nordyckie: Dwarf (folklore)

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

A dwarf (pl. dwarfs or dwarves) is a type of supernatural human-shaped being in Germanic folklore. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history. They are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs. However, they are described as having sisters and daughters, while male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short; however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit, nor relevant to their roles in the earliest sources. Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture, such as i…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 72

A fairy (also fay, fae or faerie/faery) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often with magical, metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans, or as…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

Germanic paganism or Germanic religion was the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years—in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germany, the Netherlands, and at times other parts of Europe—the beliefs and practices of Germanic paganism varied. Scholars typically assume some degree of continuity between the beliefs and practices of the Roman era and those found in Norse paganism, as well as between Germanic religion and reconstructed Indo-European religion and post-conversion folklore, though the precise degree and details of this continuity are subjects of debate. Germanic religion was…

Evidence: 37 • authority: 72

English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, dance, balladry, and folktales that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural heritage of the country. This body of folklore includes a diverse array of characters, such as heroic figures like Beowulf or Robin Hood, legendary kings like Arthur, and mythical creatures like the Green Man and Black Shuck. These tales and traditions have been shaped by the historical experiences of the English people, influenced by the various cultures that have settled in England over centuries, including Celtic, Roman, A…

Evidence: 34 • authority: 80

Two new cryptic aberrant species of Rhacocleis Fieber 1853, living under stones in the mountains of Greece (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)