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A vintage pack of fantasy-themed glow-in-the-dark puzzles
2004 CEACO TWO-IN-ONE MINI PUZZLE SET ("SORCERER'S APPRENTICE"/ "DRAGONS RUN")
DETAILS:
Medieval magic!
Step into a realm
of wonder and magic with the 2004 Ceaco Two In One Puzzle Set featuring "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Dragons Run".
This vintage set of glow-in-the-dark mini puzzles is not just a
delightful pastime but a true treasure for any fantasy lover, showcasing
the exquisite artwork of the renowned fantasy novelist and illustrator,
Janny Wurts. Fantasy
fanatics, especially those with a keen interest in all things wizardry
and dragons, will be spellbound by the intricate artwork and mesmerizing
scenes depicted in these puzzles. Immerse yourself in the world of magic,
dragons, and adventure as you piece together these enthralling scenes.
"Sorcerer's
Apprentice" transports you to a mystical outdoor scene reminiscent of
Stonehenge, where a wizard uses his magical abilities to protect a young
individual from danger. On the other hand, "Dragons Run" plunges you
into a thrilling battle at sea at dusk, featuring a fire-breathing
dragon facing off against a wizard, a brave young man, and their boat. Embark
on a journey into the otherworldly universe of wizards and dragons, and
indulge your passion for the mystical and the fantastical.
The
2004 Ceaco Two In One Puzzle Set includes two 100-piece
glow-in-the-dark mini puzzles. Once completed, each puzzle measures 9" x
7" and comes to life with glowing imagery that is sure to captivate
your imagination.
Whether
you are a seasoned puzzle collector or simply someone who appreciates
the allure of fantasy, this glow-in-the-dark puzzle set is a rare find
that is not to be missed.
Featuring the artwork of Janny Wurts!
A
celebrated American fantasy novelist and illustrator, Janet Inglis
"Janny" Wurts (born December 10, 1953) has received accolades for her
artwork and storytelling in various standalone novels and series. Her
collaboration with Raymond E. Feist on the Empire trilogy has garnered
international acclaim, solidifying her status as a prominent figure in
the fantasy genre. Dive into the
intricate details of Janny Wurts' captivating artwork and bring these
fantastical scenes to life in the comfort of your own home. The captivating
imagery created by Janny Wurts truly brings these fantastical worlds to
life, offering a magical experience with every piece assembled.
Retired and rare!
This incredibly hard-to-find set of fantasy-themed mini puzzles is a true rarity, as extensive
research reveals the genuine scarcity and zero availability elsewhere today. We
scoured the online world in search of another 2004 Ceaco Two In One Puzzle Set featuring "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Dragons Run"
and came up empty-handed, confirming its extreme level of rarity. In
2004, the wonderful and quality jigsaw puzzle brand, Ceaco released various glow-in-the-dark fantasy puzzles to select
retail locations and it seems they were never available (or manufactured) again after the first production run - explaining their scarcity today.
The
rarity of this almost unobtainable unopened puzzle set is undeniable, making it an extremely hard-to-find treasure, particularly in new condition. For
those who seek elusive and unique pieces to add to their fantasy or puzzle collection,
this glow-in-the-dark mini puzzle set is a must-have. In a market flooded with puzzles, this set stands out as a true collector's item and necessity for the fantasy fanatic and
enthusiast, particularly those who
cherish wizards and dragons, and adore puzzles.
Dimensions: Each puzzle is 9" x 7" when assembled.
CONDITION:
New in sealed box. Box has light storage wear. Please see photos.
To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out.
THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK.
*ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.*
"About Us
ceaco Logo
“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he
or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the
big jigsaw puzzle.”
– Deepak Chopra
Welcome
to Ceaco! We are so grateful that you have found your “fit” here. Since
our start in 1987 we have remained true to our mission: To create high
quality, innovative and challenging jigsaw puzzles and to provide hours
of family fun.
We pride ourselves on developing and maintaining
long standing relationships with some of the finest artists of our time.
Our talented team of designers and marketing professionals are always
searching the world over for developing trends, emerging artwork, and
new technologies involving printing, die cutting, and unique puzzle
materials. Our purpose is clear: to continue to be in the forefront of
our industry and create a product that combines family entertainment
with a distinctive aesthetic.
Count on Ceaco for the most Creative, Exciting, and Colorful products ever!
Thanks and happy puzzling!" (ceaco.com)
"Janet
Inglis "Janny" Wurts (born December 10, 1953) is an American fantasy
novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and
series, including the Wars of Light and Shadow, The Cycle of Fire
trilogy and the internationally best-selling Empire trilogy that she
co-authored with Raymond E. Feist.[1] Her short story collection That
Way Lies Camelot was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 1995.
She often illustrates her own books, and has won Chesley Awards for her
artwork.[2]
Biography
Janny Wurts was born in Bryn Mawr,
Pennsylvania. In the 1980s, she worked as an illustrator for
role-playing game for Mayfair Games.[3]
Wurts has
written numerous novels (20 as of 2021).[4] Her fantasy debut Sorcerer's
Legacy (1982) has been described as a political thriller; it features a
female protagonist and court intrigue.[5] Similar elements feature in
the Empire trilogy, written in collaboration with Raymond E. Feist.
Empire is set in a non-European culture that has drawn comparisons to
feudal Japan and the Byzantine empire.[6][7] Wurts has also written
science fantasy: her Cycle of Fire trilogy mixes magic with science
fiction. Her ongoing series, Wars of Light and Shadow, is a 11-volume
epic fantasy (10 books published) with a storyline that spans multiple
millennia and planets.[1][8]
Beyond writing, Wurts' award-winning
paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork,
among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the
Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planetarium in New York; and two exhibits of
fantasy art, at both the Delaware Art Museum and Canton Art Museum.[3]
Wurts
was a guest of honor at the 1996 World Horror Convention and the 2004
World Fantasy Convention.[9][10] She resides in Florida with her
husband, artist Don Maitz.[2]
Bibliography
The Cycle of Fire Trilogy
Stormwarden (1984)
Keeper of the Keys (1988)
Shadowfane (1988)
The Cycle of Fire (1999) collects the trilogy into one volume
Empire Trilogy
Daughter of the Empire (1987) with Raymond E. Feist
Servant of the Empire (1990) with Raymond E. Feist
Mistress of the Empire (1992) with Raymond E. Feist
The Wars of Light and Shadow
Arc I
Curse of the Mistwraith (1993)
Arc II
Ships of Merior (1994)
Warhost of Vastmark (1995)
Arc III: Alliance of Light
Fugitive Prince (1997)
Grand Conspiracy (1999)
Peril's Gate (2001)
Traitor's Knot (2004)
Stormed Fortress (2007)
Arc IV: Sword of the Canon
Initiate's Trial (2011)
Destiny's Conflict (September 7, 2017)[11]
Arc V: Song of the Mysteries
Song of the Mysteries (to be published in May 2024)
Stand-alone novels
Sorcerer's Legacy (1982)
Master of Whitestorm (1992)
To Ride Hell's Chasm (2002)
Collections
That Way Lies Camelot (1994)
Short stories
"Silverdown's Gold" (1991) appeared in"Horse Fantastic"
"Blood, Oak, Iron" (2004) appeared in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy
"Child of Prophecy" (2004) appeared in Masters of Fantasy (A Wars of Light and Shadow Short Story)
"Watchfire" (2004) with Raymond E. Feist, appeared in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy
"Last of Her Kind" (2005) appeared in Fantastic Companions
"Finder's Keeper" (2006) appeared in Fantasy Gone Wrong
"Moebius Trip" (2006) appeared in Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy
"Sundering Star" (2006) appeared in Under Cover of Darkness (A Wars of Light and Shadow Short Story)
"Reins of Destiny" (2007) appeared in The Solaris Book of New Fantasy (A Wars of Light and Shadow Short Story)
"The Decoy" (2016) appeared in Unfettered II (A Wars of Light and Shadow Short Story)
Novellas
"The Gallant" (2018) appeared in Secrets & Spells: 6 Fantasy Novels (A Wars of Light and Shadow prequel)
Illustration work
Cover art and map art for The Company War, a 1983 board game from
Mayfair Games based on the novel Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
Janny
Wurts also painted the cover art for her US and international books.
Her paintings have been showcased in numerous exhibitions and have won
several Chesley awards." (wikipedia.org)
"A
dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of
multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably
through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle
Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of
breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as
wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average
intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a
hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammalian, and avian features. Some
scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest
resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas,
and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery.[1][2]
Etymology
An early appearance of the Old English word dracan in Beowulf[3]
The
word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from
Old French dragon, which, in turn, comes from the Latin: draco
(genitive draconis) meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from Ancient Greek
δράκων, drákōn (genitive δράκοντος, drákontos) "serpent".[4][5] The
Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily
mythological.[6] The Greek word δράκων is most likely derived from the
Greek verb δέρκομαι (dérkomai) meaning "I see", the aorist form of which
is ἔδρακον (édrakon).[5] This is thought to have referred to something
with a "deadly glance",[7] or unusually bright[8] or "sharp"[9][10]
eyes, or because a snake's eyes appear to be always open; each eye
actually sees through a big transparent scale in its eyelids, which are
permanently shut. The Greek word probably derives from an Indo-European
base *derḱ- meaning "to see"; the Sanskrit root दृश् (dr̥ś-) also means
"to see".[11]
Historic tales and records
Draconic creatures
appear in virtually all cultures around the globe[12] and the earliest
attested reports of draconic creatures resemble giant snakes. Draconic
creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near
East and appear in ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories
about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Near
Eastern and Indo-European mythologies. Famous prototypical draconic
creatures include the mušḫuššu of ancient Mesopotamia; Apep in Egyptian
mythology; Vṛtra in the Rigveda; the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible;
Grand'Goule in the Poitou region in France; Python, Ladon, Wyvern and
the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology; Kulshedra in Albanian Mythology;
Unhcegila in Lakota mythology; Jörmungandr, Níðhöggr, and Fafnir in
Norse mythology; the dragon from Beowulf; and aži and az in ancient
Persian mythology, closely related to another mythological figure,
called Aži Dahaka or Zahhak.
Nonetheless, scholars dispute where
the idea of a dragon originates from[13] and a wide variety of
hypotheses have been proposed.
In
his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), David E. Jones
(anthropologist) suggests a hypothesis that humans, like monkeys, have
inherited instinctive reactions to snakes, large cats, and birds of
prey.[14] He cites a study which found that approximately 39 people in a
hundred are afraid of snakes[15] and notes that fear of snakes is
especially prominent in children, even in areas where snakes are
rare.[15] The earliest attested dragons all resemble snakes or have
snakelike attributes.[16] Jones therefore concludes that dragons appear
in nearly all cultures because humans have an innate fear of snakes and
other animals that were major predators of humans' primate
ancestors.[17] Dragons are usually said to reside in "dark caves, deep
pools, wild mountain reaches, sea bottoms, haunted forests", all places
which would have been fraught with danger for early human ancestors.[18]
In
her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in
Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of
dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils
belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.[19] She argues
that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by
"observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the
Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas"[20] and that ancient Greek artistic
depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of
Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in
the Mediterranean region.[20] In China, a region where fossils of large
prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified
as "dragon bones"[21] and are commonly used in traditional Chinese 21] Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all
stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils[21] and notes that
Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long
"been considered barren of large fossils."[21] In one of her later
books, she states that, "Many dragon images around the world were based
on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo
dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California,
alligator lizards, though this still fails to account for the
Scandinavian legends, as no such animals (historical or otherwise) have
ever been found in this region."[22]
Robert Blust in The Origin
of Dragons (2000) argues that, like many other creations of traditional
cultures, dragons are largely explicable as products of a convergence of
rational pre-scientific speculation about the world of real events. In
this case, the event is the natural mechanism governing rainfall and
drought, with particular attention paid to the phenomenon of the
rainbow.[23]
African stories/records
Egypt
In Egyptian
mythology, Apep or Apophis is a giant serpentine creature who resides in
the Duat, the Egyptian Underworld.[24][25] The Bremner-Rhind papyrus,
written around 310 BC, preserves an account of a much older Egyptian
tradition that the setting of the sun is caused by Ra descending to the
Duat to battle Apep.[24][25] In some accounts, Apep is as long as the
height of eight men with a head made of flint.[25] Thunderstorms and
earthquakes were thought to be caused by Apep's roar[26] and solar
eclipses were thought to be the result of Apep attacking Ra during the
daytime.[26] In some myths, Apep is slain by the god Set.[27] Nehebkau
is another giant serpent who guards the Duat and aided Ra in his battle
against Apep.[26] Nehebkau was so massive in some stories that the
entire earth was believed to rest atop his coils.[26] Denwen is a giant
serpent mentioned in the Pyramid Texts whose body was made of fire and
who ignited a conflagration that nearly destroyed all the gods of the
Egyptian pantheon.[28] He was ultimately defeated by the Pharaoh, a
victory which affirmed the Pharaoh's divine right to rule.[29]
The
ouroboros was a well-known Egyptian symbol of a serpent swallowing its
own tail.[30] The precursor to the ouroboros was the "Many-Faced",[30] a
serpent with five heads, who, according to the Amduat, the oldest
surviving Book of the Afterlife, was said to coil around the corpse of
the sun god Ra protectively.[30] The earliest surviving depiction of a
"true" ouroboros comes from the gilded shrines in the tomb of
Tutankhamun.[30] In the early centuries AD, the ouroboros was adopted as
a symbol by Gnostic Christians[31] and chapter 136 of the Pistis
Sophia, an early Gnostic text, describes "a great dragon whose tail is
in its mouth".[31] In medieval alchemy, the ouroboros became a typical
western dragon with wings, legs, and a tail.[30] A famous image of the
dragon gnawing on its tail from the eleventh-century Codex Marcianus was
copied in numerous works on alchemy.
