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An Entertaining Puzzle With Fantastically Fictional Artwork

MASTERPIECES "WIZARD'S DRAGON CRYSTAL" 500 PC JIGSAW PUZZLE

DETAILS:

Enter Don Maitz's Fictional Universe!
The challenging puzzle features the fantastical artwork of renowned American science fiction, fantasy, and commercial artist Don Maitz. The artwork, from Don Maitz's enchanting fictional universe, depicts a fantastical battle scene between a powerful wizard and a sinister dragon. Resplendent in a marvelous robe with trusty stave in hand the valiant warlock wields his crystal ball, engaging it's fire energy to thwart or defeat the dreadful dragon. The artwork is a masterpiece of fantasy illustration, with intricate details and vibrant colors that leap off the puzzle pieces.

The 500-piece jigsaw puzzle makes a 19" x 19" square when completed and would look great if framed. Whether you’re decorating a dedicated fantasy-themed room, creating a cozy family game night, or searching for an unforgettable gift, this puzzle is sure to delight.

An eco-friendly jigsaw puzzle. The chipboard used in this puzzle and box are made from recycled materials.

CONDITION:

In excellent, pre-owned condition. The box has some storage wear and a strip of tape on the bottom. Please see photos.

To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out.

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK.

"Don Maitz (born June 10, 1953) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and commercial artist. He has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, science fiction's highest honor for an artist. His peers in the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists have honored him ten times with a Chesley Award for outstanding achievement,[2] and he has received a Silver Medal of Excellence from the Society of Illustrators.

A native of Plainville, Connecticut, he is a 1975 graduate of the Paier School of Art.[1] His art has adorned the covers of books by Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, C. J. Cherryh, Stephen King, Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, and Raymond E. Feist, among others. Two compilations of his work have been published, Dreamquests: The Art of Don Maitz, and First Maitz. He also created the "Captain" character of the Captain Morgan brand of rum.

Maitz resides in Florida with his wife, fantasy novelist and artist Janny Wurts.
Genres

Maitz's work covers the broad spectrum of Fantasy & Science Fiction and even horror. He has also painted an extensive collection of pirates, including the pirate on the labels of Captain Morgan rum.[1]
Published works

Don Maitz has published two books featuring his own works entitled First Maitz and Dreamquests: The Art of Don Maitz. Friedlander Publishing Group released two 90-card sets, each with five "chase" cards in 1994 and 1996.

Maitz has also been included in the first book of series concentrating on artists who publish in the realm of Fantasy. This book is Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work.
First Maitz

First Maitz was published in 1988. A detailed overview of the artist's work, his techniques, inspirations, and sketches from start to finished painting.
Dreamquests: The Art of Don Maitz

Published in 1993, Dreamquests is a collection of Maitz's works. Raymond E. Feist gives the introduction, Maitz gives a few thoughts and then come pages and pages of beautiful images with a glossary at the end to give a title to the image and where it was used - book cover, magazine cover, etc.
Raiding Parties

Raiding Parties is a pirate-themed card game featuring artwork by Maitz on each card." (wikipedia)

"Jigsaw Puzzle Company

For over 30 years, MasterPieces® has enjoyed making quality jigsaw puzzles and games, toys, do-it-yourself wood craft kits, and much more. As an American jigsaw puzzles company and game store, innovation and premium quality are the MasterPieces® hallmark. We create puzzles that are made from recycled paper and soy-based inks to ensure you have nothing less than the best. Our pledge as your trusted jigsaw puzzle company is to make top quality kids’ puzzles, 300pc EZGrip puzzles, 550pc puzzles, 750pc puzzles, 1000pc puzzles, 1000pc panoramic puzzles, 2000pc puzzles, and multi-pack puzzles for puzzlers of all ages. We also deliver quality games and toys, including Checkers, ‘Opoly, Shake n’ Score, and more....

Why Choose MasterPieces®?

If you want to piece together a complex jigsaw or solve a fun brainteaser, look no further than MasterPieces®. Our products take family game night to the next level!

As a puzzle manufacturer, we take pride in crafting high-quality games, toys, wood craft kits, and puzzles so our customers can have the best experience possible. Our puzzles even have a unique cut with a die that allows them to lock. This is what sets us apart from other puzzle-making companies. Moreover, our puzzles are available in a wide range of piece counts, themes, and styles, and they are suitable for all age groups and skill levels....

MasterPieces® is a market leader known for combining innovative, superior products with the best value, which has propelled our global growth over the years. This, along with our exceptional customer service, has earned us worldwide customer loyalty. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for the avid puzzler in your life or just want to add some challenge to family game night, our online puzzle shop has got you covered." (masterpiecesinc)

"A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different genres of puzzles, such as crossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, number puzzles, relational puzzles, and logic puzzles. The academic study of puzzles is called enigmatology.

Puzzles are often created to be a form of entertainment but they can also arise from serious mathematical or logical problems. In such cases, their solution may be a significant contribution to mathematical research.[1]
Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary dates the word puzzle (as a verb) to the 16th century. Its earliest use documented in the OED was in a book titled The Voyage of Robert Dudley...to the West Indies, 1594–95, narrated by Capt. Wyatt, by himself, and by Abram Kendall, master (published circa 1595). The word later came to be used as a noun, first as an abstract noun meaning 'the state or condition of being puzzled', and later developing the meaning of 'a perplexing problem'. The OED's earliest clear citation in the sense of 'a toy that tests the player's ingenuity' is from Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, referring to a toy known as a "reel in a bottle".[2]

The etymology of the verb puzzle is described by OED as "unknown"; unproven hypotheses regarding its origin include an Old English verb puslian meaning 'pick out', and a derivation of the verb pose....

Puzzle solving

Solutions of puzzles often require the recognition of patterns and the adherence to a particular kind of order. People with a high level of inductive reasoning aptitude may be better at solving such puzzles compared to others. But puzzles based upon inquiry and discovery may be solved more easily by those with good deduction skills. Deductive reasoning improves with practice. Mathematical puzzles often involve BODMAS. BODMAS is an acronym which stands for Bracket, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction. In certain regions, PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction) is the synonym of BODMAS. It explains the order of operations to solve an expression. Some mathematical puzzles require top to bottom convention to avoid the ambiguity in the order of operations. It is an elegantly simple idea that relies, as sudoku does, on the requirement that numbers appear only once starting from top to bottom as coming along.[4]
Puzzle makers
Puzzle makers are people who make puzzles. In general terms of occupation, a puzzler or puzzlist is someone who composes and/or solves puzzles....

