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Sixteenth-century woodcut questionably identified as a depiction of a salamander by Manly P. Hall. Paracelsus (1493–1541) suggested that salamanders were the elementals of fire, [73] [74] [76] which has had substantial influence on the role of salamanders in the occult.
A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits was written by Paracelsus (1493/1494 – 1541) late in his life, but it is not known what exact year it is from. [1] The descriptions of elemental beings are based on various ancient and traditional sources, which the author adapted and reinterpreted. [2]
The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape, with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In the Renaissance , the salamander was supposed to be able to withstand any heat and even to put out fire.
Fouqué's wildly popular 1811 novella Undine is one of the most influential literary examples. Another example is the DC Comics superhero team The Elementals, composed of the characters Gnome, Sylph, Salamander, and Undine. [17] Blackwood introduces an elemental in the novella The Nemesis of Fire.
Salamanders range in size from the minute salamanders, with a total length of 27 mm (1 + 1 ⁄ 8 in), including the tail, to the Chinese giant salamander which reaches 1.8 m (6 ft) and weighs up to 65 kg (145 lb).
The other three elemental spirits named were Gnomes (earth), Salamanders (fire), and Undines (water). These ideas were adopted in Rosicrucianism and were widely encountered in subsequent hermetic literature. In the Liber de Nymphis of the Philosophia Magna, Paracelsus discusses the characteristics of the elementals at length.
The art of the Middle Ages was mainly religious, reflecting the relationship between God and man, created in His image. The animal often appears confronted or dominated by man, but a second current of thought stemming from Saint Paul and Aristotle, which developed from the 12th century onwards, includes animals and humans in the same community of living creatures.
That's why logos with little flaming salamanders look like natural salamanders with flames. It's not about legendary vs. natural; it's a natural thing with a lot of legend. Tarchon 03:00, 13 May 2007 (UTC) I still disagree - the salamander is less George Washington and more rhinoceros/unicorn.