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Reynard the Fox is a european character that was used interchangeably between a hero and a trickster. This is because Reynard the Fox contains traits of both a hero and a trickster. One trickster trait of Reynard the Fox is selfishness. An article written by the Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica list different traits of Reynard the Fox saying, "sly, amoral, cowardly, and self-seeking," this emphasized that he is selfish when they say that he's "self-seeking".

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Reynard The Fox, hero of several medieval European cycles of versified animal tales that satirize contemporary human society. Though Reynard is sly, amoral, cowardly, and self-seeking, he is still a sympathetic hero, whose cunning is a necessity for survival. He symbolizes the triumph of craft over brute strength, usually personified by Isengrim, the greedy and dull-witted wolf. Some of the cyclic stories collected around him, such as the wolf or bear fishing with his tail through a hole in the ice, are found all over the world; others, like the sick lion cured by the wolf's skin, derive by oral transmission from Greco-Roman sources. The cycle arose in the area between Flanders and Germany in the 10th and 11th centuries, when clerks began to forge Latin beast epics out of popular tales. The name "Ysengrimus" was first used as the title of a poem in Latin elegiac couplets by Nivard of Ghent in 1152, and some of the stories were soon recounted in French octosyllabic couplets. The Middle High German poem "Fuchs Reinhard" ( c. 1180) by Heinrich (der Glîchesaere?), a masterpiece of 2,000 lines, freely adapted from a lost French original, is another early version of the cycle.

The main literary tradition of Reynard the Fox, however, descends from the extant French "branches" of the Roman de Renart (about 30 in number, totaling nearly 40,000 lines of verse). These French branches are probably elaborations of the same kernel poem that was used by Heinrich in the earlier German version. The facetious portrayal of rustic life, the camel as a papal legate speaking broken French, the animals riding on horses and recounting elaborate dreams, suggest the atmosphere of 13th-century France and foreshadow the more sophisticated "Nun's Priest's Tale" of Geoffrey Chaucer. Because of the popularity of these tales the nickname renard has replaced the old word goupil ("fox") throughout France. The Flemish adaptations of these French tales by Aenout and Willem ( c. 1250) were the sources of the Dutch and Low German prose manuscripts and chapbooks, which in turn were used by the English printer William Caxton and subsequent imitators down to J.W. von Goethe's Reineke Fuchs (1794).

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Return to Weimar and the French Revolution (1788-94)

...of the medieval stories of Reynard the Fox into hexameters ( Reineke Fuchs, written in 1793 and published the following year)....

fable, parable, and allegory: Beast epic

...Fox, whose hero is a fox symbolizing cunning man. Renard the Fox includes the story of the fox and Chantecler (Chanticleer), a cock, a tale soon afterward told in German, Dutch, and English versions (in The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer took it as the basis for his "Nun's Priest's Tale")....

...as in the medieval "Reynard the Fox," and then been carried back around the world by storytellers. In such narratives the borderline between folk literature and other literary expression is impossible to draw....

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Reynard The Fox, hero of several medieval European cycles of versified animal tales that satirize contemporary human society. Though Reynard is sly, amoral, cowardly, and self-seeking, he is still a sympathetic hero, whose cunning is a necessity for survival. He symbolizes the triumph of craft

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Anansi is a West African mythological trickster, that is usually portrayed as half man and half spider. This character embodies cleverness because he is seen as a storyteller and wise. In the article “Anansi” it says, “Anansi can be summoned by those with a gift for stories” (Prof. Geller). This excerpt emphasized that Anansi is gifted at stories and wise because he can be summoned.

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Who is Anansi?

Anansi is the King of Stories, the trickster, the joke maker, and the teacher of those who would follow these traditions. Anansi can be summoned by those with a gift for stories, either to listen to a well-told tale or to help someone who is talented but just beginning to become a master storyteller.

Origin

Anansi's origins are from the Ashanti people of Ghana, who brought the traditions to the Caribbean with them where they truly blossomed. Other stories are told throughout West Africa, but they are most prolific in locations such as Jamaica.

Family

Anansi is the child of the godly manifestations of his mother the Earth (Asaase Yaa) and his father the Sky (Nyame), so is a true representation of all things on heaven and earth. He has many children with his wife Aso, but the most notable child is Ntikuma, a boy who plays a significant part in one of the more popular legends, regarding the bringing of wisdom to the world.

History

Anansi appears to those he interacts with as a spider, a man with spider-like features, or some mix of both, most commonly a spider with a man's face or head, or a man with eight legs. He is always playing tricks, telling stories, or causing some other form of mischief. His interactions in the world have been very important because he brings both stories and wisdom.

Anansi Brings Stories to the World

Anansi looked around him, enjoying the world, but seeing that it was a rather boring place. Realizing that the people had no stories to tell because his father Nyame was hoarding them in a box in the sky, Anansi set about a plan to take them from his father.

He rose into the sky on a silken thread that he spun, and approached Nyame to ask if he could give them to the people so that they could enjoy the stories and learn from their wisdom. His father was impressed that Anansi had even found a way to approach him, so even though he did not want to release the stories, assigned Anansi with what he thought was an impossible task. Nyame told his son that if he could bring four creatures to him, he would trade Anansi the stories for them. The creatures were the most fearsome in creation; Onini, a huge python, Osebo, a hungry leopard, the deadly Moboro Hornets, and the invisible fairy Mmoatia who was famous for her pride, greed, and quick temper.

As Anansi left, declaring that he would do these tasks, Nyame laughed to himself thinking that each was impossible, and all four combined would be insurmountable.

Anansi himself wondered how he could do this, but he was determined. Soon he realized that in order to beat the best traits of the four creatures, he would have to use his best trait - his trickery. He devised plans to defeat each one and put them into motion.

First, he sat outside of Onini's lair and pretended to argue with himself. First, he would say, "Is not!" and then follow it with "Is so!" Soon the python's curiosity was aroused, and he asked Anansi what he was doing. Anansi told Onini that his wife said the stick he was holding was longer than the snake, while he thought the snake was longer. Onini said that there was an easy way to sort it out. He would stretch himself out next to the stick. Anansi suggested that since it was difficult for the snake to stretch his curves to the full length of the stick, they should tie him to it or he might not be longer. Onini agreed, and this is how his vanity allowed Anansi to capture him for Nyame.

Next was Osebo, whose strength was legendary. Anansi dug a deep pit. The next morning, he found Osebo trapped in it. Offering to help, he spun a rope from his webs, daring Osebo to use his strength to get out of the pit. When Osebo began climbing, he became entangled in the web. The more he struggled to get higher, the more tangled he got. Finally he could not move, and this is how Anansi used Osebo's own strength to capture him.

For the next creature, Anansi cut a small hole in a gourd and made a plug for the hole. He then gathered water on a huge leaf. He poured half over his head, and half on the hornet's nest, ruining it. When the Mmoboro hornets angrily flew out, Anansi exclaimed that the rains had come early, but that the hornets could hide in the gourd. The first flew in, and the rest of the hornets followed closely. This is how Anansi use the hive-mind that gave the hornets strength in numbers against them.

Finally, he had to trap the crafty fairy Mmoatia. He knew this final task would be the most difficult, but he also knew of her weakness for yam paste. Anansi crafted a gum baby, attached a web line to its head, and set a bowl of yam paste that Ano had made into its lap. Soon Mmoatia came along and saw the yam paste. She could not resist and asked the gum baby for permission to have some. Anansi pulled the web, making the gum baby's head. Mmoatia dug in, eating all the paste. When she was finished, she thanked the gum baby. Now, Anansi did not pull the web. Mmoatia was annoyed, and thanked the gum baby again, who remained silent. This caused Mmoatia to become angry, and she slapped the gum baby. Her hand became entangled in the gum, and she attacked with her other arm, which also became entangled. As her rage grew, she attacked with her legs, until she was finally fully trapped. Anansi had used Mmoatia's pride and anger against her.

Taking this final creature to his father, Nyame announced that Anansi had successfully completed the tasks that had been set for him, and presented Anansi the box containing all the stories of the world.

Anansi Brings Wisdom to the World

There are many stories of Anansi because of his global influence. But the other story that matters the most is that of how he also brought wisdom to the world, even if it was only by accident.

The first this that should be noted is that it is possible that wisdom and stories are one and the same in this case. This is because the stories that were given to Anansi by Nyame were often teaching tools, as well as entertainment.

