Fairies and Elves

by Tristram Potter Coffin

Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. Illus by Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and many others. Faries and Elves are Showcased in this volume: Recounts legends and folktales from around the world concerning people's encounters with elves and fairies

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Reference, Fiction, Art, Folklore, Fairy Tales

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Tristram (“Tris”) Potter Coffin was an American folklorist and leading scholar of ballad texts in the 20th century. Coffin spent the bulk of his career at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a professor of English and a co-founder of the Folklore Department. He was the author of 20 books and more than 100 scholarly articles and reviews.

Reviews

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review for all of these books in this series is the same.

Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. I'm starting to sound generic, but it's true.
I'm a DK fan, I like white backgrounds and side notes with clear sections for every subject. This series has none of that. What they do have is an old book feel. Timeless artwork, thoroughness, and very well written makes these a must on my occult/paranormal bookshelf at home. I've been collecting the series slowly over several years and still have a few books to go. I refuse to go on amazon and buy them. It's all in the hunt for me. There is no subject they have left untouched. I highly recommend them.

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that chronicle traditional fairy stories. Not fairy tales as people think of them now, with princesses and dragons. But stories about fairies, mortals, and the way the world criss and cross chaotically.

This book focuses almost entirely on European and Russian tales, with a whole chapter dedicated to Irish tales and another chapter dedicated to Tam Lin. A little more diversity would have been nice, but I will never turn down a chapter on Irish folklore.

The real gem, for me, was the bibliography at the end of the book. With my intentions to write a book about Irish mythology, it was like a gift all wrapped up with a bow.

Even if you don't have a particular focus, but just love the Fae, this book is a great addition for your library!

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Known to the Norse as the Alfar or elves in English and sometimes as fairies, a word that derives from the Latin fatum - fate and fatare - enchant. Fairie correctly refers to their lands or magic. In contrast to mortals, beings who sought order, these magical beings were said to be very fickle and unpredictable. Even members of the usually good Seelie Court were prone to mischief.

The chief groupings were the trooping and solitary fairies the nobles and peasants of their kind. Among the Trooping fairies are mentioned the Sidhe, the Tuatha Dé Danann and the children of the Dagda. Though sociable to their mortal counterparts, they eventually withdrew and were replaced in mortal interactions by their smaller cousins. Various nature spirits continued to haunt the wilds of the world. Some were friendly to humans and used their powers to help them with their household chores while others were cruel and delighted in tormenting mortals

The four chapters break down the classification of mortal encounters with the fey folk, which was just a often as disastrous for the elf as it was for the mortal. The first focuses on the higher level fey, the kings and knights and warriors who aided or warred with man for love, honor, or goods. These were from the ancient times when man and fey seemed almost interchangeable. Indeed they could easily interbreed, thus making one side stronger as a result - or dooming them. Eventually the old crossings between Earth and Fariere deals withered, leaving only those in the second chapter - the spirits of wood and stream. Personifications of the wild, untamed lands, who harm the lonely traveler when angered. Chapter three deals with the trickster sprites and their ilk. While Chapter four focuses on the doomed love and marriages between mortal and fey - nearly all are the same story. The mortal and elf are allowed to marry on some bizarre condition which the mortal inevitably out of mistrust, accident, or stupidity, violates. And thus the two are torn away for all eternity and the mortal pines away dying alone and in misery. As usual the art is amazing, and the book is chock full of wonderful stories.

[Patrick Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up by chance in a local market and I'm deeply thrilled that I did.

large range of Fairy legends essentially condensed into a flow of text. Seems to draw mainly from pre-existing collections.

In terms of layout and art - a really fantastic book. Pulls from the history of 19th and 20th century Fairy art and has a huge number of pictures really well integrated into the text. Also mixes these with specially created visual elements.

I have the Time/Life book about Underground Worlds and that is also an exceptional piece of work. Very happy to add this next to it on the shelf.

[Hugo Negron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series from Time Life Books on myth, superstitions, and legend, brought to life with beautiful illustrations, and written in a fluid like prose that brings to mind a storyteller sitting by a crackling fire sharing his tales.

I remember reading some of the books in this series when I was younger. I had purchased some through a mail order subscription, but didn't complete the collection, although you can still find them on Amazon, Ebay, and the like. YouTube even has a video of the original TV commercial for when the series was first launched. Time Life could have gone the route of writing this in a dry, historical format, but luckily went with a style that plays well with the topics of the series.

From powerful Elf lords to tiny forest spirits, if you are a fan of mythology as I am, this book serves as a great reference and fun read!

