Etymology: Terms: Origins of word FaeKresnik
Fae: (Also fairy, faery, faerie, fay; euphemistically wee folk, good folk, ) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.The word fairy derives from Middle English faierie (also fayerye, feirie, fairie), a direct borrowing from Old French faerie (Modern French féerie) meaning the land, realm, or characteristic activity (i.e. enchantment) of the legendary people of folklore and romance called (in Old French) faie or fee (Modern French fée). This derived ultimately from Late Latin fata (one of the personified Fates, hence a guardian or tutelary spirit, hence a spirit in general); cf. Italian fata, Portuguese fada, Spanish hada of the same origin.
Fata, although it became a feminine noun in the Romance languages, was originally the neuter plural ("the Fates") of fatum, past participle of the verb fari to speak, hence "thing spoken, decision, decree" or "prophetic declaration, prediction", hence "destiny, fate". It was used as the equivalent of the Greek Μοῖραι Moirai, the personified Fates who determined the course and ending of human life.
To the word faie was added the suffix -erie (Modern English -(e)ry), used to express either a place where something is found (fishery, heronry, nunnery) or a trade or typical activity engaged in by a person (cookery, midwifery, thievery). In later usage it generally applied to any kind of quality or activity associated with a particular sort of person, as in English knavery, roguery, witchery, wizardry.
Faie became Modern English fay "a fairy"; the word is, however, rarely used, although it is well known as part of the name of the legendary sorceress Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend. Faierie became fairy, but with that spelling now almost exclusively referring to one of the legendary people, with the same meaning as fay. In the sense "land where fairies dwell", the distinctive and archaic spellings Faery and Faerie are often used. Faery is also used in the sense of "a fairy", and the back-formation fae, as an equivalent or substitute for fay is now sometimes seen.
The word fey, originally meaning "fated to die" or "having forebodings of death" (hence "visionary", "mad", and various other derived meanings) is completely unrelated, being from Old English fæge, Proto-Germanic *faigja- and Proto-Indo-European *poikyo-, whereas Latin fata comes from the Indo-European root *bhã- "speak". Due to the identical pronunciation of the two words, "fay" is sometimes misspelled "fey".
Kresnik: (or rarely Kersnik and Krsnik) is a Slavic god associated with fire, the summer solstice, and storms. His mythical home, a sacred mountain at the top of the world, represents the axis mundi.
A Krsnik or Kresnik is a Slovenian or Croatian type of vampire hunter, a shaman whose spirit wanders from the body in the form of an animal. The krsnik turns into an animal at night to fight off the kudlak, his evil vampire antithesis, with the krsnik appearing as a white animal and the kudlak as a black one.[1] The krsnik 's soul leaves the body, either voluntarily or due to a higher power, to fight evil agents and ensure good harvest, health, and happiness.[2]
The legend evolved from a pre-Christian myth present in Slovenia, Croatia (mainly Istria and the islands), and other countries, in which the celestial pagan god Perun is locked in eternal combat with the evil snake of the underworld, Veles.[3] The krsnik is taught magic by Vile (fairies),[4] and in traditional medicine has the ability to heal people and cattle.[3] However, due to the undocumented nature of oral tradition, it's difficult to determine with certainty how much of kresnik folklore originated from Slavic mythology (Kresnik (deity), and how much arose from a separate shamanistic tradition.[5] After the introduction of Christianity, the kresnik instead was claimed to have learned magic at the School of Black Magic in Babylon, but retained benevolent traits as a generous and powerful friend of the poor.[6]
The origin of the name may be from the word krst, which means "cross",[1] and which in Serbia is the word for a stone sign denoting village boundaries.[2] It may also be derived from the same root as the Slav word for "resurrection,"[6] so that the word itself means something approximating "resurrector." [4]
No comments:
Post a Comment