White horse (mythology)

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The 3,000-year-old Uffington White Horse hill figure in England. White horse from air.jpg
The 3,000-year-old Uffington White Horse hill figure in England.

White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot, [1] with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well. Both truly white horses and the more common grey horses, with completely white hair coats, were identified as "white" by various religious and cultural traditions.

Mare female horse

A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.

Stallion male horse that has not been castrated

A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to female horses, known as mares, and castrated males, called geldings.

The end time is a future time-period described variously in the eschatologies of several world religions, which teach that world events will reach a final climax.

Contents

Portrayal in myth

The Hindu world saviour Kalki with his white Horse. Punjab Hills, Guler, c. 1765. Kalki Avatar.jpg
The Hindu world saviour Kalki with his white Horse. Punjab Hills, Guler, c. 1765.

From earliest times, white horses have been mythologised as possessing exceptional properties, transcending the normal world by having wings (e.g. Pegasus from Greek mythology), or having horns (the unicorn). As part of its legendary dimension, the white horse in myth may be depicted with seven heads (Uchaishravas) or eight feet (Sleipnir), sometimes in groups or singly. There are also white horses which are divinatory, who prophesy or warn of danger.

Pegasus mythological creature in Greek mythology

Pegasus is a mythical winged divine horse, and one of the most recognized creatures in Greek mythology. Usually depicted as pure white, Pegasus is the offspring of the Olympian god Poseidon. He was foaled by the Gorgon Medusa upon her death, when the hero Perseus decapitated her. Pegasus is the brother of Chrysaor and the uncle of Geryon.

Unicorn Legendary creature, like a horse with a large horn projecting from forehead

The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. The unicorn was depicted in ancient seals of the Indus Valley Civilization and was mentioned by the ancient Greeks in accounts of natural history by various writers, including Ctesias, Strabo, Pliny the Younger, Aelian and Cosmas Indicopleustes. The Bible also describes an animal, the re'em, which some versions translate as unicorn.

Sleipnir Odins eight-legged horse

In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Sleipnir is Odin's steed, is the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, is described as the best of all horses, and is sometimes ridden to the location of Hel. The Prose Edda contains extended information regarding the circumstances of Sleipnir's birth, and details that he is grey in color.

As a rare or distinguished symbol, a white horse typically bears the hero- or god-figure in ceremonial roles or in triumph over negative forces. Herodotus reported that white horses were held as sacred animals in the Achaemenid court of Xerxes the Great (ruled 486–465 BC), [2] while in other traditions the reverse happens when it was sacrificed to the gods.

Herodotus Ancient Greek historian

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire. He is known for having written the book The Histories, a detailed record of his "inquiry" on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. He is widely considered to have been the first writer to have treated historical subjects using a method of systematic investigation—specifically, by collecting his materials and then critically arranging them into an historiographic narrative. On account of this, he is often referred to as "The Father of History", a title first conferred on him by the first-century BC Roman orator Cicero.

In more than one tradition, the white horse carries patron saints or the world saviour in the end times (as in Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam), is associated with the sun or sun chariot (Ossetia) or bursts into existence in a fantastic way, emerging from the sea or a lightning bolt.

Hindu eschatology is linked in the Vaishnavite tradition to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu or Shiva names of the Supreme Being in Hinduism and before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe.

Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology dealing with the "last things." Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning "last" (ἔσχατος) and "study" (-λογία), is the study of 'end things', whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of the world or the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology is the study concerned with the ultimate destiny of the individual soul and the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testament.

Islamic eschatology Theology according to Islamic outlook

Islamic eschatology is the aspect of Islamic theology concerning ideas of life after death, matters of the soul, and the "Day of Judgement," known as Yawm al-Qiyāmah or Yawm ad-Dīn. The Day of Judgement is characterized by the annihilation of all life, which will then be followed by the resurrection and judgment by God. Multiple verses in the Qur'an mention the Last Judgment.

Though some mythologies are stories from earliest beliefs, other tales, though visionary or metaphorical, are found in liturgical sources as part of preserved, on-going traditions (see, for example, "Iranian tradition" below).

Mythologies and traditions

European

Celtic

In Celtic mythology, Rhiannon, a mythic figure in the Mabinogion collection of legends, rides a "pale-white" horse. [3] Because of this, she has been linked to the Romano-Celtic fertility horse goddess Epona and other instances of the veneration of horses in early Indo-European culture. [4]

Celtic mythology collective term for all the fabulous profane and religious narratives of the Celts

Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. For Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, their mythology did not survive the Roman Empire, their subsequent conversion to Christianity and the loss of their Celtic languages. It is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic peoples who maintained either political or linguistic identities left vestigial remnants of their ancestral mythologies that were put into written form during the Middle Ages.

Rhiannon figure in Welsh mythology

Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh story collection. She appears mainly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. She is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, as her consort, in preference to another man to whom she has already been betrothed. She is intelligent, politically strategic, beautiful, and famed for her wealth and generosity. With Pwyll she has a son, the hero Pryderi, who later inherits the lordship of Dyfed. She endures tragedy when her newborn child is abducted, and she is accused of infanticide. As a widow she marries Manawydan of the British royal family, and has further adventures involving enchantments.

<i>Mabinogion</i> Earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain

The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend in "Lludd and Llefelys," complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection.

Bellerophon riding Pegasus The-Winged-Horse.jpg
Bellerophon riding Pegasus

White horses are the most common type of hill figure in England. Though many are modern, the Uffington White Horse at least dates back to the Bronze Age.

Hill figure Large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside to reveal the underlying geology

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

Uffington White Horse Prehistoric carving in Uffington, England

The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, 110 m (360 ft) long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington, some 10 mi (16 km) east of Swindon, 8 km (5 mi) south of the town of Faringdon and a similar distance west of the town of Wantage; or 2.5 km (1.6 mi) south of Uffington. The hill forms a part of the scarp of the Berkshire Downs and overlooks the Vale of White Horse to the north. The best views of the figure are obtained from the air, or from directly across the Vale, particularly around the villages of Great Coxwell, Longcot and Fernham. The site is owned and managed by the National Trust and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The Guardian stated in 2003 that "for more than 3,000 years, the Uffington White Horse has been jealously guarded as a masterpiece of minimalist art." The Uffington Horse is by far the oldest of the white horse figures in Britain and is of an entirely different design from the others inspired by it.

The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, and in some areas proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, for classifying and studying ancient societies.

In Scottish folklore, the kelpie or each uisge, a deadly supernatural water demon in the shape of a horse, is sometimes described as white, though other stories say it is black.

Greek

In Greek mythology, the white winged horse Pegasus was the son of Poseidon and the gorgon Medusa. Poseidon was also the creator of horses, creating them out of the breaking waves when challenged to make a beautiful land animal.

Norse

The Tjangvide image stone is thought to show Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir. Ardre Odin Sleipnir.jpg
The Tjängvide image stone is thought to show Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir.

In Norse mythology, Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir, "the best horse among gods and men", is described as grey. [5] Sleipnir is also the ancestor of another grey horse, Grani, who is owned by the hero Sigurd. [6]

Slavic

In Slavic mythology, the war and fertility deity Svantovit owned an oracular white horse; the historian Saxo Grammaticus, in descriptions similar to those of Tacitus centuries before, says the priests divined the future by leading the white stallion between a series of fences and watching which leg, right or left, stepped first in each row. [7]

