[19][self-published source?]

They have no known substantial mythos associated with them, but several RPGs have used them. Anyway, the Sylph Of Breath, the one who heals the wind, freedom, and willpower, and heals with them. In a parody of heroic poetry and the "dark" and "mysterious" alchemical literature, and in particular the sometimes esoterically Classical heroic poetry of the 18th century in England and France, Pope pretends to have a new alchemy, in which the sylph is the mystically, chemically condensed humors of peevish women. Sylphs are air elementals, the unseen intelligences who allegedly inhabit the element of air. Sylph (also called sylphid) is a mythological air spirit. [7] This name is generally thought to have been original with Shakespeare, though the exact inspiration for the character is unclear. New York: P.F. Robert Alfred Vaughan noted that "the wild but poetical fantasies" of Paracelsus had probably exercised a larger influence over his age and the subsequent one than is generally supposed, particularly on the Rosicrucians, but that through the 18th century they had become reduced to "machinery for the playwright" and "opera figurantes with wings of gauze and spangles".[3]. The power to use the abilities of a Sylph. The poem is a parody of Paracelsian ideas, inasmuch as Pope imitates the pseudo-science of alchemy to explain the seriousness with which vain women approach the dressing room. [16] A related idea is that "sylph" is from a hyper-urbane respelling of a Latin neologism silves, but in either case this connection to the Latin root silva ("forest") is supported by Paracelsus' use of sylphes as a synonym for schrötlein, a German word for a tree spirit or especially an earth spirit in his Liber de Sanguine ultra Mortem. Variation of Cryptid Physiology. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Jacob Grimm uses this phrase as a gloss for the Anglo-Saxon wudu-mær (roughly equivalent to "woodmare"), which he also takes as a metaphorical name for an echo. The Tempest. [11] Sylphs again took to the stage in the 1909 ballet Les Sylphides. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/46/5/, Johnson, W. Stacy. Paracelsus described sylphs as invisible beings of the air. List of Supernatural Powers and Abilities. ", "The Mountain Sylph: A Forgotten Exemplar of English Romantic Opera", Treatises on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sylph&oldid=972703422, Articles with self-published sources from February 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Silph Company, featured prominently within the, This page was last edited on 13 August 2020, at 12:24. Anthon and Trollope note a similar usage in the Aeneid, where silvestris is taken as an elliptical form of nympha silvestris[13] ("forest nymph"). Sylph (also called sylphid) is a mythological air spirit. [17], An alternative theory is that it derives from the Ancient Greek σίλφη (silphē), which a number of etymological sources gloss as "moth",[18] though the most authoritative reference for Ancient Greek, A Greek–English Lexicon, is unaware of this sense and defines it as a "cockroach" or "book worm". One of the best-known discussions of sylphs comes with Alexander Pope. French etymological sources often derive it from a Latin word sylphus, glossed as "genius" (in the Latin sense, a type of spirit) and only known from inscriptions rather than literary Latin. As creatures of the air the great wings of the Sylph allow them to soar with the eagles. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The term originates in the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. Supernatural Speed: The Sylph Minosaur has the ability to move supernaturally faster in a blink of an eye. Because of their association with the ballet La Sylphide, where sylphs are identified with fairies and the medieval legends of fairyland, as well as a confusion with other "airy spirits" (e.g., in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream), a slender girl may be referred to as a sylph. [8] Pope explicitly cited Comte de Gabalis as a source for elemental lore in the dedication. The existence of such beings was first postulated by the medieval physician Paracelsus, who associated a different being with each of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). The Deutsches Wörterbuch however indicates that this idea arises from a 19th-century misreading of the inscription in question. In Rape of the Lock (final ed. They are said to have been here since the beginning of time, and to have created the landscape of reality. [1] The term originates in the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air.

It appears to have originated the derivative term "sylphid" (French sylphide), which it uses as the feminine counterpart to "sylph". They are most commonly described as faerie-like females with insect-wings, with ability to turn invisible and manipulate air and wind.

These ideas were adopted in Rosicrucianism and were widely encountered in subsequent hermetic literature. Sylph Summon Spirit (Tales of Symphonia) Sephie (sword), Yutis (bow), Fairess (shield).

[20], Shakespeare, William. A similarly themed opera The Mountain Sylph appeared in England in 1834. Powers and Abilities.

