The Fatui Harbingers: Commedia dell'Arte references in Genshin Impact - masterlist
A series where I set to explain not just the commedia inspirations behind the Fatui Harbingers, but most importantly, what is relevant and why to the overarching plot of the game!
In other words, I'll try not to infodump random Commedia facts, but I'll stick to what really matters to the lore.
N.B. This is a work in progress!
Introduction:
Part One: Commedia dell'Arte - Folly, scripts and Fate
Part Two: Canovaccio - A practical guide to cheating fate
Part Three: Carnevale - The Cosmology of Teyvat
The Harbingers:
0) Pierro - the Jester
1) Capitano - the Captain
2) Dottore - the Doctor
3) Columbina - the Damselette
4) Arlecchino - the Knave
5) Pulcinella - the Rooster
6) Scaramouche - the Balladeer
7) Sandrone - Marionette
8) Signora - the Fair Lady
9) Pantalone - Regrator
10) ??? - ???
11) Tartaglia - Childe
N.B. I will update this doc gradually as the story moves forward, which means that as of now I have more than enough material for some harbingers, while I have little to nothing for others, so you'll have to be patient.
Please be patient with my english as well. My first language is italian.
P.S. I might also add a few additional non-strictly-commedia-related references as a little bonus in case i find any
P.P.S. If anyone is interested, I can make a taglist, just tell me in the comments!
A few Nibelung inspirations: Python, the Smith God and Saturn
(Might be a little messy but so is my brain)
Index:
Python and Delphi
Whatever Vedrfolnir is up to
The Smith God and the Axis Mundi
Python and Delphi
In Hymns of the Far North, Nibelung is addressed as "The Primeval Blacksmith"
And we are told that he forged a golden bow and arrows, which were stolen by the Heavenly Principles
Let your wrath right that askew throne so that the beauty may submit
On the first day, you forged a golden bow with lunar gleam, a weapon meant to strike down your foes.
Yet while you hunted, your bow was stolen, and now your enemy brandishes it as their own.
On the second day, you forged a great chariot, its moonilt glimmer meant to guard your home.
Yet while you hunted, your wain was purloined, and your enemy claimed it as their own.
This is a reference to Apollo's golden arrows. Apollo, who is the god of Light (much like the HP), got his arrows from Hephaestus, the Blacksmith god.
The invention of archery itself is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis. Apollo is usually described as carrying a sliver or golden bow and a quiver of arrows.
Wikipedia
"Latona [Leto], clinging to an olive tree, bore Apollo and Diana [Artemis], to whom Vulcanus [Hephaistos] gave arrows as gifts [i.e. on the day of their birth]. Four days after they were born, Apollo exacted vengeance for his mother. For he went to Parnassus and slew Python with his arrows.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 140 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.)
Apollo is also known for slaying the snake-dragon Python in his own home.
The god [Apollo] searching for a place to establish his shrine, reached Delphi and saw the Python, who was a bane to the people. He slew the serpent and declared himself as the owner of the Oracular shrine.
Python became the chthonic enemy of the later Olympian deity Apollo, who slew it and took over Python's former home and oracle.
Wikipedia
You know, just like the HP slew Nibelung, declared him an “evil” dragon, and took over his planet.
Something similar happened to my good friend, the “evil” dragon Durin, who coincidentally is associated with the rotting of the earth (nigredo), just like Pytho.
The priestess of the oracle of Delphi became known as the Pythia, after the place-name Pytho, which Greeks explained as and named after the rotting of the slain serpent's corpse in the strength of Hyperion (day) or Helios the sun.
Wikipedia
Also, the "Nibel" in Nibelung means fog/clouds
This myth has been described as an allegory for the dispersal of the fogs and clouds of vapor that arise from ponds and marshes (Python) by the rays of the Sun (the arrows of Apollo).
Wikipedia
But let's keep talking about Apollo taking over Pytho's home, Delphi.
Delphi is mentioned a bunch of times in-game. In Enkanomiya we have the Serpent's Heart, also known as Delphi and Delphi Pytho. The land of snakes where the imaginary serpent Ouroboros was once worshipped, even before Orobashi.
