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Alp (folklore)
An ''Alp'' (; plural ''Alpe'' or ''Alpen'') is a supernatural being in German folklore. Not to be confused with the similarly named Alp-luachra, the ''Alp'' is sometimes likened to a vampire, but its behavior is more akin to that of the incubus. It is distinct from both of these creatures in that it wears a magic hat called a '' Tarnkappe'', from which it draws its powers. The word ''Alp'' is the German form of the word that comes into English as ''elf'', both descended from Common Germanic. It is also known by the following names: ''trud'', ''mar'', ''mart'', ''mahr'', ''schrat'', and ''walrider''. Many variations of the creature exist in surrounding European areas, such as the Drude or, in the British Isles, the Old Hag, related to now commonly recognized sleep paralysis. In medieval sources In the period before about 1000, the Old High German word ''alp'' is attested only in a small number of glosses. It is defined by the ''Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch'' as a "nature-god ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nightmare (1790-1791) - Johann Heinrich Füssli
''The Nightmare'' is a 1781 oil painting by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. It shows a woman with her arms thrown below her, in deep sleep as she undergoes a nightmare as an almost hidden horse (the " night-mare") looks on as a demonic and ape-like incubus crouches on her chest. Its erotic and haunting evocation of obsession became a breakthrough success for Fuseli. Critics were taken aback by its overt sexuality, since interpreted as anticipating Jungian ideas about the unconscious. Although Fuseli had unsuccessfully exhibited at the Royal Academy of London many times earlier, critics reacted with horrified fascination when this painting was shown at his 1782 showing, and the ''Nightmare'' became his first commercially successful work. The image became popular to the extent that he produced at least three other versions, engraved versions became widely distributed, it was parodied in political satire, and became a frequent source for 18th-century Gothic fiction authors such as M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Von Morungen
Heinrich von Morungen (died 1222) was a Minnesinger, whose 35 surviving Middle High German songs are dated on both literary and biographical grounds to around the period 1190–1200. Alongside Walter von der Vogelweide and Reinmar von Hagenau, Reinmar he is regarded as one of the most important Minnesänger: he was "the most colourful, passionate, tender and musical of the Minnesänger" and his work "marks a new and brilliantly effective stage in the development of the German lyric." Life Morungen is identified with the ''Hendricus de Morungen'' who is mentioned in two charters of Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen, Dietrich I, Margrave of Meissen. This ''Hendricus'' presumably originated from the castle of Morungen near Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt, a location consistent with the language of the songs. As a "retired knight" (''miles emeritus'') he received from his patron Dietrich, also a patron of Walter von der Vogelweide, a pension for his ''"high personal merits"'' (''alta su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huon De Bordeaux
Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements. ''Huon of Bordeaux'' The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from death on condition that he fulfil a number of seemingly impossible tasks: he must travel to the court of the Emir of Babylon and return with a handful of the Emir's hair and teeth, slay the Emir's mightiest knight, and three times kiss the Emir's daughter, Esclarmonde. Huon eventually accomplishes all these feats with the assistance of the fairy king Oberon. Editions and continuations The ''chanson de geste'' that survives (in three more or less complete manuscripts and two short fragments) comprises 10,553 decasyllable verses grouped in 91 assonanced laisses. Presumed dates for its composition vary, but 1216 and 1268 are generally given as ''terminus post quem'' (earliest possible date) and ''terminus ante quem'' (latest possible da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Etymology Oberon is a variant spelling of Auberon, earlier Alberon, the origin of which is uncertain, though it may be connected with Alberich and Aubrey, or might else be derived from the Old High German elements wikt: adal#Old High German, adal 'noble' + wikt: bero#Old High German, ber(n) 'bear'. French heroic song Oberon is first attested as the name of a fairy king in the early 13th century entitled Huon de Bordeaux, Les Prouesses et faitz du noble Huon de Bordeaux, wherein the eponymous hero encounters King Oberon of the fairies as he passes through a enchanted forest, forest. Huon is forewarned by a hermit not to speak to Oberon, but his courtesy causes him to answer the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ortnit