Hungarian

One of the titles of God in Hungarian mythology was Hadúr, who, according to an unconfirmed source, wears pure copper and is a metalsmith. The Hungarian name for God was, and remains "Isten" and they followed Steppe Tengriism.[ citation needed ] The ancient Magyars sacrificed white stallions to him before a battle. [8] Additionally, there is a story (mentioned for example in Gesta Hungarorum ) that the Magyars paid a white horse to Moravian chieftain Svatopluk I (in other forms of the story, it is instead the Bulgarian chieftain Salan) for a part of the land that later became the Kingdom of Hungary.[ citation needed ] Actual historical background of the story is dubious because Svatopluk I was already dead when the first Hungarian tribes arrived. On the other hand, even Herodotus mentions in his Histories an Eastern custom, where sending a white horse as payment in exchange for land means casus belli. This custom roots in the ancient Eastern belief that stolen land would lose its fertility.[ citation needed ]

Iranian

In Zoroastrianism, one of the three representations of Tishtrya, the hypostasis of the star Sirius, is that of a white stallion (the other two are as a young man, and as a bull). The divinity takes this form during the last 10 days of every month of the Zoroastrian calendar, and also in a cosmogonical battle for control of rain. In this latter tale ( Yasht 8.21–29), which appears in the Avesta's hymns dedicated to Tishtrya, the divinity is opposed by Apaosha, the demon of drought, which appears as a black stallion. [9]

White horses are also said to draw divine chariots, such as that of Aredvi Sura Anahita, who is the Avesta's divinity of the waters. Representing various forms of water, her four horses are named "wind", "rain", "clouds" and "sleet" ( Yasht 5.120).

Hindu

White horses appear many times in Hindu mythology and stand for the sun. [10] The Vedic horse sacrifice or Ashvamedha was a fertility and kingship ritual involving the sacrifice of a sacred grey or white stallion. [11] Similar rituals may have taken place among Roman, Celtic and Norse people, but the descriptions are not so complete.

Uchchaihshravas Uchchaihshravas1.jpg
Uchchaihshravas

In the Puranas, one of the precious objects that emerged while the devas and demons were churning the milky ocean was Uchaishravas, a snow-white horse with seven heads. [11] Turaga was another divine white horse that emerged out of the ocean and taken by the sun god Surya. [12] [13] Uchaishravas was at times ridden by Indra, lord of the devas. Indra is depicted as having a liking for white horses in several legends – he often steals the sacrificial horse to the consternation of all involved, such as in the story of Sagara, [14] or the story of King Prithu. [15]

The chariot of the solar deity Surya is drawn by seven horses, alternately described as all white, or as the colours of the rainbow.

Hayagriva the Avatar of Vishnu is worshipped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse's head, brilliant white in colour, with white garments and seated on a white lotus. Kalki, the tenth incarnation of Vishnu and final world saviour, is predicted to appear riding a white horse, or in the form of a white horse. [11]

Buddhist

Kanthaka was a white horse that was a royal servant and favourite horse of Prince Siddhartha, who later became Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha used Kanthaka in all major events described in Buddhist texts prior to his renunciation of the world. Following the departure of Siddhartha, it was said that Kanthaka died of a broken heart. [16]

Abrahamic

Jewish

The Book of Zechariah twice mentions coloured horses; in the first passage there are three colours (red, dappled, and white), and in the second there are four teams of horses (red, black, white, and finally dappled) pulling chariots. The second set of horses are referred to as "the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world." They are described as patrolling the earth and keeping it peaceful.

Christian

A 15th-century icon of St. George from Novgorod. George novgorod.jpg
A 15th-century icon of St. George from Novgorod.

In the New Testament, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse include one seated on a white horse [17] and one on a pale horse – the "white" horse carried the rider Conquest (traditionally, Pestilence) while the "pale" horse carried the rider Death. [18] However, the Greek word chloros, translated as pale, is often interpreted as sickly green or ashen grey rather than white. Later in the Book of Revelation, Christ rides a white horse out of heaven at the head of the armies of heaven to judge and make war upon the earth. [19]

Two Christian saints are associated with white steeds: Saint James, as patron saint of Spain, rides a white horse in his martial aspect. [20] [21] [22] Saint George, the patron saint of horsemen [23] among other things, also rides a white horse. [24] In Ossetia, the deity Uastyrdzhi, who embodied both the warrior and sun motifs often associated with white horses, became identified with the figure of St. George after the region adopted Christianity. [25]

Gesta Francorum contains a description of the First Crusade, where soldiers fighting at Antioch claimed to have been heartened by a vision of St. George and white horses during the battle: There came out from the mountains, also, countless armies with white horses, whose standards were all white. And so, when our leaders saw this army, they ... recognised the aid of Christ, whose leaders were St. George, Mercurius, and Demetrius. [26]

Islamic

Islamic culture tells of a white creature named Al-Buraq who brought Muhammad to Jerusalem during the Night Journey. Al-Buraq was also said to transport Abraham (Ibrâhîm) when he visited his wife Hagar (Hājar) and son Ishmael (Ismâ'îl). According to tradition, Abraham lived with one wife (Sarah) in Syria, but Al-Buraq would transport him in the morning to Makkah to see his family there, and then take him back to his Syrian wife in the evening. Al-Burāq (Arabic : البُراق‎al-Burāq "lightning") isn't mentioned in the Quran but in some hadith ("tradition") literature. [27]

Twelver Shī'a Islamic traditions envisage that the Mahdi will appear riding a white horse. [28]

Far East

Korean

A huge white horse appears in Korean mythology in the story of the kingdom of Silla. When the people gathered to pray for a king, the horse emerged from a bolt of lightning, bowing to a shining egg. After the horse flew back to heaven, the egg opened and the boy Park Hyeokgeose emerged. When he grew up, he united six warring states.

Philippines

The city of Pangantucan has as its symbol a white stallion who saved an ancient tribe from massacre by uprooting a bamboo and thus warning them of the enemy's approach.

Vietnamese

The city of Hanoi honours a white horse as its patron saint with a temple dedicated to this revered spirit, the White Horse or Bach Ma Temple ( "bach" means white and "ma" is horse). The 11th-century king, Lý Công Uẩn (also known as King Lý Thái Tổ) had a vision of a white horse representing a river spirit which showed him where to build his citadel. [29]

Native American

In Blackfoot mythology, the snow deity Aisoyimstan is a white-coloured man in white clothing who rides a white horse.

Literature and art

The statue of the "fine lady upon a white horse" at Banbury Cross. Finelady.jpg
The statue of the "fine lady upon a white horse" at Banbury Cross.

The mythological symbolism of white horses has been picked up as a trope in literature, film, and other storytelling. For example, the heroic prince or white knight of fairy tales often rides a white horse. Unicorns are (generally white) horse-like creatures with a single horn. And the English nursery rhyme "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross" refers to a lady on a white horse who may be associated with the Celtic goddess Rhiannon. [30]

A "white palfrey" appears in the fairy tale "Virgilius the Sorcerer" by Andrew Lang. It appears in The Violet Fairy Book and attributes more than usual magical powers to the ancient Roman poet Virgil (see also Virgil#Mysticism and hidden meanings).

The British author G. K. Chesterton wrote an epic poem titled Ballad of the White Horse. In Book I, "The Vision of the King," he writes of earliest England, invoking the white horse hill figure and the gods:

Before the gods that made the gods
Had seen their sunrise pass,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
Was cut out of the grass. [31]

The white horse is a recurring motif in Ibsen's play Rosmersholm , making use of the common Norse folklore that its appearance was a portent of death. The basis for the superstition may have been that the horse was a form of Church Grim, buried alive at the original consecration of the church building (the doomed protagonist in the play was a pastor), or that it was a materialisation of the fylgje, an individual's or family's guardian spirit. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

Freyr Norse deity

Freyr, sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and pictured as a phallic fertility god in Norse mythology. Freyr is said to "bestow peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.

Solar deity Sky deity who represents the Sun

A solar deity is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name Sol or by its Greek name Helios. The English word sun stems from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ.

Aztec mythology collection of myths of Aztec civilization

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Gná and Hófvarpnir

In Norse mythology, Gná is a goddess who runs errands in other worlds for the goddess Frigg and rides the flying, sea-treading horse Hófvarpnir. Gná and Hófvarpnir are attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholarly theories have been proposed about Gná as a "goddess of fullness" and as potentially cognate to Fama from Roman mythology. Hófvarpnir and the eight-legged steed Sleipnir have been cited examples of transcendent horses in Norse mythology.

Svaðilfari Horse in Norse mythology

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Dagr deity

In Norse mythology, Dagr is day personified. This personification appears in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Dagr is stated to be the son of the god Dellingr and is associated with the bright-maned horse Skinfaxi, who "draw[s] day to mankind". Depending on manuscript variation, the Prose Edda adds that Dagr is either Dellingr's son by Nótt, the personified night, or Jörð, the personified Earth. Otherwise, Dagr appears as a common noun simply meaning "day" throughout Old Norse works. Connections have been proposed between Dagr and other similarly named figures in Germanic mythology.

Hermóðr Norse deity

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Phaethon son of Helios from Greek mythology

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Perkūnas deity

Perkūnas was the common Baltic god of thunder, second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Dievas. In both Lithuanian and Latvian mythology, he is documented as the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, fire, war, law, order, fertility, mountains, and oak trees.

Sól (sun) Norse deity

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Guðmundr was a semi-legendary Norse king in Jotunheim, ruling over a land called Glæsisvellir, which was known as the warrior's paradise.

Horse worship

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The divine twins are a mytheme of Proto-Indo-European religion. The two brothers are youthful horsemen who are either gods or demigods represented as rescuers and healers. Similar mythemes can sometimes be found in non-Indo-European cultures.

Cantabrian mythology Myths, teachings, and legends of the Cantabri, a pre-Roman Celtic people

Cantabrian mythology refers to the myths, teachings and legends of the Cantabri, a pre-Roman Celtic people of the north coastal region of Iberia (Spain). Over time, Cantabrian mythology was likely diluted by Celtic mythology and Roman mythology with some original meanings lost. Later, the ascendancy of Christendom absorbed or ended the pagan rites of Cantabrian, Celtic and Roman mythology leading to a syncretism. Some relics of Cantabrian mythology remain.

Horse burial

Horse burial is the practice of burying a horse as part of the ritual of human burial, and is found among many Indo-European peoples and others, including Chinese and Turkic peoples. The act indicates the high value placed on horses in the particular cultures and provides evidence of the migration of peoples with a horse culture. Human burials that contain other livestock are rare; in Britain, for example, 31 horse burials have been discovered but only one cow burial, unique in Europe. This process of horse burial is part of a wider tradition of horse sacrifice. An associated ritual is that of chariot burial, in which an entire chariot, with or without a horse, is buried with a dead person.

Horse in Chinese mythology

Horses are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the horse or horses, or horse-like beings, including the pony. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. This includes myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups. There are various motifs of horses in Chinese mythology. In some cases the focus is on a horse or horses as the protagonist of the action, in other cases they appear in a supporting role, sometimes as the locomotive power propelling a chariot and its occupant(s). According to a cyclical Chinese calendar system, the time period of 31 January 2014 - 18 February 2015 falls under the category of the (yang) Wood Horse.

Wufang Shangdi traditional Chinese diety

The Wǔfāng Shàngdì, or simply Wǔdì or Wǔshén are, in Chinese canonical texts and common Chinese religion, the fivefold manifestation of the supreme God of Heaven. This theology harkens back at least to the Shang dynasty. Described as the "five changeable faces of Heaven", they represent Heaven's cosmic activity which shapes worlds as tán 壇, "altars", imitating its order which is visible in the starry vault, the north celestial pole and its spinning constellations. The Five Deities themselves represent these constellations. In accordance with the Three Powers they have a celestial, a terrestrial and a chthonic form. The Han Chinese identify themselves as the descendants of the Red and Yellow Deities.

References

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  3. ↑ The Four Branches of the Mabinogi: The Mabinogi of Pwyll by Will Parker (Bardic Press: 2007) ISBN   978-0-9745667-5-7. online text. Retrieved November 2008.
  4. ↑ Hyland, Ann (2003) The Horse in the Ancient World. Stroud, Sutton Publishing. ISBN   0-7509-2160-9. Page 6.
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  6. ↑ Morris, William (Trans.) and Magnússon, Eiríkr (Trans.) (2008). The Story of the Volsungs, page 54. Forgotten Books. ISBN   1-60506-469-6
  7. ↑ The Trinity-Тројство-Триглав @ veneti.info, quoting Saxo Grammaticus in the "Gesta Danorum".
  8. ↑ Peeps at Many Lands – Hungary by H. T. Kover, READ BOOKS, 2007, ISBN   978-1-4067-4416-3, page 8. Google books copy
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  10. ↑ Kak, Subhash (2002). The Aśvamedha: The Rite and Its Logic. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN   9788120818774.
  11. 1 2 3 Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend by Anna L. Dallapiccola. Thames and Hudson, 2002. ISBN   0-500-51088-1.
  12. ↑ Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN   9780143414216.
  13. ↑ bigelow, mason. Isles of Wonder: the cover story. Lulu.com. ISBN   9781326407360.
  14. ↑ The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: Book 3, Vana Parva. Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883–1896.Section CVII. online edition at Sacred Texts. Retrieved November 2008.
  15. ↑ Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 4, Chapter 19: King Pṛthu's One Hundred Horse Sacrifices translated by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
  16. ↑ Malasekera, G. P. (1996). Encyclopaedia of Buddhism. Government of Sri Lanka.
  17. ↑ New Testament: Book of Revelation, Ch 6:2 (NIV)
  18. ↑ New Testament: Book of Revelation, Ch 6:8 (NIV)
  19. ↑ New Testament: Book of Revelation, Ch 19:11-6 (NIV)
  20. ↑ "''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' by E. Cobham Brewer, 1898". Bartleby.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  21. ↑ The Pilgrimage to Compostela in the Middle Ages by Maryjane Dunn and Linda Kay Davidson. Routledge, 2000. Page 115. ISBN   978-0-415-92895-3. Google books copy. Retrieved November 2008.
  22. ↑ The Arts in Latin America, 1492–1820 by Joseph J. Rishel and Suzanne L. Stratton. Yale University Press, 2006. page 318. ISBN   978-0-300-12003-5. Google books copy. Retrieved November 2008.
  23. ↑ Patron Saints Index: Saint George. Retrieved November 2008.
  24. ↑ The Meaning of Icons by Vladimir Lossky. St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982. ISBN   978-0-913836-99-6. page 137. Google books copy. Retrieved November 2008.
  25. ↑ The Religion of Ossetia: Uastyrdzhi and Nart Batraz in Ossetian mythology. Retrieved November 2008.
  26. ↑ Gesta Francorum:The Defeat of Kerbogha, excerpt online at Medieval Sourcebook. Retrieved November 2008.
  27. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari , 5:58:227
  28. ↑ Gilkes, F. Carl Gilkes; Gilkes, R. Carl Gilkes (2009). Introduction to the Endtimes. Xulon Press. p. 51. ISBN   9781615791057 . Retrieved 26 January 2016. The Muslims expect their own savior, the twelfth Iman, the Muhammad d'ul Mahdi, to come to the earth before Jesus returns. Their Mahdi will solve all their problems ... they believe that their twelfth Iman will come riding a white horse.
  29. ↑ "1995 article with images by Barbara Cohen". Thingsasian.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  30. ↑ "''A Possible Solution to the Banbury Cross Mystery''". Kton.demon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  31. ↑ "Chesterton, G.K.''Ballad of the White Horse'' (1929) (need additional citation material)". Infomotions.com. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  32. ↑ Holtan, Orley (1970). Mythic Patterns in Ibsen's Last Plays . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp.  55–6. ISBN   978-0-8166-0582-8.
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