1.
Fairy
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A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. According to Thomas Keightley, the word derives from the Latin fata. Other forms are the Italian fata, and the Provençal fada, in old French romance, fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs. Faierie became fairy, but with that now almost exclusively referring to one of the legendary people. The word fairy was used to represent an illusion, or enchantment, to the word faie was added the suffix -erie, used to express either a place where something is found or a trade or typical activity engaged in. In later usage it applied to any kind of quality or activity associated with a particular type of person. In the sense land where fairies dwell, the distinctive and archaic spellings Faery, the latinate fay is not to be confused with the unrelated fey, meaning fated to die. Various folkloristic traditions refer to them euphemistically, by such as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk. Sometimes the term fairy is used to any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes, at other times. Fairies have their origin in the conflation of Celtic traditions in the Middle French medieval romances. Fairie was in origin used adjectivally, meaning enchanted, but was used as a name for enchanted creatures from as early as the Late Middle English period. In English literature of the Elizabethan era, elves became conflated with the fairies of Romance culture, the Victorian and Edwardian eras saw an increase in interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival viewed them as part of Irelands cultural heritage, carole Silvers and others suggest that the fascination of English antiquarians arose from a reaction to greater industrialization, and loss of folkways. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers, even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant. Some fairies though normally quite small were able to dilate their figures to imitate humans, on Orkney they were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour. Wings, while common in Victorian and later artwork of fairies, are rare in the folklore, even very small fairies flew with magic. Nowadays, fairies are depicted with ordinary insect wings or butterfly wings. In some folklore, fairies have green eyes, some depictions of fairies either have them wearing some sort of footwear and other depictions of fairies are always barefoot
2.
Irish mythology
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The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity. However, much of it was preserved in medieval Irish literature and this literature represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. There are also a number of extant mythological texts that do not fit any of the cycles. Additionally, there are a number of recorded folk tales that, while not strictly mythological. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predates their composition, the earliest of the prose can be dated on linguistic grounds to the 8th century, and some of the verse may be as old as the 6th century. The first of these part of the earliest known version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and is housed in Trinity College. The other three are in the Royal Academy, when using these sources, it is, as always, important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known schema of Greek or Biblical genealogy and it was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. A consensus has emerged which encourages the critical reading of the material, the Mythological Cycle, comprising stories of the former gods and origins of the Irish, is the least well preserved of the four cycles. The most important sources are the Metrical Dindshenchas or Lore of Places, Other manuscripts preserve such mythological tales as The Dream of Aengus, The Wooing Of Étain and Cath Maige Tuireadh, The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, Lebor Gabála Érenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to before Noah. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye, Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lámfada at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha Dé Danann retired underground to become the people of later myth. The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great work of early Ireland. It includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha Dé Danann were not viewed so much as gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as kings and heroes of the distant past, however, there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic world, that they were once considered deities. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, a poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends Although enumerates them, he does not worship them
3.
Irish language
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Irish, also referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people. Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is also among the official languages of the European Union. The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland and it has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe. The fate of the language was influenced by the power of the English state in Ireland. Elizabethan officials viewed the use of Irish unfavourably, as being a threat to all things English in Ireland and its decline began under English rule in the 17th century. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was a decrease in the number of speakers. Irish-speaking areas were hit especially hard, by the end of British rule, the language was spoken by less than 15% of the national population. Since then, Irish speakers have been in the minority, efforts have been made by the state, individuals and organisations to preserve, promote and revive the language, but with mixed results. Around the turn of the 21st century, estimates of native speakers ranged from 20,000 to 80,000 people. In the 2011 Census, these numbers had increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, there are several thousand Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of Irelands population, there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. In Gaeltacht areas, however, there has been a decline of the use of Irish. Údarás na Gaeltachta predicted that, by 2025, Irish will no longer be the language in any of the designated Gaeltacht areas. Survey data suggest that most Irish people think highly of Irish as a marker of identity. It has also argued that newer urban groups of Irish speakers are a disruptive force in this respect. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil the name of the language is Gaeilge, before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge, originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in Classical Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Classical Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish, the modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent dh in the middle of Gaedhilge, whereas Goidelic languages, used to refer to the language family including Irish, comes from Old Irish
4.
Leprechaun
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A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore. They are usually depicted as bearded men, wearing a coat and hat. They are solitary creatures who spend their time making and mending shoes and have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If captured by a human, they often grant three wishes in exchange for their freedom, like other Irish fairies, leprechauns may be derived from the Tuatha Dé Danann. Leprechaun-like creatures rarely appear in Irish mythology and only became prominent in later folklore, modern depictions of leprechauns are largely based on derogatory 19th-century caricatures and stereotypes of the Irish. The name leprechaun is derived from the Irish word leipreachán, defined by Patrick Dinneen as a pigmy, a sprite, or leprechaun. The further derivation is less certain, according to most sources, the word is thought to be a corruption of Middle Irish luchrupán, from the Old Irish luchorpán, a compound of the roots lú and corp. The root corp, which was borrowed from the Latin corpus, the alternative spelling leithbrágan stems from a folk etymology deriving the word from leith and bróg, because of the frequent portrayal of the leprechaun as working on a single shoe. Alternative spellings in English have included lubrican, leprehaun, and lepreehawn, Some modern Irish books use the spelling lioprachán. The earliest known reference to the leprechaun appears in the tale known as the Echtra Fergus mac Léti. The text contains an episode in which Fergus mac Léti, King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and he captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for release. The leprechaun is said to be a creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes. According to William Butler Yeats, the wealth of these fairies comes from the treasure-crocks, buried of old in war-time. According to David Russell McAnally the leprechaun is the son of an evil spirit, the leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found. Prior to the 20th century, it was held that the leprechaun wore red. Samuel Lover, writing in 1831, describes the leprechaun as, quite a beau in his dress, notwithstanding, for he wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles. According to Yeats, the fairies, like the leprechaun, wear red jackets. The leprechauns jacket has seven rows of buttons with seven buttons to each row, round his neck is an Elizabethan ruff, and frills of lace are at his wrists
5.
