A fetch, based in Irish folklore, is a supernatural
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
or an
apparition of a living person. The sighting of a fetch is regarded as an omen, usually for impending death.
Description
The fetch is described as an exact, spectral double of a living human, whose appearance is regarded as ominous. A sighting of a fetch is generally taken as a portent of its exemplar's looming death, though
John
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
* Secon ...
and
Michael Banim
Michael Banim (5 August 1796 – 30 August 1874) was an Irish short story writer. Brother of John Banim, he was born in Kilkenny, and died in Booterstown.
Personal life
Michael was educated at Dr Magrath's Catholic school. He went on to study fo ...
report that if the double appears in the morning rather than the evening, it is instead a sign of a long life in store.
As such, it is similar to the Germanic
doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
and to some conceptions of the British
wraith.
Francis Grose
Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Prove ...
associated the term with
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in his 1787 ''Provincial Glossary'', but otherwise it seems to have been in popular use only in Ireland.
Origins and etymology
The etymology of ''fetch'' is obscure and the origin of the term is unknown. It may derive from the verb "fetch";
[ the compound "fetch-life", evidently referring to a ]psychopomp
Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
who "fetches" the souls of the dying, is attested in Richard Stanyhurst
Richard Stanyhurst (1547–1618) was an Anglo-Irish alchemist, translator, poet and historian, who was born in Dublin.
Life
His father, James Stanyhurst, was Recorder of Dublin, and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in 1557, 1560 and 1568. ...
's 1583 translation of the ''Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' and the first edition of the ''Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' suggested this usage may indicate the origin of the term ''fetch''.
Accounts of the origin of ''fetch'' are complicated by a word ''faecce'', found in two textually-related Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
glossaries, the Corpus Glossary The Corpus Glossary is one of many Anglo-Saxon glossaries. Alongside many entries which gloss Latin words with simpler Latin words or explanations, it also includes numerous Old English glosses on Latin words, making it one of the oldest extant text ...
and the First Cleopatra Glossary.[Neville, pp. 106–107.] ''Faecce'' could in theory be an Old English form of modern English ''fetch''. In the glossaries, ''faecce'' is given as a lemma (a word to be glossed); given that most such words in these glossaries are in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, it ought to be a Latin word, but no such Latin word is known, leading some scholars to suggest it may be Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
. Since it is glossed with the Old English word ''mære
Mære is a village in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along European route E6 and the Nordlandsbanen railway line, about south of the town of Steinkjer. The village of Sparbu lies about south of M ...
'', which denotes female supernatural being associated with causing illness and nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
s, it could be the origin of the Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...
''fetch''. Recent research has not arrived at a consensus on this question.
Portents of death not dissimilar to later fetch traditions are found in early Irish literature and are associated with the Old Irish term ''fáith
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovate (, ), are used as technical terms for ancient Celtic bards, prophets and philosophers. The terms correspond to a Proto-Celtic word which can be reconstructed as *''wātis''.Bernhard Maier, ''Dictio ...
'' ("seer"): Fedelm
Fedelm (sometimes spelled Feidelm; modern Fidelma) is a female prophet and ''fili'', or learned poet, in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She appears in the great epic ''Táin Bó Cuailnge'', in which she foretells the armies of Medb and Aili ...
issues prophecies of death in '' Táin Bó Cuailnge''; Cormac Connloinges
Cormac Cond Longas (Connlongas, Connloinges, "Exiled Prince") was the eldest son of Conchobar mac Nessa by his own mother, Ness, in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. His foster father was Fergus mac Róich.
Cormac followed Fergus into exile in ...
sees a sinister vision of a woman washing bloody chariot wheels in ''Bruiden Da Choca''; a hag prophecies the death of Conaire Conaire is an Irish language male given name. It gave rise to the original form of the anglicized surname Connery.
It is borne by two legendary High Kings of Ireland:
*Conaire Mór (the great)
*Conaire Cóem (the beautiful)
Other name holders incl ...
in '' Togail Bruidne Da Derga''; and in ''Cath Maige Tuired
''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tuir ...
