"Krsnik" redirects here. For the Slavic deity, seeKrsnik (deity).
InSlavic mythology, akrsnik (female:krsnica[1][2]) orkresnik is a type of vampire hunter and a shaman whose spirit wanders from the body in the form of an animal. Thekrsnik turns into an animal at night to fight off thekudlak, his evilvampire antithesis, with thekrsnik appearing as a white animal and thekudlak as a black one.[3] Thekrsnik's soul leaves the body, either voluntarily or due to a higher power, to fight evil agents and ensure good harvest, health, and happiness.[4]
Thekrsnik is taught magic byVile (fairies),[5] and in traditional medicine has the ability to heal people and cattle.[2] However, due to the undocumented nature of oral tradition, it is difficult to determine with certainty how much ofkresnik folkloreoriginated from Slavic mythology, and how much arose from a separate shamanistic tradition.[6] Some[2] postulate the struggle between thekresnik and thekudlak reflects an earlier dualistic tradition inherited from Slavic polytheism; however, a struggle between two tribes of sorcerers over the fate of the harvest is a commonmytheme among peoples of the northern Adriatic regardless of their ethnicity. A similar motif is found among the Romance inhabitants of nearbyFriuli, who call their equivalent to the Slavickresnici theBenandanti. AfterChristianization, thekresnik instead was claimed to have learned magic at the School of Black Magic inBabylon, yet retained benevolent traits as a generous and powerful friend of the poor.[7]
The origin of the name may be from the wordkrst, which means "cross",[3] and which in Serbia is the word for a stone sign denoting village boundaries.[4] It may also be derived from the same root as the Slav word for "resurrection,"[7] so that the word itself means something approximating "resurrector."[5]
Similar beliefs circulated among the ItalianBenandanti cult.
In the novel, anime, and manga seriesTrinity Blood, a "Crusnik" is avampire that feeds on the blood of other vampires.Lilith Sahl, Cain, Seth, and Abel Nightroad areCrusnik who are much more powerful than regular vampires, who have the bacillus kudlak. They all take different forms: Cain appears as anangel with white wings, even though he is theantagonist, whereas Abel appears slightlydemonic with black wings and red eyes, while being theprotagonist. Kudlak also appears in the series as a bacillus that is responsible for the creation of "normal" vampires.
Kresnik andKudlak are recurring characters in theShin Megami Tensei series of video games.
Kresnik is the name of a mythological hero inTales of Xillia. A superweapon bearing the name "Lance of Kresnik" is a plot device. Thesequel features one of the hero's descendants, named Ludger Will Kresnik. A plot-significant machine namedKudlak is also present.
The main villain inDarkness Hunts byKeri Arthur is a male serial killer who believes he is a kresnik hunting down supposed kudlaks and murdering them.
Kudlak appears as a card in the onlinecollectible card gameShadowverse. The mechanics of the card allow copies of Kudlak to be placed in the player’s deck after his defeat, which mirrors the theme of Kudlak’s recurring return.
Bošković-Stulli, Maja, et al. “SULLE ORME DEL KRESNIK E DEL BENANDANTE”. In:Lares, vol. 69, no. 3, 2003, pp. 607–38. JSTOR,http://www.jstor.org/stable/26233898. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
