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User:Francis Schonken/List of borderline fictional characters

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This list is about people/characters that are neither completely "fictional", neither completely "real". This situation can occur while:

  • Historical sources sometimes don't allow to discern or are not unanimous whether a character is a "fantasy" or a "historic figure" - e.g. Homer.
  • Some people are obviously historical, but are attributed fantastical deeds - e.g. like some Roman emperors having ascended to heaven according to the tradition of the age they lived in.
  • Pseudonyms: the pseudonymous figure may be part fictional: e.g. P. D. Q. Bach really "composes" (in capacity of being the pseudonym of Peter Schickele), while he is also a son of Johann Sebastian Bach (in his capacity of a fictional character).
  • ...etc...: see subdivisions below

Characters in mythical, legendary and religion-founding tales

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(this part of the list only for characters that have as well a proven historical reality[1] as a proven fictionality[2]!)

Characters with historical exactitude issues

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Antiquity and Middle Ages

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Renaissance and later

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Fictional characters (partly) identified with historical figures

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See also: List of real people appearing in fictional context

People who created a pseudonym or alter ego with fictional proportions for themselves

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See also: List of real-life characters

Roman à clef characters

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References

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  1. ^ "proven historical reality" means: "is described as non-fictional in works that are generally considered to be fairly reliable non-fiction works"
  2. ^ "proven fictionality" is here understood as "belongs to a fictional universe, which (for this part of the list) needs to have mythological proportions; further the character is ascribed supernatural or fantastical deeds, for which there is a broad consensus among human beings that they are to be considered unreal.
  3. ^ (historical reality:) based on Herodotus and historical searches mentioned in the Amazons article there is little doubt that there lived a people of women warriors in Europe in (pre-)Greek Antiquity, and that these were called Amazons by the Greeks; (fictionality:) Also Herodotus leaves no doubt that some fantastical characteristics ascribed to these women warriors, like cutting off one breast, and killing males after mating, belong to the realm of fables; these (and other) mythical properties are continued to be described as unreal in further historiography