Quote from AEDorsay >>

Something to note, if you can all forgive the pedant…

Irish, Briton, Scots, Iceni, Several Germanic, and some Balkan myths and folklore are all Celtic or Celt, and they are not a unified mythology — not even among the gods or the culture heroes.

Irish myths are a class of their own, and the Mabinogion is considered the main source for it. Brythonic myth and folklore, prior to the Romans, is even less well known (and this is where we get the legends of druids from — nearly 3,000 years ago), but we do have many Neolithic recoveries that shed light on much of their life, including the Druids and their tendency towards human sacrifice and live burial.

Germanic myths (more truly Celtic) are often intermingled with Irish and. Ruth o ic because of the successive waves of Ibero-Celts (Angles, Saxons, others) that drew the Germanic myths with them, which in turn blended with or supplanted the Brythonic and even Pictish folklore (after the Romans), and then there were the northern Germanic and southern Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Finnish myths that filled in even more places.

Irish myths, however, had a bit more staying power, in part because of the rather gory history, lol, but also because they were less overwhelmed with the invasions, and so remained more true to their heritage.

Scots and Welsh (along with Isle of Man) hold more closely there, to those traditions, while Britain essentially became an amalgam (and produced King Arthur in the 1200’s from the sum of it).

The Celtic culture, grown from the hallstat culture which in turn arose from the earlier Urnfeld culture. The areas in Green are what one is referring to when one says Celtic, as it is a group of different cultures that share common language bounds.

now, note that there is a really light green area on the coast between Spain and France — that is the Basque region, and they have a very distinct and isolated language that is outside the Celtic frame (Basques have a really cool folklore as well, but it is being lost 🙁).

For how Celts got there, you start on the right, in the small green area in Anatolia (presently Turkey), you bounce to the tiny dapple on the edge of the sea, and then they went in and took over all the rest in a series of waves that led to a blending with the culture that is yellow, creating Celts as we understand all their variety today.

 

sorry for this. But I thought you all would like this because knowing it helps you to learn more about the different myth patterns and folklore.

 That’s really interesting! And I love Mercedes Lackey.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Something to note, if you can all forgive the pedant…

Irish, Briton, Scots, Iceni, Several Germanic, and some Balkan myths and folklore are all Celtic or Celt, and they are not a unified mythology — not even among the gods or the culture heroes.

Irish myths are a class of their own, and the Mabinogion is considered the main source for it. Brythonic myth and folklore, prior to the Romans, is even less well known (and this is where we get the legends of druids from — nearly 3,000 years ago), but we do have many Neolithic recoveries that shed light on much of their life, including the Druids and their tendency towards human sacrifice and live burial.

Germanic myths (more truly Celtic) are often intermingled with Irish and. Ruth o ic because of the successive waves of Ibero-Celts (Angles, Saxons, others) that drew the Germanic myths with them, which in turn blended with or supplanted the Brythonic and even Pictish folklore (after the Romans), and then there were the northern Germanic and southern Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Finnish myths that filled in even more places.

Irish myths, however, had a bit more staying power, in part because of the rather gory history, lol, but also because they were less overwhelmed with the invasions, and so remained more true to their heritage.

Scots and Welsh (along with Isle of Man) hold more closely there, to those traditions, while Britain essentially became an amalgam (and produced King Arthur in the 1200’s from the sum of it).

The Celtic culture, grown from the hallstat culture which in turn arose from the earlier Urnfeld culture. The areas in Green are what one is referring to when one says Celtic, as it is a group of different cultures that share common language bounds.

now, note that there is a really light green area on the coast between Spain and France — that is the Basque region, and they have a very distinct and isolated language that is outside the Celtic frame (Basques have a really cool folklore as well, but it is being lost 🙁).

For how Celts got there, you start on the right, in the small green area in Anatolia (presently Turkey), you bounce to the tiny dapple on the edge of the sea, and then they went in and took over all the rest in a series of waves that led to a blending with the culture that is yellow, creating Celts as we understand all their variety today.

 

sorry for this. But I thought you all would like this because knowing it helps you to learn more about the different myth patterns and folklore.

 No need to apologize, this is awesome. I am in a self-taught mythology and folklore class and I want as much stuff like this as possible.

I am reading about Celtic mythology right now so this is really helpful to have in mind.