The Serpent's Heart
From the first time our ancestors discovered this place, it had already played host to a unique phenomenon in which space itself might overlap in a certain locale. Later, those who came before us would utilize this phenomenon by creating the Serpent's Heart.
It would be used to guard secrets, imprison criminals, and worship the great imaginary serpent, Ouroboros. In the earliest times, this place was called Delphi, the land of snakes.
This name did not change even after the arrival of Watatsumi Omikami. Ancient art depicts the scaleless serpent as "Ouroboros," and the coral-adorned serpent as "Orobashi."
The Byakuyakoku Collection
"The origin of heaven and earth is like the chicken and egg, and are not dragons and snakes kin?"
The Serpents and Drakes of Tokoyokoku
Delphi is also mentioned in the book Vera's Melancholy
"It's enough. Let's go home... The furthest place I've dreamt of, is the Delphi where you are." Though the explanation is delayed, you should know that Delphi is the center of Greek mythology.
Vera's Melancholy the perfect ending... is it?
"Delphi is the center of Greek mythology". This is true irl as well.
Python, sometimes written Pytho, presided at the Delphic oracle, which existed in the cult center for its mother, Gaia, "Earth", Pytho being the place name that was substituted for the earlier Krisa, Greeks considered the site to be the center of the Earth, represented by a stone, the omphalos or navel, which Python guarded.
Wikipedia
"The center of the Earth" is a recurring theme known in comparative mythology as the "Axis Mundi" (Axis of the World)
In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos.
In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term axis mundi - also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, or world tree - has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms".
Wikipedia
Different cultures have different axis mundi, the greeks have Delphi's omphalos, others have a pillar, and others have the world tree, known in norse mythology as Irminsul or Yggdrasil.
So, if we were to apply the myth 1:1 to Genshin, the Omphalos would be Irminsul, under which Python (Nibelung) is buried
Erwin Rohde wrote that the Python was an earth spirit, who was conquered by Apollo, and buried under the omphalos and that it is a case of one god setting up his temple on the grave of another.
Wikipedia
(About this, remember that Nibelung is called Ilmarinen in Hyms of the Far North? Did you know that in Nod-Krai, there is an npc called Ilmari standing beneath a white tree?)
Whatever Vedrfolnir is up to
Let's talk about the Ouroboros now, the serpent after which Genshin's Delphi is named “the land of serpents”.
The ouroboros or uroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a snake or dragon eating its own tail.
The ouroboros is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls.
Wikipedia
Dainsleif's constellation is the Ouroboros, we also learned that he is able to maintain his physical form despite the curse, thanks to a ring his brother Vedrfolnir gave to him. In the Archon Quest we see Vedrfolnir represented as an Ouroboros-ring-shaped chess piece.
It's also interesting to note that Vedrfolnir bears the same color scheme (gold and blue on white-grayish, in particular gold fangs, blue eyes, golden headpiece) as Nibelung (this is also the same color scheme as the twins' spaceship and the teleport waypoints, but that's a conversation for another day)
Vedrfolnir's ring is also most likely a reference to Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.
We first met Vedrfolnir as that chained purple stone in the Caribert quest, which bears a lot of visual similarities with the imprisoned "fell dragon prince" Scylla. (Btw Durin is also called a "fell dragon" and Nibelung is obviously a fell dragon prince king)
Upon freeing Scylla, you get the achievement "Contra Mundum" (Latin for "against the world"), which is likely a reference to "Axis Mundi"
And speaking of Axis Mundi/Irminsul:
In Norse mythology, Veðrfölnir (Old Norse "storm pale", "wind bleached", or "wind-witherer") is a hawk sitting between the eyes of an unnamed eagle that is perched on top of the world tree Yggdrasil.
Wikipedia
Notable mention of the Shattered Halberd, where both the Contra Mundi and Axis Mundi are mentioned:
The late Celestial Emperor Shenxiao, the now Contra Mundi, was once a dear friend of mine.
[...]
"The world is beyond repair. It shall be born anew from the ashes of the last." The mad Celestial Emperor sentenced all living things of the world to a hard punishment.
[...]
