Cambion
Encyclopedia
In medieval
legend
, a cambion is the half-human offspring of the union between a human male and a succubus
, or of an incubus
and a human female.
, the son of the witch Sycorax
in The Tempest by William Shakespeare
, is a cambion; Merlin
from the Arthurian legend is also a cambion.
According to the Malleus Maleficarum
, demons, including the incubus and the succubus
, are incapable of reproduction:
Due to this inability to create or nurture life, the method of the creation of a cambion is necessarily protracted. A succubus
(that is to say the female of this particular brand of demon) will have sexual relations with a human male and by doing so acquire a sample of his sperm
. This she will then pass on to an incubus. The incubus will, in his turn, transfer the sperm
to a human female and thus impregnate her. Why this should result in anything other than a normal child is not discussed.
The text goes on to discuss at great length the arguments for and against this process being possible, citing a number of biblical quotations and noted scholars in support of its arguments, and finally concludes that this is indeed the method used by such demons.
In other texts (specifically The Encyclopedia of Occultism And Parapsychology), however, the cambion is even said to be the offspring of the incubus and the succubus, foregoing any need for human involvement. This same incarnation retained the absence of breath or a pulse until seven years of age, but was said to also have been incredibly heavy (even too heavy for a horse to carry) and to have cried upon being touched.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
, a cambion is the half-human offspring of the union between a human male and a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, or of an incubus
Incubus (demon)
An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to a number of mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have intercourse with them. Its female counterpart is the succubus...
and a human female.
Creation
The cambion is a still birth that shows no sign of life outside of being alive, meaning that the child has, for example, no pulse and no breath. This continues until the child is about seven years old, where it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate one from a human. A cambion is usually devilishly cunning, and angelically beautiful, able to persuade even the most strong-hearted individual to do his or her bidding. Most cambions have evil tendencies due to their demon parents. CalibanCaliban (character)
Caliban is one of the primary antagonists in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.- Character :Caliban is forced into servitude on an island ruled by Prospero. While he is referred to as a calvaluna or mooncalf, a freckled monster, he is the only human inhabitant of the island that is otherwise...
, the son of the witch Sycorax
Sycorax (Shakespeare)
Sycorax , an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest , is a powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded....
in The Tempest by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, is a cambion; Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
from the Arthurian legend is also a cambion.
According to the Malleus Maleficarum
Malleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is an infamous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487...
, demons, including the incubus and the succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, are incapable of reproduction:
Due to this inability to create or nurture life, the method of the creation of a cambion is necessarily protracted. A succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
(that is to say the female of this particular brand of demon) will have sexual relations with a human male and by doing so acquire a sample of his sperm
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
. This she will then pass on to an incubus. The incubus will, in his turn, transfer the sperm
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
to a human female and thus impregnate her. Why this should result in anything other than a normal child is not discussed.
The text goes on to discuss at great length the arguments for and against this process being possible, citing a number of biblical quotations and noted scholars in support of its arguments, and finally concludes that this is indeed the method used by such demons.
In other texts (specifically The Encyclopedia of Occultism And Parapsychology), however, the cambion is even said to be the offspring of the incubus and the succubus, foregoing any need for human involvement. This same incarnation retained the absence of breath or a pulse until seven years of age, but was said to also have been incredibly heavy (even too heavy for a horse to carry) and to have cried upon being touched.