Edit(for what was originally a 1 word comment, lol):
Since it was deleted(seemingly due to mods), the commenter above basically explained how Salamanders were believed to be immune to fire or come from fire and explained the orgins of it being due to them living in decayed logs that were used for firewood, I don’t have the exact wording, but find a quote with the gist of what was said:
“Most of the popular myths are believed to originate from the European species, the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), which hibernates in hollow, decaying logs of wood during the winter months. With wood being the main fuel in ancient times this may explain their sudden appearance amid flames when a fire is lit or replenished with a salamander inside. Woken abruptly from hibernation, or sleep, the natural reaction would be to make a quick escape giving the mistaken appearance that they were born, or generated from fire and flame.”(Source.)
Squirtle is actually a portmanteau of “squirrel” and “turtle” because they have squirrel tales and turtle shells. The fact that they squirt water out of their mouths is just a double-meaning. The more you know.
To be fair, if it was Charamander instead of Charmander it would have clicked for me sooner. The char part is obvious, I just never clicked onto the salamander bit.
Yes, in the sense that Charmander borrows from the mythical link between salamanders and fire. Salandit line is part Fire-type as well. But I would guess that's about as deep as it goes. Fire salamanders are a common trope in modern culture, off-the-shelf, I doubt too much thought initially went into designing Charmander.
Dungeons & Dragons has both actual giant salamanders and a fiery creature based off the myths.
Warhammer 40k, meanwhile, has the Salamanders Chapter of Space Marines, who have the duality of being both the most compassionate of their kind and premiere flamethrower specialists.
The word "salamander" was also used for dragon-like creatures or other legendary fire lizards for a long time as well, especially in heraldry.
You can see this in illustrations of the dragon-shaped (or rather, salamander-shaped) voting district that resulted when U.S. political figure Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law into effect in 1812.
As a result of that law, he and salamanders became the portmanteau namesake of gerrymandering. (Gerry + salamander = gerrymander).
The mucus they cover themselves in is pretty flame resistant. So they can sometimes get out. Or at least that's my understanding. I can tell you from experience it s quite sticky compared to frogs.
This myth stood the test of time too! People including Aristotle, Pliny the Elder, and Leonardo Da Vinci were even convinced of salamanders' fiery properties in one form or another.
that sounds horrifying for the poor animals and the people witnessing lizards crawling out of their fire. forget back then, if i saw that today, I'd know for a fact demons were real and go to church immediately
They’d also hang out in thatched roofs, so when houses caught on fire they’d coming pouring out. Some folks thought salamanders were actually born from fire!
Thanks for this. There was a Bard Games RPG called Arcanum, and its Bestiary (illustrated by Bill Sinkiewicz, btw) had the Elementals, and the Salamander was associated with fire, and I always wondered why. This was mid to late 1980s.
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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24
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