Feather cloaks have been used by several cultures. It constituted noble and royal attire in§ Hawaii and other Polynesian regions. It is a mythical bird-skin object that imparts power of flight upon the Gods in§ Germanic mythology and legend, including the§ Swan maidens account. In medieval Ireland, the chief poet (filí orollam) was entitled to wear a feather cloak.
The feather robe or cloak (Chinese:yuyi; Japanese:hagoromo;羽衣) was considered the clothing of the Immortals (xian;仙/僊), and features inswan maiden tale types where atennyo (Japanese:天女 "heavenly woman") robbed of her clothing or "feather robe" and becomes bound to live on mortal earth. However, the so-called "feather robe" of the Chinese and Japanese celestial woman came to be regarded as silk clothing or scarves around the shoulder in subsequent literature and iconography.
The scarlethoneycreeperʻiʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) was the main source of red feathers.[2][4][5] Yellow feathers were collected in small amounts each time from the mostly blackʻōʻō (Moho spp.) or themamo (Drepanis pacifica).[5][2][8]
Another strictly regal item was thekāhili, a symbolic "staff of state" orstandard, consisting of pole with plumage attached to the top of it.[11][3][5][12] ThePrincess Nāhiʻenaʻena in her portrait (cf. fig. right) is depicted holding akāhili while wearing a feather cloak.[13] She would typically wear a feather cloak with a feather coronet and she would match these with a pair ofpāʻū ('skirts'[14])[15] which ordinarily would bebarkcloth skirt,[16] however, she also had a magnificent yellow feather skirt made for her, which featured in her funerary services.[15][17][18][b]
Other famous examples include:
Kamehameha's feather cloak - made entirely of the golden-yellow feather of themamo, inherited byKamehameha I. KingKalākaua displayed this artefact to emphasize his own legitimate authority.[19][20]
Kiwalao's feather cloak - KingKīwalaʻō's cloak, captured by half-brother Kamehameha I who slew him in 1782. It symbolized leadership and was worn by chieftains during times of war.[21]
A mythical enemy-incineratingkapa (barkcloth) cape, retold as a feather skirt in one telling, occurs in Hawaiian mythology. In the tradition regarding the heroʻAukelenuiaʻīkū,[c] the hero's grandmother Moʻoinanea who is matriarch of the divine lizards (moʻo akua, or simplymoʻo) gives him her severed tail, which transforms into a cape (orkapa lehu, i.e.tapa) that turns enemies into ashes, and sends him off on a quest to woo his destined wife,Nāmaka. Nāmaka (who is predicted to attack him when he visits) will be immune to the cape's powers. She is also a granddaughter or descendant of the lizard, and has been given the lizard's battlepāʻū (skirt) andkāhili (feathered staff), also conferred with power to destroy enemy into ashes.[23] In one retelling, Moʻoinanea (Ka-moʻo-inanea) gives her grandson ʻAukele her "feather skirt" andkāhili which "by shaking.. can reduce his enemies to ashes".[24][25]
A commentator has argued that the feather garment of Nāhiʻenaʻena was regarded as imbued with theapotropaic "powers of a woman's genitals", reminiscent of the mythicpāʻū whichHiʻiaka was given by Pele.[27]
It has been noted there is a pan-Polynesian culture of valuing the use of feathers in garments, especially of red colour, and there had even existed ancient trade in feathers. While various featherwork apparel were widespread across Polynesia, feather capes were limited to Hawaiʻi and New Zealand.[28]
TheMāori feather cloak orkahu huruhuru are known for their rectangular-shaped examples.[d][29][30] The most prized were the red feathers which inMāori culture signified chiefly rank,[31][29] and were taken from thekaka parrot to make thekahu kura which literally means 'red cape'.[29][e]
The feather garment continues to be utilized as symbolic of rank or respect.[35][36]
The feather cloak or cape was traditional to the coastalTupi people, notably theTupinambá. The cape was calledguará-abucu[37] (var.gûaráabuku[38]) inTupi–Guarani, so called from the red plumage ofguará (Eudocimus ruber, scarlet ibis) and not only did it have a hood at the top,[39] but it was meant to cover the body to simulate becoming a bird,[40] and even included a buttocks piece calledenduaps.[37] These feather capes were worn by Tupian shamans orpajé (var.paîé) during rituals, and clearly held religious or sacred meaning.[41][40] The cape was also worn in battle,[42] but it has been clarified that the warrior as well as his victim were deliberately dressed as birds as executioners and the offering in ritual sacrifices.[40]
A bird-hamr (pl.hamir) or feather cloak that enable the wearers to take the form of, or become, birds are widespread inGermanic mythology andlegend. The goddessFreyja was known for her "feathered or falcon cloak" (fjaðrhamr,valshamr), which could be borrowed by others to use, and thejötunnÞjazi may have had something similar, referred to as anarnarhamr (eagle-shape or coat).[43][45]
The termhamr has the dual meaning of "skin" or "shape",[46] and in this context,fjaðrhamr has been translated variously as "feather-skin",[47][48] "feather-fell",[49] "feather-cloak",[50] "feather coat",[51] "feather-dress",[52] "coat of feathers",[53] or form, shape or guise.[54][55][56][f][g]
The topic is often discussed in the broader sense of "ability to fly", inclusive of Óðinn's ability to transform into bird shape, andWayland's[h] flying contraption.[43] This wider categorization is necissitated due to ambiguity: in the case of Óðinn (andSuttungr) resorting to thearnarhamr ("eagle cloak"), it is unclear whether this should be construed literally to mean the use of a garment,[60][61] or be taken metaphorically as shape-shifting (e.g. "changed into eagle-shape"),[65] perhaps by use of magic.[68] Also, Völundr's "wing" is not a "feather cloak" per se, but only likened to it (cf.§ Wayland).
