Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Moselle Hound
Category: Dog
The Myth
Near Grevenmacher there was said to live a strange being known as the Muselhond. He usually stayed in the waters of the Moselle and only rarely appeared in the countryside around the town. Because he harmed no one, he was not greatly feared.
Early in the morning he was often seen as a large dog. After making his rounds around the town, he would plunge into the Moselle and there reappear in the form of a man. Washerwomen sometimes saw him rolling noisily down the river like a tumbling cask. Children who behaved too boldly while bathing were warned that the Muselhond would drag them under the water.
He was said to be friendly toward fishermen, and two fishermen from Grevenmacher were believed to have once caught an enormous quantity of fish with his help.
Opposite Temmels, people sometimes heard voices shouting “Carry me across! Carry me across!” Two figures, one tall and one short, were said to roll about in the meadow there. Yet when the ferryman crossed over, he found no one waiting. This too was attributed to the Muselhond, who was thought to delight in such tricks.
Thus the Muselhond was remembered as a strange river being who moved between water and land, sometimes appearing as a dog, sometimes as a man, and whose presence lingered in the tales told to children.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Muselhond zu Grevenmacher. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Muselhond.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
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Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
