Baumesel

Job: Monk
Family: Flytraps
Crystal: 
Weak to:	
Zone	
Level	
Drops	
Steal	
Spawns	
Notes
Lufaise Meadows				
1Only Spawns During: Fog	
A
					
Notes:
:*Spawned by Quest: Petals for Parelbriaux 
:** Soloable by 64BST/WHM
:**Uses Soporific
=== Historical Background ===
There are a few possibilities for the mythological origins of Baumesel. All that can be certain is it derives from German folklore or custom in the Middle Ages. 
First, Baumesel may be an evil forest spirit in German folklore. Baumesel is German for "tree donkey" or "tree ass", baum "tree" + esel "donkey/ass". [only 1 source was found online for this, which was written in Croatian as "zla šumska vila u Njemackoj ili demon.", which translates to mean "bad/evil dryad of Germany or (a) demon" (šumska vila means "forest sprite/spirit/fay/fairy")]
Second, Baumesel may be a rare translation of Narrenbaum, which means Fools' Tree in German. The Narrenbaum is found in Medieval German festivals as a variant of the Maypole, erected on Fastnacht (German version of Carnival) celebrations. In the 15th century CE, it was depicted literally as a trees on which fools grew. These fools would be wearing caps with donkey ears (Eselsohren) with little bells attached to the ends of the ears and a rooster's crest atop it. It is possible the fools on Narrenbaum were translated as Baumesel since the fools growing on it were wearing caps with donkey ears, thus "tree-donkeys" (it would not be another name for the tree since that would be Eselbaum, not Baumesel).
Third, Baumesel may be an alternate translation of the Palmesel or Palm Donkey, a wooden icon made to commemorate Palm Sunday in various parts of Germany during the Medieval period. It appears to be a co-opting of Germanic pagan rituals, as it was meant to symbolize the rebirth of life and joy and happiness with the flowering and budding of plants (the pagan aspect of Easter). The Palmesel was a wooden donkey meant to symbolize the donkey Jesus rode into when he entered Jerusalem. This donkey, with a statue of Jesus atop it, would be brought to the church and people would try to touch it, believing it would bless them. The Palmesel appears in only one part of Germany. Other practices were more widespread. In Bavaria, poles were erected and were transformed into simulated trees, with branches cut from 12 different types of wood and decorated with various colored glass beads. These trees would be carried around in a procession across the town square to the church. These trees would be blessed and then placed in the crop fields to ensure bountiful growth and protection from hail, drought, or locust swarms. In the Black Forest, tall poles would be deocrated with hearts, crosses, pussy-willow flowers and long, multi-colored streaming ribbons. They were placed outside of houses in the town and were carried in a procession to the church where they were blessed by the priest. 
Category:BestiaryCategory:Notorious Monsterscategory:Flytraps