French Mythology

Basic Information

French Mythology is the mythology and folklore of France, including that of the Bretons, Celts, Gauls and Gallo-Romans, Franks, and Normans, the Merovingian dynasty, and the poems known as the Lais of Marie de France.

Mythological Places:

• Camelot
• Carnac Stones (and other archaeoastronomical sites)
• Magonia
• The great city of Pitre, near the Mountain of Two Lovers
• Kingdom of Saguenay (which is said to be in Canada)
• Ys (which was destroyed by the devil)

Mythological Characters:

• Bisclavret
• Bluebeard
• Dea Matrona
• Equitan
• Sir Eliduc
• Fricco
• Guildeluec
• Guigemar
• Lanval
• Le Fresne
• Lord Mériaduc
• Sir Milun
• Sir Muldumarec
• Nerthus
• The Tempestarii (weather-wizards) of Magonia
• Teutates
• Thor
• Tristan and Isolde
• Wodan
• Yngvi
• Yonec
• Characters of Arthurian Legend:
  • King Arthur
  • Sir Gawain
  • Queen Guinevere
  • Sir Lancelot
• Imported characters from Roman Mythology:
  • Apollo
  • Jupiter
  • Mars
  • Mercury
  • Minerva
• 7 Founding Saints of France:
  • Saint Brieg
  • Saint Kaourintin
  • Saint Maloù
  • Saint Padarn
  • Saint Paol Aoreliann
  • Saint Samsun of Dol
  • Saint Tudwal
• Real People from the Hundred Years' War whose lives have inspired some extra folklore:
  • Gilles de Rais - who may have been the inspiration or template for the Bluebeard legend
  • Joan of Arc

Mythological Creatures:

• Ankou
• Nain
• Werewolf - at least two distinct different types of werewolf (the garwaf and the bisclavret), according to the poem of Bisclavret
• Youdic

See Also:

• Druid and Druidism
• Interpretatio Romana - as both Celtic Mythology and Roman Mythology had a strong influence in the region

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia

Game and Story Use

• A good source of interesting characters and locations for gaming and storytelling.
• The cross-pollinization of various mythologies and folklore may allow you to provide new and surprising elements surrounded by more familiar material the audience can use as a frame of reference.
  • And thanks to the strangeness Magonia, you can actually tie some of it to UFOs, Steampunk, and other more modern phenomena
  • Having things show up out-of-era might be jarring or a time travel related plot hook in a serious game, but entirely appropriate for something silly like an Asterix-based campaign.