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The winged guardian SEMARGL by Angela
SORRY FOR TRANSLATE.
Source
biforst
1 - SEMARGL THE WINGED WATCHMAN
to another deity, whose idol was rising with the others on top of the hill Boričev in Kiev. It Semargl.
Even here we do not know much, because the sources do not have handed down many details. In the form of a bird or griffin, Semargl was perhaps the guardian of the tree of life and immortality.
Revered during the week of the summer solstice, this bird-god was the object of
a cult which united dances and libations, which shows the fan scenes
engraved on the bracelets Kievan the twelfth century. The
young priestesses wore dresses with long sleeves that left then slide
to the ground, taking off the bracelets that were holding his wrists. Then expanding the arms mo 'wings, chanted the ritual movements to the sound of harps and triangles.
2 - SEM E R'GL
n recent times the Christian evangelists have begun to talk about Semargl as if they were two separate deities, and R'gl Sem. In our ignorance, brethren, we can not say the reasons for this split. If somehow it were inherent in the original figure of Semargl or if it is a
late and incorrect interpretation of the religious who have left us his
name.
Sources
* Chronicle of the Years Past [6488/980]
* Text-old Russian Church> Sermon Christoljubec
I - PRESENCE OF SOURCES IN ANCIENT SEMARGL
As we said, many Russian gods do not know the name, mentioned in ancient sources simply, no other details and explanations. In many cases the same names appear in more than one source, compensating
for the paucity of data with a mutual confirmation, although sometimes
the doubt remains that the sources are dependent on each other. In the case of Semargl a difficulty arises, however, insoluble. The two sources that we pass on the name if you do not agree Semargl is only one god or whether it instead of a pair of deities.
The first source is the Chronicle of past years. Semargl The god is in fact one of six Russian-old divinity of covered "Canon of
Vladimir ', the idol which stood on the hill Boričev in Kiev:
И нача княжити Володимеръ въ Кие†единъ, и постави кумиры на холму внЂ
двора теремнаго: Перуна древяна, а главу его сребрену, а усъ златъ, и
Хърса, Дажьбога, и Стрибога и Симарьгла, и Мокошь.
And he began to reign in Vladimir in Kiev alone, and erected statues on the
hill that was behind the Terem: Perun of wood, with silver head and a
mustache of gold, and CHorse, and Daž'bog, and Stribog, and Semargl, and Mokošica '.
Chronicle of the Years Past [6488/980]
Translated by Itala Pia Sbriziolo
The second source is an ecclesiastical text, the Sermon on the
Christoljubec, Semargl in which the god is mentioned twice, but not as a
single character, but split into a pair of deities and R'gl Sim.
... Not being able to withstand the Christians living in faith and believe
in double Perun, in CHorse, in Sim, in R'gl in Mokošica ', the vile,
which are thirty sisters - they say - damn - that's ignorant considered
goddesses, and so do their sacrifices - they spend praying korovaj -
cut the throats chickens, and pray to the fire, calling svarožič.
... Those who pray the fire under the dryer, the vile, Mokošica ', Sem,
R'gl, Perun, Volos god of cattle, CHorse, Rod, and all the Rožanicy
cursed their gods ...
Sermon Christoljubec
FRANK Simi
It is not just a contradiction: all the theories and interpretations
Semargl are based on the fact that the character is intended as a single
deity or as a pair of gods. The scholars who over
the years have dealt with Semargl have gradually embraced one or the
other case, with sometimes diametrically opposed conclusions. consulting
educational texts or the usual mythological dictionaries, you can still
find one or the other interpretation, depending on which source has
been consulted by the author of the book.
II - a God or two?
And we must therefore speak of a god or a pair of Semargl SEM and R'gl? As we shall see, scientists are still far from an unequivocal answer.
On the one hand we have the Chronicle of the past years, which seems very
precise in defining the canon of the six deities worshiped by Prince
Vladimir. He says that so they turn their idols
'of Perun and CHorse and Daž'bog and Stribog and Semargl and Mokošica'
[Perun, the Chursa, the Dažĭboga, the Stribog the Simarĭgla, the
Mokošica]. All names of the gods are clearly identified and separated by a conjunction "and" [i]. If the name Simarĭglŭ to be understood as the union of two theonyms, it will regularly broken by the conjunction. So
it is not, and it seems clear that, for the author of the Chronicle,
Simarĭglŭ is a single name and not a pair of juxtaposed names. If there were no other sources, there is no doubt in considering Simarĭglŭ the name of a single deity.
