Thoughts on the Well-known
Breton mythology is the mythology or corpus of explanatory and heroic tales originating in Brittany. The Bretons are the descendants of insular Britons who settled in Brittany from at least the third century. While the Britons were already Christianised in this era, the migrant population maintained an ancient Celtic mythos, similar to those of Wales and Cornwall.
Breton mythology has many gods and mythical creatures specifically associated with nature cults. In this tradition of gods and creatures rooted in nature, there exist traces of certain Breton Catholic saints. This mythological background was accepted by Romans who were soon Christianized, resulting in the irrevocable loss of grand epics and the destruction or conversion of pagan landmarks and places.
Ankou appears as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large hat which conceals his face, or, on occasion, simply as a shadow. He wields a scythe and is said to sit atop a cart for collecting the dead, or to drive a large, black coach pulled by four black horses and accompanied by two ghostly figures on foot.
According to one legend, he was the first child of Adam and Eve. Other versions depict Ankou as the first dead person of the year (though he is always depicted as a male adult), charged with collecting others' souls before he can go to the afterlife. In an alternate origin he was a cruel prince who met Death during a hunting trip and challenged him to see who could kill a black stag first. Death won the contest and the prince was cursed to roam the earth as a ghoul for all eternity. Sometimes he is depicted as the king of the dead whose subjects have their own particular paths along which their sacred processions move.
Ankou is mentioned by Anatole Le Braz, a writer and collector of legends, in The Legend of Death:
The Ankou is the henchman of Death (oberour ar maro) and he is also known as the grave yard watcher, they said that he protects the graveyard and the souls around it for some unknown reason and he collects the lost souls on his land. The last dead of the year, in each parish, becomes the Ankou of his parish for all of the following year. When there has been, in a year, more deaths than usual, one says about the Ankou:
– War ma fé, heman zo eun Anko drouk. ("On my faith, this one is a nasty Ankou.")
In Breton beliefs, the Bugul Noz ([byɡylˈnoːs] "Night Shepherd") is a fae-like being who lives in the woodlands of Brittany. He is the last of his kind and is said to be incredibly ugly, which causes him distress. His appearance is so awful that even woodland animals avoid him, and he sometimes cries out to warn others nearby of his approach, so that he won't frighten them and that they will go home. He is called the night shepherd because it is generally not safe in forests late at night. The Bugul Noz is not malicious (indeed, rather kind and gentle), he is always alone because of his hideous visage.
They are so hideous that it is said that occasionally, those who see him will die.
The Bugul Noz finds a mention in a letter of introduction to a section of the book The fairy faith in Celtic Countries, dealing with fairy faith in Brittany. Anatole Le Braz, Professor of French Literature, University of Rennes, Brittany, mentions the Bugul Noz to the author, Mr. Wentz. In this mention, the Bugul Noz seems less frightening in appearance. Rather than being a spirit to be feared he might "fulfill a beneficial office, in warning human beings, by his coming, that night is not made for lingering in the fields or on the roads, but for shutting oneself in behind closed doors and going to sleep. This shepherd of the shades would then be, taken all together, a kind of good shepherd. It is to ensure our rest and safety, to withdraw us from excesses of toil and the snares of night, that he compels us, thoughtless sheep, to return quickly to the fold."
In Breton folklore, a Korrigan ([kɔˈriːɡɑ̃n]) is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word korrigan means "small-dwarf" (korr means dwarf, ig is a diminutive and the suffix an is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish word korrik which means gnome. The name changes according to the place. Among the other names, there are korrig, korred, korrs, kores, couril, crion, goric,[1] kornandon, ozigan, nozigan, teuz, torrigan, viltañs, poulpikan, and paotred ar sabad.
As fairies and dwarves
The term is used variously by writers on Breton folklore. Théodore de Villemarqué in Barzaz Breiz uses the term interchangeably with "fairy" and distinguishes them from dwarves ("nains"). In contrast Walter Evans-Wentz in The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries argued that in the mythology of Morbihan there is no clear distinction between korrigans and nains: "Very often corrigans regarded as nains, equally with all kinds of lutins, are believed to be evil spirits or demons condemned to live here on earth in a penitential state for an indefinite time. They like to dance around fountains. However, they give themselves away when they cannot enumerate the full list of the days of the week (because of the sacredness of the full week).
As siren water-sprites
Other authors use the term only to refer to siren-like female fairies who inhabit springs and rivers, "lovely lustful golden-haired women who tried to lure men into their beds – and into a watery death". These creatures are very beautiful when seen at dusk or night, but by day their eyes are red, their hair white, and their skin wrinkled; thus they try to avoid being seen by day.
