Misplaced Pages

Tatzelwurm: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 11:39, 25 February 2018 editAndy Dingley (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers160,250 edits image← Previous edit Latest revision as of 11:50, 1 November 2024 edit undoMonkbot (talk | contribs)Bots3,695,952 editsm Task 20: replace {lang-??} templates with {langx|??} ‹See Tfd› (Replaced 2);Tag: AWB 
(135 intermediate revisions by 42 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Mythical creature}}
{{Other uses}}
{{italic title}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
]
]
In Alpine folklore, the '''''Tatzelwurm''''' is a stubby, lizard-like creature. It takes the appearance of a cat with the hind end of a serpent, with no hind legs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eberhart |first=George |date=2002 |title=Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology |url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=z9gMsCUtCZUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:1576072835&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-6fvc6oLUAhXFpZQKHQsmCk4Q6AEIJTAA |location= |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=538 |isbn=1576072835 |author-link= }}</ref> Narratives about the creature can be found in several areas of ], including the ]n, ]n, ] and ] ]. It has several regional names, including ''Stollenwurm'', ''Springwurm'', ''Arassas'', ''Bergstutzen'', and ''Praatzelwurm''.
In the folklore of the ] of south-central Europe, the '''''Tatzelwurm''''' ({{IPA|de|ˈtatsl̩ˌvʊʁm|lang}}), '''''Stollenwurm''''', or '''''Stollwurm''''' is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubby, with four short legs or two ] and no hindlegs.


The creature is sometimes said to be venomous, or to attack with poisonous breath, and to make a high-pitched or hissing sound.
]]]

Anecdotes describing encounters with the creature or briefly described lore about them can be found in several areas of Europe, including the Austrian, ]n, French, Italian and Swiss ]. It has several other regional names, including '''''Bergstutz''''', '''''Springwurm''''', '''''Praatzelwurm''''', and in French, '''''{{lang|fr|arassas}}'''''.

==Nomenclature==
The name ''Tatzelwurm'' is not traditionally used in Switzerland,<ref name=doblhoff-apud-kohlrusch&rochholz/> and the creature is usually known by the Swiss as ''Stollenwurm'' or ''Stollwurm'' ("tunnel worm"<ref>{{Cite web |title=What does Stollen mean in German? |url=https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/german-word-stollen.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=WordHippo |language=en}}</ref> or "dragon of the mine-tunnels"<ref name=lecouteux/>) in the ]. ''Stollenwurm'' may also be interpreted to mean a "serpent" with "short, thick feet".<ref>{{harvp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}: "daher auch Stollenwurm heißen"; {{harvp|Kohlrusch|1854|p=147}}:""Stollenwürmer genannt werden".</ref>{{Refn|This meaning of ''Stollen'' as "short feet" localized as the dialect of neighboring ] by some sources.<ref name=doblhoff-apud-kohlrusch&rochholz/>}}

''Tatzelwurm'' was the term localized in ], Germany (with variants ''Daazlwurm'' and ''Praazlwurm'') according to an early study.{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=214}} But ''Tatzelwurm'' has later came into currency in Austria.<ref>{{harvp|Ley|1948|p=131}} mentions a report issued by the Austrian Ministry of Forestry and Environmental Protection which stated that ''Tatzelwurm'' sightings could be explained as stray otters.</ref>

''Bergstutz'', ''Birgstutz'' or ''Birgstuz'n'' ("mountain-stump"{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}) was the local name used in places in Austria such as the state of ], parts of the ],{{Efn|], Tyrol according to Dalla Torre.}} ] and the ] region, and some parts of Bavaria (specifically ]), according to early studies.{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=214}}{{sfnp|Doblhoff|1896|p=144}}<ref name=unger-schmeller/> The name was simply ''Stutzn'' in the valleys of the ] and ] rivers of Austria.{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=214}}

In the French Alps, "{{lang|fr|arassas}}" was the applied name of the legendary cat-headed lizard.{{sfnp|Meurger|Gagnon|1988|p=265}}

==Description==
]]]

In the anecdotes, ''Tatzelwurm'' or ''Stollenwurm'' has been described as resembling a stubby lizard measuring anywhere from 1, 2, 3 to 5, 6 or 7 feet in length.<ref>{{harvp|Doderer|1959|p=106}}; repr. {{harvp|Doderer|1996|p=28}}</ref>{{sfnp|Meurger|Gagnon|1988|pp=265–266}} and purportedly either two- or four-legged, or even six-legged.<ref>{{harvp|Doblhoff|1896|p=143}}: "Die Zahl der Fusse wird mit 2, 4, oder 6 angegeben".</ref>
They have been described as having a cat-like face, especially in Switzerland.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}<ref>{{harvp|Doblhoff|1896|p=143}}: "Berichte aus der Schweiz.. überein, dass die "Stollenwürmer".. katzenartige köpfen haben".</ref>