Clurichaun
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The clurichaun or clúrachán, is an Irish fairy which resembles the leprechaun. Some folklorists describe the clurichaun as a form of the leprechaun. Others regard them as variations on the same creature. The folklorist Nicholas OKearney described the clurichaun in 1855 as follows, however, unlike their cousins, they are surly. Many fables conclude clurichauns enjoy riding sheep and dogs at night, if you treat them well they will protect your wine cellar, and if mistreated, they will wreak havoc on your home and spoil your wine stock. The clurichaun, Kweequel, is a prominent character found in the first story of the book Four Different Faces by C. J. Cala, the clurichaun appears as a regular character in Neil Gaimans acclaimed comic series The Sandman and its spin-off series The Dreaming. Cluracan continues the tradition of constant drunkenness but is portrayed as a tall, the clurichaun Naggeneen magically associates himself with Marys Place, the successor to Callahans Bar in Spider Robinsons stories. Naggeneen saves the bar from bankruptcy through his ability to drink tremendous quantities of alcohol—and to pay for it honestly
6.
Practical joke
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A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion or discomfort. A person who performs a practical joke is called a practical joker, other terms for practical jokes include prank, gag, jape, or shenanigan. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks or hoaxes in that the finds out, or is let in on the joke. Practical jokes are generally lighthearted and without lasting impact, their purpose is to make the victim feel humbled or foolish, in this fashion, most practical jokes are affectionate gestures of humour and designed to encourage laughter. However, practical jokes performed with cruelty can constitute bullying, whose intent is to harass or exclude rather than reinforce social bonds through ritual humbling, in Western culture, April Fools Day is a day traditionally dedicated to conducting practical jokes. A practical joke is practical because it consists of doing something physical. The joker would then wait for the victim to walk through the doorway, objects can also be used in practical jokes, like fake vomit, chewing gum bugs, exploding cigars, stink bombs, costumes and whoopee cushions. Practical jokes often occur inside offices, usually to surprise co-workers, covering the computer accessories with Jell-O, wrapping the desk with Christmas paper or aluminium foil or filling it with balloons are just some examples of office pranks. Practical jokes are also common occurrences during sleepovers, whereby teens will play pranks on their friends as they come into the home, American humorist H. Allen Smith wrote a 320-page book in 1953 called The Compleat Practical Joker that contains numerous examples of practical jokes. The book became a best seller not only in the United States, moira Marsh has written an entire volume about practical jokes. One of her findings is that in the USA they are often done by males than females. A practical joke recalled as his favorite by the playwright Charles MacArthur, concerns the American painter, while living in Paris in the 1920s, Peirce made a gift of a very big turtle to the woman who was the concierge of his building. The woman doted on the turtle and lavished care on it, a few days later Peirce substituted a somewhat larger turtle for the original one. This continued for some time, with larger and larger turtles being surreptitiously introduced into the womans apartment, the concierge was beside herself with happiness and displayed her miraculous turtle to the entire neighborhood. Peirce then began to sneak in and replace the turtle with smaller and smaller ones and this was the storyline behind Esio Trot, by Roald Dahl. Modern and successful pranks often take advantage of the modernization of tools, in Canada, engineering students have a reputation for annual pranks, at the University of British Columbia these usually involve leaving a Volkswagen beetle in an unexpected location. A similar prank was undertaken by engineering students at Cambridge University, England, pranks can also adapt to the political context of the era. Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are particularly known for their hacks, many practical jokers are comedians or entertainers, while others engage in pranks connected to social activism or to protest movements
7.
Changeling
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A changeling is a creature found in folklore and folk religion. A changeling child was believed to be a child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. The theme of the child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who was taken. The apparent changeling could also be a stock or fetch, a piece of wood that would soon appear to grow sick. The theme of the child is common among medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders. A human child might be due to many factors, to act as a servant. Most often it was thought that fairies exchanged the children, in rare cases, the very elderly of the Fairy people would be exchanged in the place of a human baby, and then the old fairy could live in comfort, being coddled by its human parents. Simple charms, such as a coat or open iron scissors left where the child sleeps, were thought to ward them off. D. L. Ashliman points out that changeling tales illustrate an aspect of survival in pre-industrial Europe. A peasant familys subsistence frequently depended upon the labor of each member. Changeling tales support other historical evidence in suggesting that infanticide was not infrequently the solution selected, one belief is that trolls thought that it was more respectable to be raised by humans and that they wanted to give their own children a human upbringing. Some people believed that trolls would take unbaptized children, once children had been baptized and therefore become part of the Church, the trolls could not take them. Beauty in human children and young women, particularly blond hair, was said to attract the fairies, in Scottish folklore, the children might be replacements for fairy children in the tithe to Hell, this is best known from the ballad of Tam Lin. According to common Scottish myths, a child born with a caul across his or her face is a changeling, other folklore say that human milk is necessary for fairy children to survive. It is also thought that human midwives were necessary to bring babies into the world. Some stories tell of changelings who forget they are not human, Changelings which do not forget, however, in some stories return to their fairy family, possibly leaving the human family without warning. The human child that was taken may often stay with the family forever
8.
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
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In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahans Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic clientele. The bar is run by Mike Callahan, the regulars are welcoming and willing to listen to any visitors problems, no matter how strange, but do not snoop if a visitor is unwilling to share. Strange and unusual events and visitors turn up with frequency in the stories, regulars at Callahans include a talking dog, several extraterrestrials and time travelers, an ethical vampire, a couple of Irish mythological beings, and an obscenity-spewing parrot. The stories make heavy use of puns, Irish whiskeys are the preferred beverage, with Tullamore Dew and Bushmills mentioned in nearly every collection of shorts or novel that references the saloon. The stories make an obvious homage to Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camps Tales from Gavagans Bar, clarkes Tales from the White Hart. Lady Sally McGee, the madam of a house of excellent repute, the regulars at Lady Sallys brothel insist on the same empathy and humor as those at Callahans, and they are just as likely to have fantastic backgrounds. Relatedly, nobody in Lady Sallys is forced into anything they are unwilling to do and this is the source of Callahans Law, Shared pain is lessened, shared joy, increased—thus do we refute entropy. Stated another way, Just as there are Laws of Conservation of Matter and Energy, so there are in fact Laws of Conservation of Pain, neither can ever be created or destroyed. But one can be converted into the other, Jake Stonebender, The narrator of the Callahan stories, he tried to commit suicide after losing his wife and daughter to a car accident which he believes to be his fault. His physician, Doc Webster, saved him and sent him to Callahans, Jake is a master with his guitar, whom he calls Lady Macbeth. Mike Callahan, The owner of the bar, he is ready with a drink. Sam Doc Webster, M. D. one of the oldest regulars and he works shifts at Smithtown General. Fast Eddie Costigan, The bars piano player, he jams with Jake and is equipped with a blackjack to discourage nosy questions, long Drink McGonnigle, One of the oldest regulars, a night watchman and also skilled at puns. Tom Hauptman, An ex-minister and widower, who was locked away for ten years with his wife in a Latin American banana republic and he believes missing out on ten years of sociological development means he cannot do his job. Callahan offers him the job of assistant bartender after he tells his story, noah Gonzalez, A sergeant in the police force who has a prosthetic leg. He works on the bomb squad, michael Mickey Finn, He is a humanoid alien who was sent to destroy Earth. Coming to Callahans makes him want to reconsider, with the assistance of the patrons he is able to become his own being, tommy Janssen, A teenager who comes to Callahans and gives up his heroin addiction. Tom Flannery, One of the regulars who has eight months to live at the start of the series
9.
