Abogle,boggle,orbogillis aNorthumbrian,[1]Cumbrian[2]andScotsterm for a ghost or folkloric being,[3]used for a variety of related folkloric creatures includingShellycoats,[4]Barghests,[4]Brags,[4]the Hedley Kow[1][5]and even giants such as those associated withCobb's Causeway[5](also known as "ettins", "yetuns" or "yotuns" inNorthumberlandand "Etenes", "Yttins" or "Ytenes" in the South and South West).[5][6]They are reputed to live for the simple purpose of perplexing mankind, rather than seriously harming or serving them.
| Grouping | Folkloric creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Household spirit |
| Similar entities | Boggart |
| Folklore | Northumbrian Folklore |
| Other name(s) | Boggle Bogill |
| Country | Scotlandand England |
| Region | Lowland Scotland/Northumbria/Cumbria |
| Habitat | Within the home |
Etymology
editThe name is derived from the Middle-EnglishBugge(from which the termbogeyis also derived) which is in turn a cognate of the German term wordbögge(from whichböggel-mann("Goblin") is derived)[7][8][9]and possibly the Norwegian dialect wordbuggemeaning "important man".[10]The WelshBwgcould also be connected,[7]and was thought in the past to be the origin of the English term; however, it has been suggested that it is itself a borrowing fromMiddle English.[11][12]
The Irish Gaelic word "bagairt" meaning "threat" could also be related.[citation needed]
Terms such asettinandyotunare derived from Middle Englisheten,etend,from Old Englisheoten( “giant, monster, enemy” ), fromProto-Germanic*etunaz( “giant, glutton” ), fromProto-Indo-European*h₁ed- ( “to eat” ) and is cognate withOld Norsejötunn.[13]
Usage
editOne of the most famous usages of the term was byGavin Douglas,who was in turn quoted byRobert Burnsat the beginning ofTam O' Shanter:[14]
OfBrownyisand of Bogillis full is this Buke.
There is a popular story of a bogle known asTatty Bogle,who would hide himself in potato fields (hence his name) and either attack unwary humans or cause blight within the patch. This bogle was depicted as ascarecrow,"bogle" being an old name for "scarecrow" in various parts of England andScotland.[15]Another popular Scottish reference to bogles comes inThe Bogle by the Boor Tree,aScotspoem written byW. D. Cocker.In this ghostly ode, the Bogle is heard in the wind and in the trees to "fricht wee weans" (frighten small children).
In theScottish Lowlandscirca 1950, a bogle was a ghost as was abogeyman,and a Tattie-Bogle was a scarecrow, used to keep creatures out of the potato fields. All three words were in common use among the children.
It is unclear what the connection is between "Bogle" and various other similarly named creatures in various folklores.[16]The "Bocan" of theHighlandsmay be a cognate of the NorsePukihowever,[17]and thus also the English "Puck".[18][19][20]
TheLarne Weekly Reporterof 31 March 1866, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, carried a front-page article entitled Bogles in Ballygowan, detailing strange goings on in a rural area where a particular house became the target for missiles being thrown through windows and on one occasion through the roof. Local people were terrified. The occurrences appeared to have ceased after several months and were being blamed on the fact that the house in question had been refurbished using materials from an older house that was apparently the preserve of the "little people". This is one of the few references in Northern Ireland to "bogles" although the phrase "bogey man" is widely used.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abRambles in Northumberland, and on the Scottish border...byWilliam Andrew Chatto,Chapman and Hall, 1835
- ^Lofthouse, Jessica (1976).North-country folklore in Lancashire, Cumbria and the Pennine Dales.London: Hale.ISBN9780709153450.
- ^The local historian's table book, of remarkable occurrences, historical facts, traditions, legendary and descriptive ballads [&c.] connected with the counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham.byMoses Aaron Richardson,M. A. Richardson, 1843
- ^abcMinstrelsy of the Scottish Borderby Walter Scott, Sr.
- ^abcNorthumberland Words – A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Northumberland and on the Tyneside -, Volume 1by Richard Oliver Heslop, Read Books, 2008,ISBN978-1-4097-6525-7
- ^Legg, Penny "The Folklore of Hampshire" The History Press (15 June 2010)
- ^ab"Online Etymology Dictionary".Retrieved17 December2014.
- ^Middle English Dictionaryby Sherman M. Kuhn, Hans Kurath, Robert E. Lewis, University of Michigan Press, 1958,ISBN978-0-472-01025-7,p.1212
- ^Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary,11th edition, Merriam-Webster, 2003,ISBN978-0-87779-809-5,p.162
- ^The Merriam-Webster new book of word histories,Merriam-Webster, 1991,ISBN978-0-87779-603-9,p.71
- ^Metatony in Baltic, Volume 6 of Leiden studies in Indo-Europeanby Rick Derksen, Rodopi, 1996,ISBN90-5183-990-1,ISBN978-90-5183-990-6,p.274
- ^Lexical reflections inspired by Slavonic *bog: English bogey from a Slavonic root?,Brian Cooper 1, Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge, Correspondence to Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA
- ^"ettin".Wiktionary.5 October 2019.Retrieved18 April2022.
- ^Robert Burns: how to know himby William Allan Neilson, The Bobbs-Merrill company, 1917
- ^Seven Scots Storiesby Jane Helen Findlater, Ayer Publishing, 1970
- ^An analytic dictionary of English etymology: an introductionby Anatoly Liberman, J. Lawrence Mitchell, University of Minnesota Press, 2008 ISBN978-0-8166-5272-3
- ^A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Languageby Malcolm MacLennan, pub. Acair / Aberdeen University Press 1979
- ^A Midsummer Night's Dream,page xix by William Shakespeare, Ebenezer Charlton Black
- ^"Online Etymology Dictionary".Retrieved17 December2014.
- ^Quoth the mavenby William Safire