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revoevokukil · 2 months

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Forgotten Manuscripts: Elven Scrolls

I decided to machine translate select sections related to elves & the like in Rękopis znaleziony w Smoczej Jaskini (The Manuscript Discovered in a Dragon's Cave). I think it will prove illuminating to everyone seeking to interpret or write on these aspects of the Witcher. I will also include A. Sapkowski's "recommended reading" sections. You will be surprised, and yet not at all surprised, after going through even a few of these, if only cursorily.

(Could The Manuscript be a nod in the direction of The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (penned by another adventurous Pole)? By that time, the author had certainly already adventured in the fantasy genre a fair share, compiling The Manuscript as a testament to his extensive reading. I appreciate the companionship this gesture extends to fellow travellers.)

Enjoy.

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Locations

AVALON

The mythical Land of Fairies (FAERIE), a place of rest and refuge for heroes tired of the worldly life. The Land of Eternal Happiness and Youth, identified with the famous land from Irish mythology Tir nan-Og, the Land of Youth, and the Celtic Isle of the Blessed, the equivalent of the Homeric Elysium and the Isle of the Hesperides.

The name Avalon is clearly of Welsh provenance and means the Isle of Apples (afallen means "apple tree" in Welsh, afal - "apple"). According to Welsh mythology, the rulers of the island of Avalon were the divine pair of Avallac and Modron. Avalon, according to legends, is a land far beyond the western sea, a land sunken beneath the waves, like LYONESSE or YS, or an island hidden in the mists, most often located near Glastonbury, where the mythical Ynis Witrin, the Glass Island, was supposed to be located. Legends placed the oldest Christian monastery and chapel on the Glass Island, with the nearby but inaccessible to mortals Ynis Avalon - the "pagan" Fairy Land. This is a symbolic confrontation of the Old and the New. Avalon was also located on the islands of Mona (Anglesey), Manau (Man), Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island) and Inis Sun (Ile de Sein in Brittany), which were in fact the main centers of the Druidic cult. Many Druidic sanctuaries and ritual places were located on islands - both on the sea and on lakes. Excavations confirm this.

Recommended reading: Arthurian Canon

FAERIE

The Land of Fantasy, inhabited by ELVES or FAIRIES. It is also sometimes translated as "land of the prophets" (Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene is "Queen of the Prophets" in Polish). From Faerie comes the word "feeria" (e.g. a feast/party of lights).

ISLANDS OF HAPPINESS

Fairy (Elven) Lands. Mysterious lands, where happiness and spring always reign, and no one ages or gets sick.

Some of these islands drift, floating on the water of seas or lakes, others are hidden under water and come to the surface only at night, yet others are invisible and appear only to the chosen ones. The most famous include the Isles of Happiness (The Isles of the Blest), Tir na nOg (The Land of Youth), Tirfo Thuinn (The Land under the Waters), Tir nam Beo (The Land of Life), Tirn Aill (The Underworld), Mag Mor (The Great Plain), Mag Mell (The Plain of Joy) and Tir Tairngire (The Plateau of Happiness).

When the Children of the Goddess Danu, the gods of the TUATHA DE DANANN, were losing their power over Ireland, some went - literally - underground and became the DAOINE SIDHE. Another faction, led by Manannan mac Lir, emigrated to the Isles of Fortune. The famous Irish mythologist Bran, son of Febal, encountered Manannan crossing the seas in his chariot on one of his famous journeys.

Recommended reading: Tom Deitz, David Sullivan series (Windmaster's Bane, Fireshaper's Doom, Darkthunder's Way, Sunshaker's War, Stoneskin's Revenge, Dreamseeker's Road, Landslayer's Law, Ghostcountry's Wrath, Warstalker's Track); Morgan Llywelyn, The Isles of the Blest

Beings

ELF

A supernatural being, resident of FAERIE.

Etymology: Germanic (Gothic) Alf (currently in the form Alp means nightmare; the word Alptraum is a nightmare). Scandinavian Alfar can be found in the Edda - beautiful light elves (Liosalfar) and nasty black elves (dockalfar a. svartalfar).

This is an ancient race, existing in the world since the dawn of time, and who knows, maybe even earlier. Unlike fairies, who can have various forms and sizes, elves are equal in size to humans. Elves are characterized by very light, even pale complexion. Elves do not tan, even if they spend months in the sun. When it comes to hair and eye color, there are two types of elves: light blonds with pale blue eyes and brunettes (or even black-haired) with poisonous green eyes. The elves in Poul Anderson’s work (The Broken Sword) are not very typical, with eyes the color of a pearly, shimmering mist.