'', the Mórrigán likewise prophesies death. Similar ideas are also found in the Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
idea of the ''fylgja
In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune.
Description
The word means "to accompany" similar to that of the Fetch in Irish folklore. ...
'' and these are relevant to understanding Irish tradition because of the importance of the Vikings in Ireland. The ''fylgja'', which in Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
denoted an alter ego, usually in animal form, connected to a person's fate. Unlike the Irish concept, the ''fylgja'' is almost always female. On these grounds, William Sayers has argued that the term ''fetch'' originated as a Hiberno-English form of Irish ''fáith''.
Appearances in literature
Corresponding to its contemporary prominence in "national superstitions", the fetch appeared in Irish literature
Irish literature comprises writings in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in both Latin an ...
starting in early 19th century. "The fetch superstition" is the topic of John and Michael Banim
Michael Banim (5 August 1796 – 30 August 1874) was an Irish short story writer. Brother of John Banim, he was born in Kilkenny, and died in Booterstown.
Personal life
Michael was educated at Dr Magrath's Catholic school. He went on to study fo ...
's Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
story "The Fetches" from their 1825 work ''Tales by the O'Hara Family'' and Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
used the term in his ''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft
''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft Addressed to J. G. Lockhart, Esq.'' (1830) was a study of witchcraft and the supernatural by Sir Walter Scott. A lifelong student of folklore, Scott was able to draw on a wide-ranging collection of primary ...
'', published in 1830, in a brief reference to "his ... fetch or wraith, or double-ganger".
Patrick Kennedy's 1866 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 ...
collection ''Legendary Fiction of the Irish Celts'' includes a brief account of "The Doctor's Fetch", in which a fetch's appearance signals death for the titular doctor. More recently, "The Fetch" is the malevolent narrator of Patrick McCabe's 2010 novel ''The Stray Sod Country'', wherein it temporarily inhabits the bodies of the residents of a small Irish town, causing them to commit both psychological and physical harm to themselves and others.
Robert Aickman
Robert Fordyce Aickman (27 June 1914 – 26 February 1981) was an English writer and conservationist. As a conservationist, he co-founded the Inland Waterways Association, a group which has preserved from destruction and restored England's inl ...
's 1980 collection of "strange stories" ''Intrusions: Strange Tales'' contains his story "The Fetch". In it, the eponymous "fetch" (actually described as a Scottish Cailleach or "carlin" (hag)) is a portent of impending death for the Leith family, leaving a trail of loch water behind her. The story has most recently been anthologised in a reprint collection of Aickman's work titled ''The Wine-Dark Sea'' (London: Faber, 2014).
In ''Dead Heat'' by Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs (born 1965) is an American writer of Fantasy novel, fantasy since 1993, and author of the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series.
Biography
Patricia Briggs was born in 1965 in Butte, Montana, United States. She now resides in Bent ...
, Charles and Anna encounter a fetch pretending to be a preschooler named Amethyst. Charles recites a riddle and the fetch answers "A fetch! A fetch! A fetch!" and turns into a group of twigs in the shape of a girl tied with ribbon.
Appearances in popular culture
*An adapted version of a fetch appears in the ''Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
in the ''Monstrous Compendium
The ''Monstrous Compendium'' is a series of accessories for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game released from 1989 to 1998. The title was then used for a series of 5th Edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'' supplements released ...
Dragonlance
''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...
Appendix''.
*A fetch appears in the Season 15 Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
story Image Of The Fendahl
''Image of the Fendahl'' is the third serial of the 15th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 October to 19 November 1977.
The serial was Chris Bo ...
(1977) set in the fictional village of Fetchborough, and Fetch Priory, both named after the apparition.
*The term Fetch appears in Season 2 of Motherland: Fort Salem
The term also appears in book two of the All Souls Trilogy.
* also plays a part in the 2019 movie, "Dublin Murders"
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fetch (Folklore)
Irish ghosts
Counterparts