You need not look too far back in time to reach a place where most people – even the most learned – were firmly of the opinion that such beings as fairies, nereids, trolls, and other such folk not only existed but that they had a wide range of powers over nature at their disposal. They could control the weather. They could control the growth of plants and animals. They could even cause or cure illnesses.
For good or for ill, and I’m of the opinion that it is not entirely one or the other, with the development of various technologies and changes in the way the natural world was viewed, many societies have become quite literally disenchanted. Yet while the idea that such beings are existentially real has drifted to the margins, stories about them have persisted and are now seeing a minor renaissance among a wide swath of people ranging from academics to those seeking a different way of understanding and interacting with both the natural world and the numinous than traditional and now, sadly, often discredited religions can provide.
In the recently published The Exeter Companion to Fairies, Nereids, Trolls and other Social Supernatural Beings, editors Simon Young and Davide Ermacora have assembled the work of eighteen scholars in relevant fields all of whom examine an aspect of European folk practices, oral traditions, and beliefs pertaining to the social supernatural. In fact, the book pioneers the very concept of the social supernatural to encompass the study of these beliefs and practices.
Whether you’re a folklorist or historian, an avid reader of fantasy or mythology, a practitioner of one or more of the emergent nature-centered spiritual practices, like me a little of all the above, then this new book is one you should add to your reading list.
