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Scholomance
The Scholomance ( ro, Șolomanță, italic=no , Solomonărie ) was a fabled school of black magic in Romania, especially in the region of Transylvania. It was run by the Devil, according to folkloric accounts. The school enrolled about ten students to become the ''Solomonari''. Courses taught included the speech of animals and magic spells. One of the graduates was chosen by the Devil to be the Weathermaker and tasked with riding a dragon to control the weather. The school lay underground, and the students remained unexposed to sunlight for the seven-year duration of their study. The dragon (''zmeu'' or ''balaur'') was kept submerged in a mountaintop lake, south of Sibiu, according to some accounts. Folklore An early source on the Scholomance and Dracula folklore was the article "Transylvanian Superstitions" (1885), written by Scottish expatriate Emily Gerard. It has been established for certain this article was an important source that Bram Stoker consulted for his novel, ''Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solomonari
The Solomonar or Șolomonar (German phonetization: ''Scholomonar'') is a wizard believed in Romanian folklore to ride a dragon (zmeu or a balaur) and control the weather, causing rain, thunder, or hailstorm. They are recruited from common folk and taught their magic at the Solomonărie or Şolomanţă (German phonetization: Scholomance). General description The Solomonars are said to be tall, red-haired, wearing long white robes of peasants, sometimes woolen, or clad in ragged attire made from patches, a small version of a Semantron, which serves to summon the Vântoase (alternatively the winds are contained in a little wooden jar). When not helping the Devil, they are most often seen around begging for alms, and the collected coins are then thrown into rivers, as offerings to the water spirits. The contents of their magic bag are instruments such as an iron ax used as lightning rod (also as a wand to summon them or his mount), birchbark reins or a golden bridle, and a book of w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaur
A balaur ( pl. ''balauri'') in Romanian folklore is a type of many-headed dragon or monstrous serpent, sometimes said to be equipped with wings. The number of heads is usually around three, but they can also have seven heads or even twelve heads according to some legends. The balaur in folktale is typically evil, demanding or abducting young maidens or the princess, and defeated by the hero such as Saint George or the fair youth Făt-Frumos. There is some lore in which the balaur is considered weather-making, and living in an airborne state, but these types of balaur are sometimes interchangeably called ''hala'' or ''ala'', being confounded with the pan-Slavic air and water demon. The balaur (instead of the zmeu) is the vehicle of the weather-controlling Solomonari according to some sources. There are also legends about the balaur in which they can produce precious stones from their saliva. Also, it is said that whoever manages to slay it will be forgiven a sin. General des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nosferatu (word)
The name "Nosferatu" has been presented as an archaic Romanian word, synonymous with "vampire". However, it was largely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Western fiction such as ''Dracula'' (1897), and the film ''Nosferatu'' (1922). One of the suggested etymologies of the term is that it is derived from the Romanian ''Nesuferit'' ("offensive" or "troublesome"). Origins of the word The etymology of the word ''nosferatu'' is undetermined. There is no doubt that it achieved currency through Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula'' and its unauthorised cinematic adaptation, ''Nosferatu'' (1922). Stoker identified his source for the term as 19th-century British author and speaker Emily Gerard. It is commonly thought that Gerard introduced the word into print in an 1885 magazine article, "Transylvanian Superstitions", and in her travelogue ''The Land Beyond the Forest'' ("Transylvania" is Latin for "beyond the forest", literally "across/through the forest"). She merel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456. During his period of scholarship, A. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of black magic practices, rituals and traditions in ''The Book of Ceremonial Magic'' (1911). It is also sometimes referred to as the "left-hand path". In modern times, some find that the definition of black magic has been convoluted by people who define magic or ritualistic practices that they disapprove of as black magic. The seven ''Artes prohibitae'' of black magic The seven ''artes prohibitae'' or ''artes magicae'', arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456, their sevenfold partition reflecting that of the artes liberales and artes mechanicae, were: #necromancy #geomancy #hydromancy #aeromancy #pyromancy #chiromancy #scap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simion Florea Marian
Simion Florea Marian (1847–1907) was an Austro-Hungarian folklorist and ethnographer of Romanian ethnicity. He was elected a titular member of the Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ... in 1881. at the Romanian Academy site Notes External links {{DEFAULTSORT:Marian, Simion Florea 1847 births 1907 deaths[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bâlea Lake
