Fasolt, Fasold or Vasolt is a giant or knight who appears in the following works:
- The Middle High German heroic poem Eckenlied (c. 1230).
- The Old Norse compendium of German legends known as the Thidrekssaga (c. 1250).
- Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold (1869).
The name Fasolt likely derives from a root similar to Old High German faso, thread, and most likely refers to the long braided hair he is described as having in the Eckenlied.1 He may have originally been a storm demon, as evidenced by a 17th-century prayer to witches at the mountain Jochgrimm outside of Bozen to cause "ffasolt" to send storms far away.2
References
References
- Gillespie, George T. (1973). Catalogue of Persons Named in German Heroic Literature, 700-1600: Including Named Animals and Objects and Ethnic Names. Oxford: Oxford University. ISBN 9780198157182.
- Heinzle, Joachim (1999). Einführung in die mittelhochdeutsche Dietrichepik. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-015094-8.