Category Archives: Monsters

Turul Birds in Budapest!

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A turul bird in Budapest.

A turul bird in Budapest.

The last time I was in Budapest, I was struck by the statues of the turul birds that adorn the Liberty Bridge there. They are a striking set of images.

The turul bird is the most important bird in the origin myth of the Magyars (Hungarian people). It is a divine messenger, and perches on top of the tree of life along with the other spirits of unborn children in the form of birds. The turul became a symbol of power, strength, and nobility. The most common motifs of the ninth and the early tenth centuries — the griffin, wolf and hind — seldom figure in later Hungarian iconography and heraldic symbolism; however the hawk or turul were preserved for longer as a device belonging to the ruling house.

The Turul is probably based on a large falcon, and the origin of the word is most likely Turkic: “togrıl” or “turgul” means a medium to large bird of prey of the family Accipitridae. In Hungarian the word sólyom means falcon, and there are three ancient words describing different kinds of falcons: kerecsen (saker falcon), zongor [Turkish sungur = gyrfalcon] and turul.

I will be in Budapest for the next two weeks, participating in conferences on both fairy tales and the supernatural. Then off to Germany to see my daughter and her family. But I will keep posting here and hopefully posting photos on Facebook!

Weight Watchers and Fairy Tales

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The Viewmaster depiction of Hansel and Gretel, the witch, and her gingerbread house were among my favorite childhood illustrations of one of my favorite fairy tales.

The Viewmaster depiction of Hansel and Gretel, the witch, and her gingerbread house were among my favorite childhood illustrations of one of my favorite fairy tales.

I started the Weight Watchers program in late November because I refuse to buy new clothes — everything I own was getting too snug! I had always refused to dignify weight loss efforts in the past by going to Weight Watchers but this time I finally capitulated. It couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, right? So far, I have lost about 25% of my excess weight on the Weight Watchers program and aim to keep losing more until I reach my “goal” weight — and all my clothes fit properly again.

The “fat and jolly old elf” of A Visit From St. Nicholas is a kindly old gentleman who is well-disposed toward others. But he is the exception.Overweight people appear in fairy tales but the image of “overweight,” often tied to “jolly,” is not always so innocent. Overweight people, in the world that give rise to fairy tales, were often wealthy and their weight indicated just how wealthy — and lazy? they had too many servants as well as too much food — they were.

But sometimes being overweight as a code word for “greedy.” The giants in fairy tales (such Jack and the Beanstalk or Jack the Giant-killer, etc.) were also greedy and lazy as well as large and heavy.

Hansel and Gretel wanted to eat the witch’s house and were rewarded for their efforts by her attempts to eat them! Hansel hid his obesity from the witch by using an old, dry chicken(?) bone he found at the bottom of his cage rather than his own finger when she wanted to check his growing weight.

Hansel and Gretel were not the only ones to discover the dangers of eating the food of a witch. Folk tales from all over the world warn that eating the food of a witch, a demon, a djinn, a troll, an ogre, or the faeries can be a dangerous proposition. You might owe your youngest child in return, or be bound to your host for the rest of your life.

Hopefully, the Weight Watchers program will save me from all these possible fates. Fingers crossed — but all bets are off if I find a gingerbread house in Central Park!

Krampus… friend of St. Nicholas?!

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St. Nicholas and the Krampus procession in Salzburg (2010); photo by Charlotte Anne Brady.

St. Nicholas and the Krampus procession in Salzburg (2010); photo by Charlotte Anne Brady.

Krampus revels at the Salzburg Christmas Market, 2011; photo by Neumayr/MMV 05.12.2011

Krampus revels at the Salzburg Christmas Market, 2011; photo by Neumayr/MMV 05.12.2011

Traditionally on December 5th and 6th, St. Nicholas walks from house to house in the cities and villages of the Alps to admonish and laud young and old. He is mostly accompanied by a Krampus (an evil creature, a devil of sorts), who is going to punish the bad children and adults on St. Nicholas′ command. For the honest children he normally has little presents.

St. Nicholas himself is a Christian figure, more precisely the former bishop of Myra. As son of a well situated family he started to help poor people who lived in deep poverty. He was supposed to have miraculous vigor and so he became patron of the seamen, children and poor people. (See a previous post about St. Nicholas and his care for the poor here.) In most modern versions of the St. Nicholas story, he is accompanied by a monster or servant (the Dutch describe his assistant as Black Peter) who punishes the bad children while Nicholas himself rewards the well-behaved children.

The figure of the Krampus is based on pre-Christian custom. The Krampusse not only punish the bad children but had the function at one time of driving out the winter devils and blizzard sprites. Originally the custom of the Krampus was spread over all of Austria but was forbidden by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition. It was prohibited by death to masquerade as a devil or an evil creature and so this custom only survived in some remote, inaccessible, regions of the Alps from where it slowly spread back across the western parts of Austria again. Today the Krampusse revels are especially popular in Salzburg.