 |
Since the Romantic era, there has been a substantial revival of interest in all things Celtic, including the visual arts. Many painters, calligraphers, and other artists have worked with the themes drawn from ancient or medieval Celtic art, or else inspired by Celtic literary themes.
Some of this work has remained very close to the style of La Tène or illuminated manuscript originals, but much of it has a distinctly new feel. Modern Celtic-themed art can be seen today in a wide range of logos, jewellery, crafts, postcards, and so on. |
|
|
- The abominable snowman The name, popularized by Shipton's
expedition to the Mount Everest in 1951, for the yeti.
- Banshee A
wailing spirit often a woman.
- Clootie The Scottish name for the Devil
- Dragon A creature of great power and prowess, often depicted as a large reptile with immense bat-like wings.
- Elf In Teutonic and Norse mythology creatures who
bring fertility.
- Fairy Small creatures that bestow gifts on newborn
children. Never seen by humans.
- Goblin Bad tempered race related to dwarves. Known to
enjoy disrupting human lives.
- Hag The hag is a fairy from the British Isles. She
is said to be the traces of the most ancient goddesses and is regarded as
the personification of winter. In the winter months she is usually old and
very ugly looking. As the season changes though she becomes more and more
beautiful, and younger.
- Imp Also known as a genie. Some of them are good,
some not (‘impish’ ). They are often kept in a bottle and released when
their help is needed
- Jack Frost Jack Frost is a figure from folklore, an elfish
creature who personifies crisp, cold weather. He is said to leave those
beautiful patterns on autumn leaves and windows on frosty mornings.
- Kraken in Norwegian sea folklore, the Kraken is an
enormous sea monster which would sometimes attack ships and feed upon the
sailors. It is part octopus and part crab, although others refer to it as
a giant squid.
- Leprechaun Very small sprites who sometimes live in
farmhouses or wine cellars. They are known to help. Leprechauns are called
fairy cobblers, for they make shoes for elves. According to popular belief, a leprechaun possesses at
treasure (usually a pot of gold) which a human may obtain if he succeeds
in capturing one, which is extremely difficult.
- Mermaid A marine creature with the head and upper body
of a beautiful young maiden and with the lower body of a fish. Dangerous
to sailors
- Nixes In Norse folklore, they are water spirits who
try to lure people into the water.
- Ogre In folklore and fairy tales Ogres are creatures
of very malignant disposition, who live on human flesh. They are larger
and broader than a man but somewhat shorter than a giant.
- Pixie According to one myth, pixies were originally
Druids who resisted Christianity, and the more they resisted the smaller
they grew. Yet another myth tells of a race of people who were not good
enough for heaven, nor bad enough for hell and were doomed to wander the
earth forever.
- Quetzalcoatl The most popular god for the ancient Aztec
culture of Central America, known as the Feathered Serpent God by the
Maya.
- Roc Roc are gigantic birds, often referred to as
'the Great', and capable of carrying off elephants for food. They are
found in various stories of 'The Thousand and One Nights', and are also
mentioned to by Marco Polo on his travels. Their eggs, according to Sindbad
the Sailor, could measure up to 50 paces in circumference.
- Sprite Sprites are water creatures. They are found only
in places where it is serene and cool. They like to play with nymphs or
torment butterflies. Sprites have one very important job, which is going
around and changing the colours of a tree's leaves in Autumn.
- Troll In Scandinavian myth, trolls are ugly, malicious
creatures and the enemies of mankind. They are much bigger and stronger
than humans, and leave their caves only after dark to hunt. If they are
exposed to sunlight they will instantly turn to stone.
- Urisk The Urisk is a solitary Scottish elf who lives
in remote pools and rivers. He is friendly and likes the company of
humans, but his curious appearance usually scares away those he
approaches.
- Vampire An undead that rises from the grave during the
night to drink the blood of the living in order to stay "alive".
- Will O’ the Wisp In folklore, they are thought to be imps
or pixies leading victims to danger in swamps and heaths. Sometimes they
are believed to be the spirits of stillborn children flitting between
heaven and hell.
- Xanas A kind of nymphs or fairy, they are derived from
Celtic mythology. They live near streams, and spend their day singing
beautiful tunes and combing their wonderful hair.
- Yeti The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas.
- Zips These small male faeries can be found in Mexico
and Central America. Zips wear helmets and carry small spears, though they
are very shy and tend to avoid humans. Zips care for and protect deer.
(c) British Council |
|
|