Probability
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Probability is the measure of the likelihood that an event will occur. Probability is quantified as a number between 0 and 1, the higher the probability of an event, the more certain that the event will occur. A simple example is the tossing of a fair coin, since the coin is unbiased, the two outcomes are both equally probable, the probability of head equals the probability of tail. Since no other outcomes are possible, the probability is 1/2 and this type of probability is also called a priori probability. Probability theory is used to describe the underlying mechanics and regularities of complex systems. For example, tossing a coin twice will yield head-head, head-tail, tail-head. The probability of getting an outcome of head-head is 1 out of 4 outcomes or 1/4 or 0.25 and this interpretation considers probability to be the relative frequency in the long run of outcomes. A modification of this is propensity probability, which interprets probability as the tendency of some experiment to yield a certain outcome, subjectivists assign numbers per subjective probability, i. e. as a degree of belief. The degree of belief has been interpreted as, the price at which you would buy or sell a bet that pays 1 unit of utility if E,0 if not E. The most popular version of subjective probability is Bayesian probability, which includes expert knowledge as well as data to produce probabilities. The expert knowledge is represented by some prior probability distribution and these data are incorporated in a likelihood function. The product of the prior and the likelihood, normalized, results in a probability distribution that incorporates all the information known to date. The scientific study of probability is a development of mathematics. Gambling shows that there has been an interest in quantifying the ideas of probability for millennia, there are reasons of course, for the slow development of the mathematics of probability. Whereas games of chance provided the impetus for the study of probability. According to Richard Jeffrey, Before the middle of the century, the term probable meant approvable. A probable action or opinion was one such as people would undertake or hold. However, in legal contexts especially, probable could also apply to propositions for which there was good evidence, the sixteenth century Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano demonstrated the efficacy of defining odds as the ratio of favourable to unfavourable outcomes
10.
PlayStation 3
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The PlayStation 3 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles and it was first released on November 11,2006, in Japan, November 17,2006, in North America, and March 23,2007, in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 mainly competes against consoles such as Microsofts Xbox 360, the console was first officially announced at E32005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its storage medium. In September 2009, the Slim model of the PlayStation 3 was released and it no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design. A Super Slim variation was released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console. The system had a start in the market but managed to recover. As of March 2016, PlayStation 3 has sold 85 million units worldwide, putting it about on par with Xbox 360 and its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29,2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, in March 2017, the official site for PlayStation 3 in Japan was updated to state that it would be discontinued soon. Sony officially unveiled PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16,2005, at E32005, Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console, a 20 GB model, the 60 GB model was to be the only configuration to feature an HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. Both models were announced for a worldwide release, November 11,2006, for Japan and November 17,2006, for North America. On September 6,2006, Sony announced that PAL region PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007, because of a shortage of materials used in the Blu-ray drive. Also, the price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 20%. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 games running on final hardware, PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11,2006, at 07,00. According to Media Create,81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan, soon after its release in Japan, PS3 was released in North America on November 17,2006. Reports of violence surrounded the release of PS3, a customer was shot, campers were robbed at gunpoint, customers were shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fought over 10 systems
11.
Folklore (video game)
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Folklore, known in Japan as FolksSoul -Ushinawareta Denshō- is an action role-playing video game developed by Game Republic and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Folklore is an action role-playing game, where players control characters in a view to both explore their surroundings and engage in combat. The game is split into two worlds, the world set in small sea-side Irish village of Doolin and the more fantastical Netherworld inhabited by folk creatures. In Doolin, players lead their character throughout the village. When characters pass into the Netherworld, the gameplay shifts entirely towards the side of its genre. Basic attack techniques are performed by utilizing folk, various creatures, the two playable characters themselves also differ between play styles. The game takes place in the present day, meanwhile Keats, a journalist from a magazine called Unknown Realms, receives a telephone call from a woman in distress telling him to come to Doolin, and crying about Faerys who would kill her. Though he suspects it is a call, he pays a visit to Doolin Village. When Ellen arrives at the Cliff of Sidhe, she sees a cloaked figure resting at the edge, thinking it is her mother, she calls out to the figure, but it does not reply. Keats arrives on the then, and asks Ellen if she was the one who called him. When she, surprised, says no, he wonders if the figure at the cliff was the one who called him. A strong gust of wind blows across the cliff, and when it dies down. Ellen, distraught, runs down to the beach to find the body and she questions Ellen, but she is so distressed that she faints. Keats arrives and, after questioning Suzette about Ellen, decides that the best thing would be to bring Ellen back into the village, Suzette brings Ellen to a small hut and Keats to a base on the edge of the village. To solve the crime and reveal Ellens forgotten past, they will need to venture to the Netherworld as travelers, along the way they meet a variety of different characters, like Scarecrow and Belgae, who help out both of them in their quest. Throughout the game, players learn about the chaos the Netherworld was put into by a previous Netherworld traveller, the eventual goal is to reach the core of the Netherworld and fix it. The game takes two different perspectives in the story shows the different views and opinions of many different characters. While traveling in the Netherworld, many mysterious murders start to occur in the village of Doolin after the appearance of The Hag, the people murdered are the only ones who knew the truth of Ellens past
12.