In Norse mythology, goddesses Freyja (as aforementioned) andFrigg each own a feather cloak that imparts the ability of flight.[56][59]
Freyja is not attested as using the cloak herself,[70] however she lent herfjaðrhamr ("feather cloak") to Loki so he could fly toJötunheimr afterÞórr's hammer went missing inÞrymskviða,[71] and to rescueIðunn from thejötunn Þjazi inSkáldskaparmál who had abducted the goddess while in anarnarhamr ("eagle shape").[45][54][74] The latter episode is also attested in the poemHaustlöng, where Freyja's garment is referred to ashauks flugbjalfa "hawk's flying-fur",[75] or "hawk's flight-skin"[76][77] and thejötunn employs agemlishamr "cloak/shape of eagle".[78]
Loki also uses Frigg's feather cloak to journey to Geirröðargarða ("Geirröðr's courts"[80] in Jötunheimr[82]), referred to here as avalshamr ("falcon-feathered cloak").[85]
Óðinn is described as being able to change his shape into that of animals, as attested in theYnglinga saga.[86][87] Furthermore, in the story of theMead of Poetry fromSkáldskaparmál,[88][62] although Óðinn changes attire into an "eagle skin" (arnarhamr), this is interpreted as assuming an "eagle-form" or "shape", especially by later scholars;[65] meanwhile, scholar Ruggerini argues Óðinn can use shape-shifting magic without the need of such skin, in contrast to the jötunn Suttung, who must put on his "eagle skin" (arnarhamr) in order to pursue him.[68][i]
In theVölsunga saga, the wife of King Rerir is unable to conceive a child and so the couple prays to Oðinn and Frigg for help. Hearing this, Frigg then sends one of her maids (Hljóð, possibly avalkyrja) wearing akrákuhamr (crow-cloak) to give the royal couple a magic apple which when eaten, made the queen pregnant with her sonVölsung.[89][90][91]
There were also the threeswan-maidens, also described asvalkyrjur, and owned sets of "swan's garments" or "swan cloaks" (álptarhamir; sing.:álptarhamr), and these gave the wearer the form of a swan.[92][93] And the maidens were wedded toWayland the Smith and his brothers, according to the prose prologue toVölundarkviða ("Lay of Wayland").[97]
Wayland's smithy in the centre,Niðhad's daughter to the left, and Niðhad's dead sons hidden to the right of the smithy. Between the girl and the smithy, Wayland can be seen in afjaðrhamr flying away.
The master smith Wayland (Old Norse:Völundr) uses some sort of device to fly away and escape fromKing Niðhad after he is hamstrung, as described in theEddic layVölundarkviða.[95][101] The lay has Völundr saying he has regained his "webbed feet" which soldiers had taken away from him, and with it he is able to soar into air. This is explained as a circumlocution for him recovering a magical artifact (perhaps a ring), which allows him to transform into a swan or such waterfowl with webbed feet.[95][101] An alternate interpretation is that the text here should not be construed as "feet" but "wings" ("feather coat or artificial wings"[102]), which gave him ability to fly away.[104][105][j]
The second "wing" scenario coincides with the version of the story given inÞiðreks saga, where Völundr's brotherEgill shot birds and collected plumage for him, providing him with the raw material for crafting a set of wings,[95] and this latter story is also corroborated on depictions on the panels of the 8th-century whale-boneFranks Casket.[95][103][107]
In theÞiðreks saga Wayland (hereOld Norse:Velent)'s device is referred to as "wings" or rather a single "wing" (Old Norse:flygill, a term borrowed from the GermanFlügel[108]) but is described as resembling afjaðrhamr, supposedly flayed from a griffin, or vulture, or an ostrich.[k][l][m][113][112][114] Some modern commentators suggest that the Low German source[117] originally just meant "wings", but the Norse translators took license to interpret it as being just like a "feather cloak".[109][107] In the saga version, Velent not only requested his brother Egill to obtain the plumage material[118] (as aforementioned) but also asks Egill to wear the wings first to perform a test flight.[112][107] Afterwards Velent himself escapes with the wings, and instructs Egil to shoot him, but aiming for hisblood sack prop to fake his death.[112]
As already noted,hamr could mean either a physical "skin" or the abstract "shape",[46] and though on first blush, Freyja seems to have a (literally) a "feather cloak" she could lend to others,[43] Larrington for instance glosses the feather cloak not as a 'skin' but an 'attribute' of the goddess which gives her ability to fly.[58] Vincent Samson explains thehamr as the physical aspect taken on by a mobile (or transmigrating) soul[n] when undergoing animal transformation, noting thatFrançois-Xavier Dillmann defineshamr as "external form of the soul".[o][119]
TheBretonlai ofBisclavret was translated in the Old NorseStrengleikar, the notion of "shape of animal" was rendered ashamr.[119] Another instance of such figure of speech usage occurs in the Old Norse telling of the British king's flying contraption, cf. below:
There are bird-people depicted on theOseberg tapestry fragments, which may be some personage or deity wearing winged cloaks, but it is difficult to identify the figures or even ascertain gender.[126]
King Bladud of Britain created artificial wings to enable flight according toGalfridian sources, conceived of as "feather skin" in Old Norse and Middle English versions (as already discussed above in§ Bladud's wings).
