Bugul Noz
{{Short description|Fairy spirit in Breton mythology}}
{{Expand French|date=March 2022}}
The Bugul Noz ({{IPA|br|byɡylˈnoːs|}} "Night Shepherd" or "child of the night"{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPkWAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Bugul+Noz%22&pg=RA2-PA64 |title=Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Morbihan |year=1858 |pages=64}}) 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.{{Cite book |last=Jéhan |first=Louis-François |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QB8KAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Bugul+Noz%22&pg=PA406 |title=La Bretagne Esquisses Pittoresques Et Archéologiques: Origines Celtiques Et Nouvelle Interprétation Des Monuments Vues Ethnographiques Druidisme Et Traditions Primitives |year=1863 |pages=406}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Émilie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNQrAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Bugul+Noz%22&pg=PA41 |title=La tour du Preux: ouvrage illustré de 60 gravures d'après les dessins de Tofani |year=1886 |pages=41–42}} 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.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTo1AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Revue+des+traditions+populaires%22+%22bugul+noz%22&pg=PA68 |title=Revue des traditions populaires, Volume 22 |year=1907 |pages=68}}
Another source described it as an undead spirit.{{Cite journal |last=Vachell |first=Horace Annesley |date=1906 |title=A Face of Clay: An Interpretation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsYhAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22Bugul+Noz%22&pg=PA153 |journal=The Monthly Review |volume=23 |pages=153}}
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.{{cite book|last=Evans-Wentz|first=Walter Yeeling|title=The fairy faith in Celtic countries|url=https://archive.org/details/fairyfaithincelt00evanrich|year=1911|publisher=London, New York : H. Frowde|page=[https://archive.org/details/fairyfaithincelt00evanrich/page/191 191]}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Fairies}}
Category:Breton legendary creatures
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