Redcap
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A red cap or redcap, also known as a powrie or dunter, is a type of malevolent, murderous dwarf, goblin, elf or fairy found in Border Folklore. They are said to inhabit ruined castles found along the border between England and Scotland, redcaps are said to murder travellers who stray into their homes and dye their hats with their victims blood. Redcaps must kill regularly, for if the blood staining their hats dries out, redcaps are very fast in spite of the heavy iron pikes they wield and the iron-shod boots they wear. Outrunning a redcap is supposedly impossible and they are depicted as sturdy old men with red eyes, taloned hands and large teeth, wearing a red cap and bearing a pikestaff in the left hand. The tale of one in Perthshire depicts him as more benign, living in a room in Grantully Castle, the Kabouter, or redcaps of Dutch folklore, are very different, and more akin to brownies. The redcap familiar of Lord William de Soulis, called Robin Redcap, is said to have wrought much harm and ruin in the lands of his masters dwelling, Hermitage Castle. Ultimately, William was taken to the Ninestane Rig, a circle of stones by the castle, then wrapped in lead, in reality, William De Soulis was imprisoned in Dumbarton castle and died there, following his confessed complicity in the conspiracy against Robert the Bruce in 1320. Redcaps play a role in Tales of Wychwood, a novel by Daniel Martin Eckhart. Imprisoned in modern-day Wychwood Forest, elves and humans fight headhunting redcaps, Redcap is a mob genus found within the Dark Age of Camelot Midgard realm. In the video game Fable Legends, there is a creature named the Redcap. Instead of dyeing its hat with the blood of victims, it is dyed with their own, in the Dresden Files novel Cold Days by Jim Butcher, The Redcap is a vassal of Maeve and a major antagonist in the story. The Dresden Files, The Redcap In the Harmatia Cycle book The Sons of Thestian by M. E. Vaughan, in the TV series Supernatural, an unnamed fairy chases down Dean Winchester while sporting a red cap. On the Blue Öyster Cults eponymous debut album Blue Öyster Cult from 1972, Before the Kiss, A Redcap is Track 5, the final track on the original Side One of the vinyl disc. In the Merry Gentry novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, Merry creates an alliance with the Red caps by bringing back to their full original power. Redcaps are featured as both a Creature and a Pet in Wizard101 Bluecap Cofgod Far darrig Kobold Leprechaun Nain Rouge Tomte
13.
W. B. Yeats
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William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, he helped to found the Abbey Theatre, Yeats was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and others. He was born in Sandymount, Ireland and educated there and in London and he spent childhood holidays in County Sligo and studied poetry from an early age when he became fascinated by Irish legends and the occult. These topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the 20th century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and its slow-paced and lyrical poems display Yeatss debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, from 1900, his poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, in 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Of Anglo-Irish descent, William Butler Yeats was born at Sandymount in County Dublin and his father, John Butler Yeats, was a descendant of Jervis Yeats, a Williamite soldier, linen merchant, and well-known painter who died in 1712. Benjamin Yeats, Jerviss grandson and Williams great-great-grandfather, had in 1773 married Mary Butler of a family in County Kildare. Following their marriage, they kept the name Butler in the family name, Mary was a descendant of the Butler of Ormond family from the Neigham Gowran branch of the family. They were descendants of the first Earls of Ormond, by his marriage, Williams father John Yeats was studying law but abandoned his studies to study art at Heatherleys Art School in London. His mother, Susan Mary Pollexfen, came from a merchant family in Sligo. Yeats was raised a member of the Protestant Ascendancy, which was at the time undergoing a crisis of identity. In 1997, his biographer R. F. Foster observed that Napoleons dictum that to understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty is manifestly true of W. B. Y. Yeatss childhood and young adulthood were shadowed by the power-shift away from the minority Protestant Ascendancy, the 1880s saw the rise of Charles Stewart Parnell and the home rule movement, the 1890s saw the momentum of nationalism, while the Catholics became prominent around the turn of the century. These developments had an effect on his poetry, and his subsequent explorations of Irish identity had a significant influence on the creation of his countrys biography. In 1867, the moved to England to aid their father, John. At first the Yeats children were educated at home and their mother entertained them with stories and Irish folktales. John provided an education in geography and chemistry, and took William on natural history explorations of the nearby Slough countryside
14.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
15.
Fairy fort
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Fairy forts are the remains of lios, hillforts or other circular dwellings in Ireland. From late Iron Age to early Christian times, the occupants built circular structures with earth banks or ditches. These were sometimes topped with wooden palisades, and wooden framed buildings, as the dwellings were not durable, in many cases only vague circular marks remain in the landscape. Raths and lios are found in all parts of Ireland, tradition claimed that ringforts were fairy forts imbued with Druids magic and believers in the fairies did not alter them. The early pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland came to be seen as mythical and were associated with stories of fairies, Fairy forts and prehistoric Tumuli were seen as entrances to their world. Even cutting brush, especially the sceach or whitethorn, on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act, there are many folk tales about supernatural events happening at fairy forts. Real accidents which happened at ringforts could be given supernatural explanations, for example, a man who tried to blast a dolmen suffered a septic hand. The wrecked dolmen was left untouched. Other traditions hold that a leprechaun may allegedly know of hidden gold in a fairy fort, in literature, British author Rudyard Kipling made allusions to the process by which such legends grow in his 1906 novel, Puck of Pooks Hill. Workmen were working to level earthworks in a fort at Dooneeva. The originator of this fell apparently dead and his wife, a wise woman brought him back to life magically. A farmers best cow kept grazing in a fairy fort and it was unlucky for the cow to graze there but the cow pined when it was prevented from going to the fairy fort. One day the farmer found the cow there with broken legs and he killed the cow and his family ate the meat, some fresh and some salted. A year later the cow was seen in the fairy fort, the fairies told the farmer they had taken the cow because they needed the milk for their children. They had substituted an old horse and made the horse to be like the cow. The farmer took his cow home and he became very prosperous because the fairies supported him. A rich farmers son investigated why none of the cows would enter a field with a fairy fort, the old fairy asked the young man to help him get a young girl for his wife. The farmers son would not give the girl to the old fairy
16.