History of puzzles

The nine linked-rings puzzle, an advanced puzzle device that requires mathematical calculation to solve, was invented in China during the Warring States period (475-221 BCE).[5] Jigsaw puzzles were invented around 1760, when John Spilsbury, a British engraver and cartographer, mounted a map on a sheet of wood, which he then sawed around the outline of each individual country on the map. He then used the resulting pieces as an aid for the teaching of geography.[6]

After becoming popular among the public, this kind of teaching aid remained the primary use of jigsaw puzzles until about 1820.[7]

The largest puzzle (40,320 pieces) is made by a German game company Ravensburger.[8] The smallest puzzle ever made was created at LaserZentrum Hannover. It is only five square millimeters, the size of a sand grain.

The puzzles that were first documented are riddles. In Europe, Greek mythology produced riddles like the riddle of the Sphinx. Many riddles were produced during the Middle Ages, as well.[9]

By the early 20th century, magazines and newspapers found that they could increase their readership by publishing puzzle contests, beginning with crosswords and in modern days sudoku." (wikipedia)

"National Puzzle Day is an American observance that occurs January 29 every year.[1][2][3][4]
Background

Jodi Jill, a puzzle enthusiast started giving away free her Brain Baffler puzzle in the magazine Official Freebies for Teachers.[5] Before long, there were people asking for free puzzles year around. So she decided to only send out free puzzles one day a year, on her birthday, January 29. By 1994 this was observed as National Puzzle Day.[6] Beginning in 2002 this holiday became widely known. [7][8]
Recognition

One year, 2016, the Michigan Historical Center used puzzles and National Puzzle Day to create awareness of Michigan history. Placing historic images like old maps, photos, and other items from the state archives on jigsaw puzzles to educate.[9]

To celebrate every year, the student union at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley puts on a contest for National Puzzle Day. The contest entries are a completed puzzle and posting it on the student union's social media by noon on Puzzle Day.[10]

In 2023, White Castle released a limited edition 285-piece jigsaw puzzle on National Puzzle Day. The proceeds of puzzle sales went to White Castle's Team Member Relief Fund to help team members facing unexpected hardships.[11]

Some people observe National Puzzle Day by playing various types of puzzles, or going to various puzzle events.[12] During the month of January, some puzzles are given away to educators or offered at reduced price promotions.[13] Some libraries run puzzle swaps as an event on this day and sell puzzles with the donating proceeds of puzzle sales to benefit various organizations or charities." (wikipedia)

"A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is completed by solving the puzzle.

In the 18th century, jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, then cutting it into small pieces. The name "jigsaw" derives from the tools used to cut the images into pieces—variably identified as jigsaws, fretsaws or scroll saws. Assisted by Jason Hinds, John Spilsbury, a London cartographer and engraver, is credited with commercialising jigsaw puzzles around 1760. His design took world maps, and cut out the individual nations in order for them to be reassembled by students as a geographical teaching aid.[1] They have since come to be made primarily of interlocking cardboard pieces, incorporating a variety of images and designs.

Jigsaw puzzles have been used in research studies to study cognitive abilities such as mental rotation visuospatial ability in young children.

Typical images on jigsaw puzzles include scenes from nature, buildings, and repetitive designs. Castles and mountains are among traditional subjects, but any picture can be used. Artisan puzzle-makers and companies using technologies for one-off and small print-run puzzles utilize a wide range of subject matter, including optical illusions, unusual art, and personal photographs. In addition to traditional flat, two-dimensional puzzles, three-dimensional puzzles have entered large-scale production, including spherical puzzles and architectural recreations.

A range of jigsaw puzzle accessories, including boards, cases, frames, and roll-up mats, have become available to assist jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts. While most assembled puzzles are disassembled for reuse, they can also be attached to a backing with adhesive and displayed as art.

Competitive jigsaw puzzling has grown in popularity in the 21st century, with both regional and national competitions held in many countries, and annual World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships held from 2019.
History

John Spilsbury is believed to have produced the first jigsaw puzzle around 1760, using a marquetry saw.[1]

Early puzzles, known as dissections, were produced by mounting maps on sheets of hardwood and cutting along national boundaries, creating a puzzle useful for teaching geography.[1] Royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch used such "dissected maps" to teach the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte.[4][5] Cardboard jigsaw puzzles appeared in the late 1800s, but were slow to replace wooden ones because manufacturers felt that cardboard puzzles would be perceived as low-quality, and because profit margins on wooden jigsaws were larger.[1]

The name "jigsaw" came to be associated with the puzzle around 1880 when fretsaws became the tool of choice for cutting the shapes.[1] Along with fretsaws, jigsaws and scroll saws have also been noted as tools used to cut jigsaw puzzles into pieces.[6] The term "jigsaw puzzle" dates back to 1906.

Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the Great Depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.[1][7] It was around this time that jigsaws evolved to become more complex and appealing to adults.[1] They were also given away in product promotions and used in advertising, with customers completing an image of the promoted product.[1][7]

Sales of wooden puzzles fell after World War II as improved wages led to price increases, while improvements in manufacturing processes made paperboard jigsaws more attractive.[7]

Demand for jigsaw puzzles saw a surge, comparable to that of the Great Depression,... stay-at-home orders.

Modern construction

Most modern jigsaw puzzles are made of paperboard as they are easier and cheaper to mass-produce. An enlarged photograph or printed reproduction of a painting or other two-dimensional artwork is glued to cardboard, which is then fed into a press. The press forces a set of hardened steel blades of the desired pattern, called a puzzle die, through the board until fully cut.

The puzzle die is a flat board, often made from plywood, with slots cut or burned in the same shape as the knives that are used. The knives are set into the slots and covered in a compressible material, typically foam rubber, which ejects the cut puzzle pieces.

The cutting process is similar to making shaped cookies with a cookie cutter. However, the forces involved are tremendously greater.

Beginning in the 1930s, jigsaw puzzles were cut using large hydraulic presses that now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The precise cuts gave a snug fit, but the cost limited jigsaw puzzle production to large corporations. Recent roller-press methods achieve the same results at a lower cost.[citation needed]

New technology has also enabled laser-cutting of wooden or acrylic jigsaw puzzles. The advantage is that the puzzle can be custom-cut to any size or shape, with any number or average size of pieces. Many museums have laser-cut acrylic puzzles made of some of their art so visiting children can assemble puzzles of the images on display. Acrylic pieces are very durable, waterproof, and can withstand continued use without the image degrading. Also, because the print and cut patterns are computer-based, missing pieces can easily be remade.

