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Post by The Duchess on Sept 13, 2019 15:50:40 GMT -5
Generalpl4gue's thread on Portuguese history mentioned the sad story of Dom Sebastião, a Portuguese king who vanished while on crusade in Africa, and mentioned that it his disappearance went on to create a legend. This reminded me about the case of Owain Glyndŵr, the great 15th century Welshman who fought for independence from England. He vanished after being thwarted by Henry IV in 1412, and legend now holds that, when Wales is in need of a hero again, he'll emerge from hiding and help to save his country.  Who are some other kings/national heroes who disappeared, and are supposed to "reappear" when their country is in trouble? |
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Tomatolake
Tyro
Death to the Japanese, Pagan, Yorkshireman
Posts: 27 
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Post by Tomatolake on Sept 14, 2019 5:53:36 GMT -5
Not a disappearing hero. But Australia once lost a sitting Prime Minister.
Harold Holt PM from 1966-67.
He went for a swim in rough conditions at Cheviot Beach South of Melbourne and disappeared for ever, his body was never found.
Maybe in 300 years time there will be a legend of Harold Holt coming back to save the country.
Oh, and how did we honor the memory of a sitting Prime Minister whom presumably drowned??? We built the Harold Holt Memorial swimming pool!!!!
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Post by Windischer on Sept 14, 2019 6:55:45 GMT -5
In Slovenia we have Kralj Matjaž (King Mathias). He is based on the real Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (1443-1490).
The stories of King Matjaž combine this historic figure with pre-Christian legends from the time of Carantania. He is believed to be a just king, as was Corvinus, after whose death the slogan "dead is Corvinus, lost is justice" was common among the people. Matjaž is a mythical king of the Slovenes who mostly fights against the Turks. Sometimes he also faces Austrians. He is known to have a beautiful wife called Alenčica and they live in a great castle. The castle is often said to be on Gosposvetsko polje (Zollfeld) in Carinthia, which was historically the seat of the Carantanian Princes. Matjaž is defeated in a battle and has to retreat. He and his army find refuge in a hidden cave somewhere on Mount Peca in Carinthia. Matjaž sits behind a stone table in the cave and falls asleep, as does his soldiers and their horses. It is said that when his people will need him most, he will return. By that time his beard will have grown nine times around the stone table. Someone just will then find the hidden entrance to the cave and wake King Matjaž, who will unsheath his sword and thus awaken his army. After his return, good times will return to the country and Matjaž will strike only gold coins.
That's the story I'm most familiar with, but there are others as well that tell about the Turks kidnapping Alenčica and Matjaž rescuing her or about Matjaž and the struggle between Christianity and the old religion (Slavic paganism), which occured in Carantania in the late 8th century.
The story about King Matjaž in the cave makes him a "sleeping king". Similar stories of a "king in the mountain" are common among many European nations and are often very similar. The Germans have King Frederick (Barbarossa), among other South Slavs you will often hear about Kraljević Marko and so on.
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Post by Sun Fin on Sept 21, 2019 9:36:52 GMT -5
This reminded me about the case of Owain Glyndŵr, the great 15th century Welshman who fought for independence from England. He vanished after being thwarted by Henry IV in 1412, and legend now holds that, when Wales is in need of a hero again, he'll emerge from hiding and help to save his country. Who are some other kings/national heroes who disappeared, and are supposed to "reappear" when their country is in trouble?
England have appropriated another Welsh legend for our version of this - King Arthur, the once and future king (who was probably never a king if he ever existed at all) who supposedly will return from Avalon when England is in trouble. |
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Post by Windischer on Sept 21, 2019 13:17:37 GMT -5
Indeed, Arthur was originally a Welsh story, but later one Arthurian stories became very popular not only in England but on mainland Europe too, with novels like Parseval spreading across France and German lands. I find them quite interesting.
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Post by Sun Fin on Sept 21, 2019 13:29:05 GMT -5
I love Arthurian lore. Every now and then I get a little bit obsessed with it!
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Post by Windischer on Sept 27, 2019 16:39:06 GMT -5
I like it too, but all too often forget about it. I should know more about it than I do, but it's hard to follow everything, you know how it is.
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Post by Woland on May 6, 2020 11:28:59 GMT -5
In the "Twelver" branch of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad was supposed to be succeeded by the 12 Imams, 11 of whom are accounted for while the 12th (sometimes known as the "Mahdi") is lying in wait to bring peace and justice to the world upon his return.
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