Folklore of Yorkshire by Kai Roberts

Author:Kai Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780752489544
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-03-26T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

TUTELARY SPIRITS

Whilst the phantom hound was typically conceived as inimical to mankind, another class of ambiguous spiritual entity seemed to take a much greater interest in human affairs. Indeed, they were happy not only to exist in close quarters with mortals, but to interact and even cooperate with them. These beings tend to be categorised as ‘household spirits’ or ‘tutelary spirits’, however, as with so many folkloric taxonomies, neither term is quite satisfactory. Although in many cases these spirits were associated with a particular household, they were frequently known to haunt outdoor sites as well. Similarly, the word ‘tutelary’ implies that they acted primarily as a guardian or protector, but whilst this is sometimes true, in English folklore these spirits often present a dual aspect and prove a formidable nuisance for either the household or community to which they are attached.

In Yorkshire, such spirits were known as ‘hobs’ (with variations such as ‘hobthrush’) or ‘boggarts’. The former seems to have been a more standard appellation in the North and the East of the county, the latter in the South and the West. Generically, they are often classified as ‘hobgoblins’ or subsumed under the more widely recognised title of ‘brownie’, which has become an all-purpose term for these spirits in English folklore, despite having originated in the Borders and Scottish lowlands. Nonetheless, there has been some debate about how our ancestors perceived the nature of these entities. Writing in 1802-3, Sir Walter Scott was satisfied that they ‘formed a class of beings distinct in habit and disposition from the ... elves (fairies).’ However, more recent scholars, such as Katharine Briggs, have chosen to regard them as a species of fairy, albeit one that typically acted individually and preferred to live amongst humans, rather than their own kind.

The most common narratives concerning hobs and boggarts portray them very much as household spirits, closely connected to a particular family or house. Yet they differ from certain tutelary or ancestral spirits in that they are not irrevocably bound to specific people or places. The cooperation they extend to humans is clearly a matter of choice and it can be revoked at any moment, leading the spirit to abandon the family or building forever. They are not like the glaistigs or bean-sidhs of Celtic folklore, fated to serve one dynasty forever. Rather, they come and go on a whim, offering support or creating mischief as they fancy. The capriciousness of such creatures is one of their defining features, and it is never entirely obvious whether their involvement in human affairs was considered a blessing or a curse.

Their representation was also more consistently anthropomorphic than many denizens of the Otherworld, and on the rare occasion hobs or boggarts were actually seen, they were usually described as small, wizened men, naked but for the thick black hair that covered their bodies. Nonetheless, most narratives make clear that it was an uncommon experience to witness these beings in their household capacity. In some cases they were literally invisible,

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