Seelie is a term for
fairies in
Scottish folklore
Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focused specifically ...
, appearing in the form of seely wights or The Seelie Court. The
Northern and
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
word (also , , ), and the
Scots form , mean "happy", "lucky" or "blessed."
Despite their name, the seelie folk of legend could be morally ambivalent and dangerous. Calling them "seelie," similar to names such as "good neighbors," may have been a
euphemism to ward off their anger.
Etymology
The word derives from the Old English and and the
Proto-West Germanic ''*sālīg'' (“blissful, happy”). The
Modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
Standard English word "
silly" is also derived from this root.
The antonym, ''unseely'' (also ''unsall'', ''unsell)'' means "unhappy", "misfortunate" or "unholy."
Seelie wights
Many Scottish ballads and tales tell of "Seilie wichts" or "
wights
A wight (Old English: ''wiht'') is a mythical sentient being, often undead.
In its original use the word ''wight'' described a living human being, but has come to be used in fictional works in the fantasy genre to describe certain immortal bei ...
," meaning blessed beings.
Julian Goodare theorized that these were legendary nature spirits, similar to but distinct from fairies. Goodare additionally hypothesized that there was a sixteenth-century shamanistic cult centering around these beings, comparable to the Italian
Benandanti
The ("Good Walkers") were members of an agrarian visionary tradition in the Friuli district of Northeastern Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries. The claimed to travel out of their bodies while asleep to struggle against malevolent witches ( ...
and
donas de fuera
The Donas hill is in Poland in the Pomerania region, within the borders of the City of Gdynia, in the Dąbrowa district. There are two summits, higher western 206.5 m, entirely forested, and the eastern one 205.6 m, the one with the GSM tower. In ...
. One of the earliest pieces of evidence comes from the sixteenth-century theologian William Hay, who complained of witches and local pagans claiming to meet with fairy-like women called "celly vichtys." The name is also similar to the Swiss-German "Sälïgen Lütt."
Seelie and Unseelie courts
The Seelie Court is a group of fairies, often specified as good fairies who contrast with the wicked Unseelie Court. As described by British folklorist Katharine Mary Briggs, the Seelie Court were those fairies who would seek help from humans, warn those who have accidentally offended them, and return human kindness with favors of their own. Still, a fairy belonging to this court would avenge insults and could be prone to mischief.
Conversely, the Unseelie Court were the darkly-inclined fairies who would attack without provocation. Briggs equated the Unseelie Court with the
Sluagh
The Sluagh (, ; sga, slúag; English: 'host, army, crowd'), or Sluagh na marbh ('host of the dead'), were the hosts of the unforgiven dead in Irish and Scottish folklore., s.v. ''Sluagh''. In the words of British folklorist Lewis Spence, "In the ...
(who abducted travelers at night and fired
elf-shot
In English folklore, elf-arrows, elf-bolts and pixie arrows were names given to discovered arrowheads of flint, used in hunting and war by the Pre-Indo-Europeans of the British Isles and of Europe generally. The name derives from the folklore be ...
) as well as the
shellycoat
In Scottish and Northern English folklore, a shellycoat is a type of bogeyman that haunts rivers and streams.
Name
The name comes from the coat of shells these creatures are said to wear, which rattle upon movement.
Distribution
Many places ...
,
nuckelavee
The nuckelavee () or nuckalavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian folklore that combines equine and human elements. British folklorist Katharine Briggs called it "the nastiest" of all the demons of Scotland's Northern Isles. The nuckelavee ...
,
redcaps,
baobhan sith The baobhan sith is a female fairy in the folklore of the Scottish Highlands, though they also share certain characteristics in common with the succubus. They appear as beautiful women who seduce their victims before attacking them and killing them ...
, and various other wicked fairies from English, Scottish and Irish lore.
The "seely court" is mentioned in the ballad of "
Allison Gross," where they play a benevolent role. "Allison Gross" was recorded from Anne or Anna Gorden of Aberdeen, Scotland, sometime around 1783. The seely court is also named in at least one fragmentary version of "
Tam Lin
Tam (or Tamas) Lin (also called Tamlane, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam Lyn, or Tam Lane) is a character in a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, also ...
," where they are more negative figures.
Welsh folklore
A possible equivalent to the Scottish "seelie" appears in the Welsh "sili," used in some individual fairy names. In a Welsh tale, "Sili go Dwt" was the name of a
Rumpelstiltskin
"Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...
-like fairy whose name had to be guessed. In a possibly related fragmentary story, a fairy woman was heard singing the words "sili ffrit" while she spun thread. Sir John Rhys found that "sili ffrit" was sometimes used as a term for a child of the
Tywlyth Teg or for anything small.
Rhys proposed that "sili" came from the English "silly" (in this sense meaning happy) and "ffrit" from "fright," thus a term for a ghost. The term would have come to Wales via the
Welsh marches. He also suggested that "Sili go Dwt" was a corruption of English fairy names featuring the syllable ''"tot"'' (such as
Tom Tit Tot
"Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...
).
See also
*
Classifications of Fairies
Fairies, particularly those of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh folklore, have been classified in a variety of ways. Classifications – which most often come from scholarly analysis, and may not always accurately reflect local traditions ...
References
Fairies
Scottish folklore
{{Scottish mythology