The ''Tatzelwurm'' of Austria and Bavaria is described as having poison breath,<ref name=lecouteux/><ref name=steub/> said even to be lethal.<ref>{{harvp|Ley|1948|p=132}}</ref> The ''Stollenwurm'' also has been characterized as poisonous in Swiss lore.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}<ref name=scheuchzer-fig-viii/><ref name=pallmall/>

The Tatzelwurm also allegedly issues a shrieking sound,<ref name=lecouteux/> whistles<ref name=steub/> or hisses.{{sfnp|Ley|1948|pp=133, 138}}


{{clear left}} {{clear left}}

===17th century accounts===
], c. 1660.<ref name=scheuchzer-fig-x/>{{sfnp|Meurger|Gagnon|1988|p=265}}]]
An early description of dragon ({{langx|la|draco}}) sightings in Switzerland was given by {{illm|Johann Jacob Wagner|de}} in 1680,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wagner |title=Historia naturalis |place=Tiguri |publisher=Lindinner |year=1680 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwxnUUT91G0C&pg=PA247 |pages=247ff}}</ref> and replicated with ] illustrations of the beasts by ] in 1723.{{Refn|Scheuchzer hired a painter to paint the dragons, from which the copperplates were made.{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=155}}<ref name=hansen/>}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Scheuchzer |first=Johann Jakob |author-link=Johann Jakob Scheuchzer |title=Ouresiphoitēs Helveticus, sive Itinera per helvetiae |volume=III |place=Leiden |publisher=Petri vander Aa |year=1723 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYVYAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA378E |pages=378–397}}</ref>{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=155}} Even though Wagner had been the one to record the testimonies, the creatures were later dubbed "Scheuchzer's dragons",{{sfnp|Müller|1973|pp=23–26}} and were interpreted as ''Stollenwurm'' sightings by other commentators.<ref>{{harvp|Doblhoff|1896|p=143}} and others.</ref>

====The anecdotes====
An anecdotal "cat-headed serpent" with a black-grey body and no legs {{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Scheuzer prefaces by mentioning two dragon/serpents for a region, the first being legless: "{{lang|la|{{linktext|non |pedati}}}}", then quoting Wagner: "{{lang|la|..vulgo dicito, horrendum serpentem.. caput felis capiti {{linktext|haud}} dissimile, at pedibus {{linktext|omnino |destitutus |fuerit}}}}". This is translated into German as "{{lang|de|förchterliche (schwarz-grüne) Schlange... der Kopf war einem Katzenkopfe nicht unähnlich; sie hatte aber gar keine Füsse}}". The color, {{lang|la|{{linktext|atro|griseum}}}} is "black-grey", though the German rendering suggests black-green.}}<ref name=scheuchzer1723-p378/> was said to have been encountered by Johann (]) and Thomas Tinner{{efn|Where it says that Johannes killed the creature "with his brother Thomas Tinner (''fratre suo Thoma Tinnero'')"'s help, the German renders it as "brother (''durch Hülffe seines Bruders'')" only.}} at a place locally known as "Hauwelen" on the mountain of ] in the Barony of ]<!--Altensaxus-->, Switzerland.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|i.e., ] of ]<ref name=senti/>}} It was alleged to measure 7 feet or more in length. Residents in the neighborhood were complaining that their cows' udders were being mysteriously sucked on but the incidents stopped after this creature was killed.<ref name=scheuchzer1723-p378>{{harvp|Scheuchzer|1723|pp=378–379}}, fig. I. {{harvp|Scheuchzer|1746|p=222}}</ref>{{sfnp|Meurger|Gagnon|1988|p=265}}{{sfnp|Gribble|1899|p=79–80}}

A four-legged, cat-faced "mountain dragon"{{efn|The quoted original text from Wagner, "{{langx|la|vulgo dictum.. Draconem Montanum.. quatuor instructus erat pedibus, auribus & facie felis fuit..}}" indicates the four-legged, cat-eared, cat-faced creature was called colloquially in German by some name meaning "mountain dragon", which "Berg-Drache", but cannot be ascertained to be so, though the German translation of Scheucher gives "Berg-Drache.. Er hatt vier Füsse; das Gesicht un die Ohren waren wie an einer Katze".}}<ref name=scheuchzer-fig-x/>{{sfnp|Tschaikner|2016|pp=99–100}} was described by one Andreas Roduner as something he encountered in 1660 on Mt. Wangersberg in ] ('']'' of Sargans), and when it reared up on its hind legs it became tall as a man, with boar-like ]s running down its back (pictured right).<ref name=scheuchzer-fig-x>{{harvp|Scheuchzer|1723|pp=395–396}}, fig. X. {{harvp|Scheuchzer|1746|pp=236–237}}</ref>{{sfnp|Meurger|Gagnon|1988|p=265}}

