Christians

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Christians is the word used in Faerie to describe mortals such as you and I. It is inexact. For example, to a fairy Julius Caesar would be described as a "Christian", although we know he died before ever Christ was born and so had no opportunity to become a follower of the faith which bears His name.

The confusion seems to have arisen after the accession of John Uskglass to Northern England, which led to a great increase in intercourse between the two races. Northern England was then a passionately Christian land (though its people had formerly adhered to belief in a variety of gods, many of them unsavoury). Since the men with whom fairies dealt were all Christians, it was natural for them to mistakenly assume all men were Christians. It is a fault in logic. But as Chaston points out, fairies are prone to such errors; and besides, they do not have a strong interest in the study of mankind - or indeed of religion.