| Revision as of 11:00, 25 September 2021 editP Aculeius (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers20,249 edits Some reshuffling of materials, with greater certainty that the creature is a medieval development, at least as distinct from the centaur. Deleting erroneous attribution to classical dictionary, and noting variable description. Moving fantasy citations to end, and removing notability tag (presumably notable, as they seem to have become widely known; nobody seems to have followed up on the original query).← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 18:03, 30 October 2024 edit undoP Aculeius (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers20,249 edits Undid revision 1254372116 by 200.119.89.72 (talk)Tag: Undo | ||
| (58 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ] | |||
| '''Ipotanes''' or '''hippotaynes''' are mythical creatures |
'''Ipotanes''' or '''hippotaynes''' are mythical creatures. They are usually depicted as being half-human half-horse creatures much different from the ]s. Although sometimes attributed to ], the term appears to have originated at a much later date, and without a definite description; they are first mentioned in ]'s fourteenth-century ''Travels''. Ipotanes appear in modern works of the ]. | ||
| ==John de Mandeville== | ==John de Mandeville== | ||
| In his 1356 travelogue, ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'',<ref>Charles Knight, ''Charles Knight's Popular History of England'', vol. 2, p. 13, London: Bradbury, Evans, & Company, 1862–67 {{oclc|942643783}}.</ref> the author reports the existence of a violent race of ''ipotanes'', found in Bacharie (]). | In his 1356 travelogue, ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'',<ref>Charles Knight, ''Charles Knight's Popular History of England'', vol. 2, p. 13, London: Bradbury, Evans, & Company, 1862–67 {{oclc|942643783}}.</ref> the author reports the existence of a violent race of ''ipotanes'', found in Bacharie (]). | ||
| {{quote|...ben many Ipotanes that dwellen sometime in the water and sometime on the land; and thei ben half men and half hors and thei eten men when thei may take him|Wyken and Worde, 1499.<ref name="Vinycomb">John Vinycomb, ''Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art'', p. 144, Gale Research Company, 1906 {{ISBN|0810331470}}.</ref>}} More |
{{quote|...ben many Ipotanes that dwellen sometime in the water and sometime on the land; and thei ben half men and half hors and thei eten men when thei may take him|Wyken and Worde, 1499.<ref name="Vinycomb">John Vinycomb, ''Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art'', p. 144, Gale Research Company, 1906 {{ISBN|0810331470}}.</ref>}} More recent editions of Mandeville's work use various spellings; ''hippotaynes'' (Macmillan, 1900),<ref>Sir John Mandeville, A.W. Pollard (ed), ''The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville'', p. 177, London: Macmillan & Co., 1900 {{oclc|1268064505}}</ref> ''hippopotami'' (Penguin, 1983).<ref>Sir John Mandeville, C.W.R.D. Pollard (trans), ''The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville'', p. 167, Penguin, 1983 {{oclc|1261243004}}.</ref> | ||
| ==Description== | ==Description== | ||
| The word "ipotane" appears to be derived from the Greek {{lang|grc|ιππότης}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hippotes}}), "a knight". Mandeville's description is not clearly distinguishable from that of a centaur, and some depictions use the term synonymously.<ref name="Vinycomb"/> |
The word "ipotane" appears to be derived from the Greek {{lang|grc|ιππότης}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hippotes}}), "a knight", which itself is derived from {{lang|grc|ίππος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hippos}}), "a horse".<ref>Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', , Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1890 {{oclc|493157397}}.</ref> Mandeville's description is not clearly distinguishable from that of a ], and some depictions use the term synonymously.<ref name="Vinycomb"/> Some depictions show ipotanes with a ] body and a ]'s head. Other depictions have them as humans with the hindquarters of a horse. | ||
| ==Modern literature== | ==Modern literature== | ||
| Despite their similarity to centaurs, ipotanes are not mentioned in the corpus of Greek and Roman literature. However, they appear in works of |
Despite their similarity to centaurs, ipotanes are not mentioned in the corpus of Greek and Roman literature. However, they appear in modern works of fantasy literature, in which they are depicted with various combinations of horse-like and human features.<ref>{{multiref|For example,|Nancy A. Collins, ''Right Hand Magic: A Novel of Golgotham'', Penguin, 2010 {{ISBN|1101445777}}|Amanda Bouchet, ''A Promise of Fire'', Hachette UK, 2016 {{ISBN|0349412537}}.}}</ref> | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| * ] |
* ], Scottish folklore | ||
| * ] |
* ], Greek myth | ||
| * ], fictional character | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 18:03, 30 October 2024
Ipotanes or hippotaynes are mythical creatures. They are usually depicted as being half-human half-horse creatures much different from the centaurs. Although sometimes attributed to Greek mythology, the term appears to have originated at a much later date, and without a definite description; they are first mentioned in John de Mandeville's fourteenth-century Travels. Ipotanes appear in modern works of the fantasy genre.
John de Mandeville
In his 1356 travelogue, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author reports the existence of a violent race of ipotanes, found in Bacharie (Bactria).
...ben many Ipotanes that dwellen sometime in the water and sometime on the land; and thei ben half men and half hors and thei eten men when thei may take him
— Wyken and Worde, 1499.
More recent editions of Mandeville's work use various spellings; hippotaynes (Macmillan, 1900), hippopotami (Penguin, 1983).
Description
The word "ipotane" appears to be derived from the Greek ιππότης (hippotes), "a knight", which itself is derived from ίππος (hippos), "a horse". Mandeville's description is not clearly distinguishable from that of a centaur, and some depictions use the term synonymously. Some depictions show ipotanes with a human body and a horse's head. Other depictions have them as humans with the hindquarters of a horse.
Modern literature
Despite their similarity to centaurs, ipotanes are not mentioned in the corpus of Greek and Roman literature. However, they appear in modern works of fantasy literature, in which they are depicted with various combinations of horse-like and human features.
See also
- Glaistig, Scottish folklore
- Hippopodes, Greek myth
- BoJack Horseman, fictional character
References
- Charles Knight, Charles Knight's Popular History of England, vol. 2, p. 13, London: Bradbury, Evans, & Company, 1862–67 OCLC 942643783.
- ^ John Vinycomb, Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art, p. 144, Gale Research Company, 1906 ISBN 0810331470.
- Sir John Mandeville, A.W. Pollard (ed), The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville, p. 177, London: Macmillan & Co., 1900 OCLC 1268064505
- Sir John Mandeville, C.W.R.D. Pollard (trans), The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville, p. 167, Penguin, 1983 OCLC 1261243004.
- Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 708, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1890 OCLC 493157397.
-
- For example,
- Nancy A. Collins, Right Hand Magic: A Novel of Golgotham, Penguin, 2010 ISBN 1101445777
- Amanda Bouchet, A Promise of Fire, Hachette UK, 2016 ISBN 0349412537.