Hippogriff

A Hippogriff (also spelled Hippogryph and Hippogryphe, Italian: Ippogrifo) is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.

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Early references

Ludovico Ariosto's poem, Orlando furioso (1516) contains an early description (canto IV):

XVIII
No empty fiction wrought by magic lore,
But natural was the steed the wizard pressed;
For him a filly to griffin bore;
Hight hippogryph. In wings and beak and crest,
Formed like his sire, as in the feet before;
But like the mare, his dam, in all the rest.
Such on Riphaean hills, though rarely found,
Are bred, beyond the frozen ocean's bound.
XIX
Drawn by enchantment from his distant lair,
The wizard thought but how to tame the foal;
And, in a month, instructed him to bear
Saddle and bit, and gallop to the goal;
And execute on earth or in mid air,
All shifts of manege, course and caracole;
He with such labour wrought. This only real,
Where all the rest was hollow and ideal.

According to Thomas Bulfinch's Legends of Charlemagne:

“ Like a griffin, it has the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with feathers, the rest of its body being that of a horse. This strange animal is called a Hippogriff. ”

The reason for its great rarity is that griffins regard horses as prey. It has been suggested this idea was strong enough in medieval times to produce an expression, "to mate griffins with horses", which meant about the same as the modern expression, "When pigs fly". The hippogriff was therefore a symbol of impossibility and love. The hippogriff, in legends is said to be far faster, stronger and more intelligent than their fathers, the griffin, apparently traveling at the "speed of lightning". This was supposedly inspired by Virgil's Eclogues: ... mate Gryphons with mares, and in the coming age shy deer and hounds together come to drink.., which would also be the source for the reputed medieval expression, if indeed it was one.

Among the animal combat themes in Scythian gold adornments may be found griffins attacking horses.

The hippogriff seemed easier to tame than a griffin. In the few medieval legends when this fantastic creature makes an appearance, it is usually the pet of either a knight or a sorcerer. It makes an excellent steed, being able to fly as fast as lightning. The hippogriff is said to be an omnivore, eating either plants or meat.

Hippogriffs in popular culture

Hippogriffs and hippogriff eggs play a key role in Eric Rücker Eddison's 1922 novel The Worm Ouroboros.

In Karen Anderson's short story "The Piebald Hippogriff", a boy rides a hippogriff in a flight past the edge of the world. The story was included in The 8th Annual of the Year's Best SF, 1963.

British author J. K. Rowling introduced a hippogriff named Buckbeak, later renamed as Witherwings, as a character in her Harry Potter book series.

In the Warhammer Fantasy Tabletop Game, Hippogriffs are a monster-mount option for Bretonnian Lords. The Bretonnian King rides a Hippogriff.

In the universe of Final Fantasy Hippogryffs are a Monster race with high evasion and attack speed

In World of Warcraft, Hippogryffs are flying mounts for hire. With exalted reputation they can be bought from the Cenarion Expedition, Silver Covenant (Alliance), or the Argent Crusade.

In the "Hippogriff Cookbook" [1] (2010) reportedly "the first literary work written exclusively for e-reader technology," British authors Benjamin Leeds Carson and Perre DiCarlo introduce fictional wizards to the culinary value of the animal, which "giveth from its forelegs and wings a tender poultry, from its rear a robust steak, as well as both creamy milke and eggs that seemeth to emerge already soft boiled."

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