Myths and ancient legends of Europe.

[Lábaru]

I would like to hear legends and myths of all countries of Europe and above all, the fantastic creatures, Spain is full of these stories.

I start with I know.

Mythological creatures

Cantabrian people have not only telluric and natural divinities, but also fabulous beings with different aspects that people feared or adored and have legends and histories on their own. There are many of them in Cantabrian mythology, yet the most important are:

* The Ojáncanu. The sorrow of Cantabria, this creature embodies the evil among the Cantabrians and represents the cruelty and the brutality. This giant cyclops is the Cantabrian version of the Greek Polyphemus that appears in other Indoeuropean mythologies.

* The Ojáncana or Juáncana. Wife of the former, is even more ruthless as children are counted among her victims.

* The Anjana. Is the antithesis of the Ojáncano and the Ojáncana. Good and generous fairy, she protects honest people, the lovers and those who get lost in the woods or roads.

The beautiful Anjana.

http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/imagenes/anjana/004.jpg

http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/imagenes/anjana/009.jpg

http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/imagenes/anjana/006.jpg

http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/foto_anjana.html#

* The Esteru. This is a Christmas character, he is a lumberjack that lives alone in the forest and makes toys to give them away in Christmas throughout Cantabria.


* The goblins. This is a large group of little mythological creatures, most of them mischievous. There are two groups among them, the domestic goblins, those who live in or around houses as Trasgu and Trastolillo; and the forest goblins, as Trenti and Tentirujo.

Los Caballucos del Diablo (Sorry for my poor traduction) The Caballucos del diablo mythological demons of Cantabria displayed on the night of San Juan flying through flames, smoke and sulfur fumes and thundering in the stillness of the night with hellish roar of fury released after a year of prison.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caballucos_del_Diablo



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabrian_mythology

A nice and short video presenting the Anjana and her evil enemy.

WsZSgXlPIf0

http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/index.html

I'll add more creatures and legends of Spain if you like the theme.

Thanks for watching.

[Pallantides]

Anjana looks Baltoid or Lappoid influenced:p
http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/imagenes/anjana/006.jpg

[Lábaru]

Anjana looks Baltoid or Lappoid influenced:p
http://www.di3d.es/mitologia/imagenes/anjana/006.jpg

Yes, true, the animation not is very good xD. Come on Pallantides, some legends sure you have in the "North Pole" is not it? xD. Tell us one you know.

[Foxy]

Creatures of the Italian folk.

Badalischio- a snake as big as a man, with red eyes, living in a place called "Devil's Pit" (Fossa del Diavolo, Tuscany). Badalischio can paralyze the prey with a look and is extremely venomous.

Borda- a witch of the marshlands wearing a bandage, of orrible aspect, that appears on foggy nights to kill everyone who meets her. Her legend is diffuse in the Padanian area.

Buffardello - a little elf or in other versions a little animal of not defined aspect (Lucca, Lombardy).

Fairy - fairies exist in the mythology of every European country but it's area of birth is France and Italy. The word fairy is from "fata", Latin "woman of the destiny" and she's connected with the figure of Parche.
She's a spirit of the nature, what remained for long of the Roman pantheism.

Gatto Mammone - a terrifing cat sent by the Devil.

Gargolla or Gargoyl - medieval creature used in architecture.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/thumb/9/99/Doccione_milano.jpg/800px-Doccione_milano.jpg

Griphon - an other medieval creature diffused in many places of Europe, including Italy, half lion half eagle.

Ippogripho - a mix of a griphon with a horse.

Kraken - giant octopus that sink the ships, imported from Scandinavia.

Lauro - little elf diffused in Southern Italy.

Werewolf - very diffused in all Italy. It is a man that in the nights with full moon becomes a wolf. It can be killed using silver. Wolf is a very ricurrent animal in all the iconography of Italy, since the Samnites (a tribe called itself "Irpini", wolves-men and Rome), maybe becouse of the high number of wolves living in the past in Italy.

Marabecca - Sicilian creature that lives in wells and cisterns, ready to kill children.

Mommotti - Sardinian version of Boogyman.

Scultone - Sardinian creature similar to a dragon that kills people.

Snake Regolo - a creature popular in Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo and the old region of Sabinia, it is a big snake similar to a viper living in mountains and marshland that, even if cut in two parts, doesn't die but becomes bigger and kills everyone who meets it beyond the one who had cut it.

Squasc - diffused in Eastern Lombardy, it is a sort of boogeyman-evil elf. He looks like a little hairy animal, similar to a squiller without tail and with a antropomorphic face.

Unicorno - a horse with a horn on its forehead having magic skills.

Uomo Nero (The Black Man) - Italian version of Boogeyman.

