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Căpcăun
A Căpcăun is a creature in Romanian folklore, depicted as an ogre who kidnaps children or young ladies (mostly princesses). It represents evil, as do its counterparts '' Zmeu'' and the '' Balaur''. In most Romanian publications of other European works the names of creatures such as ''Ogres'' or ''Trolls'' are usually translated as ''căpcăun''. The Romanian word appears to have meant "Dog-head" (''căp'' being a form of ''cap'', meaning "head", and ''căun'' a derivative of ''câine'', "dog"). According to Romanian folkloric phantasy, the ''căpcăun'' has a dog head, sometimes with four eyes, with eyes in the nape, or with four legs, but whose main characteristic is anthropophagy. The term ''căpcăun'' also means "Tatar chieftain" or "Turk chieftain", as well "pagan". Some linguists consider ''căpcăun'' to be an echo of a title or administrative rank, such as '' kapkan'' (also ''kavhan'', ''kaphan'', ''kapgan'') used by various Central Asian tribes who invaded Eastern E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanian Folklore
The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian communities resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. Folk creations (the best known is the ballad Miorița) were the main literary genre until the 18th century. They were both a source of inspiration for cultivated creators and a structural model. Second, for a long time learned culture was governed by official and social commands and developed around courts of princes and boyars, as well as in monasteries. Overview Creation of the world Stories suggest God made the Earth with the help of animals, while the Devil was trying to thwart his plans.Cosma, Aurel. ''Cosmogonia poporului român'' (The Cosmogony of the Romanian People) (1942). Bucharest: Tipografia Ziarului "Universul".Leeming, David Adams. ''Creati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kavhan
The ''kavkhan'' (; ) was one of the most important officials in the First Bulgarian Empire. Role and status According to the generally accepted opinion, he was the second most important person in the state after the Bulgarian ruler. He had a number of responsibilities and concentrated huge power and authority. The ''kavkhan'' was a commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian army and one of the primary diplomats in the state. He was a member of the ' Bolyar Counsel' and one of the most important advisers to the Bulgarian ruler; the ''kavkhan'' was sometimes his regent or co-ruler. The ''kavkhan'' was a high magistrate and substitute to the ruler when the latter is absent from the capital. He is also attributed to have been a judge. It is assumed that there was a prominent bolyar family in Bulgaria from which the ''kavkhan'' was chosen generation after generation - the so-called "''kavkhan'' kin". The title was therefore hereditary and for life. According to most historians the title ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ogres
An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. They appear in many classic works of literature, and are most often associated in fairy tales and legend. In mythology, ogres are often depicted as inhumanly large, tall, and having a disproportionately large head, abundant hair, unusually colored skin, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. Ogres are closely linked with giants and with human cannibals in mythology. In both folklore and fiction, giants are often given ogrish traits (such as the giants in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and " Jack the Giant Killer", the Giant Despair in ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', and the Jötunn of Norse mythology); while ogres may be given giant-like traits. Famous examples of ogres in folklore include the ogre in " Puss in Boots" and the ogre in "Hop-o'-My ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peoples, Turkic people from Central Asia who spoke the Pecheneg language. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Pechenegs controlled much of the steppes of southeast Europe and the Crimean Peninsula. In the 9th century the Pechenegs began a period of wars against Kievan Rus', and for more than two centuries launched raids into the lands of Rus', which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars. Ethnonym The Pechenegs were mentioned as ''Bjnak'', ''Bjanak'' or ''Bajanak'' in medieval Arabic language, Arabic and Persian language, Persian texts, as ''Be-ča-nag'' in Classical Tibetan documents, and as ''Pačanak-i'' in works written in Georgian language, Georgian. Anna Komnene and other Byzantine authors referred to them as ''Patzinakoi'' or ''Patzi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centuries. They became known as Eurasian nomads, nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region, but some researchers trace Bulgar ethnic roots to Central Asia. During their westward migration across the Eurasian Steppe, the Bulgar tribes absorbed other tribal groups and cultural influences in a process of ethnogenesis, including Iranian peoples, Iranic, Finno-Ugric peoples, Finno-Ugric, and Huns, Hunnic tribes. The Bulgars spoke a Turkic languages, Turkic language, the Bulgar language of the Oghur languages, Oghuric branch. They preserved the military titles, organization, and customs of Eurasian steppes as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deity Tengri, Tangra. The Bulgars became semi-sedentary during the 7th century in the Pontic- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pannonian Avars
The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empire, Byzantine sources, and the Apar () to the Göktürks. They established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and considerable areas of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe from the late 6th to the early 9th century. The name Pannonian Avars (after the area in which they settled) is used to distinguish them from the Avars (Caucasus), Avars of the Caucasus, a separate people with whom the Pannonian Avars may or may not have had links. Although the name ''Avar'' first appeared in the mid-5th century, the Pannonian Avars entered the historical scene in the mid-6th century, on the Pontic–Caspian steppe as a people who wished to escape the rule of the Göktürks. They are probably best known for their invasions and de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Era
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been widely accepted. Late antiquity represents a cultural sphere that covered much of the Mediterranean world, including parts of Europe and the Near East.Brown, Peter (1971), ''The World of Late Antiquity (1971), The World of Late Antiquity, AD 150-750''Introduction Late antiquity was an era of massive political and religious transformation. It marked the origins or ascendance of the three major monotheistic religions: Christianity, rabbinic Judaism, and Islam. It also marked the ends of both the Western Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire, the last Persian empire of antiquity, and the beginning of the early Muslim conquests, Arab conquests. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire became a milit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Persian suffix "-stan" (meaning ) in both respective native languages and most other languages. The region is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the southwest, European Russia to the northwest, China and Mongolia to the east, Afghanistan and Iran to the south, and Siberia to the north. Together, the five Central Asian countries have a total population of around million. In the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras ( and earlier) Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by Iranian peoples, populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Khwarezmian language, Chorasmians, and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. As the result of Turkic migration, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Volga Tatars, Tatars, Turkmens, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not '' milites Christi'' (soldiers of Christ).J. J. O'Donnell (1977)''Paganus'': Evolution and Use, ''Classical Folia'', 31: 163–69. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were '' hellene'', '' gentile'', and '' heathen''. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry". During and after the Middle Ages, the term ''paganism'' was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ogre
An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. They appear in many classic works of literature, and are most often associated in fairy tales and legend. In mythology, ogres are often depicted as inhumanly large, tall, and having a disproportionately large head, abundant hair, unusually colored skin, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. Ogres are closely linked with giants and with human cannibals in mythology. In both folklore and fiction, giants are often given ogrish traits (such as the giants in " Jack and the Beanstalk" and " Jack the Giant Killer", the Giant Despair in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'', and the Jötunn of Norse mythology); while ogres may be given giant-like traits. Famous examples of ogres in folklore include the ogre in " Puss in Boots" and the ogre in " Hop- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Cannibalism
Human cannibalism is the act or practice of Human, humans eating the Meat, flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food. Early modern human, Anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and ''Homo antecessor'' are known to have practised cannibalism to some extent in the Pleistocene. Cannibalism was occasionally practised in Egypt during ancient Egypt, ancient and Roman Egypt, Roman times, as well as later during severe famines. The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles, whose name is the origin of the word ''cannibal'', acquired a long-standing reputation as eaters of human flesh, reconfirmed when their legends were recorded in the 17th century. Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture. Reports describing cannib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
