Scottish and British Brownies are located in the Scottish lowlands and Northern England. Brownies are also named in Celtic language as a brùnaidh, ùruisg, or gruagach, they are similar to a hobgoblin or tutelary spirit that is a guardian of a family’s property.
They are beneficent to the families they live with much like Dobby the house elf in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Books.
Brownies enjoy aiding folks by tilling the garden or performing household chores once, the adults retire for the evening. UK Brownies love bread, yet in Newfoundland, Canada folks use bread to avoid fairies.
Brownies are approximately (three feet high or 91.44 centimeters) and mainly wear ragged brown serf clothes and sport beards with long hair. Never attempt to reward them with new clothes, they may be offended by your kind gesture. Many Old families in the UK had Brownies that lived with them and stayed in their homes that were eventually, passed down through the ages to their adult children. Brownies are ageless compared to people. Brownies are similar to the Scandinavian Tomte,the Slavic domovoi and the German Heinzelmännchen. Never anger a Brownie or you will see poltergeist action in your house that will scare the boots off of you!
Above Illustration of a Brownie by Arthur Rackham via Public Domain
Some European folks believed that Brownies were really dead ancestral spirits that changed into Brownies then eventually morphed into devils.
Above vintage advertisement with Brownies via Public Domain
Sources & References:
Briggs, Katharine M. (1972). “Folklore in Nineteenth-Century English Literature Folklore .”
Lamont-Brown, R. (1996) Scottish Folklore. Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited.
Val is a writer of enchanted tales, folklore and magic. Once chased by Vampire Pumpkins! 