THE ELIZABETHAN FAIRIES

ROBIN GOODFELLOW 235
devil of Hell and the familiar spirit of witches, his origin
and race were never determined. In spite of the various
names '@ bestowed upon him or invented to fit his nature,
his real name remained a matter for conjecture to the
end of his history, as the following stanza indicates:
Some call him Robin Good-fellow,
Hob-goblin or mad Crisp,
And some againe doe tearme him oft
by name of Will the Wispe;
But call him by what name you list,
I have studied on my pillow,
I think the best name he deserves
is Robin the Good Fellow.61
Contrary to the usual case of a nameless hero of ob-
scure origin, Robin Goodfellow's absence of a family
name and of racial identity proved a boon rather than a
disgrace. For with no known or traditional attributes,
he became the embodiment of his own flattering nick-
name, and was cherished and remembered for the gen-
go The list of names and affectionate titles which were attached to
Robin Goodfellow is almost as long and as varied as are the accounts
of his origin and his race. He was known as Puck, Hobgoblin,
Goblin, Lob of spirits (M. N . D.) ; Pug (Jonson, The Devil is an
Ass) ; Puckerel (Giffard, Dial. conc. Witches and W. cr.) ; Puckling
(Heywood and Broome, Late Lanc. Witches) ; Puck-hairy (Jonson,
Sad Shep.) ; Pug-robin (Butler, Hudibras) ; Hob (Drayton, Nim-
phidia) ; Lubbar fend (Milton, L.'Allegro) ; Lob-lie-by-the-fire (Beau-
mont, Knight of the Burning Pestle); Crisp (The merry pranks of
Robin-Goodfellow) ; William o' the Wisp (Fletcher, Night-Walker) ;
Pixie (Clobery, Divine Glimpses; and Mrs. Bray, A Description . . .
of Devonshire) ; Willy Wispe (Robin Goodfellow; his mad prankes,
and merry Jests) ; Hodgepoke (Churchyard, A Handfull of Gladsome
Verses). Cf. also E. K. Chambers, " Fairy World," p. 165; and
Thoms, Three Notelets, p. 165.
The merry pranks of Robin-Goodfellow; rpt. Halliwell, Fairy
Mythology, 1845, p. 164.