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Breton Mythology
Breton mythology is the mythology or corpus of explanatory and heroic tales originating in Brittany. The Bretons are the descendants of insular Britons who settled in Brittany from at least the third century. While the Britons were already Christianised in this era, the migrant population maintained an ancient Celtic mythos, similar to those of Wales and Cornwall. Breton mythology has many gods and mythical creatures specifically associated with nature cults. In this tradition of gods and creatures rooted in nature, there exist traces of certain Breton Catholic saints. * Ankou * Bugul Noz * Iannic-ann-ôd * Korrigan * Cannard Noz * Morgens * Morvan, legendary chief of the Viscounty of Léon * Morvarc'h * Ys See also * Cornish mythology * Matter of Britain * Mythology in France * Welsh folklore * Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion, having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology. Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany). They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. The supernatural race called the Tuatha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Lavandières
Les Lavandières, or the Midnight Washerwomen, are three old laundresses in Celtic mythology. Names in various Celtic languages include the ''kannerezed noz'' in Brittany and the ''Bean nighe'' in Scottish. They can also be found in the Celtic folklore of Iberia as ''Las Lavanderas'' in Cantabria, ''As lavandeiras'' in Galicia or ''Les Llavanderes'' in Asturias, and in Portugal are known as ''Bruxas lavadeira'. The three old women go to the water's edge at midnight to wash shrouds for those about to die, according to the myth and folklore of Brittany; or to wash the bloodstained clothing of those who are about to die, according to Celtic mythology. The Midnight Washerwomen may be related to the old Celtic tradition of the Triple deities#Triple goddesses, triple goddess of death and slaughter. The washerwomen are small, dressed in green and have webbed feet. Their webbed feet may be the reason they are also sometimes called the ''cannard noz'' (meaning "night ducks") in Breton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Folklore
Welsh folklore is the collective term for the folklore of the Welsh people. It encompasses topics related to Welsh mythology, but also include the nation's folk tales, customs, and oral tradition. Welsh folklore is related to Irish folklore and Scottish folklore from its Celtic traditions as well as English folklore, but it shares most similarities with the Brythonic cultures of Brittany and Cornwall. See also *Welsh Mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ... References Further reading * Juliette M. Wood (1988). "Classifying Folk Narrative Using the Type/ Motif Method: A Case-Study on Welsh Material". In: ''Folk Life'', 27:1, pp. 95-103. DOI: 10.1179/flk.1988.27.1.95 {{Folklore-stub Welsh culture Welsh mythology Brythonic Celts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythology In France
The mythologies in present-day France encompass the mythology of the Gauls, Franks, Normans, Bretons, and other peoples living in France, those ancient stories about divine or heroic beings that these particular cultures believed to be true and that often use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. French myth has been primarily influenced by the myths and legends of the Gauls (or Celts) and the Bretons as they migrated to the French region from modern day England and Ireland. Other smaller influences on the development of French mythology came from the Franks. History of myth in France Prior to March 1790, France was divided into 34 provinces which existed independently of each other. All provinces operated under the regime of the King, but there was no national citizenship or holistic nation state. Most provinces were settled by several different racial groups. As such, most provinces developed their own unique mythological beliefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter Of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western Literary cycle, story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France, which concerned the legends of Charlemagne, and the Matter of Rome, which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology. History The three "Matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic ' ("Song of the Saxons") contains the line: The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "Matter of Rome", and the tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "Matter of France". King Arthur is the chief subject of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morvarc'h
Morvarc'h ( Breton for "sea horse") is the name of a fabulous horse of Breton legend found in two folktales reworked in the 19th and 20th centuries. Though its name appears in older sources, it was invented or reinterpreted by Charles Guyot, who named it Morvark in his version of the legend of the city of Ys in 1926. It belongs to the "Queen of the North" Malgven, who gives it to her husband King Gradlon. Endowed with the ability to gallop on the waves, Morvarc'h is described as having a black coat and as breathing flames through its nostrils. It also appears in a Breton folktale about King Marc'h of Cornouaille. In the course of a deer hunt it is killed by its own rider's arrow, which has been turned around by the spell of Dahud, the daughter of Malgven. She then puts the ears of the horse Morvarc'h on the head of King Marc'h, who seeks in vain to hide them. The legend of Morvarc'h being from Cornouaille in Brittany, it is the subject of equestrian statues in the town of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viscounty Of Léon
