PREFACE

CELTIC FOLKLOREJ. RHŶSHENRY FROWDE, M.A.PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORDPublisher’s logo.LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORKOriginal Title Page.CELTIC FOLKLOREWELSH AND MANXBYJOHN RHŶS, M.A.,D.Litt.HON. LL.D. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHPROFESSOR OF CELTICPRINCIPAL OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORDVOLUME IOXFORDAT THE CLARENDON PRESSMDCCCCIOxfordPRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESSBY HORACE HART, M.A.PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITYTO ALL THOSEWHO HAVE IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTED TOTHE PRODUCTION OF THIS WORKIT IS RESPECTFULLYDEDICATEDIN TOKEN OF HIS GRATITUDEBYTHE AUTHOROur modern idioms, with all their straining after the abstract, are but primitive man’s mental tools adapted to the requirements of civilized life, and they often retain traces of the form and shape which the neolithic worker’s chipping and polishing gave them.PREFACETowards the close of the seventies I began to collect Welsh folklore. I did so partly because others had set the example elsewhere, and partly in order to see whether Wales could boast of any story-tellers of the kind that delight the readers of Campbell’sPopular Tales of the West Highlands. I soon found what I was not wholly unprepared for, that as a rule I could not get a single story of any length from the mouths of any of my fellow countrymen, but a considerable number of bits of stories. In some instances these were so scrappy that it took me years to discover how to fit them into their proper context; but, speaking generally, I may say, that, as the materials, such as they were, accumulated, my initial difficulties disappeared. I was, however, always a little afraid of refreshing my memory with the legends of other lands lest I should read into those of my own, ideas possibly foreign to them. While one is busy collecting, it is safest probably not to be too much engaged in comparison: when the work of collecting is done that of comparing may begin. But after all I have not attempted to proceed very far in that direction, only just far enough to find elucidation here and there for the meaning of items of folklore brought under my notice. To have gone further would have involved me in excursions hopelessly beyond the limits of my undertaking, for comparative folklore has lately assumedsuch dimensions, that it seems best to leave it to those who make it their special study.It is a cause of genuine regret to me that I did not commence my inquiries earlier, when I had more opportunities of pursuing them, especially when I was a village schoolmaster in Anglesey and could have done the folklore of that island thoroughly; but my education, such as it was, had been of a nature to discourage all interest in anything that savoured of heathen lore and superstition. Nor is that all, for the schoolmasters of my early days took very little trouble to teach their pupils to keep their eyes open or take notice of what they heard around them; so I grew up without having acquired the habit of observing anything, except the Sabbath. It is to be hoped that the younger generation of schoolmasters trained under more auspicious circumstances, when the baleful influence of Robert Lowe has given way to a more enlightened system of public instruction, will do better, and succeed in fostering in their pupils habits of observation. At all events there is plenty of work still left to be done by careful observers and skilful inquirers, as will be seen from the geographical list showing approximately the provenance of the more important contributions to the Kymric folklore in this collection: the counties will be found to figure very unequally. Thus the anglicizing districts have helped me very little, while the more Welsh county of Carnarvon easily takes the lead; but I am inclined to regard the anomalous features of that list as in a great measure due to accident. In other words, some neighbourhoods have been luckier than others in having produced or attracted men who paid attention to local folklore; and if other counties were to be worked equally with Carnarvonshire, some of them would probably be foundnot much less rich in their yield. The anglicizing counties in particular are apt to be disregarded both from the Welsh and the English points of view, in folklore just as in some other things; and in this connexion I cannot help mentioning the premature death of the Rev. Elias Owen as a loss which Welsh folklorists will not soon cease to regret.My information has been obtained partly viva voce, partly by letter. In the case of the stories written down for me in Welsh, I may mention that in some instances the language is far from good; but it has not been thought expedient to alter it in any way, beyond introducing some consistency into the spelling. In the case of the longest specimen of the written stories, Mr. J. C. Hughes’ Curse of Pantannas, it is worthy of notice in passing, that the rendering of it into English was followed by a version in blank verse by Sir Lewis Morris, who published it in hisSongs of Britain. With regard to the work generally, my original intention was to publish the materials, obtained in the way described, with such stories already in print as might be deemed necessary by way of setting for them; and to let any theories or deductions in which I might be disposed to indulge follow later. In this way the first six chapters and portions of some of the others appeared from time to time in the publications of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and in those of the Folk-Lore Society. This would have allowed me to divide the present work into the two well marked sections of materials and deductions. But, when the earlier part came to be edited, I found that I had a good deal of fresh material at my disposal, so that the chapters in question had in some instances to be considerably lengthened and in some others modified in other ways. Then as to the deductive half of the work, it may be mentioned thatcertain portions of the folklore, though ever apt to repeat themselves, were found when closely scrutinized to show serious lacunæ, which had to be filled in the course of the reasoning suggested by the materials in hand. Thus the idea of the whole consisting of two distinctly defined sections had to be given up or else allowed to wait till I should find time to recast it. But I could no more look forward to any such time than to the eventual possibility of escaping minor inconsistencies by quietly stepping through the looking-glass and beginning my work with the index instead of resting content to make it in the old-fashioned way at the end. There was, however, a third course, which is only mentioned to be rejected, and that was to abstain from all further publication; but what reader of books has ever known any of his authors to adopt that!To crown these indiscretions I have to confess that even when most of what I may call the raw material had been brought together, I had no clear idea what I was going to do with it; but I had a hazy notion, that, as in the case of an inveterate talker whose stream of words is only made the more boisterous by obstruction, once I sat down to write I should find reasons and arguments flowing in. It may seem as though I had been secretly conjuring with Vergil’s wordsviresque adquirit eundo. Nothing so deliberate: the world in which I live swarms with busybodies dying to organize everybody and everything, and my instinctive opposition to all that order of tyranny makes me inclined to cherish a somewhat wild sort of free will. Still the cursory reader would be wrong to take for granted that there is no method in my madness: should he take the trouble to look for it, he would find that it has a certain unity of purpose, which has been worked out in the later chapters; but to spare him that troubleI venture to become my own expositor and to append the following summary:—The materials crowded into the earlier chapters mark out the stories connected with the fairies, whether of the lakes or of the dry land, as the richest lode to be exploited in the mine of Celtic folklore. That work is attempted in the later chapters; and the analysis of what may briefly be described as the fairy lore given in the earlier ones carries with it the means of forcing the conviction, that the complex group of ideas identified with the little people is of more origins than one; in other words, that it is drawn partly from history and fact, and partly from the world of imagination and myth. The latter element proves on examination to be inseparably connected with certain ancient beliefs in divinities and demons associated, for instance, with lakes, rivers, and floods. Accordingly, this aspect of fairy lore has been dealt with in chapters vi and vii: the former is devoted largely to the materials themselves, while the latter brings the argument to a conclusion as to the intimate connexion of the fairies with the water-world. Then comes the turn of the other kind of origin to be discussed, namely, that which postulates the historical existence of the fairies as a real race on which have been lavishly superinduced various impossible attributes. This opens up a considerable vista into the early ethnology of these islands, and it involves a variety of questions bearing on the fortunes here of other races. In the series which suggests itself the fairies come first as the oldest and lowest people: then comes that which I venture to call Pictish, possessed of a higher civilization and of warlike instincts. Next come the earlier Celts of the Goidelic branch, the traces, linguistic and other, of whose presence in Wales have demanded repeated notice; and last of all come the other Celts, the linguisticancestors of the Welsh and all the other speakers of Brythonic. The development of these theses, as far as folklore supplies materials, occupies practically the remaining five chapters. Among the subsidiary questions raised may be instanced those of magic and the origin of druidism; not to mention a neglected aspect of the Arthurian legend, the intimate association of the Arthur of Welsh folklore and tradition with Snowdon, and Arthur’s attitude towards the Goidelic population in his time.Lastly, I have the pleasant duty of thanking all those who have helped me, whether by word of mouth or by letter, whether by reference to already printed materials or by assistance in any other way: the names of many of them will be found recorded in their proper places. As a rule my inquiries met with prompt replies, and I am not aware that any difficulties were purposely thrown in my way. Nevertheless I have had difficulties in abundance to encounter, such as the natural shyness of some of those whom I wished to examine on the subject of their recollections, and above all the unavoidable difficulty of cross-questioning those whose information reached me by post. For the precise value of any evidence bearing on Celtic folklore is almost impossible to ascertain, unless it can be made the subject of cross-examination. This arises from the fact that we Celts have a knack of thinking ourselves in complete accord with what we fancy to be in the inquirer’s mind, so that we are quite capable of misleading him in perfect good faith. A most apposite instance, deserving of being placed on record, came under my notice many years ago. In the summer of 1868 I spent several months in Paris, where I met the historian Henri Martin more than once. On being introduced to him he reminded me that he hadvisited South Wales not long before, and that he had been delighted to find the peasantry there still believing in the transmigration of souls. I expressed my surprise, and remarked that he must be joking. Nothing of the kind, he assured me, as he had questioned them himself: the fact admitted of no doubt. I expressed further surprise, but as I perceived that he was proud of the result of his friendly encounters with my countrymen I never ventured to return to the subject, though I always wondered what in the world it could mean. A few years ago, however, I happened to converse with one of the most charming and accomplished of Welsh ladies, when she chanced to mention Henri Martin’s advent: it turned out that he had visited Dr. Charles Williams, then the Principal of Jesus College, and that Dr. Williams introduced him to his friends in South Wales. So M. Martin arrived among the hospitable friends of the lady talking to me, who had in fact to act as his interpreter: I never understood that he could talk much English or any Welsh. Now I have no doubt that M. Martin, with his fixed ideas about the druids and their teaching, propounded palpably leading questions for the Welsh people whom he wished to examine. His fascinating interpreter put them into terse Welsh, and the whole thing was done. I could almost venture to write out the dialogue, which gave back to the great Frenchman his own exact notions from the lips of simple peasants in that subtle non-Aryan syntax, which no Welsh barrister has ever been able to explain to the satisfaction of a bewildered English judge trying to administer justice among a people whom he cannot wholly comprehend.This will serve to illustrate one of the difficulties with which the collector of folklore in Wales hasto cope. I have done my best to reduce the possible extent of the error to which it might give rise; and it is only fair to say that those whom I plagued with my questionings bore the tedium of it with patience, and that to them my thanks are due in a special degree. Neither they, however, nor I, could reasonably complain, if we found other folklorists examining other witnesses on points which had already occupied us; for in such matters one may say with confidence, thatin the multitude of counsellors there is safety.JOHN RHŶS.Jesus College, Oxford,Christmas, 1900.CONTENTSPAGEGEOGRAPHICALLIST OF AUTHORITIESxxvLIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCESxxxiCHAPTER IUndine’s Kymric Sisters1I.The legend of Ỻyn y Fan Fach2II.The legend of Ỻyn y Forwyn23III.Some Snowdon lake legends30IV.The heir of Ystrad38V.Ỻandegai and Ỻanỻechid50VI.Mapes’ story of Ỻyn Syfađon70CHAPTER IIThe Fairies’ Revenge75I.Beđgelert and its environs75II.The Pennant Valley107III.Glasynys’ yarns109IV.An apple story125V.The Conwy afanc130VI.The Berwyn and Aran Fawđwy135VII.The hinterland of Aberdovey141VIII.Some more Merioneth stories146IX.The Children of Rhys Đwfn151X.Southey and the Green Isles of the Sea169XI.The curse of Pantannas173XII.More fairy displeasure192CHAPTER IIIFairy Ways and Words197I.The folklore of Nant Conwy197II.Scenes of the Mabinogi of Math207III.Celynnog Fawr and Ỻanaelhaearn214IV.The blind man’s folklore219V.The old saddler’s recollections222VI.Traces of Tom Tit Tot226VII.March and his horse’s ears231VIII.The story of the Marchlyn Mawr234IX.The fairy ring of Cae Ỻeidr Dyfrydog238X.A Cambrian kelpie242XI.Sundry traits of fairy character244XII.Ynys Geinon and its fairy treasures251XIII.The aged infant257XIV.Fairy speech269CHAPTER IVManx Folklore284The fenodyree or Manx brownie286The sleih beggey or little people289The butches or witches and the hare293Charmers and their methods296Comparisons from the Channel Islands301Magic and ancient modes of thought302The efficacy of fire to detect the witch304Burnt sacrifices305Laa Boaldyn or May-day308Laa Lhunys or the beginning of harvest312Laa Houney or Hollantide beginning the year315Sundry prognostications and the time for them317CHAPTER VThe Fenodyree and his Friends323Lincolnshire parallels323The brownie of Blednoch and Bwca’r Trwyn325Prognostication parallels from Lincolnshire and Herefordshire327The traffic in wind and the Gallizenæ330Wells with rags and pins332St. Catherine’s hen plucked at Colby335The qualtagh or the first-foot and the question of race336Sundry instances of things unlucky342Manx reserve and the belief in the Enemy of Souls346The witch of Endor’s influence and the respectability of the charmer’s vocation349Public penance enforced pretty recently350CHAPTER VIThe Folklore of the Wells354Rag wells in Wales354The question of distinguishing between offerings and vehicles of disease358Mr. Hartland’s decision359The author’s view revised and illustrated360T. E. Morris’ account of the pin well of Ỻanfaglan362Other wishing and divining wells364The sacred fish of Ỻanberis and Ỻangybi366Ffynnon Grassi producing the Glasfryn lake367The Morgan of that lake and his name372Ffynnon Gywer producing Bala Lake376Bala and other towns doomed to submersion377The legend of Ỻyn Ỻech Owen379The parallels of Lough Neagh and Lough Ree381Seithennin’s realm overwhelmed by the sea382Seithennin’s name and its congeners385Prof. Dawkins on the Lost Lands of Wales388Certain Irish wells not visited with impunity389The Lough Sheelin legend compared with that of Seithennin393The priesthood of the wells of St. Elian and St. Teilo395CHAPTER VIITriumphs of the Water-world401The sea encroaching on the coast of Glamorgan402The Kenfig tale of crime and vengeance403The Crymlyn story and its touch of fascination404Nennius’ description of Oper Linn Liguan compared406The vengeance legend of Bala Lake408Legends about the Ỻynclys Pool410The fate of Tyno Helig414The belief in cities submerged intact415The phantom city and the bells of Aberdovey418The ethics of the foregoing legends discussed419The limits of the delay of punishment420Why the fairies delay their vengeance423Non-ethical legends of the eruption of water425Cutting the green sward a probable violation of ancient tabu avenged by water divinities427The lake afanc’s rôle in this connexion428The pigmies of the water-world432The Conwy afanc and the Highland water-horse433The equine features of March and Labraid Lore435Mider and the Mac Óc’s well horses436The Gilla Decair’s horse and Du March Moro437March ab Meirchion associated with Mona439The Welsh deluge Triads440Names of the Dee and other rivers in North Wales441The Lydney god Nudons, Nuada, and Ỻuđ445The fairies associated in various ways with water449The cyhiraeth and the Welsh banshee452Ancestress rather than ancestor454CHAPTER VIIIWelsh Cave Legends456The question of classification456The fairy cave of the Arennig Fawr456The cave of Mynyđ y Cnwc457Waring’s version of Iolo’s legend of Craig y Đinas458Craigfryn Hughes’ Monmouthshire tale462The story of the cave occupied by Owen Lawgoch464How London Bridge came to figure in that story466Owen Lawgoch in Ogo’r Đinas467Dinas Emrys with the treasure hidden by Merlin469Snowdonian treasure reserved for the Goidel470Arthur’s death on the side of Snowdon473The graves of Arthur and Rhita474Elis o’r Nant’s story of Ỻanciau Eryri’s cave476The top of Snowdon named after Rhita477Drystan’s cairn480The hairy man’s cave481Returning heroes for comparison with Arthur and Owen Lawgoch481The baledwyr’s Owen to return as Henry the Ninth484Owen a historical man = Froissart’s Yvain de Gales487Froissart’s account of him and the questions it raises488Owen ousting Arthur as a cave-dweller493Arthur previously supplanting a divinity of the class of the sleeping Cronus of Demetrius493Arthur’s original sojourn located in Faery495CHAPTER IXPlace-name Stories498The Triad of the Swineherds of the Isle of Prydain499The former importance of swine’s flesh as food501The Triad clause about Coỻ’s straying sow503Coỻ’s wanderings arranged to explain place-names508The Kulhwch account of Arthur’s hunt of Twrch Trwyth in Ireland509A parley with the boars511The hunt resumed in Pembrokeshire512The boars reaching the Loughor Valley514Their separation515One killed by the Men of Ỻydaw in Ystrad Yw516Ystrad Yw defined and its name explained516Twrch Trwyth escaping to Cornwall after an encounter in the estuary of the Severn519The comb, razor, and shears of Twrch Trwyth519The name Twrch Trwyth521Some of the names evidence of Goidelic speech523The story about Gwydion and his swine compared525Place-name explanations blurred or effaced526Enumeration of Arthur’s losses in the hunt529The Men of Ỻydaw’s identity and their Syfađon home531Further traces of Goidelic names536A Twrch Trwyth incident mentioned by Nennius537The place-name Carn Cabal discussed538Duplicate names with the Goidelic form preferred in Wales541The same phenomenon in the Mabinogion543The relation between the families of Ỻyr, Dôn, and Pwyỻ548The elemental associations of Ỻyr and Lir549Matthew Arnold’s idea of Medieval Welsh story551Brân, the Tricephal, and the Letto-Slavic Triglaus552Summary remarks as to the Goidels in Wales553CHAPTER XDifficulties of the Folklorist556The terrors of superstition and magic557The folklorist’s activity no fostering of superstition558Folklore a portion of history558The difficulty of separating story and history559Arthur and the Snowdon Goidels as an illustration559Rhita Gawr and the mad kings Nynio and Peibio560Malory’s version and the name Rhita, Ritho, Ryons562Snowdon stories about Owen Ymhacsen and Cai564Goidelic topography in Gwyneđ566The Goidels becoming Compatriots or Kymry569The obscurity of certain superstitions a difficulty571Difficulties arising from their apparent absurdity illustrated by the March and Labraid stories571Difficulties from careless record illustrated by Howells’ Ychen Bannog575Possible survival of traditions about the urus579A brief review of the lake legends and the iron tabu581The scrappiness of the Welsh Tom Tit Tot stories583The story of the widow of Kittlerumpit compared585Items to explain the names Sìli Ffrit and Sìli go Dwt590Bwca’r Trwyn both brownie and bogie in one593That bwca a fairy in service, like the Pennant nurse597The question of fairies concealing their names597Magic identifying the name with the person598Modryb Mari regarding cheese-baking as disastrous to the flock599Her story about the reaper’s little black soul601Gwenogvryn Evans’ lizard version603Diseases regarded as also material entities604The difficulty of realizing primitive modes of thought605CHAPTER XIFolklore Philosophy607The soul as a pigmy or a lizard, and the word enaid607A different notion in the Mabinogi of Math608The belief in the persistence of the body through changes610Shape-shifting and rebirth in Gwion’s transformations612Tuan mac Cairill, Amairgen, and Taliessin615D’Arbois de Jubainville’s view of Erigena’s teaching617The druid master of his own transformations620Death not a matter of course so much as of magic620This incipient philosophy as Gaulish druidism622The Gauls not all of one and the same beliefs623The name and the man624Enw, ‘name,’ and the idea of breathing625The exact nature of the association still obscure627The Celts not distinguishing between names and things628A Celt’s name on him, not by him or with him629The druid’s method of name-giving non-Aryan631Magic requiring metrical formulæ632The professional man’s curse producing blisters632A natural phenomenon arguing a thin-skinned race633Cursing of no avail without the victim’s name635Magic and kingship linked in the female line636CHAPTER XIIRace in Folklore and Myth639Glottology and comparative mythology640The question of the feminine in Welsh syntax642The Irish goddess Danu and the Welsh Dôn644Tynghed or destiny in the Kulhwch story646Traces of a Welsh confarreatio in the same context649Þokk in the Balder story compared with tynghed650Questions of mythology all the harder owing to race mixture652Whether the picture of Cúchulainn in a rage be Aryan or not653Cúchulainn exempt from the Ultonian couvade654Cúchulainn racially a Celt in a society reckoning descent by birth656Cúchulainn as a rebirth of Lug paralleled in Lapland657Doubtful origin of certain legends about Lug658The historical element in fairy stories and lake legends659The notion of the fairies being all women661An illustration from Central Australia662Fairy counting by fives evidence of a non-Celtic race663The Basque numerals as an illustration665Prof. Sayce on Irishmen and Berbers665Dark-complexioned people and fairy changelings666The blond fairies of the Pennant district exceptional668A summary of fairy life from previous chapters668Sir John Wynne’s instance of men taken for fairies670Some of the Brythonic names for fairies671Dwarfs attached to the fortunes of their masters672The question of fairy cannibalism673The fairy Corannians and the historical Coritani674St. Guthlac at Croyland in the Fens676The Irish sid, side, and the Welsh Caer Sidi677The mound dwellings of Pechts and Irish fairies679Prof. J. Morris Jones explaining the non-Aryan syntax of neo-Celtic by means of Egyptian and Berber681The Picts probably the race that introduced it682The first pre-Celtic people here683Probably of the same race as the neolithic dwarfs of the Continent683The other pre-Celtic race, the Picts and the people of the Mabinogion684A word or two by way of epilogue686Additions and Corrections689Index695