Anansi was troubled. He had a pot containing all the wisdom of the world, and every day Anansi would look in the pot and learn some new and wondrous thing. He wanted to keep it safe, and for himself, even though his father Nyame had instructed him to share it. He began looking for a hiding place. His son, Ntikuma, was very curious, and when he saw his father skulking about, he decided to follow him.

Anansi looked far and wide for the perfect hiding place. Finally he came upon a very tall tree and decided that he would tie the pot to the top of it where nobody but he would know it was. He fashioned a long rope of vines and began to climb it while holding the pot.

No matter how he tried, though, the pot made it impossible for him to climb very high. He kept falling, endangering the pot each time. Finally, Ntikuma could not keep his silence. He stepped out and said, "Father, why do you not use some of your vines to tie the pot to your back. That way you can carry it up without it bumping your belly or requiring your grasp!"

Anansi did this and was able to quickly climb to the top. But as he sat there, contemplating what his son had said, he realized that even with the pot of wisdom his son had given him wise advice that he had not thought of himself. This taught him that wisdom is best when it is shared. He threw the pot from the top of the tree and when it struck the ground and shattered, the wisdom was dispersed in the water and the winds to anyone that wanted a little of it. This is why everyone has some wisdom, but nobody has all of it.

Current Influence

As the King of Stories, Anansi is the patron of both storytellers and those who live by their wits. Like many primarily Caribbean deities, he can be summoned with an offering of treats, smokes, and liquor. But if you can't spin a good story to keep him interested, don't expect him to stick around for very long, because he will not tolerate boredom.

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Anansi - Spider in African Folktale | Mythology.net

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Anansi is the King of Stories, the trickster, the joke maker, and the teacher of those who would follow these traditions. Anansi can be summoned by those with a gift for stories, either to listen to a well-told tale or to help someone who is talented but just beginning to become a master storyteller.

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Loki is a well-known god and is especially used in pop culture. Loki is a trickster that uses shapeshifting often. For example, Loki gives birth to an animals after shapeshifting into one and mating with another. This is evident in the article “Loki” by Daniel McCoy saying, “Loki is also the mother – yes, the mother – of Sleipnir, Odin’s shamanic horse, whom Loki gave birth to after shapeshifting into a mare and courting the stallion Svadilfari”.

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Loki (pronounced "LOAK-ee;" Old Norse Loki, the meaning of which will be discussed below) is the wily trickster god of Norse mythology.

While treated as a nominal member of the gods, Loki occupies a highly ambivalent and ultimately unique position among the gods, giants, and the other kinds of spiritual beings that populate the pre-Christian Norse religion.

His familial relations attest to this. His father is the giant Farbauti (Old Norse Fárbauti, "Cruel Striker"[1]). His mother is Laufey (the meaning of which is unknown) or Nal ( Nál, "Needle"[2]). Laufey/Nal could be a goddess, a giantess, or something else entirely - the surviving sources are silent on this point. Loki is the father, by the giantess Angrboda ( Angrboða, "Anguish-Boding"), of Hel, the goddess of the underworld; Jormungand, the great serpent who slays Thor during Ragnarok; and Fenrir, the wolf who bites off one of the hands of Tyr and who kills Odin during Ragnarok - hardly a reputable brood, to say the least. As we'll see below, Loki demonstrates a complete lack of concern for the well-being of his fellow gods, a trait which could be discerned, in vague outline, merely by considering these offspring of his.

With his proper wife Sigyn ("Friend of Victory"[3]), he also has a son named Nari or Narfi, whose name might mean "Corpse."[4]

Loki often runs afoul not only of societal expectations, but also of what we might call "the laws of nature." In addition to the progeny listed above, Loki is also the mother - yes, the mother - of Sleipnir, Odin's shamanic horse, whom Loki gave birth to after shapeshifting into a mare and courting the stallion Svadilfari, as is recounted in the tale of The Fortification of Asgard.

In the tales, Loki is portrayed as a scheming coward who cares only for shallow pleasures and self-preservation. He's by turns playful, malicious, and helpful, but he's always irreverent and nihilistic.

For example, in the tale of The Kidnapping of Idun, Loki, by his recklessness, ends up in the hands of a furious giant, Thiazi, who threatens to kill Loki unless he brings him the goddess Idun. Loki complies in order to save his life, and then finds himself in the awkward position of having the gods threaten him with death unless he rescues Idun. He agrees to this request for the same base motive, shifting his shape into that of a falcon and carrying the goddess back to Asgard in his talons. Thiazi pursues him desperately in the form of an eagle, but, having almost caught up with Loki as he nears his destination, the gods light a fire around the perimeter of their fortress. The flames catch Thiazi and burn him to death, while Idun and Loki reach the halls of the gods safely. Loki ultimately comes to the aid of the gods, but only to rectify a calamity for which he himself is responsible. This theme is repeated in numerous tales, such as in The Creation of Thor's Hammer and the aforementioned The Fortification of Asgard.

After Thiazi's death, the giant's daughter, Skadi, arrives in Asgard demanding restitution for the slaying of her father. One of her demands is that the gods make her laugh, something which only Loki is able to do. To accomplish this, he ties one end of a rope to the beard of a goat and the other end to his testicles. Both he and the goat squawk and squeal as one pulls one way and the other pulls the other way. Eventually he falls over in Skadi's lap, and the giantess can't help but laugh at such an absurd spectacle. Here, Loki once again comes to the aid of the gods, but simply by being silly and outlandish, not by accomplishing any feat that a Viking Age Scandinavian would have found to be particularly honorable.

Loki alternately helps both the gods and the giants, depending on which course of action is most pleasurable and advantageous to him at the time. During Ragnarok, when the gods and giants engage in their ultimate struggle and the cosmos is destroyed, Loki joins the battle on the side of the giants. According to one Old Norse poem, he even captains the ship Naglfar, "Nail Ship," which brings many of the giants to their battle with the gods.[5] When the battle for the world is fought, he and the god Heimdall mortally wound each other.

Loki is perhaps best known for his malevolent role in The Death of Baldur. After the death of the beloved god Baldur is prophesied, Baldur's mother, Frigg, secures a promise from every living thing to not harm her son. Well, almost everything - no such oath is obtained from the mistletoe, which the gods think too small and safe a thing to harm Baldur. Upon discovering this omission, Loki carves a mistletoe spear, places it in the hands of the blind god Hod, and instructs him to throw it at Baldur. Hod, not knowing the origin of the weapon, complies, and Baldur is impaled and dies. The god Hermod rides Sleipnir to the underworld and implores Hel to release Baldur, pointing out how beloved he is by all living things. Hel retorts that if this is so, then it shouldn't be difficult to compel every being in the world to weep for Baldur, and, should this happen, the dead god would be released from the grave. Every living thing does indeed cry for Baldur's return, with one sole exception: a frost-hearted giantess named Tokk ( Þökk, "Thanks"), who is almost certainly Loki in disguise. So Baldur must remain with Hel.

For his many crimes against them, the gods eventually forge a chain from the entrails of Loki's son Narfi and tie him down to three rocks inside a cave. A venomous serpent sits above him, dripping poison onto him. Loki's apparently very faithful and loving wife, Sigyn, sits at his side with a bowl to catch the venom. But when the bowl becomes full, of course, she has to leave her husband's side to pour it out. When this happens, the drops of venom that fall onto him cause him to writhe in agony, and these convulsions create earthquakes. And in this state he lies until breaking free at Ragnarok.

A fascinating variant of the tale of Loki's being bound comes to us from the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. In his History of the Danes, Thor, on one of his many journeys to Jotunheim, the homeland of the giants, finds a giant named Útgarðaloki ("Loki of the Utgard"). Útgarðaloki is bound in exactly the same manner as that in which Loki is bound in the tale mentioned above, which comes from Icelandic sources.[6][7] It seems that even the pagan Scandinavians themselves held conflicting views on whether Loki was a god, a giant, or something else entirely.

For the centuries that Norse mythology has been a subject of scholarly study, scholars have been unable to explain the meaning of Loki's name in any convincing way. Most have simply thrown their hands up and declared the meaning of his name to be unknown and probably unknowable. Recently, however, the philologist Eldar Heide may have solved this puzzle. In his research into Nordic folklore from periods more recent than the Viking Age, Heide noticed that Loki often appears in contexts that liken him to a knot on a thread. In fact, in later Icelandic usage, the common noun loki even means "knot" or "tangle." Spiders are sometimes referred to as loki in a metaphorical sense, as their webs are compared to the fish nets (which are made from a series of knots and loops) that Loki crafts in certain surviving Viking Age myths. From all of this, the most straightforward meaning of Loki's name would seem to be "Knot" or "Tangle."[8][9]

This proposed meaning of Loki's name powerfully resonates with his role in Norse mythology in two ways. First, it points to his role as a maker of nets, both literal fish nets and metaphorical "nets" in the form of his cunning schemes that trap the gods in perilous situations. Second, it could indicate his being the "knot" in the otherwise straight thread of the gods and their world, the fatal flaw that ultimately brings about their demise.

