Sometimes myths aren’t simply stories told around a campfire in the dark of night. Sometimes they are personal. In honor of the approach of All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day, I want to share a spooky bit of folklore that is in some small way a part of my history.
In the 16th century, a Polish nobleman named Pan* Twardowski lived near Krakow. Though he already had great wealth and access to the highest echelons of society, he wanted more power. So in exchange for knowledge and magical abilities, Twardowski sold his soul to the devil. However, Twardowski knew that many deals with the devil ended badly, so he made a special clause in his contract that stated that the devil could only take his soul when Twardowski was on a visit to Rome.
Twardowski never intended to visit Rome.
At first, their arrangement served Twardowski well. He became the sorcerer and astrologist to Polish King Sigismund Augustus, and he luxuriated in the authority the position offered him. When the king’s wife died, Twardowski even used a magical mirror to summon the ghost of the dearly departed queen to act as a brief comfort to the king.
However, not even the cleverest of men can escape fate. One day the devil tricked Twardowski into spending the night at an inn named Rzym, the word for “Rome” in Polish. As the devil dragged away Twardowski’s soul, the magician began to pray to the Virgin Mary for aid. The prayer sent the devil into a fit of agony, and he dropped his cargo.
Twardowski fell, and fell, and fell until he finally landed on the moon. He lives there even now, alone except for his friend who he transformed into a spider long ago. When Twardowski gets too lonely at his lunar outpost, he sends his spider down to the Earth on a silvery thread in order to bring back news of the world.
The tale is a fantastical one, but I am attached to it nonetheless. If nothing else, I do like to imagine Pan Twardowski and his spider sitting together on the moon. We often talk about books can influence our lives, but myths and legends can inspire us just as much. I think that the dream of many writers, or at least a dream of mine, is that people who hear or read or stories will carry them through their lives.
* “Pan” is a Polish honorific. Back in the 16th century it would have been the equivalent of the English term “sir”.
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If you are interested in learning more about the Twardowski legend, Tomasz Baginski recently produced a short sci-fi film based on the subject that you can view here. (And who doesn’t want to see a nobleman deal with the Lord of Darkness while on a lunar base?) I’d love to hear if you all have any myths that feel particularly personal and if those stories inspire your writing. I suspect that Pan Twardowski’s dark magic intrudes upon mine even when I least expect it.
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Image Attribution:
“Zwierciadło Twardowskiego”, woodcut, Kłosy, Volume 13, 1871.
The inscription says “Twardowski played with this mirror, performing magical tricks. Now it is destined to serve God.”
I’d never heard that one before…thanks 🙂
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I’m glad I have the chance to share it! I know that it isn’t a traditional Halloween tale, but if I squint my eyes, I can convince myself that it suits the season.
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Very cool. Have you ever found your way back to this magical trickster?
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I’ve found bits of information over the years – there is apparently lots of art and a few operas about the tale – but I’d love to delve into it more someday.
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Bardzo fajne! Dzięki!😉
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Proszę bardzo! And forgive my Polish; the old ladies around my hometown are always disappointed by my lack of it.
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Hmm, so Pan fell and fell and fell and landed on the moon? Then where the hell is Hell? 🙂
Nice tale! –Michael
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I’ve never been entirely sure of the geography of it all. Is Hell a part of Pluto? Is it in an asteroid field? Do you have to go up before you can go below? Or does the devil do something wonky to gravity? It’s difficult to say.
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I don’t know. It’s all greek to me. Hey, maybe it’s in Greece! 🙂
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A fascinating tale I’d never heard before. Thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure! I’m very fond of it.
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Never say you will never visit Rome.
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Truer words were never written!
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What a fabulous tale, thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Perfect for this time in October.
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I was trying to be a bit seasonal. 😉
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I love this scary tale, Kristen:))
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I’m glad! It probably isn’t as scary as it could be, but I figure it is seasonal enough.
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Hm. It was plenty disturbing for me!
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This is really cool! Thank you for sharing. I love legends and myths because they reflect the culture from which the story came. They tell us pieces of history in a non history-class way and keep us interested and open our minds at the same time. Honestly, I hope to re-write a couple fairy tales some day (especially with how popular it is right now), and perhaps I’ll have to find a unique one like this. ^.^
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I know they are a bit overdone, but I really do love retold fairy tales. They seem to capture things that are so fundamentally human that I can’t help but enjoy them. If you do an rewrites, I hope you’ll keep us all informed!
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I have seen some good retellings and some not so good retellings and books that say they’re retellings, but aren’t. So, it’s really a mixed bag as are more genres, unfortunately. I have a couple ideas for rewrites, but you’ll have to like a fairy tale with darker side. :p
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Those are the best kind.
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