Domdaniel
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Domdaniel is a fictional cavernous hall at the bottom of the ocean where evil magicians, spirits, and gnomes meet. It was first mentioned in the continued story of the Arabian Nights by Dom Chaves and Cazotte (1788-1793). It was described as being located in the sea near Tunis. In this hall, the ruler Zatanai held his court, which included the magician Maugraby and his students.
Robert Southey later used Domdaniel in his multi-volume oriental poem Thalaba: the Destroyer (1797). The hero of Southey's story, Thalaba, is the last surviving member of a race called the Hodeirah. It had been prophesied that the spirits of the Domdaniel were destined to be destroyed by one of the Hodeirah, so they sought the end of that race.
One of the magicians named by Southey as dwelling in Domdaniel was Adbaldar. He was selected by lot to hunt down Thal'aba and slay him. But the youth Thalaba accomplishes the destruction of the magicians in the final volume of the poem despite their efforts to kill him and his surviving family.
H.P. Lovecraft used Domdaniel in his short story, He(1925), as follows: ...heard as with the mind's ear the blasphemous domdaniel of cacophony ...
The word is derived from the Latin domus meaning "house" and Danielis meaning "of Daniel".
[edit] References
- Room, Adrian (1999). "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable" 16th Edition; Harper Collins.
