I've just had a complete look at the list of Shade names (and some other things) in Myth II and have found many great things in my handy encyc...no in fact it is all my knowledge. I'm that clever.
We have already had something about Heron so...
NYM:
A crony of Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Although generally considered a comic character, Nym represents a real criminal element behind the humour at Eastcheap. In Henry V he appears as a quarrelsome soldier who fights with Mistress Quickly (his betrothed) and Pistol (whom she marries). Nym and Bardolph are hanged offstage for looting. He is portrayed more comically in The Merry Wives of Windsor, where his interest in the science of humours is thought to be a parody of Ben Jonson's plays.
SYCORAX:
Sycorax, a witch and the mother of Caliban (coming up) in Shakespeare's The Tempest. She does not have a speaking role in the play but figures frequently in her son's curses.
GULLVEIG:
Vanir, in Norse mythology, race of gods responsible for wealth, fertility, and commerce and subordinate to the warlike Aesir. As reparation for the torture of their goddess Gullveig, the Vanir demanded from the Aesir monetary satisfaction or equal status.
CALIBAN:
Caliban, a feral, sullen, deformed creature in Shakespeare's The Tempest. The son of the sorceress Sycorax, Caliban is the sole inhabitant of his island (excluding the imprisoned Ariel) until Prospero and his infant daughter Miranda are cast ashore. Prospero makes the creature his servant and over the years teaches him to speak. The character Caliban has been seen by some as Shakespeare's negative representation of the natural human and by others as an example of native peoples suffering under imperialist oppression. He is a complex and interesting figure, whatever is made of him.
CONNACHT:
Ulster (Northern Ireland) is of special importance in the mythic history of Ireland because its rulers and their champions played a prominent role in the rich Irish sagas of the Middle Ages. The Ulster cycle of these tales deals with the exploits of a King Conchobor and the prodigious warriors of the Red Branch, the most celebrated of whom was Cú Chulainn, called the Hound of Ulster. The best-known tale of this cycle is the Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), which recounts the invasion of Ulster by Queen Medb of Connaught (Connacht, the traditional western province; literally, the "descendants of Conn") in pursuit of a legendary bull. Eventually the men of Connacht are repulsed by the Ulstermen and their spectacular hero, Cú Chulainn.
TROW:
In the Shetland and Orkney islands, Celtic areas once settled by Scandinavians, trolls are called trows and appear as small malign creatures (small? eh!?) who dwell in mounds or near the sea (hmmm...the Twelve Duns (mounds) and Avernus (near the Deep, hence 'near the sea').
CU ROI:
Not much about this guy, just a vague reference:
One night a giant carrying an ax challenges the knights of Ulster to behead him in exchange for a chance to behead them in turn. On successive nights, Conall and Lóegaire behead the giant, who each time replaces his head and leaves but comes back to take his turn only to find that the warriors have departed. At last Cú Chulainn beheads the giant and, when the giant returns, places his own head on the block, true to his bargain. The giant, really the wizard Cú Roi in disguise, proclaims Cú Chulainn the first hero of Ulster. This is considered the source for the beheading game used in Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight.
That's all for today, maybe I'll be nice and find out some more for you tommorow!
P.S Sorry if any or all of this has already been brough up, you'll have to forgive my incompetance once more.
