THE ELIZABETHAN FAIRIES

60 ORIGIN AND NATURE
They were also, as sublunary devils, regarded as fa-
miliar or domestic devils. This is the definition given
them by Reginald Scot, who puts them in the same cate-
gory with " bugs, Incubus, Robin good fellow, and other
familiar or domestical spirits and divels." 12' Samuel
Rowlands considers the fairies domestic spirits:
In old wiues dayes, that in old time did liue
................
Great store of Goblins, Faries, Bugs, Night-mares,
Vrchins, and Elues, to many a house repaire~,l~~
as does Harsnet in A Declaration of egregious Popish
Irnposture~,~~~ Kirk in Secret Comrnon~ealth,~~~ Ben
Jonson in the Masque of Oberon,lsl and Edward Fairfav
English books on. America. 1555 A.D. Being chiefly Translations,
Compilations, &c., by Richard Eden, . . . Arber ed., 1885, p. 74.
These are but a few examples of the connection of the fairies with
water either as watery devils or as the same race as water nymphs.
The association of the fairies with water, as is well known, was one
of the features of their history during the centuries preceding the 16th
century, and a love of water and springs was a characteristic of the
elves of early English literature as well as of the fairies of romance
and of Chaucer. Cf. also Francis Douce, Illustrations of Shakspeare,
and of Ancient Manners, 1807, Vol. I, p. 389: " Fairies were also,
from their supposed place of residence, denominated waternymphs, in
the Teutonic languages wasserfrauwen, wassernixen, nocka, necker
and nicker; terms, excepting the first, manifestly connected with the
Scotish nicneven, and most probably with our old nick." Cf. also
Huloet, Abecedarium, printed 1552, corrected by John Higgins, I572
(known as Huloet's Dictionarie) :
" Fayries or Elves of the hylls Oreades
Fayes or Nymphes of the Sea, the daughters of Nereus and
Doric having the forme of women."
12' Dis. of Witch., 1651 ed., p. 364.
More Knaues Yet? Of Ghoasts and Goblins. Hunterian Club
ed., 1880, Vol. 2, p. 41.
lZ9 Page 133.
130 Page 6.
lsl Morley ed., p. 154.