Edwin Sidney Hartland opens The Science of Fairy Tales by declaring his intention to apply the principles and methods of popular tradition research to a selection of stories embodying the fairy superstitions of Celtic and Teutonic peoples. The book, first published in 1891, is not a collection of tales but an analytical inquiry into fairy mythology. Hartland draws on a wide range of sources, from Breton folktales to Icelandic sagas, and frequently cites contemporary folklorists such as G. L. Gomme and Havelock Ellis. His approach is comparative and evolutionary, treating fairy beliefs as survivals of earlier stages of human thought.

The Comparative Method and Savage Ideas

Hartland’s first chapter, “The Art of Story-Telling,” sets the stage for a rigorous, scientific treatment of oral narratives. He argues that fairy tales are not random fancies but preserve fragments of archaic worldviews. In “Savage Ideas,” he draws parallels between the beliefs recorded in Celtic and Teutonic folklore and those of contemporary “savage” peoples, as understood by Victorian anthropology. For instance, the notion that fairies steal human children and leave changelings is linked to animistic concepts of the soul and spirit possession. Hartland does not simply retell these stories; he dissects them for evidence of how pre-modern peoples understood birth, death, and the supernatural. His method is to amass variants from across Europe and beyond, then extract common patterns. The changeling motif, he suggests, may have arisen from attempts to explain congenital disorders or infant mortality in terms of fairy agency.

Fairy Births and Human Midwives

Two consecutive chapters examine the widespread motif of human midwives summoned to assist fairy mothers. Hartland catalogs dozens of versions from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Scandinavia. In these tales, a midwife is taken to a fairy mound or underground realm, delivers a fairy child, and is often rewarded with a gift that proves dangerous or ambiguous. Hartland notes recurring details: the midwife is usually given a salve to anoint the fairy baby’s eyes, which, if accidentally applied to her own, allows her to see the fairies as they truly are—sometimes as dead humans or demonic beings. This “second sight” often leads to her blinding or punishment. Hartland interprets these narratives as reflections of beliefs about the permeability of the human and supernatural worlds, and about the dangers of acquiring forbidden knowledge. He is careful to note that the tales do not provide a consistent cosmology; rather, they reveal local variations on a shared thematic core.

The Pilgrim’s Progress of Breton Tradition

One of the most striking extended excerpts in the book is a Breton tale of a youth sent to deliver a letter to God in Paradise. Hartland recounts the journey in detail: the youth climbs a mountain, crosses an arid meadow of fat cattle and a lush pasture of lean kine, enters an avenue of feasting youths, and passes through a rolling fire and a terrifying roar. He pushes through a hedge of thorns, falls into a ditch, and finally reaches a fragrant land where he bathes his wounded feet. There he falls asleep and dreams of Paradise. The tale includes the motif of miraculous time lapse: Saint Peter’s spectacles reveal that five hundred years have passed in what seemed moments. Hartland uses this story to illustrate how fairy mythology incorporates Christian allegory while retaining pre-Christian narrative structures. He notes that similar journeys appear from Brittany to Transylvania, suggesting a common folk tradition that adapts to local religious frameworks.

Hartland’s work is best approached as a specimen of late-Victorian folklore scholarship, with its strengths and limitations. Readers interested in the history of anthropology will find his systematic comparison of motifs valuable, while those seeking pure fairy tales may be frustrated by his analytical interruptions. The footnotes and appendix of authorities offer a rich bibliography for further study. To appreciate Hartland’s method, read the tales he cites alongside his interpretations, noting where his evolutionary assumptions shape his conclusions.