Goblins | Three Ravens Bestiary #9
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Show notes
From gnomes to kobolds, dvergr to hobs, it's time to gather up our mining lamps and shed some light on the very shadowy history of goblins...
Part of the "Three Ravens Bestiary" series, we start by chatting through ways in which, across the last two centuries, we have come to think of goblins as distinct fae creatures, separate from elves, pucks, and boggarts. Yet, if we look back a little further then we soon discover that the words we use to define these creatures have not only common roots but common narrative origins.
After discussing beliefs surrounding the Ancient Egyptian dwarf god Bes and the Greco-Roman origin story for all fae creatures, which involves a deformed fire god, an infamous Classical witch cult, and an important drunken donkey ride, we move forward in time to explore how Brythonic, Norman, Anglo Saxon and Norse cultures wrote about goblins, and how different words for the same thing led to 18th and 19th century definitions that might leave us scratching our heads.
Because if a goblin can leave us 'elf shot' then is it not just an elf? And if goblins come from underground, are they not just faeries in the Celtic tradition? And if 16th century alchemists can make up new words for ancient mythical beasts, is it wrong to suggest new definitions years later that muddy the waters even further?
It's a messy topic that roves from the Icelandic Eddas to Shakespeare, The Mabinogion to witch trials, but don't be afraid of the darkness. After all, the brightest of lights cast the longest of shadows. Many of which, we regret to inform you, do look quite phallic from certain angles...
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Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’
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