[Comte Arnau]

A few mythical figures from Catalan folklore:

Aloges or Dones d'aigua (Water Women)


Women of oneiric beauty, who live in places where there is fresh water: lakes, streams, waterfalls, forest springs and humid caves. While their hair can be straight and raven black, it is more usually of a reddish gold color, uncombed, with their locks cascading down to their feet. Their eyes are either deep blue or emerald green. They appear as small but slender innocent women, with a high self-esteem and proud of their beauty. They are usually naked or wear either transparent tulles or fine tunics, white or pale golden, with a star in their foreheads. They look similar to human women, but their nature is lighter, less corporeal, and can appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. These ladies are not immortal, but they can live for thousands of years and retain their youthful appearance.

http://i38.tinypic.com/24bsrx4.jpg

You can read a bit more about them at my blog (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/blog.php?b=124)


The Pesanta


The Pesanta is an enormous dog (or sometimes a cat) that goes into people's houses in the night and puts itself on their chests making it difficult for them to breathe and causing them the most horrible nightmares. The Pesanta is black and hairy, with steel paws, but with holes so it can't take anything.

This is obviously related to sleep paralysis and the demonic visitations associated to it, as in this famous Fuselli's picture

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG/741px-John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG


Dragons


Dracs and Víbries (female dragons)
Dragons are well-known in Catalan myths and legends, in no small part because St. George (Catalan Sant Jordi) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Like most dragons, the Catalan drac is an enormous serpent with two legs, or, rarely, four, and sometimes a pair of wings. As in many other parts of the world, the dragon's face may be like that of some other animal, such as a lion or bull. As is common elsewhere, Catalan dragons are fire-breathers, and the dragon-fire is all-consuming. Catalan dragons also can emit a fetid odor, which can rot away anything it touches.

The Catalans also distinguish a víbria or vibra (cognate with English viper and wyvern), a female dragon with two prominent breasts, two claws and an eagle's beak.

http://cat.bloctum.com/entremes/files/2008/01/imagen-138.jpg

http://carrascletdereus.bloc.cat/gallery/9265/9265-63441.jpg


Vampires

Vampyric myths appear in Catalonia as early as the 12th century.


Count Estruc or Struch
By the end of the 12th century, Arnald Estruc, a noble knight of Germanic descent in the court of king Peter II, who fought the Moors outstandingly in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, was sent in his old age to his castle near the Catalan Pyrenees in order to chase witches, pagans and other blasphemers. There, by means of evil forces, he'd turn into a 'blood sucker'. Apparently, Benach, captain of Estruch's army, poisoned him after having been rejected by the count's daughter Núria. The count became an undead and would appear in the night, young and ready to suck blood from young girls and get them pregnant with little monsters they'd give birth to, which would die at once. Estruch's curse would later be interrupted by a Jewish hermit who performed an old kabbalah ritual (or by a nun who nailed a stake on Estruch's heart, according to other sources). The legend might be based on a real figure, Arnald Estruc (Arnallii Estruciones), buried in Sant Feliu de Girona.

Ruins of the Castle of Llers, where Count Estruch lived.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YbtDvPiG6R4/SulAf9c3FhI/AAAAAAAAA80/cQO98Ghc9Sc/s320/llers2%5B1%5D.jpg


Dips
They are black vampire-dogs. Evil and hairy, emissaries of the Devil. Legend has it that they lived near the town of Prat. At night, they constantly killed the cattle, but not for their meat, only to drink their blood. Never was one dip captured, but they suddenly disappeared by the 19th century. Nowadays, the town is known as Pratdip, and there is a black dog in its coat of arms.

Baroque altar from 1602 in Pratdip, showing two 'dips'.
http://www.mitcat.net/11_mort/img_mor/dips.jpg


There is also a rich tradition of legends and tales about witches (bruixes), goblins (follets), giants (gegants), fairies (fades), ghosts, spirits, elves (in the Pyrenees) and other creatures that are common to most European folklores.

The typical child-frightening creatures are the Papus and the Home del Sac (Man with a Sack). If you behave badly, he comes for you.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Sm6TiR7PBtM/SuuFSswefjI/AAAAAAAAAMM/SCewF3JBCfY/s320/l%27home+del+sac+esbo%C3%A7+2.jpg

And of course, the Christmas pooping log (tió de Nadal), the log you dress and feed for some days so that it can poop some little presents when being beaten at Christmas' Eve at the song of Caga tió 'Shit, log!' . :D


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Cagatio.jpg/150px-Cagatio.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Nens_fent_cagar_el_Ti%C3%B3.png

[Pallantides]

Fanitullen
In the 1700's the Devil appeared at a wedding in Hemsedal in Hallingdal and played this tune.