CELTIC FOLKLOREJ. RHŶS

CELTIC FOLKLOREJ. RHŶS

CELTIC FOLKLORE

J. RHŶS

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORDPublisher’s logo.LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORDPublisher’s logo.LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Publisher’s logo.

LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK

Original Title Page.

Original Title Page.

Original Title Page.

CELTIC FOLKLOREWELSH AND MANXBYJOHN RHŶS, M.A.,D.Litt.HON. LL.D. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHPROFESSOR OF CELTICPRINCIPAL OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORDVOLUME IOXFORDAT THE CLARENDON PRESSMDCCCCI

CELTIC FOLKLOREWELSH AND MANX

CELTIC FOLKLORE

WELSH AND MANX

BYJOHN RHŶS, M.A.,D.Litt.HON. LL.D. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHPROFESSOR OF CELTICPRINCIPAL OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORD

VOLUME IOXFORDAT THE CLARENDON PRESSMDCCCCI

OxfordPRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESSBY HORACE HART, M.A.PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

OxfordPRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESSBY HORACE HART, M.A.PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

OxfordPRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESSBY HORACE HART, M.A.PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

TO ALL THOSEWHO HAVE IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTED TOTHE PRODUCTION OF THIS WORKIT IS RESPECTFULLYDEDICATEDIN TOKEN OF HIS GRATITUDEBYTHE AUTHOR

TO ALL THOSEWHO HAVE IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTED TOTHE PRODUCTION OF THIS WORKIT IS RESPECTFULLYDEDICATEDIN TOKEN OF HIS GRATITUDEBYTHE AUTHOR

TO ALL THOSEWHO HAVE IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTED TOTHE PRODUCTION OF THIS WORKIT IS RESPECTFULLYDEDICATEDIN TOKEN OF HIS GRATITUDEBYTHE AUTHOR

Our modern idioms, with all their straining after the abstract, are but primitive man’s mental tools adapted to the requirements of civilized life, and they often retain traces of the form and shape which the neolithic worker’s chipping and polishing gave them.

Our modern idioms, with all their straining after the abstract, are but primitive man’s mental tools adapted to the requirements of civilized life, and they often retain traces of the form and shape which the neolithic worker’s chipping and polishing gave them.

Our modern idioms, with all their straining after the abstract, are but primitive man’s mental tools adapted to the requirements of civilized life, and they often retain traces of the form and shape which the neolithic worker’s chipping and polishing gave them.

