Parsifal, the Legends Researcher

Polish Essay on Main Characters and Animals, Real and Mythological

Introduction

The main heroes of legends depend on the history of the country. In Poland, apart from legednds everybody knows, each region has its own legends. European stories have many similar characters, they are: devils, dragons, princesses, kings, beautiful women, nymphs. In these legends, dragons, devils with all the pros and cons predominate, beautiful women who are princesses, nymphs. Characters from legends are present in different countries, and one can see similarities in their image and character. They are good and bad characters. In every legend the devil is cunning, destructive and deceitful, while a man shows courage or cunning. People seem strong and mature, but they also make mistakes. For this reason, not all characters in European legends are respected and considered good. Dragons are monsters full of evil and hatred, die defeated by brave warriors. Characters from legends are also the founders of cities and countries. There are many such examples. In Poland, the king associated with Krakow is King Krak, in Lithuanian legends, the founder of Vilnius is Prince Giedymin.

Legend about Wawel Dragon

The Wawel Dragon is a monster whose hideout was a cave called Dragon's Den at the foot of the Wawel Hill in Krakow. The dragon terrorized the city so the daughter of the king offered her hand to anyone who would kill an evil dragon. The dragon was defeated by Szewczyk Dratewka. The shoemaker was smart, brave and wise. He outsmarted the dragon who died while drinking water from the Vistula. Dratewka did not fight the dragon beat him with a clever trick. The Wawel dragon hated people and seemed invincible. The man here impersonificates wisdom and the beast lacks it and is easily defeated not by weapons but by being outsmarted.

Connected legends

The Living Fire (Romania)
Dragons in Romanian legends bring evil and destruction. The character appearing in this legend is a terrible monster, with several heads and red eyes that froze a man to the bone. The Wawel dragon looked similar, terrified everyone with its appearance, but destroyed with fire, which was coming out of his nostrils. The heroes of both legends fight the monster (each in their own way), sacrifice themselves for the good of all, show courage, free the world from evil. The symbols of the dragon are connected with permanent symbols: fire, destruction, the fight of good against evil, the protector of people (this is always the dragon's killer).

The Pirin’s Dragon (Bulgaria)
In the Bulgarian legend at the foot of the Orelyak mountain are Dragon's Rock and Dragon's Cave. There is an association with the Krakow cave where the Wawel dragon lived. In Bulgarian beliefs, the dragon has a human body, a serpent tail covered with scales, and golden wings. It is very powerful - it can uproot a tree with roots or raise a rock to the sky. Similarly, the Wawel dragon was a terrible, huge monster with green skin, long tail and fire-breathing jaws. He also had sharp teeth with which he devoured his victims. The Wawel dragon, unlike the Bulgarian dragon, did not kidnap girls, but demanded the delivery of animals. The Wawel dragon was killed by a young man. Piryna killed another Belastis dragon after a short fight, but he was soon to die. What is the relationship between these legends? The fate of dragons is always the same: they are defeated. A dangerous monster that wreaks destruction dies and justice wins.

Saint George and the Dragon (Italy)
What characters connect these legends? Dragon, brave defender, daughter of the king. Gregory was a soldier from Cappadocia, Greece and a member of the guard of Emperor Diocletian, who became a saint. The hero of the Krakow legend is a simple shoemaker with the courage of a knight. Both heroes were rewarded for their act: Szewczyk Dratewka with the hand of a beautiful princess and George with life in harmony with his faith. The dragon threatened the Libyan city, just like the inhabitants of Kraków, it was a monster that destroyed people's peace. It required victims. The fate of dragons is the same, even schematic - they are killed.

Legend of Warsaw Mermaid

Mermaid - is a fantastic figure, a beautiful woman with a fish tail instead of legs. Because of the beautiful voice she was caught to delight of her singing. The mermaid shed tears and her crying was the saddest song that touched people's hearts. The brave son of a fisherman changed the fate of the mermaid and saved her. The beautiful creature was grateful to the boy for his rescue. In return, she promised the inhabitants that from now on she would defend people who showed her sensitivity and justice. In the place where there was a fishing village, Warsaw was founded, which in remembrance of this legend has a mermaid in its arms. The mermaid here impersonificates beauty and helplesness, men are both good and sensitive or greedy and cruel.