Asian stories/records
West Asia
Mesopotamia
The
mušḫuššu is a serpentine, draconic monster from ancient Mesopotamian
mythology with the body and neck of a snake, the forelegs of a lion, and
the hind-legs of a bird.[32] Here it is shown as it appears in the
Ishtar Gate from the city of Babylon.[32]
Ancient people across
the Near East believed in creatures similar to what modern people call
"dragons".[33] These ancient people were unaware of the existence of
dinosaurs or similar creatures in the distant past.[33] References to
dragons of both benevolent and malevolent characters occur throughout
ancient Mesopotamian literature.[33] In Sumerian poetry, great kings are
often compared to the ušumgal, a gigantic, serpentine monster.[33] A
draconic creature with the foreparts of a lion and the hind-legs, tail,
and wings of a bird appears in Mesopotamian artwork from the Akkadian
Period (c. 2334 – 2154 BC) until the Neo-Babylonian Period (626 BC–539
BC).[34] The dragon is usually shown with its mouth open.[34] It may
have been known as the (ūmu) nā’iru, which means "roaring weather
beast",[34] and may have been associated with the god Ishkur
(Hadad).[34] A slightly different lion-dragon with two horns and the
tail of a scorpion appears in art from the Neo-Assyrian Period (911
BC–609 BC).[34] A relief probably commissioned by Sennacherib shows the
gods Ashur, Sin, and Adad standing on its back.[34]
Another
draconic creature with horns, the body and neck of a snake, the forelegs
of a lion, and the hind-legs of a bird appears in Mesopotamian art from
the Akkadian Period until the Hellenistic Period (323 BC–31 BC).[32]
This creature, known in Akkadian as the mušḫuššu, meaning "furious
serpent", was used as a symbol for particular deities and also as a
general protective emblem.[32] It seems to have originally been the
attendant of the Underworld god Ninazu,[32] but later became the
attendant to the Hurrian storm-god Tishpak, as well as, later, Ninazu's
son Ningishzida, the Babylonian national god Marduk, the scribal god
Nabu, and the Assyrian national god Ashur.[32]
Scholars disagree
regarding the appearance of Tiamat, the Babylonian goddess personifying
primeval chaos, slain by Marduk in the Babylonian creation epic Enûma
Eliš.[35][36] She was traditionally regarded by scholars as having had
the form of a giant serpent,[36] but several scholars have pointed out
that this shape "cannot be imputed to Tiamat with certainty"[36] and she
seems to have at least sometimes been regarded as
anthropomorphic.[35][36] Nonetheless, in some texts, she seems to be
described with horns, a tail, and a hide that no weapon can
penetrate,[35] all features which suggest she was conceived as some form
of dragoness.[35]
Levant
In the mythologies of the Ugarit
region, specifically the Baal Cycle from the Ugaritic texts, the
sea-dragon Lōtanu is described as "the twisting serpent / the powerful
one with seven heads."[37] In KTU 1.5 I 2–3, Lōtanu is slain by the
storm-god Baal,[37] but, in KTU 1.3 III 41–42, he is instead slain by
the virgin warrior goddess Anat.[37]
In the Hebrew Bible, in the
Book of Psalms, Psalm 74, Psalm 74:13–14, the sea-dragon Leviathan, is
slain by Yahweh, god of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, as part of the
creation of the world.[37][38] In Isaiah 27:1, Yahweh's destruction of
Leviathan is foretold as part of his impending overhaul of the universal
order:[39][40]
א בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהוָה בְּחַרְבּוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַחֲזָקָה, עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ
בָּרִחַ, וְעַל לִוְיָתָן, נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן; וְהָרַג אֶת-הַתַּנִּין, אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם. {ס}
On that day The LORD shall punish
with his sharp, great, and strong sword,
Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent;
He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.[37]
—Isaiah 27:1
Job
41:1–34 contains a detailed description of the Leviathan, who is
described as being so powerful that only Yahweh can overcome it.[41] Job
41:19–21 states that the Leviathan exhales fire and smoke, making its
identification as a mythical dragon clearly apparent.[41] In some parts
of the Old Testament, the Leviathan is historicized as a symbol for the
nations that stand against Yahweh.[38] Rahab, a synonym for "Leviathan",
is used in several Biblical passages in reference to Egypt.[38] Isaiah
30:7 declares: "For Egypt's help is worthless and empty, therefore I
have called her 'the silenced Rahab'."[38] Similarly, Psalm 87:3 reads:
"I reckon Rahab and Babylon as those that know me..."[38] In Ezekiel
29:3–5 and Ezekiel 32:2–8, the pharaoh of Egypt is described as a
"dragon" (tannîn).[38] In the story of Bel and the Dragon from the Book
of Daniel, the prophet Daniel sees a dragon being worshipped by the
Babylonians.[42] Daniel makes "cakes of pitch, fat, and hair";[42] the
dragon eats them and bursts open.[43][42]
Ancient and Post-classical
Iran/Persia
Azhi
Dahaka (Avestan Great Snake) is a dragon or demonic figure in the texts
and mythology of Zoroastrian Persia, where he is one of the
subordinates of Angra Mainyu. Alternate names include Azi Dahak, Dahaka,
and Dahak. Aži (nominative ažiš) is the Avestan word for "serpent" or
"dragon.[44] The Avestan term Aži Dahāka and the Middle Persian azdahāg
are the sources of the Middle Persian Manichaean demon of greed "Az",
Old Armenian mythological figure Aždahak, Modern Persian
'aždehâ/aždahâ', Tajik Persian 'azhdahâ', Urdu 'azhdahā' (اژدها), as
well as the Kurdish ejdîha (ئەژدیها). The name also migrated to Eastern
Europe, assumed the form "azhdaja" and the meaning "dragon", "dragoness"
or "water snake" in the Balkanic and Slavic languages.[45][46][47]
Despite
the negative aspect of Aži Dahāka in mythology, dragons have been used
on some banners of war throughout the history of Iranian peoples.
The Azhdarchid group of pterosaurs are named from a Persian word for "dragon" that ultimately comes from Aži Dahāka.
In Zoroastrian literature
Aži
Dahāka is the most significant and long-lasting of the ažis of the
Avesta, the earliest religious texts of Zoroastrianism. He is described
as a monster with three mouths, six eyes, and three heads, and as being
cunning, strong, and demonic. In other respects, Aži Dahāka has human
qualities, and is never a mere animal. In a post-Avestan Zoroastrian
text, the Dēnkard, Aži Dahāka is possessed of all possible sins and evil
counsels, the opposite of the good king Jam (or Jamshid). The name
Dahāg (Dahāka) is punningly interpreted as meaning "having ten (dah)
sins".
In Persian Sufi literature, Rumi writes in his Masnavi[48]
that the dragon symbolizes the sensual soul (nafs), greed and lust,
that need to be mortified in a spiritual battle.
In
Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the Iranian hero Rostam must slay an
80-meter-long dragon (which renders itself invisible to human sight)
with the aid of his legendary horse, Rakhsh. As Rostam is sleeping, the
dragon approaches; Rakhsh attempts to wake Rostam, but fails to alert
him to the danger until Rostam sees the dragon. Rakhsh bites the dragon,
while Rostam decapitates it. This is the third trial of Rostam's Seven
Labors.[51][52][53]
Rostam is also credited with the slaughter of
other dragons in the Shahnameh and in other Iranian oral traditions,
notably in the myth of Babr-e-Bayan. In this tale, Rostam is still an
adolescent and kills a dragon in the "Orient" (either India or China,
depending on the source) by forcing it to swallow either ox hides filled
with and stones or poisoned blades. The dragon swallows these
foreign objects and its stomach bursts, after which Rostam flays the
dragon and fashions a coat from its hide called the babr-e bayān. In
some variants of the story, Rostam then remains unconscious for two days
and nights, but is guarded by his steed Rakhsh. On reviving, he washes
himself in a spring. In the Mandean tradition of the story, Rostam hides
in a box, is swallowed by the dragon, and kills it from inside its
belly. The king of China then gives Rostam his daughter in marriage as a
reward.[54][55]
East Asia
China
Main article: Chinese dragon
The
word "dragon" has come to be applied to the legendary creature in
Chinese mythology, loong (traditional 龍, simplified 龙, Japanese
simplified 竜, Pinyin lóng), which is associated with good fortune, and
many East Asian deities and demigods have dragons as their personal
mounts or companions. Dragons were also identified with the Emperor of
China, who, during later Chinese imperial history, was the only one
permitted to have dragons on his house, clothing, or personal articles.
Archaeologist
Zhōu Chong-Fa believes that the Chinese word for dragon is an
onomatopoeia of the sound of thunder[56] or lùhng in Cantonese.[57]
The
Chinese dragon (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin:
lóng) is the highest-ranking creature in the Chinese animal hierarchy.
Its origins are vague, but its "ancestors can be found on Neolithic
pottery as well as Bronze Age ritual vessels."[58] A number of popular
stories deal with the rearing of dragons.[59] The Zuo zhuan, which was
probably written during the Warring States period, describes a man named
Dongfu, a descendant of Yangshu'an, who loved dragons[59] and, because
he could understand a dragon's will, he was able to tame them and raise
them well.[59] He served Emperor Shun, who gave him the family name
Huanlong, meaning "dragon-raiser".[59] In another story, Kong Jia, the
fourteenth emperor of the Xia dynasty, was given a male and a female
dragon as a reward for his obedience to the god of heaven,[59] but could
not train them, so he hired a dragon-trainer named Liulei, who had
learned how to train dragons from Huanlong.[59] One day, the female
dragon died unexpectedly, so Liulei secretly chopped her up, cooked her
meat, and served it to the king,[59] who loved it so much that he
demanded Liulei to serve him the same meal again.[59] Since Liulei had
no means of procuring more dragon meat, he fled the palace.[59]
One
of the most famous dragon stories is about the Lord Ye Gao, who loved
dragons obsessively, even though he had never seen one.[60] He decorated
his whole house with dragon motifs[60] and, seeing this display of
admiration, a real dragon came and visited Ye Gao,[60] but the lord was
so terrified at the sight of the creature that he ran away.[60] In
Chinese legend, the culture hero Fu Hsi is said to have been crossing
the Lo River, when he saw the lung ma, a Chinese horse-dragon with seven
dots on its face, six on its back, eight on its left flank, and nine on
its right flank.[61] He was so moved by this apparition that, when he
arrived home, he drew a picture of it, including the dots.[61] He later
used these dots as letters and invented Chinese writing, which he used
to write his book I Ching.[61] In another Chinese legend, the physician
Ma Shih Huan
n
the Shanhaijing, a classic mythography probably compiled mostly during
the Han dynasty, various deities and demigods are associated with
dragons.[63] One of the most famous Chinese dragons is Ying Long
("responding dragon"), who helped the Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor,
defeat the tyrant Chiyou.[64] The dragon Zhulong ("torch dragon") is a
god "who composed the universe with his body."[64] In the Shanhaijing,
many mythic heroes are said to have been conceived after their mothers
copulated with divine dragons, including Huangdi, Shennong, Emperor Yao,
and Emperor Shun.[64] The god Zhurong and the emperor Qi are both
described as being carried by two dragons,[65] as are Huangdi, Zhuanxu,
Yuqiang, and Roshou in various other texts.[59] According to the
Huainanzi, an evil black dragon once caused a destructive deluge,[59]
which was ended by the mother goddess Nüwa by slaying the dragon.
A
large number of ethnic myths about dragons are told throughout
China.[59] The Houhanshu, compiled in the fifth century BC by Fan Ye,
reports a story belonging to the Ailaoyi people, which holds that a
woman named Shayi who lived in the region around Mount Lao became
pregnant with ten sons after being touched by a tree trunk floating in
the water while fishing.[64] She gave birth to the sons and the tree
trunk turned into a dragon, who asked to see his sons.[64] The woman
showed them to him,[64] but all of them ran away except for the
youngest, who the dragon licked on the back and named Jiu Long, meaning
"sitting back".[64] The sons later elected him king and the descendants
of the ten sons became the Ailaoyi people, who tattooed dragons on their
backs in honor of their ancestor.[64] The Miao people of southwest
China have a story that a divine dragon created the first humans by
breathing on monkeys that came to play in his cave.[59] The Han people
have many stories about Short-Tailed Old Li, a black dragon who was born
to a poor family in Shandong.[60] When his mother saw him for the first
time, she fainted[60] and, when his father came home from the field and
saw him, he hit him with a spade and cut off part of his tail.[60] Li
burst through the ceiling and flew away to the Black Dragon River in
northeast China, where he became the god of that river.[66] On the
anniversary of his mother's death on the Chinese lunar calendar, Old Li
returns home, causing it to rain.[67] He is still worshipped as a rain
god.
In
China, a dragon is thought to have power over rain. Dragons and their
associations with rain are the source of the Chinese customs of dragon
dancing and dragon boat racing. Dragons are closely associated with
rain[68] and drought is thought to be caused by a dragon's laziness.[69]
Prayers invoking dragons to bring rain are common in Chinese texts.[68]
The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals, attributed to the
Han dynasty scholar Dong Zhongshu, making clay figurines of
dragons during a time of drought and having young men and boys pace and
dance among the figurines in order to encourage the dragons to bring
rain.[68] Texts from the Qing dynasty advise hurling the bone of a tiger
or dirty objects into the pool where the dragon lives;[69] since
dragons cannot stand tigers or dirt, the dragon of the pool will cause
heavy rain to drive the object out.[69] Rainmaking rituals invoking
dragons are still very common in many Chinese villages, where each
village has its own god said to bring rain and many of these gods are
dragons.[69] The Chinese dragon kings are thought of as the inspiration
for the Hindu myth of the naga. [69] According to these stories, every
body of water is ruled by a dragon king, each with a different power,
rank, and ability,[69] so people began establishing temples across the
countryside dedicated to these figures.[69]
Head of a dragon from a Chinese dragon dance performed in Helsinki in the year 2000.
Many
traditional Chinese customs revolve around dragons.[70] During various
holidays, including the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, villagers
will construct an approximately sixteen-foot-long dragon from grass,
cloth, bamboo strips, and paper, which they will parade through the city
as part of a dragon dance.[71] The original purpose of this ritual was
to bring good weather and a strong harvest,[71] but now it is done
mostly only for entertainment.[71] During the Duanwu festival, several
villages, or even a whole province, will hold a dragon boat race, in
which people race across a body of water in boats carved to look like
dragons, while a large audience watches on the banks.[71] The custom is
traditionally said to have originated after the poet Qu Yuan committed
suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River and people raced out in
boats hoping to save him.[71] But most historians agree that the custom
actually originated much earlier as a ritual to avert ill fortune.[71]
Starting during the Han dynasty and continuing until the Qing dynasty,
the Chinese emperor gradually became closely identified with
dragons,[71] and emperors themselves claimed to be the incarnations of a
divine dragon.[71] Eventually, dragons were only allowed to appear on
clothing, houses, and articles of everyday use belonging to the
emperor[71] and any commoner who possessed everyday items bearing the
image of the dragon was ordered to be executed.[71] After the last
Chinese emperor was overthrown in 1911, this situation changed and now
many ordinary Chinese people identify themselves as descendants of
dragons.[72]
The impression of dragons in a large number of Asian
countries has been influenced by Chinese culture, such as Korea,
Vietnam, Japan, and so on. Chinese tradition has always used the dragon
totem as the national emblem, and the "Yellow Dragon flag" of the Qing
dynasty has influenced the impression that China is a dragon in many
European countries....Korea
Main article: Korean dragon
The
Korean dragon is in many ways similar in appearance to other East Asian
dragons such as the Chinese and Japanese dragons. It differs from the
Chinese dragon in that it developed a longer beard. Very occasionally, a
dragon may be depicted as carrying an orb known as the Yeouiju (여의주),
the Korean name for the mythical Cintamani, in its claws or its mouth.
It was said that whoever could wield the Yeouiju was blessed with the
abilities of omnipotence and creation at will, and that only four-toed
dragons (who had thumbs with which to hold the orbs) were both wise and
powerful enough to wield these orbs, as opposed to the lesser,
three-toed dragons. As with China, the number nine is significant and
auspicious in Korea, and dragons were said to have 81 (9×9) scales on
their backs, representing yang essence. Dragons in Korean mythology are
primarily benevolent beings related to water and agriculture, often
considered bringers of rain and clouds. Hence, many Korean dragons are
said to have resided in rivers, lakes, oceans, or even deep mountain
ponds. And human journeys to undersea realms, and especially the
undersea palace of the Dragon King (용왕), are common in Korean
folklore.[73]
In Korean myths, some kings who founded kingdoms
were described as descendants of dragons because the dragon was a symbol
of the monarch. Lady Aryeong, who was the first queen of Silla, is said
to have been born from a cockatrice,[74] while the grandmother of Taejo
of Goryeo, founder of Goryeo, was reportedly the daughter of the dragon
king of the West Sea.[75] And King Munmu of Silla who, on his deathbed,
wished to become a dragon of the East Sea in order to protect the
kingdom. Dragon patterns were used exclusively by the royal family. The
royal robe was also called the dragon robe (용포). In the Joseon dynasty,
the royal insignia, featuring embroidered dragons, were attached to the
robe's shoulders, the chest, and back. The King wore five-taloned dragon
insignia while the Crown Prince wore four-taloned dragon insignia.[76]
Korean
folk mythology states that most dragons were originally Imugis (이무기),
or lesser dragons, which were said to resemble gigantic serpents. There
are a few different versions of Korean folklore that describe both what
imugis are and how they aspire to become full-fledged dragons. Koreans
thought that an Imugi could become a true dragon, yong or mireu, if it
caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven. Another explanation
states they are hornless creatures resembling dragons who have been
cursed and thus were unable to become dragons. By other accounts, an
Imugi is a proto-dragon which must survive one thousand years in order
to become a fully-fledged dragon. In either case, they are said to be
large, benevolent, python-like creatures that live in water or caves,
and their sighting is associated with good luck.
