What is the Tylwyth Teg?

The Tylwyth Teg are Welsh fairies or fairy folk. In Welsh folklore, they're supernatural beings who live in an invisible realm that exists alongside our own, often dwelling under hills or in grand houses that appear and disappear.

Why did fairies need human midwives if they had magical powers?

The stories don't really explain this, which is part of what makes the tale strange. Despite having enchantment and supernatural abilities, the Tylwyth Teg apparently required mortal assistance for difficult births—whether they genuinely needed help or it was all an elaborate test remains unclear.

Why did the fairies blind the midwife's eye?

When the midwife revealed she could see them at the market (by greeting them or acknowledging their presence), the fairy would ask which eye she saw them with, then permanently blind that eye as punishment. The penalty for seeing what mortals weren't meant to see was immediate and irreversible.

The Welsh Legends

The Tylwyth Teg Midwife: When Fairies Needed Human Help and Paid in Ointment You Shouldn't Touch

A mortal midwife was summoned to deliver a fairy baby, then given ointment to rub on the child's eyes. When she touched her own eye with it and could suddenly see invisible fairy folk everywhere, they blinded that eye so she'd stop noticing them at market.

18 September 20268 min read