A creature like a four-legged lizard with a crest on its head, to give a later naturalist's description, was allegedly seen by Johannes Bueler of ] Parish.{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=210}}<ref>{{harvp|Scheuchzer|1723|pp=379–380}}, fig. II. {{harvp|Scheuchzer|1746|p=222}}</ref> A dragon with an enormous head and two forelimbs, was claimed to have been encountered by 70-year-old Johannes Egerter of ] on Mt. ]; when it exhaled its breath, the man said, he was overcome with headache and dizziness.<ref name=scheuchzer-fig-viii>{{harvp|Scheuchzer|1723|pp=391–392}}, fig. VIII. {{harvp|Scheuchzer|1746|pp=233–234}}</ref><ref name=pallmall/>{{sfnp|Müller|1973|pp=23–26}}

====Later analysis and reception====
The naturalist ] writing on the "history of dragons of the Alps" in 1887 explained that these creatures could all be identified as species of lizards or snakes (seemingly ignoring the cat-headed features).{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|pp=211–212}} Dalla Torre considered these giant creatures of the past to have died out by his time, alongside the folk belief associated with them, but that the popular notion of the ''Tatzelwurm'' in his day lingered on as a "phantom" of those past legendary creatures.<ref>{{harvp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=213}}: "Heute sind sie nun wohl verschwunden, diese Riesenthiere aus der Natur, wie aus dem Volksglauben – doch nicht, ohne zugleich ein anderes Phantom zu hinterlassen. Wer kennt ihn nicht, den Tatzelwurm.."</ref>

In contrast, {{illm|Josef von Doblhoff-Dier{{!}}Josef Freiherr von Doblhoff|de|Josef von Doblhoff-Dier}} counted these early dragons among his "''Tatzelwurm'' of old and now", the title of his 1896 paper.{{sfnp|Doblhoff|1896|p=143}} Although Wagner in the 17th century reported each Swiss monster sighted as a dragon, ] in the early 19th century stated that the Alpine Swiss locals were generally unfamiliar with the names ''Drache'' or ''Lindwurm'' and knew only of ''Stollenwurm''.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}

Scheuchzer was frequently ridiculed for his credulity in the dragons, evident in the tone of his work,{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=155}} but one scholar has discovered that in an earlier piece of writing, he had actually expressed skepticism in the material. The scholar comments that ] scholars like him in this era had to maintain a posture of open-mindedness.<ref name=hansen>{{cite book|last=Hansen |first=Peter H. |title=The Summits of Modern Man |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZU3CUZJN9sC&pg=PA42 |pages=42|isbn=9780674074521 }}</ref><!--For Newtonians such as S.. 'to be incrdulous was a sing of little learning..", citing, as note 48, Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park (1998), ''Wonders'' 192, 204, 349-->

===Early 18th and 19th century accounts===
A 1779 legend describes an encounter with the Tatzelwurm by farmer Hans Fuchs. According to the story, while in the mountains, he allegedly saw two of these creatures in front of him. Frightened for his life, he fled to his home and died of a heart attack from the experience. Supposedly before he died, he told his family of the encounter, describing the creature as 5 to 7 feet in length with a serpent-like body, two clawed front legs and a large feline-like head.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jaroń |first1=Dariusz |title=TATZELWURM: THE LEGEND OF A MYSTERIOUS CREATURE FROM THE ALPS|url=https://menway.interia.pl/styl-zycia/ciekawostki/news-tatzelwurm-legenda-o-tajemniczym-stworzeniu-z-alp,nId,4867241 |access-date=September 13, 2021 |date=November 20, 2020}}</ref>

Two Bernese, ] (1757–1834) and ], (1783–1830) who contributed greatly to Swiss folklore in the early part of the 19th century also added to the knowledge of folklore of the ''Stollenwurm''.<ref>{{harvp|Dübi|1940|pp=157–58ff}}</ref> Although both authors give expression to the idea that the ''Stollenwurm'' (rather than Swiss dragons) have heads that look like cats,{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}<ref>{{harvp|Wyss|1817a|p=423}}; {{harvp|Wyss|1817b|p=20}}</ref> this is not to say that actual examples of lore they collected from Alpine people speak of any cat-headed creatures.<!--Below for specifics-->

====Samuel Studer====
The ''Stollenwurm'' according to Studer is so called from ''Stollen'' meaning "short feet", and were believed to appear after humidly hot weather or when the weather is undergoing volatile change. The people considered them to be poisonous and harmful, and to resemble short, stubby serpents, with a round head similar to a cat's, and clawed feet.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|p=128}}

Studer represents perhaps the best source of knowledge on the ''Stollenwurm'' available.{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=158}} His contribution to the lore occurred in a short article on insects and the Stollenwurm which appeared inserted in the travelogue of the ]'s travelogue, published in 1814.{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=158}}

Studer's treatise included eyewitness accounts.<ref name=studer-koenig/>{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=159}} In 1811, a ''Stollenwurm'' with a forked tongue, serpent-like but rather wide head, and two stubby feet was reported by a Schoolmaster Heinrich,{{Efn|From Dorf, in ] valley.}} which he claimed to have seen in ]-tal, Canton Bern, Switzerland. He described it as measuring 1 ] in length, with a body about the thickness of a man's leg.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|pp=130–131}}{{sfnp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=215–216}} A few years before, Hans Kehrli from Allmentli in ] claimed to have killed a quite small, hairy ''Stollenwurm'' carrying 10 young.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|pp=131–132}}<ref>{{harvp|Dalla Torre|1887|p=216}} and {{harvp|Doblhoff|1896|p=143}}</ref>