Sylph (Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia). Sylphs, he says, are rougher, coarser, taller, and stronger[4] than humans. Sylphs are believed to be an offshoot branch of the sidhe, a supernatural race comparable to the fairies or elves, also winged rulers of the dream world, controllers of the weather and … So far, the Sylphs we’ve seen tend to act without thought to consequence or consent. Vol. XLVI, Part 5. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. The existence of such beings was first postulated by the medieval physician Paracelsus, who associated a different being with each of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). 1717), Pope satirizes French Rosicrucian and alchemical writings when he invents a theory to explain the sylph. There are 6 types of elements on which they are built. In Pope's poem, women who are full of spleen and vanity turn into sylphs when they die because their spirits are too full of dark vapors to ascend to the skies. While modern scholars consider Comte de Gabalis to have been intended as a satire of occult philosophy, many of its contemporaries considered it to be an earnest exposition of occult lore. [2], Since the term sylph itself originates with Paracelsus, there is relatively little pre-Paracelsian legend and mythology that can be confidently associated with it, but a significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have been inspired by the idea. In the 1778 British novel The Sylph, a sylph appears as a guardian spirit for the female protagonist. Compare gnome; undine. In a slight parody of the divine battle in Pope's Rape of the Lock, when the Baron of the poem attempts to cut a lock of Belinda's hair, the sylphs interpose their airy bodies between the blades of the scissors (to no effect whatsoever).[6]. A Sylph of Space will probably just have to deal with breeding their Genesis Frog but a Sylph also has to go on their own journey of self progression. The Swiss German physician and alchemist Paracelsus first coined the term sylph in the 16th century to describe an air spirit in his overarching scheme of elemental spirits associated with the four Classical elements. [14] Jan Baptist van Helmont, a near contemporary of Paracelsus and coiner of the word "gas", uses sylvestris in the sense of "wild" to describe gaseous emissions, which may be connected to the Paracelsian usage. [9], By 1765, the French author Jean-François Marmontel had found the sylph legend notable enough that he included among his Moral Tales the story of "the Sylph-Husband," in which a young woman obsessed with the idea of marrying a sylph is deluded into falling in love with her arranged-husband after he impersonates one.[10]. Fantasy authors will sometimes employ sylphs in their fiction, for example creating giant artistic clouds in the skies with airy wings. Speed Physiology: The Sylph Minosaur's body is adapted towards the rigors of high-speed running.

In the Liber de Nymphis of the Philosophia Magna, Paracelsus discusses the characteristics of the elementals at length. Sylph, an imaginary or elemental being that inhabits the air and is mortal but soulless. The French pseudo-novel Comte de Gabalis (1670) was important in passing sylphs into the literary sphere. Sylphs are elemental beings that aid the player in battle. Because of this, sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [15] Thorpe's Northern Mythology connects the adjective sylvestres and the related silvaticas to European wild man legends. The other three elemental spirits named were Gnomes (earth), Salamanders (fire), and Undines (water). Great for leading a revolution against the powers that be.

Ariel, the chief sylph in the Rape of the Lock, has the same name as Prospero's servant Ariel in Shakespeare's The Tempest (ca. Sylph, an imaginary or elemental being that inhabits the air and is mortal but soulless. The famous ballet La Sylphide ("The (Female) Sylph", Paris, 1832) is a prominent example of sylph lore in theater in the 19th century. The Harvard Classics. Sylphs of course probably have to learn the process of judging how to use their abilities. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn. "The Genesis of Ariel. 1611), and Shakespeare's character is described literally as an "airy spirit" in the dramatis personae. Similarly, the σίλφη etymology can be dismissed from the lack of an objective historical and thus semantic connection. User with this ability either is or can transform into a Sylph, invisible beings of the air, originating as Paracelsus elementals of air. Its author, Abbé de Montfaucon de Villars, was assassinated on the road in 1673 and one rumor had it that he had been killed by a gang of sylphs for disclosing their secrets.[5]. [12], "Sylph" is possibly a portmanteau from Latin sylvestris and nympha,[11] sylvestris being a common synonym for sylph in Paracelsus. Sylphs can be of a single or double element. Paracelsus drew from earlier sources, but his systematic treatment of the idea was definitive, with the names of three of the four types having originated in his works. https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Sylph_Physiology?oldid=1541317. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Belief in the existence of nature spirits is common to all cultures throughout history.

It appeared in a second version in Denmark in 1836. "Sylph" has passed into general language as a term for minor spirits, elementals, or faeries of the air. There are a total of 18 single element Sylphs and 6 double element sylph, 3 single element Sylphs of each element and 2 double element Sylph …