A fada-moura: do espaço galo-romano ao espaço peninsular

Abstract

Moira-fairy is a legacy from Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages, the same character in Gallo-Roman, Celtic and Iberian cultures, which appears associated with two types of space: the first one, a generally undefined water space of chthonic connection (lakes, fountains, rivers, wells and hollows), where the fairy changes into a serpent, such as Sybil, prophetess from classical period and fairy in French texts from XIII and XIVth centuries. This changing skill links her to another important fairy in Celtic world: Morgan le Fay. The second space type is the result of Gallo-Roman (both Celtic and Roman) and Arab mythologies fusion in Iberian territory, which appears in Iberian-Arab imaginary under the spell of charming Moorish maidens (who offer paradise in return of freedom, as the dangerous Gallo-Roman fairies). These fairies don’t come directly from Arab culture, but from Gallo- Roman heritage and Greek Moirae, who, as Celtic fairies, were responsible for life’s destiny. Therefore, Moira-fairy is classical feminine evidence, who rules a space dominated by different cultures.