Japan
Main article: Japanese dragon
Japanese
dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about
dragons from China. Like some other dragons, most Japanese dragons are
water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are
typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed
feet. Gould writes (1896:248),[78] the Japanese dragon is "invariably
figured as possessing three claws". A story about the samurai Minamoto
no Mitsunaka tells that, while he was hunting in his own territory of
Settsu, he dreamt under a tree and had a dream in which a beautiful
woman appeared to him and begged him to save her land from a giant
serpent which was defiling it.[62] Mitsunaka agreed to help and the
maiden gave him a magnificent horse.[62] When he woke up, the seahorse
was standing before him.[62] He rode it to the Sumiyoshi temple, where
he prayed for eight days.[62] Then he confronted the serpent and slew it
with an arrow.[62]
It was believed that dragons could be
appeased or exorcised with metal.[62] Nitta Yoshisada is said to have
hurled a famous sword into the sea at Sagami to appease the dragon-god
of the sea[62] and Ki no Tsurayuki threw a metal mirror into the sea at
Sumiyoshi for the same purpose.[62] Japanese Buddhism has also adapted
dragons by subjecting them to Buddhist law;[62] the Japanese Buddhist
deities Benten and Kwannon are often shown sitting or standing on the
back of a dragon.[62] Several Japanese sennin ("immortals") have taken
dragons as their mounts.[62] Bômô is said to have hurled his staff into a
puddle of water, causing a dragon to come forth and let him ride it to
heaven.[62] The rakan Handaka is said to have been able to conjure a
dragon out of a bowl, which he is often shown playing with on
kagamibuta.[62] The shachihoko is a creature with the head of a dragon, a
bushy tail, fishlike scales, and sometimes with fire emerging from its
armpits.[62] The fun has the head of a dragon, feathered wings, and the
tail and claws of a bird.[62] A white dragon was believed to reside in a
pool in Yamashiro Province[79] and, every fifty years, it would turn
into a bird called the Ogonchô, which had a call like the "howling of a
wild dog".[79] This event was believed to herald terrible famine.[79] In
the Japanese village of Okumura, near Edo, during times of drought, the
villagers would make a dragon effigy out of straw, magnolia leaves, and
bamboo and parade it through the village to attract rainfall.[79]
South Asia
India
In
the Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas, Indra, the Vedic god of
storms, battles Vṛtra, a giant serpent who represents drought.[80] Indra
kills Vṛtra using his vajra (thunderbolt) and clears the path for
rain,[81][82] which is described in the form of cattle: "You won the
cows, hero, you won the Soma,/You freed the seven streams to flow"
(Rigveda 1.32.12).[83] In another Rigvedic legend, the three-headed
serpent Viśvarūpa, the son of Tvaṣṭṛ, guards a wealth of cows and
horses.[84] Indra delivers Viśvarūpa to a god named Trita Āptya,[84] who
fights and kills him and sets his cattle free.[84] Indra cuts off
Viśvarūpa's heads and drives the cattle home for Trita.[84] This same
story is alluded to in the Younger Avesta,[84] in which the hero
Thraētaona, the son of Āthbya, slays the three-headed dragon Aži Dahāka
and takes his two beautiful wives as spoils.[84] Thraētaona's name
(meaning "third grandson of the waters") indicates that Aži Dahāka, like
Vṛtra, was seen as a blocker of waters and cause of drought.[84]
Bhutan
The
Druk (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་), also known as 'Thunder Dragon', is one of the
national symbols of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as
Druk Yul "Land of Druk", and Bhutanese leaders are called Druk Gyalpo,
"Thunder Dragon Kings". The druk was adopted as an emblem by the Drukpa
Lineage, which originated in Tibet and later spread to Bhutan.
Southeast Asia
Vietnam
Main article: Vietnamese dragon
The
Vietnamese dragon (Vietnamese: rồng 龍) was a mythical creature that was
often used as a deity symbol and was associated with royalty.[86]
Similar to other cultures, dragons in Vietnamese culture represent yang
and godly beings associated with creation and life. In the creation myth
of the Vietnamese people, they are descended from the dragon lord Lạc
Long Quân and the fairy Âu Cơ, who bore 100 eggs. When they separated,
Lạc Long Quân brought 50 children to the sea while Âu Cơ brought the
rest up the mountains. To this day, Vietnamese people often describe
themselves as "Children of the dragon, grandchildren of the fairy" (Con
rồng cháu tiên)....Post-classical Germanic
Main article: Germanic dragon
In
the Old Norse poem Grímnismál in the Poetic Edda, the dragon Níðhöggr
is described as gnawing on the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree.[134]
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is a giant serpent that encircles the
entire realm of Miðgarð in the sea around it.[135] According to the
Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, written by the thirteenth-century
Icelandic mythographer Snorri Sturluson, Thor, the Norse god of thunder,
once went out on a boat with the giant Hymnir to the outer sea and
fished for Jörmungandr using an ox-head as bait.[135] Thor caught the
serpent and, after pulling its head out of the water, smashed it with
his hammer, Mjölnir.[135] Snorri states that the blow was not fatal:
"and men say that he struck its head off on the sea bed. But I think the
truth to tell you is that the Miðgarð Serpent still lives and lies in
the surrounding sea."[135]
Towards the end of the Old English
epic poem Beowulf, a slave steals a cup from the hoard of a sleeping
dragon,[136] causing the dragon to wake up and go on a rampage of
destruction across the countryside.[137] The eponymous hero of the poem
insists on confronting the dragon alone, even though he is of advanced
age,[138][139] but Wiglaf, the youngest of the twelve warriors Beowulf
has brought with him, insists on accompanying his king into the
battle.[140] Beowulf's sword shatters during the fight and he is
mortally wounded,[141][142] but Wiglaf comes to his rescue and helps him
slay the dragon.[142] Beowulf dies and tells Wiglaf that the dragon's
treasure must be buried rather than shared with the cowardly warriors
who did not come to the aid of their king.[143]
In the Old Norse
Völsunga saga, the hero Sigurd catches the dragon Fafnir by digging a
pit between the cave where he lives and the spring where he drinks his
water[144] and kills him by stabbing him in the underside.[144] At the
advice of Odin, Sigurd drains Fafnir's blood and drinks it, which gives
him the ability to understand the language of the birds,[145] who he
hears talking about how his mentor Regin is plotting to betray him so
that he can keep all of Fafnir's treasure for himself.[145][146] The
motif of a hero trying to sneak past a sleeping dragon and steal some of
its treasure is common throughout many Old Norse sagas.[147] The
fourteenth-century Flóres saga konungs ok sona hans describes a hero who
is actively concerned not to wake a sleeping dragon while sneaking past
it.[147] In the Yngvars saga víðförla, the protagonist attempts to
steal treasure from several sleeping dragons, but accidentally wakes
them up.
Post-classical Western
Main articles: European dragon, Welsh Dragon, Wyvern, Saint George and the Dragon, Margaret the Virgin, and Dacian Draco
The
modern, western image of a dragon developed in western Europe during
the Middle Ages through the combination of the snakelike dragons of
classical Graeco-Roman literature, references to Near Eastern dragons
preserved in the Bible, and western European folk traditions.[148] The
period between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries represents the
height of European interest in dragons as living creatures.[149] The
twelfth-century Welsh monk, Geoffrey of Monmouth, recounts a famous
legend in his Historia Regum Britanniae in which the child prophet
Merlin witnesses the Romano-Celtic warlord Vortigern attempt to build a
tower on Mount Snowdon to keep safe from the Anglo-Saxons,[150] but the
tower keeps being swallowed into the ground.[150] Merlin informs
Vortigern that, underneath the foundation he has built, is a pool with
two dragons sleeping in it.[150] Vortigern orders for the pool to be
drained, exposing a red dragon and a white dragon, who immediately begin
fighting.[150] Merlin delivers a prophecy that the white dragon will
triumph over the red, symbolizing England's conquest of Wales,[150] but
declares that the red dragon will eventually return and defeat the white
one.[151] This story remained popular throughout the fifteenth century.
The
oldest recognizable image of a fully modern, western dragon appears in a
hand-painted illustration from the medieval manuscript MS Harley 3244,
which was produced in around 1260 AD.[13] The dragon in the illustration
has two sets of wings and its tail is longer than most modern
depictions of dragons,[13] but it clearly displays many of the same
distinctive features.[13] Dragons are generally depicted as living in
rivers or having an underground lair or cave.[152] They are envisioned
as greedy and gluttonous, with voracious appetites.[148] They are often
identified with Satan, due to the references to Satan as a "dragon" in
the Book of Revelation.[148] The thirteenth-century Golden Legend,
written in Latin, records the story of Saint Margaret of Antioch,[42] a
virgin martyr who, after being tortured for her faith in the
Diocletianic Persecution and thrown back into her cell, is said to have
been confronted by a monstrous dragon,[42] but she made the sign of the
cross and the dragon vanished.[42] In some versions of the story, she is
actually swallowed by the dragon alive and, after making the sign of
the cross in the dragon's stomach, emerges unharmed.
The legend
of Saint George and the Dragon may be referenced as early as the sixth
century AD,[153][154] but the earliest artistic representations of it
come from the eleventh century[153] and the first full account of it
comes from an eleventh-century Georgian text.[155] The most famous
version of the story from the Golden Legend holds that a dragon kept
pillaging the sheep of the town of Silene in Libya.[153] After it ate a
young shepherd, the people were forced to placate it by leaving two
sheep as sacrificial offerings every morning beside the lake where the
dragon lived.[153] Eventually, the dragon ate all of the sheep[156] and
the people were forced to start offering it their own children.[156] One
day, the king's own daughter came up in the lottery and, despite the
king's pleas for her life, she was dressed as a bride and chained to a
rock beside the lake to be eaten.[156] Then, Saint George arrived and
saw the princess.[156] When the dragon arrived to eat her, he stabbed it
with his lance and subdued it by making the sign of the cross and tying
the princess's girdle around its neck.[156] Saint George and the
princess led the now-docile dragon into the town and George promised to
kill it if the townspeople would convert to Christianity.[157] All the
townspeople converted and Saint George killed the dragon with his
sword.[157] In some versions, Saint George marries the princess,[157]
but, in others, he continues wandering.
Dragons are well known in
myths and legends of Spain, in no small part because St. George
(Catalan Sant Jordi) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Like most
mythical reptiles, the Catalan dragon (Catalan drac) is an enormous
serpent-like creature with four legs and a pair of wings, or rarely, a
two-legged creature with a pair of wings, called a wyvern. As in many
other parts of the world, the dragon's face may be like that of some
other animal, such as a lion or a bull. As is common elsewhere, Catalan
dragons are fire-breathers, and the dragon-fire is all-consuming.
Catalan dragons also can emit a fetid odor, which can rot away anything
it touches.[158]
Gargoyles are carved stone figures sometimes
resembling dragons that originally served as waterspouts on
buildings.[159][160] Precursors to the medieval gargoyle can be found on
ancient Greek and Egyptian temples,[159][161][162] but, over the course
of the Middle Ages, many fantastic stories were invented to explain
them.[163] One medieval French legend holds that, in ancient times, a
fearsome dragon known as La Gargouille had been causing floods and
sinking ships on the river Seine,[164] so the people of the town of
Rouen would offer the dragon a human sacrifice once each year to appease
its hunger.[164] Then, around 600 AD, a priest named Romanus promised
that, if the people would build a church, he would rid them of the
dragon.[164] Romanus slew the dragon and its severed head was mounted on
the walls of the city as the first gargoyle.[164][165]
Dragons
are prominent in medieval heraldry.[166] Uther Pendragon was famously
said to have had two gold dragons crowned with red standing back-to-back
on his royal coat of arms.[167] Originally, heraldic dragons could have
any number of legs,[166] but, by the late Middle Ages, due to the
widespread proliferation of bestiaries, heraldry began to distinguish
between a "dragon" (which could only have exactly four legs) and a
"wyvern" (which could only have exactly two).[166] In myths, wyverns are
associated with viciousness, envy, and pestilence,[166] but, in
heraldry, they are used as symbols for overthrowing the tyranny of Satan
and his demonic forces.[166] Late medieval heraldry also distinguished a
draconic creature known as a "cockatrice".[166] A cockatrice is
supposedly born when a serpent hatches an egg that has been laid on a
dunghill by a rooster[166] and it is so venomous that its breath and its
gaze are both lethal to any living creature, except for a weasel, which
is the cockatrice's mortal enemy.[166] A basilisk is a serpent with the
head of a dragon at the end of its tail that is born when a toad
hatches an egg that has been laid in a midden by a nine-year-old
cockatrice.[166] Like the cockatrice, its glare is said to be deadly.
Post-classical Eastern
Main articles: Slavic dragon and Kulshedra
In
Albanian mythology and folklore, stihi, ljubi, bolla, bollar, errshaja,
and kulshedra are mythological figures described as serpentine dragons.
It is believed that bolla, a water and chthonic demonic serpent,
undergoes metamorphosis passing through four distinct phases if it lives
many years without being seen by a human. The bollar and errshaja are
the intermediate stages, while the kulshedra is the ultimate phase,
described as a huge multi-headed fire-spitting female serpent which
causes drought, storms, flooding, earthquakes, and other natural
disasters against mankind. She is usually fought and defeated by a
drangue, a semi-human winged divine hero and protector of humans. Heavy
thunderstorms are thought to be the result of their battles.[168][169]
In
Slavic mythology, the words "zmey", "zmiy", or "zmaj" are used to
describe dragons. These words are masculine forms of the Slavic word for
"snake", which are normally feminine (like Russian zmeya). In Romania,
there is a similar figure, derived from the Slavic dragon and named
zmeu. Exclusively in Polish and Belarusian folklore, as well as in the
other Slavic folklores, a dragon is also called (variously) смок, цмок,
or smok. In South Slavic folklores, the same thing is also called lamya
(ламя, ламjа, lamja). Although quite similar to other European dragons,
Slavic dragons have their peculiarities.
