THE ELIZABETHAN FAIRIES

80 APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS
In Huon of Burdeux, Oberon is described as three feet
high. His smallness is noticed and explained as the re-
sult of enchantment. The other fairies in the romance
are represented as of the size of men.64
With the exception of these instances, the fairies in
the 16th century before 1594 do not seem to have been
represented as diminutive or very small. To judge by
the evidence submitted above, they were, as Anne Jef-
feries described them, " a small Sort of Airy People " 55
who appeared " like Men, and Women, Souldiers, Kings,
Ladyes Children, and Horse-men cloathed in green." 66
Although there seems to have been nothing striking
about the figure of the fairies, their beauty, as may have
been seen, was extraordinary. With few exceptions,
they possessed such perfection of lineament and of fea-
ture that the terror which their materialization caused
could not overcome the impression of beauty which their
appearance produced. " TO hell I shall not goe," was
the conclusion of Raffe in gall at he^,^^ so fascinated by
the sight of the fairies that he could not resist following
them, " for SO faire faces neuer can haue such hard
fortunes."
The beauty of the boys who represented the fairies at
Norwich was made a matter of special comment by
Churchyard :
And touching the beautie of the Nimphes, they seemed to be the
chosen children of a world, and became theyr attire so wel, that
their beauty might have abused a right good j~dgement.~~
Upon the loveliness of Imogen and of Marina, both of
whom were taken for fairies, Shakespeare and the cast of
64 E, E. T. S. ed., Vol. I, pt. I, pp. 72-73; and Vol. I, pt. 2, p. 540.
J. Morgan, Phoenix Brit., p. 545.
66 Dis. conc. D. €9 S., p. 510.
67 John Lyly, 11, 3.
6s Nichols, Prog. of Eliz., Vol. 11, p. 199.