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{{Short description|Motif in folklore and mythology}}

The '''king asleep in the mountain''' (D 1960.2 in [[Stith Thompson]]'s [[Motif (folkloristics)|motif-index]]){{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|1991|p=197}} is a prominent [[folklore]] [[Trope (literature)|trope]] found in many folktales and [[legend]]s. Thompson termed it as the '''Kyffhäuser''' type.{{r|thompson}} Some other designations are '''king in the mountain''', '''king under the mountain''', '''sleeping hero''', or '''Bergentrückung''' ("mountain rapture").
[[File:According to a legend linked to Arthurian myth, a Danish king known as Ogier the Dane, was taken to Avalon by Morgan le Fay. He returned to rescue France from danger, then travelled Kronborg castle, where he - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Ogier the Dane]] ([[Danish language|Danish]]: ''Holger Danske''')''''' in [[Kronborg Castle]], [[Helsingør]]; Ogier is said to sleep in the castle until one day when [[Denmark]] is in peril]]
Examples include the legends of [[King Arthur]], [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]], [[Charlemagne]], [[Ogier the Dane]], [[King David]], [[Frederick Barbarossa]] at [[Kyffhäuser]], [[Genghis Khan]], [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]], [[Prince Marko|Kraljević Marko]], [[Sebastian of Portugal]] and [[King Matjaž]].{{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|2000|p=92}}{{r|henken}}<ref>Šmitek, Zmago. 1999. “The Image of the Real World and the World Beyond in the Slovene Folk Tradition". ''[[Studia Mythologica Slavica]]'' 2 (May). Ljubljana, Slovenija. pp. 178-179. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v2i0.1848.</ref>

The Thompson motif entries A 571, "Cultural hero asleep in mountain", and E 502, "The Sleeping Army", are similar and can occur in the same tale.{{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|1991|p=197}} A related motif is the "Seven Sleepers" (D 1960.1,{{r|thompson}} also known as the "[[Rip Van Winkle]]" motif), whose type tale is the [[Seven Sleepers]] of [[Ephesus]] ([[Aarne-Thompson classification system|AT tale type]] 766).

== General features ==
[[File:Barbarossa01.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Frederick sends out the boy to see whether the ravens still fly.]]

King in the mountain stories involve legendary [[hero]]es, often accompanied by armed retainers, sleeping in remote dwellings including caves on high mountaintops, remote islands, or supernatural worlds. The hero is frequently a historical figure of some [[military]] consequence in the history of the nation where the [[mountain]] is located.

The stories gathered by the [[Brothers Grimm]] concerning [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] and [[Charlemagne]] are typical of the stories told, and have been influential on many variants and subsequent adaptations. The presence of the hero is unsuspected; until some [[herder|herdsman]] wanders into the cave, typically looking for a lost animal, and sees the hero. The stories almost always mention the detail that the hero has grown a long beard, indicative of the long time he has slept beneath the mountain.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In the Brothers Grimm version, the hero speaks with the herdsman. Their conversation typically involves the hero asking, "Do the eagles (or ravens) still circle the mountaintop?" The herdsman, or a mysterious voice, replies, "Yes, they still circle the mountaintop." "Then begone! My time has not yet come."{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The herdsman in this story was then [[supernatural]]ly harmed by the experience: he ages rapidly, he emerges with his [[white hair|hair turned white]], and often he dies after repeating the tale. The story goes on to say that the king sleeps in the mountain, awaiting a summons to arise with his knights and defend the nation in a time of deadly peril. The [[omen]] that presages his rising will be the extinction of the birds that trigger his awakening.<ref>[[Jacob Grimm|Jacob]] and [[Wilhelm Grimm]], ''Deutsche Sagen'' (1816/1818), no. 23.</ref><ref>[http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/grimm/sagen/g028.htm ''Kaiser Karl im Untersberg''] (German)</ref>{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |fix-attempted=yes |url=}}

