![Lavandières](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Lavandi%C3%A8res.jpg)
Les Lavandières, or the Midnight Washerwomen, are three old
laundresses in
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a ...
. Names in various
Celtic language
The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
s include the ''kannerezed noz'' in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
and the ''
Bean nighe
The (Scottish Gaelic for 'washerwoman' or 'laundress'; ) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ( ga, bean sídhe, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desola ...
'' in
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
. They can also be found in the Celtic folklore of
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
as ''Las Lavanderas'' in
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
, ''As lavandeiras'' in
Galicia or ''Les Llavanderes'' in
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
, and in Portugal are known as ''Bruxas lavadeira
'. The three old women go to the water's edge at midnight to wash shrouds for those about to die, according to the myth and folklore of Brittany; or to wash the bloodstained clothing of those who are about to die, according to
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a ...
. The Midnight Washerwomen may be related to the old Celtic tradition of the
Triple deities#Triple goddesses, triple goddess of death and slaughter.
The washerwomen are small, dressed in green and have webbed feet. Their webbed feet may be the reason they are also sometimes called the ''cannard noz'' (meaning "night ducks") in Breton folklore.
France
In the nineteenth century, the belief in night washerwomen was very present in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
and
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, but it is also attested in many other regions of France:
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
,
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
,
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
,
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
,
Morvan
The Morvan (historically Morvand from the Latin ''Murvinnum'' 590)Pierre-Henri Billy, ''Dictionnaire des noms de lieux de la France'', éditions Errance, 640 pages, 2011 , is a mountainous massif lying just to the west of the Côte d'Or escarp ...
,
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...
,
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
and
Ariège.
An important number of Romantic French authors and poets wrote about the lavandières, from
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
and
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
to
Georges Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
.
Brittany
![Cambry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Cambry.jpg)
In
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, legends of the ''lavandière de la nuit'' were attested by Jacques Cambry as early as the 18th century.
In Brittany, they can be an ominous portent, foretelling death, either one's own or a death in the family, though it is rare, just like they are not always represented as old women, though they always have very pale skin, being creatures of the night, and are often dressed in white or in traditional clothing. They are very agile and strong physically, even when they do not look so.
The Breton washerwomen wash graveclothes, usually at night, under the moonlight, and are notable for their intense dislike of being disturbed, cursing those who dare to do so. They are known to ask passers-by for help in wringing clothes, breaking the arms of those who do so reluctantly and drowning those who refuse. More rarely, they can also give charity.
According to the Breton legends, the washerwomen can either be ghosts whose name is known to all or else they are anonymous supernatural beings who appear in a human form. It is encountered during the year in the evening or in the middle of the night in known places (laundrette, creek), sometimes during the nights of full moon, sometimes only on the eve of the feast of the dead (All Saints' Day).
[Giraudon, Daniel]
"Lavandières de jour, lavandières de nuit"
pg. 9, CRBC, 6 December 1996. Retrieved on 14 November 2018
Numerous folk tales on the subject have been collected during the 19th and 20th century. In Breton, the washerwomen are collectively known as ''ar c’hannerezed-noz, ar c’houerezed-noz'' or ''ar vaouez o welc’hin''.
The late written tales we have of the Lavendières do not allow us to know with certainty if they have the same mythological origin as the ''bean nighe''.
According to a Breton tradition, they are deceased who were buried in a dirty shroud:
[Émile Souvestre, '']Le Foyer breton
''Le Foyer breton'' (; in English: The Breton Hearth, or The Breton Home) is a collection of Breton stories by Émile Souvestre, written in French and published in 1844. This work is a collection of Breton folktales arranged by their place of or ...
: Traditions populaires'', Coquebert edition, 1845, page 242, « Les lavandières de nuit »
read online
Ireland
In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, they are an ominous portent, foretelling death, either one's own or a death in the family. The washerwomen of Ireland wash the bloodied shirts of those about to die.
Scotland
In
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, if one can get between the washerwomen and the water, they are required to grant three wishes in exchange for three questions answered truthfully. There is also a tradition in Scotland of a single washer at the ford, the goddess Clotha, who gives the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
its name.
Wales and Cornwall
In
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
a passerby must avoid being seen by the washerwomen. If they do get seen however, they are required to help wring out the sheets. If they twist the sheets in the same direction as the washerwomen, the individual's arms will be wrenched from their sockets and they will get pulled into the wet sheets and killed instantly. If, however, they twist in the opposite direction, the washerwomen are required to grant the person three wishes.
England
The washerwomen rarely appear in England, although lonely pools are often haunted by some supernatural creature, which may have derived from the same original root.
See also
*
Three Witches
The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (c. 1603–1607). The witches eventually lead Macbeth (Macbeth), Macbeth to his demise, and they hold a striking r ...
in ''Macbeth''
*ancient classical myths of the Fates: the Greek
Moirai
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (, also spelled Moirae or Mœræ; grc, Μοῖραι, "lots, destinies, apportioners"), often known in English as the Fates ( la, Fata, Fata, -orum (n)=), were the personifications of fate ...
and the Roman
Parcae
In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae (singular, Parca) were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English, and their Greek equivalent were the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Les Lavandieres
Breton legendary creatures
Cantabrian legendary creatures
Female legendary creatures
Laundry
Celtic mythology
British folklore
Triple goddesses