fenodyree

fenodyree, fenoderee, finoderee, fynnoderee, phenodree, phynnodderee, phynodderree [Manx, hairy stockings (?)]. A short, dark, uncouth, supernatural creature of the Isle of Man, one of the best-known members of the Manx ferrishyn or fairies; he is usually portrayed as naked but covered with body hair. Although customarily seen as an individual rather than a class, e.g. ‘the feno-dyree’, his name is not usually capitalized. Comparable to the brownie of Scotland, he is helpful and can perform tasks requiring enormous strength and endurance, like carrying a huge block of marble a long distance or harvesting an entire field of crops. In recognition of this second task he is sometimes called yn foldyr gastey [the nimble mower]. The creature was once thought handsome and known as uddereek, but was transformed into an ugly and solitary figure for courting a mortal girl from Glen Aldyn. Some commentators describe the fenodyree as satyr-like, more for his hairy legs than his sexual aggression. The glashtin, known only in the southern Isle of Man, appears to be identical with the fenodyree.

Bibliography

See Sir John Rhyˆs , ‘The Fenodyree and His Friends’, Celtic Folklore (Oxford, 1891), 323–53.