Elfin music: an anthology of English fairy poetry

Ignited through agitation into a flame,
Which they say some evil spirit often follows,
Hovering and blazing with delusive light,
Leading the amazed night-traveler away from his path
To bogs and mires, and often through pond and pool.

The different hierarchies of fairy spirits who are supposed to be in contact with humanity may be grouped broadly into three general divisions: 1. Land Fairies. 2. Sea Fairies. 3. Elfin dwellers of the underworld.

The first class includes such inhabitants of grove and forest as the lovely Korrigan of Brittany, the Moss Folk of Germany, and the Elves proper of English traditional poetry. It also includes the fairies of field and meadow, such as the Lutin of Normandy, the Little Monk of Neapolitan legends, and the "Good Neighbors" of Scottish lore. It further comprises the domestic fairies who, under the name of Pixies, haunt Cornish farms and homesteads, the Caledonian Brownie, the Germanic Kobold, and the Niss of Scandinavian legend. The Neckan and Merman are familiar instances of the nature-spirits included in the second division. The elves of the underworld—the trolls, dwarfs, wild-women, and "still-folk" of Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland—are unrepresented in English tradition and poetry, though in most of our early romances, the Land of Faerie is supposed to be underground.

Modern imagination has added many supernatural characters to those of ancient legend. Some of its most graceful conceptions—its flower fairies and sprites of the twilight—are included in this volume.

Besides the story of Orfeo and Heurodis, there are several ancient English metrical romances concerned with adventurous quests and travels into Fairyland. Their archaic form and considerable length naturally exclude them from a popular anthology, but this introduction may fitly close with a summary of one which is singularly beautiful in concept and held in high repute among discerning students of our early poetical literature.

The Romance of the Knight Launfal, by Thomas Chestre, is an expanded version of an ancient poem by Marie de France, a Norman poetess who flourished in the thirteenth century. It concerns a "bachelor" a young knight named Launfal, who was made steward at the court of King Arthur for his generosity and liberal giving, and was chosen by Merlin to bring home the king's bride, Guinevere. The mission was undertaken by the knight—

But Sir Launfal did not like her. . . .
For the lady had such a reputation,
That she had lovers besides her lord,
So many that there was no end.

After the marriage of Arthur, Launfal took leave of