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Korreds: The Underground Folk of Brittany
Korreds (also called Korrs) are guardians of treasures and standing stones in the folklore of Brittany (northwestern France). They prefer to live underground, in caves under the dolmens. They might also live under heaths, in sea-cliff caves, or in natural caverns. The related teuz and poulpikan types live in bogs or swamps.
Korreds have the strength of giants despite their small stature. They are said to live beneath the dolmen stones of Brittany. They have bright red eyes, dark skin, and often a hunched back. They are prophets as well as magicians, and are said to know the secrets of all treasures hidden in their neighborhood. They congregate around stone circles and love dancing but are more malevolent than other Gallic faeries. They are sometimes called bogul noz, “Children of the Night.”
The main delight of korreds is in dancing, which they do so vigorously that the grass burns in circles under their feet. They only dance at night, and usually on Wednesday, their traditional day off. They react with violence to mortals who disturb their dance-rituals, although mortals may be swept up in the ecstasy of the dance. Korreds are not always unkind to mortals, but they are never overly friendly.
In ancient times, Phoenician dwarves or sprites arrived in Brittany and intermarried with certain families of korreds. These dwarves were both kouretes (courètes) and karkinoi, another word for kabeiroi (carikines). Modern korreds are divided into the “old korreds,” the original pure lineage, and the “new korreds” who have a bit of this foreign heritage. Old Korred lineages include: Jetins (somewhat shorter), Vihans (also shorter), Hommes Cornus (from Gascony), Corics, Kerions, Kouricans, Gwazig-Gan, Kourils (or Courils), and Korandon. New Korred lineages include: Corriquets, Guerrionets, Korriks, Boudiguets, C’Horriquets, Corrandonnets, and Kornikaned (carry small horns on their belts).
In other parts of France, these beings are known as crions. They are also found in the Pyrenees and in Cornwall, where they are known as spriggans. Unlike spriggans, korreds are apparently unable able to grow to giant size.
Satyrs: Greek Spirits of the Wild
Michelangelo, “Satyr’s Head”
Satyrs are associated with forests and mountains in both Greek and Roman mythology. Hesiod (7th cent. BC) considered them the “brothers” of the mountain nymphs and Kouretes. Whatever their genealogy, they are uninhibited children of nature: earthy, reckless, seductive—and dangerous if threatened. They are the quintessential “bad boys” of the faery world, brazenly flouting the norms of civilized society. In keeping with their untamed nature, their traditional garment is a panther pelt.
Despite their wildness, satyrs do have an appreciation for at least some of the gifts of human culture. They love music and dance, for example. In fact, they have a special form of grotesque, vulgar dance called the sikinnis. They are also associated both with Pan, the Greek god of the wild, and Dionysus, the god of wine. They are notably hardy and resistant to fatigue, able to dance for hours on end, for example, or remain (relatively) sober no matter how much alcohol they consume. They are lovers of wine, women, and revels. They have a particular infatuation with nymphs.
There are two common depictions of satyrs in Greco-Roman art. Young satyrs are called satyrisci (singular, satyriscus). They are graceful beings with elfin features and pointed ears. Praxilites’s sculpture “Resting Satyr” depicts a satyriscus.
The earlier depiction of satyrs made them older, more animalistic, but also more powerful. These satyrs are classified as sileni (singular, silenus). Sileni are bearded and strongly built. They have the ears of a horse, a horse-like tail, and sometimes even the hooves (or the entire lower body) of a horse. Sileni are the oldest, wisest, and most magically adept of satyrs.
It should be noted, then, that satyrs are not to be confused with fauns or “goat-men.” As time progressed, Greek satyrs became blended with Roman fauns in the telling of the myths. The two, however, were originally different sorts of beings. Satyrs are, in fact, fully humanoid (at least in their youth). Medieval bestiaries often compared satyrs not to goats but to apes or monkeys.
Darrell J. Pursiful 