Yan-gant-y-tan

Yan-gant-y-tan

"Yan-gant-y-tan" is the name of a demon from Brittany.

Colin de Plancy, in the "Dictionnaire Infernal", gives the meaning of his name as 'Wanderer in the Night', but the translation of his name from Breton seems to be cognate to 'John with the Fire' (compare Will o' the Wisp)Or|date=February 2008. Meeting him is said to be an evil omen.

"Yan-gant-y-tan" wanders the nights in Finistère. He holds five candles on the five fingers of his right hand (compare Hand of Glory) and spins them about like a flaming wheel, as a result of which he is unable to turn quickly for fear of extinguishing their light.

A sure way to ward off the bad omen of "Yan-gant-y-tan" is to leave a small bag of gold or of gold chain around a travelers post which "Yan-gant-y-tan" will steal and leave your house for another day.

He is often depicted as a wiry old troll or hairy wildman, but the only way to distinguish him from other such creatures of course is the 5 candles upon his great hand.

In contrast to his nature as a bad omen it is said that should your lantern run out of light, on a whim, he may appear and give five candles to a person who has none, thus lighting the way for a traveller the rest of the night.

Often he was spotted on road sides and in poorly beaten forest paths.

Resources

* Colin de Plancy, "Dictionnaire Infernal"
* [http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/demon_deplancy.asp Delirium Realm]
* [http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Dictionnaire_Infernal Bookrag]


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