"fairy," OED 4a

[Wilson Gray]

Makes sense to me, Scot.

-Wilson

On 1/17/07, Scot LaFaive <spiderrmonkey at hotmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Scot LaFaive <spiderrmonkey at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "fairy," OED 4a
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But by saying he is "of faerie," couldn't that also mean he was of the
> faerie people or of the faerie, using faerie as a race or type of creature
> and not a place name? I haven't read the original, I just found that to be
> one possible reading based on this very small quote.
> Scot
>
>
> >From: Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> >Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: "fairy," OED 4a
> >Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:27:37 -0500
> >
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> >Subject:      Re: "fairy," OED 4a
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Tolkien quoted correctly the text as given in Gower's _Complete Works_, ed.
> >G. C. Macaulay (Oxford: Clarendon, 1899-1902), 3:146. It reads "of"--not
> >"a."
> >
> >--Charlie
> >__________________________________________________
> >
> >---- Original message ----
> > >Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:28:06 -0800
> > >From: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> > >Subject: "fairy," OED 4a
> > >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >
> > >OED offers this as its primary citation of _fairy_, a kind of elf-like
> >supernatural being :
> > >
> > >  1393 J. Gower _Confessio Amantis_ II. 371 And as he were a fairie.
> > >
> > >  J. R. R. Tolkien challenged this as an exemplification of the sense so
> >long ago as 1938. In his well-known essay "Tree and Leaf," Tolkien wrote,
> > >
> > >  "But this Gower did not say. He wrote _as he were of faerie_, 'as if he
> >were come from Faerie.'"  Tolkien then quotes the passage at length in
> >Middle English.
> > >
> > >  The online OED hasn't corrected this error, if error it be.
> > >
> > >  Question: Be this an error ?  Or be Tolkien in error ?
> > >
> > >  JL
> > >
> > >
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