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Through the grasses covering the glade walked - no, not walked - floated a queen, radiant, golden-haired, fiery-eyed, ravishing. The Queen of the Fields, decorated with garlands of flowers, ears of corn, bunches of herbs. At her left-hand side a young stag pattered on stiff legs, at her right rustled an enormous hedgehog. |  | |
| - pg. 201, The Last Wish (U.K. edition) | |||
Dana Meadbh (original Sapkowski's Elder Speech: Dana Méadbh, corrupted as Danamebi) is the elves' name for a goddess also known as the Eternal One, Queen of the Fields, Lyfia, and Bloemenmagde by the dwarves. She communicates telepathically with those she encounters. She appeared in the short story "The Edge of the World". In that short story, her avatar is Lille.
According to the ancient book known as Physiologus, Dana Meadbh may appear during the summer and autumn, more or less from Belleteyn to Velen, but most often during Lammas. Geralt reads this out loud from the tome:
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Glimpsed she may be during the time of sumor, from the days of Mai and Juyn to the days of October, but most oft this haps on the Feste of the Scythe, which ancients would call Lammas. She revealeth herself as the Fairhaired Ladie, in flowers all, and all that liveth followeth her path and clingeth to her, as one, plant or beast. | | |
2nd Edition of Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni[]
Lyfia is a goddess worshipped in the area of Dol Blathanna, the Valley of Flowers, as well as in Kaedwen and Aedirn, venerated by peasants, beekeepers and pitch-burners, all of those who live off gifts of the soil and the forest.
She appears on fields and meadows from May to October, but most often during Lammas, the Feast of the Scythe. She looks like a beautiful young fair-haired maiden of radiant eyes wearing festoons of flowers, cereal grains, and bunches of herbs. She wears a flower wreath on her head, and is surrounded by animals and plants bowing to her.
Folks do not build temples or chapels devoted to her. She is worshiped during Lammas when farmers sacrifice cereals, vegetables and fruits to her on the fields, in faith she would visit their village that year. There are also stories that one day Lyfia would settle down with the people who would stand out from the others. Why, however, an eternal being that existed, exists and will exist, loving all the earth and everything that is alive, would want to bend itself to merely one place and one folk?
It's the only deity that combines humans, elves, halflings and even dwarves in one faith. Even if some races do not worship her like the others, they all address her with deep respect.
Notes[]
- In The Hexer TV series, she appears in episode 7, "Dolina Kwiatów".
- In The Witcher, she's mentioned in the game's glossary entry for elves. It's suggested that she is an embodiment of the goddess Melitele. This is also suggested in Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni.
