The Secret Commonwealth: Of Elves, Fauns, and FairiesNew York Review of Books, 2019 M05 14 - 144 pages A classic, enchanting document of Scottish folklore about fairies, elves, and other supernatural creatures. Late in the seventeenth century, Robert Kirk, an Episcopalian minister in the Scottish Highlands, set out to collect his parishioners’ many striking stories about elves, fairies, fauns, doppelgängers, wraiths, and other beings of, in Kirk’s words, “a middle nature betwixt man and angel.” For Kirk these stories constituted strong evidence for the reality of a supernatural world, existing parallel to ours, which, he passionately believed, demanded exploration as much as the New World across the seas. Kirk defended these views in The Secret Commonwealth, an essay that was left in manuscript when he died in 1692. It is a rare and fascinating work, an extraordinary amalgam of science, religion, and folklore, suffused with the spirit of active curiosity and bemused wonder that fills Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy and the works of Sir Thomas Browne. The Secret Commonwealth is not only a remarkable document in the history of ideas but a study of enchantment that enchants in its own right. First published in 1815 by Sir Walter Scott, then reedited in 1893 by Andrew Lang, with a dedication to Robert Louis Stevenson, The Secret Commonwealth has long been difficult to obtain—available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. This new edition modernizes the spelling and punctuation of Kirk’s little book and features a wide-ranging and illuminating introduction by the critic and historian Marina Warner, who brings out the originality of Kirk’s contribution and reflects on the ongoing life of fairies in the modern mind. |
From inside the book
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Page xv
... invisible polity, or a people to us invisible, having a Commonwealth Laws and Oeconomy, made known to us but by some obscure hints of a few admitted to their converse: because it is no more necessity for us to know there are such Beings ...
... invisible polity, or a people to us invisible, having a Commonwealth Laws and Oeconomy, made known to us but by some obscure hints of a few admitted to their converse: because it is no more necessity for us to know there are such Beings ...
Page xix
... invisible world to convince us... of a deity, of spirits.” In this way he shows his unusual “temperate complexion” and applies his characteristic “balsam" to the wounds of religious strife and vehement denunciation that afflicted his ...
... invisible world to convince us... of a deity, of spirits.” In this way he shows his unusual “temperate complexion” and applies his characteristic “balsam" to the wounds of religious strife and vehement denunciation that afflicted his ...
Page xx
... invisible people, heretofore going under the names of elves, fauns, and fairies, or the like... as they are described by those who have the second sight,” now stands as a pioneering piece of ethnographical anthology, whose peculiar ...
... invisible people, heretofore going under the names of elves, fauns, and fairies, or the like... as they are described by those who have the second sight,” now stands as a pioneering piece of ethnographical anthology, whose peculiar ...
Page xxii
... mentions the boy Elidor, who wandered into fairyland and there stole a golden ball, and Arthurian legends as well as Celtic myths summon up invisible realms and their enchanted inhabitants.” Shakespeare's xx i i INTRODUCTION.
... mentions the boy Elidor, who wandered into fairyland and there stole a golden ball, and Arthurian legends as well as Celtic myths summon up invisible realms and their enchanted inhabitants.” Shakespeare's xx i i INTRODUCTION.
Page xxiii
Of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies Robert Kirk. myths summon up invisible realms and their enchanted inhabitants.” Shakespeare's ghosts and dreams—Mercutio's hectic vision of Queen Mab, the pranks of Puck, the “rough magic” of Prospero, and ...
Of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies Robert Kirk. myths summon up invisible realms and their enchanted inhabitants.” Shakespeare's ghosts and dreams—Mercutio's hectic vision of Queen Mab, the pranks of Puck, the “rough magic” of Prospero, and ...
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Common terms and phrases
Aberfoyle aerial Andrew Lang angels apparitions appear Barrie beast believe in fairies betwixt Bible body called Cardano Celtic charm conjecture conveyed creatures cure curious daemons dead devils doth earth EILEEN CHANG Elisha ELIZABETH HARDwick EMMANUEL BOVE enchanted essay evil fairyland Gaelic ghost habit hand hath haunt HENRY GREEN Highlands hill inhabitants invisible Irish isle J. M. Barrie J.G. FARRELL James Jesus John King KINGSLEY AMIS Kirk's glossary knew L.P. HARTLEY living London Lord lore magic Memoirs ment minister nature night occult ond sight PATRICKLEIGH FERMOR perceived person Peter powers Robert Boyle Robert Kirk Scotland Scots Scottish Scottish-Irish second sight Secret Commonwealth seen seer seventh Sir Norman sith sluagh souls species spell spirits Stories strange subterranean supernatural Tarbat terrestrial things tion told tradition Twilight uncanny VASILY GROSSMAN vision W. B. Yeats waters whereof wights Witchcraft witches words