The contradiction arises when comparing the Chronicle of the past years and one of the ecclesiastical texts. In his list of deities worshiped by the pagans, the Sermon on the
Christoljubec Semargl cites the name as if they were two distinct divine
appointment, where it says that the Slavs believed "in Perun, in CHorse
in SEM R'gl" [vu Peryna Chŭrsa VU, VU Sima, VU Riglio]. They
are more or less the same names that are mentioned in the same order,
the Chronicle in the past, the only difference is this strange Semargl
splitting into two distinct names: Shem and R'gl.
A few lines later in the Sermon on the Christoljubec cites another list
of divine names, pointing to those who pray, "... the vile, Mokošica ',
Sem, R'gl, Perun, Volos god of cattle, CHorse, Rod, the rožanicy and all their gods and cursed again ...», Sem R'gl and appear as two distinct characters.
The name Semargl should thus be a whole or should it be split into two separate names: Shem and R'gl? It is clear that one of the two texts is wrong, but which one? The Chronicle of past years or the Sermon on the Christoljubec? Or is there some other possible interpretation is that we have overlooked? The problem has in fact divided scholars, some of which consider a single
nomen Semargl divinum, while others wanted to see in Semargl the fusion
of two distinct names.
Since there is still no response, we will analyze both cases.
III - SEM E R'GL: interpretation as the Divine Couple
Many scholars believe it possible that the ancient Russian theonym Simarĭglŭ
should be seen as a juxtaposition of the names of two separate deities,
and Semu Rĭglŭ. They obviously lean to
the list provided by the Sermon on the Christoljubec and believe that
the author's chronicle of recent years has merged two originally
separate names.
The basis of this hypothesis is of course the idea that Shem and R'gl two gods were
closely associated with each other, forming a sort of inseparable divine
couple. In this case, perhaps enough to represent both a single idol. In fact, the list of the "Canon of Vladimir 'refers not so much to the gods, but the idols that represent them. In
the text of the Old Russian Chronicle the names of deities are in fact
declined in the genitive as they relate to their idols. So,
where the text says that the great prince erected the statues 'of Perun
and CHorse and Daž'bog and Stribog and Semargl and Mokošica' [Perun,
the Chursa, the Dažĭboga, the Stribog the Simarĭgla, Mokošica
i], the conjunction 'and' separated not so much the names of the gods,
as their idols, one dedicated to the couple formed by Shem and R'gl.
In this case, the name Simarĭgla would be understood as the juxtaposition
of two divine names declined in the genitive: Sima genitive of Semu more
Riglio genitive of Rĭglŭ.
Such a grammatical construct in which two deities closely associated end up
being marked with a unique name is well known to the Indo-Europeanists. In
Sanskrit it is called dvandva and is used in the Vedic hymns to combine
deities like Mitra and Varuna - put together in association with
complementary - one noun dual Mitravaruṇa.
The Sermon on the Christoljubec gives us two lists of deities, the first of
which sets out the names in the order of the "Canon of Vladimir"
(Perun, CHorse, Sim, R'gl, Mokošica ', the vile), and the second sets
out the names in reverse (the vile, Mokošica ', Sem, R'gl, Perun, Volos, CHorse). And
here we see an interesting detail: even if the second list names are
set out in the opposite direction than the first, and Sem R'gl find each
other in the same order with the above R'gl Sem. This
seems to indicate that, while Shem and R'gl were two distinct
characters, were set out together and always in the same order, as if
they constituted a divine couple. It would then a sort of Slavic dvandva, an indication of a pair of deities closely associated and therefore inseparable?
But is it really? Two occurrences (three if we include the Chronicle of past years) to
determine if there are not many two names, places in the same order,
form an inseparable pair. But since we have no other indications, we can consider the idea of the divine couple interesting working hypothesis. More
difficult, rather, is to understand what the nature of this divine
couple: what elements characterize the two gods, which they share and
which ones they would be distinguished, if they had the same function,
or complementary functions. Attempts have been made of the philological analysis of the two theonyms, but without great results.
