fairy, in folklore, one of a variety of supernatural beings endowed with the powers of magic and enchantment. Belief in fairies has existed from earliest times, and literatures all over the world have tales of fairies and their relations with humans. Some Christians have said that fairies were the ancestors of the ancient pagan gods, who, having been replaced by newer deities, were therefore hostile. Others thought that fairies were nature deities, similar to the Greek nymphs nymph , in Greek mythology, female divinity associated with various natural objects. It is uncertain whether they were immortal or merely long-lived. There was an infinite variety of nymphs. Some represented various localities, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. . Still others identified fairies with the souls of the dead, particularly the unbaptized, or with fallen angels angel , [Gr.,=messenger], bodiless, immortal spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions. Angels appear frequently in the Bible, often in critical roles, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among their many guises, fairies have been described as tiny, wizen-faced old men, like the Irish leprechaun leprechaun , Irish fairy represented as a tiny old man. Leprechauns are mischievous and elusive creatures, said to possess buried crocks of gold, the location of which they will reveal if forced.
..... Click the link for more information. ; as beautiful enchantresses who wooed men to their deaths, like Morgan le Fay and the Lorelei Lorelei , cliff, 433 ft (132 m) high, on the right bank of the Rhine River, near St. Goarshausen, W Germany, about midway between Koblenz and Bingen. There the Rhine forms a dangerous narrows, and in German legend a fairy similar to the Greek Sirens lived on the rock
..... Click the link for more information. ; and as hideous, man-eating giants, like the ogre.

Fairies were frequently supposed to reside in a kingdom of their own—which might be underground, e.g., gnomes gnome , in folklore, tiny subterranean creature associated with mines and quarries. Usually represented as misshapen, frequently as hunchbacked, gnomes are said to be guardians of hidden treasures.
..... Click the link for more information. ; in the sea, e.g., mermaids mermaid, in folklore, sea-dwelling creature commonly represented as having the head and body of a woman and a fishtail instead of legs. Belief in mermaids, and in their counterpart, mermen, has existed since earliest times.
..... Click the link for more information. ; in an enchanted part of the forest; or in some far land. Sometimes they were ruled by a king or queen, as were the trolls in Ibsen's Peer Gynt and the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although fairies were usually represented as mischievous, capricious, and even demonic, they could also be loving and bountiful, as the fairy godmother in Cinderella Cinderella, heroine of one of the most famous folktales in the world. She is rescued from a life of drudgery by her fairy godmother and eventually marries a handsome prince.
..... Click the link for more information. . Sometimes fairies entered into love affairs with mortals, but usually such liaisons involved some restriction or compact and frequently ended in calamity, as did those of Melusine and Undine. Various peoples have emphasized particular kinds of fairies in their folklore, such as the Arabic jinni jinni , feminine jinniyah , plural jinn , in Arabic and Islamic folklore, spirit or demon endowed with supernatural power. In ancient belief the jinn were associated with the destructive forces of nature.
..... Click the link for more information. , Scandinavian troll troll , in Scandinavian folklore, dwarfish or gigantic creature of caves and hills. Variously friendly or malicious, trolls toiled as smiths. The mountain king in Ibsen's Peer Gynt is a troll.
..... Click the link for more information. , Germanic elf elf, in Germanic mythology, a type of fairy. Usually represented as tiny people, elves are said to dwell in forests, in the sea, and in the air. Although they can be friendly to man, they are more frequently vengeful and mischievous.
..... Click the link for more information. , and English pixie pixie, in English folklore, spirit or fairy. The pixie is commonly represented as a mischievous imp who delights in flustering young maidens and leading travelers astray.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among the great adapters of fairy lore into popular fairy tales were Charles Perrault Perrault, Charles , 1628–1703, French poet. His collections of eight fairy tales, Histoires ou contes du temps passé [stories or tales of olden times] (1697) gave classic form to the traditional stories of Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella,
..... Click the link for more information. , the brothers Grimm Grimm, Jakob , 1785–1863, German philologist and folklorist, a founder of comparative philology. His interest in the relationship among Germanic languages led to his formulation of Grimm's law.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Hans Christian Andersen Andersen, Hans Christian, 1805–75, Danish poet, novelist, and writer of fairy tales. Reared in poverty, he left Odense at 14 for Copenhagen. He failed as an actor, but his poetry won him generous patrons including King Frederick VI.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other notable contributors were Andrew Lang Lang, Andrew, 1844–1912, English scholar and man of letters, b. Scotland. His poetry, much of it written in the forms of ballades, triolets, and rondeaux, appeared in such volumes as his Ballads in Blue China (2 vol., 1880–81).
..... Click the link for more information. and James Stephens Stephens, James, 1882–1950, Irish poet and fiction writer, b. Dublin. One of the leading figures of the Irish literary renaissance, Stephens is best known for his fanciful and highly colored prose writings—The Crock of Gold (1912), The Demi
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See K. M. Briggs, The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature (1967); J. D. Zipes, Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (1979), Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale (1994), and When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition (1999); M. M. Tatar, Off with Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood (1992); M. Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (1995).

fairy

In folklore, any of a race of supernatural beings who have magic powers and sometimes meddle in human affairs. Some have been described as of human size, while others are “little people” only a few inches high. The term was first used in medieval Europe. Fairy lore is especially common in Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland. Though usually beneficent in modern children's stories, the fairies of the past were powerful and sometimes dangerous beings who could be friendly, mischievous, or cruel, depending on their whim. Fairies were thought to be beautiful, to live much longer than human beings, and to lack souls. They sometimes carried off human infants and left changelings as substitutes. They occasionally took human lovers, but to enter fairyland was perilous for humans, who were obliged to remain forever if they ate or drank there. See also leprechaun.

Fairy

Abonde, Dame

good fairy who brings children presents on New Year’s Eve. [Fr. Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 3]

Ariel

sprite who confuses the castaways on Prospero’s island. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare The Tempest]

fairy godmother

fulfills Cinderella’s wishes and helps her win the prince. [Fr. Fairy Tale: Cinderella]

Grandmarina

fairy who provides everything for Princess Alicia’s happiness. [Br. Lit.: Dickens “The Magic Fishbone” ]

leprechaun

small supernatural creature associated with shoemaking and hidden treasure. [Irish Folklore: Benét, 579]

Mab, Queen

fairies’ midwife delivers man’s brain of dreams. [Br. Legend: Benét, 610]

Oberon

and Titania King and Queen of the Fairies. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream]

Pigwiggin

his love for Queen Mab ruptures her harmony with Oberon. [Br. Poetry: Nymphidia in Barnhart, 824]

Puck

the “shrewd and knavish sprite” who causes minor catastrophes and embarrassing situations. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream]

Tinker Bell

fairy friend of Peter Pan. [Br. Lit.: J. M. Barrie Peter Pan]

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