At the heart of my novels are a clan of brownies. Brownies are a variety of house elves. I love the way in which they are in many ways akin to the humans they live alongside, performing mundane tasks. Yet they are also mysterious with their magical abilities and different codes of conduct common to faerie folk.
My fantasy trilogy is set partly in the human world but mostly in the hidden faerie kingdom ruled over by the sídhe who cursed the brownies to have to serve others to survive. Since their ancestral home by the sea was destroyed by a kraken, the brownies of Velmoran have lived a broken and scattered race. The lowliest of faerie folk, many brownies work in the homes of humans.
This is how Aira, daughter of Velmoran’s swordsmith, has spent most of her young life. Aira is a brownie girl who secretly does chores by night in a human castle. Her life is lonely and she would love to have a friend her own age, even more to return to the lively existence she enjoyed as a child in Velmoran.
The ancestors of the clan of brownies that my novels focus on grew tired of doing skivvy work for humans and other faeries. With the help of his sídhe bride, the brownie king Peladach led them to a remote rocky shore and founded a brownie citadel by the sea. The name Peladach was inspired by folktales of how brownies would hold assemblies on remote, rocky shores, presided over by a king called Obair Peallaidh.
The hero of my novels, the brownie king Boroden, is descended from Peladach. Like his ancestor, Boroden wants brownies to have the right to settle in their own kingdom once more and to be free of the curse of serving others. He hopes that his wishes will be granted when he petitions the Seelie Court to allow the brownies to settle in a forest that they won by fighting back the ogres that lived there.
It is traditionally said that brownies are the appointed servants of mankind to ease the weight of Adam’s curse. They work by night in the moonlight to finish off work left undone by humans in their houses, gardens and farmsteads. Some brownies have the annoying habit of disarranging what is tidy after they have tidied away any mess! More helpfully, brownies are known to reward hard-working servants girls with silver coins left in their slippers or under their pillows.
Brownies expect humans to leave food out for them in reward for their labour. It is typical for offerings to the brownies to be left out at the bottom of the stairs, or beside an elf-bore (a hole where a knot of wood has fallen out). Brownies especially enjoy tucking into helpings of corn muffins with honey, honeycomb, bannock cakes, ale and bowls of cream. Brownies dislike cats drinking the cream left out for them. Some mischievous brownies, like Boroden’s companion Fennec, are known to hide keys and only give them back if cake is left out! If the brownies have infants then they appreciate being able to wash their babies in clean water left out in bowls by their human hosts.
Brownies fear being spotted by humans and are under oath to never reveal their true names to humans in case unscrupulous humans use this knowledge to put the brownies in their power. Aira tells the human girl she befriends that her name is ‘Memyself.’
Although they fear to encounter humans, brownies will loyally protect their homes if the need arises. Brownies are so trustworthy that if humans bury valuables they will commit them to the charge of the family brownie. Brownie chieftain Quentillian became rich when his human host never returned and he assumed control of the treasure!
Brownies are usually male, but there are some females like Aira and her stepmother, Gretchen. Brownies often dress in frayed and tattered clothes with striped stockings. Humans must never offer brownies gifts of clothing for fear of offending the brownies who might then leave. Brownies are meant to serve, so any way that humans serve them, like making them clothes, is wrong. Some brownies also turn their noses up at human-made clothes as they don’t think they are fine enough. This piece of folklore inspired the Brothers Grimm story The Elves and the Shoemaker.
Because they work closely with humans, brownies have special abilities that many faeries lack. Aira’s father, Airen, is a swordsmith and can make metal implements for humans, since years of living alongside them had built up the resistance of the brownies to iron, which can burn most faeries. Brownies can also perform magic and use lifting spells to help them perform their tasks. Brownies tend to be around three feet tall, but can shrink to the size of mice to enable them to hide if unfriendly humans appear. In order to shrink, brownies concentrate their thoughts on growing smaller.