In Ireland, the elite class of poets known as thefilid wore a feathered cloak, thetuigen, according toSanas Cormaic ("Cormac's glossary").[127] Although the term may merely refer to a "precious" sort oftoga, asCormac glosses in Latin, it can also signifytuige 'covering 'tuige 'of birds', and goes on to describe the composition of this garment in minute detail.[128][129][p]
Cormac's glossary goes on to describe thetuigen thus: "for it is of skins (croiccenn, dat.chroicnib[131]) of birds white and many-coloured that the poets' toga is made from their girdle downwards, and of [male] mallards' necks and of their crests from the girdle upwards to their neck".[128][129][134]
AlthoughJohn O'Donovan recognized an attestation to the cloak in theLebor na Cert ("Book of Rights"), where verses by Benén mac Sescnéin are quoted, this may be an artefact of interpretive translation. In O'Donovan's rendition, the verse reads that the rights of theKings of Cashel rested with the chief poet of Ireland, together with his bird cloak (Taiḋean), where the termtaeidhean (normalized astaiden) is construed to be synonymous withtugen.[q][138][133] However,taíden is glossed as "Band, troop, company"[139] and in a modern translationMyles Dillon renders the same line ("Fogébthar i taeib na taídean") as "The answer will always be found at the assemblies" with no mention of the bird cloak.[140]
Thetuigen is also described in theImmacallam in dá Thuarad ("The Colloquy of the two Sages").[141] According to the narrative, in Ulster, Néde son ofAdna gains theollam’s position ("ollaveship") of his father, supplanting the newly appointed Ferchertne, then goes on to sit on theollam’s chair and wears theollam’s robe (Old Irish:tuignech), which were of three colors,[143][145] i.e., a band of bright bird's feathers in the middle, speckling offindruine (electrum) metal on the bottom, and "golden colour on the upper half".[146] Thetuigen is also mentioned in passing when Ferchertne speaks poetically and identifies his usurper as the young Néde, undeceived by the fake beard of grass.[147][149]
Thetuigen is also referred to (albeit allegorically) in the 17th elegy written forEochaidh Ó hÉoghusa.[141]
In theOld Norwegian workKonungs skuggsjá ("King's Mirror"), one can read a description of lunatics called "gelts"[150] sprouting feathers, in the chapter dealing with Irish marvels (XI):
There is still another matter, that about the men who are called “gelts,” which must seem wonderful. Men appear to become gelts in this way: when hostile forces meet and are drawn up in two lines and both set up a terrifying battle-cry, it happens that timid and youthful men who have never been in the host before are sometimes seized with such fear and terror that they lose their wits and run away from the rest into the forest, where they seek food like beasts and shun the meeting of men like wild animals. It is also told that if these people live in the woods for twenty winters in this way, feathers will grow upon their bodies as on birds; these serve to protect them from frost and cold, but they have no large feathers to use in flight as birds have. But so great is their fleetness said to be that it is not possible for other men or even for greyhounds to come near them; for those men can dash up into a tree almost as swiftly as apes or squirrels.
— tr. by Laurence M. Larson[151] (original text in Old Norse/Old Norwegian[152])
Regarding the above description of the "Gelts" sprouting feathers, it refers to the Irish wordgeilt meaning a "lunatic" induced into madness by fear from battle such as described in "King's Mirror" above.[150] The wordgeilt also occurs as a nickname for "Suibne Geilt"[150] or "Mad Sweeney" who transforms into a feathered form according to the medieval narrativeBuile Shuibhne.