The Viscounty or County of Léon () was a feudal state in extreme western Brittany in the High Middle Ages. Though nominally a vassal of the sovereign duke of Brittany, Léon was functionally independent of any external controls until the viscounts came under attack by King Henry II of England. It thus became the focus of revolts and wars when Brittany was drawn into the Angevin empire. The history of Léon's early counts is obscure. The original viscounts of Léon were public officials appointed by the counts of Cornouaille, but by the mid-eleventh century they had usurped public authority in their province. Their ability to remain independent of both count and duke was likely due to their remoteness in the extremity of the Armorican peninsula. Unlike their Breton neighbours they did not participate in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.Everard, 16. Count Harvey II, however, did participate on the side of Stephen of Blois in the nineteen years of civil war in England called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgen (mythological Creature)
Morgens, morgans, or mari-morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men. Etymology The name may derive from Mori-genos or Mori-gena, meaning "sea-born. The name has also been rendered as Muri-gena or Murigen. The name may also be cognate with the Irish ''Muirgen'', an alternate name of Lí Ban, a princess who was transformed into a mermaid when her city was flooded. The Cornish term for a mermaid is usually ''Morvoren'', as in the Mermaid of Zennor. Welsh and English legend The oldest occurrence of the name is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Vita Merlini'', where the ruler of Avalon is referred to as "Morgen". As such, the origin of Morgan le Fay may be connected to these Breton myths. The medievalist Lucy Allen Paton argues against this, stating that the Welsh name Morgen was pronounced "Morien" in the twelfth century, and that aside from living on an island, Morgan le Fay was not associated with the sea until later literature. Controversial English folklorist Ruth Ton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Korrigan
In Breton folklore, a Korrigan () is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word ''korrigan'' means in Breton "small-dwarf" (''korr'' means dwarf, ''ig'' is a diminutive and the suffix ''an'' is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish word ''korrik'' which means '' gnome''. The name changes according to the place. Among the other names, there are ''korrig'', ''korred'', ''korrs'', ''kores'', ''couril'', ''crion'', ''goric'',Theresa Bane, ''Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology'', p205, 2013, McFarland & Company, ''kornandon'', ''ozigan'', ''nozigan'', ''teuz'', ''torrigan'', ''viltañs'', ''poulpikan'', ''poulpiquet'', and ''paotred ar sabad''. As fairies and dwarves The term is used variously by writers on Breton folklore. Théodore de Villemarqué in ''Barzaz Breiz'' uses the term interchangeably with "fairy" and distinguishes them from dwarves ("nains"). In contrast Walter Evans-Wentz in ''The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries'' argued that in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duchy of Brittany, duchy before being Union of Brittany and France, united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a provinces of France, province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology). It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its land area is 34,023 km2 . Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iannic-ann-ôd
In Brittany, Breton Breton mythology, folklore, Iannic-ann-ôd or Yannig an Aod (; meaning "Little John of the shore"), are said to be the lost souls of those drowning, drowned at sea and were never recovered. They are said to be heard along coastlines at night crying, "Iou! Iou!". From ''The Celtic Legend of the Beyond'': See also * La Llorona * Melusine References * ''The Celtic Legend of the Beyond'', by Anatole Le Braz, European ghosts Breton legendary creatures {{Celt-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bugul Noz
The Bugul Noz ( "Night Shepherd" or "child of the night") is a nocturnal fairy or bogeyman-like being in Breton folklore, from Morbihan, Brittany. Description Sources commonly describe it as a little man, goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ... or kobold. Émilie Carpentier described the Bugul-Noz as a little man with claws, fiery eyes, and a whistling voice, who threatened shepherds and workers who linger outside after dark. In one story, the "bugul noz" rides at night, although he turns back at the sight of crossroads to avoid the shape of the cross. If he takes a person prisoner, he will drown them as soon as the cock crows. Another source described it as an undead spirit. Anatole Le Braz, a professor of French Literature, heard of the Bugul-Noz as a tall, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