In Russian and Ukrainian
folklore, Zmey Gorynych is a dragon with three heads, each one bearing
twin goatlike horns.[170] He is said to have breathed fire and smelled
of sulfur.[170] It was believed that eclipses were caused by Gorynych
temporarily swallowing the sun.[171] According to one legend, Gorynych's
uncle was the evil sorcerer Nemal Chelovek, who abducted the daughter
of the tsar and imprisoned her in his castle in the Ural Mountains.[171]
Many knights tried to free her, but all of them were killed by
Gorynych's fire.[171] Then a palace guard in Moscow named Ivan Tsarevich
overheard two crows talking about the princess.[172] He went to the
tsar, who gave him a magic sword, and snuck into the castle.[173] When
Chelovek attacked Ivan in the form of a giant, the sword flew from
Ivan's hand unbidden and killed him.[173] Then the sword cut off all
three of Gorynych's heads at once.[173] Ivan brought the princess back
to the tsar, who declared Ivan a nobleman and allowed him to marry the
princess.[173]
A popular Polish folk tale is the legend of the
Wawel Dragon, which is first recorded in the Chronica Polonorum of
Wincenty Kadłubek, written between 1190 and 1208. According to Kadłubek,
the dragon appeared during the reign of King Krakus[175] and demanded
to be fed a fixed number of cattle every week.[175] If the villagers
failed to provide enough cattle, the dragon would eat the same number of
villagers as the number of cattle they had failed to provide.[175]
Krakus ordered his sons to slay the dragon.[175] Since they could not
slay it by hand,[175] they tricked the dragon into eating calfskins
filled with burning sulfur.[175] Once the dragon was dead, the younger
brother attacked and murdered his older brother and returned home to
claim all the glory for himself,[175] telling his father that his
brother had died fighting the dragon.[175] The younger brother became
king after his father died, but his secret was eventually revealed and
he was banished.[175] In the fifteenth century, Jan Długosz rewrote the
story so that King Krakus himself was the one who slew the dragon.
Another version of the story told by Marcin Bielski instead has the
clever shoemaker Skuba come up with the idea for slaying the dragon.
Bielski's version is now the most popular.
Modern depictions
See also: List of dragons in fiction
Dragons
and dragon motifs are featured in many works of modern literature,
particularly within the fantasy genre.[178][179] As early as the
eighteenth century, critical thinkers such as Denis Diderot were already
asserting that too much literature had been published on dragons:
"There are already in books all too many fabulous stories of
dragons".[180] In Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel Through the
Looking-Glass (1872), one of the inset poems describes the Jabberwock, a
kind of dragon.[12] Carroll's illustrator John Tenniel, a famous
political cartoonist, humorously showed the Jabberwock with the
waistcoat, buck teeth, and myopic eyes of a Victorian university
lecturer, such as Carroll himself.[12] In works of comedic children's
fantasy, dragons often fulfill the role of a magic fairy tale
helper.[181] In such works, rather than being frightening as they are
traditionally portrayed, dragons are instead represented as harmless,
benevolent, and inferior to humans.[181] They are sometimes shown living
in contact with humans, or in isolated communities of only
dragons.[181] Though popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, "such comic and idyllic stories" began to grow increasingly
rare after the 1960s, due to demand for more serious children's
literature.[181]
One of the most iconic modern dragons is Smaug
from J. R. R. Tolkien's classic novel, The Hobbit.[178] Dragons also
appear in the best-selling Harry Potter series of children's novels by
J. K. Rowling.[12] Other prominent works depicting dragons include Anne
McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle,
George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, and Christopher
Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle. Sandra Martina Schwab writes, "With a
few exceptions, including McCaffrey's Pern novels and the 2002 film
Reign of Fire, dragons seem to fit more into the medievalized setting of
fantasy literature than into the more technological world of science
fiction. Indeed, they have been called the emblem of fantasy. The hero's
fight against the dragon emphasizes and celebrates his masculinity,
whereas revisionist fantasies of dragons and dragon-slaying often
undermine traditional gender roles. In children's literature (such as
Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon series) the friendly dragon
may become a powerful ally in battling the child's fears."[182] The
popular role-playing game system Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) makes
heavy use of dragons." (wikipedia.org)
"A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft.[1]
Etymology and terminology
The
most commonly accepted etymology derives warlock from the Old English
wǣrloga, which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver".[2] The term came
to apply specially to the devil around 1000.[3] In early modern Scots,
the word came to refer to the male equivalent of a "witch" (which can be
male or female, but has historically been used predominantly for
females).[4][page needed][5][page needed][6][page needed] The term may
have become associated in Scotland with male witches due to the idea
that they had made pacts with Auld Hornie (the devil) and thus had
betrayed the Christian faith and broke their baptismal vows or oaths.[7]
From this use, the word passed into Romantic literature and ultimately
into 20th-century popular culture. A derivation from the Old Norse
varð-lokkur, "caller of spirits", has also been suggested,[8][9][10] but
the Oxford English Dictionary considers this implausible due to the
extreme rarity of the Norse word and because forms without hard -k,
which are consistent with the Old English etymology ("traitor"), are
attested earlier than forms with a -k.[11]
History
Although most victims of the witch trials in early modern Scotland were women, some men were executed as warlocks.[12][13][14]
In
his day, the Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550–1617) was often
perceived as a warlock or magician because his interests in divination
and the occult, though his establishment position likely kept him from
being prosecuted." (wikipedia.org)
"Magic
is an ancient practice rooted in rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or
cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise
manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural
world.[1] It is a categorical yet often ambiguous term which has been
used to refer to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, frequently
considered separate from both religion and science.[2]
Connotations
have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history,[3]
Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other,[4]
foreignness,[5] and primitivism;[6] indicating that it is "a powerful
marker of cultural difference"[7] and likewise, a non-modern
phenomenon.[8] During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a
primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised
groups of people.[7]
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), a British
occultist, defined "magick" as "the Science and Art of causing Change to
occur in conformity with Will",[9] adding a 'k' to distinguish
ceremonial or ritual magic from stage magic.[10] In modern occultism and
neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly
practice ritual magic.[11] This view has been incorporated into chaos
magic and the new religious movements of Thelema and Wicca.
Etymology
The
English words magic, mage and magician come from the Latin term magus,
through the Greek μάγος, which is from the Old Persian maguš.
(𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁|𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁, magician).[12] The Old Persian magu- is derived from
the Proto-Indo-European megʰ-*magh (be able). The Persian term may have
led to the Old Sinitic *Mγag (mage or shaman).[13] The Old Persian form
seems to have permeated ancient Semitic languages as the Talmudic
Hebrew magosh, the Aramaic amgusha (magician), and the Chaldean maghdim
(wisdom and philosophy); from the first century BCE onwards, Syrian
magusai gained notoriety as magicians and soothsayers.[14]
During
the late-sixth and early-fifth centuries BCE, the term goetia found its
way into ancient Greek, where it was used with negative connotations to
apply to rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional, and
dangerous;[15] in particular they dedicate themselves to the evocation
and invocation of daimons (lesser divinities or spirits) to control and
acquire powers. This concept remained pervasive throughout the
Hellenistic period, when Hellenistic authors categorised a diverse range
of practices—such as enchantment, witchcraft, incantations, divination,
necromancy, and astrology—under the label "magic".[16]
The Latin
language adopted this meaning of the term in the first century BCE. Via
Latin, the concept became incorporated into Christian theology during
the first century CE. Early Christians associated magic with demons, and
thus regarded it as against Christian religion. In early modern Europe,
Protestants often claimed that Roman Catholicism was magic rather than
religion, and as Christian Europeans began colonizing other parts of the
world in the sixteenth century, they labelled the non-Christian beliefs
they encountered as magical. In that same period, Italian humanists
reinterpreted the term in a positive sense to express the idea of
natural magic. Both negative and positive understandings of the term
recurred in Western culture over the following centuries.[citation
needed]
Since the nineteenth century, academics in various
disciplines have employed the term magic but have defined it in
different ways and used it in reference to different things. One
approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor (1832–1917)
and James G. Frazer (1854–1941), uses the term to describe beliefs in
hidden sympathies between objects that allow one to influence the other.
Defined in this way, magic is portrayed as the opposite to science. An
alternative approach, associated with the sociologist Marcel Mauss
(1872–1950) and his uncle Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), employs the term
to describe private rites and ceremonies and contrasts it with religion,
which it defines as a communal and organised activity. By the 1990s
many scholars were rejecting the term's utility for scholarship. They
argued that the label drew arbitrary lines between similar beliefs and
practices that were alternatively considered religious, and that it
constituted ethnocentric to apply the connotations of magic—rooted in
Western and Christian history—to other cultures.[citation needed]
Branches or types
White, gray and black
Main articles: White magic, Gray magic, and Black magic
Historian
Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th
century.[17] White magic is understood as the use of magic for selfless
or helpful purposes, while black magic was used for selfish, harmful or
evil purposes.[18] Black magic is the malicious counterpart of the
benevolent white magic. There is no consensus as to what constitutes
white, gray or black magic, as Phil Hine says, "like many other aspects
of occultism, what is termed to be 'black magic' depends very much on
who is doing the defining."[19] Gray magic, also called "neutral magic",
is magic that is not performed for specifically benevolent reasons, but
is also not focused towards completely hostile practices.[citation
needed]
High and low
Historians and anthropologists have
distinguished between practitioners who engage in high magic, and those
who engage in low magic.[20] High magic, also known as theurgy and
ceremonial or ritual magic, is more complex, involving lengthy and
detailed rituals as well as sophisticated, sometimes expensive,
paraphernalia.[20] Low magic and natural magic are associated with
peasants and folklore[21] with simpler rituals such as brief, spoken
spells.[20] Low magic is also closely associated with sorcery and
witchcraft.[22] Anthropologist Susan Greenwood writes that "Since the
Renaissance, high magic has been concerned with drawing down forces and
energies from heaven" and achieving unity with divinity.[23] High magic
is usually performed indoors while witchcraft is often performed
outdoors....Mesopotamia
See also: Mesopotamian divination, Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana, Maqlû, and Zisurrû
Bronze protection plaque from the Neo-Assyrian era showing the demon Lamashtu
Magic
was invoked in many kinds of rituals and and to
counteract evil omens. Defensive or legitimate magic in Mesopotamia
(asiputu or masmassutu in the Akkadian language) were incantations and
ritual practices intended to alter specific realities. The ancient
Mesopotamians believed that magic was the only viable defense against
demons, ghosts, and evil sorcerers.[25] To defend themselves against the
spirits of those they had wronged, they would leave offerings known as
kispu in the person's tomb in hope of appeasing them.[26] If that
failed, they also sometimes took a figurine of the deceased and buried
it in the ground, demanding for the gods to eradicate the spirit, or
force it to leave the person alone.[27]
The ancient Mesopotamians
also used magic intending to protect themselves from evil sorcerers who
might place curses on them.[28] Black magic as a category did not exist
in ancient Mesopotamia, and a person legitimately using magic to defend
themselves against illegitimate magic would use exactly the same
techniques.[28] The only major difference was that curses were enacted
in secret;[28] whereas a defense against sorcery was conducted in the
open, in front of an audience if possible.[28] One ritual to punish a
sorcerer was known as Maqlû, or "The Burning".[28] The person viewed as
being afflicted by witchcraft would create an effigy of the sorcerer and
put it on trial at night.[28] Then, once the nature of the sorcerer's
crimes had been determined, the person would burn the effigy and thereby
break the sorcerer's power over them.[28]
The ancient
Mesopotamians also performed magical rituals to purify themselves of
sins committed unknowingly.[28] One such ritual was known as the Šurpu,
or "Burning",[29] in which the caster of the spell would transfer the
guilt for all their misdeeds onto various objects such as a strip of
dates, an onion, and a tuft of wool.[29] The person would then burn the
objects and thereby purify themself of all sins that they might have
unknowingly committed.[29] A whole genre of love spells existed.[30]
Such spells were believed to cause a person to fall in love with another
person, restore love which had faded, or cause a male sexual partner to
be able to sustain an erection when he had previously been unable.[30]
Other spells were used to reconcile a man with his patron deity or to
reconcile a wife with a husband who had been neglecting her.[31]
Most magical rituals were intended to be
performed by an āšipu, an expert in the magical arts.[33][34][35][36]
The profession was generally passed down from generation to
generation[35] and was held in extremely high regard and often served as
advisors to kings and great leaders.[37] An āšipu probably served not
only as a magician, but also as a physician, a priest, a scribe, and a
scholar.[37]
The Sumerian god Enki, who was later syncretized
with the East Semitic god Ea, was closely associated with magic and
incantations;[38] he was the patron god of the bārȗ and the ašipū and
was widely regarded as the ultimate source of all arcane
knowledge.[39][40][41] The ancient Mesopotamians also believed in omens,
which could come when solicited or unsolicited.[42] Regardless of how
they came, omens were always taken with the utmost seriousness.[42]
Incantation bowls
Main article: Incantation bowl
See also: Jewish magical papyri
A
common set of shared assumptions about the causes of evil and how to
avert it are found in a form of early protective magic called
incantation bowl or magic bowls. The bowls were produced in the Middle
East, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, what is now Iraq and
Iran, and fairly popular during the sixth to eighth centuries.[43][44]
The bowls were buried face down and were meant to capture demons. They
were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of
the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries.[45] A subcategory
of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish magical practice. Aramaic
incantation bowls are an important source of knowledge about Jewish
magical practices....Magicians
The Magician card from a 15th-century tarot deck
Many
of the practices which have been labelled magic can be performed by
anyone.[250] For instance, some charms can be recited by individuals
with no specialist knowledge nor any claim to having a specific
power.[251] Others require specialised training in order to perform
them.[250] Some of the individuals who performed magical acts on a more
than occasional basis came to be identified as magicians, or with
related concepts like sorcerers/sorceresses, witches, or cunning
folk.[251] Identities as a magician can stem from an individual's own
claims about themselves, or it can be a label placed upon them by
others.[251] In the latter case, an individual could embrace such a
label, or they could reject it, sometimes vehemently.[251]
Economic
incentives can encourage individuals to identify as magicians.[142] In
the cases of various forms of traditional
, as well as the later
stage magicians or illusionists, the label of magician could become a
job description.[251] Others claim such an identity out of a genuinely
held belief that they have specific unusual powers or talents.[252]
Different societies have different social regulations regarding who can
take on such a role; for instance, it may be a question of familial
heredity, or there may be gender restrictions on who is allowed to
engage in such practices.[253] A variety of personal traits may be
credited with giving magical power, and frequently they are associated
with an unusual birth into the world.[254] For instance, in Hungary it
was believed that a táltos would be born with teeth or an additional
finger.[255] In various parts of Europe, it was believed that being born
with a caul would associate the child with supernatural abilities.[255]
In some cases, a ritual initiation is required before taking on a role
as a specialist in such practices, and in others it is expected that an
individual will receive a mentorship from another specialist.[256]
Davies
noted that it was possible to "crudely divide magic specialists into
religious and lay categories".[257] He noted for instance that Roman
Catholic priests, with their rites of exorcism, and access to holy water
and blessed could be conceived as being magical
practitioners.[258] Traditionally, the most common method of
identifying, differentiating, and establishing magical practitioners
from common people is by initiation. By means of rites the magician's
relationship to the supernatural and his entry into a closed
professional class is established (often through rituals that simulate
death and rebirth into a new life).[259] However, Berger and Ezzy
explain that since the rise of Neopaganism, "As there is no central
bureaucracy or dogma to determine authenticity, an individual's
self-determination as a Witch, Wiccan, Pagan or Neopagan is usually
taken at face value".[260] Ezzy argues that practitioners' worldviews
have been neglected in many sociological and anthropological studies and
that this is because of "a culturally narrow understanding of science
that devalues magical beliefs".[261]
Mauss argues that the powers
of both specialist and common magicians are determined by culturally
accepted standards of the sources and the breadth of magic: a magician
cannot simply invent or claim new magic. In practice, the magician is
only as powerful as his peers believe him to be.[262]
Throughout
recorded history, magicians have often faced skepticism regarding their
purported powers and abilities.[263] For instance, in sixteenth-century
England, the writer Reginald Scot wrote The Discoverie of Witchcraft, in
which he argued that many of those accused of witchcraft or otherwise
claiming magical capabilities were fooling people using illusionism."
