Fairy

Take the Fair Face of Woman... by Sophie Anderson

A fairy is a spirit (supernatural being) found in the legends, folklore, and mythology of many cultures. They are generally humanoid in form, though of a higher, spiritual nature and so possessed of preternatural abilities, along with such mystical qualities as otherworldly beauty and grace, an ethereal glow, wings, or the like. They are also regarded as aloof, ephemeral, mercurial, and whimsical, among other qualities that place them outside of a human scope and have a tendency to make them associated or confused with other mythological creatures.

Etymology

The words fae and faerie came to English from French and, ultimately, Latin or more further from Persia(the word Pari). An interesting correlation is the word "fey," which may be derived ultimately from the same Latin root and is now returning to mean the same as "fae."

The Latin root fata, meaning fate in the sense of one of the Parcae, is an indication that fays have abilities associated with knowledge (foresight) and manipulation (luck, blessing, cursing) of fate, both of which are qualities of faeries in myth.

Fata influenced modern Italian's fata and Spanish's hada, both of which mean fairy, and the Old French fée, which gained the meaning "enchanter." By adding the ending -rie, we get féerie, meaning a "state of fée" or "enchantment." This also befits the fae, who are known for casting illusions and altering emotions, particularly so as to make themselves alluring, frightening, or unseen.

Modern English inherited the two terms "fae" and "fairy," along with all the associations attached to them. Since the subjects of the words are somewhat alien and ethereal, the terms are often used interchangeably and are more prone to spelling alterations than other words.

Another word, "fey," has historically meant "doomed to die," mostly in Scotland. However, it gained the meaning "touched by otherworldly or magical quality; clairvoyant, supernatural." In modern English, the word seems to be conjoining into "fae" as variant spelling. If "fey" derives from "fata," which seems as like as "fairy" deriving from "fata," then the word history of the two words is itself fae.1

There is, however, a slight distinction between the two words "fae" and "faerie." Properly, "fae" is a noun referring to a specific race of otherworldly beings exercising mystical abilities (either the elves [or equivalent thereof] in mythology or their insect-winged, floral descendents in English folklore), while "faerie" is an adjective meaning "of, like, or associated with fays, their otherworldly home, their activities, and their produced goods and effects." Thus, a leprechaun and a ring of mushrooms are both faerie things (a fairy leprechaun and a fairy ring.)

Nature

The question of a faerie "nature" has been the topic of many a myth or scholarly paper for a very long time. This is partially due to the fact that, by being supernatural and chaotic entities, they are difficult to pin down as being anything in particular and partially due to the fact that humans have yet to answer completely what constitutes the racial ethos of humanity. Consequently, faerie runs amok with creatures that are completely unrelated save that they are mythologic in origin. There is a central archetypal figure behind most of the stories described as a tall, delicate, radiant being of humanoid aspect. Such beings are most often called "the shining ones."

However, the mercurial and inherently magical nature of fairies has led to their association and confusion with most other mythical creatures. Dwarves, giants, dragons, unicorns, and the like have at some point been made out to be faeries, if not faye themselves.

Fairies in literature

William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream deals extensively with the subject of fairy-folk and their interaction with a group of amateur theatrical players. This work details the spell cast by the mischievous fairy Puck (at the behest of the fairy-king Oberon) on Oberon's wife Titania, who falls in love with the first mortal she casts eyes upon, the unfortunate Bottom, whom Puck has transmogrified into having a donkey's head.

William S. Gilbert liked fairies and wrote several plays about them. The best is the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe which deals with a conflict between fairies and the House of Lords and, among other issues, touches on some of the practical consequences of fairy/human marriages and cross-breeding in a humorous manner.

In his Fairy Folk Tales of Ireland (1892), W. B. Yeats coined the expression "trooping fairies" to refer to those fairies who liked to travel together in groups, related to the sidhe, Christianised remnants of the Tuatha Dé Danann. This is in contrast to the solitary fairies, such as the banshee, leprechaun, or pooka. Typically Yeats's trooping fairies are compared to the elves of English lore.

Fairies figure prominently in most of Neil Gaiman's works, primarily The Books of Magic, Stardust, and Sandman.

Tad Williams's book War of the Flowers deals extensively with passing over into a modern realm of fairies.

Isaac Asimov includes a short story about fairies in his collection of fantasy tales, Magic. Fairies are imagined to be sentient insectoids, and the lepidoptera forms the ones most often associated with the term, though the protagonist fairy is of the beetle line!