By the early 1960s, Tower Press was the world's largest jigsaw puzzle maker; it was acquired by Waddingtons in 1969.[10] Numerous smaller-scale puzzle makers work in artisanal styles, handcrafting and handcutting their creations.[11][12][13][14]
Variations

Jigsaw puzzles come in a variety of sizes. Among those marketed to adults, 300-, 500- and 750-piece puzzles are considered "smaller". More sophisticated, but still common, puzzles come in sizes of 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 pieces.

Jigsaw puzzles geared towards children typically have significantly fewer pieces and are typically much larger. For very young children, puzzles with as few as 4 to 9 large pieces (so as not to be a choking hazard) are standard. They are usually made of wood or plastic for durability and can be cleaned without damage.

The most common layout for a thousand-piece puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for an actual total of 1,026 pieces. Most 500-piece puzzles are 27 pieces by 19 pieces, for a total of 513 pieces.[citation needed] A few puzzles are double-sided so they can be solved from either side—adding complexity, as the enthusiast must determine if they are looking at the right side of each piece.

"Family puzzles" of 100–550 pieces use an assortment of small, medium and large pieces, with each size going in one direction or towards the middle of the puzzle. This allows a family of different skill levels and hand sizes to work on the puzzle together. Companies like Springbok, Cobble Hill, Ceaco, Buffalo Games and Suns Out make this type of specialty puzzle. Ravensburger, on the other hand, formerly made this type of puzzle from 2000 until 2008.

There are also three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. Many are made of wood or styrofoam and require the puzzle to be solved in a particular order, as some pieces will not fit if others are already in place. One type of 3-D jigsaw puzzle is a puzzle globe, often made of plastic. Like 2-D puzzles, the assembled pieces form a single layer, but the final form is three-dimensional. Most globe puzzles have designs representing spherical shapes such as the Earth, the Moon, and historical globes of the Earth.

Jigsaw puzzles can vary significantly in price depending on their complexity, number of pieces, and brand. In the US, children's puzzles can start around $5, while larger ones can be closer to $50. The most expensive puzzle to date was sold for $US27,000 in 2005 at a charity auction for The Golden Retriever Foundation.

Puzzle pieces

Most puzzles are square or rectangular, with edge pieces with one straight side, and four corner pieces. However, some puzzles have edge and corner pieces cut like the rest, with no straight sides, making them more challenging to identify them. Some puzzles are round or in a more complex shape, such as profiles of animals, and their edge pieces are therefore curved. Spherical puzzles can have triangular edge pieces.

Otherwise, all or most pieces of a modern jigsaw puzzle interlock by means of rounded tabs (interjambs) and indentations (called "blanks") on adjacent sides. The pieces are normally four-sided and may be uniform in appearance except for the edges and corners. Some puzzles are termed "fully interlocking", which means that a group of assembled pieces fit together tightly enough to be moved without falling apart; sometimes the connection is tight enough that a solved section will remain attached when lifted by one piece. Uniformly shaped fully interlocking puzzles, sometimes called "Japanese Style", are more difficult because pieces are hard to tell apart.[citation needed]

Wooden puzzles fit together more loosely, with few tabs and blanks, because of the limits of the material and the cutting technology. They sometimes include pieces in recognisable shapes such as objects or animals, known as "whimsies", "silhouettes", or "figurals".[16] Designer Yuu Asaka has created monochrome jigsaw puzzles with five "corner" pieces (with two straight edges)[17] and consisting entirely of such pieces.[18][19] The former was awarded the Jury Honorable Mention at the 2018 Puzzle Design Competition....

Research studies

Studies have shown that the ability to solve jigsaw puzzles develops during early childhood. During this time there is significant development in cognitive abilities such as mental rotation and visuospatial ability, which can be used to solve a puzzle. Throughout life those abilities can continue to develop.

In 2021, researchers conducted a study during which a group of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old were asked to complete three different types of jigsaw puzzles. Each child was given a normal jigsaw puzzle with a picture on it, another with normal shaped pieces but without an image on it and finally a puzzle with an image on it but all the pieces were shaped the same. They were shown the completed versions then asked to reassemble them. The children were given three minutes to complete each puzzle; half of the group was given a guide picture while the other half was not. The results revealed that 4 and 5 year olds were able to complete all three puzzles within the allotted time, meanwhile most 3-year-olds were able to complete the normal jigsaw puzzle and the puzzle of normal shaped pieces without an image on it but struggled more with the puzzle that had an image but all the pieces were shaped the same. With all of the children the fastest completion time was with the normal puzzle and the slowest was with the puzzle with an image and same shaped pieces; there were also fewer errors in with the children that had a guide.[24] The cognitive development between the different ages can be seen in their completion times and how many errors were made. The older children were able to complete the puzzles with fewer errors because their mental rotation abilities, which is the ability to rotate an object in your mind to see it from a different perspective, are further developed than they are for younger children who are more likely to resort to trial and error.

The difference in the visuospatial abilities between boys and girls were studied in 2017 using jigsaw puzzles. A second-grade class was asked to complete three different puzzles, the first was a neutral one of a horse, second was a male-oriented one of a tractor, and the third was a female-oriented one of the character Bambi. The Bambi puzzle had the fastest completion time with all the children which is believed to be caused by their previous experience, and because it was finished the fastest with all of the children researchers do not believe there is a connection between the puzzles' targeted audience and the sex of the children. Overall the girls in the class were faster, and made fewer errors.[25]
Society

The logo of Wikipedia is a globe made out of jigsaw pieces. The incomplete sphere symbolizes the room to add new knowledge.[26]

In the logo of the Colombian Office of the Attorney General appears a jigsaw puzzle piece in the foreground. They named it "The Key Piece": "The piece of a puzzle is the proper symbol to visually represent the Office of the Attorney General because it includes the concepts of search, solution and answers that the entity pursues through the investigative activity."[27]
Art and entertainment

The central antagonist in the Saw film franchise is nicknamed Jigsaw,[28] due to his practice of cutting the shape of a puzzle piece from the remains of his victims.

In the 1933 Laurel and Hardy short Me and My Pal, several characters attempt to complete a large jigsaw puzzle.[29]

Lost in Translation is a poem about a child putting together a jigsaw puzzle, as well as an interpretive puzzle itself.

Life: A User's Manual, Georges Perec's most famous novel, tells as pieces of a puzzle a story about a jigsaw puzzle maker.

Jigsaw Puzzle (song), sometimes spelled "Jig-Saw Puzzle" is a song by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.

In "Citizen Kane" Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore) is reduced to spending her days completing jigsaws after the failure of her operatic career. After Kane's death when "Xanadu" is emptied, hundreds of jigsaw puzzles are discovered in the cellar.

