Margot the fairy

Did You Know?

• The Margots are vulnerable to illness.
• They keep all kinds of animals except pigs and dogs.

Terminology

The term "Margot the fairy" does not refer to a specific individual fairy. Instead, it describes a category of fairy, a class of beings that are mainly set apart from other fairies by their speech. The name most likely comes from a changed version of Morgana, the well-known fairy from Arthurian legend, who was originally called "Morgana" in Lower Brittany. Scholar Roger Sherman Loomis connected the fairies of Upper Brittany to the "Morgain" found in Arthurian stories. In the Collinée and Moncontour areas, these fairies are called "Margot the fairy," "my friend Margot," or "the good woman Margot." This name appears across much of the Côtes-d'Armor region, especially around Saint-Brieuc and Loudéac, and can be used for one or many fairies. In Bécherel, there are "Morgant fairies," a name very close to Margot and Morgane. Central Brittany is the only part of the region where fairies have a distinct name.

Characteristics

The Margots are a type of fairy closely related to the swell fairies, sharing many traits, though some scholars set them apart. They are also compared to land fairies from Lorraine, the Berrichonnes, and especially the Basque Laminak. These fairies live in natural spots like mounds, caves, moors, and rocks, and are mostly earth-dwellers, often making their homes in "fairy rocks" and large boulders. One such fairy, at Cas Margot near Moncontour, is said to reside in a swell that dogs have never entered, and she possesses one iron arm and one steel arm. Descriptions vary: some Margots are beautiful people in fine clothing, while others are ugly, wrinkled, and dressed in rags. Pierre Dubois paints them as rustic, round, florid, and cheerful. They give birth, usually to girls, with no mention of males around them. Their homes are less grand than those of swell fairies, typically being large burrows. Though powerful and called "high priestesses of the moors," they can fall ill. They can turn invisible at will and often ask people to look away before vanishing. They love to dance, especially by moonlight on Mount Croquelien, the Méné ridges, and the moors, and the fairies of Guenroc dance by their rocks at night. They keep many animals, but never pigs or dogs, most often oxen and cows, which they lead out of their underground homes in the morning and back in the evening.

Tales and myths

Most tales come from Paul Sébillot's collections, casting Margot fairies as godmothers, purveyors of gold and gifts, thieves, or child abductors who leave a changeling. Around Collinée, a father seeking a godparent for his youngest child meets a fairy Margot who offers to be godmother. She comes with a friend and gifts, but vows the child will not grow until he makes them laugh. The child remains tiny until age seven, when he catches a rat, makes it his mount, and is thrown off leading it to drink. Margot and her friend laugh so hard the spell lifts, and the child grows normally. Another tale involves a woman who forgets to invite the Margot's superior to name her child; in revenge, the fairy turns the child's face black. The fairies take the girl into service, ordering her to spin yarn as fine as her hair and draw water from pierced pots. The Blessed Virgin helps her, and she eventually cleans her face, which becomes white again. She goes to a castle with a garden containing a snake—a metamorphosed prince—whom she marries.

Location, place names and beliefs

In Brittany, Margot the fairy is mainly present in the Côtes-d'Armor, with tales and place names collected by Paul Sébillot in Le Gouray, Saint-Glen, and Penguily. Many megaliths, rocks, and caves are believed to be their homes. In Pordic, a dolmen is called Table-Margot; there is also the Fuseau-de-Margot in Plédran, the Sabot-de-Margot in Ploufragan, the Chambre-de-la-Fée-Margot in Quessoy, and the Roche Margot near Pontivy. The Roche-Margot in Plaintel is an enormous granite block. On the river Lié, a cluster of rocks is thought to be the fairy's home, with one imitating an armchair—the fairy's seat. A "Margot chair" is known on the Lande du Gras in Meslin. At La Poterie, fear of the Margot fairy led people to avoid passing near their stones. A ruined covered alley supposedly housed fairies who displayed gold coins in the sun. Stones of the Brousse in Saint-Cast-le-Guildo were their hostels, and a stone carved like a cradle cradled their children. In Moncontour, the swell "Cas Margot" is inhabited by these fairies. Elsewhere, a stone in Pisy (Yonne) is called Margot du bois, and the Margot cave in Montrond (Jura) is said to be inhabited by a witch.