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The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices
Examines how the ancient customs of constructing and keeping a house formed a sacred bond between homes and their inhabitants • Shares many tales of house spirits, from cajoling the local land spirit into becoming one’s house spirit to the good and bad luck bestowed by mischievous house elves • Explains the meaning behind door and window placement, house orientation, horsehead gables, the fireplace or hearth, and the threshold • Reveals the charms, chants, prayers, and building practices used by our ancestors to bestow happiness and prosperity upon their homes and their occupants Why do we hang horseshoes for good luck or place wreaths on our doors? Why does the groom carry his new bride over the threshold? These customs represent the last vestiges from a long, rich history of honoring the spirits of our homes. They show that a house is more than a it is a living being with a body and soul. Examining the extensive traditions surrounding houses from medieval times to the present, Claude Lecouteux reveals that, before we entered the current era of frequent moves and modular housing, moving largely from the countryside into cities, humanity had an extremely sacred relationship with their homes and all the spirits who lived there alongside them--from the spirit of the house itself to the mischievous elves, fairies, and imps who visited, invited or not. He shows how every aspect of constructing and keeping a house involved rites, ceremony, customs, and taboos to appease the spirits, including the choice of a building lot and the very materials with which it was built. Uncovering the lost meaning behind door and window placement, the hearth, and the threshold, Lecouteux shares many tales of house spirits, from the offerings used to cajole the local land spirit into becoming the domestic house spirit to the good and bad luck bestowed upon those who seek the help of the “Little Money Man.” He draws on studies and classic literature from old Europe--from Celtic lands and Scandinavia to France and Germany to the far eastern borders of Europe and into Russia--to explain the pagan roots behind many of these traditions. Revealing our ancestors’ charms, prayers, and practices to bestow happiness and prosperity upon their homes, Lecouteux shows that we can invite the spirits back into our houses, old or new, and restore the sacred bond between home and inhabitant.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
57 people are currently reading
933 people want to read
About the author
Claude Lecouteux
62 books137 followersDocteur en études germaniques, docteur en lettres, est médiéviste. Il a occupé la chaire de Langues, Littératures et civilisations germaniques à l'université de Caen de 1981 à 1992 avant d'être appelé à la Sorbonne (Paris IV) pour occuper celle de Littérature et Civilisation allemande du Moyen Âge jusqu'en octobre 2007. Ses axes de recherches sont: Les êtres de la mythologie populaire, Les croyances touchant aux morts et à la mort, Les mythes, contes et légendes, La magie
Ses travaux lui ont valu de recevoir le Prix Strasbourg en 1982, un prix de l’Académie française la même année, d'être fait Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques en 1995 et Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en 2006. Jusqu'en décembre 2010, il dirige la revue La grande Oreille, arts de l’oralité et collabore à plusieurs revues sur le Moyen Âge.
Ses travaux lui ont valu de recevoir le Prix Strasbourg en 1982, un prix de l’Académie française la même année, d'être fait Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques en 1995 et Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres en 2006. Jusqu'en décembre 2010, il dirige la revue La grande Oreille, arts de l’oralité et collabore à plusieurs revues sur le Moyen Âge.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 13, 2022
'All that remains is for me to make a sad observation. Like so many other creatures that once embellished life and brought hope, house spirits have vanished and with them the souls of our houses have fled, never to return. Homes have sunk into anonymity; building rituals have almost entirely disappeared; prefabricated industrial materials have replaced the quest for and attentive selection of materials that were wrought with love; the meanings of ornaments are no longer known and moon, stars, and crosses have disappeared from our facades; radiators have replaced the hearth and stove; our corners have become little more than dust collectors; and there is no longer anything concealed beneath our thresholds. We have been transformed into rootless wanderers with no fire or place to call our own. The individual no longer has any attachment to a house that has been passed down for generations. In losing all of this, we have lost a piece of ourselves, one of our most solid anchors, and like dead leaves carried by the wind, we settle one day here, and the next day there, driven by the whims of our professions, but we no longer bring the embers from our hearths with us, and the surviving spirits weep in abandoned houses.'