Fairy godmother
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In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perraults Cinderella, he concludes the tale with the moral that no personal advantages will suffice without proper connections. The fairy godmother is a case of the donor. Actual fairy godmothers are rare in fairy tales, but became familiar figures because of the popularity of the fairy tales of Madame dAulnoy and other précieuses. Many other supernatural patrons feature in fairy tales, these various kinds of animals. The fairy godmother has her roots in the figures of the Fates, this is clear in Sleeping Beauty, where they decree her fate. Typically, the fairy godmothers protégé is a prince or princess and the hero of the story, the most well-known example is probably the fairy godmother in Charles Perraults Cinderella. Eight fairy godmothers appear in The Sleeping Beauty, of Charles Perraults, the popularity of these versions of these tales led to this being widely regarded as a common fairy-tale motif, although they are less common in other tales. Indeed, the fairy godmothers were added to The Sleeping Beauty by Perrault, no such figures appeared in his source, Sole, Luna, in the Grimm Brothers variant of Cinderella, Aschenputtel is aided not by her fairy godmother but by her dead mother. A great variety of figures may also take this place. She is portrayed as kind, gentle and sweet, likewise, in her The White Doe, the fairy godmother helps the evil princess get revenge on the heroine. In Henriette-Julie de Murats Bearskin, the heroine has a fairy godmother, but she is offended that the marriage was arranged without consulting her. Fairy godmothers appear frequently in fantasy, especially comic versions and retellings of Cinderella. Whenever events are right for a tale to recur, the relevant Fairy Godmother steps in to make sure that the tale in question runs its course with as few fatalities as possible. In the television animated Halloween special Witchs Night Out, the witch is mistaken for a fairy godmother by the two children, Small and Tender and their sitter, Bazooey corrects them by addressing the fairy godmother as a wicked witch. The Fairly OddParents is a humorous animated TV Series where the fairies Cosmo, in Shrek 2, the fairy godmother who appears is an evil twin sister of Cinderellas fairy godmother. She is a conniving, crooked businesswoman, who is willing to resort to blackmail and/or murder to further her own interests. The Discworld novel Witches Abroad also features a fairy godmother, Lady Lilith de Tempscire
17.
Fairy path
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Ley lines and spirit paths, such as with corpse roads, have some similarities with these fairy paths. A fairy ring is also a used by fairies, but in a circle, for dancing. Yeats. the fairies dance in a place apart, Shaking their milk-white feet in a ring, the concept is usually associated with Celtic folklore, especially that of Ireland. A significant number of the characteristics of fairy paths are shared in common with ley lines, in many parts of Northern Europe the round barrows were the traditional homes of the fairies, elves, or trolls and were avoided by the country folk. Such places were Fairy Toot in Somerset, Elf Howe barrow near Folkton, Yorkshire, cornwall was and is a stronghold of fairy lore, fairies are said to dance on Carn Gluze, near St Just in Penwith. In Danish Jutland there was a belief that Barrow-folk dwelt in barrows and were descendants of angels cast out of Heaven. Likewise, it was considered bad luck to let cattle graze on any place where the Elf-folk have been, however, all evils may be averted if one were to ask at an Elf-barrow for permission to graze cattle on their mound. In Sweden similar beliefs existed and one barrow called Helvetesbacke that lies near Kråktorps gård, in Germany the Wild Troop of Rodenstein was said to ride a straight path between the castles of Rodenstein and Schnellert. Also throughout Europe are Corpse roads, which are believed to be of the same basic belief as fairy paths. In Germany and the Netherlands in particular, these tend to be straight lines and are known by a variety of names including Geisterweg and Helweg in German. A similarly straight road did however run straight over various burial mounds at Rösaring, in Ireland, people who had illnesses or other misfortune, were said to live in houses that were in the way or in a contrary place, obstructing a fairy path. An example is that of a family in four children sickened and died. The fifth child sickened and was near death, only to make a sudden, an example of this fairy path straightness is provided by an account concerning a croft at Knockeencreen, Brosna, County Kerry. In an interview in the 1980s, the last human occupant told of the troubles his grandfather had experienced there, the front door is exactly opposite the back door. The grandfather was informed by a gypsy that the dwelling stands on a fairy path running between two hills. The gypsy advised the grandfather to keep the doors slightly ajar at night to allow the free passage. The advice was heeded and the problem ceased and it so happens that the building is indeed on a straight line drawn between two local hilltops, and is, moreover, at one end of a long, straight track. The fairies processed from Rath Ringlestown in Ireland every night and parents brought their children in before the fairies were due to pass, the path passed round several bushes which were left undisturbed by the locals
18.
Fairy ring
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A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow to over 10 metres in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and they are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone, fungus mycelium is present in the ring or arc underneath. Fairy rings are the subject of folklore and myth worldwide—particularly in Western Europe. While they are seen as hazardous or dangerous places, they can sometimes be linked with good fortune. The mycelium of a growing in the ground absorbs nutrients by secretion of enzymes from the tips of the hyphae. This breaks down molecules in the soil into smaller molecules that are then absorbed through the walls of the hyphae near their growing tips. The mycelium will move outward from the center, and when the nutrients in the center are exhausted, there are two theories regarding the process involved in creating fairy rings. One states that the ring is begun by a spore from the sporocarpus. The underground presence of the fungus can also cause withering or varying colour or growth of the grass above, if they make an arc or a ring, they continuously grow about the centre of this object. One of the manifestations of fairy ring growth is a necrotic zone—an area in which grass or other plant life has withered or died and these zones are caused by the mycelia which, during a very dry year, coat the roots of grasses and other herbs in meadows. After some time they are removed by biotic factors from the ground, patterns other than the basic ring or arc are also possible, circles, doubled arcs, sickle-shaped arcs, and other complicated formations are also formed by this process. Fungi can deplete the soil of readily available such as nitrogen. Some fungi also produce chemicals which act like hormones called gibberellins, long-term observations of fairy rings on Shillingstone Hill in Dorset, England, further suggested that the cycle depended on the continuous presence of rabbits. Chalky soils on higher elevations in the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England used to support many meadow-type fairy rings, rabbits crop grass very short in open areas and produce nitrogen-rich droppings. Mushrooms need more soil nitrogen than grass does, a ring can start from only a few spores from which the mycelium develops, the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms only appearing later, when sufficient mycelial mass has been generated to support them. Subsequent generations of fungi grow only outwards, because the parent generations have depleted their local nitrogen levels, meanwhile, rabbits keep cropping the grass, but do not eat the fungi, allowing them to grow through their competition to tower, relatively, above the grass. It is unclear whether these were metabolites or pollutants, brominated compounds are unknown as metabolites from terrestrial fungi
19.
