• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

blog 3 Tales from Limburg

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Ban submitted a new blog post:

3 Tales from Limburg
by Karstenberg

Limburgs_landschap-475x333.jpg


Limburg is a land of rolling hills and meandering streams, chock-full of old towns and villages. It is a land of castles, abandoned mines, Roman, Prussian and French remnants and ruins, all kept together by modern Dutch, German and Belgian buildings. It’s a peculiar hodge podge recipe of a whole bunch of ingredients I happen to love.

To me it is a shame then, that Limburg’s wealth of folklore is unknown to the world at large.

Gulp-Slenaken-500.jpg


In an attempt to correct that, I’ve rewritten two tales from “Limburgsche legenden, sagen, sprookjes, en volksverhalen”. These stories along with over one hundred and fifty others were compiled by the Limburgish pastor H Welters in an effort to preserve the local legends, fables and sagas in the face of Dutch integration efforts at the time.

The tales found below are not direct translations of the originals, but close interpretations of them wherein the wordplay and pace differs slightly. That said, the cores of these stories have been left unaltered and I have opted to not change their plots or the viewpoints from which they are told in any way.

I hope you enjoy them.
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Thank you Greybeard. You pose an interesting question that might merit a thread of its own.

If I were to guess, I would say that cultures from all over turn toward these stories of men selling their souls to a devil figure, simply because that transaction serves as an effective allegory for living in sin. Sin and the negative effects of them are hard to convey, but nearly everyone is able to imagine the concepts of a soul and a devil figure, therefore those are the representations that become most widely adopted.

Those are just my two cents though, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a number of other possible explanations.
 

Black Dragon

Staff
Administrator
Thank you Greybeard. You pose an interesting question that might merit a thread of its own.

If I were to guess, I would say that cultures from all over turn toward these stories of men selling their souls to a devil figure, simply because that transaction serves as an effective allegory for living in sin. Sin and the negative effects of them are hard to convey, but nearly everyone is able to imagine the concepts of a soul and a devil figure, therefore those are the representations that become most widely adopted.

Those are just my two cents though, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a number of other possible explanations.
I think that's a reasonable explanation. Such stories take the abstract concepts of sin and evil, and makes them more concrete and relatable.

Of course, I would not entirely rule out the possibility of there being actual cases of individuals literally pledging their souls to sinister supernatural entities. As a person of faith, I accept that as a real - albeit unlikely - possibility.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ban

Black Dragon

Staff
Administrator
On a related note, have you played the Witcher 3 expansion "Heart of Stone?" It presents a very cool reinterpretation of the "sold soul to the devil" motif.
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
On a related note, have you played the Witcher 3 expansion "Heart of Stone?" It presents a very cool reinterpretation of the "sold soul to the devil" motif.
I have yet to play the first two games in the series. I should really make time for that at some point, I've heard great things about the series.
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Dear Provolone Protégé,
I haven't come across this book before, but I'm giving it 1 unlicensed Michelin star based on the title alone. Thank you very much for the recommendation.
Sincerely,
The Paneer poet
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Thank you very much Jen, it means a lot to me that folk from beyond my home are able to enjoy regional tales. I plan to continue my translations, with hopes of translating H Welters full work somewhere in the future. If nothing gets in the way, I should have a follow-up to this article later in the year.
 
Top