== Examples from Europe ==
<!--Expand using other examples-->

A number of European [[monarch|kings]], rulers, fictional characters and religious figures have become attached to this story. Major examples are King Arthur of Britain, Charlemagne of the Franks, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, as well as {{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|1992–1993|pp=58-59}}<ref name=ashliman/> [[Ogier the Dane]] and [[William Tell]].<ref name=ashliman>{{cite web|last=Ashliman  |first=D. L. |author-link=D. L. Ashliman |url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/sleep.html|title=Sleeping Hero Legends|website=Pitt.edu |date=1999–2020|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>

=== Baltic states ===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
* A motif in [[Latvia]]n legends involves a castle sinking into ground leaving a hill behind it. In legends that have someone enter such hill, the inhabitants of the castle are found in sleep-like state. If the visitor is able to guess the name of the castle, it is returned to the surface with its inhabitants awakened. The choir song "Gaismas pils" (The Castle of Light), which is part of Latvia's Cultural Canon, drew inspiration from these legends.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* [[Vytautas the Great]] in [[Lithuania]] is believed by some to rise from the grave to defend the country when danger threatens it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Briggs |first=Katharine |year=1978 |title=The Vanishing People: Fairy Lore and Legends |publisher=Pantheon Books |pages=88–89 |isbn=9780394734674}}</ref>

=== Britain and Ireland ===
* [[King Arthur]] ([[Great Britain]] and [[Brittany]]). According to the legend, Arthur was taken away to [[Avalon]] to sleep until he was needed by the people of Britain. Several legends talk of a herdsman who stumbles across a cave on mainland Britain, wherein he finds Arthur sleeping, often with his knights and [[Excalibur]] by his side.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simpson |first=J. R. |date=January 1986 |title=King Arthur's Enchanted Sleep: Early Nineteenth Century Legends |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0015587X.1986.9716380 |journal=Folklore |language=en |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=206–209 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1986.9716380 |issn=0015-587X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a variation on this, sometimes the exploring herdsman finds instead just Arthur's knights, or [[Sir Lancelot]], [[Guinevere]] and the knights sleeping in wait on [[King Arthur's messianic return|the return of the "Once and Future King"]]. In early Arthurian literature, Arthur references his predecessor [[Brân the Blessed]] as having his head placed on a mound overlooking Britain so as to protect it. He wishes to do the same, and later they overlook and protect Britain together.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Merlin (wizard)|Merlin]] of the [[Arthurian Cycle|Arthurian legend]], who is imprisoned in an oak tree by [[Nimue]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merlin and Vivien {{!}} Robbins Library Digital Projects |url=https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/pollock-merlin-and-vivien |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=d.lib.rochester.edu}}</ref>
* [[Thomas the Rhymer]] is found under a hill with a retinue of knights in a tale from [[Anglo-Scottish border]]. Likewise, [[Harry Hotspur]] was said to have been hunting in the [[Cheviots]] when he and his hounds got holed-up in the Hen Hole (or "Hell-hole"), awaiting the sound of a hunting horn to awaken them from their slumber. Another border variant concerns a party of huntsmen who chased a [[roe deer|roebuck]] into the Cheviots when they heard the sweetest music playing from the Henhole. However, when they entered, they became lost and are trapped to this day.<ref>Henry Tegner; ''Ghosts of The North Country'', 1991 Butler Publishing, {{ISBN|0-946928-40-1}}. p.13</ref>

==== Wales ====
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
* [[Brân the Blessed]]. Referenced as protecting the Isles and overlooking Britain; his head severed and placed on a mound. Arthur later says he wishes to do the same and in early Arthurian literature both guard Britain together.
* [[Owain Lawgoch]], Welsh soldier and nobleman (14th century).
* [[Owain Glyndŵr]], the last native born Welshman to hold the title "Prince of Wales"; he disappeared after a long but ultimately unsuccessful rebellion against the English. He was never captured or betrayed and refused all Royal pardons.
* An unnamed [[giant (mythology)|giant]] is supposed to sleep in [[Plynlimon]].<ref>{{cite book |last=MacKillop |first=James |title=Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780198609674}}</ref>

