The "Fay" in Tolkien

[Andorinha]

In several dictionaries, the term Fay is simply equated with Fairy. In other sources the term is broadened to include almost any form of "magical being," goblins included.

Wikipedia gives us:

"A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively, wee folk, good folk, people of peace, and other euphemisms)[1] is the name given to a type of mythological being or legendary creature, a form of nature spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.

"The concept of fairies is based on the fae of medieval Western European (Old French) folklore and romance. Fairies are often identified with a variety of beings of other mythologies. Even in folklore that uses the term "fairy," there are many definitions of what constitutes a fairy. Sometimes the term is used to describe any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes: at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature.[2]"

1 Briggs, Katharine Mary (1976) An Encyclopedia of Fairies. New York, Pantheon Books. "Euphemistic names for fairies" p. 127 ISBN 0-394-73467-X

2 Briggs (1976) p. xi

As I conceive this topic, it will be primarily concerned with eliciting answers to the following questions: How does Tolkien use this term? What connotations does it have for him? When and why did he abandon its use? Does the "Fay" live on in his later works under a different name?

A quick search of the HOME indices for "Fay" has left me somewhat disappointed, it shows up (so far as I can see) only in the two volumes of The Book of Lost Tales. I had hoped that there might be a general collection of data concerning the "Fay" in HOME XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth, but I do not find it listed there. Of course, there may be other cross-references to "Fay" under "Elves" and/ or "Maiar," or some other term, but -- from what I can glean at the moment from the indices -- the concept of the "Fay" seems to have no long history of development in Tolkien's legendarium. In a sense, I suppose this makes the research task that much easier, only BLT 1 and 2 need be closely canvassed for relevant information? The term "fay" is also used in the essay "On Fairy-stories," in a casual manner in a footnote on p. 6 (The Tolkien Reader), where JRRT uses the term in the dictionary sense as a synonymn for "fairy."

[Desi Baggins]

I read a series of books by Anne Bishop the Tir Alainn Trilogy. It was about the Fae, witches and humans. The way the Fae were in this series sort of reminded me of Tolkien's Valar. The Fae were more god like and lived in a more heaven like world, but they could cross into our world. I am not sure if the Valar ever went to middle-earth (I don't think they did) so maybe the Fae are more like Tolkien's Istari.

So I think Tolkien made his Fae creatures the Valar and Istari/Maiar.

[Andorinha]

Thanks Desi, I just looked up Anne Bishop, I noticed that her trilogy is from 2001 onward. In this case, it might be that she has been influenced by JRRT's writing, where he seems to use fay (fae) as something more "godlike" than a simple fairy or elf. I'm wondering if JRRT began this movement, that is , seeing the fay as more than just a fairy?

[Desi Baggins]

I figured he was before her time and he was more the example.............

I really liked the Fay/Fairie creature being something other than a fairy/pixie type creature. I can't think of any other times I have seen the Fay more god like other than say the Greek and Roman gods, but I am not sure they would be considered Fay.

[Andorinha]

Yeah, I like the idea of "flexible" fairy/ fays available for use however the various authors care to use 'em.

[Desi Baggins]

I believe I have read that Tolkien wanted to create a story about a mythical England/Britian. So it would seem likely that he would take the idea of the Greek and Roman gods and put them into his story some how. I think that is what he based his Valar and Istari on.

[Fredeghar Wayfarer]

Ooo, the fay! My favorite! ;D

andorinha said:

In this case, it might be that she has been influenced by JRRT's writing, where he seems to use fay (fae) as something more "godlike" than a simple fairy or elf. I'm wondering if JRRT began this movement, that is , seeing the fay as more than just a fairy?

Tolkien didn't begin this but he definitely helped to bring it back. The idea of the fay as a noble, godlike race dates back to Celtic myths, particularly Irish mythology. I touched on this in another thread when we were talking about the difference between the mischievous "little people" faeries and the tall immortal variety.

The fay of Irish myth are a race known as the Aes Sidhe, (pronounced "Ess Shee") or sometimes just the Sidhe. It means "People of the Mounds." They were a tall, noble, powerful race of beings that were descended from the early Irish gods, the Tuatha de Danann. In later folklore though, they weren't gods, just a powerful supernatural race that lived in hollow mounds, beneath the hills, or in the Otherworld, the Realm of Faerie-- a twilight world somewhere beyond the circles of our own (shades of Valinor, eh?)

The fay of this early folklore are definitely not the small cutesy winged fairies we know today. They were human-sized and very majestic. And they weren't always benign. You had to be careful not to offend the fay or let them have any power over you.

This link has a pretty good overview of this version of the fay: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos_Si

Anyhow, what did the word "fay" mean to Tolkien? I suspect he was familiar with this early incarnation of the faerie concept as well as the similarly noble human-sized elves of Norse mythology. He likely desired to bring this notion back and move away from the cutesy Victorian little people fairies.

Tolkien's Elves are definitely similar to the Aes Sidhe. Tall, noble, beautiful, immortal, blessed with powerful magic, etc. A race that was human-like in nobility and stature but utterly alien and "other" as well. I would say they're definitely the surviving version of the fay in his work (especially since elves and faeries are part of the same basic "family" of creatures in most legends).

The Valar and Maiar have some similarities to the fay as well, though they're more like classical gods or angels. Valinor being an island somewhere in the West beyond the circles of the mortal world is a lot like the faerie realms of myth such as Avalon or Tir-Na-nOg however.

Why Tolkien dropped the term "fay" from his work I couldn't say. Perhaps he just wanted to divorce his creation that much further from what the word "fairy" had come to mean at the time. I seem to recall that he calls the Elves the Fair Folk a few times though (another term used for the fay).

[Andorinha]

Desi -- That makes good sense to me. I guess the next stop is to see how closely we can connect JRRT's Fay with his Valar/ Maiar as opposed to their being considered Fairies/ Elves.


Thank You So Much, Fredegar!

This is excellent material, fills in a lot of the gaps in my own understanding of the Fay and suggests some new lines of approach that I think may be fruitful. Back again soon!

[Andorinha]

My researches on this topic are taking some interesting twists, I find the topic of "Celtic modalities" in the fairy-tales used as source material by JRRT has suddenly intruded. In his early writings, Tolkien seems not to have made much distinction between the bits he borrowed from Nordic mythology and the bits he picked up from Celtic cultures. But sometime after the penning of the material we now find in "Book of Lost Tales" vol. 1 and 2, perhaps as late as 1935 - 37, JRRT started deprecating many Celtic items, and began trying to explain away their appearances in his works.

I'll develop this later, but I think it MAY be his growing distaste for things connected with the Celtic tradition that caused him to drop the term "Fay," in those manuscripts that came after BOLT 1 &2.

Back soon!