(wikipedia.org)
"A
magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These
may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands
they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and
modern fantasy. Their fictional appearance is as old as the Iliad in
which Aphrodite's magical girdle is used by Hera as a love charm.[1]
Magic
items often act as a plot device to grant magical abilities. They may
give magical abilities to a person lacking in them, or enhance the power
of a wizard. For instance, in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the magic
ring allows Bilbo Baggins to be instrumental in the quest, exceeding the
abilities of the dwarves.[2]
Magic items are often, also, used
as MacGuffins. The characters in a story must collect an arbitrary
number of magical items, and when they have the full set, the magic is
sufficient to resolve the plot. In video games, these types of items are
usually collected in fetch quests.
Fairy tales
Certain kinds
of fairy tales have their plots dominated by the magic items they
contain. One such is the tale where the hero has a magic item that
brings success, loses the item either accidentally (The Tinder Box) or
through an enemy's actions (The Bronze Ring), and must regain it to
regain his success.[3] Another is the magic item that runs out of
control when the character knows how to start it but not to stop it: the
mill in Why the Sea Is Salt or the pot in Sweet Porridge.[4] A third is
the tale in which a hero has two rewards stolen from him, and a third
reward attacks the thief.[5]
Types of magic items
Many works of folklore and fantasy include very similar items, that can be grouped into types. These include:
Magic swords
Sentient weapons
Magic rings
Cloaks of invisibility
Magic carpets
Seven-league boots
Fairy ointments
Wands
Artifacts
In
role-playing games and fantasy literature, an artifact is a magical
object with great power. Often, this power is so great that it cannot be
duplicated by any known art allowed by the premises of the fantasy
world, and often cannot be destroyed by ordinary means. Artifacts often
serve as MacGuffins, the central focus of quests to locate, capture, or
destroy them. The One Ring of The Lord of the Rings is a typical
artifact: it was alarmingly powerful, of ancient and obscure origin, and
nearly indestructible.
In fiction
[icon]
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023)
In Dungeons & Dragons
Main article: Magic item (Dungeons & Dragons) § Artifacts
In
Dungeons & Dragons, artifacts are magic items that either cannot be
created by players or the secrets to their creation is not given. In
any event, artifacts have no market price and have no hit points (that
is, they are indestructible by normal spells). Artifacts typically have
no inherent limit of using their powers. Under strict rules, any
artifact can theoretically be destroyed by the sorcerer/wizard spell
Mordenkainen's Disjunction, but for the purposes of a campaign centered
on destroying an artifact, a plot-related means of destruction is
generally substituted. Artifacts in D&D are split into two
categories. Minor artifacts are common, but they can no longer be
created, whereas major artifacts are unique – only one of each item
exists.[6]
In Harry Potter
Main article: Magical objects in Harry Potter
In
the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, several magical objects exist
for the use of the characters. Some of them play a crucial role in the
main plot. There are objects for different purposes such as
communication, transportation, games, storage, as well as legendary
artifacts and items with dark properties." (wikipedia.org)
"Magic
in fiction is the endowment of characters or objects in works of
fiction or fantasy with powers that do not naturally occur in the real
world.
Magic often serves as a plot device and has long been a component of fiction, since writing was invented.
Historical beliefs
Historically,
witches such as the Weird Sisters in William Shakespeare's Macbeth,
wizards such as Prospero in The Tempest or characters like as an imaginary idea, opting to build their worlds with a blank
slate where the laws of reality do not carry as much weight.[1]: 1027
Function
Within
a work of fantasy, magic can help to advance the plot, often providing
power to heroes or to their opponents. The use of magic frequently
manifests itself in a transformation of a character, if not the
transformation of the fictional world.[2]: 143
For magic to carry out its functions, it often comes at a price equal to its value.[3][need quotation to verify]: 143
Fictional
magic may or may not include a detailed magic system, but it is not
uncommon for authors to omit details or explanations of certain
limitations, ostensibly for pacing or other purposes; in these cases, it
is possible that magic serves more as a convenience to the author
rather than as a device for the character.[citation needed]
In
nearly any given fantasy magical system, magical ability is limited.
Limitations can add conflict to the story and prevent characters from
becoming all-powerful with magic, although characters with unlimited
power (such as deities or transcendental beings) are not unheard of in
fiction.[1]: 616 Fantasy writers use a variety of techniques to limit
the magic in their stories,[4] such as limiting the number of spells a
character has or may cast before needing rest,[4] restricting a
character's magic to the use of a specific object,[4] limiting magic to
the use of certain rare materials,[5] or restricting the magic a
character can use through its negative consequences.[4] Some works
feature magic that is performed through the use of certain words or
incantations to cast spells.[citation needed] While many works use this
method without offering an explanation for it, others do offer an
explanation.[2]: 134 [3]: 167–168
Hard magic is a magic system
with specific rules and regulations; a soft magic system is usually much
more vague and undefined with a mysterious aspect to it.
Acquisition
Authors
introduce magic into their stories, and to their characters, in varying
ways. Although there is great variation in how spontaneously magic
occurs, how difficult it is to wield, and how the guidelines to the
magic are implemented, there are a handful of methods for introducing
magic found in many fictional works. In many[quantify] fantasy works,
writers depict magic as an innate talent, equivalent for example to
perfect pitch.[1]: 616 Magic may also be gained through a pact with a
devil or with other spirits, a characteristic common in folklore.[6]
Items
Main article: Magic item
In
some works, such as fairy tales, magic items either endow the main
characters with magical powers or have magical powers themselves.
Writers often use them as plot devices or MacGuffins to drive the plot
of a story.[7][page needed]
Wands and staves often feature in
fantasy works in the hands of wizards.[8] Italian fairy tales had put
wands into the hands of the powerful fairies by the late Middle
Ages.[citation needed]
Talismans such as rings or amulets may
exert magical influence.[9] Seven-league boots and invisibility cloaks
have also proven popular." (wikipedia.org)
"A
fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic
tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore
genre.[1] Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and
mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line
separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the
literature of preliterate societies.[2] Fairy tales may be distinguished
from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve
belief in the veracity of the events described)[3] and explicit moral
tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons,
dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, merfolk,
monsters, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, wizards, magic,
and enchantments.
In less technical contexts, the term is also
used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in
"fairy-tale ending" (a happy ending)[4] or "fairy-tale romance".
Colloquially, the term "fairy 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, but could not possibly be true. Legends are
perceived as real within their culture; fairy tales may merge into
legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as
being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and epics,
fairy tales usually do not contain more than superficial references to
religion and to actual places, people, and events; they take place "once
upon a time" rather than in actual times.[5]
Fairy tales occur
both in oral and in literary form; the name "fairy tale" ("conte de
fées" in French) was first ascribed to them by Madame d'Aulnoy in the
late 17th century. Many of today's fairy tales have evolved from
centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple
cultures around the world.[6]
The history of the fairy 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, some to the
Bronze Age.[7][8] Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are
still written today.
The Jatakas are probably the oldest
collection of such tales in literature, and the greater part of the rest
are demonstrably more than a thousand years old. It is certain that
much (perhaps one-fifth) of the popular literature of modern Europe is
derived from those portions of this large bulk which came west with the
Crusades through the medium of Arabs and Jews.[9]
Folklorists
have classified fairy tales in various ways. The Aarne–Thompson–Uther
Index and the morphological analysis of Vladimir Propp are among the
most notable. Other folklorists have interpreted the tales'
significance, but no school has been definitively established for the
meaning of the tales.
Terminology
Some folklorists prefer to
use the German term Märchen or "wonder tale"[10] to refer to the genre
rather than fairy tale, a practice given weight by the definition of
Thompson in his 1977 [1946] edition of The Folktale:
"...a
tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It
moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures
and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble
heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses."[11]
The
characters and motifs of fairy tales are simple and archetypal:
princesses and goose-girls; youngest sons and gallant princes; ogres,
giants, dragons, and trolls; wicked stepmothers and false heroes; fairy
godmothers and other magical helpers, often talking horses, or foxes, or
birds; glass mountains; and prohibitions and breaking of
prohibitions.[12]
Definition
A painting from the fairy tale "The
Facetious Nights of Straparola", showing people observing as a person
jumps inside a building.
Although the fairy tale is a distinct
genre within the larger category of folktale, the definition that marks a
work as a fairy tale is a source of considerable dispute.[13] The term
itself comes from the translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's Conte de fées,
first used in her collection in 1697.[14] Common parlance conflates
fairy tales with beast fables and other folktales, and scholars differ
on the degree to which the presence of fairies and/or similarly mythical
beings (e.g., elves, goblins, trolls, giants, huge monsters, or
mermaids) should be taken as a differentiator. 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.[15] Nevertheless, to
select works for his analysis, Propp used all Russian folktales
classified as a folklore, Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index 300–749,—in a
cataloguing system that made such a distinction—to gain a clear set of
tales.[16] His own analysis identified fairy tales by their plot
elements, but that in itself has been criticized, as the analysis does
not lend itself easily to tales that do not involve a quest, and
furthermore, the same plot elements are found in non-fairy tale
works.[17]
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.
— George MacDonald, The Fantastic Imagination
As
Stith Thompson points out, talking animals and the presence of magic
seem to be more common to the fairy tale than fairies themselves.[18]
However, the mere 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, as in fables.[19]
In his essay "On Fairy-Stories", J. R. R.
Tolkien agreed with the exclusion of "fairies" from the definition,
defining fairy tales as stories about the adventures of men in Faërie,
the land of fairies, fairytale princes and princesses, dwarves, elves,
and not only other magical species but many other marvels.[20] However,
the same essay excludes tales that are often considered fairy tales,
citing as an example The Monkey's Heart, which Andrew Lang included in
The Lilac Fairy Book.[19]
Steven Swann Jones identified the
presence of magic as the feature by which fairy tales can be
distinguished from other sorts of folktales.[21] Davidson and Chaudri
identify "transformation" as the key feature of the genre.[10] From a
psychological point of view, Jean Chiriac argued for the necessity of
the fantastic in these narratives.[22]
In terms of aesthetic
values, Italo Calvino cited the fairy tale as a prime example of
"quickness" in literature, because of the economy and concision of the
tales.
History of the genre
Originally,
stories that would contemporarily be considered fairy tales were not
marked out as a separate genre. The German term "Märchen" stems from the
old German word "Mär", which means news or tale.[24] The word "Märchen"
is the diminutive of the word "Mär", therefore it means a "little
story". Together with the common beginning "once upon a time", this
tells us that a fairy tale or a märchen was originally a little story
from a long time ago when the world was still magic. (Indeed, one less
regular German opening is "In the old times when wishing was still
effective".)[25]
The French writers and adaptors of the conte de
fées genre often included fairies in their stories; the genre name
became "fairy tale" in English translation and "gradually eclipsed the
more general term folk tale that covered a wide variety of oral
tales".[26] Jack Zipes also attributes this shift to changing
sociopolitical conditions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
that led to the trivialization of these stories by the upper
classes.[26]
Roots of the genre come from different oral stories
passed down in European cultures. The genre was first marked out by
writers of the Renaissance, such as Giovanni Francesco Straparola and
Giambattista Basile, and stabilized through the works of later
collectors such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.[27] In this
evolution, the name was coined when the précieuses took up writing
literary stories; Madame d'Aulnoy invented the term Conte de fée, or
fairy tale, in the late 17th century.[28]
Before the definition
of the genre of fantasy, many works that would now be classified as
fantasy were termed "fairy tales", including Tolkien's The Hobbit,
George Orwell's Animal Farm, and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz.[29] Indeed, Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" includes discussions of
world-building and is considered a vital part of fantasy criticism.
Although fantasy, particularly the subgenre of fairytale fantasy, draws
heavily on fairy tale motifs,[30] the genres are now regarded as
distinct.
Folk and literary
The fairy tale, told orally, is a
sub-class of the folktale. Many writers have written in the form of the
fairy tale. These are the literary fairy tales, or Kunstmärchen.[14] The
oldest forms, from Panchatantra to the Pentamerone, show considerable
reworking from the oral form.[31] The Grimm brothers were among the
first to try to preserve the features of oral tales. Yet the stories
printed under the Grimm name have been considerably reworked to fit the
written form.[32]
Literary fairy tales and oral fairy tales
freely exchanged plots, motifs, and elements with one another and with
the tales of foreign lands.[33] The literary fairy tale came into
fashion during the 17th century, developed by aristocratic women as a
parlour game. This, in turn, helped to maintain the oral tradition.
According to Jack Zipes, "The subject matter of the conversations
consisted of literature, mores, taste, and etiquette, whereby the
speakers all endeavoured to portray ideal situations in the most
effective oratorical style that would gradually have a major effect on
literary forms."[34] Many 18th-century folklorists attempted to recover
the "pure" folktale, uncontaminated by literary versions. Yet while oral
fairy tales likely existed for thousands of years before the literary
forms, there is no pure folktale, and each literary fairy tale draws on
folk traditions, if only in parody.[35] This makes it impossible to
trace forms of transmission of a fairy tale. Oral story-tellers have
been known to read literary fairy tales to increase their own stock of
stories and...Association with children
Spoons for children;engraved on them are fairy tale scenes from "Snow White", "Little Red Riding Hood", and "Hansel and Gretel".
Originally,
adults were the audience of a fairy tale just as often as children.[75]
Literary fairy tales appeared in works intended for adults, but in the
19th and 20th centuries the fairy tale became associated with children's
literature.