Of course, after reading this, I immediately want to run and embrace my poor house spirit and to restore the sun and the moon over the entrance! This quote is here to show how dearly Lecouteux loves folklore. The book is permeated by this (rather romantic) spirit of respect for tradition.
That said, not all of the traditions mentioned here are nice. I've discovered, to my dismay, that the tradition to let the cat be the first one to enter the house has nothing to do with reverence for the cat, but is, instead, a potential sacrifice: if somebody is to die, it will be the one who first enters the house, - hence, not somebody of the human family (although the author does mention that sometimes a brave grandfather took on this role! but judging by the wide spread of the tradition of the cat, most grandfathers were cowardly).
I loved the idea of using philology as an analytical instrument, i. e., drawing conclusions from words and sayings, although sometimes these conclusions seemed a bit speculative.
A very interesting [pagan] read - scientific, but not boring. And useful, of course, if you want to be friendly with your house spirits ;)
Of course, after reading this, I immediately want to run and embrace my poor house spirit and to restore the sun and the moon over the entrance! This quote is here to show how dearly Lecouteux loves folklore. The book is permeated by this (rather romantic) spirit of respect for tradition.
That said, not all of the traditions mentioned here are nice. I've discovered, to my dismay, that the tradition to let the cat be the first one to enter the house has nothing to do with reverence for the cat, but is, instead, a potential sacrifice: if somebody is to die, it will be the one who first enters the house, - hence, not somebody of the human family (although the author does mention that sometimes a brave grandfather took on this role! but judging by the wide spread of the tradition of the cat, most grandfathers were cowardly).
I loved the idea of using philology as an analytical instrument, i. e., drawing conclusions from words and sayings, although sometimes these conclusions seemed a bit speculative.
A very interesting [pagan] read - scientific, but not boring. And useful, of course, if you want to be friendly with your house spirits ;)
December 31, 2019
As always, a wondrous work by Lecouteux, focusing on the roots of largely dead domestic traditions, with some subtle hangers-on in European cultures here and there.
The thread is tentative but tantalizing enough to warrant further research: ancient, pre-Christian beliefs in house superstitions (shockingly, feng shui-like) were simply translated into new terms. It would look something like this: ancient pagan god->household deity->kobold hiding under your table. With the crushing irruption of Christianity, ancient beliefs regarding the home, the building of the home, placement of things in the home, and the sacred spots within the home were relegated from religion to "folk belief".
This is a wealthy work and has loads of little scrappy details that you will love, from the figure "Money-Shitter" to furnascopy.
The thread is tentative but tantalizing enough to warrant further research: ancient, pre-Christian beliefs in house superstitions (shockingly, feng shui-like) were simply translated into new terms. It would look something like this: ancient pagan god->household deity->kobold hiding under your table. With the crushing irruption of Christianity, ancient beliefs regarding the home, the building of the home, placement of things in the home, and the sacred spots within the home were relegated from religion to "folk belief".
This is a wealthy work and has loads of little scrappy details that you will love, from the figure "Money-Shitter" to furnascopy.
December 18, 2013
In the medival times the house was a sacred space in Europe. The home would stay in the family for generations and it was a place that kept one safe from the outside world. In fact it would keep you warm, it was where you cooked your food and ate. So of course one would want to protect the home as much as possible. Usually this meant appeasing the household spirits. Of course in modern times a home is not so sacred. People are mobile and homes are made from pre-fabricated material.
The first part of the book is dedicated to the different parts of the European house. The most sacred part of the house was the hearth. It was at the hearth where the food was prepared and it was at the hearth that meals were partaken. The hearth was also the place of the fire in the center of the room. Often times this is where a household spirit would dwell. It was here that offering of wine, bread and food were made to the spirit of the house. Other places of importance that would house spirits were the attic, corners of the house and even the barn. Offering could be left and the sleepin space must be held sacred as the household spirit could vex , without injury, someone who was sleeping there. The chimney and the stove were also sacred places. By the chimney was the chimney hook and it was on the chimney hook that people would swear oath and perform magic. The chimney hook was alos a mainstay of the house. Something that kept it going so to speak.
