The Gytrash / ɡ aɪ ˈ t r æ ʃ / was a legendary shape-changer known in parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire . It was said to haunt lonely roads awaiting travelers. Appearing usually in the shape of animals ( horses , mules , and dogs among others), the Gytrash haunt solitary ways and lead people astray, but they can also be benevolent, guiding lost travelers to the right road. They are usually feared. The Gytrash is a shapechanging cousin of the Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Shagfoal , of the Lancashire Skriker, of the Padfoot, also from the West Riding and of Barguest of much of the North Riding , Cumberland , Lincolnshire , County Durham and Northumberland .
39-469: The most important gytrash references appear in the writings of the Brontës. As this horse approached, and as I watched for it to appear through the dusk, I remembered certain of Bessie's tales, wherein figured a North-of-England spirit called a "Gytrash," which, in the form of horse, mule, or large dog, haunted solitary ways, and sometimes came upon belated travelers, as this horse was now coming upon me. It
78-615: A charming and sophisticated woman, almost fifteen years senior to him. He wrote, perhaps unreliably, to one of his friends that "my mistress is DAMNABLY TOO FOND OF ME" and sent him a "lock of her hair, wch has lain at night on his breast – wd to God it could do so legally !" In July 1845, he was dismissed from his position. According to Gaskell, he received a letter "sternly dismissing him, intimating that his proceedings were discovered, characterising them as bad beyond expression and charging him, on pain of exposure, to break off immediately, and for ever, all communication with every member of
117-547: A failed relationship with a married woman. Brontë died at the age of 31. Branwell Brontë was the fourth of six children and the only son of Patrick Brontë (1777–1861) and his wife, Maria Branwell Brontë (1783–1821). He was born in a house (now known as the Brontë Birthplace ) in Market Street, Thornton , near Bradford , West Riding of Yorkshire , and moved with his family to Haworth when his father
156-779: A pride in systematizing their private world and maintaining a consistent political structure, features typical of paracosmic play. He documented in encyclopaedic detail, in neat lists, footnotes, sketches, and maps, the geography, history, government, and social structure of the Glass Town Federation (and later, the new kingdom of Angria)—laying down the parameters of the imaginary world". He often wrote under several pseudonyms, such as Captain John Bud, Sergeant Bud, and Chief Genius Bany, who were also characters in their world. Surrounded by female company and missing that of males, there are signs of pleasure in his early works of
195-555: A riotous drinking session in Kendal . During this employment he continued his literary work, including sending poems and translations to Thomas De Quincey and Hartley Coleridge who both lived in the Lake District . At Coleridge's invitation, he visited the poet at his cottage who encouraged him to pursue his translations of Horace 's Odes . In June 1840 he sent the translations to Coleridge, after having been dismissed by
234-708: A rolling stone or a self impelled cart wheel are more commonly the mortal coil of the Sullen Spectre[.] But the Darkwall Gytrash was known by the form of an Old Dwarfish and hideous Man as often seen without a head as with one and moving at dark along the naked feilds which spread round the Aged House[.] its visits were connected in all mens minds with the fortunes of the family[.] he hovered round and evil omens were always drawn on such occasions and if tradition spoke true fullfilled upon them.' This spirit
273-527: A series of fantasy role-playing games which the siblings wrote and performed about the "Young Men", characters based on a set of wooden soldiers. The plays evolved into an intricate saga based in West Africa about the fictitious Glass Town confederacy. From 1834, he both collaborated and competed with his sister Charlotte to describe another imaginary world, Angria . Branwell's particular interest in these paracosms were their politics and wars, including
312-489: A tall steed [...]. Nothing ever rode the Gytrash: it was always alone [...]. The Gytrash's emergence as Rochester's innocuous dog Pilot has been interpreted as a subtle mockery of the mysteriousness and romanticism that surrounds his character and which clouds Jane's perception. Brontë's reference in 1847 is the earliest reference to the beast in print and forms the basis for subsequent citations. Branwell Brontë referred to
