Undine
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| - | An '''elemental''' is a mythological being first appearing in the [[alchemy|alchemical]] works of [[Paracelsus]]. Traditionally, there are four types: | + | '''Ondines''' or '''undines'''are [[elemental]]s, enumerated as the water elementals in works of [[alchemy]] by [[Paracelsus]].<ref> Carole B. Silver, ''Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness'', p 38 ISBN 0-19-512100-6</ref> They also appear in European folklore as [[fairy]]-like creatures; the name may be used interchangeably with those of other water spirits.<ref>C.S. Lewis, ''The Discarded Image'', p135 ISBN 0-521-47735-2</ref> Undines were said to be able to gain a soul by marrying a human and bearing his child. |
| - | *[[gnome]]s, earth elementals | + | '''Undine''' A water nymph without a soul, which she later received by marrying a mortal and bearing a child: Heroine of a book (1812) by Baron [[Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué]], German author |
| - | *[[Ondine (mythology)|undines]], water elementals | + | |
| - | *[[sylph]]s, air elementals | + | |
| - | *[[Salamander (legendary creature)|salamanders]], fire elementals. | + | |
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| - | The exact term for each type varies somewhat from source to source, though these four are now the most usual. Most of these beings are found in folklore as well as alchemy; their names are often used interchangeably with similar beings from folklore. The sylph, however, is rarely encountered outside of alchemical contexts. | + | |
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| - | The basic concept of an elemental refers to the ancient idea of [[Classical elements|elements]] as fundamental building blocks of nature. In the system prevailing in the [[Classical antiquity|Classical]] world, there were four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. This paradigm was highly influential in Medieval natural philosophy, and Paracelsus evidently intended to draw a range of mythological beings into this paradigm by identifying them as belonging to one of these four elemental types. | + | |
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Ondines or undinesare elementals, enumerated as the water elementals in works of alchemy by Paracelsus.<ref> Carole B. Silver, Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness, p 38 ISBN 0-19-512100-6</ref> They also appear in European folklore as fairy-like creatures; the name may be used interchangeably with those of other water spirits.<ref>C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image, p135 ISBN 0-521-47735-2</ref> Undines were said to be able to gain a soul by marrying a human and bearing his child.
Undine A water nymph without a soul, which she later received by marrying a mortal and bearing a child: Heroine of a book (1812) by Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author
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