Author ORCID Identifier
Degree Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis - Oberlin Community Only
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Advisor(s)
Ellen Wurtzel
Committee Member(s)
Emer O'Dwyer
Pablo Mitchell
Annemarie Sammartino
Keywords
History, Folklore, Fairies, Changelings, Irish history, 19th century Ireland, Bridget Cleary, Legal history, Imperialism, British imperialism
Abstract
This project examines the legal evolution of changeling murders in 19th century Ireland, murders committed under the suspicion that the victim was a fairy imposter, and their intersection with political and social history. In Irish folklore, changelings were fairies who would assume the place of an individual, usually a child. They were not, however, perfect substitutes, and would display behavioral or physical differences, revealing their true nature. The most effective way of banishing a changeling and returning the original person was though violence. Utilizing court records, newspapers, and archival materials I explore the ways in which folklore was utilized by both the Irish and the English as a means of both oppression and identity, and the way that folklore can be used to contextualize the transitions in Ireland’s legal and social systems.
Repository Citation
Ivy, Natalie, "Changelings– Turn and Face the Strange: Folklore, Identity, and Imperialism in 19th Century Ireland" (2023). Honors Papers. 885.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/885
