Post by Some Pig No Doubt on Jan 1, 2017 21:17:00 GMT
Not a theory or anything, just wanted to share a finding that you guys might like. Work in progress.
While researching something for the Mockingbird/Petyr Baelish thread (I was looking up names of famous courtesans - don't even ask), I ran across mention of a prostitute of myth/legend named Alexandra Dé Brousseha.
In Irish Celtic folklore, this was a woman-turned-spirit of prostitution; her claim to fame is that she caused a war between the Callahan and Lawlor Clans. (I can't find anything concrete about these clans or this war, fwiw, but it sure sounds interesting!) Alexandra was associated with the Korrigan, whose worship involved sacred prostitution.
First, sacred prostitution:
From Wikipedia - Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, or religious prostitution is a sexual ritual consisting of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship, perhaps as a form of fertility rite and divine marriage. Also referred to as "holy whore", a sacred prostitute was not shamed, viewed as a victim, or forced into prostitution - she willingly took the office of Priestess, and held a position of the highest spiritual authority.
This lack of shame and even consideration of the role as a privilege is consistent with the worldview of the non-Westerosi courtesans and whores in ASOIAF - Chataya and Alayaya, the Black Pearl, various characters from the Summer Isles and Lys, etc.
Next, Korrigan:
In Breton folklore, a Korrigan is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit, a "malicious forest spirit from folklore in Brittany, France." They are sometimes described as important princesses or druidesses who were opposed to Christianity when the Apostles came to convert Brittany. They hate priests, churches, and particularly the Virgin Mary. [I'll refer to min 's Weeping Tears of Blood thread for a good discussion on Mary and the virgin symbolism that could be quite relevant here.]
Though forest spirits, they are said to inhabit the woods near streams and rivers, and/or inhabit areas by fountains and wells. In other words, by water. In some tales, the Korrigan is akin to a siren or mermaid, who through the use of song "tried to lure men into their beds – and into a watery death." I have another passage related to the "song" portion of this that I'll return to in a later segment.
On the night of 31 October (All Souls' Day), they are said to be lurking near dolmens, waiting for victims - a dolmen being a Stone Age chamber tomb or burial vault like one of these:
or perhaps one of these: 
or perhaps an underground cavern kindof like this one, just saying.
They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed.
I'll just put these quotes here; the reason will be clear in a moment.
Now, for physical appearance. The word korrigan means "small-dwarf" ; it is closely related to the Cornish word korrik, which means gnome. What's interesting here is that a Korrigan has a duality in physical appearance - she can take two forms, and that form depends on time of day.
The daytime, and "true", form of the Korrigan is that of a very small dwarfish fairy, 2 to 3 feet tall, always female, with long and beautiful hair. But that's not all. "...by day their eyes are red, their hair white, and their skin wrinkled; thus they try to avoid being seen by day." That's right, a withered, gnarled dwarf woman with white hair and red eyes.
Ok, so I think we all have a good idea what I'm thinking here. So, let's move to the Korrigan's OTHER form, the nighttime version:
During dusk and night, Korrigans are quite beautiful, "lovely lustful golden-haired women" with flashing eyes. In search of mortal lovers, they wait in the woods by streams for a young man to happen by - "They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do." They are not above trickery - in many popular tales, they are eager to deceive the impudent mortals who see them dancing or looking after a treasure.
This is a bit drastic, but take the following quote as this siren-magic dialed down a few notches, perhaps diminished by years:
A bit reminiscent of days gone by, the begging of a kiss. Anyway.
Upthread I mentioned that I had another interesting connections with sirens/songs. Well, seems that these ladies, whilst in their alluring form, like to sing and dance and comb their beautiful golden hair - this helps to enchant potential lovers, of course, but it is also a standard form of Korrigan expression. This particular quote may be of interest:
"According to the Breton poem Ar-Rannou**, there are 9 korrigans, "who dance, with flowers in their hair, and robes of white wool, around the fountain, by the light of the full moon."
