Bärbel

forest-spirit · Switzerland · Germanic

'Barel' is not attested as the name of a Swiss forest or game spirit. The closest documented figures are the dwarfs and Fanggen of Alpine belief who tend chamois and punish wasteful hunters, as in the 'Fairy Mythology' collections. No Swiss source names such a guardian 'Barel,' so the entry appears to be an invented personification built from a generic forest-spirit template.

Open in the interactive archive →