Hi there historians, would you be so kind as to explain where the myths of fae come from? i know that they are the Irish realm of faeries, nymphs, gnomes, elves, etc, but i am not so sure as to the origins, apart from hearing it was pagan/alchemist is origin. Can you guys clear this up for me, and possibly explain where and why they had these theoretical models of this other realm? thanks!
I listened to an oldish 'In Our Time'' podcast about this recently, although they discussed other non-Irish fae traditions as well. Look for it on the BBC radio website.
In case you don't know about it, 'in our time' is a 45 minute radio discussion chaired by Melvyn Bragg and 3-4 experts (usually Oxford/ Cambridge/ Havard e.t.c lecturers) on the topic at hand. If I find it, i will add the link later.
EDIT: found it, from 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003c1b3