posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
owlfish at 09:42pm on 17/03/2004
owlfish at 09:42pm on 17/03/2004Are swans considered a symbol of masculinity? Is there any tradition of it, particularly in classical or medieval times?
Today, along with a few other people, I read a poem by Horace in which he describes himself as a swan, conquering envy by becoming a white-plumed swan which flies to all corners of Europe and Persia, and is known throughout. His fame will endure.
Upon further thought, most of the older swan stories I know involve very male swans. Leda was seduced by Jove in the form of a swan, a subject near and dear to Renaissance artists. In the Carmina Burana, the song of a dying song is a male solo number (well, at least the way Carl Orff set it to music). I know it's refered to as the "Ballad of the Roasted Swan", but still, it's in a male voice. Even The Ugly Duckling was male.
I realize that Swan Lake is all about a group of women transformed into swans, but the story is quite late compared to Leda, Horace, and the Carmina Burana, as least to the best of my limited knowledge on the subject. My earliest association with swans was when I was three years old - at my nursery school, my belongings were represented by a swan on a light pink background. An extremely bit of superficial research on the subject tells me that the swan represents both male and female, and thus potentially hermaphroditism. This analysis, however, is not historically grounded.
Today, along with a few other people, I read a poem by Horace in which he describes himself as a swan, conquering envy by becoming a white-plumed swan which flies to all corners of Europe and Persia, and is known throughout. His fame will endure.
Upon further thought, most of the older swan stories I know involve very male swans. Leda was seduced by Jove in the form of a swan, a subject near and dear to Renaissance artists. In the Carmina Burana, the song of a dying song is a male solo number (well, at least the way Carl Orff set it to music). I know it's refered to as the "Ballad of the Roasted Swan", but still, it's in a male voice. Even The Ugly Duckling was male.
I realize that Swan Lake is all about a group of women transformed into swans, but the story is quite late compared to Leda, Horace, and the Carmina Burana, as least to the best of my limited knowledge on the subject. My earliest association with swans was when I was three years old - at my nursery school, my belongings were represented by a swan on a light pink background. An extremely bit of superficial research on the subject tells me that the swan represents both male and female, and thus potentially hermaphroditism. This analysis, however, is not historically grounded.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Etymologies, Book 12, De animalibus, Chapter 7, De avibus.
(copy/pasted from the Patrologia Latina website - subscription only, U of T has one, of course.)
18. Olor, avis est quam Graeci κύκνον appellant. [c 1Kb] Olor autem dictus, quod sit totus plumis albus; nullus
[Col. 0461B] enim meminit cygnum nigrum; ὅλον enim Graece totum dicitur.
[d 1Kb] Cygnus autem a canendo est appellatus, eo quod carminis dulcedinem modulatis vocibus fundit. Ideo autem suaviter eum canere (dicunt), quia collum longum et inflexum habet, et necesse est eluctantem vocem per longum et flexuosum iter varias reddere modulationes.
19. Ferunt in Hyperboreis partibus, praecinentibus cytharoedis, olores plurimos advolare, apteque admodum concinere. [e 1Kb] Olores autem Latinum nomen est; nam Graece cygni dicuntur. [f 1Kb] Nautae vero sibi hunc bonam prognosin facere dicunt, sicut ait [g 1Kb] Aemilius:
Cygnus in auspiciis semper laetissimus ales.
Hunc optant nautae, quia se non mergit in undas.
Swans
Frederick Ahl, "Amber, Avallon, and Apollo's Singing Swan", The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 103, No. 4. (Winter, 1982), pp. 373-411.
Part of the claim seems to be that in the transformation of Orpheus, the swan (kyknos), grammatically masculine, is seen as cognate and punned with gyne. I'm not sure whether I'm convinced, but there you have it.
Off-topic anecdote
Swan-song
Aven
http://cast.off.net
(no subject)
;)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Mercedes Lackey did a variant on the women-into-swans called The Black Swan.
Also, of course, there's the highly symbolic connection between swans and Kalamazoo. Or at least, that's one of the few swans I regularly see in a year.
Valkyries
In lieu of that, a recent novel, Daughter of the Forest, by Julliett Marillier (sp) is a retelling/recasting of the celtic cursed swans story.
Swanmane!
Unfortunately, doing a google for "Swanmane" seems to only resolve into Anita Blake related websites :-/
I also managed to find this article by Sabine Baring Gould -- yet another of his rambling essays, but it does seem to be a pretty good synopsis of the various swan related myths, ranging from Indian, Celtic, Greek, Norse... I think there's a Russian one in there as well.
Children of Lir
http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/micsun/IrishResources/childlir.htm
One girl and three boys. Their stepmother Aoife was jealous of their beauty and influence over Lir that she changed them into swans. They kept their beautiful voices but were cursed to wander for nine hundred years till they heard "the bell of the new God."
During a storm, they agreed on a certain rock upon which they would all meet should they become separated. There's a little garden in Dublin where this scene is done up in statuary. It's called "Remembrance Garden" up O'Connell Street.
Re: Children of Lir
Border territory
1.) birds of all sorts are often considered phallic symbols (Hitchcock thought the ancient bird-as-phallic-symbol idea was an absolute hoot and made goofy references to it in a few of his movies-- Psycho and The Birds most notably). The bird-to-phallus tie is not one I'm mega familiar with, but as I said, I'll dig.
2.) birds were often thought to be particularly appropriate symbols of Christ-- they were creatures of the earth and of heaven, as Christ was both divine and human. The bird we medievalists see representing Jesus most often, I think, is the peacock, because beside its earth-and-air connections, it was also believed to have incorruptible flesh, flesh that would not spoil regardless of the bird's culinary preparation. I personally think that peacock must have tasted really good, and there was never any peacock left over, so no one would have any memories of food poisoning from rotten peacock : )
Swans might be a great extension of the bird-as-Christ-reference: they are creature of heaven, earth, and the waters of baptism. They also have feathers that make absolutely incredible quills (better than goose quills!), which might appeal to someone interested in referring to The Word (though I'll grant this is a stretch).
Of I go to look through some iconography reference books in Cornell's Fine Arts Library!
I don't know if this is at all helpful to you, but it's a fun little thing for me to look up : ) Thank you!
Re: Border territory
None of this is for work, only my curiousity and any one else's, so pursue it only insofar as you are curious yourself. Still, if you do, I'd love to know what you find!
A book that might be useful
Good luck!
Re: A book that might be useful