This concept is adapted to the Greco-Roman mythology; Mercury, god of medicine, wears a "bird covering" or "feather mantle" rather thantalaria (usually conceived of as feathered slippers) in medieval Irish versions of classical literature, such as theAeneid.[153]
Stories concerning theguhuoniao (姑獲鳥 lit. "wench bird";[154]) describes the heavenly maiden who by wearing a "feathered garment" can transform into a bird and attempts to snatch away human children, being childless herself. This story is considered to fall somewhat under the purview of the swan-maiden type. It is arguably the oldest example, a version being found in theXuan zhong ji [zh] and a slight variant in theSoushenji both dating to the 4th century.[155][156]
In the Chinese Daoist concept of gods andimmortals (神仙,shenxian), these immortals wear feather garments oryuyi (羽衣).[157] Thexian also included human-born Daoists who purportedly attained immortality.[158] These immortals have their antecedents in the myth of "feather-humans" or "winged men" (yuren,羽人).[157][159] These "winged spirits" occur in ancient art, such as Han dynasty cast bronzes,[158] and an example (cf. fig. right) appear to be clothed and possess a pair of wings.[160][r] Early literary attestations are rather scant, though theChu Ci (楚辞) anthology may be cited (poetic work entitledYuan You) as mentioning theyuren.[157][159]
Theseyuren were originally supernatural divinities and strictly non-human, but later conflated or strongly associated with thexian (仙/僊) immortals, which Daoist adepts could aspire to become.[160][161]
TheBook of Han[s] records that theEmperor Wu of Han allowed thefangshi sorcererLuan Da[t] to wear a feathered garment in his presence, interpreted to be the granting of the privilege to publicly appeal the sorcerer's attainment of the winged immortal's power or status.[161][162] A later commentator of the early Tang dynasty,Yan Shigu clarifies that the winged garmentyuyi was made from bird feathers, and signifies the gods and immortals taking flight.[163]
In the early Tang (or ratherWu Zhou) dynasty, the EmpressWu Zetian commanded her favorite paramour DaoistZhang Changzong to be dressed up in a mock-up of famed Dao masterWang Ziqiao [ja]. Part of the costume set he wore included a "bird-feathered coat".[164] The coat was referred to as aji cui (集翠), that is to say, made from the gathered feathers of thekingfisher (feizui,翡翠).[u][165][v]
Regarding the HighTang periodEmperor Xuanzong, legend has it that he composed or arranged theNishang yuyi qu [zh] ("Melody of the Rainbow Skirts, Feathered Coats"). According to the fabulous account (preserved inTaiping Guangji), the Emperor was conveyed to the immortal realm (Lunar Palace) by axian namedLuo Gongyuan [zh]. The "rainbow skirts" and "feathered coats" in the tune's title have been surmised by commentators to refer to the clothing described as worn by the dancing immortal women in this account, namely the "white loose-fitting silk dress".[167] Hence it is supposed that in the popular image of those times, the celestial "feather coats" were being regarded as silken, more specifically "white glossed silk" garments.[170]
In modern times, a number of folktales have been collected from all over China that are classed as the swan-maiden type, which are renditions of theWeaver Maiden and the Cowherd legend. These consequently may not strictly have a "feather garment" as the implement in the flying motif. In the tale type, the Weaver Maiden is usually forcibly taken back to her celestial home, and the earthly Cowherd follows after, using various items, including heavenly costumes and girdles, but also oxen or oxhide in many cases.[171] Although flight using oxhide seems counterintuitive, Wu Xiadon (呉暁東) has devised the theory that the Weaver Girl's primordial form was the silkworm (silkworm-woman [zh]), and the ancient silk-woman or silk-horse myth, where a girl wrapped in the skin of her favorite horse metamorphoses into a silkworm.[173][175] But even disregarding this theory, the Weaver Girl in China is considered (less a divinity of plant fiber weaving) and more a divinity of silk and sericulture, a being who descended from heaven and taught mankind how to raise silkworms.[176] Namely, the notion that the celestial Weaver Girl raised silkworms in heaven, spun the thread into silk, and wore the woven silk garment is a widely accepted piece of lore.[177]
Cloth or clothing with the down of the crane woven in were calledhechang (鶴氅) or[he]changyi ([鶴]氅衣, lit. "crane down clothing"), and existed as actual pieces of clothing by the Tang Dynasty.[178] It was standard uniform for courtly guards during Tang and Song, but both men and women civilians wore them also.[179] A Taoist priest (daoshi) or adept (fangshi) wore these as well.[180][179] It is also mentioned in the famous novelDream of the Red Chamber that the ladiesLin Daiyu] andXue Baochai wore such "crane cloak".[181]
In Japan, there are also swan maiden type legends about atennyo (天女 "heavenly woman") coming to the earthly world and having her garment, orhagoromo (羽衣) stolen, translated as "feather cloak",[182] or "feather robe",[183] etc. The oldest attestation is set atLake Yogo [ja] inŌmi Province (nowShiga Prefecture) and was recorded in a fragmentary quote from the lostFudoki of that province (Ōmi no kuni fudoki [ja]).[184][183]
There is also the well-known folktale of theTsuru no Ongaeshi (鶴の恩返し, lit. "Crane's Return of a Favor"), where the crane-wife weaves fine cloth out of her own feathers, which might bear some relationship with the heavenly feather cloak.[185][w]
The miniature boy deitySukunabikona is described as wearing a garment made of wren's feathers in theNihon shoki.[178][186][x]
