Fairytale charms and storybook charms continue to be popular with DIY jewelry like charm bracelets and necklaces because they reflect the universal tales that inspire us all. Of course, every culture has its fairytales, myths, and legends that constitute a part of the foundation of people’s beliefs. However, it’s also important to remember that tales also reflect people existing ideas or the evolution of people’s opinions.
Where Do Fairytale Charms Take Inspiration?
Rapunzel
Rapunzel’s fairytale charms take inspiration from two main wells – the story from Disney and animation like Frozen and the original story told by the Brothers Grimm. Rapunzel is an old tale about a young prince’s affection for a young woman with long, blond hair, which triumphed over the Witch’s nefarious plans. However, they were unwavering about wanting to be happy together, and the Witch was their biggest roadblock.
Their love got stronger as the years went by. The evil Witch tried everything to separate them, but she was unsuccessful. Even though they had been apart for years, the prince could locate Rapunzel and was never parted from her again. Love triumphed once more.
Knights
Knight fairytale charms are inspired by real-life knights that rode in the Medieval Ages. The early medieval knights were professional cavalry warriors, some of whom were vassals with fiefs from the lords whose armies they served, while others were not. Knights are also portrayed in literature as being the main nemesis to dragons.
The procedure of becoming a knight was frequently formalized. A young man destined for the profession of arms would begin serving his father as a page at the age of seven or eight before moving on to the household of his father’s suzerain, perhaps at the age of twelve, for more advanced training, not just in military matters but also in the ways of the world. He was known as a damoiseau (meaning “lordling”), varlet, or valet (German: Knappe) throughout this phase of his apprenticeship until he followed his patron on a campaign as his shield carrier.
He would be named knight once he had been adjudged adept and the funds to acquire his knightly accouterments had been raised. Dubbing rituals varied greatly: they may elaborate on a big feast day or a royal event, or they could be straightforward on the battlefield. The dubbing knight could employ any fitting formula he wanted. However, a common aspect was using the flat of a sword blade for a touch on the shoulder—i.e., the knighthood award as it exists today.
Jackalope
The American west’s psyche and mythology are influenced by its rugged scenery and the various monsters there. The divide between wilderness and settlement structures a simplistic perspective of American history, especially when it comes to complicated relationships between terrain and its inhabitants.
Buffalo, mountain goats, giant rodents, and birds abound in the vast American West, none of which had been studied or discovered on the East Coast. These mythical creatures were also part of a new hunting movement that advocated carefully preserving the animal and bringing it back to civilization for teaching rather than simply slaughtering it. Although not all buffalo or mountain goats ended up in museums, many prominent American animals were slain, stuffed, and displayed in museums.
The social creation of this new place was heavily influenced by its animal residents, who represented a distinct Americana. The mythos of the United States grew in lockstep with the country’s violent and aggressive geographic expansion westward. From mail-order taxidermy catalogs, the Herrick brothers had some taxidermy experience. The brothers then set out, equipping deceased rabbits with the horns of a similarly dead buck. Jackalope fairytale charms were inspired by the original jackalope, which was created by combining the “jack” from “jackrabbit” with the horns of an antelope.
The jackalope went from being a campy fable to a highly sought-after keepsake of one’s vacation west instantly.
Douglas, Wyoming, became known as the “Jackalope Capital of the World,” with a giant sculpture in the town square and jackalope-themed merchandise such as jackalope milk, postcards, and mounted jackalope heads to display in one’s home. “The Douglas Chamber of Commerce has awarded hundreds of jackalope hunting licenses, despite restrictions indicating that the hunter cannot have an IQ greater than 72 and can only hunt between midnight and 2 a.m. each June 31,” according to the town of Douglas.
Medieval Castles
Medieval castle fairytale charms are, of course, inspired by real-life castles. Once, a court was a stronghold constructed to defend vital places from enemy attacks or act as a military base for invading troops. However, some dictionaries say a castle is mere “a fortified residence.”
The first “modern” castles date back to the Roman Legionary Camps. The earthwork and timber castles in Europe were built throughout the Middle Ages. These early structures, which date back to the 9th century, were constructed frequently on ancient Roman foundations.
Wooden fortifications gave way to towering stone walls during the next three centuries. The narrow apertures (embrasures) in high parapets, or battlements, were used for shooting.
Europe was dotted with tall stone towers. Penaranda de Duero, a Medieval castle in northern Spain, is frequently how we image castles. People erected communities around established castles to protect themselves from invading armies. Local nobility took the safest apartments inside the castle walls for themselves. Castles were used as dwellings as well as prominent political centers.
Castles became more critical as Europe progressed through the Renaissance. Some were employed as military fortifications and were under the administration of a king. Others were unfortified palaces, mansions, or manor houses that were not used for military purposes. Others, such as Northern Ireland’s plantation castles, were enormous homes built to protect immigrants such as Scots from hostile local Irish residents. The ruins of Tully Castle in County Fermanagh, uninhabited since attacked and destroyed in 1641, exemplify the 17th century fortified house.
Even though Europe and the United Kingdom are known for their castles, magnificent fortifications and grand palaces have played a significant role in almost every country. For example, many beautiful castles can be seen in Japan. In addition, hundreds of modern “castles” erected by affluent businesspeople can be found throughout the United States. Some of the homes constructed during America’s Gilded Age resemble fortified houses designed to keep off perceived adversaries.
Pegasus Fairytale Charms
Pegasus is a winged horse that sprang from the Gorgon Medusa’s blood as she was decapitated by the hero Perseus. The myth inspired the cute Pegasus fairytale charms you can now use to make great charm bracelets.
Another Greek hero, Bellerophon, seized Pegasus with the help of Athena (or Poseidon) and rode him in battles against the Chimera, and subsequently avenged Stheneboea (Anteia), who had wrongly accused Bellerophon. Bellerophon attempted to fly to heaven with Pegasus but was unseated and murdered, according to specific stories.
The winged horse became a servant to Zeus. The spring Hippocrene on Mount Helicon was thought to have been formed when Pegasus’ foot collided with a rock.
The myth of Pegasus was a popular motif in Greek art and literature; Aristophanes’ Peace parodied Euripides’ lost tragedy Bellerophon (421 BC). Pegasus’s soaring flight was taken as an emblem of the soul’s immortality in late antiquity, and it is now considered a symbol of lyrical inspiration in modern times.
Wizard Fairytale Charms
A wizard uses tactics to alter the world around them. Until the 14th century, “witchcraft” in Western society had more in common with sorcery from other cultures, such as India or Africa, than with the witchcraft of the witch hunts.
Witchcraft was very similar in villages from Ireland to Russia and from Sweden to Sicily before the 14th century; nonetheless, the similarities stemmed not from cultural diffusion or any secret cult but from the old human wish to attain one’s goals using available or occult means. Early Western sorcerers and witches, like their counterparts around the world, worked in secret for personal gain, as opposed to the public practice of religion.
Incantations (formulas or chants inviting evil spirits), divination and oracles (to foresee the future), amulets and charms (to ward off hostile spirits and adverse events), potions or salves, and dolls or other figures were all utilized by witches or sorcerers to achieve their goals (to represent their enemies).
Witches attempted to improve or maintain their health, obtain or retain the property, defend themselves from natural calamities or evil spirits, aid friends, and exact revenge. As a type of technology, this magic was sometimes thought to work through simple causation.
It was once thought that ritually murdering an animal may boost land fertility. Instead, magic was frequently used to create symbolic reality. Sorcery was sometimes considered based on the power of gods or other spirits, which led to the notion that witches worked with demons.