Klabautermann A Klabautermann on a ship, from Buch Zur See, 1885. A Klabautermann is a water kobold (or nix) who assists sailors and fishermen on the Baltic and North Sea in their duties. He is a merry and diligent creature, with an expert understanding of most watercraft, and an unsupressable musical talent. His image is of a small sailor in yellow with a tobacco pipe and woollen sailor's cap, often wearing a caulking hammer. Despite the positive attributes, there is one omen associated with his presence: no member of a ship blessed by his presence shall ever set eyes on him. More recently, the Klabautermann is sometimes described as having more sinister attributes, and blamed for things that go wrong on the ship. Klabautermann in fiction[edit] References[edit] Melville, F The Book of Faeries 2002 Quarto Publishing Jump up ^ Leander Petzoldt, Kleines Lexikon der Dämonen und Elementargeister, Becksche Reihe, 1990, p. 109.
Gargoyle Gargoyles of Notre-Dame de Paris Etymology[edit] The term originates from the French gargouille, which in English is likely to mean "throat" or is otherwise known as the "gullet";[2] cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, gargula ("gullet" or "throat") and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Portuguese garganta, "throat"; gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle Legend of La Gargouille[edit] A French legend that sprang up around the name of St. History[edit] Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimeras. Both ornamented and unornamented water spouts projecting from roofs at parapet level were a common device used to shed rainwater from buildings until the early eighteenth century. Gargoyles and the Catholic Church[edit] Gargoyle representing a comical demon at the base of a pinnacle with two smaller gargoyles, Visby, Sweden Animal gargoyles[edit] Gallery[edit] Notes
Basilisk Accounts[edit] The basilisk is called "king" because it is reputed to have on its head a mitre- or crown-shaped crest. Stories of the basilisk show that it is not completely distinguished from the cockatrice. "There is the same power also in the serpent called the basilisk. Isidore of Seville defined the basilisk as the king of snakes, due to its killing glare and its poisonous breath. Theophilus Presbyter gives a long recipe in his book for creating a basilisk to convert copper into "Spanish gold" (De auro hyspanico). Albertus Magnus in the De animalibus wrote about the killing gaze of the basilisk, but he denied other legends, such as the rooster hatching the egg. Geoffrey Chaucer featured a basilicok (as he called it) in his Canterbury Tales. Stories gradually added to the basilisk's deadly capabilities, such as describing it as a larger beast, capable of breathing fire and killing with the sound of its voice. Origin[edit] Literary references[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Norse funeral Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age North Germanic Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Throughout Scandinavia, there are many remaining tumuli in honour of Viking kings and chieftains, in addition to runestones and other memorials. Some of the most notable of them are at the Borre mound cemetery, in Norway, at Birka in Sweden and Lindholm Høje and Jelling in Denmark. A prominent tradition is that of the ship burial, where the deceased was laid in a boat, or a stone ship, and given grave offerings in accordance with his earthly status and profession, sometimes including sacrificed slaves. Afterwards, piles of stone and soil were usually laid on top of the remains in order to create a tumulus. Grave goods[edit] It was common to leave gifts with the deceased. Funerary monuments[edit] Rituals[edit] Human sacrifice[edit]
Death in Norse paganism The soul[edit] Funeral[edit] The grave goods had to be subjected to the same treatment as the body, if it was to accompany the dead person to the afterlife. It was common to burn the corpse and the grave offerings on a pyre, in which the temperature reached 1,400 degrees Celsius; much higher than modern crematorium furnaces attain. On the seventh day after the person had died, people celebrated the sjaund, or the funeral ale that the feast also was called since it involved a ritual drinking. Ancestor worship[edit] The grave is often described as an abode for the dead, and it was also the location of cultic rites. Afterlife[edit] Helgafjell[edit] Helgafjell, the "holy mountain" was one idea of the afterlife which appears in West Norse sources. Hel[edit] Valhalla[edit] Valhalla is an afterlife destination where half of those who die in battle gather as einherjar, a retinue gathered for one sole purpose: to remain fit for battle in preparation for the last great battle, Ragnarök. Fólkvangr[edit]
Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian and Islamic mythology, as well as world culture in general. Christian mythology directly inherited many of the narratives from the Jewish people, sharing in common the narratives from the Old Testament. Islamic mythology also shares many of the same stories; for instance, a creation account spaced out over six periods, the legend of Abraham, the stories of Moses and the Israelites, and many more. Tanakh[edit] Jewish mythology contains similarities to the myths of other Middle Eastern cultures. The Biblical prophets, including Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, had a concept of the divine that differed significantly from that of the nature religions. "the sun, moon, stars, sky and earth are not gods in their own right, hostile to Yahweh. Zoroastrian influence[edit] R. Linear history[edit] Genesis creation narrative[edit]
Zombie Zombies have a complex literary heritage, with antecedents ranging from Richard Matheson and H. P. Lovecraft to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein drawing on European folklore of the undead. George A. Romero's reinvention of the monster for his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead led to several zombie films in the 1980s and a resurgence of popularity in the 2000s. The "zombie apocalypse" concept, in which the civilized world is brought low by a global zombie infestation, became a staple of modern popular art. The English word "zombie" is first recorded in 1819, in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert Southey, in the form of "zombi".[3] The Oxford English Dictionary gives the origin of the word as West African, and compares it to the Kongo words nzambi (god) and zumbi (fetish). Folk beliefs[edit] Haitian tradition[edit] It has been suggested that the two types of zombie reflect soul dualism, a belief of Haitian Vodou. African and related legends[edit] Evolution of the zombie archetype[edit]
Anchimayen The Anchimayen (in the mapudungun language, also spelled "Anchimallén" or "Anchimalguén" in Spanish) is a mythical creature in Mapuche mythology. Anchimayens are described as little creatures that take the form of small children, and can transform into fireball flying spheres that emit bright light. They are the servants of a kalku (a type of Mapuche sorcerer), and are created using the corpses of children. Anchimayens are sometimes confused with Kueyen (the Mapuche lunar goddess), because she also produces a bright light. See also[edit] References[edit] Louis C. Mapuche religion The mythology and religion of the indigenous Mapuche people of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina is an extensive and ancient belief system. A series of unique legends and myths are common to the various groups that make up the Mapuche people. These myths tell of the creation of the world and the various deities and spirits that reside in it. Description[edit] Legends and mythical creatures[edit] The most important myths are: See also[edit] References[edit] Juan Luis Nass.