It is a little frustrating how so much mythology was altered and lost because monks tried to "christianize" it. Then again, even more of it would have probably been lost because the monks were the only ones writing it down.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Something to note, if you can all forgive the pedant…

Irish, Briton, Scots, Iceni, Several Germanic, and some Balkan myths and folklore are all Celtic or Celt, and they are not a unified mythology — not even among the gods or the culture heroes.

Irish myths are a class of their own, and the Mabinogion is considered the main source for it. Brythonic myth and folklore, prior to the Romans, is even less well known (and this is where we get the legends of druids from — nearly 3,000 years ago), but we do have many Neolithic recoveries that shed light on much of their life, including the Druids and their tendency towards human sacrifice and live burial.

Germanic myths (more truly Celtic) are often intermingled with Irish and. Ruth o ic because of the successive waves of Ibero-Celts (Angles, Saxons, others) that drew the Germanic myths with them, which in turn blended with or supplanted the Brythonic and even Pictish folklore (after the Romans), and then there were the northern Germanic and southern Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Finnish myths that filled in even more places.

Irish myths, however, had a bit more staying power, in part because of the rather gory history, lol, but also because they were less overwhelmed with the invasions, and so remained more true to their heritage.

Scots and Welsh (along with Isle of Man) hold more closely there, to those traditions, while Britain essentially became an amalgam (and produced King Arthur in the 1200’s from the sum of it).

The Celtic culture, grown from the hallstat culture which in turn arose from the earlier Urnfeld culture. The areas in Green are what one is referring to when one says Celtic, as it is a group of different cultures that share common language bounds.

now, note that there is a really light green area on the coast between Spain and France — that is the Basque region, and they have a very distinct and isolated language that is outside the Celtic frame (Basques have a really cool folklore as well, but it is being lost 🙁).

For how Celts got there, you start on the right, in the small green area in Anatolia (presently Turkey), you bounce to the tiny dapple on the edge of the sea, and then they went in and took over all the rest in a series of waves that led to a blending with the culture that is yellow, creating Celts as we understand all their variety today.

 

sorry for this. But I thought you all would like this because knowing it helps you to learn more about the different myth patterns and folklore.

 Wow!

For today, how about some mythical rivers!

Most people have heard of the Styx -- but it was only one of two rivers. Lethe was the other.

There is also:

The River Vaitarna, which purifies all vices (sins).

The River Ifing, the swift barrier between the Gods and Man

The River Sambation, the river of Exile, for the exiles sent beyond it.

Ooh!

An interesting thing that comes from reading old creaky books on stuff like this is that you will eventually come across a notable work that described in some detail the nature of the four elementals that existed in eurocentric thought during the Renaissance.

Among the many interesting things was that you could find the names of the rulers of the four elemental planes: Gob, Peralda, Djin, and Necksa. Paracelsus put a lot of effort and thought (and research) into looking into the nature of the four elemental spirits: Gnomes, Undines, Sylphs, and Salamanders.  This was in the 1500's, and the same guy became kinda big in this new field they we just starting to figure out at the time -- something called Medicine.

He was an alchemist, and they studied such things intensely, arguing and verbally sparring.

So we get things like

• Earth can embody the desire to work with physical matter, transforming the world so that things can have a truly lasting value. They are the bastions, the yearning, the support, the heat of a household. At times their fidelity might seem stubborn, but they are always brave.
• Water can increase the ability to feel and have access to love —water is the supreme medium to transmit and amplify. They are beings of a refined sensuality, connected to dreams and with the ludic appearance of nature (seduction, erotic joy and concealment).
• Air embodies arrogant expressions of the word, of the ascendant energy; sublime, invisible and light. They are beings of great beauty and harmony, physical and intellectual, they generally dominate the arts. Clarity, transparency and detachment are some of their qualities.
• And fire, well, it is the expression of will, power, intensity, and ardour (spiritual and erotic). Her incendiary nature can make them volatile and dangerous for those who interact with them —if they don’t have earth qualities.

Of course, about two hundred years later a poet took things in a different direction -- or did he?

I hereby promote you to Head Mythology Nerd. 

Smoke, I think the council should vote for stuff like that.

Quote from KoboldNerd >>

Smoke, I think the council should vote for stuff like that.

hear, hear!

I just like dropping tidbits in now and again, lol. I am old and pedantic -- don't make me teach Folklore, please. Just let me share as the mood hits.

Well, with how much you know, you could help with settling debates.