PREFACETowards the close of the seventies I began to collect Welsh folklore. I did so partly because others had set the example elsewhere, and partly in order to see whether Wales could boast of any story-tellers of the kind that delight the readers of Campbell’sPopular Tales of the West Highlands. I soon found what I was not wholly unprepared for, that as a rule I could not get a single story of any length from the mouths of any of my fellow countrymen, but a considerable number of bits of stories. In some instances these were so scrappy that it took me years to discover how to fit them into their proper context; but, speaking generally, I may say, that, as the materials, such as they were, accumulated, my initial difficulties disappeared. I was, however, always a little afraid of refreshing my memory with the legends of other lands lest I should read into those of my own, ideas possibly foreign to them. While one is busy collecting, it is safest probably not to be too much engaged in comparison: when the work of collecting is done that of comparing may begin. But after all I have not attempted to proceed very far in that direction, only just far enough to find elucidation here and there for the meaning of items of folklore brought under my notice. To have gone further would have involved me in excursions hopelessly beyond the limits of my undertaking, for comparative folklore has lately assumedsuch dimensions, that it seems best to leave it to those who make it their special study.It is a cause of genuine regret to me that I did not commence my inquiries earlier, when I had more opportunities of pursuing them, especially when I was a village schoolmaster in Anglesey and could have done the folklore of that island thoroughly; but my education, such as it was, had been of a nature to discourage all interest in anything that savoured of heathen lore and superstition. Nor is that all, for the schoolmasters of my early days took very little trouble to teach their pupils to keep their eyes open or take notice of what they heard around them; so I grew up without having acquired the habit of observing anything, except the Sabbath. It is to be hoped that the younger generation of schoolmasters trained under more auspicious circumstances, when the baleful influence of Robert Lowe has given way to a more enlightened system of public instruction, will do better, and succeed in fostering in their pupils habits of observation. At all events there is plenty of work still left to be done by careful observers and skilful inquirers, as will be seen from the geographical list showing approximately the provenance of the more important contributions to the Kymric folklore in this collection: the counties will be found to figure very unequally. Thus the anglicizing districts have helped me very little, while the more Welsh county of Carnarvon easily takes the lead; but I am inclined to regard the anomalous features of that list as in a great measure due to accident. In other words, some neighbourhoods have been luckier than others in having produced or attracted men who paid attention to local folklore; and if other counties were to be worked equally with Carnarvonshire, some of them would probably be foundnot much less rich in their yield. The anglicizing counties in particular are apt to be disregarded both from the Welsh and the English points of view, in folklore just as in some other things; and in this connexion I cannot help mentioning the premature death of the Rev. Elias Owen as a loss which Welsh folklorists will not soon cease to regret.My information has been obtained partly viva voce, partly by letter. In the case of the stories written down for me in Welsh, I may mention that in some instances the language is far from good; but it has not been thought expedient to alter it in any way, beyond introducing some consistency into the spelling. In the case of the longest specimen of the written stories, Mr. J. C. Hughes’ Curse of Pantannas, it is worthy of notice in passing, that the rendering of it into English was followed by a version in blank verse by Sir Lewis Morris, who published it in hisSongs of Britain. With regard to the work generally, my original intention was to publish the materials, obtained in the way described, with such stories already in print as might be deemed necessary by way of setting for them; and to let any theories or deductions in which I might be disposed to indulge follow later. In this way the first six chapters and portions of some of the others appeared from time to time in the publications of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and in those of the Folk-Lore Society. This would have allowed me to divide the present work into the two well marked sections of materials and deductions. But, when the earlier part came to be edited, I found that I had a good deal of fresh material at my disposal, so that the chapters in question had in some instances to be considerably lengthened and in some others modified in other ways. Then as to the deductive half of the work, it may be mentioned thatcertain portions of the folklore, though ever apt to repeat themselves, were found when closely scrutinized to show serious lacunæ, which had to be filled in the course of the reasoning suggested by the materials in hand. Thus the idea of the whole consisting of two distinctly defined sections had to be given up or else allowed to wait till I should find time to recast it. But I could no more look forward to any such time than to the eventual possibility of escaping minor inconsistencies by quietly stepping through the looking-glass and beginning my work with the index instead of resting content to make it in the old-fashioned way at the end. There was, however, a third course, which is only mentioned to be rejected, and that was to abstain from all further publication; but what reader of books has ever known any of his authors to adopt that!To crown these indiscretions I have to confess that even when most of what I may call the raw material had been brought together, I had no clear idea what I was going to do with it; but I had a hazy notion, that, as in the case of an inveterate talker whose stream of words is only made the more boisterous by obstruction, once I sat down to write I should find reasons and arguments flowing in. It may seem as though I had been secretly conjuring with Vergil’s wordsviresque adquirit eundo. Nothing so deliberate: the world in which I live swarms with busybodies dying to organize everybody and everything, and my instinctive opposition to all that order of tyranny makes me inclined to cherish a somewhat wild sort of free will. Still the cursory reader would be wrong to take for granted that there is no method in my madness: should he take the trouble to look for it, he would find that it has a certain unity of purpose, which has been worked out in the later chapters; but to spare him that troubleI venture to become my own expositor and to append the following summary:—The materials crowded into the earlier chapters mark out the stories connected with the fairies, whether of the lakes or of the dry land, as the richest lode to be exploited in the mine of Celtic folklore. That work is attempted in the later chapters; and the analysis of what may briefly be described as the fairy lore given in the earlier ones carries with it the means of forcing the conviction, that the complex group of ideas identified with the little people is of more origins than one; in other words, that it is drawn partly from history and fact, and partly from the world of imagination and myth. The latter element proves on examination to be inseparably connected with certain ancient beliefs in divinities and demons associated, for instance, with lakes, rivers, and floods. Accordingly, this aspect of fairy lore has been dealt with in chapters vi and vii: the former is devoted largely to the materials themselves, while the latter brings the argument to a conclusion as to the intimate connexion of the fairies with the water-world. Then comes the turn of the other kind of origin to be discussed, namely, that which postulates the historical existence of the fairies as a real race on which have been lavishly superinduced various impossible attributes. This opens up a considerable vista into the early ethnology of these islands, and it involves a variety of questions bearing on the fortunes here of other races. In the series which suggests itself the fairies come first as the oldest and lowest people: then comes that which I venture to call Pictish, possessed of a higher civilization and of warlike instincts. Next come the earlier Celts of the Goidelic branch, the traces, linguistic and other, of whose presence in Wales have demanded repeated notice; and last of all come the other Celts, the linguisticancestors of the Welsh and all the other speakers of Brythonic. The development of these theses, as far as folklore supplies materials, occupies practically the remaining five chapters. Among the subsidiary questions raised may be instanced those of magic and the origin of druidism; not to mention a neglected aspect of the Arthurian legend, the intimate association of the Arthur of Welsh folklore and tradition with Snowdon, and Arthur’s attitude towards the Goidelic population in his time.Lastly, I have the pleasant duty of thanking all those who have helped me, whether by word of mouth or by letter, whether by reference to already printed materials or by assistance in any other way: the names of many of them will be found recorded in their proper places. As a rule my inquiries met with prompt replies, and I am not aware that any difficulties were purposely thrown in my way. Nevertheless I have had difficulties in abundance to encounter, such as the natural shyness of some of those whom I wished to examine on the subject of their recollections, and above all the unavoidable difficulty of cross-questioning those whose information reached me by post. For the precise value of any evidence bearing on Celtic folklore is almost impossible to ascertain, unless it can be made the subject of cross-examination. This arises from the fact that we Celts have a knack of thinking ourselves in complete accord with what we fancy to be in the inquirer’s mind, so that we are quite capable of misleading him in perfect good faith. A most apposite instance, deserving of being placed on record, came under my notice many years ago. In the summer of 1868 I spent several months in Paris, where I met the historian Henri Martin more than once. On being introduced to him he reminded me that he hadvisited South Wales not long before, and that he had been delighted to find the peasantry there still believing in the transmigration of souls. I expressed my surprise, and remarked that he must be joking. Nothing of the kind, he assured me, as he had questioned them himself: the fact admitted of no doubt. I expressed further surprise, but as I perceived that he was proud of the result of his friendly encounters with my countrymen I never ventured to return to the subject, though I always wondered what in the world it could mean. A few years ago, however, I happened to converse with one of the most charming and accomplished of Welsh ladies, when she chanced to mention Henri Martin’s advent: it turned out that he had visited Dr. Charles Williams, then the Principal of Jesus College, and that Dr. Williams introduced him to his friends in South Wales. So M. Martin arrived among the hospitable friends of the lady talking to me, who had in fact to act as his interpreter: I never understood that he could talk much English or any Welsh. Now I have no doubt that M. Martin, with his fixed ideas about the druids and their teaching, propounded palpably leading questions for the Welsh people whom he wished to examine. His fascinating interpreter put them into terse Welsh, and the whole thing was done. I could almost venture to write out the dialogue, which gave back to the great Frenchman his own exact notions from the lips of simple peasants in that subtle non-Aryan syntax, which no Welsh barrister has ever been able to explain to the satisfaction of a bewildered English judge trying to administer justice among a people whom he cannot wholly comprehend.This will serve to illustrate one of the difficulties with which the collector of folklore in Wales hasto cope. I have done my best to reduce the possible extent of the error to which it might give rise; and it is only fair to say that those whom I plagued with my questionings bore the tedium of it with patience, and that to them my thanks are due in a special degree. Neither they, however, nor I, could reasonably complain, if we found other folklorists examining other witnesses on points which had already occupied us; for in such matters one may say with confidence, thatin the multitude of counsellors there is safety.JOHN RHŶS.Jesus College, Oxford,Christmas, 1900.

PREFACE

Towards the close of the seventies I began to collect Welsh folklore. I did so partly because others had set the example elsewhere, and partly in order to see whether Wales could boast of any story-tellers of the kind that delight the readers of Campbell’sPopular Tales of the West Highlands. I soon found what I was not wholly unprepared for, that as a rule I could not get a single story of any length from the mouths of any of my fellow countrymen, but a considerable number of bits of stories. In some instances these were so scrappy that it took me years to discover how to fit them into their proper context; but, speaking generally, I may say, that, as the materials, such as they were, accumulated, my initial difficulties disappeared. I was, however, always a little afraid of refreshing my memory with the legends of other lands lest I should read into those of my own, ideas possibly foreign to them. While one is busy collecting, it is safest probably not to be too much engaged in comparison: when the work of collecting is done that of comparing may begin. But after all I have not attempted to proceed very far in that direction, only just far enough to find elucidation here and there for the meaning of items of folklore brought under my notice. To have gone further would have involved me in excursions hopelessly beyond the limits of my undertaking, for comparative folklore has lately assumedsuch dimensions, that it seems best to leave it to those who make it their special study.It is a cause of genuine regret to me that I did not commence my inquiries earlier, when I had more opportunities of pursuing them, especially when I was a village schoolmaster in Anglesey and could have done the folklore of that island thoroughly; but my education, such as it was, had been of a nature to discourage all interest in anything that savoured of heathen lore and superstition. Nor is that all, for the schoolmasters of my early days took very little trouble to teach their pupils to keep their eyes open or take notice of what they heard around them; so I grew up without having acquired the habit of observing anything, except the Sabbath. It is to be hoped that the younger generation of schoolmasters trained under more auspicious circumstances, when the baleful influence of Robert Lowe has given way to a more enlightened system of public instruction, will do better, and succeed in fostering in their pupils habits of observation. At all events there is plenty of work still left to be done by careful observers and skilful inquirers, as will be seen from the geographical list showing approximately the provenance of the more important contributions to the Kymric folklore in this collection: the counties will be found to figure very unequally. Thus the anglicizing districts have helped me very little, while the more Welsh county of Carnarvon easily takes the lead; but I am inclined to regard the anomalous features of that list as in a great measure due to accident. In other words, some neighbourhoods have been luckier than others in having produced or attracted men who paid attention to local folklore; and if other counties were to be worked equally with Carnarvonshire, some of them would probably be foundnot much less rich in their yield. The anglicizing counties in particular are apt to be disregarded both from the Welsh and the English points of view, in folklore just as in some other things; and in this connexion I cannot help mentioning the premature death of the Rev. Elias Owen as a loss which Welsh folklorists will not soon cease to regret.My information has been obtained partly viva voce, partly by letter. In the case of the stories written down for me in Welsh, I may mention that in some instances the language is far from good; but it has not been thought expedient to alter it in any way, beyond introducing some consistency into the spelling. In the case of the longest specimen of the written stories, Mr. J. C. Hughes’ Curse of Pantannas, it is worthy of notice in passing, that the rendering of it into English was followed by a version in blank verse by Sir Lewis Morris, who published it in hisSongs of Britain. With regard to the work generally, my original intention was to publish the materials, obtained in the way described, with such stories already in print as might be deemed necessary by way of setting for them; and to let any theories or deductions in which I might be disposed to indulge follow later. In this way the first six chapters and portions of some of the others appeared from time to time in the publications of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and in those of the Folk-Lore Society. This would have allowed me to divide the present work into the two well marked sections of materials and deductions. But, when the earlier part came to be edited, I found that I had a good deal of fresh material at my disposal, so that the chapters in question had in some instances to be considerably lengthened and in some others modified in other ways. Then as to the deductive half of the work, it may be mentioned thatcertain portions of the folklore, though ever apt to repeat themselves, were found when closely scrutinized to show serious lacunæ, which had to be filled in the course of the reasoning suggested by the materials in hand. Thus the idea of the whole consisting of two distinctly defined sections had to be given up or else allowed to wait till I should find time to recast it. But I could no more look forward to any such time than to the eventual possibility of escaping minor inconsistencies by quietly stepping through the looking-glass and beginning my work with the index instead of resting content to make it in the old-fashioned way at the end. There was, however, a third course, which is only mentioned to be rejected, and that was to abstain from all further publication; but what reader of books has ever known any of his authors to adopt that!To crown these indiscretions I have to confess that even when most of what I may call the raw material had been brought together, I had no clear idea what I was going to do with it; but I had a hazy notion, that, as in the case of an inveterate talker whose stream of words is only made the more boisterous by obstruction, once I sat down to write I should find reasons and arguments flowing in. It may seem as though I had been secretly conjuring with Vergil’s wordsviresque adquirit eundo. Nothing so deliberate: the world in which I live swarms with busybodies dying to organize everybody and everything, and my instinctive opposition to all that order of tyranny makes me inclined to cherish a somewhat wild sort of free will. Still the cursory reader would be wrong to take for granted that there is no method in my madness: should he take the trouble to look for it, he would find that it has a certain unity of purpose, which has been worked out in the later chapters; but to spare him that troubleI venture to become my own expositor and to append the following summary:—The materials crowded into the earlier chapters mark out the stories connected with the fairies, whether of the lakes or of the dry land, as the richest lode to be exploited in the mine of Celtic folklore. That work is attempted in the later chapters; and the analysis of what may briefly be described as the fairy lore given in the earlier ones carries with it the means of forcing the conviction, that the complex group of ideas identified with the little people is of more origins than one; in other words, that it is drawn partly from history and fact, and partly from the world of imagination and myth. The latter element proves on examination to be inseparably connected with certain ancient beliefs in divinities and demons associated, for instance, with lakes, rivers, and floods. Accordingly, this aspect of fairy lore has been dealt with in chapters vi and vii: the former is devoted largely to the materials themselves, while the latter brings the argument to a conclusion as to the intimate connexion of the fairies with the water-world. Then comes the turn of the other kind of origin to be discussed, namely, that which postulates the historical existence of the fairies as a real race on which have been lavishly superinduced various impossible attributes. This opens up a considerable vista into the early ethnology of these islands, and it involves a variety of questions bearing on the fortunes here of other races. In the series which suggests itself the fairies come first as the oldest and lowest people: then comes that which I venture to call Pictish, possessed of a higher civilization and of warlike instincts. Next come the earlier Celts of the Goidelic branch, the traces, linguistic and other, of whose presence in Wales have demanded repeated notice; and last of all come the other Celts, the linguisticancestors of the Welsh and all the other speakers of Brythonic. The development of these theses, as far as folklore supplies materials, occupies practically the remaining five chapters. Among the subsidiary questions raised may be instanced those of magic and the origin of druidism; not to mention a neglected aspect of the Arthurian legend, the intimate association of the Arthur of Welsh folklore and tradition with Snowdon, and Arthur’s attitude towards the Goidelic population in his time.Lastly, I have the pleasant duty of thanking all those who have helped me, whether by word of mouth or by letter, whether by reference to already printed materials or by assistance in any other way: the names of many of them will be found recorded in their proper places. As a rule my inquiries met with prompt replies, and I am not aware that any difficulties were purposely thrown in my way. Nevertheless I have had difficulties in abundance to encounter, such as the natural shyness of some of those whom I wished to examine on the subject of their recollections, and above all the unavoidable difficulty of cross-questioning those whose information reached me by post. For the precise value of any evidence bearing on Celtic folklore is almost impossible to ascertain, unless it can be made the subject of cross-examination. This arises from the fact that we Celts have a knack of thinking ourselves in complete accord with what we fancy to be in the inquirer’s mind, so that we are quite capable of misleading him in perfect good faith. A most apposite instance, deserving of being placed on record, came under my notice many years ago. In the summer of 1868 I spent several months in Paris, where I met the historian Henri Martin more than once. On being introduced to him he reminded me that he hadvisited South Wales not long before, and that he had been delighted to find the peasantry there still believing in the transmigration of souls. I expressed my surprise, and remarked that he must be joking. Nothing of the kind, he assured me, as he had questioned them himself: the fact admitted of no doubt. I expressed further surprise, but as I perceived that he was proud of the result of his friendly encounters with my countrymen I never ventured to return to the subject, though I always wondered what in the world it could mean. A few years ago, however, I happened to converse with one of the most charming and accomplished of Welsh ladies, when she chanced to mention Henri Martin’s advent: it turned out that he had visited Dr. Charles Williams, then the Principal of Jesus College, and that Dr. Williams introduced him to his friends in South Wales. So M. Martin arrived among the hospitable friends of the lady talking to me, who had in fact to act as his interpreter: I never understood that he could talk much English or any Welsh. Now I have no doubt that M. Martin, with his fixed ideas about the druids and their teaching, propounded palpably leading questions for the Welsh people whom he wished to examine. His fascinating interpreter put them into terse Welsh, and the whole thing was done. I could almost venture to write out the dialogue, which gave back to the great Frenchman his own exact notions from the lips of simple peasants in that subtle non-Aryan syntax, which no Welsh barrister has ever been able to explain to the satisfaction of a bewildered English judge trying to administer justice among a people whom he cannot wholly comprehend.This will serve to illustrate one of the difficulties with which the collector of folklore in Wales hasto cope. I have done my best to reduce the possible extent of the error to which it might give rise; and it is only fair to say that those whom I plagued with my questionings bore the tedium of it with patience, and that to them my thanks are due in a special degree. Neither they, however, nor I, could reasonably complain, if we found other folklorists examining other witnesses on points which had already occupied us; for in such matters one may say with confidence, thatin the multitude of counsellors there is safety.JOHN RHŶS.Jesus College, Oxford,Christmas, 1900.

Towards the close of the seventies I began to collect Welsh folklore. I did so partly because others had set the example elsewhere, and partly in order to see whether Wales could boast of any story-tellers of the kind that delight the readers of Campbell’sPopular Tales of the West Highlands. I soon found what I was not wholly unprepared for, that as a rule I could not get a single story of any length from the mouths of any of my fellow countrymen, but a considerable number of bits of stories. In some instances these were so scrappy that it took me years to discover how to fit them into their proper context; but, speaking generally, I may say, that, as the materials, such as they were, accumulated, my initial difficulties disappeared. I was, however, always a little afraid of refreshing my memory with the legends of other lands lest I should read into those of my own, ideas possibly foreign to them. While one is busy collecting, it is safest probably not to be too much engaged in comparison: when the work of collecting is done that of comparing may begin. But after all I have not attempted to proceed very far in that direction, only just far enough to find elucidation here and there for the meaning of items of folklore brought under my notice. To have gone further would have involved me in excursions hopelessly beyond the limits of my undertaking, for comparative folklore has lately assumedsuch dimensions, that it seems best to leave it to those who make it their special study.

It is a cause of genuine regret to me that I did not commence my inquiries earlier, when I had more opportunities of pursuing them, especially when I was a village schoolmaster in Anglesey and could have done the folklore of that island thoroughly; but my education, such as it was, had been of a nature to discourage all interest in anything that savoured of heathen lore and superstition. Nor is that all, for the schoolmasters of my early days took very little trouble to teach their pupils to keep their eyes open or take notice of what they heard around them; so I grew up without having acquired the habit of observing anything, except the Sabbath. It is to be hoped that the younger generation of schoolmasters trained under more auspicious circumstances, when the baleful influence of Robert Lowe has given way to a more enlightened system of public instruction, will do better, and succeed in fostering in their pupils habits of observation. At all events there is plenty of work still left to be done by careful observers and skilful inquirers, as will be seen from the geographical list showing approximately the provenance of the more important contributions to the Kymric folklore in this collection: the counties will be found to figure very unequally. Thus the anglicizing districts have helped me very little, while the more Welsh county of Carnarvon easily takes the lead; but I am inclined to regard the anomalous features of that list as in a great measure due to accident. In other words, some neighbourhoods have been luckier than others in having produced or attracted men who paid attention to local folklore; and if other counties were to be worked equally with Carnarvonshire, some of them would probably be foundnot much less rich in their yield. The anglicizing counties in particular are apt to be disregarded both from the Welsh and the English points of view, in folklore just as in some other things; and in this connexion I cannot help mentioning the premature death of the Rev. Elias Owen as a loss which Welsh folklorists will not soon cease to regret.

My information has been obtained partly viva voce, partly by letter. In the case of the stories written down for me in Welsh, I may mention that in some instances the language is far from good; but it has not been thought expedient to alter it in any way, beyond introducing some consistency into the spelling. In the case of the longest specimen of the written stories, Mr. J. C. Hughes’ Curse of Pantannas, it is worthy of notice in passing, that the rendering of it into English was followed by a version in blank verse by Sir Lewis Morris, who published it in hisSongs of Britain. With regard to the work generally, my original intention was to publish the materials, obtained in the way described, with such stories already in print as might be deemed necessary by way of setting for them; and to let any theories or deductions in which I might be disposed to indulge follow later. In this way the first six chapters and portions of some of the others appeared from time to time in the publications of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and in those of the Folk-Lore Society. This would have allowed me to divide the present work into the two well marked sections of materials and deductions. But, when the earlier part came to be edited, I found that I had a good deal of fresh material at my disposal, so that the chapters in question had in some instances to be considerably lengthened and in some others modified in other ways. Then as to the deductive half of the work, it may be mentioned thatcertain portions of the folklore, though ever apt to repeat themselves, were found when closely scrutinized to show serious lacunæ, which had to be filled in the course of the reasoning suggested by the materials in hand. Thus the idea of the whole consisting of two distinctly defined sections had to be given up or else allowed to wait till I should find time to recast it. But I could no more look forward to any such time than to the eventual possibility of escaping minor inconsistencies by quietly stepping through the looking-glass and beginning my work with the index instead of resting content to make it in the old-fashioned way at the end. There was, however, a third course, which is only mentioned to be rejected, and that was to abstain from all further publication; but what reader of books has ever known any of his authors to adopt that!

To crown these indiscretions I have to confess that even when most of what I may call the raw material had been brought together, I had no clear idea what I was going to do with it; but I had a hazy notion, that, as in the case of an inveterate talker whose stream of words is only made the more boisterous by obstruction, once I sat down to write I should find reasons and arguments flowing in. It may seem as though I had been secretly conjuring with Vergil’s wordsviresque adquirit eundo. Nothing so deliberate: the world in which I live swarms with busybodies dying to organize everybody and everything, and my instinctive opposition to all that order of tyranny makes me inclined to cherish a somewhat wild sort of free will. Still the cursory reader would be wrong to take for granted that there is no method in my madness: should he take the trouble to look for it, he would find that it has a certain unity of purpose, which has been worked out in the later chapters; but to spare him that troubleI venture to become my own expositor and to append the following summary:—

The materials crowded into the earlier chapters mark out the stories connected with the fairies, whether of the lakes or of the dry land, as the richest lode to be exploited in the mine of Celtic folklore. That work is attempted in the later chapters; and the analysis of what may briefly be described as the fairy lore given in the earlier ones carries with it the means of forcing the conviction, that the complex group of ideas identified with the little people is of more origins than one; in other words, that it is drawn partly from history and fact, and partly from the world of imagination and myth. The latter element proves on examination to be inseparably connected with certain ancient beliefs in divinities and demons associated, for instance, with lakes, rivers, and floods. Accordingly, this aspect of fairy lore has been dealt with in chapters vi and vii: the former is devoted largely to the materials themselves, while the latter brings the argument to a conclusion as to the intimate connexion of the fairies with the water-world. Then comes the turn of the other kind of origin to be discussed, namely, that which postulates the historical existence of the fairies as a real race on which have been lavishly superinduced various impossible attributes. This opens up a considerable vista into the early ethnology of these islands, and it involves a variety of questions bearing on the fortunes here of other races. In the series which suggests itself the fairies come first as the oldest and lowest people: then comes that which I venture to call Pictish, possessed of a higher civilization and of warlike instincts. Next come the earlier Celts of the Goidelic branch, the traces, linguistic and other, of whose presence in Wales have demanded repeated notice; and last of all come the other Celts, the linguisticancestors of the Welsh and all the other speakers of Brythonic. The development of these theses, as far as folklore supplies materials, occupies practically the remaining five chapters. Among the subsidiary questions raised may be instanced those of magic and the origin of druidism; not to mention a neglected aspect of the Arthurian legend, the intimate association of the Arthur of Welsh folklore and tradition with Snowdon, and Arthur’s attitude towards the Goidelic population in his time.

Lastly, I have the pleasant duty of thanking all those who have helped me, whether by word of mouth or by letter, whether by reference to already printed materials or by assistance in any other way: the names of many of them will be found recorded in their proper places. As a rule my inquiries met with prompt replies, and I am not aware that any difficulties were purposely thrown in my way. Nevertheless I have had difficulties in abundance to encounter, such as the natural shyness of some of those whom I wished to examine on the subject of their recollections, and above all the unavoidable difficulty of cross-questioning those whose information reached me by post. For the precise value of any evidence bearing on Celtic folklore is almost impossible to ascertain, unless it can be made the subject of cross-examination. This arises from the fact that we Celts have a knack of thinking ourselves in complete accord with what we fancy to be in the inquirer’s mind, so that we are quite capable of misleading him in perfect good faith. A most apposite instance, deserving of being placed on record, came under my notice many years ago. In the summer of 1868 I spent several months in Paris, where I met the historian Henri Martin more than once. On being introduced to him he reminded me that he hadvisited South Wales not long before, and that he had been delighted to find the peasantry there still believing in the transmigration of souls. I expressed my surprise, and remarked that he must be joking. Nothing of the kind, he assured me, as he had questioned them himself: the fact admitted of no doubt. I expressed further surprise, but as I perceived that he was proud of the result of his friendly encounters with my countrymen I never ventured to return to the subject, though I always wondered what in the world it could mean. A few years ago, however, I happened to converse with one of the most charming and accomplished of Welsh ladies, when she chanced to mention Henri Martin’s advent: it turned out that he had visited Dr. Charles Williams, then the Principal of Jesus College, and that Dr. Williams introduced him to his friends in South Wales. So M. Martin arrived among the hospitable friends of the lady talking to me, who had in fact to act as his interpreter: I never understood that he could talk much English or any Welsh. Now I have no doubt that M. Martin, with his fixed ideas about the druids and their teaching, propounded palpably leading questions for the Welsh people whom he wished to examine. His fascinating interpreter put them into terse Welsh, and the whole thing was done. I could almost venture to write out the dialogue, which gave back to the great Frenchman his own exact notions from the lips of simple peasants in that subtle non-Aryan syntax, which no Welsh barrister has ever been able to explain to the satisfaction of a bewildered English judge trying to administer justice among a people whom he cannot wholly comprehend.

This will serve to illustrate one of the difficulties with which the collector of folklore in Wales hasto cope. I have done my best to reduce the possible extent of the error to which it might give rise; and it is only fair to say that those whom I plagued with my questionings bore the tedium of it with patience, and that to them my thanks are due in a special degree. Neither they, however, nor I, could reasonably complain, if we found other folklorists examining other witnesses on points which had already occupied us; for in such matters one may say with confidence, thatin the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

JOHN RHŶS.

Jesus College, Oxford,Christmas, 1900.

CONTENTSPAGEGEOGRAPHICALLIST OF AUTHORITIESxxvLIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCESxxxiCHAPTER IUndine’s Kymric Sisters1I.The legend of Ỻyn y Fan Fach2II.The legend of Ỻyn y Forwyn23III.Some Snowdon lake legends30IV.The heir of Ystrad38V.Ỻandegai and Ỻanỻechid50VI.Mapes’ story of Ỻyn Syfađon70CHAPTER IIThe Fairies’ Revenge75I.Beđgelert and its environs75II.The Pennant Valley107III.Glasynys’ yarns109IV.An apple story125V.The Conwy afanc130VI.The Berwyn and Aran Fawđwy135VII.The hinterland of Aberdovey141VIII.Some more Merioneth stories146IX.The Children of Rhys Đwfn151X.Southey and the Green Isles of the Sea169XI.The curse of Pantannas173XII.More fairy displeasure192CHAPTER IIIFairy Ways and Words197I.The folklore of Nant Conwy197II.Scenes of the Mabinogi of Math207III.Celynnog Fawr and Ỻanaelhaearn214IV.The blind man’s folklore219V.The old saddler’s recollections222VI.Traces of Tom Tit Tot226VII.March and his horse’s ears231VIII.The story of the Marchlyn Mawr234IX.The fairy ring of Cae Ỻeidr Dyfrydog238X.A Cambrian kelpie242XI.Sundry traits of fairy character244XII.Ynys Geinon and its fairy treasures251XIII.The aged infant257XIV.Fairy speech269CHAPTER IVManx Folklore284The fenodyree or Manx brownie286The sleih beggey or little people289The butches or witches and the hare293Charmers and their methods296Comparisons from the Channel Islands301Magic and ancient modes of thought302The efficacy of fire to detect the witch304Burnt sacrifices305Laa Boaldyn or May-day308Laa Lhunys or the beginning of harvest312Laa Houney or Hollantide beginning the year315Sundry prognostications and the time for them317CHAPTER VThe Fenodyree and his Friends323Lincolnshire parallels323The brownie of Blednoch and Bwca’r Trwyn325Prognostication parallels from Lincolnshire and Herefordshire327The traffic in wind and the Gallizenæ330Wells with rags and pins332St. Catherine’s hen plucked at Colby335The qualtagh or the first-foot and the question of race336Sundry instances of things unlucky342Manx reserve and the belief in the Enemy of Souls346The witch of Endor’s influence and the respectability of the charmer’s vocation349Public penance enforced pretty recently350CHAPTER VIThe Folklore of the Wells354Rag wells in Wales354The question of distinguishing between offerings and vehicles of disease358Mr. Hartland’s decision359The author’s view revised and illustrated360T. E. Morris’ account of the pin well of Ỻanfaglan362Other wishing and divining wells364The sacred fish of Ỻanberis and Ỻangybi366Ffynnon Grassi producing the Glasfryn lake367The Morgan of that lake and his name372Ffynnon Gywer producing Bala Lake376Bala and other towns doomed to submersion377The legend of Ỻyn Ỻech Owen379The parallels of Lough Neagh and Lough Ree381Seithennin’s realm overwhelmed by the sea382Seithennin’s name and its congeners385Prof. Dawkins on the Lost Lands of Wales388Certain Irish wells not visited with impunity389The Lough Sheelin legend compared with that of Seithennin393The priesthood of the wells of St. Elian and St. Teilo395CHAPTER VIITriumphs of the Water-world401The sea encroaching on the coast of Glamorgan402The Kenfig tale of crime and vengeance403The Crymlyn story and its touch of fascination404Nennius’ description of Oper Linn Liguan compared406The vengeance legend of Bala Lake408Legends about the Ỻynclys Pool410The fate of Tyno Helig414The belief in cities submerged intact415The phantom city and the bells of Aberdovey418The ethics of the foregoing legends discussed419The limits of the delay of punishment420Why the fairies delay their vengeance423Non-ethical legends of the eruption of water425Cutting the green sward a probable violation of ancient tabu avenged by water divinities427The lake afanc’s rôle in this connexion428The pigmies of the water-world432The Conwy afanc and the Highland water-horse433The equine features of March and Labraid Lore435Mider and the Mac Óc’s well horses436The Gilla Decair’s horse and Du March Moro437March ab Meirchion associated with Mona439The Welsh deluge Triads440Names of the Dee and other rivers in North Wales441The Lydney god Nudons, Nuada, and Ỻuđ445The fairies associated in various ways with water449The cyhiraeth and the Welsh banshee452Ancestress rather than ancestor454CHAPTER VIIIWelsh Cave Legends456The question of classification456The fairy cave of the Arennig Fawr456The cave of Mynyđ y Cnwc457Waring’s version of Iolo’s legend of Craig y Đinas458Craigfryn Hughes’ Monmouthshire tale462The story of the cave occupied by Owen Lawgoch464How London Bridge came to figure in that story466Owen Lawgoch in Ogo’r Đinas467Dinas Emrys with the treasure hidden by Merlin469Snowdonian treasure reserved for the Goidel470Arthur’s death on the side of Snowdon473The graves of Arthur and Rhita474Elis o’r Nant’s story of Ỻanciau Eryri’s cave476The top of Snowdon named after Rhita477Drystan’s cairn480The hairy man’s cave481Returning heroes for comparison with Arthur and Owen Lawgoch481The baledwyr’s Owen to return as Henry the Ninth484Owen a historical man = Froissart’s Yvain de Gales487Froissart’s account of him and the questions it raises488Owen ousting Arthur as a cave-dweller493Arthur previously supplanting a divinity of the class of the sleeping Cronus of Demetrius493Arthur’s original sojourn located in Faery495CHAPTER IXPlace-name Stories498The Triad of the Swineherds of the Isle of Prydain499The former importance of swine’s flesh as food501The Triad clause about Coỻ’s straying sow503Coỻ’s wanderings arranged to explain place-names508The Kulhwch account of Arthur’s hunt of Twrch Trwyth in Ireland509A parley with the boars511The hunt resumed in Pembrokeshire512The boars reaching the Loughor Valley514Their separation515One killed by the Men of Ỻydaw in Ystrad Yw516Ystrad Yw defined and its name explained516Twrch Trwyth escaping to Cornwall after an encounter in the estuary of the Severn519The comb, razor, and shears of Twrch Trwyth519The name Twrch Trwyth521Some of the names evidence of Goidelic speech523The story about Gwydion and his swine compared525Place-name explanations blurred or effaced526Enumeration of Arthur’s losses in the hunt529The Men of Ỻydaw’s identity and their Syfađon home531Further traces of Goidelic names536A Twrch Trwyth incident mentioned by Nennius537The place-name Carn Cabal discussed538Duplicate names with the Goidelic form preferred in Wales541The same phenomenon in the Mabinogion543The relation between the families of Ỻyr, Dôn, and Pwyỻ548The elemental associations of Ỻyr and Lir549Matthew Arnold’s idea of Medieval Welsh story551Brân, the Tricephal, and the Letto-Slavic Triglaus552Summary remarks as to the Goidels in Wales553CHAPTER XDifficulties of the Folklorist556The terrors of superstition and magic557The folklorist’s activity no fostering of superstition558Folklore a portion of history558The difficulty of separating story and history559Arthur and the Snowdon Goidels as an illustration559Rhita Gawr and the mad kings Nynio and Peibio560Malory’s version and the name Rhita, Ritho, Ryons562Snowdon stories about Owen Ymhacsen and Cai564Goidelic topography in Gwyneđ566The Goidels becoming Compatriots or Kymry569The obscurity of certain superstitions a difficulty571Difficulties arising from their apparent absurdity illustrated by the March and Labraid stories571Difficulties from careless record illustrated by Howells’ Ychen Bannog575Possible survival of traditions about the urus579A brief review of the lake legends and the iron tabu581The scrappiness of the Welsh Tom Tit Tot stories583The story of the widow of Kittlerumpit compared585Items to explain the names Sìli Ffrit and Sìli go Dwt590Bwca’r Trwyn both brownie and bogie in one593That bwca a fairy in service, like the Pennant nurse597The question of fairies concealing their names597Magic identifying the name with the person598Modryb Mari regarding cheese-baking as disastrous to the flock599Her story about the reaper’s little black soul601Gwenogvryn Evans’ lizard version603Diseases regarded as also material entities604The difficulty of realizing primitive modes of thought605CHAPTER XIFolklore Philosophy607The soul as a pigmy or a lizard, and the word enaid607A different notion in the Mabinogi of Math608The belief in the persistence of the body through changes610Shape-shifting and rebirth in Gwion’s transformations612Tuan mac Cairill, Amairgen, and Taliessin615D’Arbois de Jubainville’s view of Erigena’s teaching617The druid master of his own transformations620Death not a matter of course so much as of magic620This incipient philosophy as Gaulish druidism622The Gauls not all of one and the same beliefs623The name and the man624Enw, ‘name,’ and the idea of breathing625The exact nature of the association still obscure627The Celts not distinguishing between names and things628A Celt’s name on him, not by him or with him629The druid’s method of name-giving non-Aryan631Magic requiring metrical formulæ632The professional man’s curse producing blisters632A natural phenomenon arguing a thin-skinned race633Cursing of no avail without the victim’s name635Magic and kingship linked in the female line636CHAPTER XIIRace in Folklore and Myth639Glottology and comparative mythology640The question of the feminine in Welsh syntax642The Irish goddess Danu and the Welsh Dôn644Tynghed or destiny in the Kulhwch story646Traces of a Welsh confarreatio in the same context649Þokk in the Balder story compared with tynghed650Questions of mythology all the harder owing to race mixture652Whether the picture of Cúchulainn in a rage be Aryan or not653Cúchulainn exempt from the Ultonian couvade654Cúchulainn racially a Celt in a society reckoning descent by birth656Cúchulainn as a rebirth of Lug paralleled in Lapland657Doubtful origin of certain legends about Lug658The historical element in fairy stories and lake legends659The notion of the fairies being all women661An illustration from Central Australia662Fairy counting by fives evidence of a non-Celtic race663The Basque numerals as an illustration665Prof. Sayce on Irishmen and Berbers665Dark-complexioned people and fairy changelings666The blond fairies of the Pennant district exceptional668A summary of fairy life from previous chapters668Sir John Wynne’s instance of men taken for fairies670Some of the Brythonic names for fairies671Dwarfs attached to the fortunes of their masters672The question of fairy cannibalism673The fairy Corannians and the historical Coritani674St. Guthlac at Croyland in the Fens676The Irish sid, side, and the Welsh Caer Sidi677The mound dwellings of Pechts and Irish fairies679Prof. J. Morris Jones explaining the non-Aryan syntax of neo-Celtic by means of Egyptian and Berber681The Picts probably the race that introduced it682The first pre-Celtic people here683Probably of the same race as the neolithic dwarfs of the Continent683The other pre-Celtic race, the Picts and the people of the Mabinogion684A word or two by way of epilogue686Additions and Corrections689Index695

