Treasure guardians in folklore

The treasure guardian is a recurring motif in folklore of a being that guards a treasure. Typically, the hero must overcome the guardian in order to obtain the treasure. In some cases the treasure guardians are non-human beings, although one subtype, known as "treasure ghosts", were deceased humans who had been murdered and buried with the treasure to protect it. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Animals are often shown as treasure guardians—an index of folklore chronicles stories of snakes, crows, ravens, cocks, swans, and night-birds as treasure guardians. ^[4] In some stories, the treasure is guarded by "the Devil himself". ^{[1] [2] : 44–45}

In folklore

• Jinn, an Islamic legendary creature sometimes depicted as a treasure guardian
• Gnome, a European legendary creature sometimes depicted as a treasure guardian
• Leprechaun, a treasure guardian from Irish folklore
• Dragon, a creature often portrayed as hoarding a treasure
• Salamander, a legendary creature often described as a lizard in shape (even looking like a common salamander), but usually with an affinity for fire
• Spriggan, Cornish guardian of fairy treasure, said to be the ghosts of giants that can swell to enormous sizes.

In popular culture

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade features a crusader knight who guards the Holy Grail.
• Works by Tolkien feature Smaug and Chrysophylax, both treasure-guarding dragons. ^{[5] [2] : 45–46}
• The Dragons of Earthsea in Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea hoard treasure. ^[5]

See also

• Salamander letter
• Apotropaic magic
  • Curse of the pharaohs
  • Curse tablet
• Gargoyle and Grotesque (architecture)

Notes

1. Huggins, Ronald V. (Winter 2003), "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism" (PDF), Dialogue , 36 (4): 17–42
2. Ashurst-McGee, Mark (2006), "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian", FARMS Review , 18 (1)
3. Ashurst-McGee, Mark (Fall 2001), "Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian?" (PDF), Mormon Historical Studies , 2 (2): 39–75
4. Baughman, Ernest Warren (1967) [1966], Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America, Indiana University folklore series, no. 20, The Hague: Mouton, p.  85, OCLC   491929
5. Unerman, Sandra (April 2002). "Dragons in twentieth-century fiction". ProQuest. ProQuest   202737943.