Enjoy The Secret Commonwealth Of Elves, Fauns And Fairies Documented By Robert Kirk Visible In Textbook

charming and weird little book on fairies, written in Scotland inor so, The latter third of the book gets a bit tedious as it's mostly arguments about why those who have second sight should not be considered witches.
The meat of the book is a sort of anthropological and sociological account of the Sithe and other fey folk that is quite fascinating, as much for what it reveals of the psychology theth century Scottish Seers as for for the info about the elves etc.
I was in an English Majory mood last time I went to the bookstore, This little oddity came home with me,

Its easy to spot folklore and myths that morphed and changed into more fantastical elements over the centuries, Its also interesting to note Kirks descriptions of the metaphysical are not very different from Shakespeares in various plays, though Warner in the introduction suspects Kirk would have never had any exposure to Shakespeare living in the Scottish highlands.


The most intriguing part of the essay is

the religious connections in it, Kirk, as a minister, likened these supernatural experiences to the Bible, and believed these beings were just in the next stage between earth and heaven.
His defense of his writings is full of scriptural references as further evidence of his belief, He didnt see any paganism in these encounters, and thought they went hand in hand with his spiritual beliefs,

Four for the curiosity factor of the book, Lots of fun and interesting tidbits, Two because its not exactly an easy or particularly entertaining read, And honestly, sometimes Warners introduction was just as overwrought as Kirksth centurystyle runon sentences which was strange to me, since I usually enjoy her commentary.
That evens out to three, every ufologist should read it, . the clear link between faeries of old and the greys of today same drink through the pores stuff etc
this book totally blows away exopolitics 'they came inat Roswell' rubbish This is a very difficult book to review.
Having languished in a manuscript form for a century, and having been written at a time when witchcraft was still an executionable offence, it might be easy to find fault with Kirk's archaic style, continual use of Scots gaelic, the confusing index, or his almost matter of fact tone.
However, it is also remarkable that a Scottish minister should be so frank in his report of the nature ofth Century beliefs, and give them a measured account, without contempt or disdain for the Elves, Fairies, Brownies and Spirits, or those who believe in them.


It is also refreshing to find these occurances placed with tradition and folklore but from Kirk's own voice and upbringing, relaying original conversations.
The treatise is therefore much more than a retelling old wive's tales and superstition, but is a curious psychological investigation into the culture of reformation Scotland, and how beliefs persist in contradiction of and parallel to religion.
Therefore, Kirk's accounts of the supernatural, as well as greatly influencing future writers of magical worlds, present a system of folklore that incorporates both genuine beliefs, and convenient but ludicrous alibis for social misadventure and mischief.
It is therefore much more mysterious than the little box of tricks and tales it initially seems to be, So very boring. The subject matter the curious nature of Scottish faeries and the faery faith of those that fear them held tremendous potential, but this book fell far short of my expectations.
It was dull and difficult reading, thanks to theth century grammar and vocabulary, and scattered with irrelevant Biblical quotes, If you want to learn about the faery faith, I would recommend EvanWentz's "The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries" over this one any day of the week.
'Tis a shame. A very interesting and engaging bit of Scottish folklore, Both the story and the illustrations are beautiful and illuminating, whether or not one really believes in the other world he describes, It harkens back to a past time when folklore was a part of every day lifea time when anything seemed possible, I only wish it could be longer, This is a surprisingly readable book for coming out in thes,

sitelink Robert Kirk is forever remembered as the Chaplain to the Queen of the Fairies and this book is why.
Much of his life was dedicated to interviewing the ScotsIrish population of the Highlands about their belief in the Good People and trying to understand it.
He never scoffed, nor did he ever condescend to those he interviewed, He simply sought to understand it, The level of understanding and compassion that he brought to the folks during a time with witchcraft was being heavily prosecuted the last witch killing in Scotland took place in thes was truly astonishing.


Kirk did not believe that fairies were demons, but rather something partway between man and angel, He squared them within a Christian perspective in a way that was truly fascinating, and this ethnography is terribly indepth and thoughtful, While perhaps a bit difficult to read overall, it is still more accessible than I first thought that it might be, A classic for a reason, I believe this is a very important book for anyone with an interest in getting to know their Good Neighbors a bit better.
Mini review soon! Trattato sui fenomeni soprannaturali, mescolate ad una catalogazione mentale e limitata secondo gli usi dell'epoca e il vissuto dell'autore, Essendo frutto di una mente educata al cattolicesimo, correlato da mitologie e credenze del vissuto celtico, questo scritto riporta pensieri personali ma anche pompati da un aspetto quasi visionario.
A tratti sembra proprio qualcosa di inventato, eppure in parte potrebbe essere tutto vero,
Stando a quanto scritto il Popolo Gentile può realmente punire coloro che ne raccontano le reali vicende, quindi potrebbe anche essere stata una maniera quella riportata da Kirk per nascondere determinate realtà.
. . forse per questo a tratti sembra un racconto di finzione pura,
Certamente fa parte di un bagaglio esperienziale e arricchisce il lettore, incuriosito dalle tematiche folkloristiche a monte, Non dovrebbe mai mancare nella libreria di uno studioso del genere, Completely fascinating, an amazing source for fairylore studies, This manuscript was written by a priest in thes Scotland, It really took me a while to understand the meanings of things because of the old language, There was a glossary to help with some Scottish/Irish words, I found this fascinating.
Basically, he explained remedies for ailments using herbs, magic and superstition,
As for the fairies, etc, he claimed that some people have the gift to see them, and he explained what he knew about this fairy society, where their bodies are ethereal.
Interesting. Pretty cool piece of historical writing, Well worth the effort of reading, but don't expect to be entertained, This is a seminal text exploited by many fantasy authors, It is quite famous for its rolling list it's been revamped and republished numerous times of supernatural beings and the like, it even has a preTolkien mention of hobbits! If you want to mine through it for ideas its a good resource, though commentaries upon the book exist in other works that are more readable than this version.
I'm keeping it handy for inspiration when writing fantasy! Not the easiest read, but a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a tolerant, curious man whose writings on fairy lore have survived nearlyyears, despite not being published in his lifetime.