Elves can live to be 500-600 years old. Below the age of 100, an elf is considered a youngster, 150-250 is an adult. Above 250 years, an elf is considered an old age, and exceeding 350 makes him old. Elves are slim, delicately built and very beautiful. There are simply no crippled, obese, bald and ugly elves. Despite this, it is not so easy to recognize an elf in a crowd of people. The most striking elven feature - pointed ears - are usually hidden under hair. You can also recognize an elf by their teeth (although elves rarely bare them). Elves, namely, not being a product of evolution, do not have fangs among their teeth.

The elves, who are nice, good, and generally quite friendly, eager to extend favors, are grouped in the Seelie Court. The Unseelie Court, on the other hand, consists of elves who are decidedly evil and unfriendly, from whom one can expect only unpleasantness and trouble. Sometimes very big trouble. In Wales, elves are called TYLWYTH TEG, in Ireland DAOINE SIDHE. In fantasy, the terms “ELF”, “FAIRY”, and “SlDHE” are often used interchangeably.

Recommended reading: Lynn Abbey, Jerlayne; Poul Andersen, The Broken Sword; Greg Bear, Michael Perrin (The Infinity Concert, The Serpent Mage; omni Songs of Earth and Power); Nancy Varian Berberick, Elvish (The Jewels of Elvish, A Child of Elvish); Borderlands (edited by Terri Windling & Mark Alan Arnold); Elizabeth H. Boyer, The World of the Alfar; Marion Zimmer Bradley, The House Between the Worlds; Terry Brooks, Shannara; Emma Buli, War for the Oaks; C.J. Cherryh, Arafel's Saga (The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels, also published as the omnibus The Dreaming Tree); Charles de Lint, Moonheart; Lord Dunsany, The King of Elfland's Daughter; Tom Deitz, David Sullivan (Windmaster's Bane, Fireshaper's Doom, Darkthunder's Way, Sunshaker's War, Stoneskin's Revenge, Dreamseeker's Road, Landslayer's Law, Ghostcountry's Wrath, Warstalker's Track); Rose Estes, Elfwood; Kenneth C. Flint, Sidhe Legends; Jane Gaskell, Strange Evil; Guy Gavriel Kay, Fionavar Tapestry trilogy; Laurell K. Hamilton, A Kiss of Shadows (in the Anita Blake series); Ellen Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer; Patricia A. McKillip, Winter Rose; O. R. Melling, The Singing Stone; Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist; Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies (Discworld #14); Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Fey (The Sacrifice, The Changeling, The Rival, The Resistance, The Victory); Josepha Sherman, Prince of the Sidhe (The Shattered Oath, Forging the Runes); Sheri S. Tepper, Beauty; J.R.R. Tolkien, everything; Tad Williams, The Memory, Sorrow and Thorn

Series and anthologies: Elf Fantastic, edited by Martin H. Greenberg (authors include Andre Norton, Tanya Huff, Craig Shaw Gardner, Lynn Abbey, Jada Lynn Nye, Diana L. Paxson and Mickey Zucker Reichert); Elf Magic, edited by Martin H. Greenberg (authors include Josepha Sherman, Rasemary Edghill, Jane Yolen, Elizabeth A. Scarborough, Esther Friesner).

FAIRIES

Creatures inhabiting the Land of Wonderland, FAERIE.

Etymology of the word: from the Latin fatum, meaning fate, destiny, prophecy, what the gods will decree. In this classical meaning, the words "fatum", "fatalism", "fatal" have survived in the vast majority of modern languages. In the Latin of the Middle Ages, the word "fatum" also had its verb form.

Fatare meant "to conjure", "to charm", "to invoke", "to subject to will", "to change and shape someone's fate". This word and the forms derived from it first penetrated the classical Italian language, which originated directly from medieval Latin, in which fatare means "to conjure". The words una donna fatata are used in many works of classical Italian literature to refer to an enchanted lady, or that beauty so characteristic of a chivalric poem, looking out for a noble savior from the window of an enchanted tower or from the top of a glass mountain.

On the other hand, the word fata is used in Italian chivalric poems to refer to a sorceress, or a person casting spells - someone who knows, may have been responsible for limiting the personal freedom of the pretty girl from the tower. Both fatata and fata have penetrated the Provencal and Castilian languages (una fada), German (die Feine) and French (feer, les dames faees).