Korrigans have beautiful hair and red flashing eyes. They are sometimes described as important princesses or druidesses who were opposed to Christianity when the Apostles came to convert Brittany. They hate priests, churches, and especially the Virgin Mary. They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed. Like sirens and mermaids, they sing and comb their long hair, and they haunt fountains and water wells. They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do. In many popular tales, they are eager to deceive the imprudent mortals who see them dancing or looking after a treasure, and fond of stealing human children, substituting them with changelings. On the night of 31 October (Samhain), they are said to be lurking near dolmens, waiting for victims.
According to the Breton poem, "Ar rannoù", there are 9 korrigans, "who dance, with flowers in their hair, and robes of white wool, around the fountain, by the light of the full moon.
Les Lavandières, or the Midnight Washerwomen, are three old laundresses in Celtic mythology. Names in various Celtic languages include the kannerezed noz in Brittany and the Bean nighe in Scottish. They can also be found in the Celtic folklore of Iberia as Las Lavanderas in Cantabria, As lavandeiras in Galicia or Les Llavanderes in Asturias. The three old women go to the water's edge at midnight to wash shrouds for those about to die, according to the myth and folklore of Brittany; or to wash the bloodstained clothing of those who are about to die, according to Celtic mythology. The Midnight Washerwomen may be related to the old Celtic tradition of the triple goddess of death and slaughter.
The washerwomen are small, dressed in green and have webbed feet. Their webbed feet may be the reason they are also sometimes called the cannard noz (meaning "night ducks") in Breton folklore.
In Brittany, the formation "mari-morgan" or "mary-morgan" is common. Sébillot compared the Mari Morgan to "sirènes" (the French term for mermaids), who lured sailors with their hypnotic voices and sat in the water to comb their hair seductively. They were believed to live near coasts, at cave entrances and at the mouths of rivers, with some held to still inhabit a cave near Crozon. The mari-morgans, who were well-versed in evil spells, would drag young men underwater and the men would never be seen again. In some versions, however, Mari Morgans carried kidnapped sailors to underwater palaces of mother-of-pearl and crystal, and married them. The morgens, eternally young, are also blamed for heavy flooding that destroys crops or villages.
One example was the princess Dahut or Ahes, who betrayed the city of Ys and caused it to flood, and as punishment was transformed into a Mari-Morgen. Paul Sébillot wrote that she was the progenitor of the mermaid race.
In a parallel tradition from Ushant, an island off the coast of Brittany, are legends of beautiful water-dwelling little people known as morganed (male plural) and morganezed (female plural). In one story, an ugly old morgen king kidnapped a human girl to be his bride, but she fell in love with his handsome young son who helped her escape. In another tale, the morganed people helped the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus and received the blessing of beauty, while in another the morganezed habitually dried their golden treasures on the sunlit beach and might give some to humans.
I am Ankou, in a female guise!
Breton mythology has many gods and mythical creatures specifically associated with nature cults. In this tradition of gods and creatures rooted in nature, there exist traces of certain Breton Catholic saints. This mythological background was accepted by Romans who were soon Christianized, resulting in the irrevocable loss of grand epics and the destruction or conversion of pagan landmarks and places.
Ankou appears as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large hat which conceals his face, or, on occasion, simply as a shadow. He wields a scythe and is said to sit atop a cart for collecting the dead, or to drive a large, black coach pulled by four black horses and accompanied by two ghostly figures on foot.
According to one legend, he was the first child of Adam and Eve. Other versions depict Ankou as the first dead person of the year (though he is always depicted as a male adult), charged with collecting others' souls before he can go to the afterlife. In an alternate origin he was a cruel prince who met Death during a hunting trip and challenged him to see who could kill a black stag first. Death won the contest and the prince was cursed to roam the earth as a ghoul for all eternity. Sometimes he is depicted as the king of the dead whose subjects have their own particular paths along which their sacred processions move.
Ankou is mentioned by Anatole Le Braz, a writer and collector of legends, in The Legend of Death:
The Ankou is the henchman of Death (oberour ar maro) and he is also known as the grave yard watcher, they said that he protects the graveyard and the souls around it for some unknown reason and he collects the lost souls on his land. The last dead of the year, in each parish, becomes the Ankou of his parish for all of the following year. When there has been, in a year, more deaths than usual, one says about the Ankou:
– War ma fé, heman zo eun Anko drouk. ("On my faith, this one is a nasty Ankou.")
In Breton beliefs, the Bugul Noz ([byɡylˈnoːs] "Night Shepherd") is a fae-like being who lives in the woodlands of Brittany. He is the last of his kind and is said to be incredibly ugly, which causes him distress. His appearance is so awful that even woodland animals avoid him, and he sometimes cries out to warn others nearby of his approach, so that he won't frighten them and that they will go home. He is called the night shepherd because it is generally not safe in forests late at night. The Bugul Noz is not malicious (indeed, rather kind and gentle), he is always alone because of his hideous visage.
They are so hideous that it is said that occasionally, those who see him will die.