The précieuses, including Madame d'Aulnoy, intended
their works for adults, but regarded their source as the tales that
servants, or other women of lower class, would tell to children.[76]
Indeed, a novel of that time, depicting a countess's suitor offering to
tell such a tale, has the countess exclaim that she loves fairy tales as
if she were still a child.[76] Among the late précieuses, Jeanne-Marie
Leprince de Beaumont redacted a version of Beauty and the Beast for
children, and it is her tale that is best known today.[77] The Brothers
Grimm titled their collection Children's and Household Tales and rewrote
their tales after complaints that they were not suitable for
children.[78]
In the modern era, fairy tales were altered so that
they could be read to children. The Brothers Grimm concentrated mostly
on sexual references;[79] Rapunzel, in the first edition, revealed the
prince's visits by asking why her clothing had grown tight, thus letting
the witch deduce that she was pregnant, but in subsequent editions
carelessly revealed that it was easier to pull up the prince than the
witch.[80] On the other hand, in many respects, violence—particularly
when punishing villains—was increased.[81] Other, later, revisions cut
out violence; J. R. R. Tolkien noted that The Juniper Tree often had
its cannibalistic stew cut out in a version intended for children.[82]
The moralizing strain in the Victorian era altered the classical tales
to teach lessons, as when George Cruikshank rewrote Cinderella in 1854
to contain temperance themes. His acquaintance Charles Dickens
protested, "In an utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of
grave importance that fairy tales should be respected."[83][84]
Psychoanalysts
such as Bruno Bettelheim, who regarded the cruelty of older fairy tales
as indicative of psychological conflicts, strongly criticized this
expurgation, because it weakened their usefulness to both children and
adults as ways of symbolically resolving issues.[85] Fairy tales do
teach children how to deal with difficult times. To quote Rebecca
Walters (2017, p. 56) "Fairytales and folktales are part of the cultural
conserve that can be used to address children's fears …. and give them
some role training in an approach that honors the children's window of
tolerance". These fairy tales teach children how to deal with certain
social situations and helps them to find their place in society.[86]
Fairy tales teach children other important lessons too. For example,
Tsitsani et al. carried out a study on children to determine the
benefits of fairy tales. Parents of the children who took part in the
study found that fairy tales, especially the color in them, triggered
their child's imagination as they read them.[87] Jungian Analyst and
fairy tale scholar Marie Louise Von Franz interprets fairy tales[d]
based on Jung's view of fairy tales as a spontaneous and naive product
of soul, which can only express what soul is.[88] That means, she looks
at fairy tales as images of different phases of experiencing the reality
of the soul. They are the "purest and simplest expression of collective
unconscious psychic processes" and "they represent the archetypes in
their simplest, barest and most concise form" because they are less
overlaid with conscious material than myths and legends. "In this pure
form, the archetypal images afford us the best clues to the
understanding of the processes going on in the collective psyche". "The
fairy tale itself is its own best explanation; that is, its meaning is
contained in the totality of its motifs connected by the thread of the
story. [...] Every fairy tale is a relatively closed system compounding
one essential psychological meaning which is expressed in a series of
symbolical pictures and events and is discoverable in these". "I have
come to the conclusion that all fairy tales endeavour to describe one
and the same psychic fact, but a fact so complex and far-reaching and so
difficult for us to realize in all its different aspects that hundreds
of tales and thousands of repetitions with a musician's variation are
needed until this unknown fact is delivered into consciousness; and even
then the theme is not exhausted. This unknown fact is what Jung calls
the Self, which is the psychic reality of the collective unconscious.
[...] Every archetype is in its essence only one aspect of the
collective unconscious as well as always representing also the whole
collective unconscious.[89]
Other famous people commented on the
importance of fairy tales, especially for children. For example, G. K.
Chesterton argued that "Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for
producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do
not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the
child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not
give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child
is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has
known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the
fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon."[90]
Albert Einstein once showed how important he believed fairy tales were
for children's intelligence in the quote "If you want your children to
be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more
intelligent, read them more fairytales."[91]
The adaptation of
fairy tales for children continues. Walt Disney's influential Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs was largely (although certainly not solely)
intended for the children's market.[92] The anime Magical Princess Minky
Momo draws on the fairy tale Momotarō.[93] Jack Zipes has spent many
years working to make the older traditional stories accessible to modern
readers and their children." (wikipedia.org)
"An
incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment, or a bewitchery, is a
magical intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or
objects. The can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can
also be performed during ceremonial rituals or prayers. In the world of
magic, wizards, witches, and fairies are common performers of
incantations in culture and folklore.[1]
In medieval literature,
folklore, fairy tales, and modern fantasy fiction, enchantments are
charms or spells. This has led to the terms "enchanter" and
"enchantress" for those who use enchantments.[2] The English language
borrowed the term "incantation" from Old French in the late 14th
century; the corresponding Old English term was gealdor or galdor,
"song, spell", cognate to ON galdr. The weakened sense "delight"
(compare the same development of "charm") is modern, first attested in
1593 (OED).
Words of incantation are often spoken with inflection
and emphasis on the words being said. The tone and rhyme of how the
words are spoken and the placement of words used in the may
differ depending on the desired outcome of the magical effect.[3]
Surviving
written records of historical magic spells were largely obliterated in
many cultures by the success of the major monotheistic religions (Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity), which label some magical activity as
immoral or associated with evil.[4][unreliable source?]
Etymology
The
Latin incantare, which means "to consecrate with spells, to charm, to
bewitch, to ensorcel", forms the basis of the word "enchant", with deep
linguistic roots going back to the Proto-Indo-European kan- prefix. So
it can be said that an enchanter or enchantress casts magic spells, or
utters incantations.
The words that are similar to incantations
such as enchantment, charms and spells are the effects of reciting an
incantation. To be enchanted is to be under the influence of an
enchantment, usually thought to be caused by charms or spells.
Magic words
Main article: Magic word
Magic
words or words of power are words which have a specific, and sometimes
unintended, effect. They are often nonsense phrases used in fantasy
fiction or by stage prestidigitators. Frequently such words are
presented as being part of a divine, adamic, or other secret or
empowered language. Certain comic book heroes use magic words to
activate their powers.
Examples of traditional magic words include Abracadabra, Alakazam, Hocus Pocus, Open Sesame and Sim Sala Bim.
In
Babylonian, incantations can be used in rituals to burn images of one's
own enemies. An example would be found in the series of Mesopotamian
incantations of Šurpu and Maqlû. In the Orient, the charming of snakes
have been used in incantations of the past and still used today. A
person using an incantation would entice the snake out of its hiding
place in order to get rid of them.[1]
Udug-hul
Main article: Udug
In
Mesopotamian mythology, Udug Hul incantations are used to exorcise
demons (evil Udug) who bring misfortune or illnesses, such as mental
illness or anxiety. These demons can create horrible events such as
divorce, loss of property, or other catastrophes.[5]
In folklore and fiction
In
traditional fairy tales magical are sometimes attached to an
object.[citation needed] When the incantation is uttered, it helps
transform the object. In such stories, incantations are attached to a
magic wand used by wizards, witches and fairy godmothers. One example is
the spell that Cinderella's Fairy Godmother used to turn a pumpkin into
a coach, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", a nonsense rhyme which echoes more
serious historical incantations.[6]
Modern uses and interpretations
The
performance of magic almost always involves the use of language.
Whether spoken out loud or unspoken, words are frequently used to access
or guide magical power. In The Magical Power of Words (1968), S. J.
Tambiah argues that the connection between language and magic is due to a
belief in the inherent ability of words to influence the universe.
Bronisław Malinowski, in Coral Gardens and their Magic (1935), suggests
that this belief is an extension of man's basic use of language to
describe his surroundings, in which "the knowledge of the right words,
appropriate phrases and the more highly developed forms of speech, gives
man a power over and above his own limited field of personal
action."[7]: 235 Magical speech is therefore a ritual act and is of
equal or even greater importance to the performance of magic than
non-verbal acts.[8]: 175–176
Not all speech is considered
magical. Only certain words and phrases or words spoken in a specific
context are considered to have magical power.[8]: 176 Magical language,
according to C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards's (1923) categories of
speech, is distinct from scientific language because it is emotive and
it converts words into symbols for emotions; whereas in scientific
language words are tied to specific meanings and refer to an objective
external reality.[8]: 188 Magical language is therefore particularly
adept at constructing metaphors that establish symbols and link magical
rituals to the world.[8]: 189
Malinowski argues that "the
language of magic is sacred, set and used for an entirely different
purpose to that of ordinary life."[7]: 213 The two forms of language
are differentiated through word choice, grammar, style, or by the use of
specific phrases or forms: prayers, spells, songs, blessings, or
chants, for example. Sacred modes of language often employ archaic words
and forms in an attempt to invoke the purity or "truth" of a religious
or a cultural "golden age". The use of Hebrew in Judaism is an
example.[8]: 182
Another potential source of the power of words
is their secrecy and exclusivity. Much sacred language is differentiated
enough from common language that it is incomprehensible to the majority
of the population and it can only be used and interpreted by
specialized practitioners (magicians, priests, shamans, or
Imams).[7]: 228 [8]: 178 In this respect, Tambiah argues that magical
languages violate the primary function of language:
communication.[8]: 179 Yet adherents of magic are still able to use and
to value the magical function of words by believing in the inherent
power of the words themselves and in the meaning that they must provide
for those who do understand them. This leads Tambiah to conclude that
"the remarkable disjunction between sacred and profane language which
exists as a general fact is not necessarily linked to the need to embody
sacred words in an exclusive language."" (wikipedia.org)
"A
magician, also known as an archimage, mage, magus, magic-user,
spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch,
or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from
supernatural, occult, or arcane sources.[2]: 54 Magicians enjoy a rich
history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore, and are common
figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing
games.
Character archetypes
People who work magic are called by
several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one
fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the
terms: magician, mage, magus, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress,
warlock, witch, and wizard, each have different meanings depending upon
context and the story in question.[3]: 619 Archmage is used in fantasy
works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of
magicians.[3]: 1027
Enchanters typically practice a type of imbued
magic that produces no permanent effects on objects or people and are
temporary, or of an indefinite duration, or which may require some item
or act, to nullify or reverse. For example, this could include
enchanting a weapon or tool to be more (or less) effective, enchanting a
person or object to have a changed shape or appearance, creating
illusions intended to deceive the observer, compelling a person to
perform an action they might not normally do, or attempting to charm or
seduce someone.[3]: 318 For instance, the Lady of the Green Kirtle in
C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair can transform herself into a large green
serpent. She also enchants Rilian, compelling him to forget his father
and Narnia. And when that enchantment is broken, she attempts further
enchantments with a sweet-smelling smoke and a thrumming musical
instrument to attempt to baffle him and his rescuers into forgetting
them again.[4]
The term sorcerer has moved from meaning a
fortune-teller, or "one who alters fate", to meaning a practitioner of
magic who can alter reality. They are also sometimes shown as able to
conjure supernatural beings or spirits, such as in The Sorcerer's
Apprentice. Due to this perception of their powers, this character may
be depicted as feared, or even seen as evil. In sword and sorcery works,
typically the hero would be the sword-wielder, thus leaving the sorcery
for his opponent. Villainous sorcerers were so crucial to pulp fantasy
that the genre in which they appeared was dubbed "sword and
sorcery".[3]: 885
Witch (an—often female—practitioner of
witchcraft) and wicked (an adjective meaning "bad, evil, false") are
both derivative terms from the word, wicca (an Old English word with
varied meanings, including soothsayer, astrologer,,
seductress, or devotee of supernatural beings or spirits). L. Frank Baum
combined these terms in naming the Wicked Witch of the West, and other
witches in the Land of Oz. Baum named Glinda the "Good Witch of the
South" in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, he
dubbed her "Glinda the Good," and from that point forward and in
subsequent books, Baum referred to her as a sorceress rather than a
witch to avoid the term that was more regarded as evil.[5] In modern
fiction, a witch may be depicted more neutrally, such as the female
witches (comparable to the male wizards) in the Harry Potter series of
books by J. K. Rowling.
In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard
often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor, with Merlin from
the King Arthur stories being a prime example.[6]: 195 Wizards such as
Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter
are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an
educative force and mentor in the modern works of
Arthuriana.[3]: 637 [7]
Wizards can be cast similarly to the
absent-minded professor: being foolish and prone to misconjuring. They
can also be capable of great magic, both good and evil.[2]: 140–141
Even comical magicians are often capable of great feats, such as those
of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride; although he is a washed-up wizard
fired by the villain, he saves the dying hero.[8]
Other wizards,
such as Saruman from The Lord of the Rings or Lord Voldemort from Harry
Potter, can appear as hostile villains.[6]: 193
Ursula K. Le
Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea explored the question of how wizards learned
their art, introducing to modern fantasy the role of the wizard as the
protagonist.[9] This theme has been further developed in modern fantasy,
often leading to wizards as heroes on their own quests.[10] Such heroes
may have their own mentor, a wizard as well.[3]: 637
In role-playing games
Magicians
in role-playing games often use names borrowed from fiction, myth and
legend. They are typically delineated and named so that the game's
players and game masters can know which rules apply.[3]: 385 Gary Gygax
and Dave Arneson introduced the term "magic-user" in the original
Dungeons & Dragons as a generic term for a practitioner of magic (in
order to avoid the connotations of terms such as wizard or warlock);
this lasted until the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,
where it was replaced with mage (later to become wizard). The exact
rules vary from game to game.[citation needed] The wizard or mage, as a
character class, is distinguished by the ability to cast certain kinds
of magic but being weak in combat; sub-classes are distinguished by
strengths in some areas of magic and weakness in others.[11] Sorcerers
are distinguished from wizards as having an innate gift with magic, as
well as having mystical or magical ancestry.[12] Warlocks are
distinguished from wizards as creating forbidden "pacts" with powerful
creatures to harness their innate magical gifts.
Appearance
White-haired and white-bearded wizard with robes and hat
Due
to their traditional image as a wise old man or wise old woman,
magicians may be depicted as old, white-haired, and in some instances
with their hair (and in the case of male wizards, beards), being long
and majestic enough to occasionally host lurking woodland creatures.
This depiction predates the modern fantasy genre, being derived from the
traditional image of wizards such as Merlin.[7][13]
In fantasy, a
magician may be shown wearing a pointed hat, robesphos, and/or a cloak. In
more modern stories, a magician may be dressed similarly to a stage
magician, wearing a top hat and tails, with an optional cape.
Several
golden hats adorned with astronomical sequences have been found in
Europe. It has been speculated by archaeologists and historians that
they were worn by ancient wizards.[14] The similarities shared with a
fantasy magician's hat shape may mean that it is ultimately derived from
them. Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, circa 1,400-1,300 BC, Historical
Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer, Germany.
Terry Pratchett
described robes as a magician's way of establishing to those they meet
that they are capable of practicing magic.[15]
In the Dragonlance
campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game,
wizards show their moral alignment by the colour of their robes.[16]
Magical implements
A magician's crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly associated with clairvoyance, fortune-telling, or scrying.
Wands
and staves have long been used as requirements for the
magician.[6]: 152 Possibly derived from wand-like implements used in
fertility rituals, such as apotropaic wands, the earliest known instance
of the modern magical wand was featured in the Odyssey, used by Circe
to transform Odysseus's men into animals. Italian fairy tales put wands
into the hands of powerful fairies by the Late Middle Ages.[17] Today,
magical wands are widespread in literature and are used from Witch World
to Harry Potter. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf refuses to surrender
his own staff, breaking Saruman's, which strips the latter of his
power. This dependency on a particular magical item is common, and
necessary to limit the magician's power for the story's sake – without
it, the magician's powers may be weakened or absent entirely.[18] In the
Harry Potter universe, a wizard must expend much greater effort and
concentration to use magic without a wand, and only a few can control
magic without one; taking away a wizard's wand in battle essentially
disarms them.[citation needed]
In the Enchanted Forest
Chronicles, Patricia Wrede depicts wizards who use magic based on their
staves, and magicians who practice several kinds of magic, including
wizard magic;[clarification needed] in the Regency fantasies, she and
Caroline Stevermer depict magicians as identical to wizards, though
inferior in skill and training.
Education
Magicians
normally learn spells by reading ancient tomes called grimoires, which
may have magical properties of their own.[3]: 126 Sorcerers in Conan
the Barbarian often gained powers from such books, which are demarcated
by their strange bindings. In worlds where magic is not an innate trait,
the scarcity of these strange books may be a facet of the story; in
Poul Anderson's A Midsummer Tempest, Prince Rupert seeks out the books
of the magician Prospero to learn magic. The same occurs in the Dungeons
and Dragons-based novel series Dragonlance Chronicles, wherein Raistlin
Majere seeks out the books of the sorcerer Fistandantilus. In JK
Rowling's Harry Potter series, wizards already have skills of magic but
they need to practise magic in Wizarding Schools in order to be able to
use it properly.
Some magicians, even after training, continue
their education by learning more spells, inventing new ones (and new
magical objects), or rediscovering ancient spells, beings, or objects.
