The history of the Fey: Brownies — KimberlyQuay.com (2024)

Hello! Fey, Fay, or Fae. Whichever way you spell it, the Fey have an interesting and diverse history. So, if you want to share any information you have about my post, feel free to comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Today I’m talking about brownies! No, not the delicious baked good!The small, wrinkled, brown elves specific to Scotland.

Brownies are usually gentle household elves with large eyes and ears who hide during the day and do not often interact with humans. They come out at night when everyone is sleeping to perform chores, like tidying up. In return for their work, they expect a gift of some sort, usually food or milk. If they do not receive an offering they are known to cause mischief in the home. They may spoil milk or break things. Some have even freed livestock.

If a human gifts them with clothing, the brownie will leave the house and never return. It’s not fully understood why they leave, but there are some assumptions. Some think the brownie takes the gift of clothing as in insult. Others think the brownie feels superior once it has clothes and therefore, too good for menial labor. And yet others think the gift of clothing somehow frees the brownie from service.

From their description and that last assumption about the gift of clothing, it sounds like Dobby and his fellow house elves in the Harry Potter series were based on the Scottish brownies!

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