Rhett And Link Do A Rainy Day Jigsaw Puzzle is a short video by self-described "internetainers" (portmanteau of "Internet" and "entertainers") Rhett & Link which portrays the frustration of discovering a puzzle piece is missing.

In 2022, Andorra issued a commemorative 2 euro coin, on the national side of which a figure of puzzle pieces was stamped, symbolising the Principality of Andorra and the countries belonging to the European Union." (wikipedia)

"Jigsaw puzzle accessories are the accessories used to assemble, store, and display jigsaw puzzles.
Jigsaw puzzle accessories for making, displaying and storing jigsaw puzzles.
History

Jigsaw puzzles were made commercially available in England by John Spilsbury around 1760.[1] Jigsaws are popular throughout Europe, and in the American Great Depression jigsaw puzzles sold at the rate of 10 million per week.[2]

The first references to any kind of jigsaw puzzle accessory can be found around 1900 when a "Frame" was first included in Dutch jigsaw puzzle boxes[3] so that a completed puzzle could be permanently saved. The idea was not successful and was soon discontinued. The same happened to the mahogany and walnut "Puzzle Trays" that were advertised in Viking's Picture Puzzle Weekly in America during the 1930s.[4]

In the late 1980s, Falcon Games in England applied for a trademark, and on 4th of August 1989 their self-explanatory Jigroll name was registered (UK Patent Office Reference 1318441). Although many companies have since copied the functionality of the Jigroll, none have been able to give their products the same name. Nowadays, the jigsaw puzzle parlance "Jigroll" has almost become a generic term for all jigsaw mats and rolls.[citation needed]

Jigsaw puzzle frames, in which a completed puzzle can be displayed, have never been very popular in either Europe or the US. However, in the case of Japan, the customary use of jigsaws is for wall decoration. From the time that jigsaws first became available in Japan, in the 1970s,[5] jigsaw frames have been available to fit the jigsaw sizes of all the leading manufacturers.
Modern jigsaw puzzle accessories

Illustrated below are the most widely used modern products. Most of the accessories come in a range of sizes to cater for jigsaw puzzles between 500 and 2,000 pieces with the 1,000-piece size being the most popular.
Stand-alone construction tray

Construction trays are the most basic of all jigsaw puzzle accessories and they come in many different materials. Sizes required for different piece counts are as follows:

    500 pieces: 520 mm x 395 mm (20.4" x 15.5")
    1000 pieces: Approximately 750 mm x 520 mm (29.5" x 20.4")
    1500 pieces: Approximately 915 mm x 660 mm (36.0" x 26.0")
    2000 pieces: Approximately 1016 mm x 711 mm (40" x 28")

The major problem with stand alone construction trays is that they cannot be packed away and stored with a part-assembled jigsaw. However, they can very easily be moved around from place to place in a home - the only functionality required by many people.
Roll-up mat

Launched in 1989, the Jigroll was the forerunner of modern jigsaw puzzle accessories. The jigsaw puzzle is constructed on a green cloth that has a coarse texture to which cardboard jigsaw pieces adhere. The non assembled pieces are also kept on the cloth. When the puzzle needs to be cleared away the entire cloth is rolled around a drum thus keeping both the assembled and non-assembled pieces trapped in position until the cloth is unrolled again....

Nesting boxes for unassembled pieces

The loose pieces of a jigsaw take up approximately twice the space of a completed puzzle and these nesting boxes aim to solve the problem of how best to store 1,000 loose pieces in a small area. The boxes can be used for sorting different shapes or colours of piece. Each box has a removable insert so that sections of the puzzle can be constructed in the box and then easily moved to the developing jigsaw.
Jigsaw puzzle frames

Traditionally (especially in Japan) jigsaw puzzles that are hung on a wall are glued onto a backing board. Once glued, it is a simple process to fit a puzzle into a frame in much the same way as a picture is fitted in a picture frame. However, gluing a puzzle to a board renders it unusable in the future as a puzzle. Products like the Jigframe resolve this issue with a shallow drawer incorporated into the frame that allows jigsaws to be framed without the use of glue.

Storage cases

The product is sold with 10 cardboard sheets on which completed puzzles are stored. The puzzles along with their cardboard sheets are stacked on top of each other in the manner of a multi-tiered sandwich. Ultimately the entire sandwich is held together with straps that are provided and then the whole is stored in an outer cardboard case. This accessory may be used by dedicated enthusiasts or at schools and clubs, where there is a requirement to keep and display many completed puzzles." (wikipedia)

"A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of reptilian, mammalian, and avian features.

Etymology

The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which, in turn, comes from Latin draco (genitive draconis), meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from Ancient Greek δράκων, drákōn (genitive δράκοντος, drákontos) "serpent".[2][3] The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological.[4] The Greek word δράκων is most likely derived from the Greek verb δέρκομαι (dérkomai) meaning "I see", the aorist form of which is ἔδρακον (édrakon).[3] This is thought to have referred to something with a "deadly glance",[5] or unusually bright[6] or "sharp"[7][8] eyes, or because a snake's eyes appear to be always open; each eye actually sees through a big transparent scale in its eyelids, which are permanently shut. The Greek word probably derives from an Indo-European base *derḱ- meaning "to see"; the Sanskrit root दृश् (dr̥ś-) also means "to see".[9]
Overview
Several bones purported to belong to the Wawel Dragon hang outside Wawel Cathedral, but actually belong to a Pleistocene mammal.

Draconic creatures appear in virtually all cultures around the globe[10] and the earliest attested reports of draconic creatures resemble giant snakes. Draconic creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near East and appear in ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Near Eastern and Indo-European mythologies. Famous prototypical draconic creatures include the mušḫuššu of ancient Mesopotamia; Apep in Egyptian mythology; Vṛtra in the Rigveda; the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible; Grand'Goule in the Poitou region in France; Python, Ladon, Wyvern and the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology; Kulshedra in Albanian Mythology; Unhcegila in Lakota mythology; Quetzalcoatl in Aztec Culture; Jörmungandr, Níðhöggr, and Fafnir in Norse mythology; the dragon from Beowulf; and aži and az in ancient Persian mythology, closely related to another mythological figure, called Aži Dahaka or Zahhak.

