Mythical Creatures: Brownie

The next mythical creature set for the Animal Alphabets challenge was Brownie. I’d heard of these beings, but didn’t know a lot about them, as they’re Scottish. I’m more familiar with the Welsh bwbach, so I started with finding out what they look like. 


They’re creatures who live in houses but prefer farms as they like being with the animals. They help with jobs that need to be done, like tidying, washing, or mending at night when the people are asleep, so they’re never actually seen. Payment for their work is a bowl of milk or cream and some bread left out for them, but they are insulted if it is given to them directly. If you’re critical of them, or annoy them, they’ll play tricks on you. 


They are dressed in ragged clothes, which is often a brown hood and cloak or white robes and if given new clothes, they vanish forever, either because they see it as the ultimate insult, or because they take it as a full payment for all their work, (a probable influence for Dobby in Harry Potter). They are variously brownish, covered in hair or have curly brown hair and can be either human sized, very big or small. In fact, the original idea of the brownie was thought to be very big and a spirit of the house, looking after all inside.


An angry brownie can turn into a boggart, a creature which loves to scare people, causing problems in the house, making noises, throwing things around (a bit like a poltergeist) or following you in the dark. They are covered in black hair. 


So, taking all this into account, I went for the happy version of the brownie and painted this:

There are versions of the brownie all over the world, it seems; the gobelin, the bog and the baga are just a few. There’s also the English hobgoblin and the bwbach in Wales. The bwbach was good-natured and worked with the maid in the kitchen, where he was thought to live in the fireplace. The maid would make the fire, sweep up, set the bowl of milk and the bread ready for the bwbach at the end of the day, then leave the cream filled churn nearby and go to bed. In the morning, she would wake to find the milk and bread gone and the churn worked so that the butter was ready. The bwbach was not fond of people who did not drink and would, if he took against someone, cause mischief in the house, making dogs howl, or frightening the maid. He could also carry people off into the air, transporting them somewhere else.  


All these versions of the brownie or bwbach are probably descended from the belief of ancient people that every house had its own spirit, as I mentioned above, looking after the house and the family, either a spirit of the home or an ancestral spirit. For example, its possible that the ancient Celts set some food aside for the spirit in return, or as recognition, for its protection. If displeased, the spirit would probably have shown its anger. For the ancient people it was just a fact of life that spirits were everywhere and although they’ve been very much diminished in modern times, I’m really glad that we still have these beings in folklore.



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Books referenced:

British Goblins:Welsh Folklore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes

Fantasy Encyclopedia A Guide to Fabulous Beasts and Magical Beings by Judy Allen

Exploring the World of the Druids by Miranda J. Green