The Nara Period (8th century)Torige Tachi-Onna Byōbu (鳥毛立女屏風) refers to abyōbu or a folding "screen with figures of ladies standing; design worked out with birds ' feathers".[187] That is to say, almost looks like a monochrome line-painting orbiaomiao [zh] piece, but had feathers of thecopper pheasant[y] pasted on them.[188] In particular, the 2nd panel of 6 depicts a woman[189] with a peculiar costume said to be a "feather garment", with "petal-shaped lobes overlapping like scales, extending from top to bottom".[190] This is said to indicate the Japanese court's awareness of the trend in Tang Dynasty China of wearing garments using bird feathers.[188] Art historianKazuo Kosugi [ja] goes as far as to say this was an homage or allusion to the Chinese Daoist tradition that divinity and immortals woreyingyi made of bird's feathers.[191]
The ancient swan maiden type myth does not only occur in theŌmi fudoki [ja] where the heavenly woman is forcibly married to a man. In different tale found in theTango fudoki [ja], the heavenly woman is forcibly adopted by an old childless couple.[183][192] Although only the former text explicitly mentions "feather robe", and the Tango version only says it was the heavenly woman's costume (衣裳,ishō) which was hidden away, it is surmised that the feather garment was meant there as well.[193]
InThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (written down in the Heian Period?),Princess Kaguya mounts a flying cart and ascends to the "Moon Palace", while the angelictennin who arrived to escort her also brought for her thehagoromo feather garment as well as the medicine ofimmortality and agelessness. Due to the flying car, the feather garment here is supposedly not a direct means for her to be able to fly,[z][194] and it is guessed to be an article of clothing she needs in order for her to transform or revert back into a genuine celestial being.[197] It is pointed out that many scholars assume thetennin here to be the dictionary definition Buddhist entities, but the concept of immortality is incongruent with the Buddhist core tenet of transience and rebirth, so thetennin must really be regarded as the borrowing of divinities and immortals (xian;仙/僊) ofTaoism.[198]
The ancient legend about the PrincessTsuminoe [ja] classed as ahagoromo densetsu ("tradition of the robe of feathers"),[199] fails to clarify on how she was able to fly away astennnyo in the older version. But the legend has a later Heian Period version where she put on ahire, i.e., a scarf (肩巾 or領巾) and took flight.[200]
In other words, the so-called "feather robe"hagoromo came to be commonly depicted as what can only be described as the sheer silk scarf, called "hire (領巾)" in olden times,[aa][201]
Later in the Muromachi Period, in performances of theNoh playHagoromo, the dancing actor portraying the heavenly femaletennyo wears a supposedhagoromo feather garment. The prop costume is apparently made from whitish thin silk (or sometimes, thicker colorful silk).[202] Though the theatrical convention serves merely as a hint to what the originalhagoromo garment was like,[202][ab], but since sheer silk has been prized since the ancient Han or earlier, and even unearthed in Japanese Yayoi period sites,[ac] thehagoromo legend costume may well share origins with thetennnyo images found in Buddhist temples, etc.[ad] according to scholar Junrō Nunome, professedly speaking out of his textile expertise, being a non-folklorist.[203]
However, thecaveat is that while a dictionary consultation oftennyo (lit. "heavenly woman") typically explains it as a Buddhist female entity, the proper context is that of so-called "heavenly" beings actually refer to deities and immortals (神仙,shenxian) of Taoism who dwell in thexian realm. And this caveat applies even to the case of the Bamboo Cutter's daughter Kaguya, who ascends to the "Moon Palace".[198] As for the Nara Period work of art using real bird feathers, it has been theorized (by Kosugi) that it alludes to the feather garments of theshenxian, as aforementioned.[191]
But even in the context of theshenxian garments, later literature dating to the golden age of Tang ascribe the Daoist heavenly immortals wearing spun and softened silk, as in the legendary tale surrounding the "Melody of the Rainbow Gown and the Feathered Robe [zh]" (q.v.,§ China above).[ae]
Woman wearing feather cloak.
―Torige ritusjo no byōbu, Panel 2. Nara Period. Painting with bird feathers.[af]
Atennyo (femaletennin) wearing a scarf-likehagoromo "feather cloak".
^Cf. overall similarity in design to Bishop Museum piece catalogued C.9558[1]
^Incidentally, a tertiary meaning ofpāʻū is that it signifies the red feathers around the yellow in an ornamental feather bundle, calledʻuo.[14]
^Of which there are nine version according to Brown (2022).
^Whereas the Hawaiian feather cape developed from rectangular to circular shape, as aforementioned
^Though thekahu kura was literally 'red cape' it was understood to signify a cape made from the feathers of the kaka parrot.[32] Māorikahu kura may be cognate with Hawaiianʻahu ʻula, since the latter will result from dropping thek.[33] Though not thekaka parrot, Hiroa elsewhere states thatkoko is an olden name for thetui bird, and he also suggests dropping thek yields Hawaiianʻōʻō, a source of yellow feathers there.[34]
^The Cleasby-Vigufsson definition offjaðr-hamr as "'feather ham' orwinged haunch.."[57] is avoided by the aforementioned translators and commentators; Haymes's translationThe Saga of Thidrek being an exception.
^To complicate matters, despite the choice of wording ("cloak", the primary sense), the intended meaning may be opposite. Thus Larrington's translation "Thrym's Poem" renders the term as "feather cloak", but in endnote explains this is meant as "attribute" of flying capability.[58] And vice versa: Morris says "shape" but in the next breath describes as "such a costume"[59]
^Völundr in the Eddic lay, but Velent inÞiðreks saga.
