The Bugul Noz ([byɡylˈnoːs] "Night Shepherd" or "child of the night"[1]) is a nocturnal fairy or bogeyman-like being in Breton folklore, from Morbihan, Brittany.

Description

Sources commonly describe it as a little man, goblin or kobold.[2] Émilie Carpentier described the Bugul-Noz as a little man with claws, fiery eyes, and a whistling voice, who threatened shepherds and workers who linger outside after dark.[3] In one story, the "bugul noz" rides at night, although he turns back at the sight of crossroads to avoid the shape of the cross. If he takes a person prisoner, he will drown them as soon as the cock crows.[4]

Another source described it as an undead spirit.[5]

Anatole Le Braz, a professor of French Literature, heard of the Bugul-Noz as a tall, foreboding figure who appears at twilight. One informant suggested that rather than a threatening figure, the Bugul-Noz was a benevolent spirit influencing people not to linger outside where it was not safe after dark. The Bugul-Noz was compared to Yann-An-Od.[6]

References

  1. ^ Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Morbihan. 1858. p. 64.
  2. ^ Jéhan, Louis-François (1863). La Bretagne Esquisses Pittoresques Et Archéologiques: Origines Celtiques Et Nouvelle Interprétation Des Monuments Vues Ethnographiques Druidisme Et Traditions Primitives. p. 406.
  3. ^ Carpenter, Émilie (1886). La tour du Preux: ouvrage illustré de 60 gravures d'après les dessins de Tofani. pp. 41–42.
  4. ^ Revue des traditions populaires, Volume 22. 1907. p. 68.
  5. ^ Vachell, Horace Annesley (1906). "A Face of Clay: An Interpretation". The Monthly Review. 23: 153.
  6. ^ Evans-Wentz, Walter Yeeling (1911). The fairy faith in Celtic countries. London, New York : H. Frowde. p. 191.