Treasure guardians in folklore: Difference between revisions
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The '''treasure guardian''' is a recurring [[motif (narrative)|motif]] in [[folklore]] of a being that guards a treasure. Typically, the hero must overcome the guardian in order to obtain the treasure. In some cases the treasure guardians are non-human beings, although one subtype, known as "treasure ghosts", were deceased humans who had been murdered and buried with the treasure to protect it.<ref name="Huggins 2003">{{citation |first= Ronald V. |last= Huggins |author-link= Ronald V. Huggins |url= https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V36N04_37.pdf |title= From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism |journal= [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |volume= 36 |issue= 4 |date= Winter 2003 |pages= 17–42 }}</ref><ref name="Ashurst-McGee 2006">{{citation |first= Mark |last= Ashurst-McGee |author-link= Mark Ashurst-McGee |title= Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian |url= http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1446&index=5 |journal= [[FARMS Review]] |volume= 18 |issue= 1 |year= 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Mark |last= Ashurst-McGee |author-link= Mark Ashurst-McGee |title= Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? |url= http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Mhs2.2-Ashurst-McGeeFall2001.pdf |journal= [[Mormon Historical Studies]] |volume= 2 |issue= 2 |date= Fall 2001 |pages= 39–75}}</ref> Animals are often shown as treasure guardians—an index of folklore chronicles stories of snakes, crows, ravens, cocks, swans, and night-birds as treasure guardians.<ref>{{citation |first= Ernest Warren |last= Baughman |title= Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America |series= Indiana University folklore series, no. 20 |place= The Hague |publisher= [[Mouton Publishers|Mouton]] |orig-year= 1966 |year= 1967 |oclc= 491929 |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=uk-W8g_68b8C&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85 85] }}</ref> In some stories, the treasure is guarded by "the [[Devil]] himself".<ref name="Huggins 2003"/><ref name="Ashurst-McGee 2006"/>{{rp|44–45}} |
The '''treasure guardian''' is a recurring [[motif (narrative)|motif]] in [[folklore]] of a being that guards a treasure. Typically, the hero must overcome the guardian in order to obtain the treasure. In some cases the treasure guardians are non-human beings, although one subtype, known as "treasure ghosts", were deceased humans who had been murdered and buried with the treasure to protect it.<ref name="Huggins 2003">{{citation |first= Ronald V. |last= Huggins |author-link= Ronald V. Huggins |url= https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V36N04_37.pdf |title= From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism |journal= [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |volume= 36 |issue= 4 |date= Winter 2003 |pages= 17–42 }}</ref><ref name="Ashurst-McGee 2006">{{citation |first= Mark |last= Ashurst-McGee |author-link= Mark Ashurst-McGee |title= Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian |url= http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1446&index=5 |journal= [[FARMS Review]] |volume= 18 |issue= 1 |year= 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Mark |last= Ashurst-McGee |author-link= Mark Ashurst-McGee |title= Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? |url= http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Mhs2.2-Ashurst-McGeeFall2001.pdf |journal= [[Mormon Historical Studies]] |volume= 2 |issue= 2 |date= Fall 2001 |pages= 39–75}}</ref> Animals are often shown as treasure guardians—an index of folklore chronicles stories of snakes, crows, ravens, cocks, swans, and night-birds as treasure guardians.<ref>{{citation |first= Ernest Warren |last= Baughman |title= Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America |series= Indiana University folklore series, no. 20 |place= The Hague |publisher= [[Mouton Publishers|Mouton]] |orig-year= 1966 |year= 1967 |oclc= 491929 |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=uk-W8g_68b8C&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85 85] }}</ref> In some stories, the treasure is guarded by "the [[Devil]] himself".<ref name="Huggins 2003"/><ref name="Ashurst-McGee 2006"/>{{rp|44–45}} |
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==In popular culture== |
==In popular culture== |
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* ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'' features a crusader knight who guards the [[Holy Grail]]. |
* ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'' features a crusader knight who guards the [[Holy Grail]]. |
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* Works by Tolkien feature [[Smaug]], |
* Works by Tolkien feature [[Smaug]] and Chrysophylax, both treasure-guarding dragons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Unerman |first=Sandra |date=April 2002 |title=Dragons in twentieth-century fiction |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/202737943 |website=ProQuest|id={{ProQuest|202737943}} }}</ref><ref name="Ashurst-McGee 2006"/>{{rp|45–46}} |
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* The Dragons of Earthsea in [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]'s [[A Wizard of Earthsea]] hoard treasure.<ref name=":0" /> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGuffinGuardian MacGuffin Guardian] entry at [[TV Tropes]] |
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[[Category:Recurring elements in folklore]] |
[[Category:Recurring elements in folklore]] |
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Latest revision as of 19:34, 2 December 2023
The treasure guardian is a recurring motif in folklore of a being that guards a treasure. Typically, the hero must overcome the guardian in order to obtain the treasure. In some cases the treasure guardians are non-human beings, although one subtype, known as "treasure ghosts", were deceased humans who had been murdered and buried with the treasure to protect it.[1][2][3] Animals are often shown as treasure guardians—an index of folklore chronicles stories of snakes, crows, ravens, cocks, swans, and night-birds as treasure guardians.[4] In some stories, the treasure is guarded by "the Devil himself".[1][2]: 44–45
In folklore
[edit]- Jinn, an Arabian legendary creature sometimes depicted as a treasure guardian
- Gnome, a European legendary creature sometimes depicted as a treasure guardian
- Leprechaun, a treasure guardian from Irish folklore
- Dragon, a creature often portrayed as hoarding a treasure
- Salamander, a legendary creature often described as a lizard in shape (even looking like a common salamander), but usually with an affinity for fire
- Spriggan, Cornish guardian of fairy treasure, said to be the ghosts of giants that can swell to enormous sizes.
In popular culture
[edit]- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade features a crusader knight who guards the Holy Grail.
- Works by Tolkien feature Smaug and Chrysophylax, both treasure-guarding dragons.[5][2]: 45–46
- The Dragons of Earthsea in Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea hoard treasure.[5]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Huggins, Ronald V. (Winter 2003), "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism" (PDF), Dialogue, 36 (4): 17–42
- ^ a b c Ashurst-McGee, Mark (2006), "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian", FARMS Review, 18 (1)
- ^ Ashurst-McGee, Mark (Fall 2001), "Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian?" (PDF), Mormon Historical Studies, 2 (2): 39–75
- ^ Baughman, Ernest Warren (1967) [1966], Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America, Indiana University folklore series, no. 20, The Hague: Mouton, p. 85, OCLC 491929
- ^ a b Unerman, Sandra (April 2002). "Dragons in twentieth-century fiction". ProQuest. ProQuest 202737943.