I see that the University of California has scanned a copy of a book originally published in 1909: The Isle of Man, written by Agnes Herbert and illustrated by Donald Maxwell.
It’s a fascinating read. Miss Herbert lived on the Island, at least for a time, so she describes the society and customs of the times with probably a greater degree of accuracy than many. She has a rather dry wit as well:
A young man introducing a new-found ladye to the man with whom he is holidaying shrouds the presentation in the mystery of, "My friend – my friend." If they are not friends, they are "fiongsays." It is one of the compensations of the lower orders that an engaged couple can go away for a summer holiday together without appreciably disturbing Mrs. Grundy. If this beneficient arrangement could be extended, a much greater knowledge of one’s "fiongsay" could be arrived at, and the dangers of the matrimonial precipice reduced to a minimum. This by the way.
Inevitably, she has a chapter on Manx Folklore, which, even in my day, was still strong. Nonetheless, it was but a pale shadow of what it must have been like in 1909, but even then, Agnes Hebert detects the waning:
Every Manx boy and girl of to-day who is born into this world alive starts with a belief in fairies, but nowadays the faith is crushed in early youth. There is nothing to foster it. Romance and lodging-house keeping do not run together. There is no connexion between a seaside landlady and romance. She is quite the most realistic thing in Nature.…I know from personal experience that in the more remote corners of the Isle of Man many of the cottagers believed in fairies and spirits generally, up to twenty years ago. At that time, as a child, I saw much of the natives, and chatted with many old and middle-aged and young who did not doubt the existence of the "little people," ot the "good people," in the least. The word "fairies" was always ostentatiously avoided, as the small sprites were supposed to dislike the use of it exceedingly.
She translates the Manx word Phynnodderee as troll, but mentions that in Cregeen’s Manx Dictionary, he gives the meaning as "satyr" (which he does, I checked). I can’t help feeling that she is closer to the mark, given the Scandanavian influences that lie deep-rooted in the Island.
All in all, this is a terrific book. Thank goodness for the internet!
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