Fairy tale
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Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables. The term is used for stories with origins in European tradition and, at least in recent centuries. In less technical contexts, the term is used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness. Colloquially, a tale or fairy story can also mean any far-fetched story or tall tale, it is used especially of any story that not only is not true. Legends are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legends, Fairy tales are found in oral and in literary form, the name fairy tale was first ascribed to them by Madame dAulnoy in the late 17th century. Many of todays fairy tales have evolved from stories that have appeared, with variations. The history of the tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms can survive. Still, according to researchers at universities in Durham and Lisbon, such stories may date back thousands of years, Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are still written today. Folklorists have classified fairy tales in various ways, the Aarne-Thompson classification system and the morphological analysis of Vladimir Propp are among the most notable. Other folklorists have interpreted the significance, but no school has been definitively established for the meaning of the tales. It moves in a world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvelous. In this never-never land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms, a fairy tale with a tragic rather than a happy end is called an anti-fairy tale. Although the fairy tale is a genre within the larger category of folktale. The term itself comes from the translation of Madame DAulnoys conte de fées, Vladimir Propp, in his Morphology of the Folktale, criticized the common distinction between fairy tales and animal tales on the grounds that many tales contained both fantastic elements and animals. Were I asked, what is a fairytale, I should reply, Read Undine, that is a fairytale. of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful. As Stith Thompson points out, talking animals and the presence of magic seem to be common to the fairy tale than fairies themselves. However, the presence of animals that talk does not make a tale a fairy tale, especially when the animal is clearly a mask on a human face. Steven Swann Jones identified the presence of magic as the feature by which fairy tales can be distinguished from other sorts of folktales, davidson and Chaudri identify transformation as the key feature of the genre
20.
Alberich
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In the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, Alberich is a dwarf, who guards the treasure of the Nibelungen, but is overcome by Siegfried. News of the robbery and ring of power incited gods. The giants Fafner and Fasolt demanded the ring in payment for building Valhalla, in the border, the gods, Odin, Frigg, Loki, Freyr, and Thor all search despairingly for the hidden treasure. In Wagners opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, Alberich is the chief of the Nibelungen race of dwarfs and he gains the power to forge the ring after renouncing love. His brother, the smith Mime, creates the Tarnhelm for Alberich, hagen, the murderer of the hero, is the son of Alberich by Grimhilde, a human woman. Wagners Alberich is a character, mostly based on Alberich from the Nibelungenlied. In the World War I, the German retreat to fortified positions in the Hindenburg Line, oberon Elegast/Elbegast/Alegast— elf guest, elf spirit Bulfinch, Thomas. Reprinted by New York, Harper & Row,1970, p. 354–356,903, myths of Northern Lands - Index
21.
The Dagda
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The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, chieftain and he is associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. He is said to have control over life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and he is often described as large man or giant wearing a hooded cloak. He owns a staff or club which can kill with one end and bring to life with the other, a cauldron which never runs empty. The Dagda mates with many goddesses, including Boann and the Morrígan and his children include Aengus, Brigit, Bodb Derg, Cermait, Aed, and Midir. The name Dagda is believed to come from Proto-Celtic, *Dagodeiwos and he is also known by the epithets Eochu or Eochaid Ollathair, Ruad Rofhessa, Samildánach, Aed Abaid of Ess Ruad, Fer Benn, Cera, Cerrce, Easal, Eogabal and Crom-Eocha. Dáire also appears to have another name for the Dagda. Furthermore, some scholars have linked him with the harvest god Crom Cruach and Crom Dubh, as well as with the death, the Dagda has been likened to the Germanic god Odin and the pan-Celtic god Sucellos. Tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a magic club. The club was supposed to be able to kill nine men with one blow, the cauldron was known as the Undry and was said to be bottomless, from which no man left unsatisfied. He possessed two pigs, one of which was always growing whilst the other was always roasting, the Dagda was a High King of the Tuatha Dé Danann after his predecessor Nuada was injured in battle. The Tuatha Dé Danann are the race of beings who conquered the Fomorians. His lover was Boann and his daughter was Breg, prior to the battle with the Fomorians, he coupled with the goddess of war, the Mórrígan, on Samhain in exchange for a plan of battle. Such features are thought to be the additions of Christian redactors for comedic purposes, the Dagda had an affair with Bóand, wife of Elcmar. In order to hide their affair, Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months, therefore their son, Aengus, was conceived, gestated and he, along with Bóand, helped Aengus search for his love. Whilst Aengus was away the Dagda shared out his land among his children, under the guidance of Lugh Aengus later tricked his father out of his home at the Brú na Bóinne. In The Wooing of Étaín, on the hand, Aengus uses the same ploy to trick Elcmar out of Brú na Bóinne. The Dagda was also the father of Bodb Dearg, Cermait, Midir, Áine, and Brigit
22.
Freyr
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Freyr or Frey is one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Norse *frawjaz, lord, Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr is said to bestow peace and pleasure on mortals. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and he has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyrs falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr, eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own if wise be he who wields it. Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler, however, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Freyr is revived in the period in Heathenry. Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremens Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Adam claimed to have access to first-hand accounts on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr with the Latinized name Fricco and mentions that an image of him at Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary and his description of the Temple at Uppsala gives some details on the god. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco, historians are divided on the reliability of Adams account. While he is close in time to the events he describes he has an agenda to emphasize the role of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen in the Christianization of Scandinavia. His timeframe for the Christianization of Sweden conflicts with other sources, such as runic inscriptions, on the other hand, the existence of phallic idols was confirmed in 1904 with a find at Rällinge in Södermanland. When Snorri Sturluson was writing in 13th century Iceland, the indigenous Germanic gods were still remembered although they had not been openly worshiped for more than two centuries, in the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods. This description has similarities to the account by Adam of Bremen. Adam assigns control of the weather and produce of the fields to Thor, Snorri also omits any explicitly sexual references in Freyrs description. Those discrepancies can be explained in several ways and it is possible that the Norse gods did not have exactly the same roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism but it must also be remembered that Adam and Snorri were writing with different goals in mind. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information, the only extended myth related about Freyr in the Prose Edda is the story of his marriage
23.
