Tales of the little people in the British Isles and Europe, have persisted for centuries. The Fay (Faerie) family itself, superficially covers a multitude of beings with varying descriptions and attributes, having primarily one thing in common, their small stature and being imbued with an elusive and short-tempered, magical disposition. Faeries, Elves, Gnomes, Brownies, Imps, Hobgoblins, Pixies, Pwcas, Knockers, Fenydree, Urisk, Gruagachs, Bwbachs, Trows, to name but a few; pepper our history and folklore, for as far back as anyone can be remember.
In ancient lore, these beings are described as mysterious, magical and elusive creatures, often with mischievous or malevolent character traits. They are private folk, very territorial and divisive, often kidnapping maidens and children that enter their realm, their kidnapees never being seen again or replaced with a faerie child. Their habitats range from forests and rivers to small woods, even gardens; but also delve beneath large rocks and inside deep caves and mines. Myth and legend explicitly depict many faeries, as underground dwellers, the word Gnome means ‘earth dweller’, after all! Some were also said to live with or alongside people in their homes; where if the right kind of food offering was proffered, (usually porridge and honey or some kind of dairy product), then the ‘faerie’ would perform menial tasks for the homeowner.
Their reported physical traits are extremely varied, with reports describing anything from short, squat, goblin-like creatures; to beautiful, winged, fair-faced faeries. However, some of their common features, that we are especially interested in here, are those ascribed to beings like the, Brownie and Fenydree, which are small creatures, 2 to 4 feet in height; with pointed ears and noses, bearded faces and woolly, hairy bodies. Or to other semi-fabled creatures, such as the Trows of Orkney,which are described as ugly, hair covered, troll-like beings, standing around four feet in height. All of these characteristics seem charmingly supernatural and out of the ordinary until we try to fit them, however untidily into the natural order. In this chapter, we will endeavour desperately to squeeze them into our pre-selected and ill-fitting box for the time being and to make their behaviour fit that of an elusive, intelligent animal. Seeing them, as it were, from the viewpoint of medieval superstitious people who did not have any comparative species to draw upon,with which to accurately describe their traits.
