Fairies: Most Popular Magical Creatures, Legends and Myths

Meet with us the Fairies. Magical beings that appear in countless legends and popular myths in all cultures.

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What are the Fairies?

Fairies are magical creatures that resemble a human. Beyond that, defining fairies is nearly impossible. Their legend is as old as European civilization itself, and they come in all colors, sizes and temperaments. No two fairy encounters are alike. These beautiful creatures are the counterpart to the sirens of Greek mythology.

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Origin

Although the word “fairy” comes from Old French, the concept behind these magical creatures cannot be traced to a single source. Various Celtic and Germanic traditions merged to create the ones we think of today. Many scholars believe that fairies are the modern version of ancient pagan deities.

Most regions that have a rich oral tradition dealing with them have a legend that the fey people are “driven underground” by Christian missionaries. These stories could symbolize a very real historical fact: the worship of local deities was suppressed by Christians.

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Gradually, as people accepted Christianity, they turned their deities into less magical creatures, thus preserving their traditions in a manner compatible with Christian monotheism. A handful of bolder scholars claim that “fairies,” a prehistoric race of people who inhabited Western Europe, actually existed.

These people were driven out of Europe by the Celts and, little by little, were transformed into legends. The childlike size of the fairies corresponds to that of prehistoric humans in other parts of the world, and their fear of iron could be a cultural reminder of how iron weapons were used to conquer a race of people who had only stone-age weapons.

Greco-Roman influence

The arrival of the Romans in Europe was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they began to change the ancient culture almost immediately. On the other hand, they began to write down the oral traditions of the region, thus preserving the ancient folklore for future generations.

Long after the first waves of Roman colonization, Rome continued to have a profound effect on the Fae. First, Christianity, which was imposed by the Roman Catholic Church, limited the powers of the fey people and associated them with demons and witches. Later, the nymphs of Roman mythology mingled with the fairies, turning them into beautiful creatures with strong ties to nature.

Literary Apparitions

The first definitive text about fairies was written in the 11th century. Since then, they have found their way into many of history’s most beloved legends.

In Le Morte d’Arthur, Morgan, Guinevere and Merlin are linked to the fey people. Later versions of the story of Arthur claim that he was crowned by fairies and, upon his death, taken to the fairy realm of Avalon and buried under a fairy hill. Shakespeare plays with fairies in A Middsummer’s Night Dream, where he describes the beautiful dances and meddlesome impulses of the fairies.

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By the mid-17th century, fairies had earned their own category of literature: fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson included the good people in countless stories, as did other writers. The Victorian era witnessed a kind of fairy mania that spread to poetry and painting, as well as to children’s literature.

But it wasn’t until the end of the Victorian Era that the most iconic fairy of all arrived. JM Barrie published Peter and Wendy in 1911, and Peter’s fairy, Tinkerbell, immediately stole the hearts of all his readers. From then on, the word “fairy” would bring to mind a tiny, fussy person, glowing with light and held aloft by delicate wings.

Fairies Physical Description

If you were to see a picture of an early fairy, you might mistake her for an elf or even a troll! The early fey people were certainly not as delicate as the fairies we know and love today. Most were the size of children, although some of them could be as tall as adults.

They all looked human, but ranged from being supernaturally beautiful to horribly deformed. Some of them had features that clearly differentiated them from humans, such as pointed ears, webbed fingers, missing noses, or green or blue skin.

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During the Romantic Period, fairies took the stage in plays and operas. Ugly fairies went out of fashion and were replaced by beautiful creatures, whose connection to nature was made obvious by their flowery clothes and woodland companions. Conveniently, these new beautiful fairies were human-sized and prone to fall in love with mortals.

During the Victorian era, fairy tales for children became popular. Fairies were reduced to tiny size and given adorable custom-made costumes with tiny shoes and hats. The fairies with wings also became more popular, especially after the publication of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan.

Fairies Personality

Fey people are as diverse in personality as they are in appearance. Their most common traits are a quick wit, a love of parties. Beyond this, they come in all habits and temperaments. Some fey are helpful. They guide travelers lost in the woods back home. They help with household chores, often going to work during the night, so that their hosts wake up to a happy surprise.

If they are very fond of you, they may even take you to treasure, give you magical gifts, help you win the hand of your true love in marriage, or put a lucky charm on your life. Others are mischievous. They delight in tricking travelers or luring them into strenuous dances that last for days. They also like to tease domestic animals, pinch horses to make them gallop, steal milk from cows, and play cat and mouse with cats.

Dangerous fairies

And then there are some fairies who are dangerous, so dangerous that, for centuries, they were called “the good people,” “the little people,” or “the neighbors” because people were too afraid of them to say their name out loud.

These fairies usually live in hierarchies, where the king or queen is the most dangerous of all. Not only do they lose travelers, but they lead them into deadly swamps. When they take a fancy to a human baby, they do not give it a charm to its life. They steal it from its cradle and replace it with a sickly “mutant”.

And if they ever share their dances or treasures with you, make sure the gift comes with a curse. The most dangerous fairies can declare the goods on petty squabbles. Fortunately, they are more likely to go to war with other magical creatures, such as goblins or trolls.

It is important to know that most fairies have fluid personalities. They can go from helpful to mischievous quickly, and despite their intelligence, they don’t have to have a reason for their decisions!

Special abilities of fairies

As magical creatures, fairies have almost unlimited power. They can fly, also can make flowers bloom, also can conjure gold. They can glow in the dark, can create and cast new charms for any situation, and their curses can last for hundreds of years.

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Fortunately, there are some measures you can take to keep fairies at bay. Marigolds, primroses, rowan wood, four-leaf clover and St. John’s wort can be used or hung on doors to repel good people.

Iron is even more powerful. An iron nail in your pocket or a horseshoe over your door will provide lasting security. If you hope to gain a fairy as a friend, leave a saucer of milk, cream, butter or beer for fey people to enjoy at night. If you do this regularly, you could be rewarded!

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