There are numerous types of house elves and some of my favourite varieties that I’ve encountered in books on folklore feature in my novels. You can discover more about them below:
Bean Tighe – a neighbour and friend of Aira when she lived in a brownie village near Tullochgorm Castle, where the brownies work keeping the castle tidy for the humans that live there. Bean Tighe is a kindly elderly brownie who helps mothers with their children and loves eating strawberries and cream that the humans leave out as thanks for her help.
Gefi – a staunch supporter of brownie king Boroden is Gefi, an Aberdeenshire brownie.
‘Hmm, food. At last.’ Gefi, a plump brownie with a face as round as an apple and a curly poll of brown locks, rubbed his hands together as the first of the cooks appeared gripping plates of steaming food. Hëkitarka cast a fascinated glance at Gefi’s hands. Like most Aberdeenshire brownies, Gefi had hands like mittens with a thumb but the rest of his fingers joined together.
King of the House Elves, Chapter 14
Aberdeenshire brownies also have no toes. Gefi enjoys recounting stories of his time growing up with his brother, Puddlefoot, who enjoys splashing and paddling in streams and leaving tell-tale wet footprints on the floor when he goes to work for humans.
Glaistig – Aira and Boroden are joined on their journey by Glaistig. He is a glashtyn; a handsome Manx brownie with horse ears poking from his curly hair. The horse ears are an indication of his magical abilities – he can turn into a water horse!
Already news had spread and a young warrior, Glaistig, had arrived from across the sea. With his horse ears poking from his curled hair it was clear that the brownie was a glashtyn; able to transform to a water horse when he pleased. Boroden was delighted to see him, especially as he came with a recommendation from the chief of the Manx brownies.
King of the House Elves – Chapter 14
Gruagach – a Gruagach is a Scottish gallic name for a smelly, hairy brownie that lives on cattle farms. I chose this name for Boroden’s uncouth father – a brownie who married into the royal family and is generally disliked.
Maggie Moloch – folktales about brownies feature Maggie Moloch – a brownie matron who lives in the village near Tullochgorm Castle. She directs the other brownies in their cleaning operations for the humans.
Maggie’s sister is called Meg. When the kraken destroyed the brownie citadel of Velmoran, Meg became separated from her sister, Maggie Moloch. Since then Meg has been travelling with King Gruagach. When King Gruagach runs into trouble with the evil sidhé king, Midhir, Meg hears that Maggie works in Tullochgorm Castle and finds her sister to warn her that the brownies are in danger.
Killmouli – working as a miller in his mill in the brownie village, Killmouli sells his fine flour to the sidhé at the monthly market held outside Midhir’s castle. Killmouli is the son of Maggie Moloch. He has no mouth and an exceptionally large nose.
Klaufi – a young brownie sorcerer whose clumsiness makes brownie prince Hëkitarka comment that he might be a Dobie. Also called Cloggies or Bobles, Dobies are dim-witted, clumsy brownies no practical use in the home. They befriend old people whose minds are wandering and enjoy turning up at celebrations like weddings and christenings.
Bodachan Sabhaill – Aira and her friends encounter this brownie living in the monastery near Velmoran. He tends the monastery for the monks and offers the brownie clan shelter there whilst they plan how they may retake Velmoran from the kraken. The name Bodachan Sabhaill means ‘the little old man of the barn’ because he lived in barns and spent his time doing farming chores. Bodachan Sabhaill helped to thresh corn, make up straw into bundles, and worked all night. This useful brownie lacks the mischievous streak of other brownies and is very wise.
Boggart- if brownies are mistreated by the humans they work for then they can become a boggart. Like poltergeists, bogarts are malicious and difficult to get rid of. Boggarts wreak havoc in human homes: upsetting porringers, shoving children into cupboards, stealing, laming dogs, pulling sheets off beds and night and turning milk sour. The malignant boggart Shrike resents Aira and her family and sets out to cause trouble for them. Boggarts are often described as hairy with long, strong arms and body odour issues!
Holly Merry author 