In French, the word metamorphosed further, and the metamorphosis took place in accordance with the spirit of the language. Just as from the verb "to dream" (rever), comes reverie (dream, illusion), similarly derived from fatum the verb faer, feer (to enchant, to charm) was supplemented with the nouns faerie, feerie. In contemporary English the noun faerie has three meanings. First: illusion, charm, phantasmagoria. Second: the name of the magical land inhabited by enchanted creatures. Third: the name of the creatures inhabiting this land - faeries or fairies.

Although this is definitely about (in Tolkien's sense) ELVES, in Polish fairies are usually translated as fortune tellers or soothsayers. The poet says:

The nights are wholesome; then no planet strikes, No fairy takes, no witch has power to charm, So hallow'd and gracious is that time. - Shakespeare, Hamlet (translated by Maciej Słomczyński)

There is also another - very interesting - etymological concept, deriving fairies from Persia. According to Persian mythology, the mythical land of Jinnistan is inhabited by incredibly beautiful supernatural female beings, called Peri (like the famous Peri Banu). The Arabs, who did not pronounce the "p", were supposed to have transferred this myth to Europe by changing "Peri" to "Feri" - and we have ready-made Faerie and fairies. Interesting, but I am more convinced by the first version - the one with "fatum". Unless we are connecting the Persian Peri exclusively to the English language. Because if not of fate, then where from does mirage come from?

Recommended reading: C.J. Cherryh, Faery in Shadow; Parke Godwin, The Last Rainbow; Martin Millar, The Good Fairies of New York; Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist; Jack Vance, Lyonesse trilogy (Garden of Suldrun, Green Perta, Madouc) and others, listed under ELF and DAOINE SIDHE

TYLWYTH TEG

Welsh elves. The name means "beautiful people".

They live in lakes, rivers or mountains. If they are female, they are called y mamau (mothers), which indicates a connection with the Celtic Matrons. Like most of their relatives, they are mischievous - they steal horses and cattle, switch children in their cradles, lead astray at night or in the fog, play tricks on drunkards. They often appear at fairs in human form, because they love to haggle. The money they pay in transactions irrevocably turns into dry leaves the next day.

The ruler of Tylwyth Teg is the god Gwynn ap Nudd. Among the wild Welsh hills lives a variety of Tylwyth Teg, called Gwyllion, usually among herds of wild goats. The smallest variety of Tylwyth Teg are Ellyllon. Ellyllon's favorite food is red toadstools. Where toadstools grow in abundance, there is always Ellyllon to be found.

DAOINE SIDHE

Irish elves, descendants of TUATHA DE DANANN and SlDHE.

The name means "people of the elven hills", for The Daoine Sidhe reside within hills, mountains, hills and barrows. According to folk tradition in Connaught all elves are ruled by King Finbheara, and Munster is ruled by an elven queen Clio.

Daoine Sidhe are also called Aes Sidhe or just Sidhe. Because in tradition have gone through (like elves and all the others supernatural creatures of this group) a long way from gods to pixies, they are also often called Daoine Beaga, "small people." They are extremely secretive, and generally not very friendly to epople, though there are exceptions.

In Ireland they are usually blamed for the kidnapping of children and substituting them for CHANGELINGS, for causing rancidity of butter and spoiling the taste of Guinness.

SIDHE

Also DAOINE SIDHE. Otherwise: Aes Sidhe - ELVES, FAIRIES. Descendants of TUATHA DE DANANN, Irish deities.

When the Tuatha de Danann were defeated by the Milesians and forced to emigrate, one faction led by Manannan, son of Lir, emigrated to the ISLANDS OF HAPPINESS, while the rest of the gods remained in Ireland, but went underground. Literally - because the Tuatha dwelt deep underground. The entrances to their underground, but luxurious, fabulously beautiful and rich residences led through magical, hollowed-out hills and mounds, called sidh (pl. sidhe), hence the name Daoine Sidhe, People of the Hills, usually shortened to Sidhe for simplicity.

As a result of a consensus accepted by all the Tuatha, Ireland was divided into territories and each of the gods received their own sidh. Here is a list of some, together with information (if any) on where each sidh was located - for those who would like to go there and try to go underground.

