Book Review: The Fairy Courts by Morgan Daimler

In popular imagination, fairies are largely divided into two types: the nice Seelie court, and the bad boys of the Unseelie. In a new book, The Fairy Courts, Morgan Daimler delves into the history of this concept - and finds it isn't quite that clear-cut. In fact, the terms seelie and unseelie were originally only used in lowlands Scotland, not in Ireland, Wales, England, France or indeed anywhere else in the world. 

Nevertheless, fairies have frequently been described as being part of a royal court system, usually under a queen, but sometimes also a king. This has nothing to do with how mean they were likely to be if a human encountered them. It was more a set-up in the same model as human royal retinues, with knights, ladies in waiting, and servants etc. 

Here's a synopsis of The Fairy Courts, from Moon Books' website:

"The Fairy Courts is an in-depth exploration of its subject, from the original Scottish to modern fiction, mapping out beliefs and how they have evolved. It covers the social structure of fairies, the history of the Scottish Seelie and Unseelie courts, the fairy courts outside Scotland, and it offers a look at how fairy courts are being adapted today in fiction and belief. The Seelie and Unseelie courts have become a staple in fiction and a common idea in pop culture, yet their origins and how they were and are understood in Scottish folklore have become obscure. The Fairy Courts discusses the history of belief as it is traced from the 1500s to today, concluding with a chapter about the ways that folk belief and anecdotes show us how a human might survive in a fairy court."

As that synopsis says, Morgan explores exactly how the terms Seelie and Unseelie developed and spread. To a large part, it's down to fiction of the past 50 or so years. So, as well as delving in to folk beliefs through 500 years of history, The Fairy Courts has a chapter on urban fantasy, showing that a literary need for easy protagonists, antagonists, threats, allies and love interests, popularised the concept of opposing groups of fairies. Another chapter on RPGs shows how the concept of seelie and unseelie fairies fitted nicely in the Dungeons and Dragons alignments system, and the different houses and clans of the World of Darkness games.

Overall, it's a fascinating read - a must for anyone with an interest in the history of fairy beliefs and fantasy literature.

About the author
Morgan Daimler teaches classes on Irish myth and magical practices, fairies, and related subjects internationally. She has been published in multiple anthologies as well as articles in various magazines, and she is one of the world's foremost experts on all things Fairy. Besides the titles available through Moon Books Morgan has a high fantasy novel Into Shadow through Cosmic Egg and has an urban fantasy/paranormal romance series called Between the Worlds. Morgan has also presented papers on fairies and on fairies and witches at several university conferences.

You can find The Fairy Courts at publisher Moon Books' website (linked to earlier), and view it on Amazon.

Please note I earn commission from some links

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