Bilwis

Bilwis (also Bilwiß , Bilwiz (Middle High German), Belewitte (Middle Low German), Bihlweise , Bilweis , Willeweis , Bulwechsel (male), Bulwechselin (female), Bilmesschnitter , Pilwiz , Pilwis , Pilewis , Pilwihten , Pilfas etc.) is the name for a benign (or malignant), female (or male) mythical being, which, depending on geographical and historical circumstances, was sometimes described as a natural spirit , sometimes as a domestic spirit and sometimes as a demon .

etymology

In Deutsche Mythologie (Jacob Grimm), variations of the name and interpretations of the term by different authors are listed on six pages - and again questioned. Several authors suspect - especially for the south- eastern part of Germany and in connection with bil Weichs , bil Weichszopf and Weichselzopf - a "troubling, terrifying, hair and beard tangled, grain-cut ghost, mostly in a female form".
Further east, in Poland, bialowieszczka describes a wise sorceress, which is why assumptions have been made about a Slavic origin.

Starting with the earliest mentions, Grimm already states that “... the changing form reveals that the word was used as early as the 13th, 14th century. no longer understood; ... ”(p. 441).

variants

Geographical and temporal variations are (alphabetically):
Beeldwit, Belewitte (Middle Low German), Belewitten (Lower Saxony), Bihlweise (plural: Bihlweise; Mark Brandenburg), Bilmesschnitter (extended; Korndämon), Bil Weichs, Bilwechsel, Bilweis, Bilwicht, Bilwiht, Bilbze, Bilwis, Bilwiß, Bilwitz (Middle High German), Bilwiz, Bulwechsel (male), Bulwechselin (female), Pelewysen (plural; 15th century), Pelwit, Pilbis, Pilbiszote (extended, a kind of nightmare ), Pilbiz, Pilewis, Pilfas, Pilnitis, Pilnihts, Pilweise, Pilwith, Pilwis, Pilwit, Pilwiz, Willeweis, Wilwis.

Elvish being

For Wolfram von Eschenbach , the Wilwis is an elven creature who can paralyze people with a magic arrow, the "Bilwiz shot". Elsewhere, Pilbis / Pilwiz is an Elvish creature who - like forest spirits - inhabits a tree ( pilbisbawm ) and to which sacrifices have to be made.

It was also discussed that the Bilwis is a popular variant of an older Germanic fertility system and it is also associated with the harmful forces of the waning moon. The name Bilwis could be related to Bil , who was originally an ancient Nordic moon goddess.

Grain demon

In northeast Germany the bilwis is a benevolent demon of the cornfields, in Bavaria, on the other hand, as bilwes or bilmess chnitter ( Vogtland : bilverschnitter ), it is a damaging harvest demon. As bilbez- / bilwetz- / bilfezschnitt a trail is called in the cornfield. In Carinthia, the Bilwis is also seen as the personification of the whirlwind. In some descriptions there are similarities to the child frightening figure of the Roggenmuhme .

Witch or devil creature

In the first half of the 15th century, Pelewysen (plural) appears as a synonym for witches. Also in Silesian sagas during this period Pilweise is used synonymously with witch and in the collected sagas from the Orlagau by Wilhelm Börner (also Boerner; 1788–1855) the name Bilbze and in the house book of Colerus (Mainz 1656) Bihlweise for witch (n ) to find.

In Martin von Amberg conscience mirror , a confessional (1382) is pilbis in meaning devil used.

House spirit

Voetius - and also other authors - use the terms beeldwit , belwit , pilewiz , bilvitra , bilehvit for benign house spirits.

literature

Claude Lecouteux: The Bilwiz. Reflections on its origins and development history , in: Euphorion 82/1988, page 238-250 (again in: Claude Lecouteux: Eine Welt im Abseits . On the lower mythology and beliefs of the Middle Ages , (= sources and research on European ethnology; Volume 22 ), Dettelbach 2000, pages 75-90)

Lutz Mackensen: Bilwis . In: Concise Dictionary of German Superstition 1 (1927), Sp. 1308-1324.

Leander Petzoldt : Bilwis . In ders .: Small lexicon of demons and elementals . 3. Edition. Munich 1990, pages 41–43 (based on Lecouteux 1988 and Schmidt 1952)

Leopold Schmidt: Gestaltheiligkeit im peasant working myth , (= publications of the Austrian Museum of Folklore; Volume 1), Vienna 1952, page 130 ff.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Jacob Grimm Deutsche Mythologie 1st volume (2nd edition), Dieterichsche Buchhandlung, Göttingen (1844), pages 441-446
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Konrad Schwenck: The mythology of the Slavs: for the educated and the studying youth . JD Sauerländer, 1853, p. 85.
↑ ^a ^b Dietmar Sauermann (ed.) Legends and sagas from the Grafschaft Glatz , Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (1999), page 39 ( Hexen in Habelschwerdt, May 16, 1579 )
↑ Among the many variants, there is also the one that it involves envious people who occasionally transform into this demon in order to harm other people.

[Grimm-Mythologie-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Jacob Grimm Deutsche Mythologie 1st volume (2nd edition), Dieterichsche Buchhandlung, Göttingen (1844), pages 441-446

[Schwenck1853-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Konrad Schwenck: The mythology of the Slavs: for the educated and the studying youth . JD Sauerländer, 1853, p. 85.

[Sauermann-3] Dietmar Sauermann (ed.) Legends and sagas from the Grafschaft Glatz , Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (1999), page 39 ( Hexen in Habelschwerdt, May 16, 1579 )

[4] Among the many variants, there is also the one that it involves envious people who occasionally transform into this demon in order to harm other people.