LoreArc

References

LoreArc entries are curated by cross-referencing the following sources. Rather than citing a single source per entry, we synthesize across mythology, history, and fantasy literature for consistency and accuracy as a visual reference.

01

Mythology & Legends

Myths and legends from various cultures are cross-referenced from primary sources and well-known translations.

  • Encyclopedia Mythica

    Cross-cultural mythology reference

  • Theoi Greek Mythology

    Greek myth & Olympian deities

  • Hesiod — Theogony, Works and Days

    Greek divine genealogy

  • Homer — Iliad, Odyssey

    Most authoritative primary sources of Greek myth

  • Bulfinch's Mythology (Thomas Bulfinch)

    Classical Greek, Roman, and medieval legends

  • The Prose Edda / Poetic Edda

    Norse mythology — Odin, Thor, Loki

  • The Egyptian Book of the Dead (E.A. Wallis Budge tr.)

    Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus — primary Egyptian source

  • Pyramid Texts · Coffin Texts

    Oldest known Egyptian religious texts

  • The Mahabharata · Ramayana · Bhagavad Gita

    Hindu mythology — Shiva, Vishnu, Indra primary epics

  • The Puranas

    Later codification of Hindu deities

  • Epic of Gilgamesh · Enuma Elish

    Mesopotamian — Ishtar, Marduk

  • The Mabinogion

    Celtic mythology primary source

  • Kojiki · Nihon Shoki

    Japanese myth — Amaterasu, Susanoo

  • Shan Hai Jing 山海經

    Classical Chinese bestiary of mythical creatures

  • Investiture of the Gods 封神演義

    Chinese — Daoist pantheon narrative

  • Journey to the West 西遊記

    Jade Emperor, Sun Wukong, celestial bureaucracy

  • Samguk Yusa 三國遺事

    Korean myth — Hwanung, Dangun

02

Religious Texts & Theology

Judeo-Christian-Islamic angelology and demonology, Buddhist theology, and related sources for entries on gods, angels, and demons.

  • The Hebrew Bible / Old Testament

    Genesis, Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel — primary sources on angels and demons

  • The New Testament — Gospels, Revelation

    Gospels and Revelation — Michael vs. Satan, apocalyptic vision

  • The Book of Enoch

    Apocryphal Enoch — origin of Metatron, Uriel, and the Watchers

  • The Book of Tobit

    Apocryphal Tobit — Raphael and Asmodeus narrative

  • The Quran

    Islamic — the four archangels Jibril, Mikail, Israfil, Azrael

  • Pseudo-Dionysius — De Coelesti Hierarchia (5C)

    Celestial Hierarchy — Seraphim, Cherubim, Ophanim and the nine choirs

  • The Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton, 16C)

    Goetic 72 spirits — Bael, Paimon, Astaroth, Orobas

  • Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (Johann Weyer, 1577)

    Earlier systematization of the 72 demonic spirits

  • The Zohar · Sefer Yetzirah

    Kabbalah — Metatron, Sandalphon, Tree of Life

  • Alphabet of Ben Sira (8–10C)

    Apocryphal — origin of Lilith as Adam's first wife

  • Dante Alighieri — Divine Comedy (Inferno)

    Dante's Inferno — visual canon of Lucifer and the Malebranche

  • John Milton — Paradise Lost (1667)

    Paradise Lost — literary canon of Satan, Beelzebub, Mammon, Belphegor

  • Éliphas Lévi — Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1856)

    19C French occultist — origin of the iconic Baphomet image

  • Pali Suttanipata · Mahayana Sutras

    Buddhist scriptures — Mara and the Buddha's trial under the Bodhi tree

  • Daoist Canon 道藏 · Daodejing

    Daoist canon — Jade Emperor and the celestial bureaucracy

03

Fantasy Genre & TRPG

Modern fantasy vocabulary and visual conventions — armor terms, race taxonomies, magic systems — draw on the following.

  • Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition Player's Handbook, Monster Manual)

    Standard taxonomy of fantasy races, classes, and monsters

  • Pathfinder Bestiary

    Extended monster reference

  • The Tolkien Bestiary (David Day)

    Visual reference for Tolkien's legendarium

  • The Atlas of Middle-earth (Karen Wynn Fonstad)

    Geography and architecture of Middle-earth

  • World of Warcraft Chronicle (Blizzard)

    Visual vocabulary of MMO fantasy

  • Final Fantasy Ultimania Series (Square Enix)

    Aesthetic reference for JRPG fantasy

04

History, Armor & Weapons

Period and cultural forms of armor, weapons, and clothing reference museum collections and authoritative works.

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Arms & Armor Collection

    European and Asian arms & armor primary references

  • The Royal Armouries (Leeds, UK)

    Royal Armouries Museum

  • Records of the Medieval Sword (Ewart Oakeshott)

    Standard taxonomy of medieval swords

  • Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight (David Edge)

    Equipment of the medieval knight

  • Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior (Clive Sinclaire)

    Japanese samurai equipment

  • 한국 전통 갑옷·복식 자료 — 국립중앙박물관, 국립민속박물관

    Korean traditional armor and hanbok references

05

Architecture & Environments

Castles, temples, hanok, Japanese temples — architectural styles draw on architectural history and museum archives.

  • A History of Architecture (Sir Banister Fletcher)

    Standard text on world architecture

  • Castles of Britain and Ireland (Plantagenet Somerset Fry)

    European castles reference

  • 한국건축개념사전 (김봉렬)

    Korean traditional architecture

  • Japanese Temples and Shrines (Yoshikazu Hayashi)

    Japanese temple and shrine architecture

06

Literary Sources

Much of the vocabulary and many motifs of modern fantasy originate in the following works.

  • J.R.R. Tolkien — The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit

  • Ursula K. Le Guin — Earthsea Cycle

  • C.S. Lewis — The Chronicles of Narnia

  • George R.R. Martin — A Song of Ice and Fire

  • Brandon Sanderson — Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive

07

Encyclopedic & General

Term verification, cultural notation, and proper nouns are cross-referenced via the following.

  • Encyclopædia Britannica

  • Wikipedia (영어·한국어·일본어판 — 1차 출처 추적용)

    Used only as a starting point for tracing primary sources

Images

Images on LoreArc are visualized using AI image generation technology based on textual sources. They are intended as creative references rather than scholarly illustrations, and the same entry may have multiple legitimate interpretations across myths, eras, and works.

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