[Beth N · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is it about fairies in folklore that continues to captivate generation after generation? While it has no answers to that question, this stunningly illustrated book is proof of the enduring fascination that people have always had with the hidden world.

Presented half as a collection of fairy stories and half as a putative 'history' of human interaction with fairies, the book ends up with a somewhat dated voice, reminiscent of those early authors who wouldn't dare be caught writing anything as frivolous as fiction. There is a clear focus on the British Isles, with any forays into European folklore having the unresearched tone of a Victorian polymath discussing the curious ways of foreigners (not wrong as such, but not the way a native would describe them).

But the stories, of which there are many, are as timeless as they have ever been, full of mortals wondering astray and losing their lives or hearts to glittering and capricious fairy kind. Some are generic, full of nameless princes and ladies, while others have gained widespread fame (the Snow Queen, Tam Lin, Orpheus and Euridice, to name just a few).

To anyone who has grown up with these kinds of stories, the book will provide little new. But as a way to while away the hours with some beautifully illustrated escapism, it is an enjoyable read.

[Lenno Vranken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Net uitgelezen als mijn eerste boek voor december, 2024!
Zeker een prachtig boek, maar misschien had ik het niet vlak ná het beroemde 'Faeries' van Brian Froud en Alan Lee moeten lezen. Dat specifieke boek is simpelweg nergens mee te vergelijken op het gebied van tekstuele inhoud en illustraties.
Ik ga echter niet ontkennen dat ik toch wat heb opgestoken van dit boek. Het is opgedeeld in vier hoofdstukken en vertelt in ieder hoofdstuk een stuk geschiedenis over de elfen van voornamelijk Schotland en Ierland. Soms wordt er letterlijke informatie weergegeven, en soms een verhaal. Het feit dat de informatieve teksten overliepen van pagina tot pagina, met soms een zeer onregelmatige onderbreking, vond ik zorgen voor een niet zo prettige leeservaring.
De zeer illustratieve verhalen in dit boek vond ik dan wel weer aangenaam.
Het boek krijgt van mij vier sterren, omdat ik toch het een en het ander geleerd heb. Desondanks vond ik de leeservaring niet heel prettig en vond ik de illustraties niet altijd even mooi.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have also completed Fairies and Elves. The scope of this book includes pixies, elves, witches, and all manner of magical creatures. It is full of stories mostly from Europe beautifully illustrated, some with friendly helpful fairies and others with vengeful spirits. Some even include mixed love affairs and marriages, all of which seem, invariably, to end in heartbreak, often for both members of the couple.

[Lala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the beautiful illustrations, the stories were interesting but because of how it was structured it felt hard to read a story as i had to keep coming back to read the little stories in the notes separate to the main story

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all the rest, a wonderful weaving of disparate folktales and legends into a narrative form, and gorgeously illustrated.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of stories from Europe about fairies and elves. The tales and illustrations were delightful. This book is part of a Time-Life Books collection.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some inspirational reading for planning role-playing games, before passing the book on to my godchildren. Some very interesting stories I hadn't heard before.

[Roberta Biallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoying both the writing in these books and the artwork. They truly are a well-curated collection of legends and folktales.

[Adrian Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifth in a series. Review upon completion.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing resource from yesteryear

[Amber Fernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always knew I would love these books, lol! The stories are enchanting and the illustrations are dreamy.

[Finn Gecas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic compilation of fairytales

[PeaceRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book includes both actual tales and analysis of how such stories and beliefs arose, which I found interesting. For instance, it says that in the old days when people lacked understanding of how the physical world functions and found it rather chaotic, they tried to organize and control it by naming, classifying, and setting boundaries, both literally, by parceling up land, and more symbolically, by parceling up time into seasons or hours, as well as by dividing people into clans. This probably helped them cope psychologically, but it also apparently made them feel that the “in-between” times and places and newly met, unrelated people were necessarily suspect:

"Mortal time and mortal space were seamed with cracks that served as doorways to places where human rules were meaningless.... The streams that marked the territory, the shores of sea, the fords of rivers, the crossroads, the fences, walls and thresholds… being neither one place nor another, served as portals to the world of Faerie.... In Wales it was said that a ghost sat on every stile (sets of steps that allow people to climb over boundary fences....)."

And the times when such places were most dangerous – or alluring, depending on one’s nature – were, of course, the in-between times: dawn and dusk, noon and midnight which marked the middle of day or night, and “nights between the seasons – October 31, or Samhain Eve (later called Allhallows Eve), and April 30, Beltane Eve (later called May Day Eve),” as well as solstices. These were the times when “mortal rules” were believed to be suspended, the boundaries between “mortal” and “spirit” worlds were lifted, and chaos reigned: witches flew on their broomsticks, troops of fairies traveled freely, and the future was revealed.

Furthermore, according to this book, people used to divide the day into 24 hours, 12 of day and 12 of night, but since day and night are rarely of equal length, this meant that in winter an hour during the day could last only 30 minutes, measured by the local church’s bells. Since people then didn’t understand why the length of day and night changes with the seasons, they believed that time itself was far from solid and instead stretched and shrank continually. The authors of this book think that this could give rise to the belief that there could be places where time stops altogether or proceeds at a different rate than elsewhere, so that a person who had spent a day there could come back home and find that a century had passed.

This book also traces the development of the folklore associated with fairies. First, when there weren’t many people in Europe, fairies were believed to be tall, beautiful, accomplished and rich. However, as people spread, multiplied, and cleared away the forests for their fields, fairies were believed to have retreated underground, which – very gradually and over countless generations – led to their size being greatly diminished, till they became miniature. As their fortunes continued to dwindle further, they also lost their beauty and riches – they now had to trick humans into seeing them as glamorous – as well as their fecundity – the stories about changelings come from this time. Since people then didn’t understand the nature of internal diseases, it was easy for them to see illness as “wasting” resulting from an unfortunate encounter with a stranger who was really but a fairy in disguise, and even more unfortunate, if not downright imprudent, exchange of words or – the mother of all imprudences – food and drink with him. Of course, the most frequent victims of sudden illnesses were very small children who didn’t wander around and meet strangers, but who could have been stolen and exchanged for elderly fairies who were glad to be pampered by human mothers in their last days and willingly tricked people into seeing them as infants. What else could explain why the recently healthy child had become as rickety as an old person and seemed on the verge of death way ahead of his or her time? Unfortunately, the common “solutions” to make the fairy leave and get one’s child back often involved making the fairy’s existence as uncomfortable as possible, which could only worsen the poor child’s condition, if not downright kill him or her.

As for the morals of fairies, it seems to have differed a lot from story to story. In some tales recounted in this book, fairies are noble beings who live in an enchanted world in every sense of the word. They come to the help of the undefended, and an encounter with them is a boon for any mortal. In other stories, fairies treat different people according to their deserts. And in still others, they trick all and sundry for their amusement or use them for their purposes. I guess this illustrates the allure and also fear of the unfamiliar – a bit like we think today of sentient extra-terrestrials, if they exist. Then again, who says that fairies should be all of a kind? Perhaps, like people, they can use their powers very differently. All in all, I’ve found this an interesting book.

[Keri-Ann Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about this collection of books (trying to get the whole collection) is that it is such a perfect mix of stories and history. Blended so well at times that you don't realize that you have transferred from one to the other.

[Jamie Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I inherited this set of books years ago from one of my brothers, and am just now getting around to reading them. I can find no place in the series that says what order they are supposed to be read in, so I've just been going through them alphabetically. So even though this is the third book in the series, it's the sixth one I've read. It doesn't appear to matter, as each book is written to stand alone. So if you are only interested in a few of the subjects from this series, you don't need to read the others to know what is going on.

These books are basically summaries of mythology and folklore; sort of like Cliff's Notes. The writing reflects this attitude -- readable, yet somewhat dull at the same time. It lacks the dramatic flair of a purely fictional novel and ends up reading like a textbook. The result is that while the series is enjoyable, it's not terribly exciting and at times the text can be rather snore-worthy. The creators of these books have spiced up the text with illustrations that range from adequate to amazing. There are some bits of really impressive artwork in these books. Some books have more artwork than others, which gives the impression that it was used as padding to get to a set number of pages (probably not far from the mark).

One of the nicest touches in this series is the bibliography included in each volume, where volumes that were especially helpful to the authors are marked with asterisks. Overall, I am considering these books to be average -- worth reading and enjoying the artwork once, but after I'm done I have no plans to keep them.

[Farrah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and not informative. Published by Time Life leads one to believe that their will be objective information. Or at least a chart indicating the difference between Fairies and Elves. Nope. It was a bunch of boring stories riddled with Welsh and Gaelic characters which always capture the evil of the fairy. Some of the pictures were cool though. I used some in my high school-era zine.

[Samantha Kymmell-harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote my first creative story after reading this book as a child. This book really had a huge influence on me!

[Natajia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As i've said about all these books in the series; AWESOMEEE!
I loved all of these books, and they were all so very interesting.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good reference of info and stories around the Fair Folk. I wish there had been more myths though on the Celtic Tuatha Dé Danann.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short articles and stories.

[Kristine Sprunger]

I enjoyed the whole series. I think I still have them.