^Gunnel notes that Oðinn'sheitiArnhöfði ('eagle head') may be a reference to him assuming the eagle shape to flee from Suttungr.[47]
^There is yet a third but a clear minority view that Völundr somehow regained his ability as shapeshifter to transform at will without any device.[106]
^Old Norse:"fleginn af grip eða af gambr eða af þeim fugl er struz heitir".
^The translation "griffin" here is backed by German sources, such asFranz Rolf Schröder block-quoted in English translation,[109] and Alfred Becker.[107] But "griffin" is lacking in Haymes's English translation: the termsgripr andgambr (gammr) are both glossed as 'vulture' in Cleasby-Vigfusson,[110][111] which explains why Haymes's translation collapses three birds into two: "winged haunch of a vulture, or of a bird called ostrich". But Cleasby-Vigfusson admitsgripr derives from Germangriff [meaning 'griffin'] and only cites this one instance in theÞiðreks saga;[110] the word is clearly ahapax legomenon.[107]
^Thefjaðrhamr has also been rendered as "feather haunch" or "winged haunch",[112] as according to Cleasby-Vigfusson for the combined form,[57] though the literal translation would be "feather skin".[46][109]
^In the German translation,Exkursionsseele equivalent tofree-soul [de] is used.
^Atkinson (1901) did register some doubt whether this was a genuine bird-skin garment from the very beginning which was thus name aptly, or anex post facto explanation later developed, based on the name (or the conjectural etymology thereof).[130] Atkinson's reservation is also noted in the eDIL.[127]
^Here "chief poet" was used by O'Donovan forsuaiḋ, whereas Myles Dillon gave "sage" (forsuíd. Cf.suí glossed as "I(a) man of learning, scholar, wise man, sage"; "More specifically head of a monastic or poetic school".[135] The term differs fromollam (ard-ollam) oréces (éices[136]) which usually correspond to "chief poet".[137]
^Kitamura lists other iconographic examples, such as Eastern Han tomb murals where he comments that the feathered man wears "a cape-likeyuyi resembling amino" or Japanese straw cape.".[160]
^Under the "Treatise on Suburban Sacrifices" (郊祀志).
^Luan Da aka General of Wuli (or "five benefits";五利将軍.
^As recorded inXue Yongruo [zh]'sShu yi ji ("Records of the Collected Strange":集異記).
^Later during the Qing dynasties, kingfisher feather headdresses were worn by empresses, with several surviving examples. They appear in Song period portraits also.[166]
^Cf. Como's preceding discussion on the lore of theWeaver Maiden and the Cowherd (Japanesetanabata festival). Note that the notable Chinese analogue to thetennyo/hagoromo (heavenly maid/feather cloak) legend is the astrological Weaver Maiden and Cowherd legend, as discussed above in§ China
^While not directly relevant here, the feathers were determined to belong toyamadori orcopper pheasant, endemic to Japan, which established the artwork as having been created in Japan, not imported from China.
^And thetennin, also are riding clouds, rather than flying with the feather robe, as is pointed out.
^Quotingwaka poet and critic Tomohiko Sunaga: "[what] the ancient people called ahire (領巾), a sheer silk, thin scarf 古代の人々が「領巾」と称した薄絹の細長いスカーフ" or, "theBenten orKisshōten's long, thin cloth worn floatingly around their shoulders弁天様や吉祥天女がふわりと肩に被いている細長い布".
^Nunome notes that given the association of the stock phraseten'i muhō (天衣無縫) meaning "seamless", the Noh costume which is clearly not seamless must be regarded as "altered それにふさわしく変形されたもの", only approximating the genuine item.
^More specifically according to Nunome,tennyo as depicted in Asuka and Nara Period temples in Japan, and cave art at theDunhuang site in China.
^The Chinese text gives素練, which refers to white glossed silk (練り絹,nerikinu) according to Ando. An Edo Period source (『貞享記』 (Jōteiki)) cited by Nunome contrarily states that theama no hagoromo was made of raw silk (生絹,kiginu) or unglossed silk.[204]
^Full color images available at Shōsōin site.[189]
^Themamo feathers were yellow tinged with orange or even called "rich orange" compared with the ʻōʻō feathers which were "bright yellow".[6][7] And themamo was forbidden use except by a king of an entire island.[6][3]
^Although thekāhili was strictly for thealiʻi there was akāhili bearer appointed to hold it,[9] and it was waved over the royal during sleep, as a fly-brush[3] orfly-whisk. Contrary to the one-handed version in the princess's painting, the multi-coloredkāhili held by her bearer may be 30 feet long.[10]
^Charlot, John (June 1991). "The Feather Skirt of Nāhiʻenaʻena: an Innovation in Postcontact Hawaiian Art".The Journal of the Polynesian Society.100 (2): 137.JSTOR20706388.
