Have you ever heard of Fairy Rings?
In real life, Fairy Rings are a naturally occurring phenomena where mushrooms grow in a circle.
In folklore, Fairy Rings are an enchanted place where fairies gather at night and dance under the moonlight.
John Milton mentioned dancing Fairy Elves in the first Book of Paradise Lost…
Fairy Elves
Whose midnight revels, by a forest side
Or fountain some belated peasant sees,
Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon
Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth
Wheels her pale course, they, on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear;
At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.
It’s not hard to see how man would come up with a supernatural reason for Fairy Rings. They are so unusual!
This article was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 11:51 am and is filed under Countries & Cultures, England, English, Fairies, Fairy Rings, Folk Lore, Ireland, Languages, MP3's of Poems, Recordings, Recordings of Poems, United Kingdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
3 Responses to “Fairy Rings and Fairy Elves”
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May 30th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Do you know of a poem (actually a song) that goes:
I wish I were a fairy
upon a cherry tree,
and it was always summer,
how happy I would be.
I’d breakfast on a cherry,
and when I came to dine,
A stone would be my wineglass
to hold my ruby wine.
My grandmother used to sing it to me and I’d like to know if there are more verses. I’ve sung it to my grandchildren.
May 31st, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Milton, of course, was absolutely correct when he wrote, “At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.” That’s exactly the response that I felt when I saw my first ever fairy ring, this morning. As much as I know and understand the scientific explanation for fairy rings, I can’t seem to shake the natural superstitious feelings I have!
June 1st, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Barbara – I found this from 1866:
Mabel’s Wish
O would I were a fairy,
Up in the cherry-tree,
And if ‘t were always summer,
How happy I should be!
I would breakfast on a cherry,
And when I came to dine,
The stone should be a wine-glass
To hold my ruby wine.
The bee should bring me honey,
And the butterfly should bear
My tiny form, whenever
I wished to take the air.
The wind should bring me odors
From the fields of new-mown hay,
And the birds should give me music
All the live-long summer day.
No lessons in the tree-top,
No puzzling sums for me!
O, I would I were a fairy,
Up in the cherry-tree,
And if’t were always summer,
How happy I should be!
Rebecca – I agree with you about Fairy Rings – it’s no wonder so many superstitions grew up around them! -Mama Lisa