German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Partially it can be also found in Austria. Characteristics It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to th ...

, a drude (german: Drude, pl. ''Druden'') is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit (an elf ( Alp) or

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including " goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in G ...

or a

hag HAG is a Swiss maker of model trains. The company was founded by Hugo and Alwin Gahler on 1 April 1944 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Gahler brothers originally manufactured model trains in O scale but due to competition, particularly by Mär ...

) associated with

nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of ...

s, prevalent especially in

Southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...

. Druden were said to participate in the

Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...

and were considered a particular class of demon in Alfonso de Spina's

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

. The word also came to be used as a generic term for "

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

" in the 16th century ( Hans Sachs). The word is attested as

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

''trute'', In early modern lexicography and down to the 19th century, it was popularly associated with the word ''

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

'', without any etymological justification. Its actual origin is unknown.

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...

suggests derivation from a euphemistic ''trût'' (modern ''traut'') "dear, beloved; intimate", but cites as an alternative suggestion a relation to the

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: ...

's name

Þrúðr (Old Norse: , "strength"),Lindow (2001:291). sometimes anglicized as Thrúd or Thrud, is a daughter of the major god Thor and the goddess Sif in Norse mythology. Þrúðr is also the name of one of the valkyries who serve ale to the einherjar ...

. If so it is natural to connect the ''druden'' with the daughter of the chieftain of the gods in the Norse religion,

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

, and his wife

Sif In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...

The ''Drudenfuss'' (or ''Drudenfuß''), literally "drude's foot" (also ''Alpfuss''), is the

pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...

symbol (in early usage also either a pentagram or a

hexagram , can be seen as a compound composed of an upwards (blue here) and downwards (pink) facing equilateral triangle, with their intersection as a regular hexagon (in green). A hexagram ( Greek language, Greek) or sexagram ( Latin) is a six-pointe ...

), believed to ward off demons, explicitly so named in

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

(1808). The word has been in use since at least the 17th century, recorded by

Justus Georg Schottelius Justus Georg Schottelius (Latinized ''Justus-Georgius Schottelius''; born 23 June 1612 in Einbeck, died 25 October 1676 in Wolfenbüttel) was a leading figure of the German Baroque, best known for his publications on German grammar, language theor ...

(as ''drutenfusz'', glossed ''omnis incolumitatis signum ''). Its apotropaic use is well recorded for 18th- to 19th-century folk belief in Bavaria and Tyrol. ''Drudenfuss'' is also the German name of the pentagram used as a heraldic device (alternatively ''Drudenkreuz'' "drude's cross" and ''Alpfuß, Alfenfuß'' "elf-foot" or ''Alpkreuz'' "elf-cross") besides the more descriptive ''Pentalpha'' or ''Fünfstern''. A ''Drudenstein'' is a pebble with a naturally formed hole in the center. In Bavaria, such pebbles were hung in rooms, on cradles or in stables to ward off nightmares, or to protect horses against matted manes or tails. ''Drudenfuss'' is another name for

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

References

{{Witchcraft German legendary creatures Demons Death deities Witchcraft in folklore and mythology Witchcraft in Germany Elves Kobolds Hags

See also

References