The Gryphon and the Hippogriff were walking hand in hand
The history of the gryphon and the hippogriff.
The flying, trotting, weasel-eating hippogriff of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a mythical beast invented not by J.K. Rowling but by the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (seen at right) in his 1515 epic, Orlando furioso. It was a kind of joke; since at that time “crossing a griffin with a horse” was a metaphor for something impossible or ridiculous. By placing exactly such a creature in his story, Ariosto had positioned himself firmly in the land of lighthearted make-believe.
What’s interesting about this literary conceit is that the griffin (or gryphon—“hooked one” in the original Greek) is another mythical creature, with the head and wings of an eagle and the hindquarters of a lion. But for the joke to work—for the hippogriff to be sillier than the griffin—the High Renaissance Italians must have considered the griffin to be a real animal…
I'm not sure I agree with that. What would seem more ludicrous than crossing a real beast with a mythical one? The joke works that way for me.
And I'm getting flashbacks to my Dungeons and Dragons days.
Posted by Jimcat on July 1 2004 12:36
I am Jennifer Booth and I would like for you to send me an enquiry of the modern day existence of unicorns, griffins, hippogriffs, flying winged horses, the phoenix, sea serpents, and etc. and the creatures from Dave's myhtical creatures that are real. And how to save and prtotect all of them snd where to find them all.
Contact me at
Jennifer Booth
275 meadows dr. apt 801
mt. washington, KY 40047
Posted by Anonymous on May 27 2005 12:12
I am Jennifer Booth and I would like for you to send me an enquiry of the modern day existence of unicorns, griffins, hippogriffs, flying winged horses, the phoenix, sea serpents, and etc. and the creatures from Dave's myhtical creatures that are real. And how to save and prtotect all of them snd where to find them all.
Contact me at
Jennifer Booth
275 meadows dr. apt 801
mt. washington, KY 40047
Posted by Anonymous on May 27 2005 12:12