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Tylwyth Teg
(Middle Welsh for "Fair Family"; ) is the most usual term in Wales for the mythological creatures corresponding to the fairy folk of Welsh and Irish folklore . Other names for them include ("Blessing of the Mothers"), and . Origins The term is first attested in a poem attributed to the 14th-century , in which the principal character gets perilously but comically lost while going to visit his girlfriend: "" ("(The) weak enchantment (now) flees, / (the) long burden of the ''Tylwyth Teg'' (departs) into the mist"). Attributes In later sources the are described as fair-haired and covet golden-haired human children whom they kidnap, leaving changelings (or , ) in their place. They dance and make fairy rings and they live underground or underwater. They bestow riches on those they favour but these gifts vanish if they are spoken of, and fairy maidens may become the wives of human men. These fairy wives are however still bound by traditional taboos. They must be careful to av ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossroads (mythology)
In folklore, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place. Symbolically, it can mean a locality where two realms touch and therefore represents liminality, a place literally "neither here nor there", "betwixt and between". Ancient religions In Greek mythology, crossroads were associated with both Hecate and Hermes, with shrines and ceremonies for both taking place there. The herm pillar associated with Hermes frequently marked these places due to the god's association with travelers and role as a guide. Though less central to Greek mythology than Hermes, Hecate's connection to crossroads was more cemented in ritual. 'Suppers of Hecate' were left for her at crossroads at each new moon, and one of her most common titles was 'goddess of the crossroads.' In her later three-fold depictions, each of the three heads or bodies is often associated with one of three crossing ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairies
A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic mythology, Celtic, Slavic paganism, Slavic, Germanic folklore, Germanic, and French folklore, French folklore), a form of Supernatural#Spirit, spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian mythology, Christian tradition, as deities in Paganism, Pagan belief systems, as Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits of the dead, as Prehistory, prehistoric precursors to humans, or as spirits of nature. The label of ''fairy'' has at times applied only to specific Magic (su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elves
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, elves were thought of as beings with magical powers and supernatural beauty, ambivalent towards everyday people and capable of either helping or hindering them. Beliefs varied considerably over time and space and flourished in both pre-Christian and Christian cultures. The word ''elf'' is found throughout the Germanic languages. It seems originally to have meant 'white being'. However, reconstructing the early concept depends largely on texts written by Christians, in Old and Middle English, medieval German, and Old Norse. These associate elves variously with the gods of Norse mythology, with causing illness, with magic, and with beauty and seduction. After the medieval period, the word ''elf'' became less common throughout t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fictional Characters Introduced In The 14th Century
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with fact, history, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, fiction refers to literature, written narratives in prose often specifically novels, novellas, and short story, short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any Media (communication), medium, including not just writings but also drama, live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition and theory Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly expressed, so the audience expects a work of fiction to deviate to a greater or lesser degree from the real world, rather than presenting for instance only factually accurate portrayals or character (arts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books by decree in 1586. It is the second-oldest university press after Cambridge University Press, which was founded in 1534. It is a department of the University of Oxford. It is governed by a group of 15 academics, the Delegates of the Press, appointed by the Vice Chancellor, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford. The Delegates of the Press are led by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as OUP's chief executive and as its major representative on other university bodies. Oxford University Press has had a similar governance structure since the 17th century. The press is located on Walton Street, Oxford, Walton Street, Oxford, opposite Somerville College, Oxford, Somerville College, in the inner suburb of Jericho, Oxford, Jericho. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Mab
Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', in which the character Mercutio famously describes her as "the fairies' midwife", a miniature creature who rides her chariot (which is driven by a team of atom-sized creatures) over the bodies of sleeping humans during the nighttime, thus helping them "give birth" to their dreams. Later depictions in other poetry and literature and various guises in drama and cinema have typically portrayed her as the Queen of the Fairies. Origin Shakespeare may have borrowed the character of Mab from folklore, but this is debated and there have been numerous theories on the origin of the name. A popular theory holds that Mab derives from Medb (pronounced "Maive"), a legendary queen from 12th-century Irish poetry; scholar Gillian Edwards notes "little resemblance", however, between the two characters. There is marked contrast between the formidable warrior Medb and the tiny dream-bringer Mab. Other authors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digitalis
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in shape, produced on a tall spike, and vary in colour with species, from purple to pink, white, and yellow. The name derives from the Latin word for "finger". The genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, but phylogenetic research led taxonomists to move it to the Veronicaceae in 2001. More recent phylogenetic work has placed it in the much enlarged family Plantaginaceae. The best-known species is the common foxglove, ''Digitalis purpurea''. This biennial is often grown as an ornamental plant due to its vivid flowers, which range in colour from various purple tints through pink and purely white. The flowers can also possess various marks and spottings. Other garden-worthy species include ''D. ferrugi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toadstool
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, ''Agaricus bisporus''; hence, the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem ( stipe), a cap ( pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems; therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota. The gills produce microscopic spores which help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface. Forms deviating from the standard morphology usually have more specific names, such as " bolete", "truffle", "puffball", " stinkhorn", and "morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called " agari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwyllion
Gwyllion or gwyllon (plural noun from the singular Gwyll or (Yr) Wyll "twilight, gloaming") is a Welsh language, Welsh word with a wide range of possible meanings including "ghosts, spirits" and "night-wanderers (human or supernatural) up to no good, outlaws of the wild." ''Gwyllion'' is only one of a number of words with these or similar meanings in Welsh. It is a comparatively recent word coined inadvertently in the seventeenth century by the Welsh lexicographer John Davies (Mallwyd), Dr John Davies of Mallwyd. Folklore According to folklorist Wirt Sikes the gwyllion are female fairy, fairies of frightful aspect who haunt lonely roads in the Wales, Welsh mountains and lead travellers astray. They are gloomy spirits more akin to hags or witchcraft, witches, as distinct from the Welsh ellyllon (elves) that are more benevolent. Those who encountered them either by night or on a misty day would be sure to lose their way even if they were perfectly familiar with the road. One gwyll in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwragedd Annwn
Gwragedd Annwn, (singular ') alternatively known as Dames of the Lower Region, Dames of Elfin Land, or Wives of the Lower World, are beautiful female fairies who live beneath lakes and rivers found in Welsh folklore. They are counted among the Tylwyth Teg or Welsh fairy folk.The mythological narrative of Gwragedd Annwn is intertwined with the origin of the Welsh black cattle. Some legends hold that the existence of the Gwragedd Annwn was owed to the famed Saint Patrick. Occasionally, the fairies were said to ascend into the upper world, and be visible to ordinary people. Origin Gwragedd Annwn were purportedly created by St. Patrick, when he journeyed from Ireland to Wales, to meet with St. David of Wales. A crowd of Welsh folk spotted the two meeting, and began to verbally abuse St. Patrick, angry at him for having left Cambria. St. Patrick, who spoke Welsh and could understand their insults, punished the offending Welsh folk by transforming them into fish. However, since some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownie (folklore)
A brownie or broonie ( Scots), also known as a or (Scottish Gaelic), is a household spirit or hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks. The human owners of the house must leave a bowl of milk or cream or some other offering for the brownie, usually by the hearth. Brownies are described as easily offended and will leave their homes forever if they feel they have been insulted or in any way taken advantage of. Brownies are characteristically mischievous and are often said to punish or pull pranks on lazy servants. If angered, they are sometimes said to turn malicious, like boggarts. Brownies originated as domestic tutelary spirits, very similar to the Lares of ancient Roman tradition. Descriptions of brownies vary regionally, but they are usually described as ugly, brown-skinned, and covered in hair. In the oldest stories, they are usually human-sized or larger. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
