Margot the fairy

Margot the fairy is, in the traditions of Brittany and the Mayenne, the generic name for certain earthly fairies. They are best known in Central Brittany, particularly in the Côtes-d'Armor. Presumably descended from the fairy Morgana and before her from an aspect of Mother Earth, the Margot fairies are quite powerful. They can make themselves invisible, metamorphose and transform others. Reputed to be excellent dancers, often generous and sometimes cruel, they take pleasure in testing humans by giving them gold and objects. They are believed to have built several monuments, and to possess immense treasures hidden under the earth. They have animals, often cattle.

Tales and myths tell of the habits of these fairies, who kidnap human children to replace them with their own and become the godmothers of babies whom they name and cover with more or less convenient gifts. They reward the righteous and punish those who harm them, are greedy or indiscreet towards them. They sometimes show themselves to be thieves. A number of megaliths and rocks are said to be the homes of these fairies, or their furniture and tools: table, spindle, room, shoe, armchair, cradle... They were the object of cults and beliefs, in particular at the Margot cave. These beliefs, until the end of the 19th century, led many people to offer them animals in sacrifice and to search for their supposed treasures.