Fantastic Creatures in Romanian Folk Eschatology Cover Image

Personaje fantastice în eshatologia populară românească
Fantastic Creatures in Romanian Folk Eschatology

Author(s): Andrei Prohin
Subject(s): Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Editura Palatul Culturii
Keywords: Romanian folklore; eschatology; fantastic creatures; medieval imagery

Summary/Abstract: In the Romanian folklore, fantastic creatures occupy both the mythical past, the end of the world and the remote territories, being a deformed projection of the human world. The end of the world, conceived as an outbreak of evil, of destructive powers, brings forward several fabulous creatures, being hypertrophied representations of evil realities from the Earth (flying snakes, birds with iron beaks, plague, boyars) and incarnations of the universal evil (the dragon, the shrew, Judas, Antichrist). In this respect, the Romanian folklore proves the continuity of some medieval representations, having parallels in the “Alexander’s Romance” and in several eschatological writings.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 14
  • Page Range: 219-238
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Romanian