Yngvi
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Old Norse Yngvi, Old High German Inguin and Old English Ingwine are names that relate to a theonym which appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr. Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz was the ancestor of the Ingaevones, or more accurately Ingvaeones. Old Norse Yngvi as well as Old High German Inguin and Old English Ingwine are all derived from the Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz, sound changes in late-Proto-Germanic transformed *Ingwaz into *Ingwi in the nominative and *Ingwin in the accusative. Tacitus asserts their descent from the three sons of Mannus or *Mannaz, the Proto-Germanic first man, of whom *Ingwaz may have been one, other names that retain the theonym are Inguiomerus or Ingemar and Yngling, the name of an old Scandinavian dynasty. The ŋ rune together with Peorð and Eihwaz is among the cases of runes of uncertain derivation unattested in early inscriptions. The rune first appears independently on the row of the Kylver Stone. There are a number of attestations of the i͡ŋ bind rune or, the Old English rune poem contains these obscure lines, ᛝ Ing wæs ærest mid Eástdenum gesewen secgum, oð he síððan eást ofer wæg gewát. ᛝ Ing was first amidst the East Danes so seen, until he went eastward over the sea, thus the Heardings named that hero. Yngvi is a name of the god Freyr, perhaps Freyrs true name, in the Íslendingabók Yngvi Tyrkja konungr Yngvi king of Turkey appears as the father of Njörðr who in turn is the father of Yngvi-Freyr, ancestor of the Ynglings. According to the Skjöldunga saga Odin came from Asia and conquered Northern Europe and he gave Sweden to his son Yngvi and Denmark to his son Skjöldr. Since then the kings of Sweden were called Ynglings and those of Denmark Skjöldungs, in the Gesta Danorum and in the Ynglinga saga, Freyr is euhemerized as a king of Sweden. In the Ynglinga saga, Yngvi-Freyr reigned in succession to his father Njörðr who had – in this variant – succeeded Odin, snorri here does not identify Yngvi and Freyr, although Freyr occasionally appears elsewhere as a son of Odin instead of a son of Njörðr. In the related account in the Ættartolur Genealogies attached to Hversu Noregr byggðist, the Ynglinga Saga section of Snorris Heimskringla introduces a second Yngvi, son of Alrekr, who is a descendant of Yngvi-Freyr and who shared the Swedish kingship with his brother Álf. The element Ing- was widely used in Germanic names from a period, it is not clear whether it originally referred to the Ingaevones. Inguiomer was a relative of the Cheruscan Arminius in the first century, ingundis was a wife of the Frankish king Chlothar I, whose son Charibert I married an Ingoberga. Other combinations such as masculine Inguin, Ingulf, Ingobald, feminine Inghildis, Ingedrudis, Ingoflidis, as well as the short forms Ingo and Inga are recorded in the early medieval period. In Scandinavia and Germany, names in Ing survived into modern usage, e. g. Ingmar, Ingvar, Ingvild, Ingeborg, Ingrid, Ingegerd
24.
Freyja
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In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Along with her brother Freyr, her father Njörðr, and her mother, stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freyia, and Freja. Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odins hall, within Fólkvangr is her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyjas husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent and she cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, Freyjas name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization, rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art. The name Freyja is transparently lady and ultimately derives from Proto-Germanic *frawōn, Freyja is cognate with, for example, Old Saxon frūa lady, mistress and Old High German frouwa. The theonym Freyja is thus considered to have been an epithet in origin, in the Poetic Edda, Freyja is mentioned or appears in the poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Oddrúnargrátr, and Hyndluljóð. Völuspá contains a stanza that mentions Freyja, referring to her as Óðs girl, Freyja being the wife of her husband, the stanza recounts that Freyja was once promised to an unnamed builder, later revealed to be a jötunn and subsequently killed by Thor. In the poem Grímnismál, Odin tells the young Agnar that every day Freyja allots seats to half of those that are slain in her hall Fólkvangr, while Odin owns the other half. In the poem Lokasenna, where Loki accuses nearly every female in attendance of promiscuity and/or unfaithfulness, the introduction to the poem notes that among other gods and goddesses, Freyja attends a celebration held by Ægir. Loki tells her to be silent, and says that he knows all about her—that Freyja is not lacking in blame, for each of the gods and elves in the hall have been her lover. She says that Loki is lying, that he is just looking to blather about misdeeds, and since the gods and goddesses are furious at him, he can expect to go home defeated. Loki tells Freyja to be silent, calls her a malicious witch, Njörðr interjects—he says that a woman having a lover other than her husband is harmless, and he points out that Loki has borne children, and calls Loki a pervert. The poem Þrymskviða features Loki borrowing Freyjas cloak of feathers and Thor dressing up as Freyja to fool the lusty jötunn Þrymr, in the poem, Thor wakes up to find that his powerful hammer, Mjöllnir, is missing. Thor tells Loki of his hammer, and the two go to the beautiful court of Freyja. Thor asks Freyja if she will lend him her cloak of feathers, Freyja agrees, Loki flies away in the whirring feather cloak, arriving in the land of Jötunheimr. He spies Þrymr sitting on top of a mound, Þrymr reveals that he has hidden Thors hammer deep within the earth and that no one will ever know where the hammer is unless Freyja is brought to him as his wife
25.
Gwyn ap Nudd
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Gwyn ap Nudd is a Welsh mythological figure, the king of the Tylwyth Teg or fair folk and ruler of the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn, and whose name means “white son of Nudd”. Gwyn is the son of Nudd and would thus be grandson to Beli Mawr and nephew of Arianrhod, Llefelys, Penarddun, Afallach, Gofannon, Nynniaw, Peibaw, and Caswallawn. Based on their shared patronymic, his siblings include Edern, a warrior who appears in a number of Arthurian texts, and Owain ap Nudd, who is mentioned briefly in Geraint and Enid. In Culhwch and Olwen, Gwyn is the lover of Creiddylad, the daughter of Lludd, Gwyn plays a prominent role in the early Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen in which he abducts his sister Creiddylad from her betrothed, Gwythyr ap Greidawl. In retaliation, Gwythyr raised a great host against Gwyn, leading to a battle between the two. Gwyn was victorious and, following the conflict, captured a number of Gwythyrs noblemen including Nwython, Gwyn would later murder Nwython, and force Cyledr to eat his fathers heart. As a result of his torture at Gwyns hands, Cyledr went mad, after the intervention of Arthur, Gwyn and Gwythr agreed to fight for Creiddylad every May Day until Judgement Day. The warrior who was victorious on this day would at last take the maiden. This fight may be an example of a putative contest between summer and winter as well as a variant of the putative Holly King myth proposed by Robert Graves. According to Culhwch and Olwen, Gwyn was placed over the brood of devils in Annwn, before he can win Olwens hand, Culhwch ap Cilydd must complete a number of seemingly impossible tasks given to him by Olwens father, the giant Ysbaddaden. One of these tasks is to retrieve the comb and scissors from the head of the vicious boar, as it is impossible to hunt the boar without Gwyns aid, he is called upon to join Arthur and his retinue against Twrch Trwyth. During the hunt, he is mounted on Du y Moroedd, both Gwyn and Gwythyr set out with Arthur to retrieve the blood of Orddu, witch of the uplands of hell. Gwyn appears prominently in the medieval poem The Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir, in this narrative, Gwyn, returning from battle, chances upon Gwyddno, king of Cantrer Gwaelod, and grants him his protection. His skill in combat is extolled in this poem, he is described as the hope of armies and hero of hosts and, in Welsh folklore, to hear the baying of Gwyns hounds was a portent of imminent death in the family. In The Dialogue, Gwyn is also accompanied by a hound, Gwyn apparently witnessed a conflict before Caer Vandwy, an otherworldy fortress mentioned in Preiddeu Annwfn. Over time, Gwyns role would diminish and, in folklore, he was regarded as the king of the Tylwyth Teg. He appears as a figure in Buchedd Collen, in which he. The celebrated fourteenth-century bard, Dafydd ap Gwilym refers to Gwyn in a number of texts, Gwyn is often associated with the Wild Hunt, in a role akin to Woden or Herne the Hunter
26.
