The Fool (Amandán)
The Fool, known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as Amandán, was a social fairy. They were sometimes seen as wiser than their masters.
According to W. B. Yeats, the Great Fool, or Amandán Már, resided in the fairy palace. In Yeats' description of The Queen and The Fool, the fairy queen and the fool in the royal household had great powers.
It was better to avoid these two figures in the palace because their touch could cause paralytic seizure or even death to any mortal. This touch was known as poc sídhe or the "fairy stroke". The stroke is an English medical term for a cerebral hemorrhage. The Fool was to be especially avoided during the month of June.
Related Information
Name
Amandán, amandan – "Fool" (Irish & Scottish Gaelic).
Amandán Mór – "Great Fool".
Culture
Irish, Scottish Gaelic.
Type
social.
Sources
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) and The Celtic Twilight (1893) were written and edited by William Butler Yeats.
By Jimmy Joe