The god Dagda reserved for himself the great sidh Brugh na Boinne, near the town of Drogheda in County Meath, 50 kilometres from Dublin. Brugh na Boinne is the now-famous enormous complex of corridors built of monoliths of New Grange, five thousand years old and still a riddle and enigma for archaeologists and historians. This sidh was later taken from the Dagda by his son, Angus mac Og; the sea god Lir occupied the sidh Fionnachaidh (pronounced szi Fineha), in County Armagh, near the town of Newtown (Ulster, 50 kilometres from Belfast); the Dagda's second son, the god Bodb Derg, gave his own hill the name Sidh Bodb, in Galway, near the town of Portumna on the great lake Lough De arg; the god Mider occupied the sidh Bri Leith (County Longford, near Ardagh, almost in the very geometric centre of the Emerald Isle); it was to this sidh that Mider abducted the beautiful Etain, wife of Eochaid, king of Tara; Ilbreach, son of Manannan mac Lir, resides at the Sidh Eas Aedha Ruaidh, in Donegal near Ballyshannon.

Later Irish legends, in which mythical matter was mixed with legendary history and folklore, also attributed the hills to other Sidhe, in the classical version not belonging to the Tuatha de Danann. Thus: The king of all the Irish Sidhe (elves) is Finbheara (pronounced Finwara), residing at Sidh Meadha (today called Knockma Hill, in Connaught, near Galway, just outside the town of Tuam). Finbheara is an incorrigible womanizer, regularly abducting mortal women for explicit sexual purposes. No pretty woman is safe in the vicinity of Knockma Hill.

In Munster, the Sidhe are ruled by the elven queen Cliodna (pronounced Klina), who resides under the sidhe near Mallow in County Cork. Cliodna has sexual appetites as exuberant as Finbheara, she can kidnap mortals and force them to provide certain services, and she is as insatiable as a true succubus, as Lilith herself.

In Cliodna's name, the elves of Northern Munster are ruled by Queen Aoibhinn (Iwin), while the fairies of the south are ruled by Queen Aine.

Recommended reading: Greg Bear, Michael Perrin cycle (The Infinity Concert, The Serpent Mage; omni Song of Earth and Power); Kenneth C. Flint, Sidhe Legends: Lugh (Riders of the Sidhe, Champions of the Sidhe, Master of the Sidhe); Marie Heaney, Beyond the Ninth Wave; Morgan Llywelyn, The Bard; Julian May, Saga of the Pliocene Exile (IY'/green-colored Country, The Golden Hoop, The Unborn King, The Adversary); Alisen Rush, The Last of Danu's Children; Josepha Sherman, Prince of the Sidhe cycle (The Shattered Oath, Forging the Runes); and more, given under the entries FAIRIES, ELVES, and TUATHA DE DANANN).

TUATHA DÉ DANANN

People of the Goddess Danu, in Irish mythology a race of deities descended from the goddess Danu.

The People of Danu came to Ireland from islands located somewhere far beyond the western sea. The first thing the Tuatha did after their arrival was to defeat the races that inhabited Ireland - the Firbolgs (defeated in the first battle on Mag Tuireadh) and the Fomorians (defeated in the second battle on Mag Tuireadh). However, even when the Tuatha exterminated the Firbolgs, they made some kind of a deal with the defeated Fomorians. They allowed them to live in Connachta, the western province of the island. However, the Tuatha de Danann themselves were soon defeated and driven into the underworld by the Milesians, sons of Mil Espane, who came from the Iberian Peninsula.

The most important representatives of the Tuatha de Danann are:

Dagda, the father of gods, patron of knowledge, warriors, magic and prophecy, also arts and music (his attribute was a harp, with which Dagda could control the weather). He was the main and most important god of Druidism. The Dagda’s Cauldron was one of the Four Talismans of Tuatha - and the obvious prototype of the Holy Grail;

Brigid, the daughter of Dagda, goddess of fire, fertility, female skills, secret knowledge, love and poetry;

Ogma, son of Dagda, giant god, called Honeymouth, patron of poetry, eloquence and Druids. He invented the alphabet called "Ogam" after his name; Angus Mac Og, son of Dagda and the river goddess Boann, beautiful god of youth;

Mider, son of Dagda, god of the underworld. He was unlucky - his wife Etain was stolen by the god Angus Mac Og, and his daughter Blathnat ("Little Flower") was kidnapped by Cu Roi, a sorcerer and king of Munster. Blathnat was rescued - and treated as a prize - by the hero CUCHULAINN;

Nuada, the god of waters. When he lost his hand in the battle on Mag Tuireadh, the founder Creidne made and the physician Dian Cecht fitted him with a silver prosthesis, which is why Nuada is called Airgedlamh ("Silver Hand"). Nuada's sword is one of the Four Talismans of the Tuatha de Danann;

Goibhniu, the god of blacksmiths, armourers and metallurgists in general. Together with the bell founder Creidne and the carpenter Luchtaine, Goibhniu produced weapons for the Tuatha de Danann that never missed their target. Goibhniu also brewed a beer with a heavenly taste, which granted the drinker immortality;