Nonetheless, scholars dispute where the idea of a dragon originates from,[11] and a wide variety of hypotheses have been proposed.[11]

In his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), anthropologist David E. Jones suggests a hypothesis that humans, like monkeys, have inherited instinctive reactions to snakes, large cats, and birds of prey.[12] He cites a study which found that approximately 39 people in a hundred are afraid of snakes[13] and notes that fear of snakes is especially prominent in children, even in areas where snakes are rare.[13] The earliest attested dragons all resemble snakes or have snakelike attributes.[14] Jones therefore concludes that dragons appear in nearly all cultures because humans have an innate fear of snakes and other animals that were major predators of humans' primate ancestors.[15] Dragons are usually said to reside in "dark caves, deep pools, wild mountain reaches, sea bottoms, haunted forests", all places which would have been fraught with danger for early human ancestors.[16]

In her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.[17] She argues that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by "observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas"[18] and that ancient Greek artistic depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in the Mediterranean region.[18] In China, a region where fossils of large prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified as "dragon bones"[19] and are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine.[19] Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils[19] and notes that Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long "been considered barren of large fossils."[19] In one of her later books, she states that, "Many dragon images around the world were based on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California, alligator lizards, though this still fails to account for the Scandinavian legends, as no such animals (historical or otherwise) have ever been found in this region."[20]

Robert Blust in The Origin of Dragons (2000) argues that, like many other creations of traditional cultures, dragons are largely explicable as products of a convergence of rational pre-scientific speculation about the world of real events. In this case, the event is the natural mechanism governing rainfall and drought, with particular attention paid to the phenomenon of the rainbow.

Post-classical

The modern, western image of a dragon developed in western Europe during the Middle Ages through the combination of the snakelike dragons of classical Graeco-Roman literature, references to Near Eastern dragons preserved in the Bible, and western European folk traditions.[147] The period between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries represents the height of European interest in dragons as living creatures.[148] The twelfth-century Welsh monk, Geoffrey of Monmouth, recounts a famous legend in his Historia Regum Britanniae in which the child prophet Merlin witnesses the Romano-Celtic warlord Vortigern attempt to build a tower on Snowdon to keep safe from the Anglo-Saxons,[149] but the tower keeps being swallowed into the ground.[149] Merlin informs Vortigern that, underneath the foundation he has built, is a pool with two dragons sleeping in it.[149] Vortigern orders for the pool to be drained, exposing a red dragon and a white dragon, who immediately begin fighting.[149] Merlin delivers a prophecy that the white dragon will triumph over the red, symbolizing England's conquest of Wales,[149] but declares that the red dragon will eventually return and defeat the white one.[150] This story remained popular throughout the fifteenth century.[150]

Dragons are generally depicted as living in rivers or having an underground lair or cave.[151] They are envisioned as greedy and gluttonous, with voracious appetites.[147] They are often identified with Satan, due to the references to Satan as a "dragon" in the Book of Revelation.[147] The thirteenth-century Golden Legend, written in Latin, records the story of Saint Margaret of Antioch,[42] a virgin martyr who, after being tortured for her faith in the Diocletianic Persecution and thrown back into her cell, is said to have been confronted by a monstrous dragon,[42] but she made the sign of the cross and the dragon vanished.[42] In some versions of the story, she is actually swallowed by the dragon alive and, after making the sign of the cross in the dragon's stomach, emerges unharmed.[42]

The legend of Saint George and the Dragon may be referenced as early as the sixth century AD,[152][153] but the earliest artistic representations of it come from the eleventh century[152] and the first full account of it comes from an eleventh-century Georgian text.[154] The most famous version of the story from the Golden Legend holds that a dragon kept pillaging the sheep of the town of Silene in Libya.[152] After it ate a young shepherd, the people were forced to placate it by leaving two sheep as sacrificial offerings every morning beside the lake where the dragon lived.[152] Eventually, the dragon ate all of the sheep[155] and the people were forced to start offering it their own children.[155] One day, the king's own daughter came up in the lottery and, despite the king's pleas for her life, she was dressed as a bride and chained to a rock beside the lake to be eaten.[155] Then, Saint George arrived and saw the princess.[155] When the dragon arrived to eat her, he stabbed it with his lance and subdued it by making the sign of the cross and tying the princess's girdle around its neck.[155] Saint George and the princess led the now-docile dragon into the town and George promised to kill it if the townspeople would convert to Christianity.[156] All the townspeople converted and Saint George killed the dragon with his sword.[156] In some versions, Saint George marries the princess,[156] but, in others, he continues wandering.[156]

Dragons are well known in myths and legends of Spain, in no small part because St. George (Catalan Sant Jordi) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Like most mythical reptiles, the Catalan dragon (Catalan drac) is an enormous serpent-like creature with four legs and a pair of wings, or rarely, a two-legged creature with a pair of wings, called a wyvern. As in many other parts of the world, the dragon's face may be like that of some other animal, such as a lion or a bull. As is common elsewhere, Catalan dragons are fire-breathers, and the dragon-fire is all-consuming. Catalan dragons also can emit a fetid odor, which can rot away anything it touches.[157]

Gargoyles are carved stone figures sometimes resembling dragons that originally served as waterspouts on buildings.[158][159] Precursors to the medieval gargoyle can be found on ancient Greek and Egyptian temples,[158][160][161] but, over the course of the Middle Ages, many fantastic stories were invented to explain them.[162] One medieval French legend holds that, in ancient times, a fearsome dragon known as La Gargouille had been causing floods and sinking ships on the river Seine,[163] so the people of the town of Rouen would offer the dragon a human sacrifice once each year to appease its hunger.[163] Then, around 600 AD, a priest named Romanus promised that, if the people would build a church, he would rid them of the dragon.[163] Romanus slew the dragon and its severed head was mounted on the walls of the city as the first gargoyle.[163][164]

Dragons are prominent in medieval heraldry.[165] Uther Pendragon was famously said to have had two gold dragons crowned with red standing back-to-back on his royal coat of arms.[166] Originally, heraldic dragons could have any number of legs,[165] but, by the late Middle Ages, due to the widespread proliferation of bestiaries, heraldry began to distinguish between a "dragon" (which could only have exactly four legs) and a "wyvern" (which could only have exactly two).[165] In myths, wyverns are associated with viciousness, envy, and pestilence,[165] but, in heraldry, they are used as symbols for overthrowing the tyranny of Satan and his demonic forces.[165] Late medieval heraldry also distinguished a draconic creature known as a "cockatrice".[165] A cockatrice is supposedly born when a serpent hatches an egg that has been laid on a dunghill by a rooster[165] and it is so venomous that its breath and its gaze are both lethal to any living creature, except for a weasel, which is the cockatrice's mortal enemy.[165] A basilisk is a serpent with the head of a dragon at the end of its tail that is born when a toad hatches an egg that has been laid in a midden by a nine-year-old cockatrice.[165] Like the cockatrice, its glare is said to be deadly.