Even though Loki is in some sense a god, no traces of any kind of worship of Loki have survived in the historical record.[10] Is this any wonder, given that his character is virtually the antithesis of traditional Norse values of honor, loyalty, and the like - and that he is ultimately a traitor to the divinities the Norse held in such reverence?

Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period. I've also written a popular list of The 10 Best Norse Mythology Books, which you'll probably find helpful in your pursuit.
References:
[1] Turville-Petre, E.O.G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. p. 127.

[2] Heide, Eldar. 2009. More Inroads to Pre-Christian Notions, After All? The Potential of Late Evidence. In Á austrvega: Saga and East Scandinavia: Preprint Papers of the 14th International Saga Conference. Edited by Agneta Ney et al. p. 363.

[3] Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 284.

[5] The Poetic Edda. Völuspá, stanza 51.

[6] Saxo Grammaticus. 1905. The History of the Danes. Book VIII.

[7] Turville-Petre, E.O.G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. p. 138.

[8] Heide, Eldar. 2009. More Inroads to Pre-Christian Notions, After All? The Potential of Late Evidence. In Á austrvega: Saga and East Scandinavia: Preprint Papers of the 14th International Saga Conference. Edited by Agneta Ney et al. p. 363.

[9] Heide, Eldar. 2012. p. 90-91. Loki, the Vätte, and the Ash Lad: A Study Combining Old Scandinavian and Medieval Material. In Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 7.

[10] Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 195.

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Loki (pronounced "LOAK-ee;" Old Norse Loki, the meaning of which will be discussed below) is the wily trickster god of Norse mythology. While treated as a nominal member of the gods, Loki occupies a highly ambivalent and ultimately unique position among the gods, giants, and the other kinds of spiritual beings that populate the pre-Christian ...

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Kokopelli is a Native American trickster, who is known for being clever. He is clever because he is depicted as a traveler at times.

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Raven the trickster is a Northwest myth and is known for being selfish. In an article titled

"Raven the Trickster" published by the American Museum of Natural History he is said to be, "selfish, hungry, and mischievous".

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A Northwest Coast Native Myth

"Raven was not thought of as a god. He was thought of as the transformer, the trickster. He was the being that changed things-sometimes quite by accident, sometimes on purpose."
-Christian White, Haida artist

In northern Northwest Coast mythology, Raven is the powerful figure who transforms the world. Stories tell how Raven created the land, released the people from a cockle shell, and brought them fire. Raven stole the light and brought it out to light up the world. Yet Raven is a trickster -often selfish, hungry, and mischievous. He changes the world only by cleverly deceiving others in his never-ending quest for food.

In Northwest Coast art, ravens signify the many adventures of Raven in the early days of the world. Those who know the stories cannot help being reminded of the trickster whenever they see a raven.

Myths explain the natural world, describe the origin of a clan or tell how the clan acquired rights to perform a particular ceremony. This excerpt is from a Raven story published by Haida artist Bill Reid in 1984.

How Raven Brought Light to the World
"At that time the whole world was dark. Inky, pitchy, all-consuming dark, blacker than a thousand stormy winter midnights, blacker than anything anywhere has been since." "The reason for all this blackness has to do with the old man in the house by the river, who had a box, which contained a box, which contained a box, which contained an infinite number of boxes, each nestled in a box slightly larger than itself until finally there was a box so small all it could contain was all the light in the universe."
In the story, the old man hides the light because he's afraid to see whether or not his daughter is ugly. In a ploy to steal the light, Raven shrinks himself to become a hemlock needle in a basket of drinking water so that the daughter swallows him. Soon Raven is reborn from her as a raven/human child. The old man accepts him as a grandson, and soon Raven begins begging that he open the boxes, one after another, each time pleading and crying until the old man yields.

When the old man finally opens the box containing the light, Raven grabs it and flies out of the house-causing light to spread throughout the world and revealing that the old man's daughter is as beautiful as the fronds of a hemlock tree.

As Raven flies away, Eagle sees him and tries to steal the light, causing Raven to drop some of it, which becomes the Moon and the stars.

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A Northwest Coast Native Myth "Raven was not thought of as a god. He was thought of as the transformer, the trickster. He was the being that changed things-sometimes quite by accident, sometimes on purpose." -Christian White, Haida artist In northern Northwest Coast mythology, Raven is the powerful figure who transforms the world.

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In some Native American cultures the coyote is seen as a trickster of sorts, and has the ability to shapeshift. In an article by Mysterious Universe they say that, "the animal can take on human form – usually in the guise of a man with a large mustache" (Redfern).

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Coyote is one of the most mysterious and magical creatures within the mythology of Native Americans, and is noted for its shapeshifting abilities. Before we get to that issue, however, a bit of background information on the animal is first required. Coyotes are of the dog family and are formidable and deadly hunters. While they typically go for small prey, like rabbits and squirrels, they have been known to take on fully-grown deer and even cattle. They are noted for their swimming skills and for the fact that they can run at high speeds. That all said, there is another side to the coyote, one which revolves around shapeshifting.

Perceived almost unanimously by Native Americans as a trickster-like animal, coyote is said to have the ability to control the weather, specifically rain and storms. And, like so many other trickster entities - such as fairies and goblins - coyote can be friendly, playful, and helpful. But, and also like all tricksters, coyote has a dark side: it can be manipulative, deceitful, and even deadly, and as the mood takes it.

As for what Native American lore says of the shapeshifting abilities of coyote, we are told that the animal can take on human form - usually in the guise of a man with a large mustache. Coyotes are said to be able to transform into the forms of birds, fish and cats. Also according to Native American mythology, witches and those familiar with magical rituals can transform themselves into coyotes. Thus, a coyote seen running wildly late at night may well be a shapeshifting witch or wizard, embarking on some dark and disturbing mission.

And we are far from being done with the coyote and its skills as a shapeshifter. There is a longstanding tradition among Native Americans that coyote will stalk hunters in the woods and on the plains. Then, when it closes in on its victim, coyote will supernaturally shed its coat, which it quickly throws over its quarry. It is this action that allows coyote to shapeshift into the exact appearance of its victim. Typically, legend suggests, this is done to allow the animal to have sex with the wife of the victim - coyotes, in folklore, having a particular liking for women.

While many people might relegate such accounts to the domain of legend, the matter of shapeshifting and coyotes continues in the world of today. It is an issue that brings us back to the mystery of the Chupacabra. It was in 1995 that the phenomenon of the Chupacabra exploded across Puerto Rico. In the early 2000s, however, reports began to surface suggesting that the Chupacabra had somehow made its way to the United States - and specifically to the Lone Star State.

In south Texas, in 2003 and 2004, ranchers reported seeing strange, hairless creatures on their properties that attacked and killed their animals, such as chickens and goats. That all of this paralleled what was afoot on Puerto Rico inevitably provoked claims that hordes of Chupacabras were on the loose - and possibly all across Texas. Whereas the Puerto Rican original was described as bipedal, glowing-eyed, and winged, the monster of the Lone Star State looked like a large, hairless coyote. Which, is exactly what it was - and still is.

Unlike the situation in Puerto Rico, where a specimen has never been caught or killed, in Texas it did not take long at all before a couple of the beasts were shot by irate farmers and hit by cars. A careful study of the dead animals conclusively proved they were coyotes. But, they were not normal coyotes: they had certain genetic mutations - which brings us back to the matter of shapeshifting.

In the old Native American tales, the coyote could transform itself into numerous different creatures, even that of a person. What we saw in the 2000s, however, eerily paralleled the ancient legends, but in upgraded, 21 th century fashion. What was thought to be severe cases of mange on the dead coyotes was nothing of the sort: the animals in question appeared to be mutating into a completely hairless offshoot of the regular south Texas coyote population. They had developed large overbites, and their front limbs were abnormally short; something which led them to run in an odd, hopping fashion. And, there was the presence of curious pouches growing out of the upper parts of their hind legs. Strangest of all, several witnesses claimed to have seen the animals rise up onto their back legs and hold the position for several minutes, as they scanned the landscape.