The case most often cited is that of Brückner, that the two separate gods
and Semu Rĭglŭ, closely related to one another, presiding over the whole
property and land animated: the servants and livestock, rye and other cereals. According
to Brückner, the name should be linked to the slave Semu sěmija "all
the servants, family," while Rĭglŭ result from an Old Slavonic * Rugiu
'rye', one of the most common cereals in Northern Europe (Brückner
1923). This is unfortunately a very weak
hypothesis, which tries to extrapolate the etymology of two names that
are already in themselves, hypothetical. Brückner
What is a classic "over-talent" to which scholars often have been
meeting in an attempt to explain the names of gods slave. The fact is that we do not have anything better.
But these are only hypotheses: hard to say, by a single event, if the
Chronicle of the Years Past Semargl really consider a juxtaposition of
two nouns, not a single name. The two quotations from the Sermon on the Christoljubec are not probative. Especially
since the idea of Semargl which pair of divinity is not supported by
any model or no homology to clarify, at least in general terms the
nature of the character.
IV - SEMARGL, griffon SLAVIC
Other scholars, likewise, rely on information provided by the Chronicle of
past years and are convinced that it is wrong to separate the name
Semargl. And they tried to get the most information from the analysis etymology of this name as the only and not separable. But even in this case, the interpretations proposed over the years have been less varied and conflicting. Some scholars have proposed to compare the name of the god with the Latvian saims 'giant' (see Saima Devos). Others
have brought up a hypothetical ancient Russian Semĭglava "six heads",
referring to the grotesque policefalia of deities of the Slavs in the
Baltic (as Triglav).
According to the best hypothesis, the name of God, attested in ancient Russian forms
and Sěmarĭglŭ Simarĭglŭ, derives from an ancient form Sarmatic now find
nell'ossetico marginal "bird." In this case we can
compare the name of God with that of the wonderful bird Saəna epic
Iranian (Avesta: Yasna [10: 10]), the Simorgh of the neo-Persian
mystical literature.
According to this set of assumptions, a prototype of the old-Iranian mythical bird Simorgh
would pass in the Slavic world, where would indeed be recognized in the
god Semargl quoted by the Chronicle of past years. Assuming
George Vernadsky, the Simorgh Iran would further be identified in the
Div demon mentioned in the Song of Igor's Campaign '(Vernadsky 1959).
Aleksandr Gieysztor cites the discovery, made in 1933 by Camilla Trever, some
representations of Iranian and Caucasian in which a dog-headed Simorgh
appear as the protector of vegetation. According
to him, Russia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was the
widespread depiction of a griffin-headed dog represented as the guardian
of the tree of life, in which the function is often encountered in
pairs on either side of the shaft (Gieyszotr 1986 <Adinolfi 2003).
What figures of griffins were widely known among the Iranian people of the
steppe is known not only in the figure, but also a story told by
Herodotus, which placed the Russian Steppes griffons guarding treasures,
fighting with the people of Arimaspians:
To the north of Issedoni Arimaspians who inhabit the one-eyed, most of
whom live there in the guardians of gold griffins, griffons and beyond
to the sea's Hyperborean. These people,
except Hyperboreans would hold on their neighbors, since the
Arimaspians: the Issedoni were driven out of their country by
Arimaspians, Issedoni by the Scythians and the Cimmerians, settled along
the coasts of the southern sea, abandoned their land expelled by Scythian ...
Herodotus: Histories [IV: 13]
Gryphon leontocephalic, depicted on a Scythian sword of the fourth century ACMA
we are venturing down a path very fragile and still debated by
specialists. If the hypothesis is correct
Gieysztor, Semargl would be identified with representations of the
griffin slave, in turn derived, through the mediation Scythian, Simorgh
from Iran, the sacred bird that represented the return of spring, the
sun warmed the earth after the harsh winter frosts. Subsequently,
transformed nell'Uccello of Fire [ZAR-ptice] of Russian fairy tales,
Semargl became the ultimate symbol of the sun (Vernadsky 1959), which
was the sacred bird in the royal garden pecking at the golden apples,
such as round alone. Towards
midnight the carevič Ivan saw a bright light approached the garden, and
soon, you could see it clear as in broad daylight "(Afanas'ev 1855 to
1864). There are - and it's true - important
findings from the fairy tale of the Firebird and the legend of Iranian
Zal and bird Simorgh, narrated by Ferdous Šāhnamé in, but more about
that on another occasion.
