Ninfas, hadas y pócimas mágicas en la tradición clásica y en el mundo medieval

Abstract

Medieval poetry appro-priates marvelous beings frequent in the classical poetic tradition. In the present work we will analyze the character of Helena, heroine who has magical knowledge and divination skills, who also collaborates with the journey of the son of Odysseus. Circe, the sorceress goddess of the Homeric epic, mistress and protector of Laertíada, who with the avatars of time becomes, like other nymphs of the Greek tradition, fairy. The fairy of "Lanval" and Morgana in Yvain, who belong to different spheres of the supernatural but both fulfill the function of helping the heroes. The fairies were deeply rooted in folklore as well as in the poetic tradition of the Celtic and Germanic peoples, a tradition from which Mary of France and French novelists were inspired. In this context the fairies play the role of protector and mistress, even wife of the heroes.