I have a story revolving around mythical beings, and the magic system for enchanting objects requires the help of a being capable of infusing the material the object is made out of with magical code. Anything enchanted and made out of metal generally gets created by a dwarf, while anything enchanted and made out of fabric generally is made by an arachne. But the rules of my magic system are starting to indicate that I might need specially-enchanted glass for certain purposes, and I was wondering if there were any lore about any mythical creatures in the world's folklore that are typically associated with working with glass, the way dwarves are associated with metalwork and arachne with fabric, or those German fairy tale elves with shoes and leather. If I absolutely have to I suppose I could have my setting use dwarven metal potion flasks rather than glass potion bottles, but I'd like to take some time to check to see if something that fits this purpose actually exists. Does it?
I'm not sure glass really existed during the age of myth? Maybe in China it did. I don't know, but my estimation is glass became a thing more in Medieval times, when you start seeing stained-glass windows in cathedrals. Rather than bottles in earlier times there were drinking horns (made from actual animal horns), clay pots, and metal cups/vessels, something like cooking pots. I know a measure of wealth in early Greece (Odyssey time period) was a kettle (probably iron) with a tripod to allow cooking over an open fire. Wealthy people would present them as, well, presents to visitors or people that pleased them.
Glass started showing up about 5500 years ago in Mesopotamia. You might look to the Middle East mythology.
Cinderella's slippers in the original French fairytale were fur. The words for fur and glass got confused. Snow White had a glass coffin and her evil stepmother (who originally was her evil mother) owned a magical looking glass.
The myth of flexible Roman glass - vitrum flexile There are three sources that concern the story of the “flexible” glass of first century Rome: Pliny’s Natural History, Petronius’ Satyricon, and Dio Cassius’ Roman History. Petronius (d. 63 A.D.) published the story before Pliny, who completed his encyclopedia in 78 A.D. Dio Cassius’ story is much later (he died in 235 A.D.). As Petronius (Sat. 51) tells it, a glassmaker was granted an audience with Emperor Tiberius (reigned 14-37 A.D.), and presented him with a phiale (a shallow drinking vessel). The glassmaker asked the emperor to give it back, and then threw it to the floor. It did not break, but was dented, like a bronze vessel. The glassmaker took out a hammer and removed the dent. Tiberius asked him if anyone else knew how to make this kind of glass and, the glassmaker said “No.” The emperor promptly had him beheaded. https://www.cmog.org/article/flexible-roman-glass
I don't know when the earliest versions of those fairy tales were created, but glass might have been a later addition (like with the slippers). I know early mirrors were sheets of highly polished brass or bronze.
A nazar is an amulet made of handmade glass in concentric circles to look like an eye and is believed to protect against the evil eye. It originated in Mesopotamia.
There's a series on Netflix about master craftsmen/women creating things from glass. I only saw the commercials but I am wondering if there might be some discussion around the development of glass in the series. In terms of fantasy, I've always thought the "genie from the bottle" was from a glass bottle.
New post so it gets seen. The Netflix series about glass artists is called: "Blown Away" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blown_Away_(TV_series) I feel there would be discussion around the history of glass making during the series but you'd have to LOOK for the comments.
Hi, I was also thinking genies and djinns. Maybe just being locked away in such a vessel for a long time grants them some sort of special affinity? Cheers, Greg.