Are we in the presence of a mythologeme spread all over the world, the Persian Simorgh
is perhaps the closest model to the Russian but is neither the only nor
the oldest. In all the myths of the world are
creatures to guard the tree of life, sometimes in pairs, and more
specifically to a snake and a winged creature. We
find the oldest example in a Sumerian tale, where the Huluppu tree,
sacred to the goddess Inanna, has a serpent at the roots and the
bird-storm Imdugud perched among the branches. The biblical myth of Eden, with the serpent and the cherubim, certainly derives from the same mythologeme. Then we find a result in Greece, with the trees of the Hesperides protected by the serpent Ladon. The
ash Yggdrasil is depicted in the Nordic myth with the serpent eagle
Níðhöggr placed between the roots and branches, which has the Veðrfolnir
hawk perched between the eyes. Even in
the Aztec legend, the city of Tenochtitlan was founded on the spot where
an eagle had fallen on a cactus with a snake in its claws tight. But these are just the results, which are present in the mythologies of the world, of course a myth as old as man himself.
But having said that we must reiterate that we do not know if God really
called Semargl is really to correlate with the mythologeme the guardian
of the tree of life and the Firebird of Russian fairy tales. To enable this identification is only a hypothesis etymological. This
theory, however, presents a further difficulty: if Semargl was some
kind of bird or griffin, one might wonder if its importance was such as
to justify its presence in the 'Canon of Vladimir "and the erection of
an idol.
Source
biforst
1 - SEMARGL THE WINGED WATCHMAN
to another deity, whose idol was rising with the others on top of the hill Boričev in Kiev. It Semargl.
Even here we do not know much, because the sources do not have handed down many details. In the form of a bird or griffin, Semargl was perhaps the guardian of the tree of life and immortality.
Revered during the week of the summer solstice, this bird-god was the object of
a cult which united dances and libations, which shows the fan scenes
engraved on the bracelets Kievan the twelfth century. The
young priestesses wore dresses with long sleeves that left then slide
to the ground, taking off the bracelets that were holding his wrists. Then expanding the arms mo 'wings, chanted the ritual movements to the sound of harps and triangles.
2 - SEM E R'GL
n recent times the Christian evangelists have begun to talk about Semargl as if they were two separate deities, and R'gl Sem. In our ignorance, brethren, we can not say the reasons for this split. If somehow it were inherent in the original figure of Semargl or if it is a
late and incorrect interpretation of the religious who have left us his
name.
Sources
* Chronicle of the Years Past [6488/980]
* Text-old Russian Church> Sermon Christoljubec
I - PRESENCE OF SOURCES IN ANCIENT SEMARGL
As we said, many Russian gods do not know the name, mentioned in ancient sources simply, no other details and explanations. In many cases the same names appear in more than one source, compensating
for the paucity of data with a mutual confirmation, although sometimes
the doubt remains that the sources are dependent on each other. In the case of Semargl a difficulty arises, however, insoluble. The two sources that we pass on the name if you do not agree Semargl is only one god or whether it instead of a pair of deities.
The first source is the Chronicle of past years. Semargl The god is in fact one of six Russian-old divinity of covered "Canon of
Vladimir ', the idol which stood on the hill Boričev in Kiev:
И нача княжити Володимеръ въ Кие†единъ, и постави кумиры на холму внЂ
двора теремнаго: Перуна древяна, а главу его сребрену, а усъ златъ, и
Хърса, Дажьбога, и Стрибога и Симарьгла, и Мокошь.
And he began to reign in Vladimir in Kiev alone, and erected statues on the
hill that was behind the Terem: Perun of wood, with silver head and a
mustache of gold, and CHorse, and Daž'bog, and Stribog, and Semargl, and Mokošica '.
Chronicle of the Years Past [6488/980]
Translated by Itala Pia Sbriziolo
The second source is an ecclesiastical text, the Sermon on the
Christoljubec, Semargl in which the god is mentioned twice, but not as a
single character, but split into a pair of deities and R'gl Sim.
... Not being able to withstand the Christians living in faith and believe
in double Perun, in CHorse, in Sim, in R'gl in Mokošica ', the vile,
which are thirty sisters - they say - damn - that's ignorant considered
goddesses, and so do their sacrifices - they spend praying korovaj -
cut the throats chickens, and pray to the fire, calling svarožič.
... Those who pray the fire under the dryer, the vile, Mokošica ', Sem,
R'gl, Perun, Volos god of cattle, CHorse, Rod, and all the Rožanicy
cursed their gods ...