Other places of importance were doors, window and the roof. Windows was where spirits could come in and out from. Protective measures of course had to be employed to bar a witches magic or malevolent spirits from entering. When someone died it was best to take them from the house via the window that way they would not come back in. The door was also a place where spirits could dwell. Sometimes a pentagram was painted on the door to keep the negative magic of the witch out. It was also wise never to slam a door as that would disturb the spirits. The roofs usually had holes in them and this could be conduit for souls. To stop a sorcerer from entering the whole could be blocked up or a whole in the wall could be blocked up.
One had to be careful which house one bought and where it was built. Near the road was the best place to build a house. Building near an open field or wilderness was considered a bad idea it would attract evil spirits. The house of a suicide or a criminal was also bad. Upon moving into a house usually an offering was made to the resident spirit to gain their good graces. To not have their good graces was to court disaster. Sometimes a family would bring a spirit with them from their old house.
Exactly who were these spirits? Some sources would say that it was the genius loci of the area. Other say it was the spirit of an former occupant. It could also be an ancestor spirit who chooses to stick around as a protector. Before the adevent of Christianity the household sprits were deities or Gods. Zeuss was the most common. Eventually these Gods devolved into spritis.
Some of the offering that were made could be food and wine offering but often times a human or an animal would be buried in the foundation of the house. The household spirits would provide a number of services if the homeowners were moral and treated the spirit well. The spirit would help with chores , increase wealth and protect from disaster. Of course when angered the spirits would choose to leave, impoverish the family or destroy the house. House hold spirits were are times called browning, kobald and alfs.
Great book the author accesses ancient European documents and brins it forward for the modern people to learn. Awesome job.
The first part of the book is dedicated to the different parts of the European house. The most sacred part of the house was the hearth. It was at the hearth where the food was prepared and it was at the hearth that meals were partaken. The hearth was also the place of the fire in the center of the room. Often times this is where a household spirit would dwell. It was here that offering of wine, bread and food were made to the spirit of the house. Other places of importance that would house spirits were the attic, corners of the house and even the barn. Offering could be left and the sleepin space must be held sacred as the household spirit could vex , without injury, someone who was sleeping there. The chimney and the stove were also sacred places. By the chimney was the chimney hook and it was on the chimney hook that people would swear oath and perform magic. The chimney hook was alos a mainstay of the house. Something that kept it going so to speak.
Other places of importance were doors, window and the roof. Windows was where spirits could come in and out from. Protective measures of course had to be employed to bar a witches magic or malevolent spirits from entering. When someone died it was best to take them from the house via the window that way they would not come back in. The door was also a place where spirits could dwell. Sometimes a pentagram was painted on the door to keep the negative magic of the witch out. It was also wise never to slam a door as that would disturb the spirits. The roofs usually had holes in them and this could be conduit for souls. To stop a sorcerer from entering the whole could be blocked up or a whole in the wall could be blocked up.
One had to be careful which house one bought and where it was built. Near the road was the best place to build a house. Building near an open field or wilderness was considered a bad idea it would attract evil spirits. The house of a suicide or a criminal was also bad. Upon moving into a house usually an offering was made to the resident spirit to gain their good graces. To not have their good graces was to court disaster. Sometimes a family would bring a spirit with them from their old house.
Exactly who were these spirits? Some sources would say that it was the genius loci of the area. Other say it was the spirit of an former occupant. It could also be an ancestor spirit who chooses to stick around as a protector. Before the adevent of Christianity the household sprits were deities or Gods. Zeuss was the most common. Eventually these Gods devolved into spritis.
Some of the offering that were made could be food and wine offering but often times a human or an animal would be buried in the foundation of the house. The household spirits would provide a number of services if the homeowners were moral and treated the spirit well. The spirit would help with chores , increase wealth and protect from disaster. Of course when angered the spirits would choose to leave, impoverish the family or destroy the house. House hold spirits were are times called browning, kobald and alfs.
Great book the author accesses ancient European documents and brins it forward for the modern people to learn. Awesome job.
