Wikipedia

Hippogriff

Thehippogrifforhippogryphis alegendary creaturewith the front half of aneagleand the hind half of ahorse.

Roger délivrant Angélique(1824) byLouis-Édouard Rioultdepicts the scene ofOrlando Furiosowhere Ruggiero (French:Roger) rescues Angelica (French:Angélique) while riding on a hippogriff.

It was invented at the beginning of the 16th century byLudovico Ariostoin hisOrlando Furioso.Within the poem, the hippogriff is a steed born of amareand agriffin—something considered impossible.[1]It is extremely fast and is presented as being able to fly around the world and to theMoon.It is ridden bymagiciansand the wandering knightRuggiero,who, from the creature's back, frees the beautiful Angelica.Astolfoalso borrows the hippogriff fromBradamanteto go search forRoland's wits.

The hippogriff became a subject of visual art in the 19th century, when it was often drawn byGustave Doré.

Etymology

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The wordhippogriff,also spelledhippogryph,[2]is derived from theAncient Greek:ἵπποςhíppos,meaning "horse", and the Italiangrifomeaning "griffin"(fromLatin:gryporgrypusfrom Ancient Greek:γρύψ,romanized:grýps), which denotes another mythical creature, with the head of an eagle and body of a lion, that is purported to be the father of the hippogriff.[3][4]The wordhippogriffwas adopted into English shortly before 1615.[5]The Hippogypians mentioned inVera Historia,a fantastic travelogue written by the Roman authorLucian of Samosatain the Second Century A.D. suggest another likely source for the word. However, in that text, the term is used to refer to a race of moon-dwelling riders that employ gigantic three-headed vultures as steeds.

Description

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Of the heraldic representations of the hippogriff,Arthur Charles Fox-Daviesstates that hybrid fantastical creatures' depictions are "ugly, inartistic, and unnecessary. Their representation leaves one with a disappointed feeling of crudity of draughtsmanship."[6]John Vinycombstates that the hippogriff is not used in the British heraldic tradition.[7]

Hippogriff, illustration byGustave DoréforOrlando furioso.

Ludovico Ariosto's poem,Orlando furioso(1516) contains the following description (canto IV):

XVIII
No fiction wrought magic lore,
But natural was the steed the wizard pressed;
For him a filly to griffin bore;
Hight hippogryph. In wings and beak and crest,
Formed like his sire, as in the feet before;
But like the mare, his dam, in all the rest.
Such on Riphaean hills, though rarely found,
Are bred, beyond the frozen ocean's bound.

XIX
Drawn by enchantment from his distant lair,
The wizard thought but how to tame the foal;
And, in a month, instructed him to bear
Saddle and bit, and gallop to the goal;
And execute on earth or in mid air,
All shifts of manege, course and caracole;
He with such labour wrought. This only real,
Where all the rest was hollow and ideal.

According toThomas Bulfinch'sLegends of Charlemagne:

Like a griffin, it has the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with feathers, the rest of its body being that of a horse. This strange animal is called a Hippogriff. The hippogriff is said to be an evil spirit resting and possessing its soul in that of a horse and griffon.[8]

Beliefs and symbolism

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According to Vidal, a Spanish historian, this creature was supposed to live near Céret, in theCounty of Roussillonof modern-day France, during the Middle Ages. Claw marks were found on a rock near Mas Carol.[9]The belief in the existence of the hippogriff, such asAriostodescribes, is fiercely attacked in a scientific essay on religion in 1862, which argues that such an animal can neither be a divine creation, nor truly exist. The Book of Enoch quite clearly details how Satan and his fallen angels created various hybrids by admixture. The Sphinx is the best known such hybrid. The hippogriff is supposed to be a mixture of several animals and the author notes that in order to support its weight, the wings would be so heavy that flight would be impossible, which proves—without question—that it does not exist.[10]

In some traditions, the hippogriff is said to be the symbol of love, as its parents, the mare and griffin, are natural enemies.[10]In other traditions, the hippogriff represents Christ's dual nature as both human and divine.[11]