Morrigan, goddess of war and revenge, patroness of witches, fortune tellers and priestesses. She can appear in the form of a black raven or in three incarnations: women named Macha, Badb and Nemain. She can appear to warriors going into battle in the terribly ominous form of the Washerwoman at Brod - an elf washing bloody clothes. Whoever sees the Washerwoman at Brod will not return from battle;

Lir (a. Ler) - god of seas and waters. Lir's son, many times more famous than his father, was Manannan;

Manannan mac Lir - was the patron saint of sailors and merchants. His residences were the islands of Arran (in the Firth of Clyde) and Man, named after him. On Arran, Manannan had a palace called the Palace of the Apple Trees (i.e. AVALON);

Eriu (from which comes the name Eire, Ireland); Dian Cecht - god of physicians, healing and medical arts. He had many children, including a daughter Etan. Etan in turn had a son Cian, and Cian fathered the most famous and important god of the Goidelic pantheon, Lugh;

Lugh - god of crafts and arts, druids, physicians, magic, trade, poets, chroniclers, musicians and sorcerers. His attributes and sacred animals were the raven and the lynx. He was called Ioldanach ("Master of All Arts"), and also Lamhfada ("Long Arm"); the latter nickname came from Lugh's great spear, which was one of the Four Talismans of the Tuatha. The fourth, apart from the one mentioned above, was the prophetic Stone of the Waves, also called the Stone of Destiny. Lugh was a very important Celtic deity, and the fame of him will last forever. From his name derive their names, among others, Lyon (Lugdunum) and Laon in France, Leyda in Holland (formerly Lugudunum Batavorum), Carlisle (formerly Lugubalia), and … Legnica.

Those of the Tuatha de Danann who did not escape the Milesian and remained in Ireland, turned into SIDHE and live under the moon, inside the hills.

Recommended reading: Greg Bear, Michael Perrin cycle (Infinity Concert, Serpent Mage; omni Songs of Earth and Power); Tom Deitz, David Sullivan (Windmaster's Bane, Fireshaper's Doom, Darkthunder's Way, Sunshaker's War, Stoneskin's Revenge, Dreamseeker's Road, Landslayer's Law, Ghostcountry's Wrath, Warstalker's Track); Diane Duane, Wizard Abroad; in the cycle of Nita Danann: Riders of the Sidhe, Champions of the Sidhe, Master of the Sidhe; Finn MacCumhal, Challenge of the Clans, Storm Shield, The Dark Druid - and prequel, Cuchulain dilogy: Isle of Destiny: A Novel of Ancient Ireland, A Storm Upon Ulster (a. The Hound ot Culain) ; Parke Godwin, The Last Rainbow; Marie Heaney, Beyond the Ninth Wave ; Morgan Llywelyn, The Bard ; Julian May, Saga of Pliocene Exile (The Many-Colored Country, The Golden Hoop, The Unborn King, The Adversary) ; Alison Rush, The Forest of Danu's Children; Josepha Sherman, Prince of the Sidhe (The Shattered Oath, Forging the Runes)

LEANAN SIDHE

A type of Irish FAIRY (DAOINE SIDHE) or elven woman of incredible beauty, specializing in seducing men.

Leanan Sidhe are particularly fond of poets, bards and minstrels. A poet enchanted and possessed by an elf experiences a sudden surge of inspiration and talent - for a time at least as long as the Leanan Sidhe is with him, and this usually lasts quite a short while. The passionate, very violent and constant sex that the Leanan Sidhe demands from her lover, soon exhausts his vital forces and the offender simply fades away, dies. And the Leanan Sidhe, like an insatiable vampiress, like a real Lilith or lamia, without blinking an eye goes in search of a new victim.

The most dangerous are the Leanan Sidhe of the Isle of Man. They do not wait for their prey to die, but kill beforehand. As soon as they get bored, and they get bored quickly.

Recommended reading: Tim Powers, The Stress of Her Regard.

UNICORN

A classic mythical creature that has made a truly stunning career in fairy tales and literature.

The unicorn in its current form evolved from its classic image in bestiaries, in which it is depicted as a rather misshapen creature with the body of a horse, the legs of an antelope, the tail of a lion and the bearded head of a goat, armed with a horn twisted like a narwhal's.