October 21, 2021
We read this book for my September read in the witchy book club that I'm a part of! Unfortunately we realized pretty quick that this book is filled with misinformation about cultures that the author is not a part of, and that the author uses known slurs for people of other cultures (specifically indigenous cultures) multiple times. After realizing this, it became really hard to read this book and we found we couldn't take it seriously. Even if there's some accurate or good information in there, it was overshadowed by the author's bias. At first we thought maybe it had to do with us reading the translated version of the book but it seems like it's just kinda shitty. I had to DNF this book, and I don't recommend it. I'm really disappointed.
August 19, 2016
The Tradition of Household Spirits - Claude Lecouteaux The Tradition of Household Spirits is a fascinating look at spirits of place in the medieval world.Lecouteaux's biography says he is a former professor of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne, and he has written a number of books on subjects in his field. In this book, he seeks first to explain how and why people in the medieval period believed their homes to be sacred space, and how they delineated the boundaries of that space. He then goes on to talk about the spirits and/or deities these people were honoring. It's clear to him that ancestors took on almost godlike status in succeeding generations; families believed those who first built on the land would stick around to bless them, if only their descendants treated them well.The author concentrates on European practices and beliefs -- both Eastern and Western -- with a little bit of Asian lore thrown in here and there. He seems to think it significant that so many of these practices are similar, but I was less entranced. After all, most of the peoples he talks about can be traced back to a shared Indo-European homeland. We see that root in language as well as in pagan pantheons; with that much of a shared cultural root, it should be no surprise that people considered walls and hedges to be protective boundaries, and windows and doors to be liminal spaces that needed special protection.Still, I learned a fair amount from this book. One thing he talks about is the belief that a cricket on the hearth will bring good luck. I always thought the saying referred to a literal cricket, for which I suppose I can thank Charles Dickens (and Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin). But Lecouteaux writes, "Isn't a good housewife sometimes referred to as the 'cricket of the hearth'?" I had never heard that before. Maybe it's a French proverb.Lecouteaux ends his book with a lament that we no longer honor household spirits today: "Like so many other creatures that once embellished life and brought hope, house spirits have vanished and with them the souls of our houses have fled, never to return." Au contraire, professor: Some of us do still attempt to honor spirits of the places where we live, if not the spirits of our hearths.
August 30, 2017
I bought this book as the store was closing, with an interest in both the folklore/Historical aspects and as a practicing Neopagan. it can be difficult to find reference texts that actually cite their sources without academic library access, and this topic seemed interesting.
after reading the basic thesis in the first chapters, I threw it against the wall and decided it might work for "finding alternative sources" or "reading about folklore practices if I don't care about historical accuracy, which is a fool's errand anyway."
the basic premise of the book and all of its arguments is this: if we look at folk beliefs today, we can understand folk beliefs in the past. so far, so good. but then the author says this, specifically referencing Continental Europe:
"folk beliefs have extraordinary longevity and barely evolve as long as social and material conditions do not change. They vanish when extinguished by major historical upheavals -- industrialization, for example, or a war. Closely connected to the rural world and, in our case, the peasant world, they endure" (9).
The author then goes on to cite countries such as Romania, Hungary, and Russia.
I'm sorry, the arguments for your book rest on rural Eastern Europe/Russia being untouched by war and industrialization? To preserve "peasant" folk practices?
Did you miss the Bolshevik Revolution? That time Napoleon marched an army into Russia via Eastern Europe and froze? Also a those other times people have done that? Did you miss that most of these places weren't even countries until the 20th century, because you left nationalism off your list of sweeping changes?
I am sorry, I can't respect such terrible scholarship. No wonder this wasn't published by an academic press.
oh well. at least the illustrations aren't terrible, and the bibliography seems decent.
after reading the basic thesis in the first chapters, I threw it against the wall and decided it might work for "finding alternative sources" or "reading about folklore practices if I don't care about historical accuracy, which is a fool's errand anyway."
the basic premise of the book and all of its arguments is this: if we look at folk beliefs today, we can understand folk beliefs in the past. so far, so good. but then the author says this, specifically referencing Continental Europe:
"folk beliefs have extraordinary longevity and barely evolve as long as social and material conditions do not change. They vanish when extinguished by major historical upheavals -- industrialization, for example, or a war. Closely connected to the rural world and, in our case, the peasant world, they endure" (9).