Jenny of Oldstones, with flowers in her hair. Jenny, who lured Duncan Targaryen away from a crown. Jenny, who brought a woods witch to court. That woods witch being the Ghost of High Heart, whose price for her dreams is for Tom to play her Jenny's song. I've long been of the mind that Jenny was somehow related to the GoHH, thus the demand for the song, the GoHH's grief, the "my Jenny", etc. If not an outright blood relation, I think there's a chance of them at least being part of the same sisterhood/coven/whatever you want to call it. They are both Korrigans. The GoHH is just very old and stuck in the crone form, whereas Jenny is in the maiden form.
Right?
So, there's another facet to the Korrigan - that incorporates both forms - which may have some implications for the current story depending on how far into crackpot territory you want to go. I'll cover that next.
**The Al-Rannou, or "The Series" or "The Druid and the Child" is sort of like the Twelve Days of Christmas but for Druidic teachings. THIS link may work if you're interested in the full series.
While researching something for the Mockingbird/Petyr Baelish thread (I was looking up names of famous courtesans - don't even ask), I ran across mention of a prostitute of myth/legend named Alexandra Dé Brousseha.
In Irish Celtic folklore, this was a woman-turned-spirit of prostitution; her claim to fame is that she caused a war between the Callahan and Lawlor Clans. (I can't find anything concrete about these clans or this war, fwiw, but it sure sounds interesting!) Alexandra was associated with the Korrigan, whose worship involved sacred prostitution.
First, sacred prostitution:
From Wikipedia - Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, or religious prostitution is a sexual ritual consisting of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship, perhaps as a form of fertility rite and divine marriage. Also referred to as "holy whore", a sacred prostitute was not shamed, viewed as a victim, or forced into prostitution - she willingly took the office of Priestess, and held a position of the highest spiritual authority.
This lack of shame and even consideration of the role as a privilege is consistent with the worldview of the non-Westerosi courtesans and whores in ASOIAF - Chataya and Alayaya, the Black Pearl, various characters from the Summer Isles and Lys, etc.
Next, Korrigan:
In Breton folklore, a Korrigan is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit, a "malicious forest spirit from folklore in Brittany, France." They are sometimes described as important princesses or druidesses who were opposed to Christianity when the Apostles came to convert Brittany. They hate priests, churches, and particularly the Virgin Mary. [I'll refer to min 's Weeping Tears of Blood thread for a good discussion on Mary and the virgin symbolism that could be quite relevant here.]
Though forest spirits, they are said to inhabit the woods near streams and rivers, and/or inhabit areas by fountains and wells. In other words, by water. In some tales, the Korrigan is akin to a siren or mermaid, who through the use of song "tried to lure men into their beds – and into a watery death." I have another passage related to the "song" portion of this that I'll return to in a later segment.
On the night of 31 October (All Souls' Day), they are said to be lurking near dolmens, waiting for victims - a dolmen being a Stone Age chamber tomb or burial vault like one of these:
or perhaps one of these: or perhaps an underground cavern kindof like this one, just saying.
They can predict the future, change shape, and move at lightning speed.
I'll just put these quotes here; the reason will be clear in a moment.
"The old gods stir and will not let me sleep," she heard the woman say. "I dreamt I saw a shadow with a burning heart butchering a golden stag, aye. I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings. I dreamt of a roaring river and a woman that was a fish. Dead she drifted, with red tears on her cheeks, but when her eyes did open, oh, I woke from terror. All this I dreamt, and more. Do you have gifts for me, to pay me for my dreams?"
"I dreamt a wolf howling in the rain, but no one heard his grief," the dwarf woman was saying. "I dreamt such a clangor I thought my head might burst, drums and horns and pipes and screams, but the saddest sound was the little bells. I dreamt of a maid at a feast with purple serpents in her hair, venom dripping from their fangs. And later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow."
Notch, Anguy, and Merrit o' Moontown had the watch. Ned, Gendry, and many of the others were fast asleep when Arya spied the small pale shape creeping behind the horses .... Not long after, the sky opened. Lightning cracked and thunder rolled across the hills, and the rain fell in blinding sheets. The dwarf woman vanished as suddenly as she had appeared, while the outlaws gathered branches and threw up crude shelters.
