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Changeling
A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairies. Description A changeling is typically identifiable via a number of traits; in Irish legend, a fairy child may appear sickly and will not grow in size like a normal child, and may have notable physical characteristics such as a beard or long teeth. They may also display intelligence far beyond their apparent years, as well as possess uncanny insight. A common way that a changeling could identify itself is through displaying unusual behaviour when it thinks it is alone, such as jumping about, dancing or playing an instrument – though this last example is found only within Irish and Scottish legend. "A human child might be taken due to many factors: to act as a servant, the love of a human child, or malice.Katharine Briggs, ''An Enc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in Pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans, or as spirits of nature. The label of ''fairy'' has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes. ''Fairy'' has at times been used as an adjective, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trolls
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianization of Scandinavia, Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks in Scandinavian folklore, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture. Etymology The Old Norse nouns ''troll'' and ''trǫll'' (variously meaning "fiend, demon, werewolf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridget Cleary
Bridget Cleary (née Boland; ga, Bríd Uí Chléirigh; 19 Feb 1867 – 15 March 1895) was an Irish woman who was murdered by her husband in 1895. She was either immolated or her body was set on fire immediately after her death. The husband's stated motive was his belief that she had been abducted by fairies and replaced with a changeling, which he then killed. The gruesome nature of the case prompted extensive press coverage, and the trial was closely followed by newspapers across Ireland. Early life and marriage Bridget Cleary (née Boland) was born on 19 February 1869 in Ballyvadlea, County Tipperary, Ireland. She married Michael Cleary on 6 August 1887 in the Roman Catholic church in Drangan. The couple had met earlier that month in Clonmel, where he worked as a cooper and she served as a dressmaker's apprentice. Despite their eight years of marriage, the couple had had no children by the time of Bridget's death. After the marriage, Bridget returned to her townland of Bally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aos Sí
' (; older form: ) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Celtic mythology – spelled ''sìth'' by the Scots, but pronounced the same – comparable to fairies or elves. They are said to descend from either fallen angels or the Tuatha Dé Danann, meaning the "People of Danu", depending on the Abrahamic or pagan tradition. The ''aos sí'' are said to live underground in fairy forts, across the Western sea, or in an invisible world that co-exists with the world of humans. This world is described in the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' as a parallel universe in which the ''aos sí'' walk among the living. In modern Irish the people of the mounds are also called ''daoine sí''; in Scottish Gaelic they are called ''daoine sìth'' (in both cases, it means "people of the fairy mound"). They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. Evans Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe Humanitie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf (Germanic Mythology)
A dwarf () is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore, including mythology. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history however they are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs, although they are described as having sisters and daughters, while both male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short, however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor of relevance to their roles in the earliest sources. Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture such as in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves. Etymology The modern English noun ''dwarf'' descends from ang, dweorg. It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including non, dvergr and goh, tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Spirit
A water spirit is a kind of supernatural being found in the folklore of many cultures: African Some water spirits in traditional African religion include: * Mami Wata is a transcultural pantheon of water spirits and deities of the African diaspora. For the many names associated with Mami Wata spirits and goddess, see Names of Mami Wata., p. 1. * Owu Mmiri of some riverine people of Nigeria are often described as mermaid-like spirit of water. * A jengu (plural miengu) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawa ethnic groups of Cameroon, particularly the Duala, Bakweri, and related Sawa peoples. Among the Bakweri, the name is liengu (plural: maengu). * A simbi is a mermaid-like or reptilian spirits from Kongo tribe and related to Vaudou religion. Celtic In Celtic mythology: * An Each uisge is a particularly dangerous "water horse" supposed to be found in Scotland; its Irish counterpart is the Aughisky. * The Gwragedd Annwn are female Welsh lake fairies of gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roggenmuhme
''Feldgeister'' ("field spirits"; singular: ''Feldgeist'') or ''Korndämonen'' ("corn demons"; singular: ''Korndämon'') are corn spirits from German folklore. ''Feldgeister'' often are also wind spiritsWolfgang Golther, ''Germanische Mythologie'', p. 200. causing lightning and rain.Wilhelm Mannhardt, ''Die Korndämonen: Beitrag zur germanischen Sittenkunde'', p. 1. Numerous ''Feldgeister'' are known in German folklore, some shaped as animals, some in human form. The last grain heads and tree fruits are often left at their place as a sacrifice for the agricultural spirits. During harvest season ''Feldgeister'' flee deeper into the fields to escape the mowers. With the last cornstalks the corn spirit becomes trapped. Either it is killed by cutting the grain heads, threshing the corn or it is brought to the village in a ceremonial manner, shaped as a corn doll.Golther, ''Germanische Mythologie'', pp. 200f. Direct contact to the ''Feldgeist'' causes illness.Mannhardt, ''Die Korn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liminality
In anthropology, liminality () is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the rite is complete. During a rite's liminal stage, participants "stand at the threshold" between their previous way of structuring their identity, time, or community, and a new way (which completing the rite establishes). The concept of liminality was first developed in the early twentieth century by folklorist Arnold van Gennep and later taken up by Victor Turner. More recently, usage of the term has broadened to describe political and cultural change as well as rites. During liminal periods of all kinds, social hierarchies may be reversed or temporarily dissolved, continuity of tradition may become uncertain, and future outcomes once taken for granted may be thrown into doubt. The dissolution of order during liminality cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Füssli - Der Wechselbalg - 1780
Füssli is a Swiss-German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), Swiss-born British painter * Johann Caspar Füssli (1706–1782), Swiss portrait painter * Johann Kaspar Füssli (1743–1786), Swiss entomologist See also * Orell Füssli Orell Füssli is a Swiss printing and bookselling company, established by Christoph Froschauer in 1519 as a book printer and publisher. It is currently operating in many print-related segments, such as security printing, bookselling and publishing ..., Swiss bookshop and publisher {{DEFAULTSORT:Fussli Swiss-German surnames ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God, 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a ''fallen angel''), and 4) a symbol of human evil. Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil.Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press 1987 , pp. 41–75 The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature developing independently within each of the traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names— Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Iblis—and at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); the remaining three are in the Republic of Ireland. It is the second-largest (after Munster) and second-most populous (after Leinster) of Ireland's four traditional provinces, with Belfast being its biggest city. Unlike the other provinces, Ulster has a high percentage of Protestants, making up almost half of its population. English is the main language and Ulster English the main dialect. A minority also speak Irish, and there are Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking regions) in southern County Londonderry, the Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast, and in County Donegal; collectively, these three regions are home to a quarter of the total Gaeltacht population of Ireland. Ulster-Scots is also spoken. Lough Neagh, in the east, is the largest lake i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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