Studer offered a bounty of 3 to 4 ] to anyone who could supply him with the remains of an "authentic stollenwurm", indicating the degree of his conviction that the creature existed.{{sfnp|Studer|König|1814|pp=133}}<ref name=meurger-arv/>

====Johann Rudolf Wyss====
The writer Johann Rudolf Wyss, explicitly stated that while the dragon was fabulous, the ''Stollenwurm'' was dubious. To the standard description of the ''Stollenwurm'' as a sort of snake with a cat's head and short feet, he added it was sometimes said to be hairy, and not just 2 or 4 but multiple limbs like a caterpillar.{{sfnp|Wyss|1817a|p=423}}

Wyss records a fabulous description from a certain shepherd in ] valley who said there were two types of ''Stollenwurm'', white ones with a little crown, and the more common black ones.{{sfnp|Wyss|1817a|pp=423–424}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Thorington |first=J. Monroe |title=Serpent Legends of the Valais |journal=The Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia |volume=24 |number=4 |date=October 1926 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xD07AQAAIAAJ&q=%22little+crown%22 |pages=191<!--189–193-->}}</ref>

Wyss in the estimation of {{illm|Heinrich Dübi|de}} was a less significant source than Studer<!--"Weniger bedeutend als Studer"--> regarding the folklore of the dragons or ''Stollenwurm''.{{sfnp|Dübi|1940|p=160}} Something Wyss had done in his commentary is to bring up several pieces of Swiss folklore on snakes, suggesting connections. He conjectured that herdsmen of the Alps were "probably" talking about the ''Stollenwurm'' when they said they believed "serpents"<ref name=bridel/> had the habit of sucking milk from pasturing cows, which could be warded against by placing a <!--white cock-->white ] near the cows.{{sfnp|Wyss|1817a|p=424}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Wyss identified the source of this lore as ]'s work,{{sfnp|Wyss|1817a|p=424}} which was an epitome on ]'s description of ].<ref name=bridel>{{cite book |last=Bridel |first=Philippe-Sirice |author-link=Doyen Bridel |title=Le Conservateur Suisse, ou Recueil complet des etrennes helvetiennes |volume=4 |publisher=L. Knab |year=1814 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSwLAAAAIAAJ&q=serpens&pg=PA163 |pages=163<!--189–193-->}}</ref>}}

==See also== ==See also==
{{commons category|Tatzelwurm}}
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
{{commons category|Tatzelwurm}}
<ref name=doblhoff-apud-kohlrusch&rochholz>{{harvp|Doblhoff|1896|p=142}}, note 3 apud {{harvp|Kohlrusch|1854}} apud Rochholz (1855) ''Aargauer Sagen''. {{in lang|de}}</ref>
{{Reflist}}

<ref name=lecouteux>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |title=Tatzelwurm |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT344 |page=344 |isbn=978-1620554814 }}, apud {{harvp|Doblhoff|1896}}</ref>

<ref name=meurger-arv>{{cite journal|last=Meurger |first=Michel |author-link=:fr:Michel Meurger |title=The Lindorms of Småland |journal=Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore |volume=52 |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa0SAQAAIAAJ&q=stollenwurm |page=95<!--87–99-->|isbn=9789122016731 }}</ref>

<ref name=pallmall>{{cite journal |author=anonymous |title=Epidemical Credulity |journal=The Pall Mall Budget |volume=11 |year=1874 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7w_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA8 |page=8}}</ref>

<ref name=senti>{{cite book|last=Senti |first=Alois |title=Erfragte Vergangenheit: das Sarganserland in den Sagen und Anekdoten |publisher=Staatsarchiv St. Gallen |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NfWAAAAMAAJ&q=roduner |page=359|isbn=9783908048381 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name=steub>{{cite book|last=Steub |first=Ludwig |title=Wanderungen im bayerischen Gebirge |publisher=Fleischmann |year=1862 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LxcAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA23 |page=23|quotation=Hauch und Anpfiff giftig sind|language=de}}</ref>

<ref name=studer-koenig>{{harvp|Studer|König|1814|pp=127–133}}. {{harvp|Dübi|1940|pp=158–159}}</ref>

<ref name=unger-schmeller>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Unger |first=Theodor |title=Birgstutzen |encyclopedia=Steirischer Wortschatz als Ergänzung zu Schmellers Bayerischem Wörterbuch |publisher=Leuschner u. Lubensky's Universitäts-Buchhandlung |year=1903 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HQVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA85 |page=85|language=de}}</ref>

