Fenodyree (also phynodderee, phynnodderee, fynnoderee or fenoderee;
[ or ) in the ]folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
of the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, is a hairy supernatural creature, a sort of sprite or fairy
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
( gv, ferrishyn), often carrying out chores to help humans, like the brownies of the larger areas of Scotland and England.
Etymology
The word Fenodyree consists of Manx words gv, label=none, fynney, , hair, fur and gv, label=none, oashyree, , stockings,[, Dict., "phynnod'deree, s.m. a satyr; Isa. xxxiv. 14. "derived from Fynney (hair or fur) and Oashyr or Oashyree (of stockings or hose).] or possibly from sv, fjun, , down. although this "hairy stockings(?)" etymology may be conjectural.[ ]John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
observes that gv, label=none, oashyr} was apparently borrowed from non, label=none, hosur, stockings (pl. of non, ), so if that is the etymology, the word Fenodyree cannot predate contact with the Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
.
Fenodyree has also been glossed simply as "the hairy one" or "something hairy" in Manx by Joseph Train Joseph Train (6 November 1779 – 7 December 1852) was a Scottish excise officer, antiquarian, writer and poet. He corresponded with Sir Walter Scott, and his local knowledge provided Scott with ideas for his novels.
Life
Train was born in 1779 at ...
and J. F. Campbell after him.
John Kelly's dictionary has suggested an alternate etymology, stemming from gv, label=none, fenney, , invaders, wild Irish.[ The term has also been used in the sense of "satyr" in the 1819 Manx translation of the Bible (Isaiah 34:14) by ]Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
.[
]
General description
A fenodyree in Manx folklore is considered a kind of fairy
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
( gv, ferrishyn), covered with copious amounts of body hair, normally conducting itself in a naked state without wearing any clothing.[ Comparable to ]Anglo-
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people o ...
Scottish brownie, the creature is said to be oftentimes helpful to humans,[ performing arduous tasks such as transporting great blocks of stone,][ or clipping meadow grass with stupendous speed.][
For his talent in the grass-cutting skill, he has earned the nickname or "the nimble mower",][ and is sung in a Manx ballad by that very title.
A bit of leftover food was all he asked for reward, according to a ballad: "His was the wizard hand that toil'd / At midnight's ]witching hour
In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour imm ...
/ That gather'd the sheep from the coming storm", and all he required were "scattered sheafs" and "cream-bowl" left on the meal table.
pp. 148–9
(verse collected from Mrs. E. S. Craven Green). In one instance, he accepted the offer to draw water in exchange for a "cake" ( griddlecake), but could not accomplish the task because he was given a leaky sieve instead of a pail.[ On the other hand, a gift of clothing would drive the creature away, as attested in several tales.][
Besides herding animals as just mentioned, reaping][ and ]threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
overnight may be added to the list of chores he performs for the farmer,[ as well as herding sheep on a snowy night.][ The fenodyree may also repair fish-nets or the boat, according to lore among fishermen.][
Some writers suggest it was a "giant",][ or "big and shaggy, with fiery eyes, and stronger than any man",][ but ]I. H. Leney
I is the ninth letter of the Latin alphabet.
I or i may also refer to:
Language
* I (pronoun), the first-person singular subject pronoun in English
* I (Cyrillic), a letter used in almost all ancient and modern Cyrillic alphabets
* ı, dotless I ...
(Mrs. J. W. Russell) explains it measured two feet in height, making it a giant among the "Good People" (fairies).[
]
Folktales
A version that collates several of the fairy's labor is "The Fynoderee of Gordon",[ published in 1911 by ]Sophia Morrison
Sophia Morrison (24 May 1859 – 14 January 1917) was a Manx cultural activist, folklore collector and author. Through her own work and role in encouraging and enthusing others, she is considered to be one of the key figures of the Manx cultur ...
