As promise, we are going to tell you the story of the sibyl, who is supposed to live among the Apennine mountains. The sibyl also gives the name to the Sibillini mountains and to the Sibyl Mountain, which we climbed some time ago as we tell you in this article.
First of all, we present it to you all: this sibyl is different from the others. The Christian sibyls are prophets of the word of God. Their prophetic messages are difficult to understand and come from the God’s will. They therefore are positive characters. They were indeed in the 15th century portrayed by the Virgin’s side. In this period they really lived a successful time as “divine” icons.
The Apennine sibyl is instead a fairy that conquers the man she desires through tricks and enchantments. She is a beautiful woman who lives a luxurious and sinful existence in her court, where there are no rules to follow except that of enjoying life. This attracts many knights, who have to choose whether enjoying life in the sibyl’s cave or resisting sin and coming back to the normal life.
This is what comes out from two 15th century novels, which tell the story of the knights’ journeys seeking for the sibyl’s cave: “Guerrin Meschino” written by Andrea da Barberino and “Paradis de la Reine Sibylle” written by Antoine de la Sale. The emerging character of these novels is the one of the knight who has to resist sin, a topos of the chivalric romances of the time.
Our evil sibyl has also lived luckier periods in her lifetime. When the witchcraft comes to its end, the Apennine sibyl does not disappear. She is part of the popular culture: the people of this place have orally passed on this legend and do not forget the story of the Mountain Queen easily. Her figure often mixes with the wood fairy, who is friend of the shepherds and protector of the equilibrium of the zone. Over time, the sibyl has become a positive presence of the mountain and the scare of magic mixes with her new character of good fairy.
As for now, the access to the Fairy Cave on the Sibyl Mountain is not possible, but her presence has been witnessed by some georadar findings. The tales about the sibyl were and are still today orally transmitted. However, there are no scientific sources that collect the existing testimonies about the sibyl. Furthermore, if you are interested about this topic we recommend you following Tea Fonzi (www.teafonzi.it), a Marchigian divulger with the passion for sibyls.
See you soon with new tales from the Marche region!
