Fear gorta

Fear gorta

In Irish mythology, the fear gorta (Irish: "Man of hunger" / "Man of famine"; also known as the fear gortach) is a of hunger resembling an emaciated human.

According to Yeats' "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry" the fear gorta walks the earth during times of famine, seeking alms from passers-by. In this version the fear gorta can be a potential source of good luck for generous individuals. [Yeats, W. B. (ed.) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/fip/fip23.htm "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry"] . 1888.] Harvey relates a myth that the fear gorta was a harbinger of famine during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, and that the spirit originally arises from a patch of hungry grass (féar gortach). [Harvey, Steenie. [http://www.trueteacher.com/cm/apurl=rc1_EAIM_0_A21200647&dyn=8!xrn_1_0_A21200647.htm Twilight places: Ireland's enduring fairy lore] . "World and I", March 1998, v13 n3]

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