Bonjour !
Darkness falls across rural France; creatures crawl in search of camembert.
What demon lurks in the night?
What strange shape lures the traveller to their doom?
On the tallest mountains, do goats really walk on asymmetrical legs?
Today we’ll take a closer look at thrilling French legends–and magical creatures.
Le Pacte des Loups bande annonce
Et toi ?
Did you know about these legends?
What are the mythical creatures of your own country?
Do you ever take a shower in your half-snake form?
Bonne journée,
Géraldine
whoops ..
Hugo Alfvén ~ sorry 🙂
Aaah … I’ve just realised that I can edit my own mistakes on this !!
Thank goodness for that is all I can say 🙂
Great website Géraldine … I’m gradually getting the hang of it.
Merci merci …
Salut, tout le monde
This week’s lesson immediately brought to mind Graham Robb’s superb
work The Discovery of France. He goes way back into France’s past
with chapters titled, for example, The Tribes of France, and then,
Fairies, Virgins, Gods and Priests. You get the idea. The book was
actually suggested to me by a French person who has lived in England
for a long time and felt that it was an excellent work. So .. highly
recommended.
I enjoyed reading your further explanation Keith of the larger legend
of St Mary Magdalen in Provence .. local knowledge it seems, and
thank you.
Also, I agree with Melody about Peter’s photographs from around
France .. a pleasure to look at, and so again thank you for sharing
them with us. Likewise your story from old Denmark Peter of trolls
and witches. I absolutely love the artwork of the Swedish artist
John Bauer and his images of Scandinavia’s trolls and elves, gnomes
and fairies. Not so long ago on-line I came across that beautiful piece
of music Swedish Rhapsody by Hugo Alfvén, which was on a video
with lots John Bauer’s pictures of dark forests and the trolls that
live there. Wonderful ..
Here in the British Isles ? Well, if we look at Tolkien’s The Hobbit
and, of course, The Lord of The Rings we find ourselves back in
the same kind of territory .. great movie eh 🙂 And over in Ireland
there exists the banshee, which is a sort of ghostly witch !!
Enough ~ I’m starting to frighten myself …
You always give us something to think about Géraldine.
Très intéressante, et merci beaucoup.
Thanks John. ????
I read this book and it’s one of my favorites. I learned so much about the history of France; I even learned about forgotten history that some French people didn’t know about! I highly recommend this book too.
Bonjour Géraldine
Many years ago in Denmark, there were trolls and witches. The trolls persuaded young women to enter their home (in hills) and when they came out again, they had lost their mind. The trolls also threw stones at churches, because the bells annoyed them, but luckily they were bad at it. The only way you could kill them, was to shoot them with a silver button.
The whitches did all kinds of sorcery, and they of course were burned.
“Do you ever take a shower in your half-snake form?” you ask.
Well, it´s a bit private, but it happens……
“Well, it´s a bit private, but it happens……” >> I KNEW it! 😀
I forgot to say that I love Peter’s pictures of everyday France!
That is so sweet, Melody. Thank you.
In British Columbia we have the Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan. It is like the Loch Ness Monster. We occasionally have sightings of the Sasquatch, a large, hairy, man/ape type creature, oh, and also the occasional Abominable Snowman.
I love your videos. Thank you so much.
Maybe they’re brothers! 🙂
The legend of the Tarasque is part of a larger legend, that of St. Mary Magdalene in Provence.
The story goes that several followers of Jesus were cast out to sea, in a boat without sails or oars, in order that they perish. But by the grace of God, the boat came ashore in Provence, at the site of today’s town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Saints Mary of the Sea). The name comes from the fact that the boat had on board Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas and Mary Salome, as well as Lazarus, St. Maximin and St. Martha.
Together this group established Christianity in Provence. St. Mary Magdalene lived her last days in a cave near today’s town of St. Maximin and is buried in a church there, just as St. Martha is buried in a church Tarascon. The legend of St. Mary Magdalene in Provence shows up in The Da Vinci Code.
I live part of the year in St.-Rémy-de-Provence and am always learning more about the legend, as it shows up in ways large and small in towns throughout Provence.
Thanks for sharing, Keith!
Bonjour Géraldine! Je regarde tes videos avec ma fille et elle m’a dit que elle a lu l’histoire de La Fée Mélusine.
Super ! Ça lui a plu ?