Since in contemporary literature the unicorn has become a symbol of poetic fairy tales and a personification of fleeting, fairy-tale charm, all the features of the monstrous hybrid were eliminated and a lovely horse with the velvet eyes of a woman, a wavy mane and a silky tail was left. A horse whose shapely head is decorated (not armed) with an intricate horn. The unicorn is beauty incarnate - in fairy tales and legends, its sight ennobles souls, softens manners, softens the hearts of the cruel and inspires poets. To see a unicorn is to stand face to face with magic, it is a symbol of inspiration, of seeing what is hidden from the eyes of fools, philistines, simpletons and profane people.

One sunny morning, a gentleman, eating breakfast, raised his head from his scrambled eggs and noticed a unicorn with a golden horn, gnawing roses in the garden bed. The gentleman got up, hurried to the bedroom where his wife was sleeping and woke her up. "There is a unicorn in the garden," he said. "It is eating roses." The wife opened one eye and looked at the gentleman reluctantly. "The unicorn is a mythical creature," she replied and turned her back to the gentleman. James Thurber, "The Unicorn in the Garden"

The unicorn has been known since time immemorial. The Holy Scriptures mention unicorns in many passages - but they are nowhere to be found in Polish translations. For example, when Psalm 21:22 says: salva me ex ore leonis et de cornibus unieorniurn exaudi me, the Polish translations say: "deliver me from the lion's mouth and from the horns … of the buffalo". Unicorns share one common feature: an inexplicable predilection for virgins, maidens who have not yet known a man. The unicorn, incredibly timid and avoiding people, will not resist a girl with an intact hymen - when it sees one, it approaches and rests its head on her lap. This mythical feature was also made into a lofty symbol, while the bestiaries only suggested the method of hunting - with a virgin as a huntress or bait.

Unicorns were hunted, and hunted fiercely, mainly for their horn, which had miraculous properties. Such a horn detected poisons and gave the owner immunity to all venoms, and was also used to produce miraculous medicines and elixirs. In Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parsifal", an attempt was made to cure the Fisher King with a unicorn horn - but to no avail, here only the Grail could work.

In addition to the horn, the unicorn could also provide other delicacies, including a magic ruby, called a carbuncle, which was found in the skull of some (very old and wise) animals at the base of the horn. Albertus Magnus considered the carbuncle to be crystallized unicorn blood and a remedy for absolutely all diseases, weaknesses and ailments - from the Black Death to the blues and hangover, or the gnat. The unicorn also provided liver (whipped with egg yolks, it cured leprosy), skin (a belt made of it protected against the plague, and shoes - against joint diseases) and hooves (used as a poison detector). Hildegard, known as the Rhine Sybil, also mentions a carbuncle at the base of the unicorn's horn. She also warns potential unicorn hunters that the animal never lets itself be fooled - a maiden who only pretends to be a virgin will be gored to death without mercy.

The source of the animal's great power lies in the fact that the unicorn visits the Garden of Eden once a year, where it drinks the Water of Life. These countless recipes for disposing of unicorns have given rise to literary conventions in which the unicorn is used to confront the sacred and the profane, to oppose the fairy-tale ideal and brutal greed, and finally to create an ecological symbol of Nature, irreversibly destroyed in the process of disposal. This is how unicorns are usually depicted in fantasy.

Recommended reading: Piers Anthony, Proton/Phaze; Bruce D. Arthurs, "Unicorn's Blood" (from the anthology Sword and Sorceress II; Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn; Peter S. Beagle’s lmmortal Unicorn, anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Janet Seriiner (authors include: Peter S. Beagle, Edward Bryant, Charles de Lint, Karen Joy Fowler, Ellen E. A Scarborough, Will Shetterly, Susan Shwartz, Dave Smed s, P Somtow, Judith Tarr, Nancy Willard, Tad Williams); Michael Bishop, The Black Unicorn; Bruce Coville, The Land of Unicorns; #3); Mark Geston, The Siege of Wonder; Mike Resnick, On the Trail of the Unicorn; Theodore Sturgeon, "Silky and Fast" (in L. Sprague de Camp, Harian Ellison, Thomas Burnett Swann, Stephen Donaldson, Vonda McIntyre, Ursula Le Guin, Roger Zelazny, Gene Wolfe, TH. White); Roger Zelazny, The Chronicles of Amber; Roger Zelazny, Unicorn Variations.

Individuals

HERNE THE HUNTER

In Anglo-Saxon folklore, a forest spirit wearing deer antlers on his head. Shakespeare mentions him in The Merry Wives of Windsor:

There is an old tale goes that Herne the hunter, Sometime a keeper here in Windsar forest, Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight, Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns . . .

According to legend (from which this character is much, much older), he was the huntsman of King Richard II Plantagenet, the best and favourite huntsman, and therefore, as you can easily guess, hated by his colleagues. Although he once shielded the king from the horns of a charging bull deer with his own body, the ungrateful monarch - listening to the slander and trickery of other hunters, dismissed Herne from his position and chased him away.

Herne hanged himself from an oak tree in Windsor Forest in grief, but returned as a ghost and with forked deer antlers on his head travels the Forest. King Richard was cursed by Hern (in 1399 he was forced to abdicate, he died in suspicious circumstances). Herne turned his fellow intriguers into his hunting party - the WILD HUNT (Wild Hunt). The damned will ride with him through the forests until the day of judgment.

Herne is an obvious allegory of the forces of nature, dangerous to those who do not respect them, the guardian and protector (the keeper) of the forest and animals, known from numerous demonologies as the King of the Forest, Spirit of the Forest, reminiscence of the times when the original hunter, although his existence depended on a successful hunt, honoured the killed game, propitiated its spirit and thanked nature for it - and never killed or destroyed thoughtlessly.

The hunter Herne appears in some versions of the Robin Hood legend - especially in the well-known series with Michael Praed and the music of Clannad, in which he is a "Saxon" spirit in opposition to "Normans". Nevertheless, Herne undoubtedly comes from Celtic mythology, which is opposed to the Saxon one - his direct prototype is the Welsh Gwyn ap Nudd, Lord of the Underworld and the Wild Hunt. And the prototype of both - Herne and Gwynn - is Cernunnos, the HORNED GOD, husband of the Great Goddess.

The authentic Herne Oak in Windsor Forest, once a great tourist attraction, was mistakenly felled in 1796. Several more "Herne oaks" were planted in the area, one of which was planted by King Edward VII's own hand (in 1906). Herne apparently regularly appears in the area, but there's no information about sightseeing - these are private royal grounds and tourists are not allowed there. Even referring to me won't help.

OBERON

King of elves, husband of Titania in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!).

A name derived from Alberic (Alberich, Alfrich, Alfrika) made from the root "Alf" (elf). Alberich in Germanic legends was not an elf at all, but a dwarf. He was a great master of blacksmithing and armourer - his work was the Nagelring, a sword used by the famous hero DITRYK OF BERN. This dwarf Alberich helped SIEGFRIED to seize the treasure of the Nibelungs, for which Siegfried appointed him the treasure's administrator.

In French romances, Oberon (Auberon) appears in the chansons de geste about HUON OF BORDEAUX, where he appears as the son of . . Julius Caesar. Caesar, driven by a storm to the island of Celeja, fathered Oberon there with a FAIRY Glorianda (another alter ego of Arthurian MORGANA). Oberon is an elf - in the classic fantasy sense - only in Edmund Spenser (Faerie Queene) and Shakespeare. Oberon's official title - the Elf King is Eller Konge in Danish. The Germans (Herder and Goethe) changed this name to Erlkónig, the Alder King. The famous King from Goethe's famous ballad, however, has nothing to do with a tree of the Alnus genus - there was a simple confusion of the words Elbe (elf) and Erle (alder).

Recommended reading: Poul Andersen, Three Hearts and Three Lions (and sequel, A Midsummer's Tempest); L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt, Land of Unreason; Roger Zelazny, First Chronicles of Amber

TAM LIN

A character from Scottish folklore.

In the South of Scotland, in Ettrickdale, there is a wild place called Carterhaugh. All young maidens were strictly warned never, ever to approach this place, for there is an elven youth called Tam Lin, who, if he catches a maiden, will not let her go until he has a suitable ransom:

O I forbid you, maidens a ', That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh, For young Tam Lin is there. There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh But they leave him a wad, Either their rings, or green mantles, Or else their maidenhead.

Janet, Lord Carterhaugh's daughter, laughed at these superstitions. "Carterhaugh," she said, "belongs not to some Lin, but to my father, and therefore to me, and I shall go there whenever I like. Even tomorrow!"

"But, Miss Janet," whispered the maids, "There Lin is cruelly stubborn about virtue. . . " "Yes, I am not afraid," cried Janet, licking her lips, and her eyes sparkling. "I am going there tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

As she said, so she did. In Carterhaugh Wood, among oaks, pines, and birches, Janet noticed a mossy well in a clearing, by which grew a wild rose bush. The girl approached and plucked a flower, and then a young man with dark eyes and hair emerged from the thicket like a ghost.

Janet wasn't even particularly frightened, because the young man, what can I say, was incredibly handsome, paint the portrait of Robert the Bruce that hung in her father's house.

