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The Wailing Spirits: How Banshees Reflect An Ever-Changing View Of Women In Society, Brianna Leonard

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

A banshee, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die.” This definition, while correct, barely scratches the surface of banshees in Celtic mythology. These lamenting spirits were once known as “keeners,” or women who sang sad songs at funerals in medieval tradition. Keeners were paid remarkably well, and some were so talented that powerful families claimed they were “bean sidhe,” or fairy women. Over time, banshees have been interpreted in many ways, and the women who were once paid to sing at …