CONTENTS

PAGEGEOGRAPHICALLIST OF AUTHORITIESxxvLIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCESxxxiCHAPTER IUndine’s Kymric Sisters1I.The legend of Ỻyn y Fan Fach2II.The legend of Ỻyn y Forwyn23III.Some Snowdon lake legends30IV.The heir of Ystrad38V.Ỻandegai and Ỻanỻechid50VI.Mapes’ story of Ỻyn Syfađon70CHAPTER IIThe Fairies’ Revenge75I.Beđgelert and its environs75II.The Pennant Valley107III.Glasynys’ yarns109IV.An apple story125V.The Conwy afanc130VI.The Berwyn and Aran Fawđwy135VII.The hinterland of Aberdovey141VIII.Some more Merioneth stories146IX.The Children of Rhys Đwfn151X.Southey and the Green Isles of the Sea169XI.The curse of Pantannas173XII.More fairy displeasure192CHAPTER IIIFairy Ways and Words197I.The folklore of Nant Conwy197II.Scenes of the Mabinogi of Math207III.Celynnog Fawr and Ỻanaelhaearn214IV.The blind man’s folklore219V.The old saddler’s recollections222VI.Traces of Tom Tit Tot226VII.March and his horse’s ears231VIII.The story of the Marchlyn Mawr234IX.The fairy ring of Cae Ỻeidr Dyfrydog238X.A Cambrian kelpie242XI.Sundry traits of fairy character244XII.Ynys Geinon and its fairy treasures251XIII.The aged infant257XIV.Fairy speech269CHAPTER IVManx Folklore284The fenodyree or Manx brownie286The sleih beggey or little people289The butches or witches and the hare293Charmers and their methods296Comparisons from the Channel Islands301Magic and ancient modes of thought302The efficacy of fire to detect the witch304Burnt sacrifices305Laa Boaldyn or May-day308Laa Lhunys or the beginning of harvest312Laa Houney or Hollantide beginning the year315Sundry prognostications and the time for them317CHAPTER VThe Fenodyree and his Friends323Lincolnshire parallels323The brownie of Blednoch and Bwca’r Trwyn325Prognostication parallels from Lincolnshire and Herefordshire327The traffic in wind and the Gallizenæ330Wells with rags and pins332St. Catherine’s hen plucked at Colby335The qualtagh or the first-foot and the question of race336Sundry instances of things unlucky342Manx reserve and the belief in the Enemy of Souls346The witch of Endor’s influence and the respectability of the charmer’s vocation349Public penance enforced pretty recently350CHAPTER VIThe Folklore of the Wells354Rag wells in Wales354The question of distinguishing between offerings and vehicles of disease358Mr. Hartland’s decision359The author’s view revised and illustrated360T. E. Morris’ account of the pin well of Ỻanfaglan362Other wishing and divining wells364The sacred fish of Ỻanberis and Ỻangybi366Ffynnon Grassi producing the Glasfryn lake367The Morgan of that lake and his name372Ffynnon Gywer producing Bala Lake376Bala and other towns doomed to submersion377The legend of Ỻyn Ỻech Owen379The parallels of Lough Neagh and Lough Ree381Seithennin’s realm overwhelmed by the sea382Seithennin’s name and its congeners385Prof. Dawkins on the Lost Lands of Wales388Certain Irish wells not visited with impunity389The Lough Sheelin legend compared with that of Seithennin393The priesthood of the wells of St. Elian and St. Teilo395CHAPTER VIITriumphs of the Water-world401The sea encroaching on the coast of Glamorgan402The Kenfig tale of crime and vengeance403The Crymlyn story and its touch of fascination404Nennius’ description of Oper Linn Liguan compared406The vengeance legend of Bala Lake408Legends about the Ỻynclys Pool410The fate of Tyno Helig414The belief in cities submerged intact415The phantom city and the bells of Aberdovey418The ethics of the foregoing legends discussed419The limits of the delay of punishment420Why the fairies delay their vengeance423Non-ethical legends of the eruption of water425Cutting the green sward a probable violation of ancient tabu avenged by water divinities427The lake afanc’s rôle in this connexion428The pigmies of the water-world432The Conwy afanc and the Highland water-horse433The equine features of March and Labraid Lore435Mider and the Mac Óc’s well horses436The Gilla Decair’s horse and Du March Moro437March ab Meirchion associated with Mona439The Welsh deluge Triads440Names of the Dee and other rivers in North Wales441The Lydney god Nudons, Nuada, and Ỻuđ445The fairies associated in various ways with water449The cyhiraeth and the Welsh banshee452Ancestress rather than ancestor454CHAPTER VIIIWelsh Cave Legends456The question of classification456The fairy cave of the Arennig Fawr456The cave of Mynyđ y Cnwc457Waring’s version of Iolo’s legend of Craig y Đinas458Craigfryn Hughes’ Monmouthshire tale462The story of the cave occupied by Owen Lawgoch464How London Bridge came to figure in that story466Owen Lawgoch in Ogo’r Đinas467Dinas Emrys with the treasure hidden by Merlin469Snowdonian treasure reserved for the Goidel470Arthur’s death on the side of Snowdon473The graves of Arthur and Rhita474Elis o’r Nant’s story of Ỻanciau Eryri’s cave476The top of Snowdon named after Rhita477Drystan’s cairn480The hairy man’s cave481Returning heroes for comparison with Arthur and Owen Lawgoch481The baledwyr’s Owen to return as Henry the Ninth484Owen a historical man = Froissart’s Yvain de Gales487Froissart’s account of him and the questions it raises488Owen ousting Arthur as a cave-dweller493Arthur previously supplanting a divinity of the class of the sleeping Cronus of Demetrius493Arthur’s original sojourn located in Faery495CHAPTER IXPlace-name Stories498The Triad of the Swineherds of the Isle of Prydain499The former importance of swine’s flesh as food501The Triad clause about Coỻ’s straying sow503Coỻ’s wanderings arranged to explain place-names508The Kulhwch account of Arthur’s hunt of Twrch Trwyth in Ireland509A parley with the boars511The hunt resumed in Pembrokeshire512The boars reaching the Loughor Valley514Their separation515One killed by the Men of Ỻydaw in Ystrad Yw516Ystrad Yw defined and its name explained516Twrch Trwyth escaping to Cornwall after an encounter in the estuary of the Severn519The comb, razor, and shears of Twrch Trwyth519The name Twrch Trwyth521Some of the names evidence of Goidelic speech523The story about Gwydion and his swine compared525Place-name explanations blurred or effaced526Enumeration of Arthur’s losses in the hunt529The Men of Ỻydaw’s identity and their Syfađon home531Further traces of Goidelic names536A Twrch Trwyth incident mentioned by Nennius537The place-name Carn Cabal discussed538Duplicate names with the Goidelic form preferred in Wales541The same phenomenon in the Mabinogion543The relation between the families of Ỻyr, Dôn, and Pwyỻ548The elemental associations of Ỻyr and Lir549Matthew Arnold’s idea of Medieval Welsh story551Brân, the Tricephal, and the Letto-Slavic Triglaus552Summary remarks as to the Goidels in Wales553CHAPTER XDifficulties of the Folklorist556The terrors of superstition and magic557The folklorist’s activity no fostering of superstition558Folklore a portion of history558The difficulty of separating story and history559Arthur and the Snowdon Goidels as an illustration559Rhita Gawr and the mad kings Nynio and Peibio560Malory’s version and the name Rhita, Ritho, Ryons562Snowdon stories about Owen Ymhacsen and Cai564Goidelic topography in Gwyneđ566The Goidels becoming Compatriots or Kymry569The obscurity of certain superstitions a difficulty571Difficulties arising from their apparent absurdity illustrated by the March and Labraid stories571Difficulties from careless record illustrated by Howells’ Ychen Bannog575Possible survival of traditions about the urus579A brief review of the lake legends and the iron tabu581The scrappiness of the Welsh Tom Tit Tot stories583The story of the widow of Kittlerumpit compared585Items to explain the names Sìli Ffrit and Sìli go Dwt590Bwca’r Trwyn both brownie and bogie in one593That bwca a fairy in service, like the Pennant nurse597The question of fairies concealing their names597Magic identifying the name with the person598Modryb Mari regarding cheese-baking as disastrous to the flock599Her story about the reaper’s little black soul601Gwenogvryn Evans’ lizard version603Diseases regarded as also material entities604The difficulty of realizing primitive modes of thought605CHAPTER XIFolklore Philosophy607The soul as a pigmy or a lizard, and the word enaid607A different notion in the Mabinogi of Math608The belief in the persistence of the body through changes610Shape-shifting and rebirth in Gwion’s transformations612Tuan mac Cairill, Amairgen, and Taliessin615D’Arbois de Jubainville’s view of Erigena’s teaching617The druid master of his own transformations620Death not a matter of course so much as of magic620This incipient philosophy as Gaulish druidism622The Gauls not all of one and the same beliefs623The name and the man624Enw, ‘name,’ and the idea of breathing625The exact nature of the association still obscure627The Celts not distinguishing between names and things628A Celt’s name on him, not by him or with him629The druid’s method of name-giving non-Aryan631Magic requiring metrical formulæ632The professional man’s curse producing blisters632A natural phenomenon arguing a thin-skinned race633Cursing of no avail without the victim’s name635Magic and kingship linked in the female line636CHAPTER XIIRace in Folklore and Myth639Glottology and comparative mythology640The question of the feminine in Welsh syntax642The Irish goddess Danu and the Welsh Dôn644Tynghed or destiny in the Kulhwch story646Traces of a Welsh confarreatio in the same context649Þokk in the Balder story compared with tynghed650Questions of mythology all the harder owing to race mixture652Whether the picture of Cúchulainn in a rage be Aryan or not653Cúchulainn exempt from the Ultonian couvade654Cúchulainn racially a Celt in a society reckoning descent by birth656Cúchulainn as a rebirth of Lug paralleled in Lapland657Doubtful origin of certain legends about Lug658The historical element in fairy stories and lake legends659The notion of the fairies being all women661An illustration from Central Australia662Fairy counting by fives evidence of a non-Celtic race663The Basque numerals as an illustration665Prof. Sayce on Irishmen and Berbers665Dark-complexioned people and fairy changelings666The blond fairies of the Pennant district exceptional668A summary of fairy life from previous chapters668Sir John Wynne’s instance of men taken for fairies670Some of the Brythonic names for fairies671Dwarfs attached to the fortunes of their masters672The question of fairy cannibalism673The fairy Corannians and the historical Coritani674St. Guthlac at Croyland in the Fens676The Irish sid, side, and the Welsh Caer Sidi677The mound dwellings of Pechts and Irish fairies679Prof. J. Morris Jones explaining the non-Aryan syntax of neo-Celtic by means of Egyptian and Berber681The Picts probably the race that introduced it682The first pre-Celtic people here683Probably of the same race as the neolithic dwarfs of the Continent683The other pre-Celtic race, the Picts and the people of the Mabinogion684A word or two by way of epilogue686Additions and Corrections689Index695

PAGE

GEOGRAPHICALLIST OF AUTHORITIESxxv

LIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCESxxxi

CHAPTER I

Undine’s Kymric Sisters1

CHAPTER II

The Fairies’ Revenge75

CHAPTER III

Fairy Ways and Words197

CHAPTER IV

Manx Folklore284

CHAPTER V

The Fenodyree and his Friends323

CHAPTER VI

The Folklore of the Wells354

CHAPTER VII

Triumphs of the Water-world401

CHAPTER VIII

Welsh Cave Legends456

CHAPTER IX

Place-name Stories498

CHAPTER X

Difficulties of the Folklorist556

CHAPTER XI

Folklore Philosophy607

CHAPTER XII

Race in Folklore and Myth639

Additions and Corrections689

Index695

Back to IndexNext