The fiddle tune
sHsledb9tXU


The story


In the hardened days of yore
when with beer and brawn
the knives of Hallingdale
from their sheats were often drawn
when women to the feast
funeral shirts would bring
with which they would swathe
their dead husbands in
there once took place a wedding
somewhere in Hemsedale
where song and dance did cease
and the men did ring the vale.
In the center of the floor
framed by shoulder-broad men
two stood with knives unsheated
and a leather belt round them

And like columns carved
unmoving, serene
another four stood
as guardians of the scene
They lift burning torches
toward the blackened beams
where curls of smoke collected
to a dark and brooding stream

In vain two women try
howling, to stem
the living wall of bodies
raised before them
Angrily they’re thrown back
and left to despair
while the fiddler quietly sidles
toward the cellar stair.

Down he goes to tap beer
as the winner of the fight
may have need to kiss
the bowl's rim tonight.
Within the belt they'll duel,
blood running like sap
the vein will need refilling
from the beer casket tap.

Standing in the cellar
he saw a bluish glow
someone sitting on the casket
tuning fiddle, holding bow.
This man held it backwards
tightly to his chest
and as soon as it was tuned
put his fiddle to the test.

There came a song of wonder;
It rang like angry words,
Like steel bite into wood
Like fists rammed into boards.
It jubilantly roamed
Around the darkened cellar hall
And came to a halt
At the sound of a fall

Quietly the fiddler listened
to the mighty flow
It was like the music’s eddies
went down his spine and brow.
He quickly asked the other
“Where did you learn that song?”
The answer: “Don't you mind that,
But remember it – for long!”

But as the man bent down
Reaching for the tap
He saw a horned hoof
against the casket rap
He forgot to tap the beer
And ran up to the hall
Just as the men were lifting
The body from the fall

Fanitullen it is called
This wild and haunting spell
And in Hallingdale they play it
And they play it well
And when its tune is singing
to beer and feast and brawn
again knives of Hallingdale
from their sheats are quickly drawn


Norwegian:

I hine hårde dager
da ved øldrikk og svir
hallingdølens knivblad
satt løst i hans slir, -
da kvinnene til gilde
bar likskjorten med,
hvori de kunne legge
sin husbonde ned;
stod der et bryllup
i Hemsedal etsteds,
hvor lek og dans var tystnet
og karene slo krets.
Ti midt på gulvets tilje
i den mannslagne ring
stod to med dragne kniver
og et belte spent omkring

Og som utskårne støtten
i hvilende ro
står ennu fire karer
i kretsen om de to.
De løfter tyrilysen
mot det sorte bjelketak,
hvor røkens virvler samles
til et rugende lag

Forgjeves tvenne kvinner
med hyl trenger frem
å bryte det faste gjerde
som er stillet foran dem.
De kastes vredt tilbake
av de muskelsterke menn -
og spillemannen rolig
går til kjellertrappen hen.

Nu skal han ned og tappe;
ti den seirende mann
kan saktens vel behøve
å kysse bollens rand.
I beltespenning nappes
de kun med blodets tap;
så må vel åren fylles
fra tønnetutens gap.

Men da han stod i kjell'ren,
han så et blålig skinn
én sitte der på tønnen
og stemme felen sin.
Og karen holdt den omvendt,
tett opp til brystet klemt,
og gav seg til å stryke
så snart han hadde stemt.

Det var et spill som dugde;
det klang som vred manns ord,
som hugg av stålsatt bile
og som neveslag i bord.
Det jublet og det hulket
i den skumle kjellerhall
da slåttens toner endte
med et rungende mannefall.

Taus spillemannen lyttet
til de mektige løp;
det var som spillets virvler
nedad ryggen ham krøp.
Så spurte han den annen:
"Hvor lærte du den slått?"
Han svarte: "Det er det samme,
men minn deg den blott!"

Nu mannen med seg lutet
og etter tappen tok -
da så han hestehoven,
som takt mot tønnen slo.
Han glemte rent å tappe,
han sprang i stuen opp -
der løftet de fra gulvet
den falne mannekropp.

Fanitullen kalles
ennu den ville slått,
og dølene den spiller,
og spiller den godt.
Men lyder de grumme toner
under øldrikk og svir,
da løsner atter kniven
i hallingdølens slir.


wXdHnyyZEP0

[Grumpy Cat]

I have to say this is a very interesting thread, and a breath of fresh air from the content as of late.

I will contribute later.

[Lábaru]

More mythology of Cantabria.