The Texas chupacabra - which was actually something arguably even stranger - was born. And yet another layer of legend was added to the mythology surrounding the coyote and its shapeshifting skills. Ken Gerhard, a noted cryptozoologist and monster-hunter, suspects that the strange transformation of the Texan coyote is due to mutagens - which can affect animals at a DNA level - and almost certainly sulfur-dioxide, which is a by-product of coal-burning power plants. Notably, Ken has discovered that many sightings of these transformed coyotes have been made in the direct vicinity of Texas-based plants - something which leads him to strongly suggest this is the answer to the riddle.

So, we have a shape-changing coyote in centuries-old Native American tales, and we have a changing thing in 21 st century Texas. From the world of the supernatural to that of science and environmental pollution, the coyote continues to shapeshift, but in very different ways.

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The Legends of the Coyote - and the Chupacabra | Mysterious Universe

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Coyote is one of the most mysterious and magical creatures within the mythology of Native Americans, and is noted for its shapeshifting abilities. Before we get to that issue, however, a bit of background information on the animal is first required. Coyotes are of the dog family and are formidable and deadly hunters.

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In Australia there is a myth that a Bluetongue Lizard is a powerful sorcerer. My understanding of the myth is that the sorcerer has shapeshifting abilities and can turn into a Bluetongue Lizard.

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Wisakedjak is a Native American trickster that is known for his ability to "Transform". This transformation is not like a shapeshifter, but the ability to transform things. So, this is an example of a clever trickster because he has magic abilities.

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Native American language American Indian cultures American Indian nations
Name: Wisakedjak
Tribal affiliation: Cree, Algonquin, Menominee
Alternate spellings: Wisakejak, Wisakecahk, Wisakechak, Wesakechak, Wesakaychak, Wesakejak, Wisagatcak, Weesageechak, Weesagechak, Wiisaakechaahk, Wiisagejaak, Wissaketchak, Wissakatchakwa, Wsahkechk, Wisahkecahk, Wisakecahk, Weskechak, Wesakecak, Wesakechak, Wiskejak, Wiskedjak, Wisaketjak, Wisagatcak, Wizakejak, Wisakejak, Wizakeshak, Wissekedjak, Weesakeechuk, Weesageechak, Wesucechak, Wisatkatcak, Whiskey-Jack, Whiskeyjack, Wisahkecahkw, Wee-sa-hay-jac, Wissekedjawk, Wisaketcakw
Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: usually wee-sah-keh-chock or wih-sah-kay-jock
Type: Culture hero,Transformer, trickster
Related figures in other tribes: Wenebojo (Ojibwa), Glooscap (Wabanaki),Nape (Blackfoot)

Wisakedjak is the benevolent culture hero of the Cree tribe (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.) His name is spelled so many different ways partially because Cree was originally an unwritten language (so English speakers just spelled it however it sounded to them at the time), and partially because the Cree language is spoken across a huge geographical range in both Canada and the US, so it has many different dialects. Wisakedjak is a trickster character whose adventures are often humorous. Unlike Plains Indian tricksters, however, Wisakedjak is usually portrayed as a staunch friend of humankind, and never as a dangerous or destructive being.

Details of Wisakedjak's life vary considerably from community to community. In some myths, Wisakedjak was specifically created by the Great Spirit to be a teacher for humankind. In others, he was the divine son of the Earth. And in other legends, he was the son of aRolling Head monster, who was forced to kill his violent mother to survive. In many traditions Wisakedjak's younger brother was the Wolf, Mahihkan, who was killed byWater Lynxes orHorned Serpents, earning them the bitter enmity of Wisakedjak.
Wisakedjak Stories
Wiisagejaak:
Encylopedia articles on the Cree culture hero Wisakedjak.
Wisakecahk:
Two legends about the Cree trickster Wesakechak.
The Beginning of the Cree World: Wisagatcak and the Flood:
Myths about Wisakedjak rebuilding the flooded earth.
Wesukechak and the Weasel:
Cree legend about a trick Weasel played on Wisakedjak.
Weesakaychak and the Ducks:
Cree legends about Wisakedjak playing tricks and being tricked in return.
Why The Mouse Is So Silky:
Swampy Cree legend about Wesakechak's reward to a mouse.
Weesakaychuk and the Ducks A story of Weesageechak:
Cree story about Wesakechak tricking some gullible ducks and geese.
Wesakechak and the Origin of the Moon:
Legend about how Wesakechak created the sun and moon, illustrated by a Cree artist.
Trickster and the Fainting Birds:
Excellent retelling of seven Cree and Ojibway "Whiskey Jack" stories.
American Indian Trickster Tales:
Compilation of more than a hundred Wisakedjak and other trickster stories from many different tribes.
Use discretion sharing these with kids as some of the stories contain adult humor.

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Native American language American Indian cultures American Indian nations Name: Wisakedjak Tribal affiliation: Cree, Algonquin, Menominee Alternate spellings: Wisakejak, Wisakecahk, Wisakechak, Wesakechak, Wesakaychak, Wesakejak, Wisagatcak, Weesageechak, Weesagechak, Wiisaakechaahk, Wiisagejaak, Wissaketchak, Wissakatchakwa, Wsahkechk, Wisahkecahk, Wisakecahk, Weskechak, Wesakecak, Wesakechak, Wiskejak, Wiskedjak, Wisaketjak, Wisagatcak, Wizakejak, Wisakejak, Wizakeshak, Wissekedjak, Weesakeechuk, Weesageechak, Wesucechak, Wisatkatcak, Whiskey-Jack, Whiskeyjack, Wisahkecahkw, Wee-sa-hay-jac, Wissekedjawk, Wisaketcakw Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: usually wee-sah-keh-chock or wih-sah-kay-jock Type: Culture hero,Transformer, trickster Related figures in other tribes: Wenebojo (Ojibwa), Glooscap (Wabanaki),Nape (Blackfoot) Wisakedjak is the benevolent culture hero of the Cree tribe (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.)

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Huehuecoyotl is a trickster that is often depicted as a coyote. An article posted on azteccaledar.com says,  "he is a frequent shape-shifter, capable of transforming himself into another animal or human at whim and unpredictably".

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Huehuecoyotl, the Old Coyote, also known as the Ancient Drum. He is a trickster, capable of reversals and pranks, often cruel ones. Huehuecoyotl is also a god of storytelling, music, dance and merriment. Further, he is the patron of uninhibited sexuality - his partners can be female or male of any species.

Huehuecoyotl's tricks are often played on other gods but frequently backfire and cause more trouble for himself than the intended victims. He is a great party-giver, but also alleged to foment wars between humans to relieve his boredom.

He is related to Tezcatlipoca family of gods. Like Tezcatlipoca, he is a frequent shape-shifter, capable of transforming himself into another animal or human at whim and unpredictably.
Those who have indications of evil fates from the gods can appeal to Huehuecoyotl to mitigate or reverse their fate.

In the tonalpohualli, Huehuecoyotl is both the ruler of the fourth day, Cuetzpalin (lizard), and the fourth trecena, 1-Xochitl (flower).

This website contains copyrighted material licensed under a Creative Commons License. See the About page.

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Huehuecoyotl, the Old Coyote, also known as the Ancient Drum. He is a trickster, capable of reversals and pranks, often cruel ones. Huehuecoyotl is also a god of storytelling, music, dance and merriment. Further, he is the patron of uninhibited sexuality - his partners can be female or male of any species.

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Papa Legba is a Southern African trickster that is seen as a gatekeeper between life and death. He is seen as clever for this reason, because he hold power between life and death.

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In the Haitian Vodou religion and voodoo belief system, Papa Legba is one of the loa. Associated with the crossroads, he serves as an intermediary between man and the spirit world. Because of his gift of elocution, he is a being with strong influence over communication and speech.

Did You Know?

Papa Legba is associated with the crossroads, gates, and doors.

Offerings to Legba can include alcohol, tobacco, and candy.

His origins were in the Dahomey kingdom, but Legba came to North America as a result of the transatlantic slave trade.

History of Papa Legba

Believed to have originated in the kingdom of Dahomey, now Benin, Papa Legba is one of the best known figures in African spirituality. The practices of Vodun come from an indigenous belief system found in West Africa. When the people of Africa were captured, enslaved, and brought to North America, they brought with them many of their gods and spirits, including Legba. Because slave owners were worried about potential rebellion, they often separated enslaved people from the same area.

By mixing people from different regions and language groups, they could use the communication barrier to discourage or even prevent revolt. However, many of the deities were similar, and so enslaved people from different parts of Africa soon found commonalities in their spiritual beliefs and practices, which they were forced to keep hidden.