In Albanian mythology and folklore, stihi, ljubi, bolla, bollar, errshaja, and kulshedra are mythological figures described as serpentine dragons. It is believed that bolla, a water and chthonic demonic serpent, undergoes metamorphosis passing through four distinct phases if it lives many years without being seen by a human. The bollar and errshaja are the intermediate stages, while the kulshedra is the ultimate phase, described as a huge multi-headed fire-spitting female serpent which causes drought, storms, flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters against mankind. She is usually fought and defeated by a drangue, a semi-human winged divine hero and protector of humans. Heavy thunderstorms are thought to be the result of their battles.[167][168]

In Slavic mythology, the words "zmey", "zmiy", or "zmaj" are used to describe dragons. These words are masculine forms of the Slavic word for "snake", which are normally feminine (like Russian zmeya). In Romania, there is a similar figure, derived from the Slavic dragon and named zmeu. Exclusively in Polish and Belarusian folklore, as well as in the other Slavic folklores, a dragon is also called (variously) смок, цмок, or smok. In South Slavic folklores, the same thing is also called lamya (ламя, ламjа, lamja). Although quite similar to other European dragons, Slavic dragons have their peculiarities.

In Russian and Ukrainian folklore, Zmey Gorynych is a dragon with three heads, each one bearing twin goatlike horns.[169] He is said to have breathed fire and smelled of sulfur.[169] It was believed that eclipses were caused by Gorynych temporarily swallowing the sun.[170] According to one legend, Gorynych's uncle was the evil sorcerer Nemal Chelovek, who abducted the daughter of the tsar and imprisoned her in his castle in the Ural Mountains.[170] Many knights tried to free her, but all of them were killed by Gorynych's fire.[170] Then a palace guard in Moscow named Ivan Tsarevich overheard two crows talking about the princess.[171] He went to the tsar, who gave him a magic sword, and snuck into the castle.[172] When Chelovek attacked Ivan in the form of a giant, the sword flew from Ivan's hand unbidden and killed him.[172] Then the sword cut off all three of Gorynych's heads at once.[172] Ivan brought the princess back to the tsar, who declared Ivan a nobleman and allowed him to marry the princess.[172]

A popular Polish folk tale is the legend of the Wawel Dragon,[173][174][175] which is first recorded in the Chronica Polonorum of Wincenty Kadłubek, written between 1190 and 1208.[174][175] According to Kadłubek, the dragon appeared during the reign of King Krakus[174] and demanded to be fed a fixed number of cattle every week.[174] If the villagers failed to provide enough cattle, the dragon would eat the same number of villagers as the number of cattle they had failed to provide.[174] Krakus ordered his sons to slay the dragon.[174] Since they could not slay it by hand,[174] they tricked the dragon into eating calfskins filled with burning sulfur.[174] Once the dragon was dead, the younger brother attacked and murdered his older brother and returned home to claim all the glory for himself,[174] telling his father that his brother had died fighting the dragon.[174] The younger brother became king after his father died, but his secret was eventually revealed and he was banished.[174] In the fifteenth century, Jan Długosz rewrote the story so that King Krakus himself was the one who slew the dragon.[173][174][175] Another version of the story told by Marcin Bielski instead has the clever shoemaker Skuba come up with the idea for slaying the dragon.[174][176] Bielski's version is now the most popular.

Modern depictions

Dragons and dragon motifs are featured in many works of modern literature, particularly within the fantasy genre.[177][178] As early as the eighteenth century, critical thinkers such as Denis Diderot were already asserting that too much literature had been published on dragons: "There are already in books all too many fabulous stories of dragons".[179] In Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871), one of the inset poems describes the Jabberwock, a kind of dragon.[10] Carroll's illustrator John Tenniel, a famous political cartoonist, humorously showed the Jabberwock with the waistcoat, buck teeth, and myopic eyes of a Victorian university lecturer, such as Carroll himself.[10] In works of comedic children's fantasy, dragons often fulfill the role of a magic fairy tale helper.[180] In such works, rather than being frightening as they are traditionally portrayed, dragons are instead represented as harmless, benevolent, and inferior to humans.[180] They are sometimes shown living in contact with humans, or in isolated communities of only dragons.[180] Though popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, "such comic and idyllic stories" began to grow increasingly rare after the 1960s, due to demand for more serious children's literature.[180]

One of the most iconic modern dragons is Smaug from J. R. R. Tolkien's classic novel, The Hobbit.[177] Dragons also appear in the best-selling Harry Potter series of children's novels by J. K. Rowling.[10] Other prominent works depicting dragons include Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle, George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, and Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle. Sandra Martina Schwab writes, "With a few exceptions, including McCaffrey's Pern novels and the 2002 film Reign of Fire, dragons seem to fit more into the medievalized setting of fantasy literature than into the more technological world of science fiction. Indeed, they have been called the emblem of fantasy. The hero's fight against the dragon emphasizes and celebrates his masculinity, whereas revisionist fantasies of dragons and dragon-slaying often undermine traditional gender roles. In children's literature (such as Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon series) the friendly dragon may become a powerful ally in battling the child's fears."[181] The popular role-playing game system Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) makes heavy use of dragons." (wikipedia)

"Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction which involves themes of the supernatural, magic, and imaginary worlds and creatures.[1][2]

Its roots are in oral traditions, which became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animation, and video games.

The expression fantastic literature is also often used to refer to this genre by the Anglophone literary critics.[3][4][5][6] An archaic spelling for the term is phantasy.[7]

Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness.[8] In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.
Traits

Many works of fantasy use magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting.[9] Magic, magic practitioners (sorcerers, witches and so on) and magical creatures are common in many of these worlds.[7]

An identifying trait of fantasy is the author's use of narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent.[10] This differs from realistic fiction in that realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, where fantasy does not. In writing fantasy the author uses worldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality.

Many fantasy authors use real-world folklore and mythology as inspiration;[11] and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic,[12] this does not have to be the case.

Fantasy has often been compared to science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative fiction. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements. A science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seemingly possible through logical scientific or technological extrapolation, where fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible.[10] Authors have to rely on the readers' suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment, in order to write effective fantasies. Despite both genres' heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable from one another. Horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists' weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists....

Modern fantasy

Although pre-dated by John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River (1841), the history of modern fantasy literature is usually said to begin with George MacDonald, the Scottish author of such novels as Phantastes (1858) and The Princess and the Goblin (1872); the former is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. MacDonald was a major influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.[26] The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, an English poet who wrote several novels in the latter part of the century, including The Wood Beyond the World (1894) and The Well at the World's End (1896).