Connected legends

Tale of Mr Twardowski

Mr. Twardowski looked like a typical Polish nobleman, he had a robe, he was girded with a wide belt, he had a saber at his side. He was characterized by incredible cunning and a sense of humor that saved him in difficult situations. He liked to make tricky jokes and play at someone else's cost. He valued the joy of life, never lost confidence. He was eager to visit the inn because he liked to eat and drink well. He was an extremely calm man with "iron nerves" who did not lose his spirit or confidence even in the most difficult moment. He believed that he would overcome the greatest danger and outsmart the devil. A man is presented here as intelligent and so smart that even in the end that seems disastrous, he finds a way out.

Connected legends

Puntukas stone (Lithuania)

The heroine of this legend is the mother of Anykszta, a powerful sorceress, having a magical omen, the sight of which caused devils to fall to the ground. Master Twardowski was called a sorcerer because of his interests, but he needed to make a pact with the devil to control black magic. So what is the relationship between these legends? First, the figure of the devil, vindictive, bringing doom to man. Secondly, the attitude of heroes and the price they were supposed to pay. The heroine was to die killed by devils and Twardowski's soul was to end up in hell forever. The intentions of the devils, however, were unsuccessful, the heroes survived.

The Devil's Column (Italy)

In this legend the devil also tempts man, this time he is not a nobleman but Saint Ambrose himself. However, the devil plays the same on human weaknesses because he tempts with honors. Saint Ambrose, like Twardowski, managed to resist the devil, not with cleverness, but with strength, kicking him and doing him harm. Another version of this legend says that the devil took the form of a human. Thus, it differs from the Polish version of the devil, who was "tall, slim and dressed in black." He had small black roses on his head, fingers in his hands with sharp claws, hooves instead of feet and a hairy tail hanging from behind. " However, both legends show a similar force that the heroes, i.e. Saint Ambrose and Mr. Twardowski, draw on faith to protect themselves from evil. The devil knows human nature, no matter which country he comes from. He always strives to be where he can capture a human soul and take it in triumph to his infernal kingdom.

Devil's Stone (Lithuania)

The legend tells about the inhabitants of the city who were greedy, self-confident and one day they stopped going to church. Mr. Twardowski wanted to do magic, so he ignored God. The devil appearing in these legends is synonymous with evil. The most important thing for him is teasing people, he enjoys their misery. He is depicted as a repulsive figure with horns, a long tail and a pitchfork. In Lithuanian legend, throwing a stone and destroying the church failed, and Mr. Twardowski was able to deceive his devil's opponent for a long time by showing that his powers were limited and wisdom does not always go hand in hand with cleverness. Devils are similar to each other in their naivety and greed for a human soul, they do not arouse compassion and sympathy in us.

Legend of Gingerbread

This is a story about a good helpful and hard-working girl - the daughter of a baker baking the best gingerbread in Toruń. The girl forced by her father's illness to bake gingerbreads - thanks to her ingenuity - creates a new shape for this baking, and people like them so much that they call them by her name. This extraordinary taste and shape appealed to the king himself, who came with his son to Toruń. The prince fell in love with beautiful Catherine, who soon became his wife. Catherine impersonificates goodnss and caring, which always are rewarded

Connected legends

Bies and Czady (Bies and San)

The characters in this legend are Bies - an evil creature, larger than a man with horns and huge bat wings, San - leader of the tribe who came to this area (positive character), Chad - mischievous creatures created by Bies, conducive to people. Again, they represent a typical personification of features, where devils are evil and man are good and cunning. They all are strong but here the message is also that strenght a such is not enough.

Connected legends

The legendo of Skarbnik - Miner's guardian

He could be found in all mines. He always had the form of a bearded man smoking a pipe, with a small pickaxe in his hand and a candle attached to the band on his forehead. He warned miners of dangers and helped them if necessary. However, only good and hard-working people did not have to fear the Treasurer. He would punish the greedy and deceitful ones. Treasurer is a symbol of supernatural powers one should not play with – if respected, it will guide and protect, otherwise it will bring disaster.

Connected legends

Legend of Mount Ślęża

It says how devils that sneaked into human settlements in the evenings and early morning, seeing how people get up to work with a smile and go to sleep with the same smile. Everyone was happy, adults, old people, children. Everyone lived peacefully and happily, did not want evil and enjoyed good deeds. Again we have a contrast between dark and good – where the evil not only fails to destroy the humans but also get punished forever, a good people are helped by even better and stronger angels.

Connected legends

Last News

Final Conference

10-12-2020

Oline Multiplier Event

20-11-2020

Multiplier event on educational opportunities about ICT and traditional legends, within the European project PARSIFAL, THE LEGENDS RESEARCHER

20-10-2020