351-591: Is a major character, along with his sister Emily as the protagonist, as well as, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Brontë family. In the 1946 film Devotion , he was portrayed by Arthur Kennedy . In the film The Brontë Sisters ( Les Sœurs Brontë , 1979) he was portrayed by Pascal Greggory . He was portrayed by Adam Nagaitis in To Walk Invisible (2016), a BBC drama about the Brontë family . In
390-467: Is also known as Guytrash and Guytresh according to The English Dialect Dictionary of Joseph Wright (1855–1930) where it is defined as a ghost that takes the form of an animal. These include a "great black dog" as well as "an evil cow whose appearance was formerly believed in as a sign of death." Branwell Bront%C3%AB Patrick Branwell Brontë ( / ˈ b r ɒ n t i / , commonly /- t eɪ / ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848)
429-661: Is now one of the best known images of the sisters and hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. In 1835, he wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Arts seeking to be admitted. Earlier biographers reported a move to London to study painting, which quickly ended following Brontë's dissolute spending on drink. Other biographers speculated that he was too intimidated to present himself at the Academy. More recent scholarship suggests that Brontë did not send
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#1732792998103468-542: Is referenced by the character "Mr Mybug" in Stella Gibbons ' 1932 comic novel Cold Comfort Farm . In a parody of the "Hampstead intellectual" scene of the time of the book's creation, the Mr Mybug character boasts of working on a biography of Branwell Brontë, his thesis being that Branwell was in fact the real author of the books ascribed to his sisters. In Tim Powers ' novel My Brother’s Keeper (2023), Branwell
507-508: The Haworth parsonage , where he looked for another job, wrote poetry and attempted to adapt Angrian material into a book called And the Weary are at Rest . During the 1840s, several of his poems were published in local newspapers under the name of Northangerland, making him the first of the Brontës to be a published poet. Soon however, after Mr Robinson's death, Mrs Robinson made clear that she
546-652: The 19th in the series, the contributions by Wilson predominate, and he eventually wrote all or most of 39 of the dialogues, as well as parts of some others. The scene is usually set in Ambrose's Tavern in Edinburgh , and the central characters are "Christopher North" (Wilson himself), "Timothy Tickler" (based on Robert Sym, 1750–1840, a Writer to the Signet ), and the "Ettrick Shepherd" (based on James Hogg ). Several other characters, imaginary or based on real people, including
585-547: The Postlethwaites. According to Juliet Barker 's biography of the Brontës, he may have fathered an illegitimate child during time in the town, but others suspect that it may be more of Brontë's boasting. Coleridge began an encouraging letter about the quality of the translations in November–December 1840 but never finished it. In October 1840, Brontë moved near to Halifax , where he had many good friends including
624-416: The accidental recipient of some proofs since their pseudonyms were thought to be male. Barker also states that Branwell's friends said he claimed authorship of Wuthering Heights (though they may have said this out of loyalty). On 24 September 1848, Brontë died at Haworth parsonage, most likely due to tuberculosis aggravated by delirium tremens , alcoholism, and laudanum and opium addiction , despite
663-447: The children. Bradley was an artist of some local repute, rather than a professional instructor, but he may well have fostered Branwell's enthusiasm for art and architecture. Bradley emigrated to America in 1831, and Branwell Brontë continued his studies under the portrait painter William Robinson. In 1834, he painted a portrait of his three sisters. He included his own image but became dissatisfied with it and painted it out. This portrait
702-550: The classics with a view to future employment as a tutor. At the beginning of January 1840, he started his employment with the family of Robert Postlethwaite in Broughton-in-Furness . During this time he wrote letters to his pub friends in Haworth which give "a vivid picture of Branwell's scabrous humour, his boastfulness, and his need to be accepted in a man's world". According to Brontë, he started his job off with
741-551: The coastal resort of Scarborough . Charlotte, the last living sister, married the Reverend Arthur Bell Nichols, curate of Haworth , in 1854 and died in March 1855, due to complications from pregnancy. Polly Teale wrote a 2005 play entitled Brontë about the three sisters, in which Branwell was portrayed as a drunk and jealous brother due to the growing successes of his sisters. Blake Morrison wrote