The Bugul Noz finds a mention in a letter of introduction to a section of the book The fairy faith in Celtic Countries, dealing with fairy faith in Brittany. Anatole Le Braz, Professor of French Literature, University of Rennes, Brittany, mentions the Bugul Noz to the author, Mr. Wentz. In this mention, the Bugul Noz seems less frightening in appearance. Rather than being a spirit to be feared he might "fulfill a beneficial office, in warning human beings, by his coming, that night is not made for lingering in the fields or on the roads, but for shutting oneself in behind closed doors and going to sleep. This shepherd of the shades would then be, taken all together, a kind of good shepherd. It is to ensure our rest and safety, to withdraw us from excesses of toil and the snares of night, that he compels us, thoughtless sheep, to return quickly to the fold."
In Breton folklore, a Korrigan ([kɔˈriːɡɑ̃n]) is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word korrigan means "small-dwarf" (korr means dwarf, ig is a diminutive and the suffix an is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish word korrik which means gnome. The name changes according to the place. Among the other names, there are korrig, korred, korrs, kores, couril, crion, goric,[1] kornandon, ozigan, nozigan, teuz, torrigan, viltañs, poulpikan, and paotred ar sabad.
As fairies and dwarves
The term is used variously by writers on Breton folklore. Théodore de Villemarqué in Barzaz Breiz uses the term interchangeably with "fairy" and distinguishes them from dwarves ("nains"). In contrast Walter Evans-Wentz in The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries argued that in the mythology of Morbihan there is no clear distinction between korrigans and nains: "Very often corrigans regarded as nains, equally with all kinds of lutins, are believed to be evil spirits or demons condemned to live here on earth in a penitential state for an indefinite time. They like to dance around fountains. However, they give themselves away when they cannot enumerate the full list of the days of the week (because of the sacredness of the full week).
As siren water-sprites
Other authors use the term only to refer to siren-like female fairies who inhabit springs and rivers, "lovely lustful golden-haired women who tried to lure men into their beds – and into a watery death". These creatures are very beautiful when seen at dusk or night, but by day their eyes are red, their hair white, and their skin wrinkled; thus they try to avoid being seen by day.
Korrigans have beautiful hair and red flashing eyes. They are sometimes described as important princesses or druidesses who were opposed to Christianity when the Apostles came to convert Brittany. They hate priests, churches, and especially the Virgin Mary. They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed. Like sirens and mermaids, they sing and comb their long hair, and they haunt fountains and water wells. They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do. In many popular tales, they are eager to deceive the imprudent mortals who see them dancing or looking after a treasure, and fond of stealing human children, substituting them with changelings. On the night of 31 October (Samhain), they are said to be lurking near dolmens, waiting for victims.
According to the Breton poem, "Ar rannoù", there are 9 korrigans, "who dance, with flowers in their hair, and robes of white wool, around the fountain, by the light of the full moon.
Les Lavandières, or the Midnight Washerwomen, are three old laundresses in Celtic mythology. Names in various Celtic languages include the kannerezed noz in Brittany and the Bean nighe in Scottish. They can also be found in the Celtic folklore of Iberia as Las Lavanderas in Cantabria, As lavandeiras in Galicia or Les Llavanderes in Asturias. The three old women go to the water's edge at midnight to wash shrouds for those about to die, according to the myth and folklore of Brittany; or to wash the bloodstained clothing of those who are about to die, according to Celtic mythology. The Midnight Washerwomen may be related to the old Celtic tradition of the triple goddess of death and slaughter.
The washerwomen are small, dressed in green and have webbed feet. Their webbed feet may be the reason they are also sometimes called the cannard noz (meaning "night ducks") in Breton folklore.
In Brittany, the formation "mari-morgan" or "mary-morgan" is common. Sébillot compared the Mari Morgan to "sirènes" (the French term for mermaids), who lured sailors with their hypnotic voices and sat in the water to comb their hair seductively. They were believed to live near coasts, at cave entrances and at the mouths of rivers, with some held to still inhabit a cave near Crozon. The mari-morgans, who were well-versed in evil spells, would drag young men underwater and the men would never be seen again. In some versions, however, Mari Morgans carried kidnapped sailors to underwater palaces of mother-of-pearl and crystal, and married them. The morgens, eternally young, are also blamed for heavy flooding that destroys crops or villages.
One example was the princess Dahut or Ahes, who betrayed the city of Ys and caused it to flood, and as punishment was transformed into a Mari-Morgen. Paul Sébillot wrote that she was the progenitor of the mermaid race.
In a parallel tradition from Ushant, an island off the coast of Brittany, are legends of beautiful water-dwelling little people known as morganed (male plural) and morganezed (female plural). In one story, an ugly old morgen king kidnapped a human girl to be his bride, but she fell in love with his handsome young son who helped her escape. In another tale, the morganed people helped the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus and received the blessing of beauty, while in another the morganezed habitually dried their golden treasures on the sunlit beach and might give some to humans.
I am Ankou, in a female guise!