Despite MacDonald's future influence with At the Back of the North Wind (1871), Morris's popularity with his contemporaries, and H. G. Wells's The Wonderful Visit (1895), it was not until the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach a large audience. Lord Dunsany established the genre's popularity in both the novel and the short story form. H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, and Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time. These authors, along with Abraham Merritt, established what was known as the "lost world" subgenre, which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such as Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, were also published around this time.

Juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children.[27] Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children,[28] although his works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this and successes such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) created the circular effect that all fantasy works, even the later The Lord of the Rings, were therefore classified as children's literature[citation needed].

Political and social trends can affect a society's reception towards fantasy. In the early 20th century, the New Culture Movement's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures of these novels were viewed as superstitious and backward, products of a feudal society hindering the modernization of China. Stories of the supernatural continued to be denounced once the Communists rose to power, and mainland China experienced a revival in fantasy only after the Cultural Revolution had ended.[29]

Fantasy became a genre of pulp magazines published in the West. In 1923, the first all-fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales, was published. Many other similar magazines eventually followed, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction; when it was founded in 1949, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity, and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other.

By 1950, "sword and sorcery" fiction had begun to find a wide audience, with the success of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.[30] However, it was the advent of high fantasy, and most of all J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s, that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream.[31] Several other series, such as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, helped cement the genre's popularity.

The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century, as evidenced by the best-selling status of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen sweeping epic, Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series and Mistborn series, and A. Sapkowski's The Witcher saga." (wikipedia)

"Magic, sometimes spelled magick,[1] is the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed in the belief that they can manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces.[2] It is a category into which have been placed various beliefs and practices sometimes considered separate from both religion and science.[2]

Connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history.[3] Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other,[4] foreignness,[5] and primitivism;[6] indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference"[7] and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon.[8] During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people.[7]

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), a British occultist, defined "magick" as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will",[9] adding a 'k' to distinguish ceremonial or ritual magic from stage magic.[1] In modern occultism and neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly practice ritual magic.[10] This view has been incorporated into chaos magic and the new religious movements of Thelema and Wicca.

Etymology

The English words magic, mage and magician come from the Latin term magus, through the Greek μάγος, which is from the Old Persian maguš. (𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁|𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁, magician).[11] The Old Persian magu- is derived from the Proto-Indo-European megʰ-*magh (be able). The Persian term may have led to the Old Sinitic *Mγag (mage or shaman).[12] The Old Persian form seems to have permeated ancient Semitic languages as the Talmudic Hebrew magosh, the Aramaic amgusha (magician), and the Chaldean maghdim (wisdom and philosophy); from the first century BCE onwards, Syrian magusai gained notoriety as magicians and soothsayers.[13]

During the late-sixth and early-fifth centuries BCE, the term goetia found its way into ancient Greek, where it was used with negative connotations to apply to rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional, and dangerous;[14] in particular they dedicate themselves to the evocation and invocation of daimons (lesser divinities or spirits) to control and acquire powers. This concept remained pervasive throughout the Hellenistic period, when Hellenistic authors categorised a diverse range of practices—such as enchantment, witchcraft, incantations, divination, necromancy, and astrology—under the label "magic".[15]

The Latin language adopted this meaning of the term in the first century BCE. Via Latin, the concept became incorporated into Christian theology during the first century CE. Early Christians associated magic with demons, and thus regarded it as against Christian religion. In early modern Europe, Protestants often claimed that Roman Catholicism was magic rather than religion, and as Christian Europeans began colonizing other parts of the world in the sixteenth century, they labelled the non-Christian beliefs they encountered as magical. In that same period, Italian humanists reinterpreted the term in a positive sense to express the idea of natural magic. Both negative and positive understandings of the term recurred in Western culture over the following centuries.[citation needed]

Since the nineteenth century, academics in various disciplines have employed the term magic but have defined it in different ways and used it in reference to different things. One approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor (1832–1917) and James G. Frazer (1854–1941), uses the term to describe beliefs in hidden sympathies between objects that allow one to influence the other. Defined in this way, magic is portrayed as the opposite to science. An alternative approach, associated with the sociologist Marcel Mauss (1872–1950) and his uncle Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), employs the term to describe private rites and ceremonies and contrasts it with religion, which it defines as a communal and organised activity. By the 1990s many scholars were rejecting the term's utility for scholarship. They argued that the label drew arbitrary lines between similar beliefs and practices that were alternatively considered religious, and that it constituted ethnocentric to apply the connotations of magic—rooted in Western and Christian history—to other cultures." (wikipedia)

"A magician, also known as an archmage, mage, magus, magic-user, spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources.[2]: 54 Magicians enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore, and are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games.

Character archetypes

People who work magic are called by several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the terms: magician, mage, magus, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, and wizard, each have different meanings depending upon context and the story in question.[3]: 619 Archmage is used in fantasy works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of magicians.[3]: 1027

Enchanters typically practice a type of imbued magic that produces no permanent effects on objects or people and are temporary, or of an indefinite duration, or which may require some item or act, to nullify or reverse. For example, this could include enchanting a weapon or tool to be more (or less) effective, enchanting a person or object to have a changed shape or appearance, creating illusions intended to deceive the observer, compelling a person to perform an action they might not normally do, or attempting to charm or seduce someone.[3]: 318 For instance, the Lady of the Green Kirtle in C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair can transform herself into a large green serpent. She also enchants Rilian, compelling him to forget his father and Narnia. And when that enchantment is broken, she attempts further enchantments with a sweet-smelling smoke and a thrumming musical instrument to attempt to baffle him and his rescuers into forgetting them again.[4]

The term sorcerer has moved from meaning a fortune-teller, or "one who alters fate", to meaning a practitioner of magic who can alter reality. They are also sometimes shown as able to conjure supernatural beings or spirits, or to "animate" inanimate objects, such as in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Due to this perception of their powers, this character may be depicted as feared, or even seen as evil. Villainous sorcerers were so crucial to pulp fantasy that the genre in which they appeared was dubbed "sword and sorcery", where typically the hero (or anti-hero) would be the sword-wielder, thus leaving the sorcery for his opponent.[3]: 885

Witch (an—often female—practitioner of witchcraft) and wicked (an adjective meaning "bad, evil, false") are both derivative terms from the word, wicca (an Old English word with varied meanings, including soothsayer, astrologer, herbalist, poisoner, seductress, or devotee of supernatural beings or spirits). L. Frank Baum combined these terms in naming the Wicked Witch of the West, and other witches in the Land of Oz. Baum named Glinda the "Good Witch of the South" in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, he dubbed her "Glinda the Good," and from that point forward and in subsequent books, Baum referred to her as a sorceress rather than a witch to avoid the term that was more regarded as evil.[5] In modern fiction, a witch may be depicted more neutrally, such as the female witches (comparable to the male wizards) in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling.

