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The heroic aspect of clannumen among the Baltic slaves got its plastic representation in the colossal dimensions of certain statues. Vyncke (1969) cites some gods identified as war god or warrior god, such as Gerovit, Pripegala, Sventovit, Tjarnaglofi and Rugevit. The latter is said to have stood 3 metres tall. But Sventovit took the crown with more than 7 metres in height.
A connection between the heroic quality of the god and the giant size in his representation is established here. Hero and giant are classified in the Semantic Colour Space under the same code white-on-blue or Yellow-6 (bright yellow). Keywords attached to this meaning within the same code include: angel, crown, excellence, holy, knight, star, supernatural, white horse. Because of his great size, the deity is granted supernatural powers that enable him to defeat the enemy.
Looking at the dimensional meaning of big, colossal can refer to powers and forces in the height dimension of semantic space. That which is higher than humans is perceived as dominating. It is then a compelling force operating from above (psychologically on top).
I. Michiels, red.
The magic sword is a powerful weapon found in many myths around the world. Dating back from the middle ages and earlier, it is associated with knights and saints using supernatural powers to fight demonic monsters or enemies. In the Semantic Colour Space, this construction situates itself as follows: White-on-blue or Yellow-6 : sword, supernatural, holy, knight and hero.
Black-on-red or Green-4 : demonic, destructive forces depicted by dragons, serpents, griffins, and the weapon itself as a means to kill, to destroy.
Excalibur, in the Arthurian tales, is the magic sword of King Uther Pendragon, King Arthur’s father. In the account of the Sword in the Stone, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve. The act could not be performed except by “the true king”, meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon.
In the account of the Lady of the Lake the sword Excalibur came from the lake. And when Arthur was dying, he ordered Bedivere to throw the sword back into the lake. He ignored this command at first, but did so anyway, and an arm clad in white brocade took the sword to the bottom.
White-on-green: the swan (lady of the Lake), fertility.
Vilardell’s legendary sword is one of the strongest medieval legends in Catalan courtly literature, comparable to the famous Excalibur from the Arthurian tale. The bearer of the sword is said to be invincible. There are mentions that knights are said to have killed a great serpent and a dragon with the sword.
The saint story of St George defeating the dragon with his sword or lance is related to the myths described above. The Christians turned it into a moral battle between good and evil.
The yellow-6 hero with his sword fights against the green-4 dragon. The keyword ‘fight’ is classified under yellow-on-green.
i.Michiels, red.