Brownie (mythology)
A brownie [ ˈbɹaʊnɪ ], also brounie or urisk in Scots , Scottish Gaelic brùnaidh, ùruisg or gruagach , is originally a figure in the household in English and Scottish folklore . Brownies are particularly popular in the north and denote a type of little fairy there . They are comparable to the German brownies and the tomte in Scandinavia. You live in harmony with people. If you ask them to do a service, they do it. You can't pay them for their services, otherwise they'll disappear forever. They like to be rewarded with sweets for their services, but alternatively they also accept a bowl of milk. Anyone who insults the house ghosts, who wear their names because of their brown clothes, will be punished: the little ones take bitter revenge on their tormentors.
Appearance and behavior
The brownie is like a wretch or goblin . He is described as a person of short stature with a wrinkled face. He wears short, curly brown hair and a brown hooded coat.
Brownies live in the houses and help with household chores. They don't like to be seen and only work at night for gifts or food. They especially love porridge and honey. They leave the house when the gifts to them are called payments or when the homeowner takes advantage of them. Brownies live in the unused parts of the house, mostly on storage tanks or in holes in the house walls.
Brownies rarely talk to people, but they do hold loving conversations with one another. They hold regular meetings, usually in remote areas and on rocky shores. In some districts in the Scottish Highlands these gatherings were called "Peallaidh an Spùit" (Peallaidh and the Gushing), "Stochdail a 'Chùirt" and "Brùnaidh an Easain" (Brownie from the little waterfall).
Brownie or Ùruisg
Every villa had its ùruisg , which is why there was an unoccupied chair for him in the kitchen near the fire. One house on the banks of the River Tay was even said to be haunted by such a ghost until the early 20th century, and one room was called "Seòmar Bhrùnaidh" (Brownie's Room) for centuries.
In 1703, John Brand, a pastor of the Scottish Church, wrote in his description of Shetland :
Forty or fifty years ago, every family had a brownie, or "evil spirit" (ùruisg), so named because it served them and they had to make a sacrifice for his service. When they made butter, they gave him his share and soaked every corner of the house with the milk, and they did the same when they brewed. They had a stone they called "Brownie's stane" (brownies stone). There was a hole in it into which they poured some wort as a present. They also had some bundles of grain they called brownies bundles that were never blown away by a storm, no matter how strong, even though they weren't tied with straw ropes or otherwise secured.
The name researcher William J. Watson established that every stream in Breadalbane (Scottish province) had a "ùruisg" ( Scottish Gaelic : "ùrruisg" "flood"), of which Peallaidh was king . Peallaidh's name is still in "Obair Pheallaidh", in English "Aberfeldy". It may therefore be that the ùruisg merged with a water spirit or that the ùruisg was originally a water spirit that merged with the brownie. The "ùruisg" or Scots "urisk" is described as a poor lonely water spirit who seeks to be close to people. However, its strange appearance frightens anyone who approaches it.
Another term used in some parts of Scotland was "Shellycoat", the origin of which is unclear.
Modern names after this essence
- the youngest age group (7-11 years) of the English scout movement , see Wölfling / Wichtel
- a legendary camera from Kodak
- a sweet pastry ("officially" Boston Brownie ) that consists primarily of chocolate . Most often it is cut into small rectangular pieces (approx. 5 × 3 cm).
- The Cologne women's ice hockey club Cologne Brownies , which was founded in 1998.
- The Nintendo development studio Brownie Brown , which was founded in Japan in 2000.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lexicon 88 German Mythology Demons
- ↑ Mythology from AZ
- ↑ Vollkmers mythology of all peoples
- ↑ Thomas Keightley: The Brownie. The Fairy Mythology. HG Bohn, London 1870.
- ↑ John Gregorson Campbell: Superstitions Of The Highlands And Islands Of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons, 1900, p. 194.
- ↑ Brian Froud, Alan Lee: Elves, Goblins and Haunted Figures. Weltbild 2003, ISBN 3-8289-4909-6 , p. 128.
literature
- Katharine Mary Briggs: An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. Penguin, Middlesex 1977, ISBN 0-14-004753-0 , p. 23.
- John Gregorson Campbell: Superstitions Of The Highlands And Islands Of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons, 1900.
- Brian Froud, Alan Lee: Elves, Goblins and Haunted Characters. Weltbild, 2003, ISBN 3-8289-4909-6 .