George MacDonald's book Phantastes.

Raymond E. Feist's book, Faerie Tale, is about a small family in modern age meeting up with some of the darker aspects of fairies, as well as the Fairie Realm itself.

The Susanna Clarke novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is about a pair of rival magicians who make use of and are subsequently used by "the gentleman with the thistle-down hair" also known as the fairy king of "Lost-Hope".

In the earlier versions of Tokien's Middle Earth, the creatures later known as Elves were called Fairies.

In the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer, Fairies are highly technologically advanced, peaceful beings who live underground in Haven City and Atlantis City, unbeknownst to humans. There are many species, including elfs, dwarfs, sprites, trolls, pixies, goblins and gremlins.

The Revenge of the Shadow King, by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis, discusses the history of the faerie kingdom, its rulers Oberon and Titania, and the disastrous results of their world colliding with that of our own.

Fairies in visual arts

Artists such as Brian Froud, Alan Lee, Myrea Pettit, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Cicely Mary Barker, Amy Brown and Peg Maltby have all created beautiful illustrations of fairies.

Conversely, the Victorian painter Richard Dadd was responsible for some paintings of fairy-folk with an altogether more sinister and malign nature. Another notable Victorian painter of fairies was the artist and illustrator Arthur Rackham. Interest in fairy themed art in Britain enjoyed a brief renaissance following the Cottingley fairies photographs, and a number of artists turned to painting fairy themes.

  • Fairy painting

Fairies in modern popular culture

Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge!
American Dragon: Jake Long
Holly Black
Blue Fairy
Green Fairy
Holly Short
The Legend of Zelda
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (Pure)
Shobijin
Tinkerbell
Winx Club
ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal
Fairy Cakes
Woodland Fairy

In Debates

A fairly common practice in debate (especially concerning the supernatural) is to state that the opponent's views are akin to believing in fairies etc.


This page about fairies includes information from a Wikipedia article.
Additional articles about fairies
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External links for fairies
Videos for fairies
Wikis about fairies
Discussion Groups about fairies
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Images of fairies

A fairly common practice in debate (especially concerning the supernatural) is to state that the opponent's views are akin to believing in fairies etc. She's said that if she weren’t a model she’d be a sportscaster. Interest in fairy themed art in Britain enjoyed a brief renaissance following the Cottingley fairies photographs, and a number of artists turned to painting fairy themes. From an early age Marisa loved surfing, was a standout volleyball player on her high school team, and has long been a big sports fan in general. Another notable Victorian painter of fairies was the artist and illustrator Arthur Rackham. In 2004 she served as a modeling judge in the short-lived reality television series Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model. Conversely, the Victorian painter Richard Dadd was responsible for some paintings of fairy-folk with an altogether more sinister and malign nature. She's also appeared in other magazines such as Fitness, Shape, and Vogue, as well as worked on campaigns for Nordstrom, J.Crew, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Artists such as Brian Froud, Alan Lee, Myrea Pettit, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Cicely Mary Barker, Amy Brown and Peg Maltby have all created beautiful illustrations of fairies. Atypically, she was able to move from a start as a nude magazine model to high profile mainstream work with the likes of no less than Victoria’s Secret and the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005). Lewis, discusses the history of the faerie kingdom, its rulers Oberon and Titania, and the disastrous results of their world colliding with that of our own. Although she came in third behind Ashley Degenford and Monica Hansen in Perfect 10's first annual model search, she was repeatedly showcased in following issues, including the covers of the Winter 1998, Aug/Sept 1999, and Fall 2004 editions. The Revenge of the Shadow King, by Derek Benz and J.S. Marisa Lee Miller (born Santa Cruz, California, August 6, 1978) is a buxom American model who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. There are many species, including elfs, dwarfs, sprites, trolls, pixies, goblins and gremlins.

In the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer, Fairies are highly technologically advanced, peaceful beings who live underground in Haven City and Atlantis City, unbeknownst to humans. In the earlier versions of Tokien's Middle Earth, the creatures later known as Elves were called Fairies. The Susanna Clarke novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is about a pair of rival magicians who make use of and are subsequently used by "the gentleman with the thistle-down hair" also known as the fairy king of "Lost-Hope". Feist's book, Faerie Tale, is about a small family in modern age meeting up with some of the darker aspects of fairies, as well as the Fairie Realm itself.