Tam Lin, for that was he, smiled, bowed and without ceremony grabbed Janet by the waist, then looked around for a dry and ant-free place. "Oh dear!" cried the young lady, already lying on the grass. "You won't take my rings and my green cape, will you?!" "No," assured Tam Lin, starting to unlace the corset, "not that one."

When, as the poet says, the compliment was over, Janet sighed deeply and began to ask Tam Lin about this and that, for she was terribly curious about who he was, a man or an elf, a creature of flesh and blood or enchanted, and what he was doing here in Carterhaugh. Tam Lin, unlacing and unfastening what he had not yet unfastened, told in a somewhat bored voice that he had been a human child, who had been kidnapped by the Elf Queen and played with for many years, just like Titania in Mr. Shakespeare's play.

"Now," Tam Lin drew Janet towards him again, "I am acting as guardian of their forest by the elves' order. The question, however, as to whether I am a man of flesh and blood, cannot be answered unequivocally. Not after so many years spent in Elfland."

Janet returned home, saying nothing to anyone about the adventure. Some time later she noticed with some anxiety that what usually happened to her every month had not happened. The old wives' tales that with an elf and a priest it could be done without any risk turned out to be - at least half - a lie.

Janet went immediately to Tam Lin. And he, who had taken a stronger fancy to the brave maiden than to the other girls caught at the well, decided to leave the elves and stay with her and the child she was expecting. He instructed her what she should do, adding that it would not be an easy thing.

On the night of SAMHAIN, when the doors between the worlds open, Janet came to Carterhaugh and hid in the thicket. At the stroke of midnight she heard singing, the music of a flute, and the melodious tinkling of silver bells, and then she saw a procession of elves riding through the forest with magic lanterns in their hands.

As instructed, Janet let a black horse, ridden by the Queen herself, and a silver and green horse, ridden by heaven knows who, pass through. She only jumped out of the bushes when a third horse, as white as milk, approached her. Janet forcibly pulled the rider from the saddle and it all began. Although instructed, the girl almost fainted from fear. Amidst the damning squawks and whistles of the elves, the creature held by Janet began to change form at lightning speed. The girl had in her arms - successively - a large slippery salamander, a hissing snake, a roaring bear, a lion with putrid breath, and finally, oh horror, a bar of red-hot iron.

Janet, however, did not let go of her embrace either, but, as instructed, jumped into the depths of the well, from where she emerged already in an embrace with the naked and gasping Tam Lin. Janet covered the young man with her green cloak and thus finally disenchanted him.

The lovers fled Carterhaugh, pursued by the shrieks of the elves and the furious curses of their Queen, who promised them a terrible vengeance and a fate worthy of regret. However, these curses turned out to be powerless - Janet and Tam Lin lived happily ever after and loved each other to the point of horror.

Recommended reading: Francis James Child (1882-1898), The English and Scottish Popular Ballads; Patricia A. McKillip, Winter Rose; Pamela Dean, Tam Un; Diana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock; Elizabeth Marie Pope, The Perilous Gard

THE WILD HUNT

Wild Hunt, a demonic procession racing across the sky, a cavalcade of spectres and ghouls. The ghouls from the Wild Hunt can kidnap people by force, but they are also able to force them to join with hypnotic suggestion.

The prototype is considered to be the procession of Valkyries, servants of ODIN, known from Norse and Germanic mythology, racing across the sky, gathering fallen heroes from battlefields to take them to Valhalla. The aurora borealis is nothing more than the flashes of Valkyrie armor and weapons. The procession of Valkyries in later Germanic mythology took on demonic features, becoming the Wild Hunt (Wilde Jagd) of the goddess Holda a. Huldra, the wife of Wotan.

The procession of the god Gwynn ap Nudd from CYMRIC MYTHOLOGY, as well as the procession of HERN the Hunter, is also a Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt usually takes place during the so-called raw nights (Rauhnächte), i.e. in the period from Christmas Eve to Epiphany.

Recommended reading: Poul Andersen, Three Hearts and Three Lions; Peter S. Beagle, Tamsin; Jocelin Foxe, The Wild Hunt (Child of Fire, Vengeance Moon); Charles de Lint, Greenmantle; Tom Deitz, Dreamseeker's Road (David Sullivan); Guy Gavriel Kay, The Fionavar Tapestry cycle; Julian May, Saga of Pliocene Exile; Michael Moorcock, Zoldak i zlo świata (Von Bek); Jafle Yolen, The Wild Hunt.

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