For example, Dr. Strange from the Marvel Universe continues to learn
about magic even after being named Sorcerer Supreme. He often encounters
creatures that haven't been seen for centuries or more. In the same
universe, Dr. Doom continues to pursue magical knowledge after mastering
it by combining magic with science. Fred and George Weasley from Harry
Potter invent new magical items and sell them as legitimate defense
items, new spells and can be made in the Harry Potter Universe;
Severus Snape invented a variety of jinxes and hexes as well as
substantial improvements in the process of potions; Albus
Dumbledore, along with Nicolas Flamel, is credited with discovering the
twelve uses of dragon's blood.
Limits on magic
To introduce
conflict, writers of fantasy fiction often place limits on the magical
abilities of magicians to prevent them from solving problems too
easily.[3]: 616
A common motif in fiction is that the ability to
use magic is innate and often rare, or gained through a large amount of
study and practice.[3]: 616 In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, it is
mostly limited to non-humans, such as the Istari (more commonly known as
wizards), or elves crafting magical items. In many writers' works, it
is reserved for a select group of humans,[citation needed] such as in
Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels, JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels or
Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy universe.
A common limit invented by
Jack Vance in his The Dying Earth series, and later popularized in
role-playing games is that a wizard can only cast a specific number of
spells in a day.[3]: 385 In Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away, once an
area's mana is exhausted, no one can use magic.[3]: 942
The
extent of a magician's knowledge is limited to which spells a wizard
knows and can cast.[18] Magic may also be limited by its danger; if a
powerful spell can cause grave harm if miscast, magicians are likely to
be wary of using it.[2]: 142 Other forms of magic are limited by
consequences that, while not inherently dangerous, are at least
undesirable. In A Wizard of Earthsea, every act of magic distorts the
equilibrium of the world, which in turn has far-reaching consequences
that can affect the entire world and everything in it. As a result,
competent wizards do not use their magic frivolously.[18]
In
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the Law of Conservation of Reality
is a principle imposed by forces wanting wizards to not destroy the
world, and works to limit how much power it is humanly possible to
wield.[citation needed] Whatever your means, the effort put into
reaching the ends stays the same. For example, when the wizards of
Unseen University are chasing the hapless wizard Rincewind in the forest
of Skund, the wizards send out search teams to go and find him on foot.
The Archchancellor beats them to it by using a powerful spell from his
own office, and while he gets there first by clever use of his spell, he
has used no less effort than the others.[citation needed]
Magic
may require rare and precious materials, minerals or metals such as
mercury, parts of creatures such as the eye of a newt, or even fantastic
like the cool of a soft breeze on a summer's day. Even if
the magician lacks scruples, obtaining the materials in question may be
difficult.[19] This can vary by fantasy work. Many magicians require no
materials at all;[3]: 617 or those that do may require only simple and
easily obtained materials. Role-playing games are more likely to require
such materials for at least some spells for game balance
reasons.[20][self-published source?]
Use of magic in society
Nevertheless,
many magicians live in pseudo-medieval settings in which their magic is
not put to practical use in society; they may serve as mentors, act as
quest companions, or even go on a quest themselves,[3]: 1027 but their
magic does not build roads or buildings, provide ,
construct indoor plumbing, or do any of the other functions served by
machinery; their worlds remain at a medieval level of technology.[21]
Sometimes
this is justified by having the negative effects of magic outweigh the
positive possibilities.[2]: 8 In Barbara Hambley's Windrose Chronicles,
wizards are precisely pledged not to interfere because of the terrible
damage they can do. In Discworld, the importance of wizards is that they
actively do not do magic, because when wizards have access to
sufficient "thaumaturgic energy", they develop many psychotic attributes
and may eventually destroy the world. This may be a direct effect or
the result of a miscast spell wreaking terrible havoc.[2]: 142
In
other works, developing magic is difficult.[citation needed] In Rick
Cook's Wizardry series, the extreme danger presented by magic and the
difficulty of analyzing the magic have stymied magic and left humanity
at the mercy of the dangerous elves until a wizard summons a computer
programmer from a parallel world — ours — to apply the skills he learned
in our world to magic.
At other times, magic and technology do
develop in tandem; this is most common in the alternate history
genre.[citation needed] Patricia Wrede's Regency fantasies include a
Royal Society of Wizards and a technological level equivalent to the
actual Regency; Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series, Robert A.
Heinlein's Magic, Incorporated, and Poul Anderson's Operation Chaos all
depict modern societies with magic equivalent to twentieth-century
technology. In Harry Potter, wizards have magical equivalents to
non-magical inventions; sometimes they duplicate them, as with the
Hogwarts Express train.
The powers ascribed to magicians often
affect their roles in society.[original research?] In practical terms,
their powers may give them authority; magicians may advise kings, such
as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Belgarath and Polgara the
Sorceress in David Eddings's The Belgariad. They may be rulers
themselves, as in E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros, where both the
heroes and the villains, although kings and lords, their
physical power with magical knowledge, or as in Jonathan Stroud's
Bartimaeus Trilogy, where magicians are the governing class.[3]: 1027
On the other hand, magicians often live like hermits, isolated in their
towers and often in the wilderness, bringing no change to society. In
some works, such as many of Barbara Hambly's, they are despised and
outcast specifically because of their knowledge and powers.[3]: 745
In
the magic-noir world of the Dresden Files, wizards generally keep a low
profile, though there is no explicit prohibition against interacting
openly with non-magical humanity. The protagonist of the series, Harry
Dresden, openly advertises in the Yellow Pages under the heading
"Wizard" and maintains a business office, though other wizards tend to
resent him for practicing his craft openly. Dresden primarily uses his
magic to make a living finding lost items and people, performing
exorcisms, and providing protection against the supernatural.[22]
In
the series Sorcerous Stabber Orphen human forms of life should have
only been capable of acquiring divine magic powers through individual
spiritual development, whereas the race of human magicians with inborn
magical ability ended in conflict with pureblood human society, because
this race appeared as a result of an experiment of mixing humans with
non-human sentient Heavenly Beings that acquired magic powers not
through spiritual development, but through deep studying of laws of
nature and by falsely causing the world’s laws to react to actions of
the Heavenly Beings as to actions of Divinities.[23] In the Harry Potter
series, the Wizarding World hides themselves from the rest of the
non-magic world, because, as described by Hagrid simply, "Why? Blimey,
Harry, everyone’d be wantin’ magic solutions to their problems. Nah,
we’re best left alone.”" (wikipedia.org)
"Phosphorescence
is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to
light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a p
will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength.
Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately
reemit the radiation it absorbs. Instead, a phosphorescent material
absorbs some of the radiation energy and reemits it for a much longer
time after the radiation source is removed.
In a general sense,
there is no distinct boundary between the emission times of fluorescence
and phosphorescence (i.e.: if a glows under a black light it
is generally considered fluorescent, and if it glows in the dark it is
often simply called phosphorescent).[1] In a modern, scientific sense,
the phenomena can usually be classified by the three different
mechanisms that produce the light, and the typical timescales during
which those mechanisms emit light. Whereas fluorescent materials stop
emitting light within nanoseconds (billionths of a second) after the
excitation radiation is removed, phosphorescent materials may continue
to emit an afterglow ranging from a few microseconds to many hours after
the excitation is removed.[2]
There are two separate mechanisms
that may produce phosphorescence, called triplet phosphorescence (or
simply phosphorescence) and persistent phosphorescence (or persistent
luminescence). Triplet phosphorescence occurs when an atom absorbs a
high-energy photon, and the energy becomes locked in the spin
multiplicity of the electrons, generally changing from a fluorescent
"singlet state" to a slower emitting "triplet state". The slower
timescales of the reemission are associated with "forbidden" energy
state transitions in quantum mechanics. As these transitions occur
relatively slowly in certain materials, absorbed radiation is reemitted
at a lower intensity, ranging from a few microseconds to as much as one
second after the excitation is removed.[3]
Everyday examples of
phosphorescent materials are the glow-in-the-dark toys, stickers, paint,
and clock dials that glow after being charged with a bright light such
as in any normal reading or room light. Typically, the glow slowly fades
out, sometimes within a few minutes or up to a few hours in a dark
room.[5]
The
term phosphorescence comes from the ancient Greek word φῶς (phos),
meaning "light", and the Greek suffix -φόρος (-phoros), meaning "to
bear", combined with the Latin suffix -escentem, meaning "becoming of",
"having a tendency towards", or "with the essence o".[6] Thus,
phosphorescence literally means "having a tendency to bear light". It
was first recorded in 1766.[7]
The term phosphor had been used
since the Middle Ages to describe minerals that glowed in the dark. One
of the most famous, but not the first, was Bolognian phosphor. Around
1604, Vincenzo Casciarolo discovered a "lapis solaris" near Bologna,
Italy. Once heated in an oxygen-rich furnace, it thereafter absorbed
sunlight and glowed in the dark. In 1677, Hennig Brand isolated a new
element that glowed due to a reaction when exposed to
air, and named it "phosphorus".[8]
In contrast, the term
luminescence (from the Latin lumen for "light"), was coined by Eilhardt
Wiedemann in 1888 as a term to refer to "light without heat", while
"fluorescence" by Sir George Stokes in 1852, when he noticed that, when
exposing a solution of to light refracted through a
prism, the solution glowed when exposed to the mysterious
invisible-light (now known to be UV light) beyond the violet end of the
spectrum. Stokes formed the term from a combination of and
opalescence (preferring to use a mineral instead of a solution), albeit
it was later discovered that glows due to phosphorescence.[9]
There
was much confusion between the meanings of these terms throughout the
late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Whereas the term
"fluorescence" tended to refer to luminescence that ceased immediately
(by human-eye standards) when removed from excitation, "phosphorescence"
referred to virtually any that glowed for appreciable periods
in darkness, sometimes to include even (which
occasionally produced substantial amounts of heat). Only after the 1950s
and 1960s did advances in quantum electronics, spectroscopy, and lasers
provide a measure to distinguish between the various processes that
emit the light, although in common speech the distinctions are still
often rather vague....Uses
In 1974 Becky Schroeder was given a US
patent for her invention of the "Glow Sheet" which used phosphorescent
lines under writing paper to help people write in low-light
conditions.[28]
Glow in the dark material is added to the plastic
blend used in molds to make some disc golf discs, which allow
the game to be played at night.
Often clock faces of watches are
painted with phosphorescent colours. Therefore, they can be used in
absolute dark environments for several hours after having been exposed
to bright light.
A common use of phosphorescence is decoration.
Stars made of glow-in-the-dark plastic are placed on walls, ceilings, or
hanging from strings make a room look like the night sky.[29] Other
objects like figurines, cups, posters,[30] lamp fixtures, toys[31] and
bracelet beads may also glow.[32] Using blacklights makes these things
glow brightly, common at raves, bedrooms, theme parks, and festivals."
(wikipedia.org)
"A
puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or
knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together
(or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct
or fun solution of the puzzle. There are different genres of puzzles,
such as crossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, number puzzles,
relational puzzles, and logic puzzles. The academic study of puzzles is
called enigmatology.
Puzzles are often created to be a form of
entertainment but they can also arise from serious mathematical or
logical problems. In such cases, their solution may be a significant
contribution to mathematical research.[1]
Etymology
The Oxford
English Dictionary dates the word puzzle (as a verb) to the end of the
16th century. Its earliest use documented in the OED was in a book
titled The Voyage of Robert Dudley...to the West Indies, 1594–95,
narrated by Capt. Wyatt, by himself, and by Abram Kendall, master
(published circa 1595). The word later came to be used as a noun, first
as an abstract noun meaning 'the state or condition of being puzzled',
and later developing the meaning of 'a perplexing problem'. The OED's
earliest clear citation in the sense of 'a toy that tests the player's
ingenuity' is from Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, referring to a
toy known as a "reel in a bottle".[2]
The etymology of the verb
puzzle is described by OED as "unknown"; unproven hypotheses regarding
its origin include an Old English verb puslian meaning 'pick out', and a
derivation of the verb pose.[3]
Genres
Various puzzles
Simple puzzle made of three pieces
Puzzles can be categorized as:
Lateral thinking puzzles, also called "situation puzzles"
Mathematical puzzles include the missing square puzzle and many
impossible puzzles — puzzles which have no solution, such as the Seven
Bridges of Königsberg, the three cups problem, and three utilities
problem
Sangaku (Japanese temple tablets with geometry puzzles)
A chess problem is a puzzle that uses chess pieces on a chess board.
Examples are the knight's tour and the eight queens puzzle.
Mechanical puzzles or dexterity puzzles such as the Rubik's Cube and
Soma cube can be stimulating toys for children or recreational
activities for adults.
combination puzzles like Peg solitaire
construction puzzles such as stick puzzles
disentanglement puzzles,
folding puzzles
jigsaw puzzles. Puzz 3D is a three-dimensional variant of this type.
lock puzzles
A puzzle box can be used to hide something — jewelry, for instance.
sliding puzzles (also called sliding tile puzzles) such as the 15 Puzzle and Sokoban
tiling puzzles like Tangram
Tower of Hanoi
Metapuzzles are puzzles which unite elements of other puzzles.
Paper-and-pencil puzzles such as Uncle Art's Funland, connect the dots, and nonograms
Also the logic puzzles published by Nikoli: Sudoku, Slitherlink,
Kakuro, Fillomino, Hashiwokakero, Heyawake, Hitori, Light Up, Masyu,
Number Link, Nurikabe, Ripple Effect, Shikaku, and Kuromasu; takuzu.
Spot the difference
Tour puzzles like a maze
Word puzzles, including anagrams, ciphers, crossword puzzles, Hangman
(game), and word search puzzles. Tabletop and digital word puzzles
include Bananagrams, Boggle, Bonza, Dabble, Letterpress (video game),
Perquackey, Puzzlage, Quiddler, Ruzzle, Scrabble, Upwords, WordSpot, and
Words with Friends. Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show) is a game show
centered on a word puzzle.
Puzzle video games
Tile-matching video game
Puzzle-platformer
Adventure game
Hidden object game
Minesweeper
Puzzle solving
This
section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by
verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements
consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2018)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Solutions of
puzzles often require the recognition of patterns and the adherence to a
particular kind of order. People with a high level of inductive
reasoning aptitude may be better at solving such puzzles compared to
others. But puzzles based upon inquiry and discovery may be solved more
easily by those with good deduction skills. Deductive reasoning improves
with practice. Mathematical puzzles often involve BODMAS. BODMAS is an
acronym which stands for Bracket, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition
and Subtraction. In certain regions, PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents,
Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction) is the synonym of
BODMAS. It explains the order of operations to solve an expression. Some
mathematical puzzles require Top to Bottom convention to avoid the
ambiguity in the order of operations. It is an elegantly simple idea
that relies, as sudoku does, on the requirement that numbers appear only
once starting from top to bottom as coming along.[4]
Puzzle makers
Puzzle
makers are people who make puzzles. In general terms of occupation, a
puzzler is someone who composes and/or solves puzzles....History of
jigsaw and other puzzles
Main article: Jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw
puzzles are perhaps the most popular form of puzzle. Jigsaw puzzles were
invented around 1760, when John Spilsbury, a British engraver and
cartographer, mounted a map on a sheet of wood, which he then sawed
around the outline of each individual country on the map. He then used
the resulting pieces as an aid for the teaching of geography.[5]
After
becoming popular among the public, this kind of teaching aid remained
the primary use of jigsaw puzzles until about 1820.[6]
The
largest puzzle (40,320 pieces) is made by a German game company
Ravensburger.[7] The smallest puzzle ever made was created at
LaserZentrum Hannover. It is only five square millimeters, the size of a
sand grain.
