In Shakespeare's Cymbeline there are these lines:

Yes, he has fallen asleep
In the last, eternal, unwaking sleep.
I shall make a coffin his bed,
Fairies will gather at his grave
And no worm will dare creep into it.

Literal translation

Indeed, in ancient Britain there was a belief that fairies take particular care of young corpses and, attending their graves, slow the process of decay, for where fairies swarm there are no venomous creatures.

The Christian faith, however, explained the phenomenon of incorrupt young bodies by their holiness: thus the fairies, all toiling tirelessly in the churchyard, were replaced by a single god and his will.

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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Frederic Leighton

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In Shakespeare's Cymbeline there are these lines:

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

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