The author then goes on to cite countries such as Romania, Hungary, and Russia.
I'm sorry, the arguments for your book rest on rural Eastern Europe/Russia being untouched by war and industrialization? To preserve "peasant" folk practices?
Did you miss the Bolshevik Revolution? That time Napoleon marched an army into Russia via Eastern Europe and froze? Also a those other times people have done that? Did you miss that most of these places weren't even countries until the 20th century, because you left nationalism off your list of sweeping changes?
I am sorry, I can't respect such terrible scholarship. No wonder this wasn't published by an academic press.
oh well. at least the illustrations aren't terrible, and the bibliography seems decent.
November 8, 2013
Claude Lecouteux is brilliant. If you only ever read one books about Household Spirits, please make it this one. You won't regret it.
June 18, 2015
awesome!!!!!!!!
September 21, 2021
Well researched and impeccably sourced, but the writing was dry AF. I would have liked there to be more storytelling. There's also such a wide range of traditions discussed without any explanation as to how they're connected or why. "This culture has an X, this other culture has a similar X." There doesn't seem to be an overarching thesis, and the end of the book was anti-climactic. There's no explanation as to where these ideas came from. There's a list of omens at the end, but no reasoning for them or basis for where they originated. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to draw as a conclusion. There are a lot of detailed, inexplicable myths and omens around the world. There's no connection to each other, there's no reason they came about, and there's no connection to what we do and believe today. It's just a collection of facts.
February 22, 2023
A very in depth and wonderfully researched book about Spirits, Lore, and Traditions connected to the home and hearth. The illustrations it contains makes it much easier to understand when he is describing certain things and are interesting to look at.
That being said, it is Eurocentric. So if you're looking for materials which deal with other cultures, you won't find it here. It's also written rather dryly- which makes it difficult to get through, or concentrate on for long periods of time. But that's honestly to be expected from books which take a more academic standpoint; it's difficult to find the balance on subjects within the more academic realm.
Regardless of this it was still an amazing book- one that I highly recommend to those interested in such things; I'll definitely be picking up the others of his that interest me.
That being said, it is Eurocentric. So if you're looking for materials which deal with other cultures, you won't find it here. It's also written rather dryly- which makes it difficult to get through, or concentrate on for long periods of time. But that's honestly to be expected from books which take a more academic standpoint; it's difficult to find the balance on subjects within the more academic realm.
Regardless of this it was still an amazing book- one that I highly recommend to those interested in such things; I'll definitely be picking up the others of his that interest me.
January 1, 2022
Includes multiple racial slurs for different groups of indigenous peoples, despite using their folklore to make the points of the author (who is white and European). It also makes several very strange points that don't seem to follow logically, and when trying to check the book's citations, I found that several odd tidbits about djinn were not cited with sources at all. Other sources were not reliable or accessible, and when I tried to look for other sources for this information, I couldn't find any in English or available via Google Translate. For these reasons, I don't think this book is useful to anyone without an extremely critical read.
December 21, 2018
Another interesting compilation of historical information and folk practices from Claude Lecouteux. Very fun to see where some common folksy, superstitious practices originate.
November 14, 2024
L'auteur est un spécialiste du monde médiéval et s'intéresse particulièrement aux mythes et croyances populaires. Il a publié de nombreuses études et, à chaque fois que j'ai l'occasion d'en découvrir une, je le fais avec passion, tant l'érudition de M. Lecouteux est grande.
Dans cet ouvrage, il nous amène à la rencontre du Petit Peuple qui accompagne notre vie du quotidien, ou, en tout cas, qui accompagnait traditionnellement les humains dans leur logement. Pour son étude, il se base sur de nombreux contes, légendes et récits à travers le temps, des auteurs classiques jusqu'aux compilations plus récentes comme celles de Pierre Dubois. Il s'appuie plus encore sur les corpus de traditions des mondes slaves, germaniques, nordiques, où la croyance dans les "génies" du quotidien à le plus perduré.