^abIn the narrative, Þjazi appears "in eagle form" (Old Norse:í arnarhami) at the meal (and in the woods), but when he goes in pursuit, he "wears aneagle coat" (Old Norse:tekr an arnarhamin.[44]
^abcdMcKinnel, John (2014a) [2000]."Chapter 8. Myth as Therapy: The Function of Þrymskviða". In Kick, Donata; Shafer, John D. (eds.).Essays on Eddic Poetry. University of Toronto Press. pp. 201 and note 13.ISBN9781442615885.13 See e.g.Breta sögur, inHauksbók.. Eiríkur Jónsson and Finnur Jónsson (Copenhagen, 1892-6), 231-302 (p. 248); this was translated from the Latin of Geoffrey of Monmouth.. Geoffrey simply refers at this point to the wings which King Bladud orders... Originally—— (2000). "Myth as Therapy: The Function of Þrymskviða".Medium Ævum.69 (1):1–20.doi:10.2307/43631487.JSTOR43631487.
^ab"Thrym's Poem".The Poetic Edda. Translated byLarrington, Carolyne. OUP Oxford. 2014. pp. 93–98 and note to "feather cloak" at str. 3.ISBN9780191662942.: St. 3: "feather cloak: 'attribute of Freyja which allows her to fly".
^Snorri Sturluson (1916).The Prose Edda. Translated byArthur Gilchrist Brodeur. American-Scandinavian Foundation. pp. 94–96.ISBN9780890670002.[Odin] turned himself into the shape of an eagle and.. Suttung.. too assumed the fashion of an eagle
^abEven though the double instances ofarnarhamr[62] were translated early by Vigfusson and Powell (1882) as Odin's "eagle's coat" and Suttung's "eagle-skin",[61] later translators (Brodeur 1916, Young 1954) render them as "shape", etc.[63][64] etc.
^Vigfússon & Powell 1883, p. 465: "turned himself into the similitude of a serpent" vs. "turned into the eagle's coat"
^abNote that the same verb (brásk, preterite ofbregða is used by the Snorra Edda to describe Odin's transformation into the serpent's likeness, so by being consistent in the rendering of the same verb, Vigfusson & Powell produced the (awkward) translation "turned into the eagle's coat".[66] Ruggerini argues that the verbtaka "to wear" is not used, and thebregða i meaning changing appearance into something else, suggests use of black magic likeseiðr.[67]
^Snorra Edda,Skaldskaparmál G1, G56.[59][70] In the 1848 edition, this belongs in the section "Bragi's sayings" 56, prior toSkáldskaparmál,[72] butFaulkes tr. 1995 places it near the beginning ofSkáldskaparmál marked as section "[56]" at pp. 59–60. Cf. also Byock (2005),[73]
^"Jötunheimr" ("Giantland") is not explicit in text, but theÞórsdrápa here quoted periphrases Þórr's destination as "ymsa kindar iðja"[81] which has been translated as "seat of Ymir's kin [Giantland]" (Faulkes tr. 1995, p. 83). As the story goes, Loki in falcoln form was captured, and is compelled to bring Þórr to Geirröðr.
^Grimstad 1983 discusses the transformation of gods "donning a feather coat", and in the attached footnoted (n18, p. 206) with an association with Oðinn's ability to transform into creatures in theYnglinga saga.
^abcde"Lay of Volund".The Poetic Edda. Translated byLarrington, Carolyne. OUP Oxford. 2014. pp. 99–111 and note to str. 29.ISBN9780191662942.: St, 29: "'Lucky..' said Volund 'that I can use my webbed feet'/of which Nidud's warriors deprived me!'/Laughing, Volund rose into air..".
^Prose prologue toVölundarkviða:"Þar váru hjá þeim álptarhamir þeira. Þat váru valkyrjur";[94] "Near them were their swan's garments. They were Valkyries";[95] "swan cloaks".[96] The passage is abridged after "Slagfið..." inVigfússon & Powell 1883, The Lay of Weyland, pp.168–169.
^Benoit, Jérémie (1989). "Le Cygne et la Valkyrie. Dévaluation d'un mythe".Romantisme (in French).19 (64):69–84.doi:10.3406/roman.1989.5588.
^abInGrimstad 1983, p. 191, it is the "second interpretation" which postulates that a transformation ring is meant; it is further explained that the ring could have belonged to the swan-maiden wife of Volund, and the ring endowed its wearer with an ability of transformation into a swan, etc. The authorities on this point of view listed (n20) areRichard Constant Boer (1907), "Völundarkviða".Arkiv för nordisk filologi23 (Ny följd.19): 139–140, Ferdinand Detter (1886) "Bemerkungen zu den Eddaliedern",Arkiv för nordisk filologi3: 309–319,Halldór Halldórsson (1960) " Hringtöfrar í íslenzkum orðtökum”Íslenzk tunga2: 18–20Deutsche Heldensagen, pp. 10–15,Alois Wolf (München, 1965 ) "Gestaltungskerne und Gestaltungsweisen in der altgermanischen Heldendichtung", p. 84.