"Oh my daughter, the one in whom all my hopes are placed! Did I not bring you into existence that you might one day pierce me with a halberd?" Awakened at last, the God King floated in the heavens to the claps of thunder and the dancing of the wind, rejoicing at his return.
[...]
The first Divine Halberd, Irmin, once pierced the Axis Mundi and connected the nine worlds. Now, its replicas had proliferated across the heavens.
Fearing the madness that would ensue following his death, the God King made one final Divine Halberd, and named it the Prinzessin der Verurteilung. In this moment, it -nay, she- could finally unleash her true self.
The Smith God and the Axis Mundi
We said in the beginning that in the Hymns of the Far North Nibelung is also called Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything. In addition, he is described as working the known metals of the time, including brass, copper, iron, gold, and silver. The great works of Ilmarinen include the crafting of the dome of the sky and the forging of the Sampo.
In the Kalevala, he is a blacksmith and an inventor.
Wikipedia
Much like the Axis Mundi, the Blacksmith God is also a recurring theme in mythology:
(Unless otherwise stated, the following quotes are from the book "Hamlet's Mill - an essay on the myth and frame of time" by Giorgio De Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, of which I've heard mixed opinions about, but we are Genshin players, not scholars, so whatever I'll take it)
Moving now to another great theme, in fact a very great one, it is possible to trace back the significance of the blacksmith in Asiatic shamanism, particularly the celestial blacksmith who is the legitimate heir to the divine "archi-tekton" of the cosmos. Several representatives of this type, whom we call Deus Faber, still have both functions, being architects and smiths at the same time.
(Deus Faber = Smith God)
The Yakuts claim: "Smith and Shaman come from the same nest," and they add: "the Smith is the older brother of the Shaman" which might be valid also for Vainamoinen, coupled with Ilmarinen, who is said to have "hammered together the roof of the sky." It is the primeval Smith who made the Sampo, as we know, and forged sky and luminaries in Esthonia. It is no idle fancy that the representative of the celestial smith, the King, is himself frequently titled "Smith." Jenghiz Khan had the title "Smith," and the standard of the Persian Empire was the stylized leather apron of the Smith Kavag. The Chinese mythical emperors Huang-ti and Yu are such unmistakable smiths that Marcel Granet drew historic-sociological conclusions all the way, forgetting the while that Huang-ti, the Yellow Emperor, is acknowledged to be Saturn. And just as the Persian Shahs held their royal jubilee festival after having reigned thirty years, which is the Saturnian revolution, so the Egyptian Pharaoh also celebrated his jubilee after thirty years, true to the "inventor" of this festival, Ptah, who is the Egyptian Saturn, and also Deus Faber.
Vainamoinen is not mentioned in the Hymns of the Far North, but I think he can be associated with the Primordial One. Vainamoinen, Ilmarinen (Nibelung) and Lemminkainen (aka Saarelainen, the 3rd descender) are the three brothers protagonists of Kalevala. Ilmarinen and Saarelainen were two of the three descenders known at the time the Hymns were written, so I don't think it's a stretch to assume Vainamoinen to be the only missing descender, the Heavenly Principles.
The HP is mentioned in the Hymns as Pitkamoonen, an epithet usually referred to Ukko but…
A runic song from South Ostrobothnia mentions Pitkämöönen striking fire. In the same context, another runic song from South Ostrobothnia mentions Väinämöinen in this part, and a runic song from Kainuu mentions Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen (Ilman rinta).
Wikipedia
I think that in Genshin Ilmarinen being Vainamoinen's older sibling is not to be taken literally. It simply means that former came before the latter, just like Nibelung used to rule before the HP.
So, in this text, Saturn, the Roman Kronos/Chronus, God of Time and the Golden Age is identified with the blacksmith god.
(Zhongli is also heavily inspired by all of this, namely Huang Di the Yellow Emperor and Saturn's cube, but that's a conversation for another day)
Saturn, giver of the measures of the cosmos, remains the "Star of Law and Justice in Babylon" also the "Star of Nemesis" in Egypt, the Ruler of Necessity and Retribution, in brief, the Emperor. In China, Saturn has the title "Génie du pivot", as the god who presides over the Center, the same title which is given to the Pole star.