Papa Legba soon found a home in the religious structures of enslaved people in Haiti and the Caribbean, as well as in the American colonies. Author Denise Alvarado says Legba:

...stands at a spiritual crossroads and grants or denies permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee, and is believed to speak all human languages. He is always the first, and the last spirit invoked in any ceremony because his permission is needed for any communication between mortals and the loa-he opens and closes the doorway to the spirit world.

Over time, after African syncretic practices blended with Catholicism in the new world, Legba became associated with several saints, including Saint Peter, Saint Anthony, and Saint Lazarus.

In the Haitian religion of Vodou, Legba is seen as the intermediary between mortal men and the loa, or lwa. The loa are a group of spirits responsible for various aspects of daily life, and they are the children of a supreme creator, Bondye. They are divided into families, such as the Ghede and Ogou, and practitioners develop relationships with them through offerings, petitions, and prayers. Often, Papa Legba is the one who carries these prayers to the loa.

Mythology and Worship

Legba has evolved in numerous ways from his origins in Africa, where he is sometimes viewed as a fertility god or a trickster; he many be depicted as both male and female, sometimes with a large erect phallus. In other areas, he is a protector of children or a healer, and can grant forgiveness for crimes against others. Variants of Legba exist in many places including Brazil, Trinidad, and Cuba.

Papa Legba appears in many forms in New Orleans Voodoo and Haitian Vodou. He is typically depicted as an older man, sometimes wearing a straw hat or old tattered clothing, walking with a cane, and accompanied by a dog. He's associated with the colors black and red.

Legba is strongly associated with crossroads magic, and is referenced in a number of early twentieth-century blues tunes from the area of the Mississippi Delta. Famed bluesman Robert Johnson is said to have met a spirit at the crossroads, and offered him his soul in exchange for musical success. Although eventually the story was twisted to say Johnson met the Devil, musical folklorists believe that tale is rooted in racist ideology; instead, Johnson met Legba at the crossroads, where he had gone seeking guidance and wisdom.

Papa Legba is a master communicator, who is said to speak the languages of all human beings; he then translates petitions and delivers them to the loa. He is a teacher and warrior, but also a trickster deity. Legba is a remover of obstacles, and can be consulted to help find new, positive opportunities, thanks to his ability to open doors and new roads.

Magical Connections

If you have problems moving forward with your life - you're stuck at the crossroads - Legba is the one to reach out to. He does expect payment, however, in exchange for his assistance. Typical offerings might include candy, such as chocolate and other candy, alcohol - particularly dark rum, and pipe tobacco or cigars.

Legba, like the other loa, is represented by a veve, a symbol that includes a number of interlocked keys and a cane. He can be summoned with proper offerings and a chant; one of the most popular is:

Papa Legba, open the gate for me,
Papa Legba open the gate for me,
Open the gate for me, Papa Legba,
that I may pass,
When I return I will thank the loa.

Most people who work with Legba are those who have been initiated into New Orleans Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Santeria, or one of the many other African diasporic traditional religions. There are very specific ways of contacting Legba, many of which are initiatory traditions with protocol that must be followed. By working under the tutelage of a houngan or mambo, a devotee participates in ceremonies and rituals to form a relationship with Legba and the loa. Some practitioners of Hoodoo and other African traditional religions develop these connections via personal devotion with dedicated altars and appropriate offerings to the spirits.

Papa Legba has made many appearances in pop culture. He shows up briefly in Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and plays a part in Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad. He is a recurring character in the television series American Horror Story, where he is inaccurately portrayed as demanding the sacrifice of a human infant.

Alvarado, Denise M. "Papa Legba and Other Spirits of the Crossroads." Exemplore, 6 June 2019, https://exemplore.com/magic/papalegba.

Beyer, Catherine. "African Diaspora Religions of the New World." Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 25 June 2019, https://www.learnreligions.com/african-diaspora-religions-95713.

"Papa Legba." Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers RSS, http://www.readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Papa_Legba.

"Papa Legba." Hoodoo, 28 Dec. 2015, http://www.blog.hoodoo-conjure.com/papa-legba/.

"What's the Difference Between Legba, Eleggua, Eshu and Exu?!" Santeria Church of the Orishas, 28 Feb. 2013, http://santeriachurch.org/whats-the-difference-between-legba-eleggua-eshu-and-exu/.

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In the Haitian Vodou religion and voodoo belief system, Papa Legba is one of the loa. Associated with the crossroads, he serves as an intermediary between man and the spirit world. Because of his gift of elocution, he is a being with strong influence over communication and speech.

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In the movie "Moana" Maui is depicted as a selfish demigod. This is because he stole the heart of the sea because he wanted to be a hero.

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Saci Perere is somewhat a shape shifting trickster. This is true because Saci Perere has the ability to disappear but not necessarily turn into other creatures.

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Tokoloshe is an African trickster who is often depicted as a small creature that attacks people at night. This is a blatant example of selfish behavior, because it's commonly innocent people.

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Today we visit South Africa for a story about the Tokoloshe, a small and terrifying creature that seriously messes with your ability to have a restful night's sleep. Tokoloshes are a creature from Zulu mythology that inhabit South Africa. These creatures attack you in your sleep and are said to be a part of the reason while many people in the Zulu culture used to sleep with their beds raised off the floor.

Tokoloshe are described physically in a large variety of ways. One constant seems to be their small size. Sometimes they are described as small humanoid creatures (like gremlins or brownies) and other times they are described more primate-like.

These creatures are malevolent and very dangerous. They are said to crawl into sleeping people's rooms and cause all kinds of havoc - from simply scaring them all the way to choking them to death with their long, bony fingers. It seems to particularly enjoy scaring children, often leaving them with long scratches on their bodies. One way to keep the Tokoloshe at bay is to put bricks beneath the legs of one's bed. This will you put you out of reach, and hopefully out of harm's way, of the Tokoloshe.

Tokoloshes are creatures called upon by those with magical abilities (like witches) to wreak havoc and pain in a community. One of the ways the witches are able to keep them docile is to cut the hair out of their eyes so they can see and feed it curdled milk.

If a Tokoloshe continues to terrorize a household or a community a sangoma (Zulu witch doctor) is summoned to exorcize the area and/or the home with the use muti, a kind of traditional magic practiced by the sangoma.

But why was the Tokoloshe such a promintent and terrifying creature? And why did it only attack the sleeping? Well, there might actually be a very real, terrifying reason for the creation of this creature.

Let's back up to the sleeping arrangements quickly. As mentioned above, raised beds are an important way to combat the Tokoloshe. Traditionally, many South Africans in areas rife with Tokoloshe myths slept on grass mats encircling a warm, wood fire that would keep them warm during the bitter winter nights. However, sometimes healthy people would inexplicably be found dead come morning.

Why? Well, the Tokoloshe of course.

But, there is a theory that sleeping close to the fire in their homes may have depleted the oxygen levels and filled the home with carbon dioxide. As it is heavier than pure air, it would sink to the bottom of the home where people slept. Thus, seemingly healthy people and sometimes entire families would be found dead. A parallel was found between elevated sleepers and a lack of death so the Tokoloshe was told as a story forewarning those who slept close to the ground (and the fire). While it might not be an actual malevolent creature, what kept away a Tokoloshe would also keep away death from carbon monoxide.

The feature image is by Flickr User Jason Rogers , entitled Day 466 / 365 - Reach for the Light and liscensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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Today we visit South Africa for a story about the Tokoloshe, a small and terrifying creature that seriously messes with your ability to have a restful night's sleep. Tokoloshes are a creature from Zulu mythology that inhabit South Africa.

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Till eulenspiegel is a German trickster who is known for playing tricks on people and is also known for being greedy. In a wikipedia article about this trickster the author says, "Eulenspiegel is presented as a trickster who plays practical jokes on his contemporaries, exposing vices at every turn, greed and folly, hypocrisy and foolishness". This clearly states that one of his vices is being greedy.

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The prankster Till Eulenspiegel, depicted with owl and mirror (title page of the Strasbourg edition of 1515)

Eulenspiegel Memorial in Kneitlingen

Till Eulenspiegel (German pronunciation: [tɪlˈʔɔʏlənˌʃpiːɡəl]; Low German: Dyl Ulenspegel [dɪlˈʔuːlnˌspeɪɡl̩]) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of c. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily), but a background in earlier Middle Low German folklore is likely. The character may have been based on a historical person.

Eulenspiegel is a native of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg whose picaresque career takes him to many places throughout the Holy Roman Empire. He plays practical jokes on his contemporaries, at every turn exposing vices. His life is set in the first half of the 14th century, and the final chapters of the chapbook describe his death from the plague of 1350.

