Fays

   While most fairy lore belongs to a period considerably later than that covered by this work, their origin appears to be linked with the priestesses of the pre-Celtic matriarchal races. In the majority of early accounts the fays are women only, but there are a few accounts of fairy men which are not irreconcilable with the foregoing, and the visitor is able to stay in their realms for quite long periods of time without seeing any men, which would indicate either a clan of priestesses as suggested, or alternatively that the men of the tribe were away hunting and would only return for the spring or the autumn fertility festivals, the approach of which would automatically terminate the stay of any outsider who hoped to survive. That they were pre-Celtic is indicated by their not knowing the use of iron and by their inability to count above five. Whether they are to be linked with the dwarfs or not is not clear, but it is significant that there are few references to women in stories about the dwarfs.