COSTEL CIOANCĂ, Prolegomene la un bestiar mitologic al basmului fantastic românesc. (III) Şarpele [Prolegomena in the fantastic Romanian mythological bestiary. (III) The serpent]

COSTEL CIOANCĂ
Coordonator cultural-ştiinţific, dr., Academia Română, Muzeul de Artă Veche Apuseană, Bucureşti;
E-mail: kishinn@gmail.com

Abstract
With presence in the most important areas of the imaginary (myths, art, literature, the latest in cinema etc.), the snake is in one of the defining symbols of human civilization. Without being archetypal-frozen into immutable patterns, without being resentful of the new conceptual-ideational openings, the folk ethos of the Romanian tale placed the serpent between the complexity of everyday real-life and its symbolic values, moreover, hard to miss. Given the structure, functions and dynamics envisaged by this animal, my critical approach tries to capture the phenomenology of this important animal’s bestiary, from the context and the substrate mythical generally occurs, through the beliefs and superstitions of the Romanian mythfolklor and ending with the references and manifestations of the fantastic end to the epic tale. All this are constituting grounds for interpretive conclusions.

Keywords
Romanian fairytale, mythological bestiary, imaginary, hermeneutics, the serpent.