780-489: The consistency of their imaginary world. When Branwell exuberantly kills off important characters in his manuscripts, Charlotte comes to the rescue and, in effect, resurrects them for the next stories [...]; and when Branwell becomes bored with his inventions, such as the Glass Town magazine he edits, Charlotte takes over his initiative and keeps the publication going for several more years. It was Branwell, however, who took
819-457: The destructive rivalry between their heroes, Charlotte's Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Zamorna, and his Alexander Percy, Earl of Northangerland. These writings impress by their virtuosity and scope, but are also repetitive when compared to Charlotte's contributions. Christine Alexander, a Brontë juvenilia historian at the University of New South Wales , wrote "Both Charlotte and Branwell ensured
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#1732792998103858-499: The fact that his death certificate notes "chronic bronchitis - marasmus " as the cause. Elizabeth Gaskell 's biography of Charlotte reports an eye-witness account that Brontë, wanting to show the power of the human will, decided to die standing up, "and when the last agony began, he insisted on assuming the position just mentioned." On 28 September 1848, he was interred in the family vault. Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December of that year and Anne Brontë on 29 May 1849 in
897-485: The family. He managed to set fire to his bed, after which his father had to sleep with him for the safety of the family. Towards the end of his life he was sending notes to a friend asking of "Five pence (5d) worth of Gin". Charlotte Brontë wrote to her publisher that Branwell died without "ever knowing that his sisters had published a line ." However, according to Juliet Barker's biography, Branwell may have known about his sisters' publication of their poetry, having been
936-581: The family." Multiple explanations have been given for this, including inappropriate relationships with a Robinson daughter or son, or that he had passed forged cheques. The most likely explanation is Brontë's own account that he had an affair with Mrs Robinson which Brontë hoped would lead to marriage after her husband's death. For several months after his dismissal, he regularly received small amounts of money from Thorp Green, sent by Mrs. Robinson herself, probably to dissuade him from blackmailing his former employer and lover. Brontë returned home to his family at
975-464: The film Emily (2022) he was portrayed by Fionn Whitehead . (written with his sisters) Noctes Ambrosianae The Noctes Ambrosianae , a series of 71 imaginary colloquies , appeared in Blackwood's Magazine from 1822 to 1835. The earlier ones had several different authors, including John Gibson Lockhart , William Maginn , James Hogg and Professor John Wilson , but from 1825, with
1014-575: The guytrash in his unpublished writing in December 1837, predating Charlotte Brontë 's reference: 'A Gytrash is a Spectre neither at all similar to the Ghosts of those who once were alive nor to fairys and silvan Creatures nor to Demons and the powers of the air[.] It does not confine its forms to the Human and indeed most seldom appears in such a form[.] A Black Dog dragging a chain a dusky calf[,] nay even
1053-574: The letter or even make the trip to London. According to Francis Leyland , Brontë's friend and a future biographer of the family, his first job was as an usher at a Halifax school. More certainly, Brontë worked as a portrait painter in Bradford in 1838 and 1839. Though certain of his paintings, for example that of his landlady Mrs. Kirby and a portrait of Emily show talent for comedic and serious styles, other portraits lack life. He returned to Haworth in debt in 1839. With his father, Brontë reviewed
1092-612: The magazine suggesting himself as a replacement. Between 1835 and 1842, Brontë wrote a total of six times to the magazine, sending poems and arrogantly offering his services. His letters were left unanswered. He began enjoying masculine company in the pubs in Haworth, and in February 1836 joined Haworth's Masonic Lodge of the Three Graces at the youngest possible age. In 1829–30, Patrick Brontë engaged John Bradley , an artist from neighbouring Keighley , as drawing-master for
1131-789: The never removed spectacles." In January 1843, after nine months at Haworth, Brontë took up another tutoring position in Thorp Green, Little Ouseburn , near York, where he was to tutor the Reverend Edmund Robinson's young son. His sister Anne had been the governess there since May 1840. As usual, at first things went well, with Charlotte reporting in January 1843 that her siblings were "both wonderously valued in their situations." During his 30 months service Branwell corresponded with several old friends about his increasing infatuation with Robinson's wife Lydia, née Gisborne,