Nous découvrons que, traditionnellement, les Hommes ont mis en place de nombreuses actions apotropaïques pour se concilier les habitants premiers des lieux : rituels de fondation, libations, offrandes et sacrifices, dès avant la construction de la maison. Puis, rituels d'installation, dont la crémaillère, que l'on pend encore sans se souvenir de son sens d'origine, marquant le lieu le plus important : le foyer, la cheminée. On peut faire plusieurs fois le tour du foyer pour contrer les mauvais esprits (ou faire faire 3 fois le tour du foyer à son chat pour qu'il ne s'échappe plus !! - à tester !).
Après nous avoir régalés de cette profusion de rites, l'auteur nous présente la galerie de portraits des lutins, fulons, nutons, farfadets et autres esprits qui, pour la plupart, sont facétieux, mais, moyennant quelques gentillesses de notre part (un peu crème chaque jour, par exemple), rendent de nombreux services à la maison, veillent sur les enfants, les animaux, et assurent la richesse du propriétaire. En revanche, gare à celui qui se met son petit génie à dos ! La demeure devient un enfer !
l s'agit donc d'une plongée dans les traditions de nos campagnes. Nous retrouvons avec délice la source de certaines superstitions ou pratiques rituelles. L'auteur nous offre un beau voyage dans un autre temps, où la magie, la religion et le Petit Peuple prenaient tous leur part pour expliquer les bienfaits et malheurs du quotidien.
Dans cet ouvrage, il nous amène à la rencontre du Petit Peuple qui accompagne notre vie du quotidien, ou, en tout cas, qui accompagnait traditionnellement les humains dans leur logement. Pour son étude, il se base sur de nombreux contes, légendes et récits à travers le temps, des auteurs classiques jusqu'aux compilations plus récentes comme celles de Pierre Dubois. Il s'appuie plus encore sur les corpus de traditions des mondes slaves, germaniques, nordiques, où la croyance dans les "génies" du quotidien à le plus perduré.
Nous découvrons que, traditionnellement, les Hommes ont mis en place de nombreuses actions apotropaïques pour se concilier les habitants premiers des lieux : rituels de fondation, libations, offrandes et sacrifices, dès avant la construction de la maison. Puis, rituels d'installation, dont la crémaillère, que l'on pend encore sans se souvenir de son sens d'origine, marquant le lieu le plus important : le foyer, la cheminée. On peut faire plusieurs fois le tour du foyer pour contrer les mauvais esprits (ou faire faire 3 fois le tour du foyer à son chat pour qu'il ne s'échappe plus !! - à tester !).
Après nous avoir régalés de cette profusion de rites, l'auteur nous présente la galerie de portraits des lutins, fulons, nutons, farfadets et autres esprits qui, pour la plupart, sont facétieux, mais, moyennant quelques gentillesses de notre part (un peu crème chaque jour, par exemple), rendent de nombreux services à la maison, veillent sur les enfants, les animaux, et assurent la richesse du propriétaire. En revanche, gare à celui qui se met son petit génie à dos ! La demeure devient un enfer !
l s'agit donc d'une plongée dans les traditions de nos campagnes. Nous retrouvons avec délice la source de certaines superstitions ou pratiques rituelles. L'auteur nous offre un beau voyage dans un autre temps, où la magie, la religion et le Petit Peuple prenaient tous leur part pour expliquer les bienfaits et malheurs du quotidien.
August 11, 2021
I'm so disappointed in myself for not having read these books sooner. Absolutely marvellous, and so much work behind them!! I love the general feeling each book has of acceptance verging on belief in the topic at hand, rather than the usual: either some flavor of monotheist writing about the subject, and they disapprove of the pagan stuff, or it's some flavor of atheist writing about the subject, and they disapprove of the misguided pre-science stuff. There's a warmth and obvious enjoyment of the topic on every page.
The only thing I didn't care for this time was the idea at the close of the book that possibly we should go back to these practices. I don't mind the lesser things, burying coins, offering food, drawing pretty symbols on our houses again -- the majority of it is all fine; but I'd rather we not go back to walling up small animals and children alive in the walls or under the thresholds of our buildings in order to placate spirits or for them to become guardian spirits. That practice can stay firmly in the past!
