Full Description
Descriptions of the unique characteristics that set the Welsh faeries, tylwyth teg, apart from the rest of the faery folk of Britain- issues such as their speech, their appearance, their music and their links to trees and mines. It examines every aspect of their lives: their food, clothing, homes, livestock, pastimes and- even- their funerals. Close attention is paid to the temperament and character of the tylwyth teg and the ways in which they interact with the human population of Wales. Sometimes these relationships can be harmonious- leading to marriages and gifts of money; on other occasions there can be antagonism and the need for magical protection. Two important points should also be stressed. Firstly, this is written for adults. The traditional Welsh faery is frequently selfish, antagonistic and cruel and, over the centuries, the Welsh population have found it necessary to respond in kind. Accounts of the tylwyth teg are definitely not children's faery tales. Secondly, this is not a book on 'folklore' that tries to explain why individuals once thought such surprising and curious things. Welsh people in the past encountered beings that they knew to be the tylwyth teg; this book shows those individuals the respect they deserve and takes their accounts seriously. They knew that the faeries existed and they adapted their lives to cope with this fact; accordingly, the book accepts the tylwyth teg as being real and present around us- and proceeds on that basis.
Contents
preface 6
chapter one. Terminology 10
chapter two. Physical Characteristics 14
Physique 14
Stature 15
Complexion 16
Lake Women 18
Spirits of the Air? 19
Shining Spirits 21
Speech 22
Clothing 24
Cleanliness 27
Food 28
Bread 29
Motion 30
Intermarriage 32
Shapeshifting & Invisibility 35
chapter three. Faery Dwellings 38
Ancient Sites 39
Underground 41
Islands 45
chapter four. Charms & the Tylwyth Teg 48
Seeing the Faeries 48
Protecting Against Faeries 50
Plants & Herbs 50
4
CONTENTS
Children 51
Iron 52
Getting Rid of Faeries 53
chapter five. Seeing the Tylwyth Teg 56
Time & Season 57
Faery Rings & Dances 59
Risks 60
Places 62
Trees 63
Human Homes 65
Phantom Places 69
The Phenomenon 70
Motivations 72
Mines 74
Captives 76
Wells 77
Funerals 79
chapter six. Faery Character & Habits 81
Temperament 81
Communities 83
Moral Code 84
Eavesdropping 88
Fairy Money 89
Wages 89
Gifts 90
Faery Currency 91
Commercial Spirit 93
Payment in Kind 95
Faery Gold 95
Gifts of Skills 99
Human Helpers 101
Music and Song 102
5
CONTENTS
Faery Fun & Games 103
Offerings to the Faeries 105
Revenge 105
The Effect of Contact 108
chapter seven. Faery Livestock 113
Horses 113
Dogs 114
Cattle 116
Goats 118
chapter eight. Fading Faith & Disappearing Faeries 119
Exiled Elves? 119
Banished Belief? 121
Reactions 123
conclusion 125