Raymond E. George MacDonald's book Phantastes. Fairies are imagined to be sentient insectoids, and the lepidoptera forms the ones most often associated with the term, though the protagonist fairy is of the beetle line!. Isaac Asimov includes a short story about fairies in his collection of fantasy tales, Magic.

Tad Williams's book War of the Flowers deals extensively with passing over into a modern realm of fairies. Fairies figure prominently in most of Neil Gaiman's works, primarily The Books of Magic, Stardust, and Sandman. Typically Yeats's trooping fairies are compared to the elves of English lore. This is in contrast to the solitary fairies, such as the banshee, leprechaun, or pooka.

Yeats coined the expression "trooping fairies" to refer to those fairies who liked to travel together in groups, related to the sidhe, Christianised remnants of the Tuatha Dé Danann. B. In his Fairy Folk Tales of Ireland (1892), W. The best is the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe which deals with a conflict between fairies and the House of Lords and, among other issues, touches on some of the practical consequences of fairy/human marriages and cross-breeding in a humorous manner.

Gilbert liked fairies and wrote several plays about them. William S. This work details the spell cast by the mischievous fairy Puck (at the behest of the fairy-king Oberon) on Oberon's wife Titania, who falls in love with the first mortal she casts eyes upon, the unfortunate Bottom, whom Puck has transmogrified into having a donkey's head. William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream deals extensively with the subject of fairy-folk and their interaction with a group of amateur theatrical players.

Dwarves, giants, dragons, unicorns, and the like have at some point been made out to be faeries, if not faye themselves. However, the mercurial and inherently magical nature of fairies has led to their association and confusion with most other mythical creatures. Such beings are most often called "the shining ones.". There is a central archetypal figure behind most of the stories described as a tall, delicate, radiant being of humanoid aspect.

Consequently, faerie runs amok with creatures that are completely unrelated save that they are mythologic in origin. This is partially due to the fact that, by being supernatural and chaotic entities, they are difficult to pin down as being anything in particular and partially due to the fact that humans have yet to answer completely what constitutes the racial ethos of humanity. The question of a faerie "nature" has been the topic of many a myth or scholarly paper for a very long time. There is, however, a slight distinction between the two words "fae" and "faerie." Properly, "fae" is a noun referring to a specific race of otherworldly beings exercising mystical abilities (either the elves [or equivalent thereof] in mythology or their insect-winged, floral descendents in English folklore), while "faerie" is an adjective meaning "of, like, or associated with fays, their otherworldly home, their activities, and their produced goods and effects." Thus, a leprechaun and a ring of mushrooms are both faerie things (a fairy leprechaun and a fairy ring.).

If "fey" derives from "fata," which seems as like as "fairy" deriving from "fata," then the word history of the two words is itself fae.1. However, it gained the meaning "touched by otherworldly or magical quality; clairvoyant, supernatural." In modern English, the word seems to be conjoining into "fae" as variant spelling. Another word, "fey," has historically meant "doomed to die," mostly in Scotland. Since the subjects of the words are somewhat alien and ethereal, the terms are often used interchangeably and are more prone to spelling alterations than other words.

Modern English inherited the two terms "fae" and "fairy," along with all the associations attached to them. Fata influenced modern Italian's fata and Spanish's hada, both of which mean fairy, and the Old French fée, which gained the meaning "enchanter." By adding the ending -rie, we get féerie, meaning a "state of fée" or "enchantment." This also befits the fae, who are known for casting illusions and altering emotions, particularly so as to make themselves alluring, frightening, or unseen. The Latin root fata, meaning fate in the sense of one of the Parcae, is an indication that fays have abilities associated with knowledge (foresight) and manipulation (luck, blessing, cursing) of fate, both of which are qualities of faeries in myth. An interesting correlation is the word "fey," which may be derived ultimately from the same Latin root and is now returning to mean the same as "fae.".

The words fae and faerie came to English from French and, ultimately, Latin or more further from Persia(the word Pari). . They are also regarded as aloof, ephemeral, mercurial, and whimsical, among other qualities that place them outside of a human scope and have a tendency to make them associated or confused with other mythological creatures. They are generally humanoid in form, though of a higher, spiritual nature and so possessed of preternatural abilities, along with such mystical qualities as otherworldly beauty and grace, an ethereal glow, wings, or the like.

A fairy is a spirit (supernatural being) found in the legends, folklore, and mythology of many cultures. Fairy painting.