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A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities.
Germanic lore featured light and dark elves (Ljósálfar and Dökkálfar).This may be roughly equivalent to later concepts such as the Seelie and Unseelie. [2]In the mid-thirteenth century, Thomas of Cantimpré classified fairies into neptuni of water, incubi who wandered the earth, dusii under the earth, and spiritualia nequitie in celestibus, who inhabit the air.
Nevertheless, "fairy" has come to be used as a kind of umbrella term in folklore studies, grouping comparable types of supernatural creatures since at least the 1970s. [1] The following list is a collection of individual traditions which have been grouped under the "fairy" moniker in the citation given.
Fairyland may be referred to simply as Fairy or Faerie, though that usage is an archaism.It is often the land ruled by the "Queen of Fairy", and thus anything from fairyland is also sometimes described as being from the "Court of the Queen of Elfame" or from the Seelie court in Scottish folklore.
This depiction is thought to have influenced William Shakespeare's fairy rulers in A Midsummer Night's Dream. [17] A fairy queen Gloriana, daughter of King Oberon, is the titular character of the allegorical epic poem The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. She is also called Tanaquill, derived from the name of the wife of Tarquinius Priscus.
A water sprite (also called a water fairy or water faery) is a general term for an elemental spirit associated with water, according to alchemist Paracelsus. Water sprites are said to be able to breathe water or air and sometimes can fly. These creatures exist in the mythology of various groups.
In the Irish language, aos sí, earlier aes sídhe, means "folk of the fairy mounds". In Old Irish, it was áes síde. [5] The word sí or sídh in Irish means a fairy mound or ancient burial mound, which were seen as portals to an Otherworld. It is derived from proto-Celtic *sīdos ('abode'), and is related to the English words 'seat' and ...
A brownie or broonie (), [1] also known as a brùnaidh or gruagach (Scottish Gaelic), is a household spirit or hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks.