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It has been suggested that Mora (mythology) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
A mare or nightmare (Proto-Germanic: *marōn; Old English: mære; Old Norse: mara; German: Mahr; Dutch: nachtmerrie; Swedish: mara; Icelandic: mara; Faroese: mara; Danish: mare; Norwegian: mare/mara) is a spirit or goblin in Germanic folklore which rides on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on bad dreams (or "nightmares").[1] The mare is attested as early as in the Norse Ynglinga saga from the 13th century,[2] but the belief itself is likely to be considerably older. As in English, the name appears in the word for "nightmare" in the Nordic languages (e.g. the Swedish word "mardröm" literally meaning mara-dream or the Norwegian word "mareritt" literally meaning mare-ridden). The mare is similar to the mythical creatures succubus and incubus, and was likely inspired by sleep paralysis.
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Etymology
The word "mare" comes (through Middle English mare) from Old English mære, mare, or mere, all feminine nouns. These in turn come from Common Germanic *marōn. *Marōn is the source of Old Norse mara (from which come Icelandic, Faroese, and Swedish mara, Danish mare and Norwegian mare/mara), Dutch (nacht)merrie, and German Mahr. The -mar in French cauchemar ("nightmare") is borrowed from the Germanic through Old French mare.[1] The word can ultimately be traced back to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root *mer-, "to rub away" or "to harm".[3]
In Norwegian and Danish, the words for "nightmare" are mareritt and mareridt respectively, which can be directly translated as "mare-ride". The Icelandic word martröð has the same meaning (-tröð from the verb troða, "trample", "stamp on", related to "tread") , whereas the Swedish mardröm translates as "mare-dream".
Beliefs
The mara was also believed to "ride" horses, which left them exhausted and covered in sweat by the morning. She could also entangle the hair of the sleeping man or beast, resulting in "marelocks", called marflätor "mare-braids" or martovor "mare-tangles" in Swedish. The belief probably originated as an explanation to the Polish plait phenomena, a hair disease. Even trees could be ridden by the mara, resulting in branches being entangled. The undersized, twisted pine-trees growing on coastal rocks and on wet grounds are known in Sweden as martallar "mare-pines".
See also
- Mora (mythology), Slavic counterpart of the Scandinavian mara.
- Sleep paralysis, medical term for the condition the mara is thought to cause.
Notes
References
- Bjordvand, Harald and Lindeman, Fredrik Otto (2007). Våre arveord. Novus. ISBN 978-82-7099-467-0.
- Hødnebø, Finn and Magerøy, Hallvard (eds.) (1979). Snorres kongesagaer 1, 2nd ed. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. ISBN 82-05-22184-7.
- Pickett, Joseph P. et al. (eds.) (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-82517-2.
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