europa, cept, norden and sepac stamps information blog
Denmark
Hardly any other place in Denmark than Bornholm has such a strong tradition of legends and tales connected with the supernatural world.
The rocky landscape is said to be inhabited by the underworld, who revealed themselves to the locals over the centuries.
San Marino
Both stamps are issued in sheets of 12 stamps with decorated frame
Those stamps depict the protagonists of the legend according to which one day, the pious man Marino, coming back from the field in the cave where he lived, saw a big bear near what was left of his faithful donkey, which had become food for the beast. Unafraid of the animal's size and danger, he began to talk to the bear, telling it that it should take the donkey's place and help him in the fields. And so he did.
Czech Rep.
According to a legend, Přemysl was a free peasant who attracted the notice of Libuše, daughter of a certain Krok, who ruled over a large part of Bohemia. Libuše succeeded her father, and her councillors demanded that she marry, but because Přemysl was not a nobleman she recounted a vision in which they would follow a horse let loose at a junction, and follow it to find her future husband, making it appear as if it was the will of fate not her own wish. Two versions of the legend exist, one in where they are to find a man ploughing a field with one broken sandal, and another in which the man would be sitting in the shade of a single tree, eating from an iron table (his plough). They did so and found Přemysl exactly as foretold. source Wikipedia.
France
Date of Issue: 9th May 2022
one stamp (1.65 €)
NOTE - The legend of Mélusine is also used by Luxembourg on one of their two Europa stamps, this year!
Mélusine is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down. Source Wikipedia.
Gibraltar
Date of Issue: 25th February 2022
two stamps (1.96 & 3.16 GBP) and one souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (1.96 & 3.16 GBP)
The Pillars of Hercules is the ancient name given to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. The Northern Pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar and the Southern Pillar, Abila Mons, has been disputed throughout history, with the two most likely candidates being Monte Hacho in Ceuta and Jebel Musa in Morocco.
According to Greek mythology, when Hercules had to perform twelve labours, one of them (the tenth) was to fetch the Cattle of Geryon of the far West and bring them to Eurystheus; this marked the westward extent of his travels. Alost passage of Pindar quoted by Strabo was the earliest traceable reference in the context: The pillars which pindar calls the - Gates of Gades when he asserts that they are the farthermost limits reached by Heracles. SInce there has been a one-to-one association between Hercules and and Melqart since Herodotus, the Pillars of Melqart in the temple near Gades/Gadeira (Modern Cadiz) have sometimes been considered to be the true pillars of Hercules.
According to some Roman sources, while on his way to the garden of Hesperides on the island of Erytheria, Hercules had to cross the mountain that was once Atlas. Instead of climbing the great mountain, Hercules used this superhuman strength to smash through it. By doing so, he connected the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean Sean and formed the Strait of Gibraltar. One part split mountain is Gibraltar and the other is either Monte Hacho or Jebel Musa. These two mountains taken together have since then been known as the pillars of Hercules, though other natural feautres have been assoicated with the name.
Diodors Sicukus, however, held that, instead of smashing through an isthmus to create the Straits of Gibraltar, Hercules narrowed an already existing strait to prevent monsters from the Atlantic Ocean from entering the Mediterranean sea.
In some versions, Hercules instead built the two to hold the sky away from the earth, liberating Atlas from his damnation.
NOTE - In 1981, Gibraltar used the same legend for their Europa stamps issued on the theme "Folklore and Feasts"!
NOTE - On the 5th of September 2022, Gibraltar issued a set of 6 post & go stamps depicting the 2nd Europa stamps design and bearing the Europa logo - price 7.95 GBP
Germany
NOTE : this stamp is the first ever to feature a "matrix code" introduced since last year by the German post.
You can lear more about it in this article published in December 2020 by the ÖSVLPH :
"Anyone who scans the letter before sending it can keep an eye on its status via the Post app. Matrix code franking is more forgery-proof and ensures that postal stamps cannot be used more than once."
The motif of the dragon fight - an extremely fortunate choice to represent what connects myths, fairy tales and legends! We already encounter the dragon fighter in ancient myth (e.g. Heracles), as well as in fairy tales from all over the world or in the Saga of the Nibelungs. It is a widespread motif that transcends genres and has been handed down worldwide for centuries.
In these sources, the dragon is a mythical creature. It can symbolise the forces of nature as well as destructive potentates of power. In many cases it stands for 'evil' par excellence. The fight against him requires not only physical strength, but above all cleverness, coupled with courage, ingenuity and the desire to save the world.
Sometimes the gruesome figure hides an enchanted youth who is redeemed by an intrepid girl. Here the threatening figure becomes the lover.
The trivialisation of the dragon in modern children's literature and thus its demonisation is completely alien to the old stories. The myths, fairy tales and legends celebrate the overcoming of fear and terror in the victory over the dragon; they appeal to man's fearlessness and will to stand up to fate, to save humane values and nature.
Thus, the pictorial representation of this central motif in myths, fairy tales and legends today - in view of global threat scenarios (famines, floods, fires, wars) - acquires an almost oppressive topicality. source : Bundesministerium der Finanzen
