In German folklore, a drude (, , pl. ''Druden'') is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit (an alp,

kobold A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore. It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. ...

or hag) associated with nightmares, prevalent especially in Southern Germany. Druden were said to participate in the Wild Hunt and were considered a particular class of demon in Alfonso de Spina's

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

. The word also came to be used as a generic term for "

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

" in the 16th century (

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poetry, poet, playwright, and shoemaking, shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that w ...

). The word is attested as the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

''trute'', and in early modern lexicography and down to the 19th century, it was popularly associated with the word '' druid'', without any etymological justification – its actual origin is unknown.

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 ''Deutsch ...

suggests derivation from a euphemistic ''trût'' (modern ''traut'', meaning "dear, beloved; intimate"), but cites as an alternative suggestion a relation to the

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

's name Þrúðr. If so it is natural to connect the ''druden'' with the daughter of the chieftain of the gods in the Norse religion,

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

, and his wife Sif.

''Drudenfuss''

The ''Drudenfuss'' (or ''Drudenfuß''), literally "drude's foot" (also ''Alpfuss''), is the pentagram symbol (in early usage also either a pentagram or a hexagram), believed to ward off demons, explicitly so named in

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's Faust (1808). The word has been in use since at least the 17th century, recorded by Justus Georg Schottelius (as ''drutenfusz'', glossed ''omnis incolumitatis signum ''). Its apotropaic use is well recorded for 18th- to 19th-century folk belief in Bavaria and Tyrol. ''Drudenfuss'' is also the German name of the pentagram used as a heraldic device (alternatively ''Drudenkreuz'' "drude's cross" and ''Alpfuß, Alfenfuß'' "elf-foot" or ''Alpkreuz'' "elf-cross") besides the more descriptive ''Pentalpha'' or ''Fünfstern''. ''Drudenfuss'' is another name for mistletoe.

''Drudenstein''

A ''Drudenstein'' is a pebble with a naturally formed hole in the center. In Bavaria, such pebbles were hung in rooms, on cradles or in stables to ward off nightmares, or to protect horses against matted manes or tails.Friedrich Panzer, ''Bayerische sagen und Bräuche '' vol. 2 (1855), 164. 429,

References

{{Witchcraft German legendary creatures Demons Death deities Witchcraft in folklore and mythology Witchcraft in Germany Elves Kobolds Crones and hags

''Drudenfuss''

''Drudenstein''

See also

References