}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite journal|last=Dalla Torre |first=Karl Wilhelm von |author-link=Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre |title=Die Drachensage im Alpengebiet |journal=Zeitschrift des deutschen und oesterreichischen Alpenverins |volume=18 |year=1887 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtguAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA208 |pages=208–226}}
*{{cite journal|last=Doblhoff |first=Joseph von |author-link=:de:Josef von Doblhoff-Dier |title=Altes und Neues vom 'Tatzelwurm' |journal=Zeitschrift für österreichische Volkskunde |volume=I |year=1896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SToSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA142 |pages=142–166, 261–265}}
*{{cite book|last=Doderer |first=Heimito von |author-link=Heimito von Doderer |editor-last=Schmidt-Dengler |editor-first=Wendelin |editor-link=:de:Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler |title=Die Wiederkehr der Drachen |publisher=C.H.Beck |year=1996 |orig-year=1959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0EgXbsOENJcC&pg=PA28 |pages=28ff|isbn=978-3-406-40408-5 }}
**{{cite journal|last=Doderer |first=Heimito von |author-mask=2|title=Die Wiederkehr der Drachen |journal=Atlantis: Länder, Völker, Reisen |volume=31 |year=1959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQYYAQAAMAAJ&q=Tatzelwurm |pages=101–150}}
*{{cite journal|last=Dübi |first=Heinrich |author-link=:de:Heinrich Dübi |title=Von Drachen und Stollenwürmern |journal=Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde / Archives suisses des traditions populaires |volume=37 |year=1940 |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=sav-001:1939-1940:37::292 |pages=150–164|language=de}}
*{{cite book|last=Gribble |first=Francis Henry |title=The Early Mountaineers |publisher=T. F. Unwin |year=1899 |url=https://archive.org/details/earlymountainee00gribgoog |pages=–81}}
*{{cite book|last=Kohlrusch |first=Clemens |title=Schweizerisches Sagenbuch |publisher=ZR. Hoffmann |year=1854 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hnONuiXXdhMC&pg=PA48 |pages=47–49, 170}}
*{{cite book |last=Ley |first=Willy |author-link=Willy Ley |title=The Lungfish, the Dodo & the Unicorn: An Excursion Into Romantic Zoology |publisher=Viking Press |date=1948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lr4LAQAAIAAJ&q=Tatzelwurm |pages=131–139}}
*{{cite book|last1=Meurger |first1=Michel |author1-link=:fr:Michel Meurger |last2=Gagnon |first2=Claude |author2-link=Claude Gagnon |title=Lake monster traditions: a cross-cultural analysis |publisher=Fortean Tomes |year=1988|isbn=978-1-870021-00-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1HbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Hauwelen%22 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Müller|first=Hans Richard |author-link=<!--Hans Richard Müller--> |title=Scheuchzer's Dragons. An Entertainment |journal=Swiss Review of World Affairs |volume=XXIII |number=5 |year=1973<!--1973/74--> |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhAMAQAAMAAJ&q=dragon |pages=23–26}}
* {{cite book|last=Scheuchzer |first=Johann Jakob |author-link=Johann Jakob Scheuchzer |title=Natur-Geschichte des Schweizerlandes |volume=2 |publisher=bey David Gessner |year=1746|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA236 |pages=236–237|language=de}}
*{{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Studer|König|1814}}|last=Studer |first=Samuel |chapter=Ueber die Insekten dieser Gegend und etwas vom Stollenwurm (Cannellée) |editor-last=König |editor-first=Franz Niklaus |editor-link=Franz Niklaus König |title=Reise in die Alpen |publisher=F. N. König |year=1814 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vo49AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA128 |pages=120–139}}
*{{citation|last=Tschaikner |first=Manfred |author-link=:de:Manfred Tschaikner |title=Drachen statt Hexen in der Freiherrschaft Sax-Forstegg |journal=Werdeberger Jahrbuch |volume=29 |year=2016 |url=https://www.academia.edu/19533578 |url-access=registration |pages=98–105}}
* {{cite book|last=Wyss |first=Johann Rudolf |author-link=Johann Rudolf Wyss |title=Reise in das Berner Oberland |volume=2 |publisher=J.J. Burgdorfer |year=1817a |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uApUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA422 |pages=422–424}}
**{{cite book|last=Wyss |first=Johann Rudolf |author-link=Johann Rudolf Wyss |author-mask=2 |title=Voyage dans l'Oberland bernois |volume=2 |publisher=J.J. Bourgdorfer |year=1817b |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuZAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA19 |pages=19–21}} (French tr.)
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Schmeller |first=Johann Andreas |title=Der Stutzen (d) |encyclopedia=Bayerisches Wörterbuch: Sammlung von Wörtern und Ausdrücken |volume=3 |publisher=Cotta |year=1836 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRNRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA674 |page=674|language=de}}
* {{cite book|last=Senti |first=Alois |author-link=:de:Alois Senti |title=Erfragte Vergangenheit: das Sarganserland in den Sagen und Anekdoten |publisher=Staatsarchiv St. Gallen |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NfWAAAAMAAJ&q=roduner |page=359|isbn=9783908048381 |language=de}}
{{refend}}


{{German folklore}}
]
]
] ]
] ]
Line 20: Line 130:
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]


] ]

Latest revision as of 11:50, 1 November 2024

Mythical creature

Bergstutz or Stollwurm

In the folklore of the Alpine region of south-central Europe, the Tatzelwurm (German: [ˈtatsl̩ˌvʊʁm]), Stollenwurm, or Stollwurm is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubby, with four short legs or two forelegs and no hindlegs.

