Wise old man

<h2 id="traits">Traits</h2>
This character is typically represented as a kind and wise elderly father figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that may in a mystical way impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a <a href="/facts/Mentor/tWJJD2GV">mentor</a>. He may occasionally appear as an <a href="/facts/Absent-minded_professor/H6YGnf0h">absent-minded professor</a>, seeming absent-minded due to a predilection for contemplative pursuits.
The wise old man is often seen to be from a different culture, nation, or occasionally time, from those he advises. In extreme cases, he may be a <a href="/facts/Liminal_being/kyc698bT">liminal being</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Merlin/HMBHsp6A">Merlin</a>, who was only half human.
In medieval chivalric <a href="/facts/Romance_(heroic_literature)/NjG0kEat">romance</a> and modern <a href="/facts/Fantasy_literature/nYHRllzw">fantasy literature</a>, he is often presented as a <a href="/facts/Magician_(fantasy)/E1uhXts1">wizard</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> He can also or instead be featured as a <a href="/facts/Hermit/pzIx54F4">hermit</a>. This character type often explained to the <a href="/facts/Monomyth/jgNdgpPd">knights or heroes</a>—particularly those searching for the <a href="/facts/Holy_Grail/c08z6kXS">Holy Grail</a>—the significance of their encounters.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>
In storytelling, a few times the character of the wise old man is in some way removed for a time in order to allow the hero/heroine to develop on his/her own.

<h2 id="jungian-psychology">Jungian psychology</h2>
Further information: <a href="/facts/Wise_Old_Man_and_Wise_Old_Woman/gnW1QA2l">Wise Old Man and Wise Old Woman</a>
In <a href="/facts/Carl_Jung/k651RvXp">Jungian</a> <a href="/facts/Analytical_psychology/QDxb1bFd">analytical psychology</a>, senex is the specific term used in association with this archetype.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> In ancient Rome, the title of Senex (<a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> for old man) was only awarded to elderly men with families who had good standing in their village; the title <a href="/facts/Senator/vTjxsNej">senator</a> derives from this. Examples of the senex <a href="/facts/Archetype/FsGNSHUo">archetype</a> in a positive form include the wise old man or <a href="/facts/Magician_(fantasy)/E1uhXts1">wizard</a>.
In Jungian <a href="/facts/Individuation/fAU9RhzC">individuation</a> process, the archetype of the wise old man was late to emerge, and seen as an indication of the <a href="/facts/Self_(Jung)/7JDkB09k">Self</a>: "If an individual has wrestled seriously enough and long enough with the <a href="/facts/Anima_and_animus/A1Txsrpa">anima</a> (or animus) problem...the unconscious again changes its dominant character and appears in a new symbolic form...as a masculine initiator and guardian (an Indian guru), a wise old man, a spirit of nature, and so forth'.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>
The antithetical archetype, or <a href="/facts/Enantiodromia/0r52nSB9">enantiodromic opposite</a>, of the senex is the <a href="/facts/Puer_Aeternus/DwHWxYtE">Puer Aeternus</a>.

<h2 id="in-religion">In religion</h2>
<h3>Judaism and Christianity</h3>
<a href="/facts/Abraham/gHguuYch">Abraham</a>, <a href="/facts/Moses/D0pp5HMQ">Moses</a>, <a href="/facts/Solomon/UEW5JoNU">Solomon</a>, <a href="/facts/Methuselah/ERLLHuaI">Methuselah</a>, <a href="/facts/Simeon_(Gospel_of_Luke)/lEs9KJfR">Simeon</a>, <a href="/facts/Saint_Joseph/BRBVMK2Y">Joseph</a> and <a href="/facts/Paul_the_Apostle/mIAFgUw7">Paul the Apostle</a> and many others are considered wise old men in <a href="/facts/Judeo-Christian/gzebnfU7">Judeo-Christian tradition</a>. The basic sentence of the <a href="/facts/New_Testament/k066sDIn">New Testament</a> and <a href="/facts/Old_Testament/YFNzQVcK">Old Testament</a> gerontology, which is equally binding for the <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">Jewish</a> and for the <a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christian religion</a>, is: A long and fulfilling life is a gift from God.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> Those who die "old and full of life" are happy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> In the <a href="/facts/Pentateuch/BdJr9IFo">Books of Moses</a> a long life is promised, among other things, to those who honor father and mother and who do not use false weights.
Many attitudes toward old age in the <a href="/facts/Western_world/UQl4e7du">Western world</a> have origins in the <a href="/facts/Old_Testament/YFNzQVcK">Old Testament</a> and <a href="/facts/New_Testament/k066sDIn">New Testament</a>. Age has been associated with <a href="/facts/Prudence/09TyQhnK">prudence</a>, <a href="/facts/Experience/1LeXy1DW">experience</a>, <a href="/facts/Insight/KQYgz0Ff">insight</a> and <a href="/facts/Wisdom/6Pqq0nAA">wisdom</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> but also weaknesses such as declining physical health and sensory performance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> Biblical references state that although wisdom is a gift of old age, even the elderly are not protected against youthful folly and<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> that "gray hair is a splendid crown / one finds it on the path of righteousness."
As a child, <a href="/facts/Jesus/Hcd9hEzI">Jesus</a> debated religious issues side by side with wise elders.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>