==== Ireland ====
* [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]] is said to sleep in a cave/mountain surrounded by the Fianna. It is told that the day will come when the Dord Fiann is sounded three times and Fionn and the [[Fianna]] will rise up again, as strong and well as they ever were. In other accounts he will return to glory as a great hero of Ireland.<ref>[[Augusta, Lady Gregory]] – Gods and Fighting Men (1904)</ref>
* [[Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond|The 3rd Earl of Desmond]], who dozes under [[Lough Gur]] with his silver-shod horse.{{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|2000|p=92}}
* [[Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare|The 8th Earl of Kildare]], who is at temporary rest under the [[Curragh of Kildare]].{{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|2000|p=92}}
* Dónall na nGeimhlach Ó Donnchú, in legend around [[County Kerry]].{{sfnp|Ó hÓgáin|1992–1993|p=59}}
* [[Cu Chulainn]] in Nationalist circles in Northern Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==== England ====
* [[Harold Godwinson|King Harold]]. In [[Anglo-Saxon]] legends he survived the [[Battle of Hastings]] and will come one day to liberate the English from the [[Norman yoke]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lkqIalGZwZgC&pg=PA143 The Science of Fairy Tales: An Enquiry Into Fairy Mythology], [[Edwin Sidney Hartland]], 1925 edition, p. 143</ref>
* [[Sir Francis Drake]]. It is stated that if England is in deadly peril and [[Drake's Drum]] is beaten, then Sir Francis Drake will arise to defend England from the sea. According to the legend, Drake's Drum can be heard at times when England is at war or significant national events take place.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* Knights asleep at [[Alderley Edge]] in Cheshire. There is an enduring legend of a cavern full of knights in armour awaiting a call to decide the fate of a great battle for England. There is no king named, but there is a wizard involved, who is referred to as Merlin in later versions of the legend.<ref>Louisa Stanley, "Alderley Edge and Its Neighbourhood", 1843</ref>
* King [[Dunmail]]. A Cumbrian King who after defeated at the hands of Edmund I of England and Malcolmn of Alba. Dunmail's warriors are said to have fled with his crown, climbing into the mountains to Grisedale Tarn below Helvellyn, where they threw it into the depths to be safe until some future time when Dunmail would come again to lead them. Every year the warriors are said to return to the tarn, recover the crown and carry it down to the cairn on [[Dunmail Raise]] by the A591.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== Caucasus region ===
==== Armenia ====
* Mher<ref>[http://www.hums.canterbury.ac.nz/clas/ejms/out_of_print/JMSv1n2/JMSv1n2Boyle.pdf Mher in the Carved Rock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602115916/http://www.hums.canterbury.ac.nz/clas/ejms/out_of_print/JMSv1n2/JMSv1n2Boyle.pdf |date=2010-06-02 }}, J. A. Boyle, at the Library of the University of Canterbury, [[Christchurch]], New Zealand</ref> (see [[Daredevils of Sassoun]]).
* [[Artavasdes I of Armenia|Artavazd I]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

====Georgia====
* Legend has it [[Tamar of Georgia|Queen Tamar]] is not dead, but is sleeping in a gold-wreathed coffin in a mountain. According to it, she will wake up one day and restore the [[Georgian Golden Age]].<ref>[https://czv.897.myftpupload.com/georgias-queen-of-kings-tamar-the-great/] Georgia's Queen of Queens Tamar the Great{{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

=== Dutch and German-speaking realm ===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
* [[Dietrich von Bern]], legendary Germanic hero, was spirited away to the dwarf kingdom to return in the time of greatest need.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* [[Charlemagne]], Emperor of future Germany, France, and the Low Countries, rests in the [[Untersberg]] near Salzburg ([[Austria]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rath |first1=Elfriede |title=Austrian Märchen |journal=Folklore |date=1952 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=79–90 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1952.9718105 |jstor=1257717 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1257717 |access-date=23 August 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]], Holy Roman Emperor, sleeps in the [[Kyffhäuser]] mountain and will rise to save the Empire ([[Germany]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ó Fínneadha |first1=Pádraig |title=Ball Dearg ó Domhnaill |journal=Béaloideas |date=1932 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=359–362 |doi=10.2307/20521720 |jstor=20521720 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20521720 |access-date=23 August 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* [[Henry the Fowler]], King (Germany).{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==== Switzerland ====
* [[William Tell]] ([[Switzerland]], in some legends accompanied by [[William Tell#The Three Tells|two other Tells]]<ref name=ashliman/>).