The creature is sometimes said to be venomous, or to attack with poisonous breath, and to make a high-pitched or hissing sound.

Anecdotes describing encounters with the creature or briefly described lore about them can be found in several areas of Europe, including the Austrian, Bavarian, French, Italian and Swiss Alps. It has several other regional names, including Bergstutz, Springwurm, Praatzelwurm, and in French, arassas.

Nomenclature

The name Tatzelwurm is not traditionally used in Switzerland, and the creature is usually known by the Swiss as Stollenwurm or Stollwurm ("tunnel worm" or "dragon of the mine-tunnels") in the Bernese Alps. Stollenwurm may also be interpreted to mean a "serpent" with "short, thick feet".

Tatzelwurm was the term localized in Bavaria, Germany (with variants Daazlwurm and Praazlwurm) according to an early study. But Tatzelwurm has later came into currency in Austria.

Bergstutz, Birgstutz or Birgstuz'n ("mountain-stump") was the local name used in places in Austria such as the state of Styria, parts of the Tyrol, Salzburg and the Salzkammergut region, and some parts of Bavaria (specifically Berchtesgaden), according to early studies. The name was simply Stutzn in the valleys of the Traun and Alm rivers of Austria.

In the French Alps, "arassas" was the applied name of the legendary cat-headed lizard.

Description

Fountain in Kobern-Gondorf

In the anecdotes, Tatzelwurm or Stollenwurm has been described as resembling a stubby lizard measuring anywhere from 1, 2, 3 to 5, 6 or 7 feet in length. and purportedly either two- or four-legged, or even six-legged. They have been described as having a cat-like face, especially in Switzerland.

The Tatzelwurm of Austria and Bavaria is described as having poison breath, said even to be lethal. The Stollenwurm also has been characterized as poisonous in Swiss lore.

The Tatzelwurm also allegedly issues a shrieking sound, whistles or hisses.

17th century accounts

Depiction of the cat-faced "mountain dragon" of the Swiss Alps claimed to have been encountered in Sarganserland, c. 1660.

An early description of dragon (Latin: draco) sightings in Switzerland was given by Johann Jacob Wagner [de] in 1680, and replicated with copperplate illustrations of the beasts by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer in 1723. Even though Wagner had been the one to record the testimonies, the creatures were later dubbed "Scheuchzer's dragons", and were interpreted as Stollenwurm sightings by other commentators.

The anecdotes

An anecdotal "cat-headed serpent" with a black-grey body and no legs was said to have been encountered by Johann (Hans) and Thomas Tinner at a place locally known as "Hauwelen" on the mountain of Frümsen in the Barony of Altsax, Switzerland. It was alleged to measure 7 feet or more in length. Residents in the neighborhood were complaining that their cows' udders were being mysteriously sucked on but the incidents stopped after this creature was killed.

A four-legged, cat-faced "mountain dragon" was described by one Andreas Roduner as something he encountered in 1660 on Mt. Wangersberg in Sarganserland (Landvogtei of Sargans), and when it reared up on its hind legs it became tall as a man, with boar-like bristles running down its back (pictured right).

A creature like a four-legged lizard with a crest on its head, to give a later naturalist's description, was allegedly seen by Johannes Bueler of Sennwald Parish. A dragon with an enormous head and two forelimbs, was claimed to have been encountered by 70-year-old Johannes Egerter of Lienz on Mt. Kamor; when it exhaled its breath, the man said, he was overcome with headache and dizziness.

Later analysis and reception

The naturalist Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre writing on the "history of dragons of the Alps" in 1887 explained that these creatures could all be identified as species of lizards or snakes (seemingly ignoring the cat-headed features). Dalla Torre considered these giant creatures of the past to have died out by his time, alongside the folk belief associated with them, but that the popular notion of the Tatzelwurm in his day lingered on as a "phantom" of those past legendary creatures.

In contrast, Josef Freiherr von Doblhoff [de] counted these early dragons among his "Tatzelwurm of old and now", the title of his 1896 paper. Although Wagner in the 17th century reported each Swiss monster sighted as a dragon, Studer in the early 19th century stated that the Alpine Swiss locals were generally unfamiliar with the names Drache or Lindwurm and knew only of Stollenwurm.

Scheuchzer was frequently ridiculed for his credulity in the dragons, evident in the tone of his work, but one scholar has discovered that in an earlier piece of writing, he had actually expressed skepticism in the material. The scholar comments that Newtonian scholars like him in this era had to maintain a posture of open-mindedness.

