"Much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers stalked a multitude of dreams."
"We were young, we were merry, we were very very wise,
And the door stood open at our feast,
When there passed us a woman with the West in her eyes,
And a man with his back to the East."
The Irish hero Cú Chulainn suffered from the ríastrad, a battle frenzy in which his body transformed, such as one eye getting sucked into his head while the other dangled down his cheek, his feet facing backwards, or the skin pulled back from his lips and cheeks.
🎨 Massimo Belardinelli
The al-mi'raj from medieval Arabic literature resembles a yellow hare with a black horn. It's so fierce that most other animals flee from it. The inhabitants of an island in the Indian Ocean gave Alexander the Great an al-mi'raj to repay him for slaying a dragon.
Though later romances had King Arthur raised by Sir Ector, a couple of early Welsh sources instead had the future high king being raised by the fairies in Avalon. They tutored Arthur, trained him in combat, and forged for him the magic sword Caledfwlch. #FolkloreSunday#BookChatWeekly
"The day she was buried... I said to myself - 'I'll have her in my arms again! If she be cold, I'll think it is this north wind that chills ME; and if she be motionless, it is sleep.'"
"The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was."
Though in Shakespeare, Cordelia dies before her father King Lear, in the original British legend she outlives him and becomes Britain's ruler. Cordelia is a warrior queen, leading armies. Sadly, she is overthrown by her two nephews, who resent being ruled by a woman.
The Welsh hero Lleu was cursed by his mother to never have a human wife, so the wizard Gwydion used flowers from the oak, broom, and meadowsweet to create a wife for Lleu called Blodeuwedd ("Flower-Faced"). However, Blodeuwedd fell in love with another man....
🎨 Jenny Dolfen
"It is the bone of a man’s head," [Mowgli] said quietly.
"They came to take the treasure away many years ago." The White Cobra fairly shook with evil delight. "I spoke to them in the dark, and they lay still...."
In later Oz books by L. Frank Baum, the Scarecrow moves in with the Tin Woodman, staying at the Tin Woodman's castle in Winkie Country. Sometimes they go off on separate adventures, but that's mainly so that they can later experience the joy of being reunited. #WyrdWednesday#BookChatWeekly
"How many cowards whose hearts are all as false
As stairs of sand wear yet upon their chins
The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars,
Who, inward searched, have livers white as milk?"
William Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice" (Act 3, Scene 2)
"Those who said mass first [on Christmas morn] went outside the church... [and saw] a great four square stone of color like unto marble, and in the stone there stuck a sword pointwise as firmly as if it grew out of the stone."
Trina Schart Hyman was the defining fantasy cover artist of my childhood. She imbued her characters with such personality and her scenes with such magic. Her soft yet vibrant colors created a dream-like ambiance. I had to explore every world she depicted. #FairyTaleTuesday#BookChatWeekly
In Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," the damned suffer the most at Christmas because the holiday's good cheer reminds them of the compassion they failed to show to others. They denied that common humanity in life and so are barred from it in death. #FairyTaleTuesday#BookChatWeekly
"But first, on earth as vampire sent,
Thy corpse shall from its tomb be rent,
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race...."
As white is the Welsh colour of the Otherworld, white stags have mystical significance in Welsh folklore, frequently heralding some big event. A white stag often appears at a Christmas or Easter feast in King Arthur stories to lead a knight on a grand adventure. #FolkoreSunday#BookChatWeekly
The early sci-fi novel "Flatland" by Edwin Abbott features an inhabitant of a two-dimensional world (Mr. A. Square) who meets a three-dimensional visitor. Later, Mr. Square meets a 1D being, and has the same power over him that the 3D being had over Mr. Square. #BookologyThursday#BookChatWeekly
"If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to th’ welkin’s cheek,
Dashes the fire out."
"The Well at the World's End" (1896) by William Morris features Ralph, prince of Upmeads, as he quests for the Well at the World's End. Very influential, arguably the first fantasy novel whose world has a completely invented geography distinct from our own. #BookologyThursday#BookChatWeekly
The author C. S. Lewis once sent a letter giving advice on writing. Along with the traditional advice of show don't tell, use direct language, etc., Lewis also recommended writing the first draft by hand instead of by typewriter in order to maintain the proper rhythm. #BookologyThursday#BookChatWeekly