The Cheval Gauvin (French: Gauvin horse) is a legendary evil horse of
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
, France and the
Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...
in
Switzerland. It is said to frequent watercourses, forests or cemeteries and to kill those who mount it by drowning them or throwing them into chasms.
The horse is mentioned close to
Chamblay
Chamblay () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
The village lies on the river Loue, about 20 km southeast of Dole
Dole may refer to:
Places
* Dole, Ceredigion, Wales
* Dole, Idrija, Sl ...
by Désiré Monnier from 1854. It is a harbinger of death, and appears to have been a kind of
bogeyman
The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogieman, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions var ...
for children. Possibly a transformed
lutin (hobgoblin) it is one of a number of legendary horses of Jura.
Jean-Louis Thouard depicted it in 1996.
See also
*
List of legendary horses
*
Kelpie
A kelpie, or water kelpie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Each-Uisge''), is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpi ...
*
Cheval Mallet
The Cheval Mallet (or Malet, meaning Mallet Horse) describes a fabulous and evil horse mentioned in folklore around the French Vendée, Édouard Brasey, ''La petite encyclopédie du merveilleux'', Le pré aux clercs, Paris, 2008, p.254-255 Poit ...
*
Legendary horses in the Jura
Bibliography
*Désiré Monnier, ''Traditions populaires comparées'', J. B. Dumoulin, 1854, 812 p.
*Marie Émile
Aimé Vingtrinier, ''Croyances et traditions populaires'', 1874, 2e éd.
*Henri Dontenville, ''Histoire et géographie mythiques de la France'', G. P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1973, 378 p. ()
*Henri Dontenville, ''Mythologie française : Regard de l'histoire'', Payot, 1973, 2e éd., 267 p.
*Willy Borgeaud, ''Mythologie de la Suisse ancienne'', vol. 2, Librairie de l'Université Georg, 1965, 141 p.
*Arnold Van Gennep, ''Manuel de folklore français contemporain : Cycle des douze jours'', vol. 7, Picard, 1987 ()
*Jean-Michel Doulet, ''Quand les démons enlevaient les enfants: les changelins : étude d'une figure mythique'' : Traditions & croyances, Presses de l'Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 2002, 433 p. ()
*Hervé Thiry-Duval, ''L'esprit féerique. Dictionnaire des fées en Pays Comtois'', Langres, Dominique Guéniot, 1 March 2005 ()
*Paul Sébillot, ''Le folklore de France'', vol. 1, Librairie orientale & américaine, 1904, 977 p.
*Jules Surdez et Gilbert Lovis, ''Animaux et contes fantastiques du Jura'', Éditions du Pré-Carré, 1984, 164 p.
*Jean-Louis Thouard, ''Bestiaire fantastique du pays de Comté'', Édition Marie-Noëlle, 1er janvier 1996, 99 p. ()
*Patricia Gaillard et Dominique Lesbros,'' Contes et légendes du Jura'', Éditions de Borée, 2007, 536 p. ()
Horses in mythology
Franche-Comté
French folklore
Swiss folklore
French legendary creatures
Bogeymen
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