Early 18th and 19th century accounts

A 1779 legend describes an encounter with the Tatzelwurm by farmer Hans Fuchs. According to the story, while in the mountains, he allegedly saw two of these creatures in front of him. Frightened for his life, he fled to his home and died of a heart attack from the experience. Supposedly before he died, he told his family of the encounter, describing the creature as 5 to 7 feet in length with a serpent-like body, two clawed front legs and a large feline-like head.

Two Bernese, Samuel Studer (1757–1834) and Johann Rudolf Wyss, (1783–1830) who contributed greatly to Swiss folklore in the early part of the 19th century also added to the knowledge of folklore of the Stollenwurm. Although both authors give expression to the idea that the Stollenwurm (rather than Swiss dragons) have heads that look like cats, this is not to say that actual examples of lore they collected from Alpine people speak of any cat-headed creatures.

Samuel Studer

The Stollenwurm according to Studer is so called from Stollen meaning "short feet", and were believed to appear after humidly hot weather or when the weather is undergoing volatile change. The people considered them to be poisonous and harmful, and to resemble short, stubby serpents, with a round head similar to a cat's, and clawed feet.

Studer represents perhaps the best source of knowledge on the Stollenwurm available. His contribution to the lore occurred in a short article on insects and the Stollenwurm which appeared inserted in the travelogue of the Franz Niklaus König's travelogue, published in 1814.

Studer's treatise included eyewitness accounts. In 1811, a Stollenwurm with a forked tongue, serpent-like but rather wide head, and two stubby feet was reported by a Schoolmaster Heinrich, which he claimed to have seen in Guttannen-tal, Canton Bern, Switzerland. He described it as measuring 1 klafter in length, with a body about the thickness of a man's leg. A few years before, Hans Kehrli from Allmentli in Trachselwald claimed to have killed a quite small, hairy Stollenwurm carrying 10 young.

Studer offered a bounty of 3 to 4 Louis d'or to anyone who could supply him with the remains of an "authentic stollenwurm", indicating the degree of his conviction that the creature existed.

Johann Rudolf Wyss

The writer Johann Rudolf Wyss, explicitly stated that while the dragon was fabulous, the Stollenwurm was dubious. To the standard description of the Stollenwurm as a sort of snake with a cat's head and short feet, he added it was sometimes said to be hairy, and not just 2 or 4 but multiple limbs like a caterpillar.

Wyss records a fabulous description from a certain shepherd in Gadmen valley who said there were two types of Stollenwurm, white ones with a little crown, and the more common black ones.

Wyss in the estimation of Heinrich Dübi [de] was a less significant source than Studer regarding the folklore of the dragons or Stollenwurm. Something Wyss had done in his commentary is to bring up several pieces of Swiss folklore on snakes, suggesting connections. He conjectured that herdsmen of the Alps were "probably" talking about the Stollenwurm when they said they believed "serpents" had the habit of sucking milk from pasturing cows, which could be warded against by placing a white rooster near the cows.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. Zillertal, Tyrol according to Dalla Torre.
  2. Scheuzer prefaces by mentioning two dragon/serpents for a region, the first being legless: "non pedati", then quoting Wagner: "..vulgo dicito, horrendum serpentem.. caput felis capiti haud dissimile, at pedibus omnino destitutus fuerit". This is translated into German as "förchterliche (schwarz-grüne) Schlange... der Kopf war einem Katzenkopfe nicht unähnlich; sie hatte aber gar keine Füsse". The color, atrogriseum is "black-grey", though the German rendering suggests black-green.
  3. Where it says that Johannes killed the creature "with his brother Thomas Tinner (fratre suo Thoma Tinnero)"'s help, the German renders it as "brother (durch Hülffe seines Bruders)" only.
  4. i.e., Herrshaft of Hohensax
  5. The quoted original text from Wagner, "Latin: vulgo dictum.. Draconem Montanum.. quatuor instructus erat pedibus, auribus & facie felis fuit.." indicates the four-legged, cat-eared, cat-faced creature was called colloquially in German by some name meaning "mountain dragon", which "Berg-Drache", but cannot be ascertained to be so, though the German translation of Scheucher gives "Berg-Drache.. Er hatt vier Füsse; das Gesicht un die Ohren waren wie an einer Katze".
  6. From Dorf, in Guttannen valley.
  7. Wyss identified the source of this lore as Philippe Bridel's work, which was an epitome on Conrad Gessner's description of Mount Pilatus.

