'The oldest Old Thing in England'

Shakespeare was by no means the first to portray the mischievous Puck, a sprite of ancient lineage, with his ass's head, discovers Ian Morton

- Ian Morton

THROUGH the medieval centuries, pagan tradition endowed our countryside with all manner of daunting presences often heard, unseen, yet sensed, usually feared and rarely named. Religion served to add a layer of awareness, rather than to unseat established rural superstitions. One particular spirit of ancient tradition had an identity-more than one, in fact and although he emerged as a mainly friendly and at worst mischievous creature, he began his mythical existence as a much darker character. Thanks to Shakespeare, he has come down the years as Puck, but he was also known to our ancestors as Robin Goodfellow, a misnomer if ever there was one, for it contradicted that nasty hobgoblin side.