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Robert Kirk (9 December 1644 – 14 May 1692) was a minister, Gaelic scholar and folklorist, best known for The Secret Commonwealth, a treatise on fairy folklore, witchcraft, ghosts, and second sight, a type of extrasensory perception described as a phenomenon by the people of the Scottish Highlands.
Jul 3, 2019 · Robert Kirk was a Scottish minister who compiled the lore and beliefs of his parishioners about fairyland and fairies. His essay, The Secret Commonwealth, was published by Walter Scott and influenced writers from Scott to Pullman.
Explore the life and writings of Robert Kirk, a Gaelic scholar and minister who believed in the existence of fairies and angels. Learn how he used folklore, science and Neo-Platonic philosophy to describe the (super)natural worlds and their intersections.
Robert Kirk was a seventeenth-century clergyman in a remote corner of Scotland. This treatise, which makes a fair companion piece to the works of Sir Thomas Browne or Robert Burton, can be read as a proto-scientific study of, yes, fairies.
Oct 31, 2022 · As we approach the last day of the spooky season, I find myself rereading Robert Kirk’s 17th-century classic of fairy lore, The Secret Commonwealth. This book describes what people in Kirk’s time and community believed fairies were, where and how they lived, what they were able to do, and how they interacted with human beings.
Sep 25, 2014 · Learn about the legend of Robert Kirk, a Scottish minister who wrote a book about fairies and was allegedly kidnapped by them in 1692. Discover how his story evolved over time and what people believe about his grave and his tree.
Kevan Manwaring, a storyteller and novelist, shares his experience of researching the life of Robert Kirk, a 17th-century Scottish minister and folklorist. He explores the archival sources, the legends, and the challenges of fictionalising a historic figure.
