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by Benjamin Edward Spence -- Signed and dated 1866 Inspired by the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
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Durastone® with White Marble Finish $198 (Less Internet Discount $20) = $178 (freight $14) NOTE: We have only one of these left. When it is sold there are no more available. |
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The earliest mention of Fairies is made by Homer -- "Where round the bed, whence Achelous springs, That wat'ry Fairies dance in mazy rings." (Iliad, B. xxiv. 617.) These Nymphs he supposes to frequent or reside in woods, hills, the sea, fountains, grottos etc., whence they are peculiarly called Naiads, Dryads and Nereids: "What sounds are those that gather from the shores, The voice of nymphs that haunt the sylvan bowers, The fair-hair'd dryads of the shady wood, Or azure daughters of the silver flood?" (Odyss., B. vi. 122.) The original word, indeed, is nymphs, which, it must be confessed, furnishes an accurate idea of the fays (fees or fates) of the ancient French and Italian romances; wherein they are represented as females of inexpressible beauty, elegance, and every kind of personal accomplishment, united with magic or supernatural power; such, for instance, as the Calypso of Homer, or the Alcina of Ariosto. Agreeably to this idea it is that Shakespeare makes Antony say in allusion to Cleopatra-- "To this great fairy I'll commend thy acts," meaning this great assemblage of power and beauty. Oberon is the King of the Fairies and husband of Titania in Shakespeare's Midsummer-Night's Dream. The fairies were male and female. Their government was monarchical, and Oberon, the King of Fairyland, must have been a sovereign of very extensive territory. The name of his queen was Titania. Both are mentioned by Shakespeare, being personages of no little importance. The name Oberon was the invention of King Henry the Eighth. Robert Greene was the author of a play entitled "The Scottishe history of James the Fourthe . . . . intermixed with a pleasant comedie presented by Oberon, king of the fairies." |
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