In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor, with Merlin from the King Arthur stories being a prime example.[6]: 195 Wizards such as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an educative force and mentor in the modern works of Arthuriana.[3]: 637 [7]

Wizards can be cast similarly to the absent-minded professor: being foolish and prone to misconjuring. They can also be capable of great magic, both good and evil.[2]: 140–141 Even comical magicians are often capable of great feats, such as those of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride; although he is a washed-up wizard fired by the villain, he saves the dying hero.[8]

Other wizards, such as Saruman from The Lord of the Rings or Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, can appear as hostile villains.[6]: 193

Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea explored the question of how wizards learned their art, introducing to modern fantasy the role of the wizard as the protagonist.[9] This theme has been further developed in modern fantasy, often leading to wizards as heroes on their own quests.[10] Such heroes may have their own mentor, a wizard as well....

Appearance
White-haired and white-bearded wizard with robes and hat

Due to their traditional image as a wise old man or wise old woman, magicians may be depicted as old, white-haired, and in some instances with their hair (and in the case of male wizards, beards), being long and majestic enough to occasionally host lurking woodland creatures. This depiction predates the modern fantasy genre, being derived from the traditional image of wizards such as Merlin.[7][14]

In fantasy, a magician may be shown wearing a pointed hat, robes, and/or a cloak. In more modern stories, a magician may be dressed similarly to a stage magician, wearing a top hat and tails, with an optional cape.

Several golden hats adorned with astronomical sequences have been found in Europe. It has been speculated by archaeologists and historians that they were worn by ancient wizards.[15] The similarities shared with a fantasy magician's hat shape may mean that it is ultimately derived from them. Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, circa 1,400-1,300 BC, Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer, Germany.

Terry Pratchett described robes as a magician's way of establishing to those they meet that they are capable of practicing magic.[16]

In the Dragonlance campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, wizards show their moral alignment by the colour of their robes.

Magical implements

A magician's crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly associated with clairvoyance, fortune-telling, or scrying.

Wands and staves have long been used as requirements for the magician.[6]: 152 Possibly derived from wand-like implements used in fertility rituals, such as apotropaic wands, the earliest known instance of the modern magical wand was featured in the Odyssey, used by Circe to transform Odysseus's men into animals. Italian fairy tales put wands into the hands of powerful fairies by the Late Middle Ages.[18] Today, magical wands are widespread in literature and are used from Witch World to Harry Potter. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf refuses to surrender his own staff, breaking Saruman's, which strips the latter of his power. This dependency on a particular magical item is common, and necessary to limit the magician's power for the story's sake – without it, the magician's powers may be weakened or absent entirely.[19] In the Harry Potter universe, a wizard must expend much greater effort and concentration to use magic without a wand, and only a few can control magic without one; taking away a wizard's wand in battle essentially disarms them.[citation needed]

In the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Patricia Wrede depicts wizards who use magic based on their staves, and magicians who practice several kinds of magic, including wizard magic;[clarification needed] in the Regency fantasies, she and Caroline Stevermer depict magicians as identical to wizards, though inferior in skill and training." (wikipedia)

"A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and science fiction, and can be found in various forms such as novels, comics, films, television shows, video games, and other creative works.[1][2]

In science fiction, a fictional universe may be a remote alien planet or galaxy with little apparent relationship to the real world (as in Star Wars); in fantasy, it may be a greatly fictionalized or invented version of Earth's distant past or future (as in The Lord of the Rings)." (wikipedia)

"A legendary creature, also called a mythical creature, is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends) and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but this has not been scientifically proven.

In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity.[1][2][3] Some legendary creatures are hybrid beasts.

Some legendary creatures originated in traditional mythology and were believed to be real creatures--for example, dragons, griffins and unicorns. Others are based on real encounters or garbled accounts of travellers' tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a sheeplike animal which supposedly grew tethered to the earth.[4]

Some animals, such as the gorilla, the kangaroo, the okapi, the Komodo dragon, the giant squid, and the platypus, were thought to be mythical before they were discovered by science.[5]

Creatures

A variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the classical era. For example, in the Odyssey, monstrous creatures include the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis for the hero Odysseus to confront. Other tales include Medusa to be defeated by Perseus, the (human/bull) Minotaur to be destroyed by Theseus, and the Hydra to be killed by Heracles, while Aeneas battles with the harpies. These monsters thus have the basic function of emphasizing the greatness of the heroes involved.[6][7][8]

Some classical era creatures, such as the (horse/human) centaur, chimaera, Triton and the flying horse Pegasus, are found also in Indian art. Similarly, sphinxes appear as winged lions in Indian art and the Piasa Bird of North America.[9][10]

In medieval art, animals, both real and mythical, played important roles. These included decorative forms as in medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humor or majesty to objects. In Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolized Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead. Medieval bestiaries included animals regardless of biological reality; the basilisk represented the devil, while the manticore symbolised temptation.[11]
Allegory
Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam

One function of mythical animals in the Middle Ages was allegory. Unicorns, for example, were described as extraordinarily swift and uncatchable by traditional methods.[12]: 127 It was believed that the only way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, at which point a hunter could finally capture it.[12]: 127 In terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity. In the King James Bible, Psalm 92:10 states, "My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn." This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word re'em as unicorn.[12]: 128 Later versions translate this as wild ox.[13] The unicorn's small size signifies the humility of Christ.[12]: 128

Another common legendary creature that served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the dragon. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified. The dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals.[12]: 126 It was believed that the dragon had no harmful poison but was able to slay anything it embraced without any need for venom. Biblical scriptures speak of the dragon in reference to the devil, and they were used to denote sin in general during the Middle Ages.[12]: 126 Dragons were said to have dwelled in places like Ethiopia and India, based on the idea that there was always heat present in these locations.[12]: 126

Physical detail was not the central focus of the artists depicting such animals, and medieval bestiaries were not conceived as biological categorizations. Creatures like the unicorn and griffin were not categorized in a separate "mythological" section in medieval bestiaries,[14]: 124 as the symbolic implications were of primary importance. Animals we know to have existed were still presented with a fantastical approach. It seems the religious and moral implications of animals were far more significant than matching a physical likeness in these renderings. Nona C. Flores explains, "By the tenth century, artists were increasingly bound by allegorical interpretation, and abandoned naturalistic depictions."" (wikipedia)