Sermon Christoljubec
FRANK Simi
It is not just a contradiction: all the theories and interpretations
Semargl are based on the fact that the character is intended as a single
deity or as a pair of gods. The scholars who over
the years have dealt with Semargl have gradually embraced one or the
other case, with sometimes diametrically opposed conclusions. consulting
educational texts or the usual mythological dictionaries, you can still
find one or the other interpretation, depending on which source has
been consulted by the author of the book.
II - a God or two?
And we must therefore speak of a god or a pair of Semargl SEM and R'gl? As we shall see, scientists are still far from an unequivocal answer.
On the one hand we have the Chronicle of the past years, which seems very
precise in defining the canon of the six deities worshiped by Prince
Vladimir. He says that so they turn their idols
'of Perun and CHorse and Daž'bog and Stribog and Semargl and Mokošica'
[Perun, the Chursa, the Dažĭboga, the Stribog the Simarĭgla, the
Mokošica]. All names of the gods are clearly identified and separated by a conjunction "and" [i]. If the name Simarĭglŭ to be understood as the union of two theonyms, it will regularly broken by the conjunction. So
it is not, and it seems clear that, for the author of the Chronicle,
Simarĭglŭ is a single name and not a pair of juxtaposed names. If there were no other sources, there is no doubt in considering Simarĭglŭ the name of a single deity.
The contradiction arises when comparing the Chronicle of the past years and one of the ecclesiastical texts. In his list of deities worshiped by the pagans, the Sermon on the
Christoljubec Semargl cites the name as if they were two distinct divine
appointment, where it says that the Slavs believed "in Perun, in CHorse
in SEM R'gl" [vu Peryna Chŭrsa VU, VU Sima, VU Riglio]. They
are more or less the same names that are mentioned in the same order,
the Chronicle in the past, the only difference is this strange Semargl
splitting into two distinct names: Shem and R'gl.
A few lines later in the Sermon on the Christoljubec cites another list
of divine names, pointing to those who pray, "... the vile, Mokošica ',
Sem, R'gl, Perun, Volos god of cattle, CHorse, Rod, the rožanicy and all their gods and cursed again ...», Sem R'gl and appear as two distinct characters.
The name Semargl should thus be a whole or should it be split into two separate names: Shem and R'gl? It is clear that one of the two texts is wrong, but which one? The Chronicle of past years or the Sermon on the Christoljubec? Or is there some other possible interpretation is that we have overlooked? The problem has in fact divided scholars, some of which consider a single
nomen Semargl divinum, while others wanted to see in Semargl the fusion
of two distinct names.
Since there is still no response, we will analyze both cases.
III - SEM E R'GL: interpretation as the Divine Couple
Many scholars believe it possible that the ancient Russian theonym Simarĭglŭ
should be seen as a juxtaposition of the names of two separate deities,
and Semu Rĭglŭ. They obviously lean to
the list provided by the Sermon on the Christoljubec and believe that
the author's chronicle of recent years has merged two originally
separate names.
The basis of this hypothesis is of course the idea that Shem and R'gl two gods were
closely associated with each other, forming a sort of inseparable divine
couple. In this case, perhaps enough to represent both a single idol. In fact, the list of the "Canon of Vladimir 'refers not so much to the gods, but the idols that represent them. In
the text of the Old Russian Chronicle the names of deities are in fact
declined in the genitive as they relate to their idols. So,
where the text says that the great prince erected the statues 'of Perun
and CHorse and Daž'bog and Stribog and Semargl and Mokošica' [Perun,
the Chursa, the Dažĭboga, the Stribog the Simarĭgla, Mokošica
i], the conjunction 'and' separated not so much the names of the gods,
as their idols, one dedicated to the couple formed by Shem and R'gl.
In this case, the name Simarĭgla would be understood as the juxtaposition
of two divine names declined in the genitive: Sima genitive of Semu more
Riglio genitive of Rĭglŭ.
Such a grammatical construct in which two deities closely associated end up
being marked with a unique name is well known to the Indo-Europeanists. In
Sanskrit it is called dvandva and is used in the Vedic hymns to combine
deities like Mitra and Varuna - put together in association with
complementary - one noun dual Mitravaruṇa.
