SourceA. E. in the Fairy-Faith
The poet A. E. supplies a visionary language for the Otherworld.
Celtic fairy traditionsLoading Lumitheca…
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Adam in Paradise Lost
The human host and questioner whose garden life receives angelic instruction.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
Adolphe Willette
Willette’s cover for Paul Delmet’s Nouvelles Chansons appears among the book’s French designs.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
SourceAlberigo and the Frozen Tears
The speaker who requests relief from the ice over his eyes but does not receive it.
Dante, Inferno
Albertus Magnus
The scholar whom Redgrove places in his alchemical history while questioning the authenticity of attributed alchemical works.
Medieval learning, Redgrove's historical account
Alessio of Lucca among the Flatterers
The recognised speaker who attributes his place in the second ditch to excessive flattery.
Dante, Inferno
SourceAnanda
The disciple who pleads for women’s admission and grieves at Buddha’s final departure.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
SourceArianrod
The mother who places conditions on Llew’s name, arms and marriage.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Arjuna
The Pandava archer whose skill and moral hesitation make him central to the Mahabharata.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceArthur in the Mabinogion
The courtly ruler whose household gathers the companions and quests of Guest’s Welsh romances.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Aubrey Beardsley
The Modern Poster reproduces Beardsley’s Bodley Head design and his Avenue Theatre announcement.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
Beatrice, Dante’s Heavenly Guide
The woman whose recognition leads through confession towards the celestial journey.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Belacqua
The familiar spirit whose delayed repentance becomes a long wait beneath the rock.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Benkei
The powerful warrior and companion of Yoshitsune portrayed in Davis's cycle of heroic legends.
Japanese heroic legend, Davis retellingBernard, Dante’s Final Guide
The elder who directs Dante’s last attention towards Mary and the ultimate vision.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Bertran de Born’s Speaking Head
The head-bearing speaker who explains his division through a division he claims to have caused.
Dante, InfernoSourceBhagiratha
The royal descendant whose persistence brings Ganga to his ancestors’ ashes.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBharata
The brother who refuses to profit from Rama’s exile and waits for his return.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBhima
The powerful Pandava whose rivalry with Duryodhana turns display towards violence.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBhishma
The royal elder whose obligations connect the rival houses of the Mahabharata.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Bocca’s Refusal to Give His Name
The frozen speaker identified by another voice after resisting Dante’s demands.
Dante, InfernoSourceBranca Doria’s Apparently Living Body
The named example used to explain a body functioning above while its soul is already below.
Dante, InfernoSourceBranwen
The princess whose marriage alliance becomes the centre of a catastrophe between two islands.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Buonconte da Montefeltro's Final Tear
A last invocation and tear decide the fate of a dying fighter in the poem.
Dante, PurgatorioSourceCaridwen
The maker of an inspiration-cauldron whose intended gift is diverted to Gwion Bach.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
SourceCasella
The beloved singer whom Dante tries, unsuccessfully, to embrace after death.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Catalano and Loderingo
Two Bolognese friars who recall their joint appointment as arbiters in Florence.
Dante, Inferno
Cato at the Shore of Purgatory
The revered guardian who permits a living traveller to approach the mountain.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Cavalcante’s Question about His Son
The grieving father who mistakes Dante’s tense and hesitation for news of death.
Dante, InfernoSourceChanna
The charioteer who explains the prince’s first encounters with suffering and accompanies his departure.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceCiacco and the Divided City
The Florentine soul who answers Dante’s questions about the city’s approaching strife.
Dante, InfernoSourceConnla
Prince invited into a deathless land by a fairy woman.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceConrad Malaspina's Coming Proof
A nobleman's reputation becomes a prediction of the traveller's future experience.
Dante, PurgatorioSourceCú Chulainn
Ulster hero drawn into the conflicts and affections of the Sidhe.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceDasharatha
Ayodhya’s king, caught between his love for Rama and promises already made.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceDevadatta
The rival whose acquired powers fail to overcome hostility towards the Buddha.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Dhruva
The rejected child whose unwavering search is expressed through the pole star.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Doctor Faust
The dissatisfied scholar whose search for experience binds him to Mephistopheles.
Goethe’s Faust, Part OneSourceDominic in Dante’s Praise
The labourer who tends the Church’s garden through learning and determined service.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceDouglas Hyde
Collector who distinguishes reliable folk testimony from conclusions drawn from it.
Celtic fairy traditions
Dragons in imperial portraiture
Robes and throne ornament surround the emperor in the palace portrait reproduced by Hayes.