Now, for physical appearance. The word korrigan means "small-dwarf" ; it is closely related to the Cornish word korrik, which means gnome. What's interesting here is that a Korrigan has a duality in physical appearance - she can take two forms, and that form depends on time of day.
The daytime, and "true", form of the Korrigan is that of a very small dwarfish fairy, 2 to 3 feet tall, always female, with long and beautiful hair. But that's not all. "...by day their eyes are red, their hair white, and their skin wrinkled; thus they try to avoid being seen by day." That's right, a withered, gnarled dwarf woman with white hair and red eyes.
Beside the embers of their campfire, she saw Tom, Lem, and Greenbeard talking to a tiny little woman, a foot shorter than Arya and older than Old Nan, all stooped and wrinkled and leaning on a gnarled black cane. Her white hair was so long it came almost to the ground. When the wind gusted it blew about her head in a fine cloud. Her flesh was whiter, the color of milk, and it seemed to Arya that her eyes were red, though it was hard to tell from the bushes.
Arya spied the small pale shape creeping behind the horses, thin white hair flying wild as she leaned upon a gnarled cane. The woman could not have been more than three feet tall. The firelight made her eyes gleam as red as the eyes of Jon's wolf.
Ok, so I think we all have a good idea what I'm thinking here. So, let's move to the Korrigan's OTHER form, the nighttime version:
During dusk and night, Korrigans are quite beautiful, "lovely lustful golden-haired women" with flashing eyes. In search of mortal lovers, they wait in the woods by streams for a young man to happen by - "They have the power of making men fall in love with them, but they then kill the ones who do." They are not above trickery - in many popular tales, they are eager to deceive the impudent mortals who see them dancing or looking after a treasure.
This is a bit drastic, but take the following quote as this siren-magic dialed down a few notches, perhaps diminished by years:
"A skin of wine for my dreams, and for my news a kiss from the great oaf in the yellow cloak." The little woman cackled. "Aye, a sloppy kiss, a bit of tongue. It has been too long, too long. His mouth will taste of lemons, and mine of bones. I am too old."
"Aye," Lem complained. "Too old for wine and kisses. All you'll get from me is the flat of my sword, crone."
"My hair comes out in handfuls and no one has kissed me for a thousand years. It is hard to be so old. Well, I will have a song then."
"Aye," Lem complained. "Too old for wine and kisses. All you'll get from me is the flat of my sword, crone."
"My hair comes out in handfuls and no one has kissed me for a thousand years. It is hard to be so old. Well, I will have a song then."
Upthread I mentioned that I had another interesting connections with sirens/songs. Well, seems that these ladies, whilst in their alluring form, like to sing and dance and comb their beautiful golden hair - this helps to enchant potential lovers, of course, but it is also a standard form of Korrigan expression. This particular quote may be of interest:
"According to the Breton poem Ar-Rannou**, there are 9 korrigans, "who dance, with flowers in their hair, and robes of white wool, around the fountain, by the light of the full moon."
Jenny of Oldstones, with flowers in her hair. Jenny, who lured Duncan Targaryen away from a crown. Jenny, who brought a woods witch to court. That woods witch being the Ghost of High Heart, whose price for her dreams is for Tom to play her Jenny's song. I've long been of the mind that Jenny was somehow related to the GoHH, thus the demand for the song, the GoHH's grief, the "my Jenny", etc. If not an outright blood relation, I think there's a chance of them at least being part of the same sisterhood/coven/whatever you want to call it. They are both Korrigans. The GoHH is just very old and stuck in the crone form, whereas Jenny is in the maiden form.
Right?
So, there's another facet to the Korrigan - that incorporates both forms - which may have some implications for the current story depending on how far into crackpot territory you want to go. I'll cover that next. **The Al-Rannou, or "The Series" or "The Druid and the Child" is sort of like the Twelve Days of Christmas but for Druidic teachings. THIS link may work if you're interested in the full series.