The only thing I didn't care for this time was the idea at the close of the book that possibly we should go back to these practices. I don't mind the lesser things, burying coins, offering food, drawing pretty symbols on our houses again -- the majority of it is all fine; but I'd rather we not go back to walling up small animals and children alive in the walls or under the thresholds of our buildings in order to placate spirits or for them to become guardian spirits. That practice can stay firmly in the past!
March 18, 2020
Welp. I have a new author where I need to read absolutely everything they’ve written. 😩💸📚😂 The author seems intent on giving you as much information as possible in this book. Keeping it to the point and citing as much as they could. It took a long time to get through as there was non-stop piles of information pouring out. I learned so much and hope to read it again soon in an attempt to absorb more of this wealth of knowledge. I’m so glad I came across this at a book at a local Pagan event. 😍 It has the most intense and wild stories and so many localized spirits I have never heard of. The rituals of building, buying, living in, leaving, etc a home/farm are abundant. I knew people likely had more superstitions and taboos as part of their daily lives long ago but there are way more than I anticipated. Crazy cool. This book focuses on Europe as a heads up. Maybe because the author is French? Great book still.
dnf
July 13, 2023DNF
I made it about 50% of the book before deciding to DNF. I picked this up as a practicing witch and modern pagan hoping to integrate folklore of my ancestors (Norway and various European regions) into my practice. The first third to half of the book was about the land and structure of the home with little of it being practical for a modern, city witch. I stuck through to the later chapters which cover the actual household spirits, but once again there was little that felt functional as traditions to integrate into my own practice. Not only that, but the writing is also quite disjointed and dry making it a slog to read. I had such high hopes for this book, but have been incredibly disappointed.
I made it about 50% of the book before deciding to DNF. I picked this up as a practicing witch and modern pagan hoping to integrate folklore of my ancestors (Norway and various European regions) into my practice. The first third to half of the book was about the land and structure of the home with little of it being practical for a modern, city witch. I stuck through to the later chapters which cover the actual household spirits, but once again there was little that felt functional as traditions to integrate into my own practice. Not only that, but the writing is also quite disjointed and dry making it a slog to read. I had such high hopes for this book, but have been incredibly disappointed.
August 1, 2022
Extremely dull and repetitive. The book focuses exclusively on European folklore and the author aims to prove the similarities in beliefs across the continent. He ends up saying the same thing every chapter. While it may have historical veracity, the never ending references to animal sacrifice and immurement was upsetting and made me really not care about the material. If these “cultural” practices have faded out, well good riddance.
November 7, 2021
This is a really interesting look at the protective magic used in the medieval period by everyday people as well as how house spirits were viewed pre- and post-Christian conversion. It was rather helpful in my figuring out how to approach the house we just bought. If house spirits is something that interests you and you enjoy the historical aspect, this is a good book to read.
March 13, 2023
FYI - I read the preview rather than the full book.
It appears that this book spends more time on building a home than on the spirits themselves. There is also the mistaken assumption that common homes were owned by families and passed down from generation to generation. Most peasants were tenants.
It appears that this book spends more time on building a home than on the spirits themselves. There is also the mistaken assumption that common homes were owned by families and passed down from generation to generation. Most peasants were tenants.
June 8, 2025
Another interesting book from Lecouteux!
There are some things that I came across in this book that were so interesting and also somewhat sad.
Out homes need to become more special!
There are some things that I came across in this book that were so interesting and also somewhat sad.
Out homes need to become more special!
March 28, 2018
You'd be hard-pressed to find any other book that covers this subject so comprehensively
March 13, 2020
A very interesting read. I almost gave it a lower rating, due to wishing that the author relied less on biased medieval sources.
June 2, 2020
An excellent in depth look at the commonalities and differences in traditions across Europe, and how they have changed over time. Essential reading for any reconstructionist Pagan in my opinion.
April 15, 2021
super interesting and full of information
July 8, 2022
A lot of research went into this book. It's very interesting, although not very applicable. It will make a good reference for fantasy writing.
August 9, 2022
A well researched and passionately conveyed text, focused on ancient into early modern European household folklore. A worthwhile read and a peek into our ancestors lives and how they lived them.
