Brownies were known as house elves that look liked miniature, brown shaggy humans with large eyes and oversized, pointed ears who would clean a person's home during the night when everyone's asleep. They became extremely attached to their human family. If the family moved, so would they. Usually the Brownies were rewarded them for their service with cream, cake or bread. Not giving them a reward or rewarding them with clothing was an insult and they usually vanished or caused havoc in an already clean home by destroying and ruining property. Their name "derives from the earlier ‘little brown man’. The brownie wears a brown hood, attaches himself to families, and may reside in farm-houses or barns. He does the chores at night when people sleep; he has even been known to assist in childbirth. If criticized the brownie may revenge himself by breaking dishes, spilling milk, driving the cows astray, or spoiling the crops." (Mackillop) Brownies seldom spoke with humans and were said to be "invisible". They could only be seen by children.
References
Jimmy, Joe. "T." Faeries. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
MacKillop, James. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia. W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment