Abstract
In the Romanian folklore, fantastic creatures occupy both the mythical past, the end of the world and the remote territories, being a deformed projection of the human world. The end of the world, conceived as an outbreak of evil, of destructive powers, brings forward several fabulous creatures, being hypertrophied representations of evil realities from the Earth (flying snakes, birds with iron beaks, plague, boyars) and incarnations of the universal evil (the dragon, the shrew, Judas, Antichrist). In this respect, the Romanian folklore proves the continuity of some medieval representations, having parallels in the “Alexander’s Romance” and in several eschatological writings.
Keywords: Romanian folklore, eschatology, fantastic creatures, medieval imagery.
Cuvinte-cheie: folclor românesc, eshatologie, personaje fantastice, imaginar medieval.