InGerman folklore, adrude (German:Drude,German:[ˈdʁuːdə],pl.Druden[1]) is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit (analp,kobold orhag) associated withnightmares, prevalent especially inSouthern Germany. Druden were said to participate in theWild Hunt and were considered a particular class of demon inAlfonso de Spina'shierarchy.[citation needed] The word also came to be used as a generic term for "witch" in the 16th century (Hans Sachs).
The word is attested as theMiddle High Germantrute, and in early modern lexicography and down to the 19th century, it was popularly associated with the worddruid, without any etymological justification – its actual origin is unknown.Jacob Grimm suggests derivation from a euphemistictrût (moderntraut, meaning "dear, beloved; intimate"), but cites as an alternative suggestion a relation to thevalkyrie's nameÞrúðr.[2] If so it is natural to connect thedruden with the daughter of the chieftain of the gods in the Norse religion,Thor, and his wifeSif.
TheDrudenfuss (orDrudenfuß), literally "drude's foot" (alsoAlpfuss[3]), is thepentagram symbol (in early usage also either a pentagram or ahexagram), believed to ward off demons, explicitly so named inGoethe'sFaust (1808). The word has been in use since at least the 17th century, recorded byJustus Georg Schottelius (asdrutenfusz, glossedomnis incolumitatis signum). Its apotropaic use is well recorded for 18th- to 19th-century folk belief in Bavaria and Tyrol.[4]
Drudenfuss is also the German name of the pentagram used as a heraldic device (alternativelyDrudenkreuz "drude's cross" andAlpfuß, Alfenfuß "elf-foot" orAlpkreuz "elf-cross") besides the more descriptivePentalpha orFünfstern.
Drudenfuss is another name formistletoe.[5]
ADrudenstein is a pebble with a naturally formed hole in the center. In Bavaria, such pebbles were hung in rooms, on cradles or in stables to ward off nightmares, or to protect horses against matted manes or tails.[6]