L. Newton Hayes, The Chinese DragonSourceDraupadi
The princess whose marriage contest brings the hidden Pandavas back into public life.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Drona
The weapons teacher whose care for royal pupils sits beside a harsh exclusion.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Dudley Hardy
Hardy’s To-Day poster turns a lightly drawn figure into an energetic magazine announcement.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceDuryodhana
The Kaurava prince who champions Karna while seeking to weaken the Pandavas.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
E. Potthast
The Modern Poster credits Potthast with a Barnum & Bailey circus advertisement.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
SourceEdmund Jones
The dissenting minister whose apparition accounts became an important source for Sikes.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
Edward Penfield
Penfield’s Harper’s for March design joins a fashionable figure with the magazine’s name and month.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
Ekalavya
The excluded student who teaches himself before an image of Drona.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceElen Luyddawc
The maiden of Maxen’s dream, associated in the tale with castles and roads through Britain.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceElidurus
A runaway child welcomed into an underground fairy country until he steals a golden ball.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceElphin
The unfortunate heir whose empty weir yields Taliesin instead of a catch of fish.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceEnid, Daughter of Ynywl
The young woman welcomed into Arthur’s court after Geraint’s victory.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Eugène Grasset
Grasset’s Salon des Cent exhibition poster joins a large female figure with flowers and lettering.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)Eve in Paradise Lost
The garden’s human companion and host, whom Raphael greets as mother of mankind.
John Milton, Paradise LostSourceEvnissyen
The destructive brother whose final act breaks the cauldron of renovation.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionFarinata in the Open Tomb
The upright Florentine shade who debates family rivalry and the city’s fate.
Dante, Inferno
Filippo Argenti in the Mire
The Florentine spirit rejected from the boat during the Stygian crossing.
Dante, InfernoSourceFionn mac Cumhaill
Leader of the Fenians whose adventures connect hunting, fairy halls, and rebirth.
Celtic fairy traditions
Francesca of Rimini in the Inferno
The speaking soul who recalls a shared death and a romance read with her companion.
Dante, InfernoSourceFrancis in Dante’s Praise
The saint whose marriage to Poverty exemplifies a renewal of the Church.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Fred Walker
Walker’s design for The Woman in White opens the English poster-design discussion.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceGeraint, Son of Erbin
The knight whose victory restores an injured household and brings Enid to Arthur’s court.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceGiacopo del Cassero's Last Flight
A speaker recalls a fatal escape through marshes and asks for prayer in Fano.
Dante, Purgatorio
Gianni Schicchi in the Falsifiers’ Ditch
The impersonator named as he seizes and drags Capocchio.
Dante, InfernoSourceGomita in the Navarrese Account
The Sardinian official described by another inhabitant of the pitch.
Dante, Inferno
Gwahoddwr
The wedding-bidding representative described by Sikes, whose garlanded staff served as an emblem of office.
Welsh customs as described by Wirt SikesSourceGwenhwyvar
Arthur’s queen, whose judgement shapes welcome, reparation and honour at court.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceGwion Bach
The cauldron-stirrer whose accidental taste brings foreknowledge and a flight through changing forms.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceGwydion
The storyteller and magician whose inventions both injure and restore his kin.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
H. Herkomer
Herkomer’s Black and White advertisement places a raised sign above a dramatic figure.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
Harry of England in the Valley
The English king appears alone within the company of waiting rulers.
Dante, Purgatorio
Hidesato
The warrior portrayed in Davis's legend as the Dragon King of Lake Biwa's champion against a giant centipede.
Japanese heroic legend, Davis retelling
Homer in the Company of Poets
The supreme poet who leads the classical company greeting Virgil in Limbo.
Dante, InfernoHorace in Dante’s Limbo
The poet named Flaccus, praised for satire within the classical company.
Dante, InfernoSourceIddawc Cordd Prydain
The dream-guide who confesses to twisting messages between Arthur and Medrawd.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
SourceIssunboshi
The tiny hero who travels with a needle and later receives an ordinary human size.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingSourceJanaka
Sita’s father and the ruler whose great bow establishes the marriage test.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Jean-Louis Forain
Forain is credited with the exhibition announcement for the Arts de la Femme reproduced in The Modern Poster.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)
Jules Chéret
The Modern Poster credits Chéret with the illustrated cover for Scaramouche.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceJustinian in Paradise
The emperor who recounts law and empire beneath the sign of the Roman eagle.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceKamsa
The ruler whose attempt to prevent a prophecy leads to a confrontation with Krishna.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceKarna
Arjuna’s rival, born to Kunti and the sun but raised in a charioteer’s household.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceKato Sayemon’s Renunciation
A palace resident sees jealousy as snakes in his household’s hair, becomes a monk and refuses recognition by his son in Davis’s account.