Bâlea Lake ( ro, Lacul Bâlea or ''Bâlea Lac'', ; hu, Bilea-tó) is a glacier lake situated at 2,034 m of altitude in the Făgăraș Mountains, in central Romania, in Cârțișoara, Sibiu County. There are two chalets opened all the year round, a meteorological station and a mountain rescue ( Salvamont) station. It is accessible by car on the Transfăgărășan road during the summer, and the rest of the year by a cable car from the "Bâlea Cascadă" chalet. On 17 April 1977. an avalanche killed 23 skiers gathered near the lake; 19 of those were high school students from the Samuel von Brukenthal National College in Sibiu. This was the deadliest avalanche ever in Romania, with the 42nd highest death toll in the world. In 2006, the first ice hotel An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. Ice hotels, dependent on sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow and typically have to be rebuilt every year. Ice hotels exist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches from the far eastern Czech Republic (3%) and Austria (1%) in the northwest through Slovakia (21%), Poland (10%), Ukraine (10%), Romania (50%) to Serbia (5%) in the south. "The Carpathians" European Travel Commission, in The Official Travel Portal of Europe, Retrieved 15 November 2016 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ármin Vámbéry
Ármin Vámbéry (born Hermann Wamberger; 19 March 183215 September 1913), also known as Arminius Vámbéry, was a Hungarian Turkologist and traveller. Early life Vámbéry was born in Szent-György, Kingdom of Hungary (now Svätý Jur, Slovakia), into a poor Jewish family. According to Ernst Pawel, a biographer of Theodor Herzl, as well as Tom Reiss, a biographer of Kurban Said, Vámbéry's original last name was ''Wamberger'' rather than Bamberger. He was raised Jewish, but later became an atheist. Vámbéry was 1 year old when his father died and the family moved to Dunaszerdahely (now Dunajská Streda in Slovakia). In his autobiography, Vámbéry says that his parents were so poor and had so many children that they were forced to stop supporting each child at a young age. He was set "adrift" at the age of 12. Vámbéry says that the constant hunger and scanty clothing of his childhood hardened his young body, which served him well in his later travels. He walked with a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosemary Guiley
Rosemary Ellen Guiley (July 8, 1950 - July 18, 2019) was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of Mysteries and Research" and the "Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters", and a "Lifetime Achievement Award" winner from the Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society, Michigan. She has written more than 49 books, including ten encyclopedias. Guiley died suddenly on Thursday, July 18, 2019. Works Her works include ''Atlas of the Mysterious in North America'' (1995) – a listing of places in Canada and the US associated with mysterious occurrences; ''The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft''; ''Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience'' – a reference book on topics related to spirituality, mythology and New Age; and ''The Encyclopedia of Angels''. In 2011, Guiley published ''Talking to the Dead'' vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology. In the process of language formation, neologisms are more mature than '' protologisms''. A word whose development stage is between that of the protologism (freshly coined) and neologism (new word) is a ''prelogism''. Popular examples of neologisms can be found in science, fiction (notably science fiction), films and television, branding, literature, jargon, cant, linguistics, the visual arts, and popular culture. Former examples include ''laser'' (1960) from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation; ''robot'' (1941) from Czech writer Karel Čapek's play ''R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)''; and ''agitprop'' (1930) (a portmanteau of " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Miller (academic)
Elizabeth Russell Miller (February 26, 1939 – January 2, 2022) was a Professor Emerita at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She resided in Toronto. In her early academic career, she focused on Newfoundland literature, primarily the life and work of her father, well-known Newfoundland author and humorist Ted Russell (Canadian politician), Ted Russell. Since 1990, her major field of research has been Bram Stoker's novel ''Dracula'', its author, sources and influence. She has published several books on the subject, including ''Reflections on Dracula'', ''Dracula: Sense & Nonsense'', a volume on Dracula for the ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' and, most recently, ''Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition'' with Robert Eighteen-Bisang. She founded the Dracula Research Centre (now offline) and was the founding editor of the ''Journal of Dracula Studies'' now at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Honours and awards Literary awards * Lord Ruthven Award: Dracula: Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