I wish that Kirk had been a little more curious as to why seers were apparently seldom women, Possibly because women were more associated with witchcraft I feel that Kirk's investigations suffered for his exclusion of women's experience, but this is still an interesting, valuable piece of work with a good introduction by Marina Warner.
A strange, odd book, compiling the notes of a Scottishth century minister all about his parishioners many striking stories about elves, fairies, fauns, doppelgängers, wraiths, and other beings of, in Kirks words, “a middle nature betwixt man and angel.
” He believed these views and set them forth in a manuscript that was found after he died in, This is a very sweet little book, telling the story of a Reverend who discovers the way into fairyland and writes about the people, plants and places that he finds there.
Only his presence seems to cause dissent amongst the fairy people and he has to decide which of his worlds he should choose.


This is a simple story nothing exactly original or very exciting, but an ok read, The ending was purposely left open and 'mysterious', but I found it a bit of a let down, It's not really fully fleshed and so you can't really read it like a novel, but it was vaguely entertaining for a short while.


My edition is nicely presented, with some lovely sketches throughout, But I hated the font used, In an effort to make it look like handwriting, the publishers have managed to give me a mild headache!

An ok read, but not one I would return to again.
This short, unusual book is intended to be a record of the existence of actual faefolk, Tales of faefolk are part of common folklore in England and Scotland, and this book was put together by a ScottishPresbyterian minister, I'm always interested in folklore, and this book is an interesting read, An important work on the existence and lore around the beings known as fairies or fays, as well as on the phenomenon of the "second sight" or clairvoyance required to perceive them.
I'm glad someone has made this book available to a modern public, but as a reader I wish that itsthcentury language had been recast in modern English, and also that the long introduction had been written by someone who was more sympathetic to the author's viewpoint, for it spends much time trying to find reasons why people might believe in fairies.
An interesting historical artefact, documenting old Scottish beliefs about fairies, elves and other such spirits, Although I can't really call it a good book, I certainly made a lot of notes,

Interestingly, this is one of Philip Pullman's favourite works the second volume of The Book of Dust is to be called The Secret Commonwealth after it and scholars of His Dark Materials may well perceive the kernels of ideas within these pages.
In particular, the Deaths in the Amber Spyglass feel prefigured in the eye descriptions of fairie doppelgangers, which often presage death or misfortune.
A fascinating long essay on Scotland's metaphysical beings, including accounts from Scots about their interactions with them, with a introduction from the everbrilliant Marina Warner, who we stan.
A lateth manuscript embedded in ath century manuscript, The former was written by a clergyman trying to record some Scottish folklore and reconcile it with snippets of Biblical texts, The latter was written by a scholar interested in psychic phenomena, along with others of his time which would include Arthur Conan Doyle.
So, it's layeredoral tradition, anecdotal experiences of folks that both scholars talked with, and attempts to fit it all into a couple of different frameworks.
That's what makes it interesting, not any coherence or narrative, There are some interesting insights, though, One item that impressed me was the observation that when Scots with Second Sight emigrated to the Americas they lost their abilities, suggesting that their talent for perceiving an otherwise unseen world and beings was tied to their natal land, not to some essential ability they could carry with them.
The translation from printed book to ebook is a bit rough in that the old long s google "long s" for explanation, In this rendition, it looks exactly the same as the letter f, So, it's slow going. That, and the old spellings based on Scottish pronunciation, But it's worth a look if you are interested in folklore, alternative ontologies/animism/conflation of space and time, or even if you are just interested in where Phillip Pullman got some of his ideas for "His Dark Materials.
" I suspect Susanna Clarke was influenced by this book when writing sitelinkJonathan Strange amp Mr Norrell, It could be a sourcebook for that novels bookish weirdness, The first half paints a world view that isnt just magical, but uncanny, Tropes that may seem cliché, like the Changeling and the Doppelgänger, are somehow strange and even kinda scary, as though experiencing them for the first time.
The subterraneans a. k. a. fairies, seemed to me like an expression of what was later called hysteria and automatism, those troubling incontinuities of self where we seem possessed or, in this book, replaced by a cowalker or reflexman.


The second half is fine, though much more sermonlike in tone, The magic, which Kirk goes to great lengths to defend on Biblical grounds, is more your workaday secondsight hocuspocus, But you will be charmed by colorful words like wramp and trake, lynxeyed and planetstruck, And in the final treatise you may be surprised by all the enchanting uses to which one can put spit and hair,

to wrench or twist
to wander idly,