Well, I can't argue that, but...

Even folks like me disagree on some stuff, so it would depend on the debate -- and if it was being bent towards the game or not.

For general folklore, absolutely. I can usually find something -- and if there was anything to thank Victorian's for, it was that they loved this stuff and kept pretty good records.

12

yep, them Victorians did love records.

Quote from KingOrc >>

22

 Why did you roll a dice?

Because... I like dice... Dice are... important in mythology... maybe...

AEDorsay, I need a fact check.

Quote from KoboldNerd >>

AEDorsay, I need a fact check.

  Dice are in fact important to some mythology, lol.

Dineh (Navajo) people have a complex game tied to myth cycles involving three stick dice.  They are used in certain ceremonies that reflect the traditions and myths of the tribe.

Edit: Also, in some Greek myths, it is Hermes who is said to have invented them.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from KoboldNerd >>

AEDorsay, I need a fact check.

  Dice are in fact important to some mythology, lol.

Dineh (Navajo) people have a complex game tied to myth cycles involving three stick dice.  They are used in certain ceremonies that reflect the traditions and myths of the tribe.

 Thank you.

Today I am going to describe a creature based on a different kind of folklore -- popular folklore from the 20th century. See if you can figure it out from the way I describe them in D&D...

Mites are a race of violet or purple skinned, two foot tall, bipedal, pigeon toed, winged, flight capable beings with one eye in the center of their wide heads, one brightly colored horn that juts up from it, no visible nose, and a gaping maw that stretches nearly the width of the head and can open to almost a foot wide. They are primarily arboreal, preferring to ambush prey from the trees, and seem to be able to tell if the prey is going to be tough or not. They have an intense love of music, and will often pause to gyrate strangely when they hear a tune they like. They can also be bargained with , having a value on very short shorts, something they occasionally wear.

When attacking, they will drop to the ground and begin to gyrate and speak their strange tongue, including such words as wop, bam, boom, bop, a-boppa, lopa, and lum. This is a ritual chant to prepare the sacrifice for their deity, which appears to just be a ten foot tall representation of one of them. The horn on their head can be useful to gore their opponents, but also can be used as a sort of musical instrument, with them exhaling through it while closing off holes they have drilled into it in some strange ritual.

Victims are sacrificed and their corpses dragged t the mouth of a cave within a large, circular rock that is thick in the middle and thin on on top, like two inverted teacup saucers. There, a shaman keeps careful count, and those who have reached an unknown number of acceptable sacrifices are allowed into the cave. After a period of time, they will emerge, nearly eight feet tall and commensurate in size. this massive increase in size leaves them in an aggravated state, which can only be calmed by music and ritual prayer.

These very large ones have a deep fondness for eating their prey, usually people, whole.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Today I am going to describe a creature based on a different kind of folklore -- popular folklore from the 20th century. See if you can figure it out from the way I describe them in D&D...

Mites are a race of violet or purple skinned, two foot tall, bipedal, pigeon toed, winged, flight capable beings with one eye in the center of their wide heads, one brightly colored horn that juts up from it, no visible nose, and a gaping maw that stretches nearly the width of the head and can open to almost a foot wide. They are primarily arboreal, preferring to ambush prey from the trees, and seem to be able to tell if the prey is going to be tough or not. They have an intense love of music, and will often pause to gyrate strangely when they hear a tune they like. They can also be bargained with , having a value on very short shorts, something they occasionally wear.

When attacking, they will drop to the ground and begin to gyrate and speak their strange tongue, including such words as wop, bam, boom, bop, a-boppa, lopa, and lum. This is a ritual chant to prepare the sacrifice for their deity, which appears to just be a ten foot tall representation of one of them. The horn on their head can be useful to gore their opponents, but also can be used as a sort of musical instrument, with them exhaling through it while closing off holes they have drilled into it in some strange ritual.

Victims are sacrificed and their corpses dragged t the mouth of a cave within a large, circular rock that is thick in the middle and thin on on top, like two inverted teacup saucers. There, a shaman keeps careful count, and those who have reached an unknown number of acceptable sacrifices are allowed into the cave. After a period of time, they will emerge, nearly eight feet tall and commensurate in size. this massive increase in size leaves them in an aggravated state, which can only be calmed by music and ritual prayer.

These very large ones have a deep fondness for eating their prey, usually people, whole.

 The purple people eater right? Nice.