Reply-To: "Alison Page" alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk BTW re 'Vila' didn't somebody tell us it was a word for an elf in some Slavic language? I forget. A female tree spirit?

Two sources (Thomas Keightley's _World Guide to Gnomes_, et al, & the Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, etc.) inform me that the "vila" (pl. vile) is, indeed a Slavic nymph of the woods, fields, streams, & lakes, "the spirits of virgins & children, who leave their graves to dance at night." While "hostile to men," they do help the occasional hero. (This is why I so enjoy the vile in the 4th Harry Potter book, who are apparently irresistible to men, but who also display a less sedate side.)

Funk & Wagnall then discuss Vili, one of Odin's brothers (the other is Ve), who may be an aspect of Odin, since he can step in for Odin when necessary. He helps to kill Ymir and to create humans; he also helps to take on Odin's godly duties and ... ahem ... enjoys Odin's wife while Odin is thought lost.

Vili sounds like a proper inspiration for a tricky guy who's smarter than he appears.

feste starting the new year right, with research

feste@brandywine.net

"Figs are sweet, but fictions are sweeter." -- William Makepeace Thackeray