Modern representations

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AnanimatronicHippogriff in the nest on the left side of the lift hill of the roller coasterFlight of the Hippogriffin Orlando, Florida
  • ArtistMax Klingerused the hippogriff amongst other objects in his drawingFantasy and the Artistto note his disparagement for artistic work that relies on out-worn and clichéd symbolism.[12]
  • In ahoaxinitially perpetrated in 1904 inLake George,New York State,tricksters used a fake "monster" which became known as "The Hippogriff". The creation had a head of a bird of prey, teeth, and two large horse ears, which could be controlled from below. The pranks and sightings faded until 1999 when several people staying at the Island Harbour House Hotel stated they had seen a sea monster at night. The old hoax was uncovered by theDaily Newsand the Lake George Historical Association Museum, which created a copy of the original wooden monster to display to the public in August 2002.[13]
  • The hippogriff appears in various works of fantasy, such as works ofE. Nesbit[14]andE. R. Eddison'sThe Worm Ouroboros(1922).[15]It's also regularly alluded to as a fearsome monster byBertie WoosterinP. G. Wodehouse'sJeevesstories.
  • The fantasy role-playing gameDungeons & Dragonsincludes a version of the creature, which is described as having a horse's "ears, neck, mane, torso, and hind legs" and an eagle's "wings, forelegs, and face". According to the game's rules, the creatures are closely related togriffinsandpegasi.Hippogriffs, pegasi, and horses are all hunted by griffins as the latter have a strong attraction to the flesh of horses.[16]An artistic representation of the hippogriff drawing inspiration from real eagles and horses was used for the cover of the third booklet of the originalDungeons & Dragons(1974)edition.[17]
  • As with many ancient mythical beasts, a hippogriff namedBuckbeak(subsequently "Witherwings" ) features prominently inHarry Potter.[18]Peter Dendle says that the portrayal of the treatment of Buckbeak in the novels is one example that demonstrates "[t]he emotional need to express domination symbolically"[19]as well as being one of the episodes that allows Harry to be shown as the "perennial liberator of all manner of creatures."[19]Al Rokercalls the creation of Buckbeak in the filmHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"one of the most magnificent and realistic creatures in film history."[18]The character was used to create the theme for a roller coaster calledFlight of the Hippogriffat the Florida amusement parkThe Wizarding World of Harry Potterin which the cars are wicker covered and pass by a statue of a hippogriff in a nest.[20]Stefano Jossa has reconstructed the web of relations of Rowling's hippogriff.[21]
  • In theDigimonfranchise, there is a Digimon called Hippogriffomon.
  • Hippogriffs appeared in the 2017 filmMy Little Pony: The Movie,where they were transformed intoseaponies.They were also featured in the season 8 premiere of the show, with the reoccurring character being Silverstream.
  • In the animeFate/Apocrypha,the Servant Astolfo, also known as Rider of Black, is able to summon a hippogriff that they use a mount with their Noble Phantasm Hippogriff. The hippogriff is considered to be a Phantasmal Species.
  • Hippogriffs are ridden by the Knights of Bretonnia from the tabletop gameWarhammer Fantasy,and also appear in the video game adaptationTotal War: Warhammer.
  • In the 11th book of theFighting Fantasygamebook series,Talisman of Death,the adventurer enjoys a plate of hippogriff in creamy sauce in one of Greyguilds-on-the-moor's many inns.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Hippogriff | legendary animal".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2020-10-14.
  2. ^Française, Académie (1843).Complément du Diction sire de l'Académie française(in French).
  3. ^Sevestre & Rosier 1983,pp. 16–17
  4. ^Wagner 2006,p. 124
  5. ^"Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-02-28.
  6. ^Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (2007).A Complete Guide to Heraldry.Skyhorse Publishing Inc. pp. 232–.ISBN9781602390010.Retrieved31 May2015.
  7. ^Vinycomb, John (1969).Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art With Special Reference to Their Use in British Heraldry.Library of Alexandria. pp. 123–.ISBN9781465552556.Retrieved31 May2015.
  8. ^Thomas Bulfinch,Legends of Charlemagne,1863.
  9. ^(in French)Bo i Montégut 1978,p. 219
  10. ^abPoulin, Paulin (1862). A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven; et al. (eds.).Qu'est-ce que l'homme? Qu'est-ce que Dieu? Solution scientifique du problème religieux(in French). p. 223.
  11. ^Sax, Boria (2013-10-15).Imaginary Animals: The Monstrous, the Wondrous and the Human.Reaktion Books. pp. 195–.ISBN9781780232133.Retrieved31 May2015.
  12. ^Morton, Dr Marsha (2014-07-28).Max Klinger and Wilhelmine Culture: On the Threshold of German Modernism.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 34–.ISBN9781409467588.Retrieved31 May2015.
  13. ^Radford, Benjamin; Nickell, Joe (2006).Lake monster mysteries: investigating the world's most elusive creatures.University Press of Kentucky. pp.101–109.ISBN9780813123943.
  14. ^Briggs, Julia (2000-11-07).A Woman of Passion: The Life of E. Nesbit.New Amsterdam Books. pp. 220–.ISBN9781461636229.Retrieved31 May2015.
  15. ^Weinstock, Professor Jeffrey (2014-01-08).The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 329–.ISBN9781409425625.Retrieved31 May2015.
  16. ^Doug Stewart,ed. (1993).Monstrous Manual.TSR, Inc.p. 190.
  17. ^Witwer, Michael; Newman, Kyle; Peterson, Jonathan; Witwer, Sam; Manganiello, Joe (October 2018).Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: a visual history.Ten Speed Press.pp.20–21, 27.ISBN9780399580949.OCLC1033548473.
  18. ^abRoker, Al (2004-06-11)."Behind the Magic of 'Harry Potter'".NBC News.Retrieved2013-10-24.
  19. ^abHeilman, Elizabeth E. (2008-08-05).Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter.Taylor & Francis. pp. 201–.ISBN9780203892817.Retrieved1 November2013.
  20. ^Miller, Laura Lea (2011-10-20).Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando 2012.John Wiley & Sons. pp. 273–.ISBN9781118168042.Retrieved1 November2013.
  21. ^"Ariosto, Harry Potter and Hippogriffs: Weaving textual webs".

Works cited

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