References

  1. ^ Doblhoff (1896), p. 142, note 3 apud Kohlrusch (1854) apud Rochholz (1855) Aargauer Sagen. (in German)
  2. "What does Stollen mean in German?". WordHippo. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. ^ Lecouteux, Claude (2016). "Tatzelwurm". Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic. Simon and Schuster. p. 344. ISBN 978-1620554814., apud Doblhoff (1896)
  4. Studer & König (1814), p. 128: "daher auch Stollenwurm heißen"; Kohlrusch (1854), p. 147:""Stollenwürmer genannt werden".
  5. This meaning of Stollen as "short feet" localized as the dialect of neighboring Canton of Aargau by some sources.
  6. ^ Dalla Torre (1887), p. 214.
  7. Ley (1948), p. 131 mentions a report issued by the Austrian Ministry of Forestry and Environmental Protection which stated that Tatzelwurm sightings could be explained as stray otters.
  8. Doblhoff (1896), p. 144.
  9. Unger, Theodor (1903). "Birgstutzen". Steirischer Wortschatz als Ergänzung zu Schmellers Bayerischem Wörterbuch (in German). Leuschner u. Lubensky's Universitäts-Buchhandlung. p. 85.
  10. ^ Meurger & Gagnon (1988), p. 265.
  11. Doderer (1959), p. 106; repr. Doderer (1996), p. 28
  12. Meurger & Gagnon (1988), pp. 265–266.
  13. Doblhoff (1896), p. 143: "Die Zahl der Fusse wird mit 2, 4, oder 6 angegeben".
  14. ^ Studer & König (1814), p. 128.
  15. Doblhoff (1896), p. 143: "Berichte aus der Schweiz.. überein, dass die "Stollenwürmer".. katzenartige köpfen haben".
  16. ^ Steub, Ludwig (1862). Wanderungen im bayerischen Gebirge (in German). Fleischmann. p. 23. Hauch und Anpfiff giftig sind
  17. Ley (1948), p. 132
  18. ^ Scheuchzer (1723), pp. 391–392, fig. VIII. Scheuchzer (1746), pp. 233–234
  19. ^ anonymous (1874). "Epidemical Credulity". The Pall Mall Budget. 11: 8.
  20. Ley (1948), pp. 133, 138.
  21. ^ Scheuchzer (1723), pp. 395–396, fig. X. Scheuchzer (1746), pp. 236–237
  22. Wagner (1680). Historia naturalis. Tiguri: Lindinner. pp. 247ff.
  23. ^ Dübi (1940), p. 155.
  24. ^ Hansen, Peter H. (2013). The Summits of Modern Man. Harvard University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780674074521.
  25. Scheuchzer hired a painter to paint the dragons, from which the copperplates were made.
  26. Scheuchzer, Johann Jakob (1723). Ouresiphoitēs Helveticus, sive Itinera per helvetiae. Vol. III. Leiden: Petri vander Aa. pp. 378–397.
  27. ^ Müller (1973), pp. 23–26.
  28. Doblhoff (1896), p. 143 and others.
  29. ^ Scheuchzer (1723), pp. 378–379, fig. I. Scheuchzer (1746), p. 222
  30. Senti, Alois (2001). Erfragte Vergangenheit: das Sarganserland in den Sagen und Anekdoten (in German). Staatsarchiv St. Gallen. p. 359. ISBN 9783908048381.
  31. Gribble (1899), p. 79–80.
  32. Tschaikner (2016), pp. 99–100.
  33. Dalla Torre (1887), p. 210.
  34. Scheuchzer (1723), pp. 379–380, fig. II. Scheuchzer (1746), p. 222
  35. Dalla Torre (1887), pp. 211–212.
  36. Dalla Torre (1887), p. 213: "Heute sind sie nun wohl verschwunden, diese Riesenthiere aus der Natur, wie aus dem Volksglauben – doch nicht, ohne zugleich ein anderes Phantom zu hinterlassen. Wer kennt ihn nicht, den Tatzelwurm.."
  37. Doblhoff (1896), p. 143.
  38. Jaroń, Dariusz (20 November 2020). "TATZELWURM: THE LEGEND OF A MYSTERIOUS CREATURE FROM THE ALPS". Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  39. Dübi (1940), pp. 157–58ff
  40. Wyss (1817a), p. 423; Wyss (1817b), p. 20
  41. ^ Dübi (1940), p. 158.
  42. Studer & König (1814), pp. 127–133. Dübi (1940), pp. 158–159
  43. Dübi (1940), p. 159.
  44. Studer & König (1814), pp. 130–131.
  45. Dalla Torre (1887), p. 215–216.
  46. Studer & König (1814), pp. 131–132.
  47. Dalla Torre (1887), p. 216 and Doblhoff (1896), p. 143
  48. Studer & König (1814), pp. 133.
  49. Meurger, Michel (1996). "The Lindorms of Småland". Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore. 52: 95. ISBN 9789122016731.
  50. Wyss (1817a), p. 423.
  51. Wyss (1817a), pp. 423–424.
  52. Thorington, J. Monroe (October 1926). "Serpent Legends of the Valais". The Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia. 24 (4): 191.
  53. Dübi (1940), p. 160.
  54. ^ Bridel, Philippe-Sirice (1814). Le Conservateur Suisse, ou Recueil complet des etrennes helvetiennes. Vol. 4. L. Knab. p. 163.
  55. ^ Wyss (1817a), p. 424.
Bibliography

Further reading

German folklore
Folklore of German-speaking countries
Beings
People
Legends and fairy tales
See also
Categories: