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

A fairy, faerie,fairie or faery, is a creature from stories and mythology. Faeries can obtain any form with a special ability called "glamour" that can change or enhance the body's structure or to hide faery-like qualities from mortal eyes. This word is derived from the name of a place where they were said to live: Faerie, and fairies are sometimes called fairy-folk. The myth appears commonplace across many diverse cultures and traditions. They have many names and many forms. by Sophie Anderson (French, 1823-1903) (Full title: Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... by Sophie Anderson (French, 1823-1903) (Full title: Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this... Mythology is the study of myths: stories of a particular culture that it believes to be true and that feature a specific religious or belief system. ... In mythology and in fiction, Faerie (also Faery) is an otherworldly realm, home to the Fae or fairies. ...

Celtic mythology

The Celtic peoples have many references to fairies in their myths and legends, and their nature is described in widely different ways. They are also known as 'the little folk', but this can also refer to leprechauns, goblins, menehune, and other mythical creatures, though not all faeries are "little". In Ireland, the fairies were known as the Sídhe, and in Scotland, the Daoine Sìth, Sìthichean, or a great many variant names. A Celtic cross incorporating the Celtic knotwork motif associated with Celtic cultures Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism the apparent religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Leprechaun In Irish mythology, a leprechaun is a type of elf said to inhabit the island of Ireland. ... A goblin is an evil or mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or elf-like phantom. ... In Polynesian mythology, the Menehune are similar to elves or fairies. ... The sídhe, (IPA ) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology — quite distinct from humankind. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ...

The height of fairies was not always as consistent as is held to be the case today. Traditionally, fairies were often of human height or taller.

One consistent belief amongst the Britons was that the fairy people were weak against cold iron, leading to many of the iron-related superstitions that have existed, some of which survive to this day (for instance, the tradition of placing a horse shoe on one's door). The term Briton may have the following meanings: In an historical context: The indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain in pre-Roman times. ... Wrought iron is a very pure form of commercial iron, having a very small carbon content. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4, d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ... Superstition is a set of behaviors that are related to magical thinking, whereby the practitioner believes that the future, or the outcome of certain events, can be influenced by certain specified behaviors. ... Modern horseshoes are most commonly made of iron and nailed onto the hoof. ...

This belief has prompted some historians and mythological commentators to speculate that the fairies are actually derived from a folk memory of the people that inhabited the island of Great Britain before the Celts arrived. These people would have been armed only with softer bronze, and hence iron would have been the decisive Celtic advantage. A historian is a person who studies history. ... Folk memory is a term often used to describe stories, folklore or myths about past events that are passed orally from generation to generation. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4, d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ...

In contemporary belief, fairies are often characterised as fundamentally benevolent in demeanour; this does not, however, hold true in many historical manifestations. The belief in Changeling children, for instance, where the fairies would steal away a mortal child and replace it with one of their own, was widespread in mediaeval times; this motif appears in the folk-songs Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin, among others. For other uses see Changeling (disambiguation) Trolls with the changeling they have raised, John Bauer, 1913 A changeling, in various European legends, is the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other creature, left secretly in exchange for a human child. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... In literature, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Thomas the Rhymer (also Thomas Rhymer or Thomas Rymer) is the better-known name of Thomas of Erceldoune, a 13th Century Scottish soothsayer. ... Tam Lin is the hero of a Scottish Borders legend about faeries and mortal men (one of several Thomases in myth, the others are True Thomas and Thomas the Rhymer). ...

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. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A Midsummer Nights Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare written in the mid-1590s. ... Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeares play A Midsummer Nights Dream. ... Oberon, King of the Fairies, is most famous as a character in William Shakespeares play, A Midsummer Nights Dream. ... Titania is: The queen of the fairies in medieval folklore, and a character from William Shakespeares play A Midsummer Nights Dream. ... Nick Bottom, a character in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, provides comic relief in the play. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey or ass (Equus asinus) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ...