Queen of Elphame
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Queen of Elphame or Elf-hame, in the folklore belief of Lowland Scotland and Northern England, designates the elfin queen of Faerie, mentioned in Scottish witch trials. She is equivalent to the Queen of Fairy who rules Faërie or Fairyland, the Queen, according to testimony, has a husband named Christsonday. Such a queen also appears in the legend of Thomas the Rhymer, the name Queen of Elfland is mentioned for her only in a later ballad. Thomas the Rhymers abduction by the queen was not just familiar folklore, the Queen of Fairies in Tam Lin may be the queen of the same world, at least, she too is compelled deliver humans as tithe to hell every seven years. In Scottish popular tradition the Fairy Queen was known as the Gyre-Carling or Nicnevin, In one metrical legend, The Faeries of Fawdon Hill is where the Fairy Court is held, presided by Queen Mab. The Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue lists only the Elfame and elphyne spellings, other spellings include, Quene of Elphane and Court of Elfane, Court of Elfame, Queen of Elphen. The Queen of Elphame designation was used in isolated instances in the 19th century. Serious scholarship on Thomas the Rhymer, for instance, generally do not employ this spelling, but it was embraced by Robert Graves who used Queen of Elphame in his works. Usage has since spread in popular publications. The Queen of Elphame was invoked, under various names, in Scottish witch trials, the forms Queen of Elfame occur in documents from the trial of Alison Pearson in 1588, and emendation to elf-hame was suggested by the editor, Robert Pitcairn. Alison was carried off to Elfame on a number of occasions over the years, the elfin folk from this world would arrive unexpectedly, allowing her to join in their herb-picking before sunrise, and brewing their salves before her eyes. But they were abusive, striking her in a manner that left her bereft of all her powers on her sides. The form Queen of Elphen occurs in the 1598 witchcraft trial indictment, further down however, the Devil whom he calls Christsonday is the goodman, though the Quene has grip of all the craft. Andro Man further confessed that on the Holy Rood Day the Queen of Elphen and she and her companions had human shapes, yet were as shadows, and that they were playing and dancing whenever they pleased. When interrogated, Bessie denied having carnal relations with Thom, though he took her by the apron. And indeed, it was at the behest of this Queen who was his master that Thom had come to Bessie at all, the Queens shape-shifting magic extends to her own person. Andro Mans confession also noted that she can be old or young as she pleases, marion Grant, of the same coven as Andro Man, witnessed the queen as a fine woman, clad in a white walicot. Similarly, Isobel Gowdies confession described the Qwein of Fearrie as handsomely clothed in linen and in white and brown clothes
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Saci (Brazilian folklore)
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Saci is a character commonly considered the best known character in Brazilian folklore. He is a black or mulatto youngster with holes in the palms of his hands. However, his cap is often depicted as having a bad smell, most people who claimed to have stolen this cap say they can never wash the smell away. There are several variants of the myth, including, Saci-pererê, black as coal, Saci-trique, mulatto and more benign, Saci-saçurá, with red eyes. Saci-pererê is also the name of a Brazilian cocktail consisting of 60 millilitres of cachaça and 45 millilitres of honey, an incorrigible prankster, the Saci causes no major harm, but there is no little harm that he wont do. He hides childrens toys, sets farm animals loose, teases dogs—and curses chicken eggs, in the kitchen, the Saci spills salt, sours the milk, burns the bean stew, and drops flies into the soup. If a popcorn kernel fails to pop, it is because the Saci cursed it, given half a chance, he dulls the seamstresss needles, hides her thimbles, and tangles her sewing threads. If he sees a nail lying on the ground, he turns the point up, in short, people blame anything that goes wrong—in or outside the house—on the Saci. Besides disappearing or becoming invisible, the Saci can transform himself into a Matitaperê or Matita Pereira, one can escape a pursuing Saci by crossing a water stream. The Saci dares not cross, for then he loses all his powers, another way is to drop ropes full of knots. The Saci is compelled to stop and undo the knots, one can also try to appease him by leaving behind some cachaça, or some tobacco for his pipe. He is fond of juggling embers or other objects and letting them fall through the holes on his palms. An exceedingly nimble fellow, the lack of his leg does not prevent him from bareback-riding a horse. Every dust devil, says the legend, is caused by the spin-dance of an invisible Saci, one can capture him by throwing into the dust devil a rosary made of separately blessed prayer beads, or by pouncing on it with a sieve. With care, the captured Saci can be coaxed to enter a dark glass bottle and he can also be enslaved by stealing his cap, which is the source of his power. However, depending on the treatment he gets from his master and he was originally a creature of the night, and indeed the ŷaci means Moon in Old Tupi. This indigenous character was appropriated and transformed in the 18th century by the African slaves who had brought in large numbers to Brazil. Farm slaves would tell Saci stories to amuse and frighten the children, in this process the creature became black, his red hair metamorphosed into a red cap, and, as the African elders who usually told the tales, he came to be always smoking his clay-and-reed pipe