Japanese legends in F. Hadland Davis’s English retellings (1912)SourceKilhwch
Arthur’s cousin, whose imposed marriage destiny begins the search for Olwen.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceKintaro
The strong mountain child who befriends animals and attracts Yorimitsu’s attention.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingSourceKobo Daishi
The religious founder whom Davis calls Kukai in life and Kobo Daishi after death.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingSourceKunti
The Pandavas’ mother, whose recognition of Karna reveals a hidden family bond.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
L. Raven Hill
Raven Hill’s Pick-Me-Up design is reproduced under the words He, She and It.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceLlevelys
Lludd’s wise brother, whose counsel distinguishes the causes of Britain’s three plagues.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceLlew Llaw Gyffes
The young ruler whose exceptional protection is defeated through an equally exceptional arrangement.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceLludd, Son of Beli
The ruler who seeks his brother’s counsel against three afflictions of Britain.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceLlwyd, Son of Kilcoed
The enchanter who empties Dyved to avenge Gwawl’s humiliation.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Louis J. Rhead
Rhead’s design for The Sun places a newspaper emblem at the centre of a radiating composition.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)Lucan in Dante’s Limbo
The last poet named in the classical company that welcomes Dante as a sixth member.
Dante, InfernoSourceLucia, the Heavenly Helper
The helper whose aid carries the sleeping traveller towards Purgatory’s gate.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceLuned
The resourceful attendant who conceals Owain and negotiates his approach to the Countess.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceMabon, Son of Modron
The lost child found through the testimony of ancient animals and freed from a stone prison.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceMahamaya
Siddhartha’s mother, whose conception dream announces the final birth of the Buddha-elect.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceManawyddan, Son of Llyr
The displaced prince whose craft and patience preserve a household under enchantment.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceManfredi in Purgatory
The wounded king who asks that his daughter learn the truth of his final repentance.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Marco Lombardo
The spirit who rejects the claim that the stars compel human wrongdoing.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Margaret in Faust
The young woman whose encounter with Faust becomes the centre of the tragedy.
Goethe’s Faust, Part One
SourceMartha in Faust
Margaret’s neighbour in Faust, who encourages secrecy over the gifted jewels and helps bring the lovers together.
Goethe’s Faust, Part OneSourceMath, Son of Mathonwy
The ruler whose foot-holder and transforming wand govern the fourth branch.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceMatholwch
The Irish king whose marriage to Branwen joins a diplomatic alliance to a disastrous feud.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Matilda in the Earthly Paradise
The woman who guides the traveller beside the renewing streams.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Maurice Greiffenhagen
Greiffenhagen is credited with the Illustrated Pall Mall Budget advertisement in The Modern Poster.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceMaxen Wledig
The dreaming emperor whose vision of a maiden draws him from Rome to Britain.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceMeddygon Myddfai
The physicians whose legend derives their knowledge from a mother of the lake realm.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceMomotaro, the Peach Boy
A child found inside a peach gathers three animal companions and journeys to free an island’s captives in Davis’s retelling.
Japanese legends in F. Hadland Davis’s English retellings (1912)SourceMongan
King whose concealed identity as Finn is exposed in a wager.
Celtic fairy traditions
Myrrha among the Impersonators
The mythical figure placed beside Schicchi through the theme of assumed appearance.
Dante, Inferno
Nachiketas
The questioner who refuses lesser gifts in order to ask Death about the self.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceNichiren
A Buddhist founder presented through biography and miracle stories in Davis.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingSourceNino, the Judge of Gallura
A familiar judge asks Dante to bring a request for prayer to his daughter.
Dante, PurgatorioSourceOisín
Fenian hero whose return from Fairyland exposes the passage of centuries.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceOlwen
Yspaddaden’s daughter, whose marriage is bound to the end of her father’s life.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionOttocar beside Rodolph
A consoling ruler is contrasted with his heir in the valley's political portrait.
Dante, PurgatorioOvid in Dante’s Limbo
The poet named Naso, standing third in the company that receives Dante.
Dante, InfernoShowing 120 of 165 entries
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