<h2 id="cultural-references">Cultural references</h2>
In fiction, a wise old man is often presented in the form of a wizard or other <a href="/facts/Magician_(fantasy)/E1uhXts1">magician</a> in medieval chivalric <a href="/facts/Romance_(heroic_literature)/NjG0kEat">romance</a> and modern <a href="/facts/Fantasy_literature/nYHRllzw">fantasy literature</a> and <a href="/facts/Films/wM3b9Kk3">films</a>, in the style of <a href="/facts/Merlin/HMBHsp6A">Merlin</a>. Notable examples include <a href="/facts/Gandalf/MzblM2hQ">Gandalf</a> from <a href="/facts/The_Hobbit/Tt5fpB1m">The Hobbit</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Lord_of_the_Rings/aS5RH7YT">The Lord of the Rings</a>, <a href="/facts/Albus_Dumbledore/05MUelsF">Albus Dumbledore</a> from <a href="/facts/Harry_Potter/61PjQmkT">Harry Potter</a> and <a href="/facts/Obi-Wan_Kenobi/bI7RTj0B">Obi-Wan Kenobi</a> from <a href="/facts/Star_Wars/9Y5j3IPP">Star Wars</a>.
"Senex" is the name of a wise old character in the novel <a href="/facts/A_Wind_in_the_Door/xb18t44d">A Wind in the Door</a> by <a href="/facts/Madeleine_L%27Engle/uVEeJAPm">Madeleine L'Engle</a>.
Around the 1850s, the antiquarian <a href="/facts/Robert_Reid_(antiquarian)/ck8vHv0N">Robert Reid</a> used the pseudonym "Senex" when contributing articles on local history in the <a href="/facts/The_Herald_(Glasgow)/HyKIdR5I">Glasgow Herald</a>. These were later published in a series of volumes. Sir <a href="/facts/Alan_Lascelles/R00Ezaa9">Alan Lascelles</a> used the penname "Senex" when writing to <a href="/facts/The_Times/5BwkodnX">The Times</a> in 1950 setting out the so-called <a href="/facts/Lascelles_Principles/wjGvLqdF">Lascelles Principles</a> concerning the monarch's right to refuse a prime minister's request for a general election.

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Analytical_psychology/QDxb1bFd">Analytical psychology</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Elderly_martial_arts_master/nz24SgY2">Elderly martial arts master</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Hermit/pzIx54F4">Hermit</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Hero%27s_journey/jgNdgpPd">Hero's journey</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ivory_tower/q0fJxf8V">Ivory tower</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Magical_Negro/zPcQRhdx">Magical Negro</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Magician_(fantasy)/E1uhXts1">Magicians in fantasy</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Freemasonry/zgLC9973">Masonic</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philosopher_in_Meditation/ocGhJbwm">Philosopher in Meditation</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sage_(philosophy)/xaAxlqtE">Sage</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Wise_Old_Man_and_Wise_Old_Woman/gnW1QA2l">Wise Old Man/Woman</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Yogi/juLpk6k8">Yogi</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism. p. 151. ISBN 0-691-01298-9. <a href="0-691-01298-9" target="_blank">0-691-01298-9</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Frye, p. 195. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Doob, Penelope Reed (1990). The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 179–181. ISBN 0-8014-8000-0 – via Internet Archive. <a href="0-8014-8000-0" target="_blank">0-8014-8000-0</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Chalquist, Craig (2007). Terrapsychology: Reengaging the Soul of Place. Spring Journal Books. ISBN 978-1-882670-65-9. <a href="978-1-882670-65-9" target="_blank">978-1-882670-65-9</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Franz, Marie-Luise von (1978). "The Process of Individuation". In Jung, C. G. (ed.). Man and his Symbols. London: Picador. pp. 207–208. ISBN 0-330-25321-2. <a href="0-330-25321-2" target="_blank">0-330-25321-2</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"The old person in the Old Testament". Archived from the original on 2006-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060302110303/http://www.emk-bildungswerk.de/fileadmin/word_documents/der_alte_Mensch_im_AT.doc" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060302110303/http://www.emk-bildungswerk.de/fileadmin/word_documents/der_alte_Mensch_im_AT.doc</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Genesis 25.8; 1 chronicles 29:28; Job 42:17 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Sirach 25,4-6; Job 8.8 ff. and 12.12; Wisdom 4,8 f .; Daniel 13.50; Job 12.12. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">1 Kings 1,1 ff., 14,4, 15,23; 2 Samuel 19.36 f. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Job 12.12 and 32.9; Sirach 25.2. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Recovering Jesus: the witness of the New Testament Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld 2007 ISBN 1-58743-202-1 p. 111 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Wise old man open-in-new

Wise old man