Askefruer

Askefruer are a fictional race invented by Dr Anthony E. Smith. On 20 July 1999, Dr Smith wrote an article on the web site Encyclopedia Mythica [1] (http://www.pantheon.org/) about the purportedly Indonesian spirits Duc Ba:

Like the Nymphae of Graeco-Roman mythology, the Askefruer of Northern Europe, and Yaksha (Hindu), the Duc Ba are feminine spirits of trees. They are worshipped by the Annam of Indonesia. [2] (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/duc_ba.html)

One month later, on 27 August 1999, Dr Smith posted an article on the same web site about these Askefruer:

The Askefruer, or "Ash Maidens," are a northern variation on a common mythological theme: spirits, often depicted as human women, inhabiting trees. The ash tree was particularly important to ancient northerners: the World Tree, the axis about which the world revolved, was the ash tree Yggdrasil. [3] (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/askefruer.html)

In good faith this article was added to Wikipedia on 19 September 2002, with the following text:

In Norse mythology, Askefruer ("ash maidens") were the Norse equivalent of nymphs. They were tree-dwelling spirits, similar to hamadryads.

This was later changed to:

In Scandinavian folklore, Askefruer ("ash maidens") were the Danish equivalent of nymphs. They were tree-dwelling spirits, similar to hamadryads.

In fact, Askefruer translates as "ash ladies" in Scandinavian (fru is the Scandinavian word for mrs.), askemøer or askejomfruer would be "ash maidens." However, these beings are not found in Norse mythology nor in the later Scandinavian folklore. A Google search on .dk domains or .no does not give a single result. Nor does "askemøer" or "askejomfruer"; nor do any of these names in singular, in definite form or in plural definite form; nor does their Swedish equivalents.

However, a non country restricted search gave on 8 May 2005 some 583 hits on Google. [4] (http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=askefruer&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=) Sadly, a vast majority of these are copies of either version of the above quoted Wikipedia text on sites sniffing Wikipedia. See for example: absoluteastronomy.com (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/A/As/Askefruer.htm), answers.com (http://www.answers.com/topic/askefruer), biography.ms (http://askefruer.biography.ms/), chicagovoyager.com (http://chicagovoyager.com/info/as/Askefruer.html), enlightenweb.net (http://www.enlightenweb.net/a/as/askefruer.html), explore-religion.com (http://www.explore-religion.com/mythology/A/Askefruer.html), factbook.org (http://www.factbook.org/wikipedia/en/a/as/askefruer.html), knowledgerush.com (http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/jsp/db/viewWiki.jsp?title=Askefruer), wacklepedia.com (http://www.wacklepedia.com/a/as/askefruer.html), websters-online-dictionary.net (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.net/definition/ASKEFRUER), and many more.

Some pages, though, contain new-written paragraphs on the askefruer:

The Askefruer, or "Ash Maidens," were spirits, often depicted as human women, inhabiting trees. [5] (http://historymedren.about.com/library/day/blq010531r1.htm)

They are a variation of tree spirits [6] (http://www.houseofenlightenment.com/nogod.html)

The Askefruer were the Norse version of Dryads: female spirits living inside trees. The Askefruer inhabited the forest of the World Tree Yggdrasil. [7] (http://www.millennial-fair.com/literature/norse1.html#askefruer)

Ash maidens who were considered tree spirits. [8] (http://treetotem.com/mythac.htm)

Even a Spanish web page has a translation of Dr Smith's pice on the Askefruer:

Se trata de una variación nórdica de un tema común en la mitología: los espíritus, siempre descritos con la fuerma de una mujer humana que habitaba en los árboles. El fresno fue un árbol particularmente especial para los habitantes del norte de Europa en la antigüedad: el Arbol del Mundo, el eje con el que el mundo gira, fue el fresno Yggdrasil. [9] (http://www.mundomitologico.com/germanos/diccionario/a.phtml#askefruer)

Askefruer in Dark Age of Camelot

The MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot from 2001 (and thus before the creation of this article), features enemies in the form of Askefruer. We have the Askefruer Trainer (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/db/search.html?cmob=8487), the Fallen Askefruer (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/db/search.html?cmob=8477), the Fallen Askefruer Runemaster (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/db/search.html?cmob=8494), the Fallen Askefruer Guard (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/db/search.html?cmob=8491) and even the Fallen Royal Askefruer Guard (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/db/search.html?cmob=8478). Apparently there are also artifacts relating to Askefruer, such as the Askefruer Wing (http://camelot.allakhazam.com/item.html?citem=19804).