Bluecap: Difference between revisions
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|Grouping = [[Mythological creature]] <br /> [[Fairy]] |
|Grouping = [[Mythological creature]] <br /> [[Fairy]] |
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|Possibilities = |
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|AKA = |
|AKA = |
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|Country = United Kingdom |
|Country = United Kingdom |
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|Region = England |
|Region = England |
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|Details = Mines |
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|First_Attested = In folklore |
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|Last_Sighted = |
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|Status = Unconfirmed |
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A '''bluecap''' is a mythical [[fairy]] or [[ghost]] in [[English folklore]] that inhabits mines and appears as a small blue flame. If miners treat them with respect, the bluecaps lead them to rich deposits of minerals.{{sfnp|Allen|2005|p=24|ps=}} Like [[Knocker (folklore)|knockers]] or [[kobolds]], bluecaps can also forewarn miners of cave-ins. They are mostly associated with the [[Anglo-Scottish]] [[border country|borders]].<ref>[[Katherine Mary Briggs]], ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature''</ref> |
A '''bluecap''' is a mythical [[fairy]] or [[ghost]] in [[English folklore]] that inhabits mines and appears as a small blue flame. If miners treat them with respect, the bluecaps lead them to rich deposits of minerals.{{sfnp|Allen|2005|p=24|ps=}} Like [[Knocker (folklore)|knockers]] or [[kobolds]], bluecaps can also forewarn miners of cave-ins. They are mostly associated with the [[Anglo-Scottish]] [[border country|borders]].<ref>[[Katherine Mary Briggs]], ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature''</ref> |
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Bluecaps were regarded as hard workers and it was said that they were expected to be paid a working man's wages, equal to those of an average putter (a mine worker who pushes the wagons). This payment was left in a solitary corner of the mine, and they would not accept any more or less than they were owed. The miners would sometimes talk of having seen a flickering bluecap settle on a full tub of coal, transporting it as though "impelled by the sturdiest sinews".{{sfnp|Briggs|1976|pp=27–28|ps=}} |
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Another being of the same type (though less helpful in nature) was called "Cutty Soames"<ref name=poorlabour>''Labour and the Poor in England and Wales, 1849–1851: Northumberland and Durham, Staffordshire, the Midlands'', Jules Ginswick, Routledge, 1983, {{ISBN|0-7146-2960-X}}, 9780714629605, pp. 65-66</ref> or ''Old Cutty Soames'',<ref>''Character Sketches Of Romance, Fiction And The Drama'', Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Marion Harland, The Minerva Group, Inc., 2004, {{ISBN|1-4102-1335-8}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4102-1335-8}}, page. 119</ref> who was known to cut the rope-traces or soams by which the assistant putter was yoked to the tub.<ref name=poorlabour/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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[[Category:English ghosts]] |
[[Category:English ghosts]] |
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[[Category:English legendary creatures]] |
[[Category:English legendary creatures]] |
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[[Category:Germanic legendary creatures]] |
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[[Category:Supernatural legends]] |
[[Category:Supernatural legends]] |
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[[Category:Mining spirits]] |
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{{legendary-creature-stub}} |
{{legendary-creature-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 16:02, 4 May 2024
| Grouping | Mythological creature Fairy |
|---|---|
| First attested | In folklore |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Region | England |
| Details | Mines |
A bluecap is a mythical fairy or ghost in English folklore that inhabits mines and appears as a small blue flame. If miners treat them with respect, the bluecaps lead them to rich deposits of minerals.[1] Like knockers or kobolds, bluecaps can also forewarn miners of cave-ins. They are mostly associated with the Anglo-Scottish borders.[2]
Bluecaps were regarded as hard workers and it was said that they were expected to be paid a working man's wages, equal to those of an average putter (a mine worker who pushes the wagons). This payment was left in a solitary corner of the mine, and they would not accept any more or less than they were owed. The miners would sometimes talk of having seen a flickering bluecap settle on a full tub of coal, transporting it as though "impelled by the sturdiest sinews".[3]
Another being of the same type (though less helpful in nature) was called "Cutty Soames"[4] or Old Cutty Soames,[5] who was known to cut the rope-traces or soams by which the assistant putter was yoked to the tub.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
- ^ Allen (2005), p. 24
- ^ Katherine Mary Briggs, The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature
- ^ Briggs (1976), pp. 27–28
- ^ a b Labour and the Poor in England and Wales, 1849–1851: Northumberland and Durham, Staffordshire, the Midlands, Jules Ginswick, Routledge, 1983, ISBN 0-7146-2960-X, 9780714629605, pp. 65-66
- ^ Character Sketches Of Romance, Fiction And The Drama, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Marion Harland, The Minerva Group, Inc., 2004, ISBN 1-4102-1335-8, ISBN 978-1-4102-1335-8, page. 119
Bibliography
- Allen, J. (2005), Fantasy Encyclopedia, Kingfisher Publications
- Briggs, Katharine (1976), An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Pantheon Books, ISBN 0394409183
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