Research needed on Fairy lore

Maybe try one of this guy's books.

Brian Bates He lectures at Brighton I think.

I quite fancy the How to Handle Your Mother book lol


I have The Real Middle Earth but although there is quite a lot about both herbs and elves or fey, there's nothing specific re herbs that will affect them.

Otherworld creatures are stated as being 'apparitions marked by a false pallor whose momentary corporeal substance was borrowed from insubstantial air' and therefore tricky to get at with herbs I should think!

Depends on which legends you are going by obviously.

The Good Folk allegedly have no love for iron or steel (metals used after the Bronze Age). This is mentioned in many old legends and texts, and in The Once and Future King by White.

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/
oodles of free ebooks

I recommend the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Andrew Lang's (12) Fairy Books: Blue, Brown, Crimson, Green. Grey, Lilac, Olive, orange, Pink, Red, Yellow & Violet.

Go to your public library and look for fairy folklore books by Katherine Briggs.

She's excellent; look particular for books with Dictionary or Encyclopedia in the title.

But Rowan wards fairies away, Hawthorne is a mark of fairy domicile, and shouldn't be dug up or built over.

And yes, cold iron is a protection.

RE: Brian Bates--he's a twit

Here's a review of one of his books.

The thing about Bates is that he presents himself as a scholar, but is clueless.

He has asserted, in various books, things like:

The Celts spoke medieval German, that Woad contains LSD, that Stonehenge was built by the druids, and that Tolkien only knew modern English and German.

Medievalist said:

RE: Brian Bates--he's a twit

Here's a review of one of his books.

The thing about Bates is that he presents himself as a scholar, but is clueless.

He has asserted, in various books, things like:

The Celts spoke medieval German, that Woad contains LSD, that Stonehenge was built by the druids, and that Tolkien only knew modern English and German.

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Really?

And they let him teach at my local uni? ( which is how I heard about him)

Thanks for the info

ETa: It may explain why I only got through the first third of the book.

Broadswordbabe said:

I need to find out about herbs and other items that are supposed to have effects on the Fey - especially adverse effects. Can anyone point me towards a good book or website on this?

Many thanks!

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You could always invent a reason why a certain herb would affect them!

Broadswordbabe said:

I have her Dictionary of Fairies - it's brilliant, I've recommended it to others - but it has no index, alas.

Thanks everyone else for all the advice. I probably will end up adding my own twist or ...er...wiggling the folklore to do what I need it to, but I like to use something based in the original mythology (insofar as there is such a thing!) if I can.

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I believe there's actually an entry for fairy plants.

My books are all in storage, or I'd help; I'm sorry.

Other sources: Child Ballads--there's a book by called
Wimberly, Lowry Charles. Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928. Reprinted 1965 Dover Press.

This book is . . . OK, but you do need to use caution since he's relying on stuff that he doesn't verify:
Spence, Lewis. The Fairy Tradition in Britain. New York: Rider and Company, 1948.

Same thing is true of Thomas Keightley. They also plagiarize each other And had a long-running feud.

But Rowan is ubiquitous in the UK, Ireland, and France for warding off fairies; note that the North American native plant called rowan (because of its red berries) is not the same as European rowan.

Also--iron as a ward is referred to as protection against otherworld intruders in pretty much every European fairy folklore collection.

Other sources: Child Ballads--there's a book by called
Wimberly, Lowry Charles. Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928. Reprinted 1965 Dover Press.

This book is . . . OK, but you do need to use caution since he's relying on stuff that he doesn't verify:
Spence, Lewis. The Fairy Tradition in Britain. New York: Rider and Company, 1948.

Same thing is true of Thomas Keightley. They also plagiarize each other And had a long-running feud.

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Lol, are there any really reliable sources?

Oh re -read. The first one. Wonder where I can dig up a copy.

IdiotsRUs said:

Lol, are there any really reliable sources?

Oh re -read. The first one. Wonder where I can dig up a copy.

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I think it's a lot like UFO lore. In a study subject where there is no empirical evidence you've got your sources, and you've got your reliable sources. As in most cases, the more people whose other works agree with yours, the more reliable you'll seem. "Making stuff up on the fly" -- even for something as nonsensical as leprechauns or greys, lessens your street cred.

My gran, a great source of folklore, used to say that turning round three times would confuse the fairies so they'd leave you alone. Turning your coat or jumper inside out and putting it back on would also confuse the fairies (which makes them sound rather stupid, but she swore it worked).

The World Guide to Fairies, Elves, Gnomes and Other Little People

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517263130/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

As far as I know they don't like St. John's Wort either. It's Rowan/St. John's Wort/Iron in my mind, to keep them away. Oh, and holy water.

If you look up the ways of revealing changelings -- that's basically offensive magic against the fey.

Though people had other nasty methods, like threatening the baby with a hot iron poker or throwing it in the fire (er yeah, I'd wail too!)