The Sermon on the Christoljubec gives us two lists of deities, the first of
which sets out the names in the order of the "Canon of Vladimir"
(Perun, CHorse, Sim, R'gl, Mokošica ', the vile), and the second sets
out the names in reverse (the vile, Mokošica ', Sem, R'gl, Perun, Volos, CHorse). And
here we see an interesting detail: even if the second list names are
set out in the opposite direction than the first, and Sem R'gl find each
other in the same order with the above R'gl Sem. This
seems to indicate that, while Shem and R'gl were two distinct
characters, were set out together and always in the same order, as if
they constituted a divine couple. It would then a sort of Slavic dvandva, an indication of a pair of deities closely associated and therefore inseparable?
But is it really? Two occurrences (three if we include the Chronicle of past years) to
determine if there are not many two names, places in the same order,
form an inseparable pair. But since we have no other indications, we can consider the idea of the divine couple interesting working hypothesis. More
difficult, rather, is to understand what the nature of this divine
couple: what elements characterize the two gods, which they share and
which ones they would be distinguished, if they had the same function,
or complementary functions. Attempts have been made of the philological analysis of the two theonyms, but without great results.
The case most often cited is that of Brückner, that the two separate gods
and Semu Rĭglŭ, closely related to one another, presiding over the whole
property and land animated: the servants and livestock, rye and other cereals. According
to Brückner, the name should be linked to the slave Semu sěmija "all
the servants, family," while Rĭglŭ result from an Old Slavonic * Rugiu
'rye', one of the most common cereals in Northern Europe (Brückner
1923). This is unfortunately a very weak
hypothesis, which tries to extrapolate the etymology of two names that
are already in themselves, hypothetical. Brückner
What is a classic "over-talent" to which scholars often have been
meeting in an attempt to explain the names of gods slave. The fact is that we do not have anything better.
But these are only hypotheses: hard to say, by a single event, if the
Chronicle of the Years Past Semargl really consider a juxtaposition of
two nouns, not a single name. The two quotations from the Sermon on the Christoljubec are not probative. Especially
since the idea of Semargl which pair of divinity is not supported by
any model or no homology to clarify, at least in general terms the
nature of the character.
IV - SEMARGL, griffon SLAVIC
Other scholars, likewise, rely on information provided by the Chronicle of
past years and are convinced that it is wrong to separate the name
Semargl. And they tried to get the most information from the analysis etymology of this name as the only and not separable. But even in this case, the interpretations proposed over the years have been less varied and conflicting. Some scholars have proposed to compare the name of the god with the Latvian saims 'giant' (see Saima Devos). Others
have brought up a hypothetical ancient Russian Semĭglava "six heads",
referring to the grotesque policefalia of deities of the Slavs in the
Baltic (as Triglav).
According to the best hypothesis, the name of God, attested in ancient Russian forms
and Sěmarĭglŭ Simarĭglŭ, derives from an ancient form Sarmatic now find
nell'ossetico marginal "bird." In this case we can
compare the name of God with that of the wonderful bird Saəna epic
Iranian (Avesta: Yasna [10: 10]), the Simorgh of the neo-Persian
mystical literature.
According to this set of assumptions, a prototype of the old-Iranian mythical bird Simorgh
would pass in the Slavic world, where would indeed be recognized in the
god Semargl quoted by the Chronicle of past years. Assuming
George Vernadsky, the Simorgh Iran would further be identified in the
Div demon mentioned in the Song of Igor's Campaign '(Vernadsky 1959).
Aleksandr Gieysztor cites the discovery, made in 1933 by Camilla Trever, some
representations of Iranian and Caucasian in which a dog-headed Simorgh
appear as the protector of vegetation. According
to him, Russia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was the
widespread depiction of a griffin-headed dog represented as the guardian
of the tree of life, in which the function is often encountered in
pairs on either side of the shaft (Gieyszotr 1986 <Adinolfi 2003).
What figures of griffins were widely known among the Iranian people of the
steppe is known not only in the figure, but also a story told by
Herodotus, which placed the Russian Steppes griffons guarding treasures,
fighting with the people of Arimaspians:
To the north of Issedoni Arimaspians who inhabit the one-eyed, most of
whom live there in the guardians of gold griffins, griffons and beyond
to the sea's Hyperborean. These people,
except Hyperboreans would hold on their neighbors, since the
Arimaspians: the Issedoni were driven out of their country by
Arimaspians, Issedoni by the Scythians and the Cimmerians, settled along
the coasts of the southern sea, abandoned their land expelled by Scythian ...