The puzzles that were first documented are riddles.
In Europe, Greek mythology produced riddles like the riddle of the
Sphinx. Many riddles were produced during the Middle Ages, as well.[8]
By
the early 20th century, magazines and newspapers found that they could
increase their readership by publishing puzzle contests, beginning with
crosswords and in modern days sudoku." (wikipedia.org)
"A
boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally
smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape,
cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small
boats are typically found on inland waterways such as rivers and lakes,
or in protected coastal areas. However, some boats, such as the
whaleboat, were intended for use in an offshore environment. In modern
naval terms, a boat is a vessel small enough to be carried aboard a
ship.[1]
Boats vary in proportion and construction methods with
their intended purpose, available materials, or local traditions. Canoes
have been used since prehistoric times and remain in use throughout the
world for transportation, fishing, and sport. Fishing boats vary widely
in style partly to match local conditions. Pleasure craft used in
recreational boating include ski boats, pontoon boats, and sailboats.
House boats may be used for vacationing or long-term residence. Lighters
are used to move cargo to and from large ships unable to get close to
shore. Lifeboats have rescue and safety functions.
Boats can be
propelled by manpower (e.g. rowboats and paddle boats), wind (e.g.
sailboats), and inboard/outboard motors (including gasoline, diesel, and
electric)." (wikipedia.org)
"A
jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a
tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped
interlocking and mosaicked pieces, each of which typically has a portion
of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete
picture.
In the 18th century, jigsaw puzzles were created by
painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, then cutting it
into small pieces. The name "jigsaw" derives from the tools used to cut
the images into pieces—variably identified as jigsaws, fretsaws or
scroll saws. Assisted by Jason Hinds, John Spilsbury, a London
cartographer and engraver, is credited with commercialising jigsaw
puzzles around 1760. His design took world maps, and cut out the
individual nations in order for them to be reassembled by students as a
geographical teaching aid.[1] They have since come to be made primarily
of interlocking cardboard pieces, incorporating a variety of images and
designs.
Jigsaw puzzles have been used in research studies to
study cognitive abilities such as mental rotation visuospatial ability
in young children.
Typical images on jigsaw puzzles include
scenes from nature, buildings, and repetitive designs—castles and
mountains are common, as well as other traditional subjects. However,
any picture can be used. Artisan puzzle-makers and companies using
technologies for one-off and small print-run puzzles utilize a wide
range of subject matter, including optical illusions, unusual art, and
personal photographs. In addition to traditional flat, two-dimensional
puzzles, three-dimensional puzzles have entered large-scale production,
including spherical puzzles and architectural recreations.
A
range of jigsaw puzzle accessories, including boards, cases, frames, and
roll-up mats, have become available to assist jigsaw puzzle
enthusiasts. While most assembled puzzles are disassembled for reuse,
they can also be attached to a backing with adhesive and displayed as
art.
Competitive Jigsaw Puzzling has grown in popularity in
recent years, with both regional and national competitions held in many
countries, and annual World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships held from 2019.
History
John
Spilsbury is believed to have produced the first jigsaw puzzle around
1760, using a marquetry saw.Early puzzles, known as dissections, were
produced by mounting maps on sheets of hardwood and cutting along
national boundaries, creating a puzzle useful for teaching geography.[1]
Royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch used such "dissected maps" to
teach the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte.[4][5]
Cardboard jigsaw puzzles appeared in the late 1800s, but were slow to
replace wooden ones because manufacturers felt that cardboard puzzles
would be perceived as low-quality, and because profit margins on wooden
jigsaws were larger.
The name "jigsaw" came to be associated with
the puzzle around 1880 when fretsaws became the tool of choice for
cutting the shapes.[1] Along with fretsaws, jigsaws and scroll saws have
also been noted as tools used to cut jigsaw puzzles into pieces.[6] The
term "jigsaw puzzle" dates back to 1906.
Jigsaw puzzles soared
in popularity during the Great Depression, as they provided a cheap,
long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.[1][7] It was around this
time that jigsaws evolved to become more complex and appealing to
adults.[1] They were also given away in product promotions and used in
advertising, with customers completing an image of the promoted
product.[1][7]
Sales of wooden puzzles fell after World War II as
improved wages led to price increases, while improvements in
manufacturing processes made paperboard jigsaws more attractive.[7]
Demand
for jigsaw puzzles saw a surge, comparable to that of the Great
Depression, during the stay-at-home orders.
Modern construction
Paperboard jigsaw pieces
Most
modern jigsaw puzzles are made of paperboard as they are easier and
cheaper to mass-produce. An enlarged photograph or printed reproduction
of a painting or other two-dimensional artwork is glued to cardboard,
which is then fed into a press. The press forces a set of hardened steel
blades of the desired pattern, called a puzzle die, through the board
until fully cut.
The puzzle die is a flat board, often made from
plywood, with slots cut or burned in the same shape as the knives that
are used. The knives are set into the slots and covered in a
compressible material, typically foam rubber, which ejects the cut
puzzle pieces.
The cutting process is similar to making shaped
cookies with a cookie cutter. However, the forces involved are
tremendously greater.
Beginning in the 1930s, jigsaw puzzles were
cut using large hydraulic presses that now cost hundreds of thousands
of dollars. The precise cuts gave a snug fit, but the cost limited
jigsaw puzzle production to large corporations. Recent roller-press
methods achieve the same results at a lower cost.[citation needed]
New
technology has also enabled laser-cutting of wooden or acrylic jigsaw
puzzles. The advantage is that the puzzle can be custom-cut to any size
or shape, with any number or average size of pieces. Many museums have
laser-cut acrylic puzzles made of some of their art so visiting children
can assemble puzzles of the images on display. Acrylic pieces are very
durable, waterproof, and can withstand continued use without the image
degrading. Also, because the print and cut patterns are computer-based,
missing pieces can easily be remade.
By the early 1960s, Tower
Press was the world's largest jigsaw puzzle maker; it was acquired by
Waddingtons in 1969.[10] Numerous smaller-scale puzzle makers work in
artisanal styles, handcrafting and handcutting their creations.
Variations
Jigsaw puzzle software allowing rotation of pieces
A three-dimensional puzzle composed of several two-dimensional puzzles stacked on top of one another
A puzzle without a picture
Jigsaw
puzzles come in a variety of sizes. Among those marketed to adults,
300-, 500- and 750-piece puzzles are considered "smaller". More
sophisticated, but still common, puzzles come in sizes of 1000, 1500,
2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 pieces.
Jigsaw puzzles geared towards
children typically have significantly fewer pieces and are typically
much larger. For very young children, puzzles with as few as 4 to 9
large pieces (so as not to be a choking hazard) are standard. They are
usually made of wood or plastic for durability and can be cleaned
without damage.
The most common layout for a thousand-piece
puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for an actual total of 1,026 pieces.
Most 500-piece puzzles are 27 pieces by 19 pieces, for a total of 513
pieces. A few puzzles are double-sided so they can be solved from either
side—adding complexity, as the enthusiast must determine if they are
looking at the right side of each piece.
"Family puzzles" of
100–550 pieces use an assortment of small, medium and large pieces, with
each size going in one direction or towards the middle of the puzzle.
This allows a family of different skill levels and hand sizes to work on
the puzzle together. Companies like Springbok, Cobble Hill, Ceaco,
Buffalo Games and Suns Out make this type of specialty puzzle.
Ravensburger, on the other hand, formerly made this type of puzzle from
2000 until 2008.
There are also three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles.
Many are made of wood or styrofoam and require the puzzle to be solved
in a particular order, as some pieces will not fit if others are already
in place. One type of 3-D jigsaw puzzle is a puzzle globe, often made
of plastic. Like 2-D puzzles, the assembled pieces form a single layer,
but the final form is three-dimensional. Most globe puzzles have designs
representing spherical shapes such as the Earth, the Moon, and
historical globes of the Earth.
Also common are puzzle boxes, simple three-dimensional puzzles with a small drawer or box in the center for storage.
Jigsaw
puzzles can vary significantly in price depending on their complexity,
number of pieces, and brand. In the US, children's puzzles can start
around $5, while larger ones can be closer to $50. The most expensive
puzzle to date was sold for $US27,000 in 2005 at a charity auction for
The Golden Retriever Foundation.[15]
Puzzle pieces
A "whimsy" piece in a wooden jigsaw puzzle
A 3D jigsaw puzzle
Many
puzzles are termed "fully interlocking", which means that adjacent
pieces are connected so that they stay attached when one is turned.
Sometimes the connection is tight enough to pick up a solved part by
holding one piece.
Some fully interlocking puzzles have pieces of
a similar shape, with rounded tabs (interjambs) on opposite ends and
corresponding indentations—called blanks—on the other two sides to
receive the tabs. Other fully interlocking puzzles may have tabs and
blanks variously arranged on each piece; but they usually have four
sides, and the numbers of tabs and blanks thus add up to four. Uniformly
shaped fully interlocking puzzles, sometimes called "Japanese Style",
are the most difficult because the differences in the pieces' shapes are
most subtle.[citation needed]
Most jigsaw puzzles are square,
rectangular or round, with edge pieces with one straight or smoothly
curved side, plus four corner pieces (if the puzzle is square or
rectangular). However, some puzzles have edge, and corner pieces cut
like the rest, with no straight sides, making it more challenging to
identify them. Other puzzles utilize more complex edge pieces to form
unique shapes when assembled, such as profiles of animals.
The
pieces of spherical jigsaw, like immersive panorama jigsaw, can be
triangular-shaped, according to the rules of tessellation of the geoid
primitive.
Designer Yuu Asaka created "Jigsaw Puzzle 29". Instead
of four corner pieces, it has five. The puzzle is made from pale blue
acrylic without a picture.[16] It was awarded the Jury Honorable Mention
of 2018 Puzzle Design Competition.[17] Because many puzzlers had solved
it easily, he created "Jigsaw Puzzle 19" which composed only with
corner pieces as revenge.[18] It was made with transparent green acrylic
pieces without a picture.[19]
World records
The world's
largest-sized jigsaw puzzle measured 5,428.8 m2 (58,435 sq ft) with
21,600 pieces, each measuring a Guinness World Records maximum size of
50 cm by 50 cm. It was assembled on 3 November 2002 by 777 people at the
former Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.
The jigsaw with the greatest
number of pieces had 551,232 pieces and measured 14.85 × 23.20 m (48 ft
8.64 in × 76 ft 1.38 in). It was assembled on 25 September 2011 at Phú
Thọ Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by students of the
University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City. It is listed by the Guinness
World Records for the "Largest Jigsaw Puzzle – most pieces", and was
divided into 3,132 sections each containing 176 pieces, which were
assembled individually and then connected to compose the full
puzzle....Research studies
Studies have shown that the ability to
solve jigsaw puzzles develops during early childhood. During this time
there is significant development in cognitive abilities such as mental
rotation and visuospatial ability, which can be used to solve a puzzle.
Throughout life those abilities can continue to develop.
In 2021,
researchers conducted a study during which a group of children between
the ages of 3 and 5 years old were asked to complete three different
types of jigsaw puzzles. Each child was given a normal jigsaw puzzle
with a picture on it, another with normal shaped pieces but without an
image on it and finally a puzzle with an image on it but all the pieces
were shaped the same. They were shown the completed versions then asked
to reassemble them. The children were given three minutes to complete
each puzzle; half of the group was given a guide picture while the other
half was not. The results revealed that 4 and 5 year olds were able to
complete all three puzzles within the allotted time, meanwhile most
3-year-olds were able to complete the normal jigsaw puzzle and the
puzzle of normal shaped pieces without an image on it but struggled more
with the puzzle that had an image but all the pieces were shaped the
same. With all of the children the fastest completion time was with the
normal puzzle and the slowest was with the puzzle with an image and same
shaped pieces; there were also fewer errors in with the children that
had a guide.[23] The cognitive development between the different ages
can be seen in their completion times and how many errors were made. The
older children were able to complete the puzzles with fewer errors
because their mental rotation abilities, which is the ability to rotate
an object in your mind to see it from a different perspective, are
further developed than they are for younger children who are more likely
to resort to trial and error.
The difference in the visuospatial
abilities between boys and girls were studied in 2017 using jigsaw
puzzles. A second-grade class was asked to complete three different
puzzles, the first was a neutral one of a horse, second was a
male-oriented one of a tractor, and the third was a female-oriented one
of the character Bambi. The Bambi puzzle had the fastest completion time
with all the children which is believed to be caused by their previous
experience, and because it was finished the fastest with all of the
children researchers do not believe there is a connection between the
puzzles' targeted audience and the sex of the children. Overall the
girls in the class were faster, and made fewer errors.[24]
Society
The logo of Wikipedia is a globe made out of jigsaw pieces. The incomplete sphere symbolizes the room to add new knowledge.[25]
In
the logo of the Colombian Office of the Attorney General appears a
jigsaw puzzle piece in the foreground. They named it "The Key Piece":
"The piece of a puzzle is the proper symbol to visually represent the
Office of the Attorney General because it includes the concepts of
search, solution and answers that the entity pursues through the
investigative activity."[26]
Art and entertainment
The central
antagonist in the Saw film franchise is nicknamed Jigsaw,[27] due to
his practice of cutting the shape of a puzzle piece from the remains of
his victims.
In the 1933 Laurel and Hardy short Me and My Pal, several characters attempt to complete a large jigsaw puzzle.[28]
Lost in Translation is a poem about a child putting together a jigsaw puzzle, as well as an interpretive puzzle itself.
Life: A User's Manual, Georges Perec's most famous novel, tells as pieces of a puzzle a story about a jigsaw puzzle maker.
Jigsaw
Puzzle (song), sometimes spelled "Jig-Saw Puzzle" is a song by the rock
and roll band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars
Banquet.
In ‘‘Citizen Kane‘’ Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy
Comingore) is reduced to spending her days completing jigsaws after the
failure of her operatic career. After Kane’s death when ‘’Xanadu’’ is
emptied, hundreds of jigsaw puzzles are discovered in the cellar.
Rhett
And Link Do A Rainy Day Jigsaw Puzzle is a short video by
self-described “internetainers” (portmanteau of “Internet” and
“entertainers”) Rhett & Link which portrays the frustration of
discovering a puzzle piece is missing.
Mental health
According
to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, doing jigsaw puzzles is one of many
activities that can help keep the brain active and may reduce the risk
of Alzheimer's disease.[29]
Jigsaw puzzle pieces were first used as a
symbol for autism in 1963 by the United Kingdom's National Autistic
Society.[30] The organization chose jigsaw pieces for their logo to
represent the "puzzling" nature of autism and the inability to "fit in"
due to social differences, and also because jigsaw pieces were
recognizable and otherwise unused.[31] Puzzle pieces have since been
incorporated into the logos and promotional materials of many
organizations, including the Autism Society of America and Autism
Speaks.
Proponents of the autism rights movement oppose the
jigsaw puzzle iconography, stating that metaphors such as "puzzling" and
"incomplete" are harmful to autistic people. Critics of the puzzle
piece symbol instead advocate for a gold-colored or red infinity symbol
representing diversity.[32] In 2017, the journal Autism concluded that
the use of the jigsaw puzzle evoked negative public perception towards
autistic individuals. They removed the puzzle piece from their cover in
February 2018." (wikipedia.org)