Fairies, their origin and essence

Fairies are fantastic and ethereal creatures. They are depicted like beautiful women, glowing, with wings (but not in all cultures fairies have wings), and sometimes carrying a wand that emits sparks. And always in the deep forests. Their origin is mainly based on Celtic legends. But the belief in the existence of fantastic creatures from the woods maybe is as ancient like the world. In the Middle Ages, it wasn't estrange to see fairies depicted in coat of arms, and some aristocrats said that they came from a fairy lineage. It was said that fairies took advantage of their beauty to have relationships with knights, and this way create a intermediate race between humans and fairies. In the Middle Ages, when someone saw a pale and weak child, it was said that was a fairy child. According to the ancient lore, fairies approached the baby's cribs to give them blessings or curses, depending on the good or bad nature of the fairy. The bad fairies ended being called witches. There are several theories about the origin of fairies. One of them is that they are angels that were unable to go back to the Heavens. So they stayed in the forests to protect God's creation. It explains why they were protectors of nature. It was said that sometimes they punished women for causing damage to nature, and they turned them into fairies too. And the only moment they might be set free was in Saint John's night. The saying was that only the noblest and gold hearted can see fairies. It is also said that they live in a parallel world and that they can intercede in the life of humans. Amongst the most popular legends there is the one which tells that King Arthur was healed by the four most powerful fairies from Avalon (a mythical isle inhabited by fairies). The belief in fairies was the origin of the so called "fairy tales". They reached their highest splendor in 17Th and 18Th centuries. The greatest writers of this genre were Charles Perrault ("Sleeping Beauty"), the Grimm Brothers ("Snow White", "Cinderella"), Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont ("Beauty and the Beast"), and Hans Christian Andersen ("The Little Mermaid", "The Snow Queen"). Without doubt, who best depicts the world of fairies is Josephine Wall. And you? Do you believe in fairies? ... -Emma Alvarez- © 2008 by Emma Alvarez. Link to this post without copying the text. Some Related Posts: If you liked this post, subscribe to Emma Alvarez Site or give yourself a gift Stumble it! Add me to your del.icio.us network