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. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (November 18, 1836 - May 29, 1911) was a British dramatist and librettist best known for his operatic collaborations with the composer Arthur Sullivan. ... Playwright/lyricist William S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900) defined operetta in Victorian England with a series of their internationally successful and timeless works known as the Savoy Operas. ... Operetta (literally, little opera) is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. ... Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri, is a comic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in two acts. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... This article is about the marriage ceremony. ... ...

Fairies in visual arts

Artists such as Brian Froud, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. Cicely Mary Barker, Omar Rayyan and Sheila Rayyan, and Peg Maltby have all created beautiful illustrations of fairies. Brian Froud (born 1947) is an illustrator of faeries and goblins. ... Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888-1960) was an Australian illustrator of childrens books. ... Cicely Mary Barker (June 28, 1895 - February 16, 1973) was the illustrator who created the famous Flower Fairies. As a child she was greatly influenced by the works of the illustrator Kate Greenaway, whom she assiduously copied in her formative years. ...

Conversely, the Victorian painter Richard Dadd was responsible for some paintings of fairy-folk with an altogether more sinister and malign nature. The Victorians in Britain were much taken with the notion of fairies in the wake of the Cottingley fairies photographs, and a number of artists turned to painting fairy themes. Another notable Victorian painter of fairies was the artist and illustrator Arthur Rackham. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Richard Dadd (August 1, 1817 - January 7, 1886) was a Victorian painter of fairies and other supernatural subjects, depicting them with obsessively minuscule detail. ... The Cottingley Fairies were the invention of Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford, England. ... A photograph (often just called a photo) is an image (or a representation of that on e. ... An illustration from Alices Adventures in Wonderland Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific British book illustrator. ...

Fairies in modern popular culture

• Holly Short

Main figure in Irish writer Eoin Colfer's stories about Artemis Fowl. In the first book, Artemis Fowl discovers the existence of an underground world of fairies. Because of this threat, captain Holly Short is sent to the Earth to eliminate Artemis Fowl. Though she doesn't want to admit it, she slowly becomes friends with Artemis, and in the third book they form an alliance to fight the Mafia. In the Artemis Fowl childrens book series, the fictional character Holly Short is a LEPrecon officer who was abducted by the twelve year old criminal mastermind Artemis. ... Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (born May 14, 1965, Wexford, Ireland) is an Irish author. ... Book cover for Artemis Fowl (Europe) The front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (Europe) Front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (Europe) The front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception (Europe) For the first book in the series, see Artemis Fowl (book). ... In the Artemis Fowl childrens book series, the fictional character Holly Short is a LEPrecon officer who was abducted by the twelve year old criminal mastermind Artemis. ... Book cover for Artemis Fowl (Europe) The front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (Europe) Front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (Europe) The front cover for Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception (Europe) For the first book in the series, see Artemis Fowl (book). ... // Mafia The Mafia, also referred to as La Cosa Nostra (Italian, variously translated as This Thing Of Ours or Our Thing), is the collective name of various secret organizations in Italy, Sicily, Corsica and the United States. ...

• Tinkerbell

Originally from the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie, but more famous for the Disney version, or the portrayal by Julia Roberts in the 1991 movie Hook. She is also often referred to as a pixie, and leaves a trail of fairy dust (or pixie dust) behind wherever she goes. Tinkerbell or Tinker Bell is a fictional character in J.M. Barries play and subsequent novel Peter Pan. ... Statue of Peter Pan in St. ... Sir James Matthew Barrie, Baronet, Scottish author Sir James Matthew Barrie, Baronet (May 9, 1860 - June 19, 1937), more commonly known as J. M. Barrie, was a Scottish novelist and dramatist. ... Walt Disney Walter Elias Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. ... Julia Roberts (born Julie Fiona Roberts on October 28, 1967, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is a movie star who shot to fame during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman opposite Richard Gere. ... Hook is a 1991 movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge!

• Blue Fairy

In Carlo Collodi's tale Pinocchio the wooden boy receives the gift of real life from the Blue Fairy. In Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001), where an android longs to become a real boy, the Blue Fairy is voiced by Meryl Streep. Screenshot from Baz Luhrmanns Moulin Rouge! featuring Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy. ... Screenshot from Baz Luhrmanns Moulin Rouge! featuring Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy. ... The Blue Fairy is a fictional character in Pinocchio who admonishes the little wooden puppet to avoid bad behavior and finally rewards him for his goodness by turning him into a real, flesh-and-blood boy. ... Carlo Lorenzini (November 24, 1826 _ October 26, 1890), better known as Carlo Collodi, or simply Collodi, was an Italian writer and journalist. ... Pinocchio (Le Avventure di Pinocchio) is a childrens tale by Carlo Collodi published in serial form in 1880 and in book form in 1883 in Italy, which has come to be a classic; it has been filmed over twenty times. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio but raised in the suburbs of Haddonfield, New Jersey and Scottsdale, Arizona), is an American film director whose films range from science fiction to historical drama to horror. ... A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) was the last project that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick worked on. ... Streep in Silkwood (1983) Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress who has received numerous accolades for her work in movies and television and who, from the 1980s to the present day, has been regarded as one of the best in her field. ...

• Green Fairy

Short but famous cameo of Kylie Minogue in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!. When Christian and the bohémiens celebrate life by feasting and drinking absinthe, the Green Fairy appears in their hallucinations, singing samples from The Sound of Music. Because of its green colour, The Green Fairy is also the nickname of absinthe, hence the apparition of a green fairy in the hallucinations of the drunk bohémiens. The Green Fairy also made several appearances in the 2004 film EuroTrip. Kylie Minogue in the music video for Slow (2003) Kylie Ann Minogue (pronounced: , to rhyme with vogue) (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer and actress. ... Baz Luhrmann (born Mark Anthony Luhrmann, New South Wales, 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director. ... Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 musical film which tells the story of a young British poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, Satine. ... A vintage absinthe advertisement Absinthe (from the French) is an alcohol liqueur derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood. ... Julie Andrews as Maria, seeks guidance from the Mother Abbess, played by Peggy Wood, in this scene from the 1965 film version. ... A vintage absinthe advertisement Absinthe (from the French) is an alcohol liqueur derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Movie poster of EuroTrip EuroTrip is a 2004 American comedy movie about a group of young Americans and their adventures traveling around Europe. ...

• The Legend of Zelda

Recent games have included fairies as Link's tipster. This article is about the first game in the series. ...

See also

• Adhene
• Pari
• Fey
• Fairy tale
• Pixie
• Wichtlein
• Slavic fairies
• Sprite (fantasy)
• List of fairy and sprite characters
• Fairy painting
• Titania's Palace
• Cottingley Fairies

The Manx Fairies were called Adhene and known as Cloan ny moyrn, which means the Children of Pride/Ambition, because they were regarded as having been Fallen Angels cast from Heaven but too good for Hell. ... Doctor Who character, see Peri Brown. ... Fey can refer to: Fey a series of novels. ... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... These house spirits live behind walls and under floors in the houses of Germany, and knock or tap three times to communicate with mortals; this signal usually indicates the death of the head of the household. ... Fairies in Slavic mythology come in several forms and their names are spelled differently based on the specific language. ... This article is about the legendary creatures. ... These are fairy and sprite characters, listed in alphabetical order. ... A genre of painting began with Victorian fairy painters such as Richard Dadd, and John Anster Fitzgerald and fairy tale illustrators like Arthur Rackham who illustrated scenes from Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream and The Tempest as well as their own fantasies of the miniature faery world. ... Titanias Palace is a dollhouse, that was hand-built by Sir Nevile Wilkinson 1907 and 1922. ... The Cottingley Fairies were the invention of Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford, England. ...

External links

• Angelic.tk Magical website - Includes extensive information and galleries of fairies
• Victorian, PreRaphaelite, and other fairies
• Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy