HOME
*





Half-elf (Dungeons
A half-elf is a mythological or fictional being, the offspring of an immortal elf and a mortal human. They are often depicted as very beautiful and endowed with magical powers; they may be presented as torn between the two worlds that they inhabit. Half-elves became known in modern times mainly through J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings but have origins in Norse mythology. A half-elf appeared in Lord Dunsany's 1924 book ''The King of Elfland's Daughter''. In Middle-earth, half-elves are the children of Elves and Men, and can choose either Elvish immortality or the mortal life of Men. The elf-maidens Lúthien and Arwen in Tolkien's works both chose mortality to be with the Men that they loved. Scholars have noted that this enabled Tolkien to explore several key themes, including love and death, time and immortality. As a Catholic, he believed that Men, freely choosing to let go, gain release from the world's limitations; whereas if they tried to hold on to life and materi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is the human-inhabited world, that is, the central continent of the Earth, in Tolkien's imagined mythological past. Tolkien's most widely read works, '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', are set entirely in Middle-earth. "Middle-earth" has also become a short-hand term for Tolkien's legendarium, his large body of fantasy writings, and for the entirety of his fictional world. Middle-earth is the main continent of Earth (Arda) in an imaginary period of the Earth's past, ending with Tolkien's Third Age, about 6,000 years ago. Tolkien's tales of Middle-earth mostly focus on the north-west of the continent. This part of Middle-earth is suggestive of Europe, the north-west of the Old World, with the environs of the Shire reminiscen ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hagen (legend)
Hagen (German form) or Högni (''Old Norse'' Hǫgni, often anglicized as Hogni, ''Old English'' Hagena, ''Latin'' Hagano) is a Burgundian warrior in Germanic heroic legend about the Burgundian kingdom at Worms. Hagen is often identified as a brother or half-brother of King Gunther (Old Norse ''Gunnarr''). In the ''Nibelungenlied'' he is nicknamed "from Tronje". Etymology of the epithet "Tronje" Of the main manuscripts of the ''Nibelungenlied'', the chief representatives of versions B and C use the spelling "Tronege": "from Tronege Hagene", "Hagen of Tronege", "geborn of Tronege", "helt of Tronege". The A version usually writes "Trony" (also "Troni" and "Tronie"). "Tronje" is the appropriate modern German form. In the B and C versions, the name is in the dative case, with the nominative being "Troneg"; "Tronje", although common, is therefore a mistake. All attempts to interpret Hagen's name or home are highly speculative. Although the ''Nibelungenlied'' has a historic cente ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Peter Knight (folk Musician)
Peter Knight (born 27 May 1947) is a folk musician, a former member of British folk rock group Steeleye Span. Born in London, Knight learnt to play the violin and mandolin as a child before going to the Royal Academy of Music from 1960 to 1964. The recordings of the Irish fiddler Michael Coleman inspired him to take part in Irish pub sessions. He teamed up with guitarist and singer Bob Johnson until 1970 when he joined Steeleye Span. The parting was short-lived, as Johnson himself also joined Steeleye Span in 1972. Since 2016, he has performed as a duo with Bellowhead founder and melodeon player, John Spiers. Steeleye Span Knight's classical roots were well hidden until he recorded "A Canon by Telemann" on the album ''Back In Line'', multi-tracking with himself on this tricky baroque piece. In the mid-70s he was once secretly a member of The Wombles and appeared on ''Top of The Pops'' as Uncle Bulgaria, with Rick Kemp and Bob Johnson also in Womble suits. He left Steeleye S ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Bob Johnson (musician)
Robert Johnson (born 18 March 1944) is a British guitarist. He was formerly in British folk rock band Steeleye Span from 1972 to 1977, and again from 1980 to 2001. Early life Johnson was born in London; his mother was a music teacher. He was educated at Westminster City School in London and the University of Hertfordshire. Musical career Johnson played acoustic and electric guitars and sang on Appalachian dulcimer player Roger Nicholson's 1972 album ''Nonesuch for Dulcimer'', credited as Robert Johnson. He went on to become a member of the successful English electric folk band Steeleye Span in 1972, after being introduced by fiddler Peter Knight. Johnson first appeared on the group's fourth album, ''Below the Salt'', where he took lead vocals on the track "King Henry". Along with "King Henry", he introduced many of the band's better-known songs into the repertoire, such as "Thomas the Rhymer", "Alison Gross", "Long Lankin" and " Gaudete".
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and were commercially successful in that period, with four Top 40 albums and two hit singles: "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat (song), All Around My Hat". Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes; Maddy Prior being the only remaining original member of the band. Their musical repertoire consists of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reel (dance), reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions. History Early years Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Folk Rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers such as Bob Dylan and the Byrds—several of whose members had earlier played in folk ensembles—attempted to blend the sounds of rock with their pre-existing folk repertoire, adopting the use of electric instrumentation and drums in a way previously discouraged in the U.S. folk community. The term "folk rock" was initially used in the U.S. music press in June 1965 to describe the Byrds' music. The commercial success of the Byrds' cover version of Dylan's " Mr. Tambourine Man" and their debut album of the same name, along with Dylan's own recordings with rock instrumentation—on the albums '' Bringing It All Back Home'' (1965), ''Highway 61 Revisited'' (1965), and ''Blonde on Blonde'' (1966)—encouraged other folk acts, such as Simon ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Wildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limited editions, its focus has broadened since then, both in content and format. Its website notes publication of works of mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction, as well as downloadable audiobooks and CDs, eBooks, magazines, and physical books. Wildside Press has published approximately 10,000 books through print on demand and traditional means. Writers The company has published work by a number of contemporary writers, including Lloyd Biggle Jr., Alan Dean Foster, Paul Di Filippo, Esther Friesner, S. T. Joshi, Ionuț Caragea, Paul Levinson, David Langford, Nick Mamatas, Brian McNaughton, Vera Nazarian, Paul Park, Tim Pratt, Stephen Mark Rainey, Alan Rodgers, Darrell Schweitzer, Lawrence Watt-Eva ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Edda
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems without an original title now known as the ''Poetic Edda''. The term historically referred only to the ''Prose Edda'', but this has fallen out of use because of the confusion with the other work. Both works were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age. The books are the main sources of medieval skaldic tradition in Iceland and Norse mythology. Etymology At least five hypotheses have been suggested for the origins of the word ''edda'': * One hypothesis holds that it is identical to a word that means "great-grandmother" appearing in the Eddic poem ''Rígsþula.'' * Another hypothesis holds that ''edda'' derives from Old Nors ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104).). When the are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. Valkyries are attested in the '' Poetic Edda'' (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the ''Prose Edda'', the (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, and in various runic inscriptions. The Old English cognate term appears in several ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Draugr
The draugr or draug ( non, draugr, plural ; modern is, draugur, fo, dreygur and Danish, Swedish, and no, draug) is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktale. Commentators extend the term ''draugr'' to the undead in medieval literature, even if it is never explicitly referred to as such in the text, and designated them rather as a ("barrow-dweller") or an , literally "again-walker" ( is, afturganga). Overview Draugar live in their graves or royal palaces, often guarding treasure buried with them in their burial mound. They are revenants, or animated corpses with a corporeal body, rather than ghosts which possess intangible spiritual bodies. Terminology Old Norse ' is defined as "a ghost, spirit, esp. the dead inhabitant of a cairn".Cleasby; Vigfusson edd. (1974) ''An Icelandic-English dictionary''. s. vdraugr/ref> Often the ''draugr'' is regarded not so much as a ghost but a revenant, i.e., the reanimated of the deceased inside the burial m ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bödvar Bjarki
Bödvar Bjarki ( non, Bǫðvarr Bjarki ), meaning 'Warlike Little-Bear', is the hero appearing in tales of Hrólfr Kraki in the '' Hrólfs saga kraka'', in the Latin epitome to the lost '' Skjöldunga saga'', and as ''Biarco'' in Saxo Grammaticus' '' Gesta Danorum''. Legend Bjarki's father, Björn (which means "bear"), was the son of Hring, a King in Norway. After Björn's mother died, Hring married a much younger Sámi woman called Hvit. Björn became a tall, strong young man, and he and a young woman named Bera were in love. At a time when Hring was away, Hvit tried to seduce Björn, but he rejected her. She cast a spell that made him a bear by day and a man only by night. He fled to the area near Bera's father's farm, where he lived by killing livestock. He brought Bera to live with him. Urged by Hvit, the king took his hunters to kill the bear. Björn foresaw his death and told Bera that she was pregnant, telling her what to do after his death. The hunters killed him, and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]