However, it is also remarkable that a Scottish minister should be so frank in his report of the nature of 17th Century beliefs, and give them a measured account, without contempt or disdain for the Elves, Fairies, Brownies and Spirits, or those who believe in them.
Having languished in a manuscript form for a century, and having been written at a time when witchcraft was still an executionable offence, it might be easy to find fault with Kirk's archaic style, continual use of Scots gaelic, the confusing index, or his almost matter of fact tone. And in the final treatise you may be surprised by all the enchanting uses to which one can put spit and hair. But you will be charmed by colorful words like wramp* and trake**, lynx-eyed and planet-struck. The magic, which Kirk goes to great lengths to defend on Biblical grounds, is more your workaday second-sight hocus-pocus.
The second half is fine, though much more sermon-like in tone. fairies, seemed to me like an expression of what was later called hysteria and automatism, those troubling incontinuities of self where we seem possessed or, in this book, replaced by a ‘co-walker’ or ‘reflex-man.’ Tropes that may seem cliché, like the Changeling and the Doppelgänger, are somehow strange and even kinda scary, as though experiencing them for the first time. The first half paints a world view that isn’t just magical, but uncanny. It could be a sourcebook for that novel’s bookish weirdness. I suspect Susanna Clarke was influenced by this book when writing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Academicians as well as lovers of myths and legends will prize this authoritative but inexpensive edition. For many years, The Secret Commonwealth was hard to find - available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. Lang's introduction to Kirk's extraordinary blend of science, religion, and superstition is included in this edition. In 1893, the distinguished folklorist Andrew Lang re-edited the work. Left in manuscript form upon the author's death in 1692, this volume was first published in 1815 at the behest of Sir Walter Scott. Magic was a part of everyday life for Kirk and his fellow Highlanders, and this remarkable book offers rare glimpses into their enchanted realm.
In the late 17th century, a Scottish minister went looking for supernatural creatures of "a middle nature betwixt man and angel." Robert Kirk roamed the Highlands, talking to his parishioners and other country folk about their encounters with fairies, wraiths, elves, doppelgangers, and other agents of the spirit world. "Kirk is a magnificent dish to set before any student of either folk-lore or folk-psychology." - Times Literary Supplement
0 kommentar(er)
