A bogle, boggle, or bogill is a Northumbrian,''Rambles in Northumberland, and on the Scottish border ...'' by William Andrew Chatto, Chapman and Hall, 1835 Cumbrian and Scots term for a ghost or folkloric being,''The local historian's table book, of remarkable occurrences, historical facts, traditions, legendary and descriptive ballads c.connected with the counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham.'' by Moses Aaron Richardson, M. A. Richardson, 1843 used for a variety of related folkloric creatures including Shellycoats,''Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border'' by Walter Scott, Sr. Barghests, Brags, the Hedley Kow and even giants such as those associated with Cobb's Causeway (also known as "ettins", "yetuns" or "yotuns" in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

and "Etenes", "Yttins" or "Ytenes" in the South and South West).''Northumberland Words – A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Northumberland and on the Tyneside -, Volume 1'' by Richard Oliver Heslop, Read Books, 2008, They are reputed to live for the simple purpose of perplexing mankind, rather than seriously harming or serving them.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Middle-English ''Bugge'' (from which the term '' bogey'' is also derived) which is in turn a cognate of the German term word ''bögge'' (from which ''böggel-mann'' (''"

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...

"'') is derived) and possibly the Norwegian dialect word ''bugge'' meaning "important man".''The Merriam-Webster new book of word histories'', Merriam-Webster, 1991, , p.71 The Welsh ''Bwg'' could also be connected, and was thought in the past to be the origin of the English term; however, it has been suggested that it is itself a borrowing from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

. The Irish Gaelic word "bagairt" meaning "threat" could also be related. Terms such as ''ettin'' and ''yotun'' are derived from Middle English ''eten'', ''etend'', from Old English ''eoten'' (“giant, monster, enemy”), from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

*''etunaz'' (“giant, glutton”), from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

*h₁ed- (“to eat”) and is cognate with

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

jötunn A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other no ...

''.

Usage

One of the most famous usages of the term was by Gavin Douglas, who was in turn quoted by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

at the beginning of '' Tam O' Shanter'':

Of Brownyis and of Bogillis full is this Buke.

There is a popular story of a bogle known as Tatty Bogle, who would hide himself in potato fields (hence his name) and either attack unwary humans or cause blight within the patch. This bogle was depicted as a scarecrow, "bogle" being an old name for "scarecrow" in various parts of England and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Another popular Scottish reference to bogles comes in ''The Bogle by the Boor Tree'', a Scots poem written by W. D. Cocker. In this ghostly ode, the Bogle is heard in the wind and in the trees to "fricht wee weans" (frighten small children). In the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...

circa 1950, a bogle was a ghost as was a bogeyman, and a Tattie-Bogle was a scarecrow, used to keep creatures out of the potato fields. All three words were in common use among the children. It is unclear what the connection is between "Bogle" and various other similarly named creatures in various folklores. The "Bocan" of the Highlands may be a cognate of the Norse Puki however, and thus also the English " Puck".''Quoth the maven'' by William Safire The ''Larne Weekly Reporter'' of 31 March 1866, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, carried a front-page article entitled Bogles in Ballygowan, detailing strange goings on in a rural area where a particular house became the target for missiles being thrown through windows and on one occasion through the roof. Local people were terrified. The occurrences appeared to have ceased after several months and were being blamed on the fact that the house in question had been refurbished using materials from an older house that was apparently the preserve of the "little people". This is one of the few references in Northern Ireland to "bogles" although the phrase "bogey man" is widely used.

References

External links

Brooklands or Bogle Bridge, Dumfries and Galloway
{{Fairies Scottish legendary creatures Northumbrian folklore Northumbrian folkloric beings Scottish folklore

Etymology

Usage

See also

References

External links