Ankou
In Breton folklore, Ankou is a skeletal figure donning a cloak. It drives a deathly carriage, collecting the souls of those whose time has come.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Breton folklore
- Region
- Brittany (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Threshold-Keepers
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- arrow bears The arrow denotes directed force, penetration, war, lightning, rain, fertility, solar rays, and irreversible action; Mesopotamian imagery also uses it for the star Sirius.
why
Others portray it wielding a scythe or an arrow, symbols of its role in severing the ties between the living and the dead.
- Horse bears image-domain The horse denotes harnessed striving power, mount of gods, sun and sea alike, carrying the dead as psychopomp and the living into their conquests.
why
Ankou's most distinctive feature is its eerie mode of transport: a creaking, spectral carriage drawn by ghostly horses.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Skeletal ghostly form
why
This skeletal entity, draped in a dark, flowing cloak, serves as the harbinger of mortality.
- Rotating head sees all directions
why
Some accounts describe it as a tall, gaunt figure with a rotating head, allowing it to see in all directions at once.
Behaviour
- Spectral carriage collects souls
why
It drives a deathly carriage, collecting the souls of those whose time has come.
- Last to die inherits death role
why
In traditional lore, Ankou is often depicted as the last person to die in a parish during the year, who then assumes the duty of collecting souls for the following year.
Omens
- Portent sound precedes death
why
The sound of Ankou's cart is said to be a portent of doom, with those who hear it advised to avoid looking directly at the apparition, lest they hasten their own demise.
Curses
- Soul judgment
why
The creature is said to possess an otherworldly awareness, knowing precisely when and where deaths will occur.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.