Dante, Inferno
Bertran de Born’s Speaking Head
The head-bearing speaker who explains his division through a division he claims to have caused.
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Stories give ideas characters, places and events. These entries open particular episodes in folklore, sacred narrative and visionary literature, connecting each explanation to its source passage.
331 entries · A–Z
Dante, Inferno
The head-bearing speaker who explains his division through a division he claims to have caused.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
The royal descendant whose persistence brings Ganga to his ancestors’ ashes.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
The brother who refuses to profit from Rama’s exile and waits for his return.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
The powerful Pandava whose rivalry with Duryodhana turns display towards violence.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
The royal elder whose obligations connect the rival houses of the Mahabharata.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
The woman made from flowers who becomes an owl after conspiring against Llew.
Dante, Inferno
The frozen speaker identified by another voice after resisting Dante’s demands.
Celtic fairy traditions
An invitation carried by a silver branch draws Bran beyond ordinary Ireland.
Dante, Inferno
The named example used to explain a body functioning above while its soul is already below.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
The princess whose marriage alliance becomes the centre of a catastrophe between two islands.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
The road made by Sin and Death across the abyss after the human fall.
Dante, Purgatorio
A last invocation and tear decide the fate of a dying fighter in the poem.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
A tree-side resting place where a devout monk sleeps beyond his lifetime.
Dante, Inferno
The first division of the frozen circle, introduced through entangled family figures.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
A stone chair used in a healing legend alongside the water of Canna’s well.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
The maker of an inspiration-cauldron whose intended gift is diverted to Gwion Bach.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
The year-long preparation that concentrates its power into three drops.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
A stone marked by Arthur’s dog that cannot be permanently removed from its heap.
Celtic fairy traditions
Breton megalithic landscape surrounded by living tales of korrigans.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
The beloved singer whom Dante tries, unsuccessfully, to embrace after death.
Dante, Inferno
Two Bolognese friars who recall their joint appointment as arbiters in Florence.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
The revered guardian who permits a living traveller to approach the mountain.
Dante, Inferno
The grieving father who mistakes Dante’s tense and hesitation for news of death.
Celtic fairy traditions
A named entrance associated with Sidhe visitors and Nera’s adventure.