Herodotus: Histories [IV: 13]
Gryphon leontocephalic, depicted on a Scythian sword of the fourth century ACMA
we are venturing down a path very fragile and still debated by
specialists. If the hypothesis is correct
Gieysztor, Semargl would be identified with representations of the
griffin slave, in turn derived, through the mediation Scythian, Simorgh
from Iran, the sacred bird that represented the return of spring, the
sun warmed the earth after the harsh winter frosts. Subsequently,
transformed nell'Uccello of Fire [ZAR-ptice] of Russian fairy tales,
Semargl became the ultimate symbol of the sun (Vernadsky 1959), which
was the sacred bird in the royal garden pecking at the golden apples,
such as round alone. Towards
midnight the carevič Ivan saw a bright light approached the garden, and
soon, you could see it clear as in broad daylight "(Afanas'ev 1855 to
1864). There are - and it's true - important
findings from the fairy tale of the Firebird and the legend of Iranian
Zal and bird Simorgh, narrated by Ferdous Šāhnamé in, but more about
that on another occasion.
Are we in the presence of a mythologeme spread all over the world, the Persian Simorgh
is perhaps the closest model to the Russian but is neither the only nor
the oldest. In all the myths of the world are
creatures to guard the tree of life, sometimes in pairs, and more
specifically to a snake and a winged creature. We
find the oldest example in a Sumerian tale, where the Huluppu tree,
sacred to the goddess Inanna, has a serpent at the roots and the
bird-storm Imdugud perched among the branches. The biblical myth of Eden, with the serpent and the cherubim, certainly derives from the same mythologeme. Then we find a result in Greece, with the trees of the Hesperides protected by the serpent Ladon. The
ash Yggdrasil is depicted in the Nordic myth with the serpent eagle
Níðhöggr placed between the roots and branches, which has the Veðrfolnir
hawk perched between the eyes. Even in
the Aztec legend, the city of Tenochtitlan was founded on the spot where
an eagle had fallen on a cactus with a snake in its claws tight. But these are just the results, which are present in the mythologies of the world, of course a myth as old as man himself.
But having said that we must reiterate that we do not know if God really
called Semargl is really to correlate with the mythologeme the guardian
of the tree of life and the Firebird of Russian fairy tales. To enable this identification is only a hypothesis etymological. This
theory, however, presents a further difficulty: if Semargl was some
kind of bird or griffin, one might wonder if its importance was such as
to justify its presence in the 'Canon of Vladimir "and the erection of
an idol.
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Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries had its humble beginnings as an idea of a few artisans and craftsmen who enjoy performing with live steel fighting. As well as a patchwork quilt tent canvas. Most had prior military experience hence the name.
Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries.
Vendertainers that brought many things to a show and are know for helping out where ever they can.
As well as being a place where the older hand made items could be found made by them and enjoyed by all.
We expanded over the years to become well known at what we do. Now we represent over 100 artisans and craftsman that are well known in their venues and some just starting out. Some of their works have been premiered in TV, stage and movies on a regular basis.
Specializing in Medieval, Goth , Stage Film, BDFSM and Practitioner.
Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries a Dept of, Ask For IT was started by artists and former military veterans, and sword fighters, representing over 100 artisans, one who made his living traveling from fair to festival vending medieval wares. The majority of his customers are re-enactors, SCAdians and the like, looking to build their kit with period clothing, feast gear, adornments, etc.
Likewise, it is typical for these history-lovers to peruse the tent (aka mobile store front) and, upon finding something that pleases the eye, ask "Is this period?"
A deceitful query!! This is not a yes or no question. One must have a damn good understanding of European history (at least) from the fall of Rome to the mid-1600's to properly answer. Taking into account, also, the culture in which the querent is dressed is vitally important. You see, though it may be well within medieval period, it would be strange to see a Viking wearing a Caftan...or is it?
After a festival's time of answering weighty questions such as these, I'd sleep like a log! Only a mad man could possibly remember the place and time for each piece of kitchen ware, weaponry, cloth, and chain within a span of 1,000 years!! Surely there must be an easier way, a place where he could post all this knowledge...
Traveling Within The World is meant to be such a place. A place for all of these artists to keep in touch and directly interact with their fellow geeks and re-enactment hobbyists, their clientele.
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