.[ This is arguably the best-known tale about the fenodyree.][
]
Fallen fairy knight
In one tale, the "Phynnodderee" appears as a former fairy (sing. gv, ferrish; pl. ''ferrishyn''), a Knight of the Fairy Court. He was transformed into a grotesque satyr-like appearance as punishment, after falling in love with a human girl from Glen Aldyn and skipping attendance of the royal high festivities of the harvest ('' Rehollys vooar yn ouyr'', lit. "Great Harvest Moonlight"), held by his own kind at Glen Rushen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...
.
Nimble mower
A tale attached to a round meadow in the parish of Marown
Marown ( , rhymes with "gown"; gv, Marooney) is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man. It is the only landlocked parish on the Island.
It is located in the centre of the island, in the sheading of Middle, though historical ...
held that a Phynnodderee had a habit of cutting and gathering the meadow grass there with the scythe, until a farmer criticized the job for not mowing the grass close enough to ground. The hairy Phynnodderee then ceased his mowing and "went after him stubbing up the roots so fast that it was with difficulty the farmer escaped having his legs cut off by the angry sprite". No one afterwards could succeed in mowing this meadow till a knight devised a way to start at the center and clip the grass in a circular pattern.
The nickname of the Fenodyree as "The Nimble Mower" ( gv, Yn Foldyr Gastey) has been commemorated in balladry.[
]
Herder
The fenodyree is reputed to collect the sheep for the shepherd when there is a storm, as sung in verse.[
Another tale describes the Fenodyree doing the farmer's work of rounding up the wethers (]gelded
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...
ram sheep) that grazed on Snaefell
Snaefell ( on, snjœ-fjall/snjó-fall – snow mountain) – ( gv, Sniaull) is the highest mountain and the only summit higher than on the Isle of Man, at above sea level. The summit is crowned by a railway station, cafe and several communic ...
(mountain) and bringing them into the pen; in the process, the fairy mistakenly brought in a hare which he mistook for a little ram. A rendition of this is incorporated into the story cobbled together published as "The Fynoderee of Gordon" by Sophia Morrison, where the fairy herds the sheep into a "cogee house" (a weaving house), and mingled among the sheep is a big hare he mistook for a Loaghtan. This has been described as "the most notable" exploit by the Fenodyree in Morrison's tale.[
]
Stone mover
Another tale describes how a gentleman wishing to build a large house "a little above the base of " Snafield mountain" (Snaefell), at a place called Tholt-e-Will or 'Will's Barn' (in the original tale spelled Sholt-e-will)" The rocks for building this edifice (including an enormous block of white stone) needed to be quarried from a place near the shore. These were wondrously transported in one night by a phynnodderee. But when the gentleman left a set of clothing as recompense, the hairy one declared "Bayrn da'n chone, dy doogh da'n choine. ('Cap for the head, alas, poor head/ Coat for the back, alas, poor back/ Breeches for the breech, alas, poor breech. / If these be all thine, thine cannot be the merry Glen of Rushen
Rushen ( ; gv, Rosien), formally Kirk Christ Rushen, is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man.
It is located in the south of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of the same name.
A ...
')". In the tale, the hairy phynnodderee subsequently departed in a "melancholy wail", declaring that his voice could thenceforth be heard in the whistling winds of the mountains, mourning the loss of his Fairy Bower.[; stanza attributed to Mrs. E. S. Craven Green]
Gift of clothing
In the foregoing tale about the Stone mover, the giving of the gift of clothing unwittingly worked as a charm to expel him from the area: as J. F. Campbell says, "he was frightened away by a gift of clothes".
The motif of the disdain for the gift of clothing also occurs in other tales where the fenodyree helps the farmer, and pronounces a similar phrase, "Though this place is thine, the great Glen of Rushen is not", and disappears somewhere. John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
supposes that it is to Glen Rushen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...
he has gone off to.
Parallels
J. F. Campbell noted the parallel between the fenodyree frightened away by the gift of clothing in the above example and the long-haired gruagach in the story from Skipness
Skipness ( gd, Sgibinis, ) is a village on the east coast of Kintyre in Scotland, located just over south of Tarbert and facing the Isle of Arran.
