[gothic-l] Re: Golem, Yiddish Frankenstein (completion)

[czobor at CANTACUZINO.RO]

In the Encyclopedia Britannica 2001 Deluxe Edition on CD-ROM, the 
article about "Golem" is as follows:

"GOLEM
in Jewish folklore, an image endowed with life. The term is used in 
the Bible (Psalms 139:16) and in Talmudic literature to refer to an 
embryonic or incomplete substance. It assumed its present connotation 
in the Middle Ages, when many legends arose of wise men who could 
bring effigies to life by means of a charm or of a combination of 
letters forming a sacred word or one of the names of God. The letters, 
written on paper, were placed in the golem's mouth or affixed to its 
head. The letters' removal deanimated the golem. In early golem tales 
the golem was usually a perfect servant, his only fault being a too 
literal or mechanical fulfillment of his master's orders. In the 16th 
century the golem acquired the character of protector of the Jews in 
time of persecution but also had a frightening aspect. The most famous 
tale involves the golem created by the 16th-century rabbi Judah Löw 
ben Bezulel of Prague. It was the basis for Gustav Meyrink's novel Der 
Golem (1915) and for a classic of German silent films (1920), which 
provided many details on the movement and behaviour of man-made 
monsters that were later adopted in the popular American horror films 
on the Frankenstein theme.

Copyright © 1994-2001 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc."

It says nothing about "Gothic character".

Francisc

--- In gothic-l at y..., czobor at c... wrote:
> --- In gothic-l at y..., l_labkovsky at h... wrote:
> >  My previous posting about Golem wasn't posted, so I repeat. One 
> > proof that East European Jews descend partially from Ostrogoths 
> could 
> > be the Golem. Golem is a Frankestein-like monster from the Yiddish 
> > folklore and according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th 
edition, 
> > he is a Gothic character. So how come EE Jews are the only ethnic 
> > group to have a Gothic folklore other than Goths themselves? Golem 
> > has nothing to do with the Torah or such. So the plot thickens!
> 
> Sorry, Mr. Labkovsky, but in this case "Gothic" has a different 
> meaning (a kind of modern horror-literature) that has nothing to do 
> with the ancient Germanic people of the Goths and their language, as 
> it is the case also with the mediaeval Gothic architectural style. 
> Golem, as well as Frankenstein, Dracula, Nosferatu, etc. have 
nothing 
> to do with the ancient Goths (it's like asserting that every romance 
> [in the sense of a literary genre] is Latin...)
> 
> Francisc


You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/