| Melitele | |
|---|---|
 Statue of the Goddess in St. Lebioda's Hospital | |
| Details | |
Archetype |
Mother goddess |
Worshiped by |
Originally supposedly Dauks or Wozgors, later Nordlings and assimilated nonhumans |
Patronage |
Love, marriage, peace, fertility, nature and abundance |
Popular among |
All of women, regardless of their domicile or social position; people closely connected with nature, like farmers, lumbermen, foresters |
Cult center |
Temple of Melitele in Ellander, various temples and shrines in Northern Kingdoms |
Mentioned in
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Melitele is a mother goddess worshipped in the Northern Kingdoms. The centre of her cult is the temple in Ellander headed by Nenneke.
Adela was worshipped as an incarnation of the goddess for a period of time in one of Viziman temples.
Notable members[ | ]
In Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni[ | ]
Melitele, as a patroness of eternally transient nature, is presented in three forms: the beautiful young Maiden, the mature, pregnant Mother and the edentulous, wrinkled Crone. Under her second aspect, Melitele is the goddess of fertility, protectress of women pregnant or in childbirth; all of women, regardless of their age, domicile or social position, have an esteem for her. Melitele is worshiped in most of Nordling countries, primarily by the people closely connected with nature, like farmers, lumbermen or foresters.
The cult of Melitele have a chain of larger or smaller sanctuaries spreaded throughout the Continent. If it is necessary to regularization of some matters on a nationwide scale, abbesses of the major centers meet in selected temple and discuss various issues; though this happens rather rarely and every major center remains, in point of fact, self-contained. Priestesses of Melitele often criticize priests of Kreve, argue and carry out disputes with them, however they can cooperate together on important issues. They also stay in good terms with druids or priestesses of Skelliger Freya, similar to Melitele in many respects.
The future handmaidens of the Goddess are entered into the novitiate at the age of fourteen, fifteen; adepts learn arithmetic, biology, botany and medicine, they also acquire general knowledge about the world. The closing ceremony of the novitiate, connected with admission into Melitele's priesthood, is organised on each Birke day. Young priestesses receive new robes and tasks from the abbess; usually it is taking care of the rural community or service in one of temples. Many of them travel around the world as midwives or healers specialized in illnesses of women and children, as wandering druidess, teachers and governesses.
In the Polish Movie and TV series[ | ]
Nenneke (Anna Dymna) in The Hexer TV series
In the TV-series, Geralt visits Nenneke a number of times, meeting Iola and Ciri, too.
However, the series deviates severely from the books, for the temple of Melitele is ransacked and the priestesses slain on the orders of Falwick and Renfri.
The TV series writer also confused the goddess with the temple, as in one scene Falwick says that "Cirilla of Cintra is hiding in Melitele".
- Featured episode: Świątynia Melitele
In The Witcher computer game[ | ]
Glossary Entry[ | ]
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Cult of Melitele
"Among the numerous faiths of the Nordlings, the most widespread is the cult of Melitele, the goddess in three forms: young girl, woman and crone. Melitele is the Mother Goddess, extending her care over her children. Her following is not solely composed of women — men pray to her as well. Clerics of Melitele preach love and peace. They run many hospitals, shelters and orphanages." |
Sources[ | ]
References[ | ]
- St. Lebioda's Hospital in the Temple Quarter of Vizima is a temple of Melitele turned into a hospital where the victims of Catriona await healing or, mostly, death.
- Three statues featuring the three forms of the goddess can be found in Vizima: one at St. Lebioda's Hospital, one in the Swamp and another in the Trade Quarter.
- A Pilgrimage, a quest in Chapter II, is given by Gramps who wishes to pray at Melitele's shrine.
- If the player chooses to remain neutral, Geralt is charged with the task of escorting two nurses to the hospital through Old Vizima's tumultuous streets.
Gallery[ | ]
Melitele temple in an illustration from Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni PnP RPG by Jarosław Musiał
the altar inside the hospital
the shrine in the swamp
the statue in the Trade Quarter
a portable shrine
In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings[ | ]
The book "The Grand Triple" provides a journal entry for Melitele:
- Great Melitele is, among others, the patron of love, marriage, fertility, nature and abundance. Her cult came to be through the blending of those beliefs many different races and cultures held about these aspects of life. Melitele's popularity never waned, and the phenomenon is explained in various ways. I think the causes are prosaic myself. The Cult of Melitele is a predominantly woman cult, and the goddess is, among others, the protector of women in childbirth. A delivering woman has to scream and, apart from the usual yells and empty promises that she will never give herself to another mangy man again, the woman has to call some deity for help, and Melitele fits the bill perfectly. Because women were deliverying, deliver and will be delivering, the goddess Melitele does not have to worry about a lowering of the number of worshippers.
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