#medieval myths

[cuties-in-codices]

an anthropomorphic mandrake being dug up with the help of a dog tied to its feet/roots

in "pseudo-antonius musa: de herba betonica", latin manuscript, late 9th century

source: Kassel, UB, 2° Ms. phys. et hist. nat. 10, fol. 34v

[castle-calypse]

Have y’all heard of the tale of Erec and Enide by Chretien de Troyes? I came across it in the book Legends of Chivalry: Medieval Myths.

Very very basic recap: Erec wants to fight a big knight he saw so he follows him and stays with a poor old man who has a daughter. She’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen (obviously). Erec has to fight the big knight so he can marry her. He does and wins and marries her (nice).

But the last paragraph about this story is making me giggle so much:

“But such was Erec’s love that he lost interest in all other things, even forsaking the acts of chivalry for which he was famed. He no longer went in search of adventure or even fought in tournaments. Most days, in fact, the couple did not leave their bed until noon. Erec’s reputation was soon in tatters and people began to mock the once-proud knight behind his back, spreading rumors that he had become nothing more than a coward.”

Bro fucked off to become a wife guy. And then everyone talked shit about him. That’s so fucking funny to me I love it so much.

[milkywayan]

I love this guy, and everything he says is true! Please watch this (and also take a look at his other videos, they are fun and educational and he is living the life i want to have)

[hecatesdelights]

Goblin

[atrumvox]

The Legend You Didn't Know: EXCALIBUR and the SWORD in the Stone Explained

Did you know that Excalibur and the sword in the stone are not the same weapon? Dive into the fascinating Arthurian legends to discover the true story behind King Arthur's two swords. Learn how Arthur came to possess Excalibur, the magical sword given to him by the Lady of the Lake, and why the sword in the stone was not the legendary Excalibur. Uncover the hidden details of these iconic weapons and explore their significance in Arthurian lore. Subscribe for more intriguing tales from mythology and history!

[fallbabylon]

Devils and the Mouth of Hell details from South Leigh doom painting 15th C- South Leigh, UK

[isopodcore]

underworld ouppy :)

commissions are open! saving for top surgery

[doubtspirit]

The manticore is an example of a human/animal hybrid from medieval bestiaries (Credit: Science Photo Library)

[sawbeaver]

[shellsnroses]

Comic for “The Ruin” a poem written by an unknown author in the 8th or 9th century

How wondrous, this wall stone,

Shattered by fate.

Castles are smashed,

The work of giants, crumbled.

Ruined are the roofs,

Tumbled the towers.

Broken the barred gates.

Frost in the plaster,

Ceilings a-gaping.

Torn away, fallen,

Eaten by age.

[the--firevenus]

"Ah, look at all the lonely people."

Pulled something real quick for this game, it's eating my brain

[cuties-in-codices]

people with beaks

in "the travels of sir john mandeville", translated into german by otto von diemeringen, ca. 1470

source: Stuttgart, Landesbibliothek, Cod. theol. et phil. 2° 195, fol. 175v

[snakesandstone]

[mask131]

The missing Arthurian knight - rediscovered in 2019

Well the title is a slight lie - the missing knight wasn't rediscovered in 2019, it was earlier than that, but he didn't became public until 2019.

So what's this "missing knight" about? Well as the title says. There was a knight part of the Arthurian myth, and he had been missing ever since the Middle-Ages, and he was only recently rediscovered.

Or rather, to be exact - there was an Arthurian novel centered around a knight that existed and was a famous and well-known part of the Arthurian literature in the Middle-Ages, but that completely disappeared, and was forgotten by culture (as much popular culture as the scholarly one). Until very recently.

This rediscovered novel has been a hot topic of all Arthuriana fans in Europe for a few years now - and yet I do not see much talk about this onto this website, despite Tumblr being a big place for Arthurian fans?

So I will correct this by doing a series of posts about the subject. And this post will be the first one, the introduction post presenting to you "Ségurant, le chevalier au dragon" ; "Segurant, the knight of the dragon". A French medieval novel part of the Arthurian literature (hence the "chevalier au X" title structure - like Lancelot, the knight of the cart or Yvain the knight of the lion from Chrétien de Troyes), the reason this story was forgotten by all medievalist and literary scholars is - long story short - because it never existed in any full manuscript (at least none that survived to this day). It was a complete story yes, with even variations apparently, but that was cut into pieces and fragments inserted into various other manuscripts and texts (most notably various "Merlin's Prophecies").

The novel and the Knight of the Dragon were rediscovered through the work of Emanuele Arioli, who rediscovered a fragment of the story while looking at an old manuscript of a Merlin Prophecies, and then went on the hunt for the other fragments and pieces scattered around Europe, until he finally could compile the full story, that he then published in 2019, at the Belles Lettres publishing house, in 2019.

Arioli reconstructed the text, and translated it in both modern French and Italian for scholarly and professional editions (aka Honoré Champion in France, a reference for universities)...

... But also for a more "all public, found in all libraries" edition - the famous 2019 edition at Les Belles Lettres.

And not only that, but he also participated to both a comic book adaptation with Emiliano Tanzillo...

... and an adaptation as an illustrated children novel!

Finally, just a few weeks, the Franco-German channel Arte released a documentary about the reconstitution and content of this missing novel called "Le Chevalier au dragon: Le roman disparu de la Table Ronde". (The Knight of the Dragon - The missing novel of the Round Table). The full documentary is on Youtube in French for those that speak the language, here. And in German here for those who speak German.

Unfortunately there is no English version of the documentary that I know of, nor any English publications of the actual text - just French and Italian. But hey, I'll try to palliate to that by doing some English-speaking posts about this whole business!

[worldhistoryfacts]

We still see a lot of Dionysus, especially in Egypt, long after the emperor Theodosius had made Christianity the official state religion of Rome in 380. In the 400s, 500s, and 600s, Egyptians were still producing textiles like this, which shows Dionysus, holding a bunch of grapes aloft, with a satyr and maenads (his female revelers):

Here’s another, showing the god’s worshippers frolicking:

This one shows figures from the Dionysian myths — his tutor, Silenius, Pan, and some of his female worshipers:

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

[the-forest-library]