September 8, 2022
too dry and disjointed to really garner any sort of value out of it. made it through 4 chapters and have little to show for it
August 24, 2025
Clearly well researched
October 12, 2013
In The Tradition of Household Spirits, Claude Lecouteux tackles the folklore surrounding the household and its human and inhuman residents. Drawing on his extensive background as a Medievalist, he dissects the shared beliefs and practices of Europeans of what the house meant, and how you went about preserving and enriching it. He shows that for the bulk of human history, a house was more than just a place to rest your head and store your stuff; it was what sustained you, kept you safe, and was the silent witness to the history of you and your family.
Though he does not draw this conclusion, one can argue that the spirits he describes as inhabiting houses are, in many ways, not just fairies who interact with the residents, but the souls of houses made manifest. Spirits who are taken care of will, in turn, take care of the family, much in a way that a house that is well-maintained will continue to sustain and protect its residents. Likewise, naughty or malevolent spirits who torment the people may be seen as a metaphor of a house that has problems; the family discordant, for example, or unwise planning and maintenance leading to the death of livestock.
Regardless, Lecouteux seems to be saying throughout that our ancestors understood something we, in our semi-transient lifestyles where we swap living spaces whenever we need more space for our things, have forgotten: that the purpose of our labors is to live well. He laments modern people’s habit of not valuing their homes, and as a result, leaving the “spirits [to] weep in abandoned houses.” It does make you think—how many people today, especially in the US, live where they grew up? How many of us return to the homes that sheltered us as children when we visit our parents? What happens to those stories, those memories, when we aren’t around to feed them?
As I said before, all this is speculative on my part, due largely to the one (minor) gripe I have about Lecouteux’s style. Though he does organize his information into largely sensible parts, he discusses the minutia of his findings in something of a tossed salad style. Namely, he throws it all together and serves it up, and it is up to you, the reader, to consume it as you can. It can be frustrating to plow through example after example, and never be quite sure what point he is trying to make.
In spite of this, I still consider his latest translated book an invaluable work for anyone interested in folklore, or who may be seeking a way to reconnect with the place where they live, and ultimately themselves.
Though he does not draw this conclusion, one can argue that the spirits he describes as inhabiting houses are, in many ways, not just fairies who interact with the residents, but the souls of houses made manifest. Spirits who are taken care of will, in turn, take care of the family, much in a way that a house that is well-maintained will continue to sustain and protect its residents. Likewise, naughty or malevolent spirits who torment the people may be seen as a metaphor of a house that has problems; the family discordant, for example, or unwise planning and maintenance leading to the death of livestock.
Regardless, Lecouteux seems to be saying throughout that our ancestors understood something we, in our semi-transient lifestyles where we swap living spaces whenever we need more space for our things, have forgotten: that the purpose of our labors is to live well. He laments modern people’s habit of not valuing their homes, and as a result, leaving the “spirits [to] weep in abandoned houses.” It does make you think—how many people today, especially in the US, live where they grew up? How many of us return to the homes that sheltered us as children when we visit our parents? What happens to those stories, those memories, when we aren’t around to feed them?
As I said before, all this is speculative on my part, due largely to the one (minor) gripe I have about Lecouteux’s style. Though he does organize his information into largely sensible parts, he discusses the minutia of his findings in something of a tossed salad style. Namely, he throws it all together and serves it up, and it is up to you, the reader, to consume it as you can. It can be frustrating to plow through example after example, and never be quite sure what point he is trying to make.
In spite of this, I still consider his latest translated book an invaluable work for anyone interested in folklore, or who may be seeking a way to reconnect with the place where they live, and ultimately themselves.
January 25, 2014
Great compilation of information concerning the spirits of a household - realizing the household is not just the home but the other buildings and the land/property surrounding it. The research compiled is from mainly the European continent from the last several centuries - likely as much as could be located on this subject. If you are looking for a book about spirits of a household, this is the book to read first as it contains a wealth of information. However, if you are looking for a book that gives you a detailed step-by-step of how to contact, call or create your own household spirits, you will not find it in this resource. It is informative only though you may be able to glean ways to do this on your own if this is something you so desire but these are stories built on the traditions of homes that were passed down through generations of families and not built then discarded as one changes their wardrobes in this day and age.
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