Although Sylphs sounds like a venereal disease, it is in fact the name of ancient group of spirits. Or rather, the 16th century Swiss pseudo-scientist (but then weren’t they all back then?) Paracelsus, claimed these were such spirits (perhaps a combination of sylvan nymphs).
Although no references to sylphs are found prior to Paracelsus’ invention (?) of them, there are ancient references to Sulevae. They appear in many places in the Roman Empire although it was a British author – John McCaul – describing Roman inscriptions at Bath that connected them with Paracelsus’ sylphs (based on Charles Roach Smith’s Illustrations of Roman London). McCaul notes the following:
- Sulivia Idennica Minerva
- Suleviae, Silviae, Silvana
- Sulevis et Campestribus
- Silvanabus et Quadriviis
Sul was apparently also the name of Apollo in Brittany (became Saint Sul later).
In Cirencester we have this (see The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist: A Quarterly Journal and Review, v5):
SVLEIS
SVLIN vs
BRVCETI
V.S.L.M.
And in Bath we have the following inscription:
SVLEVIS
SVLINVS
SCVLTOR
BRV[C]ETI.F.
SACRVM.F.L.M
Another one cited by McCaul is this one:
DEAE
SVLIMI
NERVAE
SVLINVS
MATV
RIFIL
VSLM.
From these he infers the goddesss Sul Minerva or Sul or Sulevae – the “presiding deity of waters” (as per Scarth).
Roman London
This, of course, brings to mind a few things:
- the river Saale (in German) – Solava in Slavic (sales or salud = health);
- the description of the Slavs by Procopius:
“They reverence, however, both rivers and nymphs and some other spirits, and they sacrifice to all these also, and they make their divinations in connection with these sacrifices;“
- the fact that Slavic, or at least Polish, Deity names such as Jassa or Lada have so many river name counterparts (such as here, here, here or here);
Of course, we know that Slavs had “swamps and forests for their cities” (Jordanes but also Maurice) so were Slavs just worshippers of sylphs or Sylvanians or forest people (as we suggested before)?
Copyright ©2016 jassa.org All Rights Reserved