet it even effected hunting and diet. We have these little people and the Cherokee have a bunch of stories. Micmacs have a bit too. WIth us, they cause all sorts of problems and its the reason some of us dont fish for food. Our words for them are " in the woods" or "in the water" etc.. So basically theyre dwarfish bodies.. but spirits who make these bodies. They can make themselves appear as animals too. They can be sort of chaotic.. helpful or really rotten. SOmetimes murderous. Our also steal children.. they can kill them or teach them and then release them. WIth us, you can get "fascinated" by them and can be lured in the water to drown or to fall off a cliff. Many times they are simply helpers. Like in the Crazy Dog SOciety in the Siksika. This isnt exactly the story I know, but its close enough. www.manataka.org...

We have sky people ( Sspommitapiiksi) too

WHen you see things with similar appearance and behaviors noted in so many different cultures all across the world and time periods.. makes you wonder

reply to post by Freeborn


Hi there Freeborn, and thank you for that story. So much of our written accounts of the early Britons (late BC/early AD) comes from Roman writings, and therefore their interpretation of what they saw and heard.
A good example of how little we know of our families is the case of the tartan mummies.

"The tartan cloth found with the nearly perfectly preserved, 4000 year old mummies in China, who have reddish blonde hair and were found to be Caucasian, is apparently of a near identical weave to tartan found in Scotland" (p98, The Quest for the Celtic Key).

I agree that there is, there must be, truth in these tales as they have survived for centuries, particularly here and in Ireland. They seem like such a vital link to the past that they are always worth sharing.

Tartan mummies

reply to post by Advantage


Thank you so much for your input, Advantage. That really is intriguing.
Baby stealing and luring people to their deaths seem like common threads, as does being small in stature. Fairy lore here tells of 'glamour' or fairy magic, used to attract people to them. You mention stories where people are fascinated by the little people, to their detriment.

It is tempting to think that somewhere, in the mists of time, there was a common reason for these geographically diverse tales. Did people travel more than we are led to believe? Are we all repeating the same story, with different embellishments? Or is there a common, supernatural explanation?
(You're not expected to answer these questions, by the way!)

beansidhe
i]reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

 

Were the Picts fairies?
The picts in Zetland[

edit on 9-12-2013 by beansidhe because: Added another

Were Picts Fairies ? Shape Sizing Fairies!! yeah ok... Maybe
Aso in Scandinavian Folklore too!

Like this clip from the Movie called Legend !!


Well not sure if there is a Humanoid being with wings ! that existed

Tho the Bible tells such a Tale AKA Angels ... or Demons


But I Know of a Rodent that looks like a Mouse With Wings that Does exist !

Its Called a BAT !

Speaking of Witch !! LOL Witch Which ...

Dragons of Legend !

This is Real a Flying Gliding Lizard a Species called Draco





Size Difference of Dogs! n Cats Horses!! Human family Pets of various sizes !



Now why cant a Humanoid Sentient being be the same way

ohh there is my bad !



but what about a Human the size of your Hand !! ??

well in this case a Distant Cousin a primate morssett



or in reverse a Giant !!

Well in this case Hominid and Early Man

reply to post by Wolfenz


Wow Wolfenz! Thanks for that demonstration that anything is indeed, if slightly unexpected, possible!

Advantage
Fairies and those fairy behaviors arent only found in European lore

Im Blackfeet/Siksika.. as in cdib card carrying blackfeet. Many tribes have a sort of fairy in their lore. With the blackfeet it even effected hunting and diet. We have these little people and the Cherokee have a bunch of stories. Micmacs have a bit too. WIth us, they cause all sorts of problems and its the reason some of us dont fish for food. Our words for them are " in the woods" or "in the water" etc.. So basically theyre dwarfish bodies.. but spirits who make these bodies. They can make themselves appear as animals too. They can be sort of chaotic.. helpful or really rotten. SOmetimes murderous. Our also steal children.. they can kill them or teach them and then release them. WIth us, you can get "fascinated" by them and can be lured in the water to drown or to fall off a cliff. Many times they are simply helpers. Like in the Crazy Dog SOciety in the Siksika. This isnt exactly the story I know, but its close enough.

www.manataka.org...

We have sky people ( Sspommitapiiksi) too

WHen you see things with similar appearance and behaviors noted in so many different cultures all across the world and time periods.. makes you wonder

My Great Grandmother was Cherokee and she used to tell me stories when I was little. most of them i have totally forgotten. We moved away when i was around 5 or so. She would mention what she called the Little Ones or Little People who mostly caused mischief. A horse becoming untied, Weapons or tools missing or moved and sometime reappearing after a long time. I remember her saying they were related to Coyote and lived in holes under ground.

When I was young i never paid alot of attention to her stories but after i got into my teen years and heard of similar stories and themes from other places like fairies and sprites I began to wonder if there was any actual truth to the stories.

Dear op I really enjoyed this thread.
Thanks for the post.
To the person that shared the link to the list of scary faries that was awsome as well.

Munkh

Advantage
Fairies and those fairy behaviors arent only found in European lore

Im Blackfeet/Siksika.. as in cdib card carrying blackfeet. Many tribes have a sort of fairy in their lore. With the blackfeet it even effected hunting and diet. We have these little people and the Cherokee have a bunch of stories. Micmacs have a bit too. WIth us, they cause all sorts of problems and its the reason some of us dont fish for food. Our words for them are " in the woods" or "in the water" etc.. So basically theyre dwarfish bodies.. but spirits who make these bodies. They can make themselves appear as animals too. They can be sort of chaotic.. helpful or really rotten. SOmetimes murderous. Our also steal children.. they can kill them or teach them and then release them. WIth us, you can get "fascinated" by them and can be lured in the water to drown or to fall off a cliff. Many times they are simply helpers. Like in the Crazy Dog SOciety in the Siksika. This isnt exactly the story I know, but its close enough.

www.manataka.org...

We have sky people ( Sspommitapiiksi) too

WHen you see things with similar appearance and behaviors noted in so many different cultures all across the world and time periods.. makes you wonder

My Great Grandmother was Cherokee and she used to tell me stories when I was little. most of them i have totally forgotten. We moved away when i was around 5 or so. She would mention what she called the Little Ones or Little People who mostly caused mischief. A horse becoming untied, Weapons or tools missing or moved and sometime reappearing after a long time. I remember her saying they were related to Coyote and lived in holes under ground.

When I was young i never paid alot of attention to her stories but after i got into my teen years and heard of similar stories and themes from other places like fairies and sprites I began to wonder if there was any actual truth to the stories.

we Have that legend here too in the Land of the Iroquois Mohawk Along the St Lawrence river in New York! Through out Maine also among other legends

The little People Sky Woman

Never seen a fairy, but I do have an Aunty who is a devout Christian who still swears to this day that she saw some when she was younger and insists they are real.

NuclearPaul
Never seen a fairy, but I do have an Aunty who is a devout Christian who still swears to this day that she saw some when she was younger and insists they are real.

edit on 10/12/13 by NuclearPaul because: typo

Hi NuclearPaul

Strangely enough, if my memory is to be believed, it was the Church in Scotland who were the loudest adversaries of McRitchie's belief that the Picts were prototype fairies. The Kirk argued that fairies were shaken out of heaven, some fell on the land and some in the water. It argued that fairies were little more than demonic beings, more akin to Lucifer than God.

It is odd though, the conviction that people have when they retell stories no matter how fantastical they appear.

Munkh

Advantage
Fairies and those fairy behaviors arent only found in European lore

Im Blackfeet/Siksika.. as in cdib card carrying blackfeet. Many tribes have a sort of fairy in their lore. With the blackfeet it even effected hunting and diet. We have these little people and the Cherokee have a bunch of stories. Micmacs have a bit too. WIth us, they cause all sorts of problems and its the reason some of us dont fish for food. Our words for them are " in the woods" or "in the water" etc.. So basically theyre dwarfish bodies.. but spirits who make these bodies. They can make themselves appear as animals too. They can be sort of chaotic.. helpful or really rotten. SOmetimes murderous. Our also steal children.. they can kill them or teach them and then release them. WIth us, you can get "fascinated" by them and can be lured in the water to drown or to fall off a cliff. Many times they are simply helpers. Like in the Crazy Dog SOciety in the Siksika. This isnt exactly the story I know, but its close enough.

www.manataka.org...

We have sky people ( Sspommitapiiksi) too

WHen you see things with similar appearance and behaviors noted in so many different cultures all across the world and time periods.. makes you wonder

My Great Grandmother was Cherokee and she used to tell me stories when I was little. most of them i have totally forgotten. We moved away when i was around 5 or so. She would mention what she called the Little Ones or Little People who mostly caused mischief. A horse becoming untied, Weapons or tools missing or moved and sometime reappearing after a long time. I remember her saying they were related to Coyote and lived in holes under ground.

When I was young i never paid alot of attention to her stories but after i got into my teen years and heard of similar stories and themes from other places like fairies and sprites I began to wonder if there was any actual truth to the stories.

Hi Munck

So many stories seem similar and what you and several other posters have helped me to realise is that there are no stories of sky fairies in Scottish folklore.
Tools going missing is very common, and often attributed to an angry Brownie. It's said that you just have to ask for the tool back, and it will appear shortly. I must admit that after misplacing a trowel or something similar, I have tried this and to be sure it does always turn up. Whether that's us projecting our own clumsiness onto something spiritual, personifying our failings, or whether it's something entirely different, I really don't know.

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


It's interesting that you mention that humans moved from spain to Ireland and Scotland, well my great great great great great grandmother is Spannish I have a black and white picture of her, and she came with the Spannish Armada and moved to Scotland to work here as I have really dark olive skin

although the time period you are talking about was well before this it seems as though humans from that region have been coming to the Isles for a long time