The "Culebre"

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EfFhwXMqmX4/TSIjI0mmJnI/AAAAAAAADP4/q-gr6Tw6LDs/s1600/dragon%2Bnegro.jpg

Cuélebre, or Culebre, is a giant winged serpent-dragon of the Asturian and Cantabrian mythology, that lives in a cave, guards treasures and keeps xanas as prisoners. Although they are immortal, they grow old as the time goes by and their scales become thick and impenetrable, and flag wingsgrow in their bodies. They don't usually move, and when they do it, it is in order to eat cattle and people. One can kill the cuélebre giving him as meal a red-hot stone or a bread full of pins. Its spit it is said to turn into a magic stone which heals many diseases.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MB0FbD_CyGo/Sm9ecp5CyoI/AAAAAAAAN4c/wS_DDovQHwM/s640/el+cuelebre.jpg

In Midsummer, which is a magical night in Asturian and Cantabrian folklore, it is possible for brave men to defeat the cuélebre, whose spells don't take effect that night, and marry the xana and get the treasure. However in Cantabrian areas it's said the night of Saint Bartholomew the creature increases his power and unleashes all his fury against people in revenge.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CPi8jd0Y81o/S2RL6HRuxWI/AAAAAAAAAqo/uA8b9cFTDlw/s400/culebre.jpg

When the cuélebre grows older its scale become thicker and thicker, and he must flee Asturias and fly to the Mar Cuajada, a paradise located beyond the sea.

Spanish song about the Culebre.

1gy7HiDIHSc

"paliru" is an old word we use to scare the Culebre.

[askra]

the Janas

witches or vampires with aspect of fairies, they live in houses dug in the rock called "domus de Janas" (in reality are prehistoric graves)

a typical domus de jana: http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2849/concaemortu002.jpg

the Gentiles

they are the most ancient inhabitants of Sardinia, they are handsome giants, they are the builders of the thousands megalithic towers found on the island known as "nuraghes"

a nuraghe where according to the legend live the Gentiles: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3509/3258146264_dccb5fa40b_z.jpg?zz=1

the Kaddos Birdes

rare horses with green hair, they have magic powers. only the nobles can ride them.

the Iskultone

it's the sardinian version of the basilisk, a gigantic reptile or dragon, sometimes depicted with 7 heads, sometimes with a crystal cross on the forehead. it is hibernate, and lives inside a mountain.

Maria Farranka

a female spirit who lives inside the wells, she has got claws to capture people, her victims are transformed in pigs and they are forced to live in underground tunnels.

the Surtores

they are house's elfs, they wear seven hats and they hide a treasure

SU PUNDACCIU

he is an elf too, but naughty, he seat on the tummy of the sleeping people. he wears a blue velvet cloth and one or seven red hats.


the Panas

they are the spirits of women death during birth. we can meet them in the night, next to the rivers washing the bloody cloths.

Sa Surbile

they are living people that hide vampiric features, they are attracted by the children blood. they are very ugly people, that have done a pact with the Devil.

S'ERKITU (the Scream)

it's a creature with human head and the body of an ox

Sa Mama e' Su Bentu

it means "the mother of the winds". she is a good female spirit

Sas Strias

they are witches, and they drink human blood to survive

[Atlantic Islander]

Here's a regional legend - from Flores Island (Azores):


Legend of Caveira

During the 16th Century, during the Age of Exploration, caravels frequently passed along Flores, on their voyages between Europe and the Americas. These ships were regularly buffeted by Atlantic storms and shipwrecked along the coast. It is said that a survivor of one of these storms, hungry, wet and cold, appeared along a windy and rugged part of the north-east coast, where he was give food, dry clothes and cared for by the local residents. The man, Demétrio, began to enjoy his life in the small village, married and remained there, where he became a popular with its residents. Although a good Christian man, he had many ideas that were considered heretical: for example, he exclaimed that prayers for the dead had no meaning and he negated the existence of Purgatory or Hell. Finally, although he believed in a soul, he believed that it resided in the blood, and that upon a human's death it separated from the body and transformed into a bird, until the body was cremated or degenerated into the soil. He also believed that the bird was the incarnation of Morana, the god of death, and that it sang while the body died, facilitating the soul's entrance into heaven.

While his neighbours did not accept his ideas, he continued to live, educating his sons, and living in harmony with the residents of the village. After a few years, Demétrio, now an old man, after many years in bed with illness, died. At that moment a wagtail flew onto a faia tree close-by, but did not begin to sing as was expected. Demétrio was buried on top of a mountain, and his wife, influenced by her husband's faith, was a little preoccupied with the fact that the bird did not sing. After some time afterword there started to appear a skull (Portuguese: caveira) with an inner light, and the local residents believed that it was Demétrio's soul trying to obtain prayers in order to be received into Purgatory. Someone then decided to begin services and pray the rosary for God's intercession on behalf of the good, but heretical, Demétrio. After a short time, the bird began to sing and the skull stopped appearing. At the top of the rugged rock the family constructed a niche, with a panel representing the skull, but the name of the village began to referred to as Caveira.

Not ancient, but still considered a "legend".

I tried to look up Morana, but all I found was this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzanna).

[Gaita]

Video on Galician mythology and mythological beings. Video is in Spanish.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=ee_iLexM55E