Produced by Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: _From Photograph by the Author_ THE MYSTIC CENTRE OF THE CELTIC WORLD CARNAC IN A. D. 1909 LOOKING TOWARD THE SUNRISE, FROM WITHIN THE CROMLECH, _LES ALIGNEMENTS DU MÉNEC_] THE FAIRY-FAITH IN CELTIC COUNTRIES BY W. Y. EVANS WENTZ M.A. STANFORD UNIVERSITY CALIFORNIA U.S.A. DOCTEUR-ÈS-LETTRES UNIVERSITY OF RENNES BRITTANY B.SC. JESUS COLLEGE OXON. HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO AND MELBOURNE 1911 OXFORD: HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY THIS BOOK DEPENDS CHIEFLY UPON THE ORAL AND WRITTEN TESTIMONY SO FREELY CONTRIBUTED BY ITS MANY CELTIC AUTHORS,-- THE PEASANT AND THE SCHOLAR, THE PRIEST AND THE SCIENTIST, THE POET AND THE BUSINESS MAN, THE SEER AND THE NON-SEER,-- AND IN HONOUR OF THEM I DEDICATE IT TO TWO OF THEIR BRETHREN IN IRELAND: A. E., WHOSE UNWAVERING LOYALTY TO THE FAIRY-FAITH HAS INSPIRED MUCH THAT I HAVE HEREIN WRITTEN, WHOSE FRIENDLY GUIDANCE IN MY STUDY OF IRISH MYSTICISM I MOST GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE; AND WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, WHO BROUGHT TO ME AT MY OWN ALMA MATER IN CALIFORNIA THE FIRST MESSAGE FROM FAIRYLAND, AND WHO AFTERWARDS IN HIS OWN COUNTRY LED ME THROUGH THE HAUNTS OF FAIRY KINGS AND QUEENS. OXFORD _November_ 1911. 'It remains for ever true that the proper study of mankind is man; and even early man is not beneath contempt, especially when he proves to have had within him the makings of a great race, with its highest notions of duty and right, and all else that is noblest in the human soul.' The Right Hon. SIR JOHN RHŶS. CONTENTS PAGES PREFACE xi-xiii INTRODUCTION xv-xxviii SECTION I THE LIVING FAIRY-FAITH CHAPTER I ENVIRONMENT 1-16 Psychical Interpretation--The Mysticism of Erin and Armorica--In Ireland--In Scotland--In the Isle of Man--In Wales--In Cornwall--In Brittany. CHAPTER II THE TAKING OF EVIDENCE 17-225 Method of Presentation--The Logical Verdict--Trustworthiness of Legends--The Fairy-Faith held by the highly educated Celt as well as by the Celtic Peasant--The Evidence is complete and adequate--Its Analysis--The Fairy Tribes dealt with-- Witnesses and their Testimony: from Ireland, with Introduction by Dr. Douglas Hyde; from Scotland, with Introduction by Dr. Alexander Carmichael; from the Isle of Man, with Introduction by Miss Sophia Morrison; from Wales, with Introduction by the Right Hon. Sir John Rhŷs; from Cornwall, with Introduction by Mr. Henry Jenner; and from Brittany, with Introduction by Professor Anatole Le Braz. CHAPTER III