|
Zmeu
The ''Zmeu'' (plural: ''zmei'', feminine: ''zmeoaică'' / ''zmeoaice'') is a fantastic creature of Romanian folklore and Romanian mythology. Though referred by some sources as a dragon, the zmeu is nevertheless distinct, because it usually has clear anthropomorphic traits: it is humanoid and has legs, arms, the ability to create and use artifacts such as weapons, and to ride a horse, and has the desire to marry young girls. There are commentators that class it as a giant (equivalent of an ogre), or a devil, or even a vampire. In some stories, Zmeu appears in the sky and spits fire, or has the ability to change form. In other stories, it has a magical precious stone on its head that shines like the sun. It likes beautiful young girls, whom it kidnaps, usually for the purpose of marrying them. It is almost always defeated by a daring prince or knight-errant. The zmei has also been conflated with or confused with the ''dracu'' or with the '' balaur'' type dragon. Etymology Mo ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solomonar
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] |
Zmey
A Slavic dragon is any dragon in Slavic mythology, including the Russian '' zmei'' (or ''zmey''; ), Ukrainian ''zmiy'' (), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures: the Bulgarian ''zmey'' (), the Slovak ''drak'' and ''šarkan'', Czech ''drak'', Polish , the Serbo-Croatian ''zmaj'' (), the Macedonian ''zmej'' (змеј) and the Slovene ''zmaj''. The Romanian ''zmeu'' is also a Slavic dragon, but a non-cognate etymology has been proposed. A ''zmei'' may be beast-like or human-like, sometimes wooing women, but often plays the role of chief antagonist in Russian literature. In the Balkans, the ''zmei'' type is overall regarded as benevolent, as opposed to malevolent dragons known variously as '', '' ala'' or ''hala'', or ''aždaja''. The Polish ''smok'' (e.g. Wawel Dragon of Kraków) or the Ukrainian or Belarusian ''smok'' (смок), ''tsmok'' (цмок), can also be included. In some Slavic traditions ''smok'' is an ordinary snake which may turn into a dragon with age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Făt-Frumos
Făt-Frumos (from Romanian ''făt'': son, infant; ''frumos'': handsome) is a knight hero in Romanian folklore, usually present in fairy tales. Akin to Prince Charming, he possesses such essential attributes as courage, purity, justness, physical and spiritual strength, cleverness, passion, and unshakable love. Făt-Frumos also displays some minimal abilities in performing miracles, as well as total commitment to a task once his word is given and to the monarch he serves. In some tales, he is so precocious as to be able to weep before he is born. Făt-Frumos is usually the youngest son of a king. In the Romanian folk stories it is common that all the sons of a king try to defeat the ''Zmeu'' or the ''Balaur'', the older sons failing before the younger one succeeds. Făt-Frumos has to go through tests and obstacles that surpass ordinary men's power. With dignity, he always brings these to a positive resolution. He fights demonic monsters and malevolent characters (''zmeu'', ''b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Apple
The golden apple is an element that appears in various national and ethnic folk legends or fairy tales. Recurring themes depict a hero (for example Hercules or Făt-Frumos) retrieving the golden apples hidden or stolen by a monstrous antagonist. Gold apples also appear on the Silver Branch of the Otherworld in Irish mythology. Greek mythology Golden apples appear in three Greek myths: Atalanta and Melanion A huntress named Atalanta who raced against a suitor named Melanion, also known as Hippomenes. Melanion used golden apples to distract Atalanta so that he could win the race. Though abandoned by her father as an infant, Atalanta became a skilled hunter and received acclaim for her role in the hunt for the Calydonian boar. Her father claimed her as his daughter and wished to marry her off. However, Atalanta was reluctant to marry due to a prophecy that marriage would be her downfall. Because of her beauty, she gained a number of suitors and finally agreed to marry, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greuceanu
Greuceanu is a hero of the Romanian folklore. It is a brave young man who finds that the Sun and the Moon have been stolen by '' zmei''. After a long fight with the three ''zmei'' and their wives ''( zmeoaice)'', Greuceanu sets the Sun and the Moon free so the people on Earth have light again. "Greuceanu" is also the title of a fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in ''Legende sau basmele românilor''. Summary In the kingdom of the Red Emperor ("împăratului Roșu"), an ogre has stolen the sun and the moon from the sky, and the Red Emperor promises to give his daughter's hand in marriage and half of his kingdom to anyone brave enough to get them back. A youth named Greuceanu decides to take up on the offer. On his way to the castle, he meets two deserters who are to be beheaded on the king's orders, but Greuceanu thinks he may dissuade the king of his decision and offer them a pardon. The emperor agrees. Greuceanu takes his brother and visits Faur, the "world's greatest smit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadia Bulighin - Scenă De Basm 1927, 1
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Ukrainian ''Nadiya'' (Надія, accent on the ''i''), Belarusian ''Nadzieja'' (Надзея, accent on the ''e''), and Old Polish ''Nadzieja'', all of which are derived from Proto-Slavic ''*naděja'', the first three from Old East Slavic. In Bulgarian and Russian, on the other hand, Nadia or Nadya (Надя, accent on first syllable) is the diminutive form of the full name Nadyezhda (Надежда), meaning "hope" and derived from Old Church Slavonic, which it entered as a translation of the Greek word ''ἐλπίς'' ( Elpis), with the same meaning. In Arabic, the name is ''Nadiyyah'', meaning "tender" and "delicate." In the Dan language, the word ''Nãdienã'' simply means "girl". Notable people with the name Nadia include: Peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strigoi
Strigoi in Romanian mythology are troubled spirits that are said to have risen from the grave. They are attributed with the abilities to transform into an animal, become invisible, and to gain vitality from the blood of their victims. Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' has become the modern interpretation of the Strigoi through their historic links with vampirism. The most recent modern day depiction of a strigoi is from the FX’s series The Strain. Etymology Strigoi is a Romanian word that originated from a root related to the Latin terms '' strix'' or '' striga'' with the addition of the augmentative suffix "-oi" (feminine "-oaie"). Otila Hedeşan notes that the same augmentative suffix appears in the related terms ''moroi'' and ''bosorcoi'' and considers this parallel derivation to indicate membership in the same "mythological micro-system." The "-oi" suffix notably converts feminine terms to the masculine gender as well as often investing it with a complex mixture of augmentatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nine Peahens And The Golden Apples
"The Nine Peahens and the Golden Apples" (''Zlatna jabuka i devet paunica'') is a work of Serbian epic poetry. It is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 400*, "The Swan Maiden", and ATU 400, "The Quest for the Lost Wife". It was published for the first time as a fairy tale by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in 1853, translated into English as "The Golden Apple-tree, and the Nine Peahens" (1874) by Elodie Lawton Mijatović, and under a similar title by Woislav M. Petrovitch (1914). Later on it was published in 1890 as a Bulgarian fairy tale translated as "The Golden Apples and the Nine Peahens" by A. H. Wratislaw in his ''Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources'', as tale number 38. American illustrator and poet Katherine Pyle translated the tale as "The Seven Golden Peahens", while keeping its source as Serbian. Parker Fillmore translated the tale as ''The Enchanted Peafowl'' and indicated its source as Yugoslavian. Anthropologist Andrew Lang in ''The Violet Fairy Book' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understood and difficult to trace back earlier than the 4th century AD, but it is possibly derived from the Proto-Turkic word ''*bulģha'' ("to mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative ''*bulgak'' ("revolt", "disorder"). Alternative etymologies include derivation from a compound of Proto-Turkic (Oghuric languages, Oghuric) ''*bel'' ("five") and ''*gur'' ("arrow" in the sense of "Turkic tribal confederations, tribe"), a proposed division within the Utigurs or Onogurs ("ten tribes"). Citizenship According to the Art.25 (1) of Constitution of Bulgaria, a Bulgarian citizen shall be anyone born to at least one parent holding a Bulgarian citizenship, or born on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, should they not be entitled to any oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsarevitch Ivan, The Fire Bird And The Gray Wolf
"Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" (russian: Сказка об Иване-царевиче, жар-птице и о сером волке) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Russian Fairy Tales''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/ firebird. Others of this type include "The Golden Bird", "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener", "The Bird 'Grip, " How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon", and " The Nunda, Eater of People". Synopsis A king's apple tree bore golden apples, but every night, one was stolen. Guards reported that the Firebird stole them. The king told his two oldest sons that the one who caught the bird would receive half his kingdom and be his heir. They drew lots to see who would be first, but both fell asleep; they tried to claim it had not come, but it had stolen an apple. Finally Ivan Tsarevich, the youngest son, asked to try; his father was reluctant because of his youth but consented ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 = approx. 7,500,000 (including Russian Jews and History of Germans in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union, Russian Germans) , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 7,170,000 (2018) ''including Crimea'' , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 3,512,925 (2020) , ref3 = , region4 = , pop4 = 3,072,756 (2009)(including Russian Jews and Russian Germans) , ref4 = , region5 = , pop5 = 1,800,000 (2010)(Russian ancestry and Russian Germans and Jews) , ref5 = 35,000 (2018)(born in Russia) , region6 = , pop6 = 938,500 (2011)(including Russian Jews) , ref6 = , region7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