Ortnit is the eponymous protagonist of the Middle High German heroic epic ''Ortnit''. First written down in strophic form in around 1230 by an anonymous author, it circulated in a number of distinct versions. In the earliest version, King Ortnit sets out on an expedition to make the daughter of the heathen King Machorel his bride. He is greatly assisted by the cunning of the dwarf Alberich, who can only be seen by the wearer of a magic ring, and by the martial prowess of the Russian king Ilyas, Ortnit's uncle. In the second part of the story, Machorel, enraged by Ortnit's abduction of his daughter, sends him, in a feigned gesture of reconciliation, two dragon eggs. When these hatch, the dragons terrorise the land. After a year's delay, Ortnit sets out to kill the dragons, but falls asleep and is killed by them. In most of the surviving versions, this is followed by the story of Wolfdietrich, who avenges Ortnit's death and marries his widow. Though the two stories have distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'', the author of ''Deutsche Mythologie'', and the editor of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. He was the older brother of Wilhelm Grimm; together, they were the literary duo known as the Brothers Grimm. Life and books Jacob Grimm was born 4 January 1785, in Hanau in Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel. His father, Philipp Grimm, was a lawyer who died while Jacob was a child, and his mother Dorothea Grimm, Dorothea was left with a very small income. Her sister was the lady of the chamber to the Landgravine of Hesse, and she helped to support and educate the family. Jacob was sent to the public school at Kassel in 1798 with his younger brother Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm. In 1802, he went to the University of Marburg, where he stud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alberich
In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems ''Nibelungenlied'' and '' Ortnit''. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name consists of the elements ''alb'' ("elf") and ''ric'' "power" or "ruler". It is equivalent to the Old French ''Alberon'' or ''Auberon'', from which the English Oberon is derived, and is the source of the Norman language, Norman French derivation ''Aubry''. The name was later used for a character in Richard Wagner's opera cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Mythology Alberich plays a prominent role in the ''Nibelungenlied'', where he is the guardian of the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. Sigurd, Siegfried overpowers him using his cloak of invisibility (Tarnkappe), after which the dwarf serves the hero. Siegfried later pulls his beard in mock combat when he arrives unannounced to claim the treasure. Ortnit seeks to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf (Germanic Mythology)
A dwarf () is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history. They are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs. However, they are described as having sisters and daughters, while male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short; however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor relevant to their roles in the earliest sources. Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture, such as in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves. Etymology and meaning Etymology The modern English noun ''dwarf'' descends from . It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse ''dvergr'', Old Frisian ''dwerch'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagen (legend)
Hagen ( German form) or Högni (''Old Norse'' Hǫgni, often anglicized as Hogni, ''Old English'' Hagena, ''Latin'' Hagano) is a Burgundian warrior in Germanic heroic legend about the Burgundian kingdom at Worms. Hagen is often identified as a brother or half-brother of King Gunther (Old Norse ''Gunnarr''). In the ''Nibelungenlied'' he is nicknamed "from Tronje". Etymology of the epithet "Tronje" Of the main manuscripts of the ''Nibelungenlied'', the chief representatives of versions B and C use the spelling "Tronege": "from Tronege Hagene", "Hagen of Tronege", "geborn of Tronege", "helt of Tronege". The A version usually writes "Trony" (also "Troni" and "Tronie"). "Tronje" is the appropriate modern German form. In the B and C versions, the name is in the dative case, with the nominative being "Troneg"; "Tronje", although common, is therefore a mistake. All attempts to interpret Hagen's name or home are highly speculative. Although the ''Nibelungenlied'' has a historic cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western world, Western and History of Christianity, Christian history. Born in Eisleben, Luther was ordained to the Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the contemporary Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, in particular the view on indulgences and papal authority. Luther initiated an international debate on these in works like his ''Ninety-five Theses'', which he authored in 1517. In 1520, Pope Leo X demanded that Luther renounce all of his writings, and when Luther refused to do so, Excommunication in the Catholic Church, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Germany
Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hamburg and Bremen. It contrasts with Southern Germany, Western Germany, and Eastern Germany. Language Northern Germany generally refers to the ''Sprachraum'' area north of the Uerdingen line, Uerdingen and Benrath line isoglosses, where Low German dialects are spoken. These comprise the West Low German, Low Saxon dialects in the west (including the Westphalian language area up to the Rhineland), the East Low German region along the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast with Western Pomerania, the Altmark and northern Brandenburg, as well as the North Low German dialects. Although from the 19th century onwards, the use of Standard German was strongly promoted especially by the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian administration, Low German dialects are still prese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