There is Skipness Castle (a ruined castle
The Ruined Castle is a rock formation in th ...
which was frightened away by the offer of a coat and a cap". In the Irish tale recorded by Lady Wilde
Jane Francesca Agnes, Lady Wilde (née Elgee; 27 December 1821 – 3 February 1896) was an Irish poet under the pen name Speranza and supporter of the nationalist movement. Lady Wilde had a special interest in Irish folktales, which she he ...
, the Irish phouka stopped performing the chore of grinding corn and disappeared from the mill once the farmer gave him a coat as a present.
Joseph Train Joseph Train (6 November 1779 – 7 December 1852) was a Scottish excise officer, antiquarian, writer and poet. He corresponded with Sir Walter Scott, and his local knowledge provided Scott with ideas for his novels.
Life
Train was born in 1779 at ...
, and later John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
among others have pointed out that the fenodyree is akin to Lob Lie-By-The-Fire
The lubber fiend, Lob, lubberkin, lurdane or Lob Lie-By-The-Fire is a legendary creature of English folklore that is similar to the " brownie" (or "Urisk") of Scotland and northern England, the " hob" of northern England and the Scottish Borders ...
in English folklore, also known as "Lubber Fiend" from Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
.
Popular culture
* A character in ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author Alan Garner. Garner began work on the novel, his literary debut, in 1957, after he moved into the late medieval house, Toad Hall, in Blackden ...
'' (Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
), a young-adult fantasy set in Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780.
Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...
in Cheshire, is called Fenodyree.
* A character in ''Beauty'' by Sheri S. Tepper, who befriends and does magical favors for the titular character.
* Fenodyree is also the name of a small folk band from the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
.
See also
* Adhene
The Manx fairies were called Adhene and known as , which means the Children of Pride/Ambition, because they were regarded as having been fallen angels cast from heaven but too good for hell. They could be benevolent but were mostly mischievou ...
* Arkan Sonney
("lucky urchin" or "plentiful little pig") is the Manx term for hedgehog. In Manx folklore it is a type of fairy animal that takes the form of a white pig that brings good fortune to those who manage to catch it. It was even considered a favou ...
* Buggane
* Glashtyn
Glashtyn (Manx English: glashtin, glashtan or glashan; gv, glashtin or ) is a legendary creature from Manx folklore.
The glashtin is said to be a goblin that appears out of its aquatic habitat, to come in contact with the island folk; others ...
* Jimmy Squarefoot
In Manx folklore, Jimmy Squarefoot is a legendary bipedal pig-headed creature living on the Isle of Man.
Folklore
He had two great tusks like a boar. He is generally a peaceful wanderer. His large feet are swathed in calico bands and are squari ...
* Moddey Dhoo
The Moddey Dhoo :"Moddey Dhoo (pronounced ''Mauthe Doo'') signifying in English, the 'Black Dog'". ( Manx Gaelic, meaning "black dog"): "They say, that an Apparition called, in their language, the ''Mauthe Doog'', etc. is a phantom black hound i ...
* Mooinjer veggey
is the Manx for '' little people'', a term used for fairies in Gaelic lore. The equivalent Irish and Scottish Gaelic are and .
Manx folklore
In Manx folklore, the are small creatures from two to three feet (600 to 900 mm) in height, ...
* Sleih beggey
( Manx for ''Little people'', also , , , and from the en, faeries) is the umbrella term for Manx fairies.
Descriptions
A wide variety of individual mythical creatures come under the umbrella of sleih beggey. With both benevolent and malev ...
Explanatory notes
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
* , Chapter XVIII, Popular Superstitions, p. 142–184
** Train commissioned a ''MS Account of Manks Superstition'' "collected for this work by a native of the Island", p. 147n, which he uses as reference.
*
{{Fairies
Aos Sí
Fairies
Fantasy creatures
Manx legendary creatures
Sprites (folklore)