^Jan de Vries [1952] pp. 196–197 contended that the plural wordfitjar in the phraseà fitjum need not be translated "webbed feet" but can be interpreted to mean "wings", cognate with Old Saxonfederac andMiddle Low Germanvittek, though McKinnel considers this problematic.[103]
^Grimstad 1983, p. 191 places "wings" vs. "ring" as the two major schools of thought on the interpretation of this phrase.[102] As exponents of the "feather coat or a pair of artificial wings" view names (n19)Georg Baesecke (1937),A. G. van Hamel (1929) "On Völundarkviða"Arkiv för nordisk filologi45: 161–175,Hellmut Rosenfeld (1955) and Philip Webster Souers (1943) as anticipating Jan de Vries (1952).
^Sayce, with Latin text appended in footnote as "..alis ire per summitatem aeris temptauit,[120] translated by Evans as "..he had fashioned him wings and tried to go upon the top of the air".[121]
^abAtkinson, Robert, ed. (1901)."tugain".Ancient laws of Ireland: Glossary. Vol. VI. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 756.though one might be curious as to which was theprius here, the word or its explanation
^Supplementing "[male] mallard" as O'Donovan abridged the termcoilech to indicate gender, andlachu does not specify this species but is 'duck in general', whilecoilech lachan is "wild drake".[132] Joyce substituted "mallards" with "drakes".[133]
Dliġeaḋ cach riġ ó riġ Caisil bíḋ ceist ar ḃárdaiḃ co bráth, fo gebthar i taeiḃ na Taiḋean ac suaiḋ na n-Gaeiḋel co gnáth
The Right of each king from the king of Caiseal, Shall be question to bards for ever: It shall be found along with the Taeidhean With the chief poet of the Gaeidhil constantly
^The "Tri datha na tugnigi (Three were the colours of the robe)" text is given under "tuignech" in eDIL, which notes the word is formed fromtuigen.[142]
^Carey's translation of the opening lines mentioningtuigen is Ferchertne saying: "Who is the poet, the poet whose mantle would be his glory?" Carey interprets Néde's beard offér to have been made of "moss".[148]
^abceDIL s.v. "1 geilt" gives definition as "one who goes mad from terror; a panic-stricken fugitive from battle; a crazy person living in the woods..", citing Irish Mirabilia inSpeculum Regale ("King's Mirror"). Usage as Suibne Geilt's sobriquet also mentioned.
^The Chinese text hassulian (素練), and Ando explains in Japanese that this is "whiteneri-kinu (練り絹),[168] literally "kneaded silk" but rendered as "glossed silk". Cf. the explanation of the termnerinuki (練緯) literally "kneaded weft", described as having "weft threads of glossed silk (degummed;sericin removed)".[169]
^Wu, Xiaodong (2016). "Cán tuōpí wèi niúlángzhīnǚ shénhuà zhī yuánxíng kǎo"蚕蜕皮为牛郎织女神话之原型考 [Consideration on the silkworm sheding its skin being the prototype of the story of the cowherd and the weaver girl].Mínzú wénhuà yánjiū民族文化研究. Zhōngguó shèhuì kēxuéyuàn mínzú wénxué yánjiū suǒ. pp. 29–38.;Wu, Xiaodong (2016). "Cóng cán mǎ shénhuà dào pán hù shénhuà de yǎnbiàn"从蚕马神话到盘瓠神话的演变.Qiánnán mínzú shīfàn xuéyuàn xuébào黔南民族师范学院学报 [Journal of Qiannan Uriversity of Nationalities]:6–10.
Edda: Snorri Sturluson. Everyman Library. Translated byFaulkes, Anthony. J. M. Dent. 1995 [1987]. pp. 60,81–83, 84.ISBN978-0-4608-7616-2. The chapter numbering follows the 1848 Copenhagen edition, which is the one usually cited (p. xxiii).
Eiríkur Jónsson;Finnur Jónsson, eds. (1892–1896).Breta sögur. Hauksbók:udgiven efter de Arnamagnænske Händskrifter No. 371, 544 og 675 4º. samt forskellige Papirshändskrifter. Kongelige Nordiske oldskriftselskab (Denmark). Copenhagen: Thieles bogtr. "Af Madann", c. 12, line 157ff. (p. 248).het Bladvð er riki.. .xx. vetr konengr verit þa let hann gera ser fiaðrham
Hsieh, Daniel 謝立義 (2003)."The Swan-Maiden Motif in Early Chinese Classical Tales". In Su, Jui-lung; Gong, Hang (eds.).Ershiyi shiji Hon, Wei, Liuchao wenxue xin shijiao: Kang Dawei jiaoshou huajia jinian lunwen ji廿一世紀漢魏六朝文學新視角: 康達維敎授花甲紀念論文集 [New views of Han, Wei, and Six dynasties literature in the twenty-first century : a festschrift in honor of professor David R. Knechtges on his sixtieth birthday]. Wenjin chubanshe. pp. 415–470.ISBN9789576687204.
Sugiyama, Sueo (1942). "2. Hagoromo to mino"ニ、羽衣と蓑.Nihon genshi seni kōgeishi dozokuron日本原始繊維工芸史 土俗編 (in Japanese). Yuzankaku. pp. 41–42.ndldm:1872149.
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![Woman wearing feather cloak. ―Torige ritusjo no byōbu, Panel 2. Nara Period. Painting with bird feathers.[af]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTeikokubijutsushiryo1922-zu03-torige-cropped.jpg)
