le pendu
Perhaps I should have saved this till December.. but
The fool (and the devil) : Santa Claus in disguise?
In a recent thread in the History & Iconography section, there is a thread concerning Bel-Gargan and his connection to the Fool. When I read it, I immediately thought of Santa Claus.
There are three books that have influenced my belief in the origins of the Santa Claus myth, and it's relation to the Fool and the Devil.
When Santa Was a Shaman by Tony van Renterghem
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=156718765X/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men by Phyllis Siefker
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0786402466/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
and
Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture by Arthur Evans.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0915480018/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
All three tie the Horned God to the Fool and the Devil.
"Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men" traces Santa from the Mediaeval imagery of the "Wild Man" to the development of the Fool and Harlequin, then to Santa Claus.
"When Santa Was a Shaman" traces the imagery all the way back to cave paintings.
"Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture" shows the connection between worship of the Horned God and homosexual prosecution, and the transformation of the Horned God into the Fool.
The theme in common with all of them is that there was worship of the Horned God, that this worship was suppressed, and then hidden in other images for centuries.
The basic concept goes;
Horned God> Shaman worship> Tormenting of the Wild Man as part of an ancient fertility rite> Robin Goodfellow/Puck> Patched clothing representing patches of fur/hair> the Devil in negative aspect & Harlequin in trickster aspect> The Fool> Introduction of Christian St. Nicholas as positive aspect & "Dark Helper" (Knecht Ruprecht, Black Pete, Krumpas) as dark aspect> Santa Claus gift giver/deed punisher>Santa Claus as benevolent gift giver.
The connections are nearly endless: Horned God, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Frey, Odin, Woden, Herne the Hunter, etc..
I can see the "torment" manifested in several of the early Fool cards where "children' or adults humiliate the fool.
Modern "remembrances' include at least the Morris Dancers, and Mummers plays.
I'm curious, have others read these books? Or come to similar conclusions regarding the Fool and Devil? It's hard for me to look at either of these cards now, and not make that connection.
Is Santa Claus our closest modern association with the "true" meaning of the Fool and Devil?
Or is this all nonsense?
robert
The fool (and the devil) : Santa Claus in disguise?
In a recent thread in the History & Iconography section, there is a thread concerning Bel-Gargan and his connection to the Fool. When I read it, I immediately thought of Santa Claus.
There are three books that have influenced my belief in the origins of the Santa Claus myth, and it's relation to the Fool and the Devil.
When Santa Was a Shaman by Tony van Renterghem
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=156718765X/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men by Phyllis Siefker
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0786402466/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
and
Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture by Arthur Evans.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0915480018/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
All three tie the Horned God to the Fool and the Devil.
"Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men" traces Santa from the Mediaeval imagery of the "Wild Man" to the development of the Fool and Harlequin, then to Santa Claus.
"When Santa Was a Shaman" traces the imagery all the way back to cave paintings.
"Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture" shows the connection between worship of the Horned God and homosexual prosecution, and the transformation of the Horned God into the Fool.
The theme in common with all of them is that there was worship of the Horned God, that this worship was suppressed, and then hidden in other images for centuries.
The basic concept goes;
Horned God> Shaman worship> Tormenting of the Wild Man as part of an ancient fertility rite> Robin Goodfellow/Puck> Patched clothing representing patches of fur/hair> the Devil in negative aspect & Harlequin in trickster aspect> The Fool> Introduction of Christian St. Nicholas as positive aspect & "Dark Helper" (Knecht Ruprecht, Black Pete, Krumpas) as dark aspect> Santa Claus gift giver/deed punisher>Santa Claus as benevolent gift giver.
The connections are nearly endless: Horned God, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Frey, Odin, Woden, Herne the Hunter, etc..
I can see the "torment" manifested in several of the early Fool cards where "children' or adults humiliate the fool.
Modern "remembrances' include at least the Morris Dancers, and Mummers plays.
I'm curious, have others read these books? Or come to similar conclusions regarding the Fool and Devil? It's hard for me to look at either of these cards now, and not make that connection.
Is Santa Claus our closest modern association with the "true" meaning of the Fool and Devil?
Or is this all nonsense?
robert