Eulenspiegel's surname translates to "owl-mirror"; and the frontispiece of the 1515 chapbook, as well as his alleged tombstone in Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, render it as a rebus comprising an owl and a hand mirror. It has been suggested that the name is in fact a pun on a Low German phrase that translates as "wipe-arse".

Modern retellings of the Eulenspiegel story have been published since the latter 19th century. The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak, by Charles De Coster (1867), transfers the character to the period of the Reformation and the Dutch Revolt; the novel's Ulenspiegel (in modern Dutch, Tijl Uilenspiegel) was adopted as a symbol by the Flemish Movement.

Kneitlingen, the place of birth of Till Eulenspiegel

According to the chapbook, Eulenspiegel was born in Kneitlingen in Lower Saxony near Brunswick around 1300. As a vagrant ( Landfahrer), he travelled through the Holy Roman Empire, especially Northern Germany, but also the Low Countries, Bohemia, and Italy. He is said to have died in Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, near Lübeck and Hamburg, of the Black Death in 1350.

The first known chapbook on Eulenspiegel was printed in c. 1510-1512 in Strasbourg. It is reasonable to place the folkloristic origins of the tradition in the 15th century, although, in spite of suggestions to the effect "that the name 'Eulenspiegel' was used in tales of rogues and liars in Lower Saxony as early as 1400", 15th-century references to a Till Eulenspiegel turn out to be surprisingly elusive. The text of the first extant edition, printed by Johannes Grüninger, is in the High German language. There has been a debate surrounding the possible existence of an older Low German edition, now lost. This version has been attributed to Hans Dorn, the only known printer active in Brunswick at the beginning of the 16th century (active from at least 1502). Sodmann (1980) in support of this hypothesis adduced the woodcut of a fool on horseback holding a hand mirror used by Dorn in later prints, as the title illustration of his Liber Vagatorum and Grobianus, which may originally have served as the title illustration of the lost Eulenspiegel edition.

There are several suggestions as to the author of the 1510 chapbook, none of which has gained mainstream acceptance. Candidates include Thomas Murner, Hermann Bote, Hieronymus Brunschwig, or an author collective surrounding Johannes Grüninger, including Thomas Murner, Johannes Adelphus, Tilemann Conradi and Hermannus Buschius. The author of the 1515 edition in a short preface identifies himself only as "N". He gives the year 1500 as the date when he originally began to collect the tales, stressing the difficulty of the project and how he wanted to abandon it several times, saying that he is now publishing it after all to "lighten the mood in hard times". The preface also announces the inclusion of material from Pfaff Amis and Pfaff vom Kahlenberg, but no such material is present in the 1515 edition.

Owl-and-mirror rebus from the depiction of Eulenspiegel's tombstone and epitaph in the 1515 edition (fol. 130).[8]

The literal translation of the High German name "Eulenspiegel" is "owl-mirror" (hence owle-glasse). It is both innocuous and indicative of his character and has been explained as a garbled form of an expression for "wipe-the-arse".

Many of Till's pranks are scatological in nature, and involve tricking people into touching, smelling, or even eating Till's excrement. Scatological stories abound, beginning with Till's early childhood (in which he rides behind his father and exposes his rear-end to the townspeople) and persisting until his death bed (where he tricks a priest into soiling his hands with feces).

In modern scholarship, there have been some attempts to find evidence for the historicity of Till Eulenspiegel's person. Hucker (1980) mentions that according to a contemporary legal register of the city of Brunswick one Till van Cletlinge ("Till from/of Kneitlingen") was incarcerated there in the year 1339, along with four of his accomplices, for highway robbery.

Upper half of "Eulenspiegel's tombstone" in Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein.

In Mölln, the reported site of Eulenspiegel's death and burial in the plague year of 1350, a memorial stone was commissioned by the town council in 1544, now on display in an alcove on the outside wall of the tower of St. Nicolai church. The stone is inscribed in Low German, as follows:

Anno 1350 is dusse / steen upgehaven und / Tyle ulen spegel lenet / hier under begraven. / Marcket wol und / dencket dran. wat / ick gwest si up eren. / All de hir vor aver / gan. moten mi / glick weren.

This stone was carved in 1350, and Tyl Ulenspegel lies buried underneath. Note well and remember what I have been on Earth. All those who pass here will become as I am now.

The inscription (including the date of 1350) was allegedly copied from an older tombstone, now lost. This older tombstone is referred to in the chapbook of 1515, and it is mentioned as still being extant in 1536.[unreliable source? ] The 1544 stone is mentioned by Fynes Moryson in his Itinerary of 1591. Moryson also reports that in his time, the citizens of Mölln held a yearly festival in Eulenspiegel's honour, on which occasion they would present the clothes worn by Eulenspiegel when he died.

Woodcut for the 32nd chapter in the 1515 edition: Eulenspiegel is pursued by Nuremberg guards, he leads them across a broken bridge and they fall into the moat.

The two earliest printed editions, in Early New High German, were printed by Johannes Grüninger in Strasbourg. The first edition was unknown before sixteen folia of printing proofs were discovered in 1971 in the binding of a Latin edition of Reynard. Peter Honegger dated these pages to 1510/11 based on the type used, but this date has since been called into question. Only a single specimen of the first edition has been preserved, discovered in 1975. Thirty folia are missing, including the title page. A previous owner has replaced the missing pages by pages torn from an Eulenspiegel edition of c. 1700. It was most likely published in 1512. The sixteen folia discovered by Honegger are likely printing proofs for this edition. It consists of 100 folia with 66 woodcuts of high quality.[citation needed ]

The 1515 edition was also printed by Grüninger in Strasbourg. Its full title reads:

Ein kurtzweilig Lesen von Dyl Ulenspiegel, geboren uß dem Land zu Brunßwick, wie er sein leben volbracht hatt, xcvi seiner geschichten.

A diverting read of Dyl Ulenspiegel, born in the land of Brunswick, how he spent his life; 96 of his stories.

The text is divided into 95 chapters (numbered to 96 as chapter number 42 is missing). The 1515 edition is decidedly inferior, missing many of the illustrations of the older edition, and showing signs of careless copying of the text.[citation needed ] It is uncertain how many of these chapters were present in the earlier edition of 1510/12, although some of the chapters appear to be later additions. The initials of the final six chapters form the "acrostic" ERMANB, which has been taken as a hidden reference to the book's author. The first chapters are dedicated to Till's childhood. In chapter nine, Till leaves his mother and begins his life as a vagrant. He takes up diverse occupations, but each chapter ends with his moving on to another place. The final seven chapters are dedicated to his death and burial.

In the chapbooks, Eulenspiegel is presented as a trickster who plays practical jokes on his contemporaries, exposing vices at every turn, greed and folly, hypocrisy and foolishness. As Peter Carels notes, "The fulcrum of his wit in a large number of the tales is his literal interpretation of figurative language." (Previously, Goethe made a similar observation.) Although craftsmen are featured as the principal victims of his pranks, neither the nobility nor the pope is exempt from being affected by him.

A third Strasbourg edition, of 1519, is better again and is usually used in modern editions to provide the sections that are missing in the surviving 1510/12 copy.

Frontispiece of first Dutch language Ulenspieghel, printed by Michiel Hillen van Hoochstraten, 1525-1546

The 'Antwerp group' of Eulenspiegel editions comprises a number of Flemish, French and English publications. The dating of these publications is still an issue of contention. The Antwerp printer Michiel Hillen van Hoochstraten is believed to have printed the first Dutch-language version of the Till Eulenspiegel story. In the past, the Hillen edition was dated to 1512 or 1519, but recent scholarship places it in the period between 1525 and 1546. Michiel Hillen van Hoochstraten appears to have used for his translation a German text, in manuscript or printed, that is now lost, which antedated the Grüninger edition. Jan van Doesborch is believed to have printed the first English translation in Antwerp possibly as early as 1520. In this edition the name Ulenspiegel is rendered Howleglas (as it were "owl-glass"). Later English editions, derived from the Antwerp group, were printed by William Copland in London, in 1547 and 1568.

Owleglasse is mentioned in Henry Porter's The Two Angry Women of Abington (1599) and again in Ben Jonson's comedic play The Alchemist (1610).

The first modern edition of the chapbook of 1519 is by Lappenberg (1854). Lappenberg was not yet aware of the existence of the 1515 edition. The 1515 and 1519 editions were published in facsimile by Insel-Ferlag in 1911 and 1979, respectively. An English translation by Paul Oppenheimer was published in 1972.

Editions of Eulenspiegel in German, Dutch, Flemish, French and English remained popular throughout the early modern period. By the late 17th century, Eulenspiegel and his pranks had become proverbial, with the French adjective espiègle "impish, mischievous" derived from his name. The German noun Eulenspiegelei (as it were "owlglassery") is recorded in the early 19th century.

Snakerijen van Tijl Uilenspiegel (Pranks of Till Eulenspiegel), Dutch children's picture book, c. 1873

Till Eulenspiegel fountain in Mölln (1951).

In the eighteenth century, German satirists adopted episodes for social satire, and in the nineteenth and early twentieth century versions of the tales were bowdlerized to render them fit for children, who had come to be considered their chief natural audience, by expurgating their many scatological references.

The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak, an 1867 novel by Belgian author Charles De Coster, has been translated, often in mutilated versions, into many languages. It was De Coster who first transferred Ulenspiegel from his original late medieval surroundings to the Protestant Reformation. In this version, Ulenspiegel was born in Damme, West Flanders and became a Protestant hero of the Dutch Revolt. The author gives him a father, Claes, and mother, Soetkin, as well as a girlfriend, Nele, and a best friend, Lamme Goedzak. In the course of the story Claes is taken prisoner by the Spanish oppressors and burned at the stake, while Soetkin goes insane as a result. This tempts Thyl to start resistance against the Spanish oppressors. Thanks to the 1867 novel, Ulenspiegel has become a symbol of Flemish nationalism, with a statue dedicated to him in Damme.

Alfred Jarry, author of Gestes et opinions du Docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien (1911), mentions Ulenspiegel's unruly behaviour in the Appendix chapter entitled Les poteaux de la morale: " Till Ulenspiegel, on s'en souvient, ne coordonnait point autrement ses opérations mentales : se dirigeant vers un faîte, il se réjouissait du dévalement futur. " ("Till Ulenspiegel, we recall, did not coordinate his mental operations differently: heading toward a cliff, he rejoiced in future downfall.")

A French edition, Les Aventures de Til Ulespiègle, was published by Constantin Castéra in 1910. In 1927, Gerhart Hauptmann wrote the verse Till Eulenspiegel.

Ulenspiegel was mentioned in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita as a possible prototype for the black cat character Behemoth.

Michael Rosen adapted the story into a 1989 children's novel, illustrated by Fritz Wegner: The Wicked Tricks of Till Owlyglass, ISBN 978-0744513462.

Daniel Kehlmann in his novel (2017) places Tyll Ulenspiegel in the context of the Thirty Years' War.

The Italian civil law professor Francesco Gazzoni uses the name Till Eulenspiegel as a pseudonym for himself in his book "Favole quasi giuridiche" (in English, "Semi-juridical Fables").

Ray Goossens had a 1945 comic strip based on Tijl Uilenspiegel, where Tijl and Lamme Goedzak were portrayed as a comedic duo. The series was sometimes called Tijl en Lamme too.

Willy Vandersteen drew two comic book albums about Uilenspiegel, "De Opstand der Geuzen" ("The Rebellion of the Geuzen") and "Fort Oranje" ("Fort Orange"), both drawn in a realistic, serious style and pre-published in the Belgian comics magazine between 1952 and 1954. They were published in comic book album format in 1954 and 1955. The stories were drawn in a realistic style and in some instances followed the original novel very closely, but sometimes followed his own imagination more.

Belgian comics artist George van Raemdonck adapted the novel into a comic strip in 1964.

Between 1985 and 1990, Willy Vandersteen drew a comics series named of whom the three main characters are Hannes, his girlfriend Veerle and Tamme, Hannes' best friend. All are obviously inspired by Tijl Uilenspiegel, Nele and Lamme Goedzak.

Kibbutz theatre director and producer Shulamit Bat-Dori created an open-air production of Till Eulenspiegel at Mishmar HaEmek, Israel, in 1955 that drew 10,000 viewers.

In Moscow in 1974, Grigoriy Gorin adapted De Coster's novel as a play originally entitled The Passion of Tyl. A Two-Part Farcical Comedy ( The Passion of had to be removed later) which alluded to the state of the Soviet Union. Performed at the Lenkom Theatre with music by Gennady Gladkov it had elements of rock opera. In 2019, the original libretto was restored and official soundtrack released.

Clive Barker incorporated elements of the Till Eulenspiegel story in his 1982 play Crazyface.

In 1894-1895, Richard Strauss composed the tone poem, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28.

In 1902, Emil von Reznicek adapted the story as an opera, Till Eulenspiegel.

In 1913, Walter Braunfels adapted the story as an opera, Ulenspiegel.

In 1916, the Ballets Russes adapted the story as a ballet, later re-adapted by George Balanchine for Jerome Robbins at the New York City Ballet.

In the late 1930s or early 1940s, the Russian composer Wladimir Vogel wrote a drama-oratorio, Thyl Claes, derived from De Coster's book.

In 1983, the Soviet composer Nikolai Karetnikov and his librettist, filmmaker Pavel Lungin, released a opera, Till Eulenspiegel, which received its official release in 1990.

The Polish poet Jacek Kaczmarski wrote a epitaph to Eulenspiegel in 1981 "Epitafium dla Sowizdrzała".

Between 1945 and 1950, a German satirical magazine was called Ulenspiegel. The satirical magazineEulenspiegel was published from 1954 in Berlin, East Germany.

In 1916, choreograper Vaslav Nijinsky created the ballet Till Eulenspiegel set to Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28. by Richard Strauss. The libretto was by Vaslav Nijinsky, after Charles De Coster and the costumes were by Robert Edmond Jones. The work premiered on 23 October 1916 at the Manhattan Opera House in New York City.

In 1956, the film Les Aventures de Till L'Espiègle was made by Gérard Philipe and Joris Ivens, which adapted De Coster's novel. (English title: "Bold Adventure"). The film was a French-East German co-production.

In 1973, Walter van der Kamp directed Uilenspiegel, a Dutch film.

Rainer Simon directed Till Eulenspiegel in 1975, which was an East-German production made for State Television. Due to Nudity, it was not suitable for children as State Television banned airing the film before 7pm (this version is an adult version).

Ulenspiegel (Legenda o Tile), was a 1976 Soviet film, based on De Coster's novel, and directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov, "The Legend of Till Ullenspiegel" (1976).

In 2003, Eberhard Junkersdorf adapted the story into a feature-length animated film.

In 2014, Christian Theede directed the film .

In 1961, the BRT (nowadays the VRT) made a children's TV series, Tijl Uilenspiegel.

There are three museums in Germany featuring Till Eulenspiegel. One is located in the town of Schöppenstedt in Lower Saxony, which is nearby his assumed birthplace Kneitlingen. The second is located in the supposed place of his death, the city of Mölln in Schleswig-Holstein, and the third in Bernburg (Saale), Sachsen-Anhalt. In the town of Damme, Belgium, there is also a museum honoring him, and there is a fountain and statue featuring Till Eulenspiegel in the Marktplatz of Magdeburg, capital city of Sachsen-Anhalt.

TES, the first BDSM organization founded in the United States, formerly known as The Eulenspiegel Society, took its original name from Till Eulenspiegel. TES was founded in 1971 and had the name "The Eulenspiegel Society" until it formally changed its name to "TES" in 2002. The original name was inspired by a passage from Austrian psychoanalyst Theodor Reik's Masochism in Modern Man (1941), in which he argues that patients who engage in self-punishing or provocative behavior do so in order to demonstrate their emotional fortitude, induce guilt in others, and achieve a sense of "victory through defeat". Reik describes Till Eulenspiegel's "peculiar" behavior-he enjoys walking uphill, and feels "dejected" walking downhill-and compares it to a "paradox reminiscent of masochism", because Till Eulenspiegel "gladly submits to discomfort, enjoys it, even transforms it into pleasure".

Notes

Bibliography

Hill-Zenk, Anja (2011) Der englische Eulenspiegel: Die Eulenspiegel-Rezeption als Beispiel des englisch-kontinentalen Buchhandels im 16. Jahrhundert

Lappenberg, J. M. (1854) Dr. Thomas Murners Ulenspiegel, Leipzig.

Lukner, R. F. (2009) Eulenspiegel: Eine Auswahl aus tiefenpsychologischer Sicht Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-89821-981-5

Mackenzie, Kenneth R. H. (trans.) (1859) Master Tyll Owlglass: His Marvellous Adventures and Rare Conceits, London: George Routledge, 1859; Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1860.

Blamires, David. "Reflections on Some Recent "Ulenspiegel" Studies." The Modern Language Review 77, no. 2 (1982): 351-60. doi:10.2307/3726817.

Classen, Albrecht. 2022. "The Continuation of the Middle Ages in the Early Modern Print Period. With an Emphasis on Melusine and Till Eulenspiegel." Publishing Research Quarterly 38 (4): 623-41.

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Till Eulenspiegel (German pronunciation: [tɪlˈʔɔʏlənˌʃpiːɡəl]; Low German: Dyl Ulenspegel [dɪlˈʔuːlnˌspeɪɡl̩]) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of c. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily), but a background in earlier Middle Low German folklore is likely.

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Nanbozho is a Native American trickster who's mother died and in turn was raised by his grandmother. This in turn make him a wise character, is essense making him clever.

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Native American language American Indian cultures American Indian nations
Name: Nanabozho
Tribal affiliation: Ojibway, Algonquin, Ottawa, Menominee, Potawatomi
Alternate spellings: Wenabozho, Wenaboozhoo, Waynaboozhoo, Wenebojo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanabojo, Nanabushu, Nanabush, Nanapush, Nenabush, Nenabozho, Nanabosho, Manabush, Winabojo, Manabozho, Manibozho, Nanahboozho, Minabozho, Manabus, Manibush, Manabozh, Manabozo, Manabozho, Manabusch, Manabush, Manabus, Menabosho, Nanaboojoo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanaboso, Nanabosho, Nenabuc, Amenapush, Ne-Naw-bo-zhoo, Kwi-wi-sens Nenaw-bo-zhoo
Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: way-nuh-boo-zhoo, nuh-nuh-boo-zhoo, nain-boo-zhoo, muh-nah-boash, or mah-nah-boo-zhoo
Also known as: Michabo, Michabou, Michabous, Michaboo, Mishabo, Michabo, Misabos, Misabooz, Messou
Type: Culture hero,Transformer, trickster
Related figures in other tribes: Gluskabe (Wabanaki),Napi (Blackfoot),Wesakechak (Cree)

Nanabozho is the benevolent culture hero of the Anishinaabe tribes. His name is spelled so many different ways partially because the Anishinabe languages were originally unwritten (so English speakers just spelled the name however it sounded to them at the time), and partially because the Ojibway, Algonquin, Potawatomi, and Menominee languages are spoken across a huge geographical range in both Canada and the US, and the name sounds different in the different languages and dialects they speak. The differing first letters of his name, however, have a more interesting story: Nanabozho's grandmother, who named him, used the particle "N-" to begin his name, which means "my." Other speakers-- who are not Nanabozho's grandmother-- would normally drop this endearment and use the more general prefixes W- or M-. So if you listen to a fluent Ojibwe speaker telling a Nanabozho story, he may refer to the culture hero as Wenabozho most of the time, but switch to calling him Nanabozho while narrating for his grandmother!

Stories about Nanabozho vary considerably from community to community. Nanabozho is usually said to be the son of either the West Wind or the Sun, and since his mother died when he was a baby, Nanabozho was raised by his grandmotherNokomis. In some tribal traditions Nanabozho is an only child, but in others he has a twin brother or is the eldest of four brothers. The most important of Nanabozho's brother figures isChibiabos or Moqwaio, Nanabozho's inseparable companion (often portrayed as a wolf) variously said to be his twin brother, younger brother, or adopted brother. Nanabozho is associated with rabbits and is sometimes referred to as the Great Hare (Misabooz), although he is rarely depicted as taking the physical form of a rabbit. Nanabozho is a trickster figure and can be a bit of a rascal, but unlike trickster figures in some tribes, he does not model immoral and seriously inappropriate behavior-- Nanabozho is a virtuous hero and a dedicated friend and teacher of humanity. Though he may behave in mischievous, foolish, and humorous ways in the course of his teaching, Nanabozho never commits crimes or disrespects Native culture and is viewed with great respect and affection by Anishinabe people.
Nanabozho Stories
Wenabozho About Nanabosho Nanaboozhoo:
General overviews of Nanabozho.
The Legend of Nanabozho:
Audio file of a First Nations storyteller narrating the story of Nanabozho.
Weneboozhoo Manabozho's Birth The Birth of Wenabozho the Trickster The Story of Manabush The Magic Birth of Nenebuc:
Ojibway and Menominee stories about Waynaboozhoo's birth.
Nanabozh and the Creation of the World Wenebojo Creates the Earth Manabozho and the Muskrat Nanabozho and the Origin of the Earth Waynaboozhoo and the Great Flood:
Nanabozho and the Ojibwe creation story.
Wenebojo Stories and other Ojibwe Tales Manabozho's Adventures: Manabush and the Menominee Oral Tradition:
Stories about Wenebojo's adventures from the Chippewa and Menominee tribes.
Manabush and his Brother: Manabozho's Wolf Brother:
Menominee stories telling how Nanabozho's brother Wolf became chief of the dead.
Manabozho Plays Lacrosse:
Menominee legends of how Manabus avenged his brother's death at a lacrosse match.
Manabozho and the Theft of Fire Manabush Steals Fire Nanabozho and the Birch Tree:
Ojibwe and Menominee legends about Nanabozho and the origin of fire.
Nanabozho and the Great Serpent:
Chippewa story about Nanabozho slaying a water monster.
Manabozho and the Maple Trees Wenebojo and the Maple Sugar
Ojibwe tales about Nanabozho and the origin of maple sugar.
Wenebojo and the Dancing Geese Manabozho and the Hell-Diver Manabush and the Birds Manabush and the Shut-Eye Dance:
Algonquian legends about Nanabozho tricking gullible birds so he could eat them.
Why Porcupine Has Quills Wenebojo and the Porcupine:
How Nanabozho helped Porcupine become prickly.
Nanaboozhoo and the Turtle Wenebojo Made a House for Tortoise:
Chippewa and Ottawa Indian legends about how Nanabozho gave turtles their shells.
Manabush and the Reed Dancers Manabush and the Tree Holders:
Algonquian stories about a humorous mistake of Manabozho's.
Waynaboozhoo and the Wild Rice:
How Waynaboozhoo brought wild rice to the people.
Manabus and the Spirit Rock The Legend of Spirit Rock:
Menominee legends about Manabus turning a man who wished for too much into a boulder.
Manabush and the Origin of Night and Day The Legend of Rabbit and Owl:
Menominee legend in which the Manabush argues with Owl over the right to control the daylight cycle.
Manabush and the Fish Monster:
Menominee story about Manabus slaying a man-eating giant fish.
Manabozho and the Buzzard:
Menominee legend about Manabush punishing Buzzard for playing a trick on him.
The Legend of Nanabozho & Animoshak:
A humorous Anishinabe folktale about Nanabozho and the tails of dogs.
Nanapush and the Pipe:
Lenape story about the Anishinabe culture hero Nanabozho.
The Mishomis Book: Voice of the Ojibway:
Excellent book on Ojibway culture and traditions, including several Waynaboozhoo stories.
Manabozho and the Bullrushes:
Charming version of a traditional Manabozho legend, by an Ojibwe author and illustrator.
The Birth of Nanabosho Nanabosho Steals Fire Nanabosho Dances Nanobosho, Soaring Eagle, and Great Sturgeon:
Another series of well-told Nanabozho stories by a Native author. The first one, Birth of Nanabosho, is especially good.
American Indian Trickster Tales:
Compilation of more than a hundred Nanabozho and other trickster stories from many different tribes.
Use discretion sharing these with kids as some of the stories contain adult humor.
Algonquian Spirit:
Excellent anthology of stories, songs, and oral history from the Ojibwe, Menominee, and related tribes.

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Nanabozho (Nanabush, Nanabosho, Wenebojo, Nanapush, Manabus)

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Native American language American Indian cultures American Indian nations Name: Nanabozho Tribal affiliation: Ojibway, Algonquin, Ottawa, Menominee, Potawatomi Alternate spellings: Wenabozho, Wenaboozhoo, Waynaboozhoo, Wenebojo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanabojo, Nanabushu, Nanabush, Nanapush, Nenabush, Nenabozho, Nanabosho, Manabush, Winabojo, Manabozho, Manibozho, Nanahboozho, Minabozho, Manabus, Manibush, Manabozh, Manabozo, Manabozho, Manabusch, Manabush, Manabus, Menabosho, Nanaboojoo, Nanaboozhoo, Nanaboso,