Category Archives: Finnish

Taliesin’s Tale

I don’t think I’ve said that much about the legendary bard Taliesin, although I’ve come across him when researching other British mythology. I tend to subconsciously associate him with Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer, I guess because they’re also … Continue reading

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Celtic, Etymology, Finnish, Greek Mythology, History, Magic, Music, Mythology, Names, Poetry, Uncategorized, Welsh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sick Kids of an Unholy Union

Picture by Matias Cabezas Montoya When looking up different types of fairies, I came across the Keshalyi (sometimes spelled without the Y), which I don’t think I’d heard of before. From the mythology of the Romani (i.e., gypsies, although I understand … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Finnish, Health, Monsters, Mythology, october daye, romani, seanan mcguire, Slavic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Daughter of Disease, Maker of Snakes

Picture by Tero Porthan In my ongoing search for topics from mythology and folklore, and specifically in terms of ogres and witches, I saw a mention of the Syojatar (properly spelled with marks above the letters, but that’s a hassle) … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Fairy Tales, Finnish, Health, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Russian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Iron Constitutions

I’ve been looking a bit into witches, and I latched onto one physical trait the Russian Baba Yaga is sometimes said to have, which is iron teeth. Such teeth seem to be associated with witches in general in Slavic lore. … Continue reading

Posted in African, British, Christianity, Fairy Tales, Finnish, German, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Russian, Slavic, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Santanimals

According to the annoyingly catchy Christmas novelty song “Dominick the Donkey,” Santa Claus rides a donkey because “the reindeer cannot climb the hills of Italy.” But can’t the reindeer fly, in which case hills would be more or less irrelevant? … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Christianity, Christmas, Finnish, Holidays, Music, Mythology, Norse, Poetry, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bear-Making Lady

Some years ago, I came up with the idea of writing one mythology-themed post every week. Obviously I’ve missed some weeks, but the feature has persisted. I’ve only scratched the surface as far as world mythology goes, but it’s much … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Finnish, Games, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Bard Is the Word

While I’ve addressed Norse mythology quite a bit, I haven’t yet looked into the great epic of specifically Finnish mythology, the Kalevala. Elias Lönnrot, a nineteenth-century physician and linguist, compiled ancient myths into a single long poem detailing everything from … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Finnish, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Music, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments