TODAY: 'Koshka's Tales' Back In Print (James Mayhew Dubbed 'Fairy Godfather Of Art & Tales' For The Kids Of The World)

Yes, James Mayhew is indeed the Fairy Godfather of art, music and tales for kids everywhere! That's the only succinct description that fits his extensive work and influence, not to mention magic... but first, let's take a look at this classic and beloved book (well worn in our own library) that has been unavailable for twenty years. Until today.

Today his Koshka's Tales is back in beautiful, quality print and available to share with the next generation.

Looks lovely, right? But who, you ask, is this 'Koshka', who gets to tell their version of The Snow Maiden, Vasilisa the Fair, Sadko the Minstrel, and The Firebird?

Here's a hint:

Close-up from the cover of  UK 2000 edition

And here's the answer:

Koshka is simply the Russian word for 'cat'

(from the Author's Note in the 1993 edition)

Yes: These are "Cat's Tales"!

(Not, 'Koshka the Cat, by the way. That would be like saying these are "Cat the Cat's Tales"... heh.)

Here's a little extra info on Koshka, and why Mayhew chose her to tell the tales, from the Author's Note in the 2000 UK edition:

Publisher's description:

Meet Koshka, the extraordinary storytelling cat, as she spins a series of dazzling tales for a royal audience – accounts of the enchanting Snowmaiden, Sadko the minstrel and the Princess of the Sea, Prince Ivan, the Grey Wolf and the Firebird, and Baba-Yaga, the witch who lives in a hut with chicken legs. 

Graffeg is delighted to be republishing Koshka’s Tales, a wonderfully imaginative adaptation of five timeless stories from Russian folklore, written and illustrated by James Mayhew. Featuring unforgettable tales of handsome princes, wizards and princesses, golden apples and magical realms, the collection was first published in 1993 by Kingfisher Books and has been out of print for over 20 years.

Here's a gorgeous book trailer which treats you to glimpses of the delight waiting inside the covers - but let us warn you: seeing the illustrations online is a very poor substitute for the real thing. As beautiful as the pics in this post and video are, when they're on a page in front of you, they take on an extra dimension. The illustrations seem to refuse to lie flat on the page, but instead, draw you into the story-world and take on a sort of life.
It's magic!
Enjoy:

As a bonus, a special calendar is now also available. (Shipped from the UK.) This time, not only will you be able to enjoy a crisp and beautifully printed copy of Mayhew's illustrations but you'll be able to put them on your wall... Or perhaps carefully detach the pages and frame them, or put them together and make a storytelling frieze to evoke magic in your room. Your choice. ;)

James Mayhew is not only a talented artist and writer but he spreads joy and beauty every day on Twitter via his account @mrjamesmayhew, with a special #BookIllustrationOfTheDay, and seems to be friends with everyone who follows him. He's also one of the kindest and most encouraging people in the Twitterverse and makes the world a better place this way every day.

But, honestly, we don't know how he makes time to for this, because James (we feel like we can call him James here, since he encourages us to on Twitter!) is a very busy man! Ever since 2007 he has been organizing classical music concerts for children, with wonderful orchestras, and not only presenting them, but painting - live - during the concert, combining art, music and storytelling. It is phenomenal to see (and we've only been able to see brief video clips!). More information is available via his website HERE. But in the meantime, we'll share some pics we love of him working in his passion:

The 'About' page on James' website details the HUGE amount of work he is doing but a driving force for him is to function as an ambassador and mentor, of art, music and culture, especially for children. Here's a very small excerpt from his bio page which reflects one part of the officially recognized capacity of his very personal mission:

I’m very pleased to be an adviser to Action for Children's Arts - a charity that campaigns for children's right to access the arts. I’m also a patron of Magic Lantern an art education charity who bring high quality art workshops and presentations into schools all over the country. In 2017 I joined Tanita Tikaram as an ambassador for the humanitarian charity Side by Side with Refugees.

a.k.a. Fairy Godfather of Art & Tales For Kids Everywhere

This is a completely legit title. Fairies are just not great at printing out certificates, but still: Legit. (So mote it be!)

Wish you could see him in action? In order to celebrate the re-release of Koshka's Tales, James is having a super-amazing competition, which is open to all UK & Irish schools. The prize is:

A FREE RUSSIAN-FAIRY-TALE-THEMED SCHOOL VISIT IN 2020, FROM JAMES MAYHEW!

"To enter, schools need to use the book to CREATE! Art, film, story... *anything*."

Gosh that's fabulous! Makes us wish we could have the US kid classes we know, enter too...

Details for the contest are HERE and the contest closes on Tuesday March 31, 2020, with the winner announced on social media (Twitter ad Facebook) Friday, April 24th 2020. Runner up classes will get Koshka themed swag. (There are going to be some very happy kids!)

For the rest of the world, who can join in online, James is also about to give a special #artychat: 'The Art of Painting to Music' (links below are clickable to take you to more information):

Two weeks until the super talented @mrjamesmayhew co hosts our #artychat on 'The art of painting to music' on 6th Nov. 8pm GMT.

Do you paint to music? Does it influence your creativity?
Pre-chat info here: https://t.co/nmQD3zvfMO

Really hope you can join us! pic.twitter.com/iDLdR581a4

— #ArtyChat (@artychat) October 23, 2019

This event is going on our Newsroom calendar.

By the way, did we mention that this new hardcover book is now out?

TODAY: October 24th, 2019

You can purchase a copy HERE (UK, and they ship internationally too), today.

If you already have a copy in your personal library (like we have) then consider getting a new copy for a holiday gift. This lovely collection is magic in book form and easily shows why so many folks fall in love with Russian tales.

Extra special note for fairy tale folks, storytellers & folklorists: We are delighted to let you know Mayhew has included notes on his main sources for the stories (which include operatic libretti as well as books) under the 'acknowledgments' at the front of the book, and his Author's Note at the end includes some history, context and much more useful information if you'd like to dig a little deeper. How much more can this Fairy Godfather endear himself to us?!

The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic Wins AFS Dorothy Howard Prize! + Sign-Ups Open for 'Folklore of Halloween' Mini-Course

Huge congratulations to Brittany Warman and Sara Cleto for winning the 2019 Dorothy Howard prize for The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic!

The prize recognizes excellence, relevance, and innovation in folklore education; essentially saying that Sara and Brittany are doing awesome and important work in their area of passion, which is, making excellent folklore education available to everyone. What wonderful confirmation that all their hard work and effort is worth it. To be recognized by your professional peers for a unique initiative is truly fantastic!

"The committee called Caterhaugh School “a folklore school for the digital age” that brings the scholarly study of folklore to a “global audience” online ." (from @BriarSpell's Twitter account)

Congratulations ladies!

We look forward to seeing what Carterhaugh is busy teaching folks for many years to come.

As for our readers, if you'e been sitting on the fence, wondering whether taking one of Carterhaigh's courses is worth it, hopefully, this helps convince you it is. Not only are the courses intriguing, beautifully presented, accessible to anyone with an interest, and taught with humor and magic, but they are also excellent in their content too.

Here's a quick overview of what they've offered to date:

“An Eerie Tale to Tell…”: Folklore for All Hallows’ Eve
[OCT 2016 – Complete]

The Fairy Tale
[WINTER 2017 – Complete]

The Legend
[SUMMER 2017 – Complete]

Witches in Folklore and Literature
[FALL 2017 – Complete]

Myth and Mythic Adaptation
[SUMMER 2018 – Complete]

Find Your Fairy Tale
[FALL 2018 – Complete]

Seeking the Witch: Traditional Tales and Everyday Magic
[FALL 2018 – Complete]

Live Lectures and Workshops:

[Click here to see live lectures and workshops]

And they're busy finishing up preparing a new big course which will be released very soon. In the meantime, they have something special for the season...

They put together a special new mini-course on Halloween Folklore (a very popularly requested topic) which will go live on OCTOBER 28.  It's being offered at a SUPER LOW PRICE of $25, (a one-time offer!) with a whole lot of benefits and a great way to sample the sorts of things Brittany and Sara put together.

Let us assure you, Sara and Brittany, are here for the fun on all aspects of Halloween as well as ready to impart sme serious lore, tales and hints for dealing with everything from lost spirits and Halloween fairies to useful rituals (and where those rituals came from). They've been posting some very fun content on the Carterhaugh blog, such as:

• Witchy Playlists (music to get you in the mood)
• Vampire Stories (to help you get the shivers, despite the unseasonal heat!)
• Gothic fashion (it's the season for trying new looks and costumes after all)

Our favorite, though, is Sara's article on the witch Watho, from George MacDonald's fairy tale The Day Boy and the Night Girl. See the author's description:

“THERE was once a witch who desired to know everything. But the wiser a witch is, the harder she knocks her head against the wall when she comes to it. Her name was Watho, and she had a wolf in her mind. She cared for nothing in itself — only for knowing it. She was not naturally cruel, but the wolf had made her cruel. She was tall and graceful, with a white skin, red hair, and black eyes, which had a red fire in them. She was straight and strong, but now and then would fall bent together, shudder, and sit for a moment with her head turned over her shoulder, as if the wolf had got out of her mind onto her back.” – George MacDonald (images from a 1988 edition)

Yep - she's a shape-changing witch, a werewolf witch, really, but not just that. She's not only mystically but had a (mad)scientific mind. In fact, the fairy tale begins with her deciding to do an experiment... She's not your average antagonist!

(And now we'd like to see all the suggestions for a Watho Halloween costume please!)

You can read all about the course HERE, including what will be taught and all the exclusive downloads, access and opportunities.

But be quick.

Places close at Midnight on October 27th!

Theater: Last Chance to See "Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat" in 2019! (Glastonbury, UK)

LAST PERFORMANCE IS THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 24th!

Hedgespoken is a traveling storytelling theater-caravan that converts the home of artist pair Rima Staines and Tom Hirons to a performance place. They take their show on the literal road and are about to have their last show of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat for 2019. This show has quickly sold out in many locations so if you are local to Glastonbury, go grab your tickets HERE RIGHT NOW! (We dearly wish we could do this!) 

Hedgespoken performances and events have grown to be the stuff of legend, with Rima and Tom (and their sons) living a mythic traveling life, using traditional storytelling with fairy tales, folklore, performance, puppetry and live music.. combining many artforms, all while living sustainably.

Here's the publicity statement for their show Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat:

When the sea-foam is red at the end of the Earth, only then will you see me again – until then you will wander the earth and all that you touch will turn to iron… 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

In the forest, strange changes can take place. There may be kings and queens and princesses and witches, and common folk going about their business, not to mention all the animals. A lot is going on. Love can be found, and lost, and found again. There’s talk of the farthest sea, of a desert of fire beyond the forest, but these are probably just rumours... 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

A curious hedgehog with high hopes and his iron-browed bride journey to the ends of the Earth. Will they find true love and happiness, or witches and dragon-flames? Beyond a limitless ocean, a woman covered in moss begs for forgiveness, while under a crone’s stone doorstep, two toads endure winter for love’s sake. 

**  **  **  ** 

IRON-BROW AND THORN-COAT is our retelling of a classic Lithuanian folk-tale. Steeped in old magic and half-familiar memories, this is a beguiling tale of magical transformation, love, betrayal and endurance, featuring puppets and masks designed by Rima, plus foolery and traditional storytelling, accompanied by exquisite multi-instrumental music and song. 

Suitable for ages 5+ (it's very much not just for kids, though!)
Duration - approx 1hr 15mins

If you're wondering about the fairy tale Hedgespoken are basing their show on, here's a little more information. The title Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat is wonderfully evocative, and typical of how Hedgespoken can draw the magic out of the simplest phrase. The original title of this Lithuanian fairy tale is The Hedgehog and His Bride. At first it seems to be a funny and straight-forward little fairy tale about a transformed-to-hedgehog curse, but then, right about where you would expect the fairy tale to end (happily), the interesting part begins. Throw in an iron-curse, some East of the Sun West of the Moon, some Tam Lin, some brooms and some toads and you have quite an atypical fairy tale (compared to those popular in Western tradition, at least). 

Here are some teasers from the text, but you can be sure that Hedgespoken, making the character of Iron-Brow the center of the story will take you on an intriguing journey before and well beyond this.

(From Fairy-Tales.parnas in the Lithuanian fairy tales in English, section):

"And before I go I will put a magic spell on you: whatever you touch will turn to iron."
Off he went beyond the far seas, leaving his young wife behind him, and whatever she touched was at once covered with a thick coat of iron. She touched her legs and they turned to iron. She passed her hand forgetfully over her forehead and her forehead turned to iron, too. This was a harsh punishment indeed and (she) suffered cruelly and wept because of it.
Cursing her lot and moving her feet with difficulty, she came to the house of the old broom-maker...

You can read the whole tale HERE but we recommend you not doing so if you're planning on seeing the show, either now or in the future. (If you do, you will have to prove you are not a robot to enter the site.) There are obviously spoilers, and while Hedgespoken will still make anything expected magical, the twists in the story, if you're not familiar with them, are pretty wonderful and we can only imagine how much fun Tom and Rima have had putting together this enchanting show. (Look at those puppets in progress!)

Fairy tale theater ad storytelling is always wonderful to see. It's extra wonderful when it's done extremely well and captures a mythic quality in the process. It's even more special when a lesser-known fairy tale takes center stage and enchants a modern audience. It makes you wonder how this tale got forgotten in the first place. Perhaps by re-naming The Hedgehog and His Bride, the fairy tale of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat will have finally completed its journey and transformed from forgotten and obscure, to fresh and magical, along with strains of "I've heard of that one!"

We know that there is much power in a name...

Thank you Hedgespoken for using all your many quality skills to bring back the arts and tales, to help us find roots and grow into a better future.

About Hedgespoken (from their website):

Storyteller, mask-maker and writer Tom Hirons and internationally-respected artist, puppeteer and musician Rima Staines tell tales and spark imaginations from the Hedgespoken truck wherever they can, from busy festivals and family camps to quiet laybys and secluded forests.

Hedgespoken specialise in retelling East European and British folktales and also stories from the wide world of the Traveller and Gypsy communities.

Note: All images in this post are from Hedgespoken's promotional materials.

Maleficent As A Modern Day Mélusine

[Art: ‘Melusine’, from “Les grandes Sataniques de l'histoire de la Légende” by Roland Brévannes, Select Bibliothèque, 1907]

Maleficent (Disney 2014)

Note: This theory/exploration was put together for #MythologyMonday back in August on Twitter*, by our Editor Gypsy Thorton, using the character limited format. We have expanded and reworded some of her tweets for easier reading (starting below our intro and the dragon flanked with stars).

This is a set of linked tweets (known as a 'thread') exploring the possibility of Maleficent (being a dragon-shape-shifter) as a modern variant of Melusine. (When Gypsy contributes fresh content, she will inevitably find a way to reference fairy tales, no matter what the theme is.) We, too, believe there is a fairy tale link to every topic and situation under the sun...

With Maleficent: Mistress of Evil opening in theaters today, we thought it might be fun to expand the thread for a blog post, even though it has no real bearing on the Disney's live-action Maleficent movies... or does it?

Melusine and Raymon by Troy Howell

Who was Melusine? (A Quick Refresher)
(Description via Storytelling Toronto):

Melusine is both a mythic and historical character in French legend. She is best known for her secret: that every Saturday, she had to disappear into the bath, where the lower part of her body took on the form of a serpent. 

Melusine was a great queen and benefactress. Her mother was a “maiden of the wells,” a fairy from the “Lost Isles” of Avalon. Her father was a mortal king, the king of Albany, now Scotland. Melusine became entangled in mortal life, married, and had ten sons who were powerfully gifted and cursed. She was said to have built many cities and abbeys, some of which still exist in France. This mythic queen left her imprint on the physical landscape of France and Scotland, and her baffling story draws us back to early Christianity and the demonization of the enchantress.^

Melusine escaping: Cover of
'The Legend of Melusine' (French)
by Michèle Perret (artist unknown)

As she was finishing her story-thread on Twitter, Gypsy found a recently-published scholarly compilation for which one of the contributors apparently had similar thoughts, including a discussion of the link in their paper. She included mention of the book at the end of her tweets (see end of the post for the title plus a description and relevant excerpts we were able to hunt down) but we had hoped to obtain a copy to read before sharing it all here. Unfortunately, this is one of those uber-expensive volumes (upwards of $100!) so, apart from some interesting sneak-peeks via previews (which we will also share excerpts of below) we're just going to have to keep it on a watchlist.

In the meantime, we remain thrilled that some medieval literature and legend experts had also found a connection to Maleficent, taken their scholarly skills, time and effort to do comprehensive research, then published an exploration of the concept as part of their work. Their discussion of Maleficent's story having included some of the Melusine narrative in a modern form, though, is only a portion of one of the included papers in the book. From the excerpts we've been able to glimpse in previews, all other aspects are just as interesting. We are looking forward to the time we can read it in full. (Details and links at the end of post.)
Enjoy!

* * * * * *

Today's theme for #MythologyMonday (August 29, 2019) is #MythologicalCreatures, so let's talk shapeshifting dragons, female ones; especially one in particular: Maleficent, but not as she's usually considered.

Imagine Maleficent as a 'modern' day Melusine, as some versions of the legend say Melusine was. (Not a mermaid, or typical fairy, but perhaps a type of fairy-wyvern hybrid, which fits with the text).

[Art: The Marriage of Le Belle Melusine, Jessie Bayes, 1914]

Now imagine Melusine/Maleficent as a younger, more innocent creature. One day, when she was happily wandering in the woods, she met -some versions say rescued- a young French lord, Raymond of Poitou, and they fell in love.

Before long they were to be married. He didn't know she was Other and, in love, promised to give her the privacy of a private bath on Saturdays - with no peeking - ever!

[Art: Nataša Ilincic]

Melusine was a prize for the Nobleman; not only was she beautiful, she made him 'lucky'. In reality, she used her dragon-hoarding abilities to attract wealth & built castles for him. She was very fertile, giving him ten children, with not a single hybrid among them to give her away, though they did have unusually large teeth and brilliant eyes...**

[Art: Julius Hübner 'Die schöne Melusine' 1844]

But Melusine's husband (Raymond) had a jealous brother who 'bedeviled' Ray with doubts about Melusine's faithfulness. Eventually (after at least ten children had been born) Ray gave in to his brother's decade-plus of mind-poisoning, and he finally broke his promise to Melusine, spying on her. He discovered her in her marble bath in partial-dragon form and, his mind already set against her, recoiled in horror.

Melusine / Illumination, Flemish, c. 1410–1420, attributed to Guillebert de Mets.
“Melusine s’enfuit transformée en vouivre” (Melusine flees disguised as a dragon).

Betrayed and heartbroken, Melusine spread her dragon wings as she backed away to the nearest window then, with a cry, fled the castle forever.

[Art: The figure of Melusine, at the 16th century sculpture garden of Bomarzo, Italy.]

Though poor Melusine had fled for her life, she was heartbroken and missed her family. It was said she could sometimes be spotted, high above the castle, weeping. (Legend says you can still see her on moonless nights.)

Some say Melusine was a fairy, or mermaid or a serpent but don't believe it - she was a dragoness.

[Art: by coucyi on Tumblr]

Did Melusine end up taking residence in a castle that crumbled to ruin over time and failing fortunes?

Did she become bitter and cynical about true love, vowing to thwart foolish young noble women, cursing them to sleep before they could have their freedom -and their love- betrayed?

[Art: Eyvind Earle concept painting of "Maleficent" as the Dragon from Sleeping Beauty. (Walt Disney, 1959) ]

And did she finally give in completely to her true draconic nature when a young princess, hailed the Dawn of the New Age+, was about to make the same mistake she once had in the woods, only to tragically become a trophy once again, only this time on a Prince's wall?

We'll never truly know. All we can say in certainty is that loving a dragoness is not for the faint of heart.
#MythologyMonday #Maleficent

[To trace more scholarly musings on Melusine, this book may be of interest: "Melusine’s Footprint: Tracing the Legacy of a Medieval Myth"]

Description:

Melusine's Footprint: Tracing the Legacy of a Medieval Myth

Editors: Misty Urban, Deva Kemmis, and Melissa Ridley Elmes

In Melusine’s Footprint: Tracing the Legacy of a Medieval Myth, editors Misty Urban, Deva Kemmis, and Melissa Ridley Elmes offer an invigorating international and interdisciplinary examination of the legendary fairy Melusine. Along with fresh insights into the popular French and German traditions, these essays investigate Melusine’s English, Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese counterparts and explore her roots in philosophy, folklore, and classical myth. 

Combining approaches from art history, history, alchemy, literature, cultural studies, and medievalism, applying rigorous critical lenses ranging from feminism and comparative literature to film and monster theory, this volume brings Melusine scholarship into the twenty-first century with twenty lively and evocative essays that reassess this powerful figure’s multiple meanings and illuminate her dynamic resonances across cultures and time. 

Contributors are Anna Casas Aguilar, Jennifer Alberghini, Frederika Bain, Anna-Lisa Baumeister, Albrecht Classen, Chera A. Cole, Tania M. Colwell, Zoë Enstone, Stacey L. Hahn, Deva F. Kemmis, Ana Pairet, Pit Péporté, Simone Peger, Caroline Prud’Homme, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Renata Schellenberg, Misty Urban, Angela Jane Weisl, Lydia Zeldenrust, and Zifeng Zhao.

* * * * * *

Almost a month after Gypsy's story thread, one of the editors, Dr. Melissa Ridley Elmes, added this tweet for the #FolkloreThursday theme of the week: Mythological Creatures

I can't possibly let a #FolkloreThursday devoted to "mythological creatures" pass by without a shout-out to my darling Melusine, the medieval fairy who becomes a dragon when her husband betrays her by peeking in on her bath! @FolkloreThurs pic.twitter.com/2jvb4eo4v7

— Dr. Melissa Ridley Elmes (@MRidleyElmes) August 29, 2019

Since first finding Melusine's Footprint, we have tracked down some previews and excerpts that include discussion of Maleficent. Here's a small taste:

[From Misty Urban's paper: How the Dragon Ate the Woman: The Fate of Melusine in English:]

... in what might so far be the closest reunion of the dragon and the woman on the screen of a blockbuster film: Disney's 2014 live-action Maleficent, which re-envisions the supernatural fairy enchantress of the Sleeping Beauty legend into a figure much like Melusine. With horns on her head highly reminiscent of the headdress Melusine wears in late medieval and early modern woodcuts, the fairy Maleficent otherwise appears human in form save for a pair of wings, of which she is deprived in the course of the movie by a false lover. The Maleficent of this film harbors strongly protective maternal instincts and is a powerful enchantress with unlimited resources who can physically transform her kingdom at will and who is its recognized ruler. While male betrayal is a prevalent motif, the emotional charge of the narrative rests on the way that the two central female characters lift the curse on each other: Maleficent herself breaks the curse of the death-like sleep she laid on Aurora, and an awakened Aurora consequently restores her wings to Maleficent, who, in a film moment highly evocative of Melusine's final exit transforms into  winged creature, exits the castle that entraps her by shattering a stained-glass window, and then flies about the parapets, screaming, as she sends the malicious King Stefan to his death. [Urban pp. 386]

Melusine - Illumination, French, 15th century.
"Melusine escapes Raymond in Dragon form / Melusine appears to breastfeed her sons". Illustration to the "Roman de Melusine" of the troubadour Couldrette (1401). Ms français 383, fol. 30, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale.

And, an excerpt from the final paper, commenting on what this anthology volume adds to the already extensive scholarship published on Melusine:

Urban's contribution reveals that the decades following second wave feminism have witnessed the return of a polymorphic Melusine in innovative new interpretations. Constrating with premodern tendencies to soften Melusine's hybridity, young adult fiction has endowed the fully serpentine character with an apotropaic role, while the metamorphic, aerial Maleficent, who sits at the heart of a Hollywood fantasy film exploring women's protective and destructive qualities, strikingly revels in her alterity. [Colwell, pp. 398]

You can purchase the book HERE at the publisher's website. This includes a list of the papers included. Each 'locked link' still gives you a limited preview (after clicking on the chapter title), and is great food for thought, even just having a glimpse. Alternately you can find a copy (often cheaper) HERE on Amazon.

And if you go see Melusine, er Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in theaters this weekend, drop us a line, a comment or tag @inkgypsy on Twitter, and let us know your impressions.

^ You can read a more detailed story-like summary of Melusine, including why she had to bathe every Saturday in semi-dragon form, HERE. (Note: the website is in French - Google translate gives you the gist but knowing some French helps!) Otherwise, Wikipedia's Melusine entry has a lot to offer and link you to, if you want to begin a "deep dive".

‘Melusine’, from “Les grandes Sataniques
de l'histoire de la Légende” by Roland Brévannes,

* In case you are interested in joining in on social media and saying 'hi', Gypsy does her best to visit three different Twitter weekly events (even if only briefly, or toward the end of the time frame). They are:
#MythologyMonday
#FairyTaleTuesday
#FolkloreThursday
Just put the hashtag in the search box to find all the tweets. Everyone is welcome to observe, tweet and contribute and each week usually has a theme, though off-topic mythology, folklore or fairy tale information, art, and questions are OK too. You can just search the hashtag and read without posting, or reply and have a discussion, or add a new tweet to the content - whatever you'd like. Just be sure to add that day's hashtag so people can see your comments. Each group has a lot of overlap and all of them are very friendly folks.

** Wondering what happened to those large-toothed, brilliant-eyed children?  Here you go (via Castles, Celtics & Chimeras):
The Ten Children of MélusineMélusine gave Raymond ten sons. But the count, though very proud of having so many children, was not always very comfortable looking at them.
1st: Urian - who became king of Cyprus - was "in every way well-formed, except that he had a short and full face, a red eye and the other person [blue and green], and the largest ears that have never been seen to a child;
2nd: Eudes , had an unquestionably larger ear than the other ";
3rd: Guion , had "one eye higher than the other";
4th: Antoine, handsome and well made like his brothers, except that he wore "a lion's paw on the cheek, and before he was eight, he became hairy, with sharp claws"
5th: Renaud , had only one eye, but remarkably piercing;
6th: Geoffroy , had a 3 cm canine that came out of his mouth;
7th: Fromont , who became a monk at Maillezais, had a hairy spot on his nose;
8th: Horrible , incredibly tall, had three eyes, and he was so ferocious that before 4 years old he had killed 2 of his nannies ".
9th: Thierry , was normal;
10th: Raymonnet , was normal too.
+ Aurora (Disney's chosen "princess name" for Sleeping Beauty, who, in the animated classic, which Maleficent references, grows up being called 'Briar Rose', or just 'Rose' by the three fairies, Fauna, Flora and Merryweather.)