1170-498: The play We are Three Sisters (2011), a re-working of Chekhov 's Three Sisters based on the lives of the Brontë sisters and featuring Branwell and Mrs Robinson, which premiered in Halifax on 9 September before touring. British novelist Robert Edric wrote Sanctuary (2014), a novel chronicling Branwell's final months, during which family secrets are revealed and he learns about the publication of his sisters' books. Branwell
1209-540: The sculptor Joseph Bentley Leyland and Francis Grundy. He obtained employment with the Manchester and Leeds Railway , initially as 'assistant clerk in charge' at Sowerby Bridge railway station , where he was paid £75 per annum (paid quarterly). Later, on 1 April 1841, he was promoted to 'clerk in charge' at Luddendenfoot railway station in West Yorkshire, where his salary increased to £130. In 1842 he
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1248-419: The wider options he would have due to his sex. Aged 11 in January 1829 he began producing a magazine, later named Branwell's Blackwood's Magazine which included his poems, plays, criticisms, histories, and dialogues. Unlike his sisters, Brontë was not prepared for a specific career. In his only real attempt to find work, on the death of James Hogg , a Blackwood's writer, the 18-year-old Brontë boldly wrote to
1287-405: Was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family , and brother of the writers Charlotte , Emily , and Anne . Brontë was rigorously tutored at home by his father, and earned praise for his poetry and translations from the classics. However, he drifted between jobs, supporting himself by portrait-painting, and gave way to drug and alcohol addiction, apparently worsened by
1326-480: Was appointed to the perpetual curacy in 1821. While four of his five sisters were sent to Cowan Bridge boarding school, Branwell was educated at home by his father, who gave him a classical education. Elizabeth Gaskell , biographer of his sister, Charlotte Brontë , says of Branwell's schooling "Mr. Brontë's friends advised him to send his son to school; but, remembering both the strength of will of his own youth and his mode of employing it, he believed that Branwell
1365-404: Was better at home, and that he himself could teach him well, as he had told others before." His two eldest sisters died just before his eighth birthday in 1825, and their loss affected him deeply. Even as a young boy Brontë read extensively, and was especially fond of the " Noctes Ambrosianae ", literary dialogues published in Blackwood's Magazine . He took a leadership role with Charlotte in
1404-466: Was dismissed due to a deficit in the accounts of £11–1s–7d (£11.06) This had probably been stolen by Watson, the porter, who was left in charge when Brontë went drinking. This was attributed to incompetence rather than theft and the missing sum was deducted from his salary. A description by Francis Leyland of Brontë at this time described him as "rather below middle height, but of a refined and gentleman-like appearance, and of graceful manners. His complexion
1443-598: Was fair and his features handsome; his mouth and chin were well-shaped; his nose was prominent and of the Roman type; his eyes sparkled and danced with delight, and his forehead made up of a face of oval form which gave an irresistible charm to its possessor, and attracted the admiration of those who knew him." Another described him less flatteringly as "almost insignificantly small" and with "a mass of red hair which he wore brushed off his forehead – to help his height I fancy... small ferrety eyes, deep sunk and still further hidden by
1482-463: Was not going to marry Branwell, who then "declined into chronic alcoholism , opiates and debt". Charlotte's letters from this time demonstrate that she was angered by his behaviour. In January 1847, he wrote to his friend Leyland about the easy existence he hoped for: "to try and make myself a name in the world of posterity, without being pestered by the small but countless botherments." His behaviour became increasingly impossible and embarrassing to
1521-403: Was very near, but not yet in sight; when, in addition to the tramp, tramp, I heard a rush under the hedge, and close down by the hazel stems glided a great dog, whose black and white colour made him a distinct object against the trees. It was exactly one form of Bessie's Gytrash -- a lion-like creature with long hair and a huge head [...], with strange pretercanine eyes [...]. The horse followed, --
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