Saturn is the "Génie du Pivot", which means in this context "god of the axis", of course Polaris, the pole star which shines above the axis of the Earth, represents the Axis Mundi
The Lord of the Mill…
Another way to say "god of the axis" because the mill has an axis around which everything spins. (The same goes for the maelstrom or whirlpool)
...is declared to be Saturn/Kronos, he whom his son Zeus dethroned by throwing him off his chariot….
Saturn is dethroned by Zeus, just like Python was dethroned by Apollo and Nibelung by the Heavenly Principles.
...and banished in "chains"...
In chains like Scylla and Vedrfolnir.
...to a blissful island, where he dwells in sleep, for being immortal he cannot die, but is thought to live a life-in-death, wrapped in funerary linen, until his time, say some, shall come to awaken again, and he will be reborn to us as a child.
About the "blissful island" (called Ogygia) where Kronos resides:
The maelstrom, result of a broken mill, a chopped-down tree, and the like, "goes through the whole globe, according to the Finns. So does Tartaros, according to Socrates. To repeat it in Guthrie's words: "The earth in this myth of Socrates is spherical, and Tartaros, the bottomless pit, is represented in this mythical geography by a chasm which pierces the sphere right through from side to side."
It is source and mouth of all waters.
It is the way, or one among others, to the realm of the dead Medieval geographers call it "Umbilicus Maris, Navel of the Sea, or "Euripus".
[...]
A Dyak hero, climbing a tree in "Whirlpool-Island," lands himself in the Pleiades.
But generally, one looks for "it" in the more or less northwest-north-northwest direction, a direction where, equally vaguely Kronos-Saturn is supposed to sleep in his golden cave notwithstanding the blunt statements (by Homer) that Kronos was hurled down into deepest Tartaros.
And from those "infernal" quarters, particularly from the (Ogygian) Stygian landscape, "one" -who else but the souls?-sees the celestial South Pole, invisible to us.
So the Axis Mundi pierces the world from the top to the bottom, from the Heavens to the Abyss, from the polar star in the north pole to the invisible celestial south pole, where Kronos sleeps in his cave/island after being dethroned.
Just like Python rests under the Omphalos/Axis Mundi after being defeated by Apollo.
The maelstrom, result of a broken mill, a chopped-down tree, and the like, "goes through the whole globe," according to the Finns.
Now, remember that npc Ilmari standing beneath the white tree I mentioned earlier?
Traveler: About that tree…
Ilmari: It's cursed. There used to be a whirlpool here - the sailors called it the Eye of Kratti. Then one day, this tree just started growing right out of it.
Now then, on the topic of the world's axis and its corresponding god and star, let's talk about the Precession of Equinoxes.
We said that the Polar Star represents the Axis Mundi because it's right on top of the Earth's axis of rotation. Well, it wasn't always like that.
Because of the Precession of Equinoxes, the position of the celestial pole changes. Now it corresponds to Polaris, but thousands of years ago the polar star was Alpha Draconis.
That's right, the Dragon Star was replaced by another star. This is the end of the post, so you should know by now who this is about.
P.S.
Shoutout to the world-famous Oracle of Delphi, where the Pythia, named after Python, gave prophecies. Just like a certain someone.
Shoutout to the FrostBearing Tree in Dragonspine, the white irminsul-branch-tree that got revived by Durin's blood.
Shoutout to the rings of Nibelung Saturn
Conclusion:
So what am I trying to say with all of this? Tbh I'm not completely sure... I am certain these are (a small part of) the myths hoyo is taking inspiration from, but how precisely they decide to apply these myths to the story, we can only speculate. (For example, King Irmin and Hroptatyr are also obviously involved in the Irminsul shenanigans, but i'm not sure where they fit in this picture, for now)
So is Nibelung sealed under Irminsul? Possibly. Is it feeding off his remains? Maybe. Has Nibelung already been reincarnated as Vedrfolnir? That would be crazy but you never know (tbf there is a squirrel in norse mythology that brings messages from the dragon under Yggdrasil to Vedrfolnir, so we just have to find the squirrel looks at ororon, maybe the squirrel is just the Abyss stored in Nibelung's body). Is Nibelung coming back when Doc burns Irminsul? I sure hope so!