=== Greek, Hellenistic and Byzantine ===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}

==== Ancient Greece ====
* [[Theseus]] ([[Athens]]).

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* [[Constantine I]], said to have been turned into a stone statue, although not resting within a mountain.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]], the last emperor of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], said to have been turned into marble and thus was known as "Marmaromenos", "the Marble King".  He was said to be hidden somewhere underground, some say inside walled up [[Walls of Constantinople|Golden Gate]] of Constantinople, until his glorious return as the Immortal Emperor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clogg |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5pyUIY4THYC |title=A Concise History of Greece |date=2002-06-20 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-00479-4 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]] (also known as "Kaloyannis III'").{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== Hungarians ===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
* [[Prince Csaba|Csaba]], the son of [[Attila the Hun]] who is supposed to ride down the [[Milky Way]] when the [[Székelys]] are threatened.
* [[Stephen I of Hungary|King St. Stephen]], [[Ladislaus I of Hungary|King St. Ladislaus]], [[Matthias Corvinus of Hungary|King Matthias Corvinus]].

=== Italy ===
==== Roman Empire ====
* [[Nero]] ([[Nero Redivivus]])

=== Spain ===
* [[Roderic|King Rodrigo]], said to escape from the Moorish invasion and await for "the time of maximum need" to save his people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mitologia.pt/a-batalha-de-guadalete-e-o-destino-do-539701|title=A Batalha de Guadalete e o destino do Rei Rodrigo|website=www.mitologia.pt|accessdate=26 June 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Alonso Sánchez Coello 009.jpg|thumb|right|Sebastian I. With his death, the house of Aviz lost the throne of Portugal. Sebastianists hold that he will return to rule Portugal's Fifth Empire.]]

=== Portugal ===
* [[Sebastian of Portugal|Sebastian I]], who [[Sebastianism|Sebastianists]] hold will one day return on a hazy morning in time of need, hiding in a mysterious island surrounded by fog until then.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mitologia.pt/a-origem-do-sebastianismo-590784|title=A origem do Sebastianismo|website=www.mitologia.pt|accessdate=26 June 2025}}</ref><ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Famous-Legends-Portugal-Portuguese-presented-ebook/dp/B09DFRTVKB/  Famous Legends From Portugal: With some Portuguese Legends presented in English for the first time], Miguel Carvalho Abrantes, p. 27-28, 40.</ref>

=== Scandinavia ===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
* [[Ogier the Dane]] ({{langx|da|Holger Danske}}, [[Denmark]]).
* [[Olaf II of Norway|King Olaf II]] ([[Norway]]).
* [[Väinämöinen]], the protagonist of the [[Finland|Finnish]] national epic [[Kalevala]]. At the end of Kalevala, he leaves on a boat, promising to return when he is most needed.
* [[Knights of Ålleberg]] ([[Sweden]]).

=== Slavic nations ===
==== East Slavic ====
* [[Alexander Suvorov]] ([[Russia]]), Russian generalissimo, sleeps in a deep cave where prayer is heard and icon lamp burns. The legend says Suvorov will come back to save his country from a mortal danger.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pravoslavie.ru/28069.html|title=Елена Лебедева. Русский архистратиг / Православие.Ru|website=pravoslavie.ru|accessdate=26 June 2025}}</ref>
* [[Taras Shevchenko]] ([[Ukraine]]), Ukrainian poet and painter, believed to be a supernatural hero (''charakternik''), is said to sleep under his grave mound in [[Kaniv]] or even in the [[Kyiv Pechersk Lavra]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==== South Slavic ====
* [[Prince Marko|Marko Kraljević]] ([[Serbia]], [[North Macedonia|Macedonia]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karadžić |first=Vuk Stefanović |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JE4LAAAAIAAJ |title=Život i običaji naroda srpskoga |publisher=A. Karacić |year=1867 |pages=241 |language=sr |trans-title=Life and customs of the Serbian people}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernardi |first=Irene |year=2012–2013 |title=Il mito di Marko Kraljević nella ex Iugoslavia |url=https://unitesi.unive.it/bitstream/20.500.14247/2081/1/805414-1161230.pdf |access-date=May 4, 2025 |pages=159, 160 |language=it |publication-place=Università Ca' Foscari Venezia}}</ref>
* [[Matija Gubec]] ([[Croatia]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oroz |first1=Tomislav |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/58283823/oroz_skrbic_heroic_topography-libre.pdf?1548759541=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DHeroic_Topographies_Hero_making_and_Plac.pdf&Expires=1746351767&Signature=P17VoKW~S8YeibNNYhpt3As20sDOKmhniL6kfnMaMsrA22FT4BWLw1QJ0nqmSFClnRCkUSQX6hSmcRpZ7ItWUKKg3Vz6obIKc3XG55sYpBenz01E9igildsdKqHxVR2g6kNrqh6D9OCjwiObMNT4cwBJeW1bHGcRsv-EP6ZCQGGun~7T~ApdPpkZ7sjRaIJ7Iqo7vjBMWrbSOaUMf0iGWbwJfua1uij5BkLWOse6khAFVqyF4U82-m-nPAEKsiuMvEOHlvxUh0TDcrgUgTSvUN~RgX5c-DnK2efqVYa8frX4u8l79Sw2IjD08z9KtkduPqrO2w6ZUdiaoqx0Bh13cg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |title=Heroic Art and Socialist Realism: Monuments, Memory and Representations of the Socialist Past after 1989, 35-55. |last2=Škrbić Alempijević |first2=Nevena |publisher=Cultural Arcs Foundation |year=2018 |isbn=9786197420036 |location=Cultural Arcs Foundation |page=36 |language=en |chapter=Heroic Topographies. Hero-making and Place-making in Hrvatsko Zagorje. |format=PDF }}</ref>
* [[Kralj Matjaž]] ([[Slovenia]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Copeland |first=F. S. |date=1949-06-01 |title=Some Aspects of Slovene Folklore |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0015587X.1949.9717929 |journal=Folklore |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=277–286 |language=EN |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1949.9717929 |issn=0015-587X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] was believed to be still alive and hiding in [[Irkutsk]], [[Russia]], gathering an army to return and conquer the world. According to a [[Romanians|Romanian]] bishop Melchisedech, there was a [[Old Church Slavonic in Romania|Slavonic]] sect whose members shared this belief along with a widespread worship of Napoleon.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lkqIalGZwZgC&dq=Bishop+Melchisedech+of+Roumania+Slavonic+sect+Napoleon&pg=PA144 The Science of Fairy Tales: An Enquiry Into Fairy Mythology], [[Edwin Sidney Hartland]], 1925 edition, p. 144</ref>

==== West Slavic ====
* [[Bolesław I the Brave|Bolesław the Brave]], king of [[Poland]], asleep with a host of knights in a cave hidden somewhere in [[Giewont]], a [[mountain]] [[massif]] which is itself said to resemble a sleeping knight. Several different versions of the legend exist, sometimes involving a different historical figure or another cave in the [[Tatra Mountains]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baraniak|first=Krzysztof|date=2014-08-15|title=Legenda o śpiących rycerzach|url=https://tatromaniak.pl/aktualnosci/legenda-o-spiacych-rycerzach/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=TATROMANIAK - Serwis Miłośników Tatr|language=pl-PL}}</ref><ref>{{cite summitpost|id=153793|title=Giewont}}</ref>
* [[St. Wenceslas]] (Václav) of [[Bohemia]] ([[Czech Republic]]). He sleeps in the [[Blaník]] mountain (with a huge army of Czech knights) and will emerge to protect his country at its worst time, riding on his white horse and wielding the legendary hero Bruncvík's sword.<ref name="Old Bohemian Legends 1894">[[Alois Jirásek]], Old Bohemian Legends (1894, Staré pověsti české)</ref>

==Examples from Asia==

=== Asia Minor and Middle East ===
==== Iran ====
*[[Kay Khosrow]], legendary shah of [[Persia]]. The city of [[Shazand]] is said to contain a cavern system where Kay Khosrow is hidden along with other immortals. Legend says he will reappear and help [[Saoshyant]] in the last war at the dawn of resurrection. <ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ghaemi |first1=Farzad |url=https://www.fwls.org/uploads/soft/190810/1-1ZQ0130601.pdf#page=75 |title=Forum for World Literature Studies |last2=Ghandeharion |first2=Azra |publisher=Knowledge Hub Publishing Company Limited |editor-last=Zhenzhao |editor-first=Nie |volume=11 |publication-date=June 2019 |pages=253–254 |chapter=When Literature and Religion Intertwine: Rostam as a Pre-Historic Iranian Hero or the Shi’itic Missionary? |issn=1949-8519 |editor-last2=Ross |editor-first2=Charles |editor-last3=Zhenwu |editor-first3=Zhu }}</ref>
* [[Frashokereti|Shah Bahram Varjavand]]{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== East Asia ===
==== Mongolia ====
* A traditional tale of the death of [[Genghis Khan]] says he died falling from his horse while being injured, but that whether he died or not is unknown, and he may be merely resting. Every spring and autumn "those who know the secret" of where Genghis is buried are said to put new sets of clothes into his casket and take the old ones out, worn and frayed. Folklore reports another instance of evidence that Genghis would return: every year there is a sacrifice for Genghis Khan in the Ordos and two white horses (the horses of Genghis Khan) appear. In the third year of the Chinese Republic (1914), though, just one horse appeared. When the second horse came, four years later, it had saddle galls. This was taken as evidence that Genghis Khan had been using the horse, and was making ready to appear again.<ref>Owen Lattimore, ''Mongol Journeys'', London: Doran & Co., 1941, pp. 35–37</ref>

==== China ====
* A traditional tale of the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] survived through the fall of Beijing and will reappear was widely spread in [[Qing dynasty]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==== Japan ====
* [[Kūkai]], founder of [[Shingon Buddhism]]. He is said to be in deep meditation in a temple on [[Mount Kōya]], [[Wakayama Prefecture]], awaiting the coming of [[Maitreya]], the next [[Buddhahood|Buddha]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mount Kōya {{!}} History & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Koya |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== Philippines ====
* [[Bernardo Carpio]], the "King of the [[Tagalog people|Tagalogs]]", is said to be trapped in the mountains of [[Rodriguez, Rizal]], east of [[Metro Manila]] on [[Luzon]]. Legend has it that Carpio, a man of superhuman strength, causes earthquakes as he struggles to break free of his chains.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eslit |first=Edgar R. |date=2023-05-27 |title=Resilience of Philippine Folklore: An Enduring Heritage and Legacy for the 21st Century |url=http://jurnal.utu.ac.id/IJELR/article/view/7504 |journal=International Journal of Education, Language, and Religion |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=9–20 |doi=10.35308/ijelr.v5i1.7504 |issn=2721-4273|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Tibet ====

* [[Epic of King Gesar|Gesar of Ling]], believed by the Tibetans to return one day and restore order on Earth.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-fDCQAAQBAJ&dq=Gesar+of+Ling+return&pg=PR7 |title=The Epic of Gesar of Ling: Gesar's Magical Birth, Early Years, and Coronation as King |publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=9780834827509 |edition=1st |publication-date=2012 |page=xxix |translator-last=Kornman |translator-first=Robert |translator-last2=Khandro |translator-first2=Sangye |translator-last3=Chomon |translator-first3=Lama }}</ref>

==== Vietnam ====

* The temple of [[Trần Hưng Đạo]], the supreme commander who defeated Kublai Khan's invasions of Vietnam, housed a sword chest that rung if the nation was in peril, but it also foretold victories.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Examples from Africa ==
A king and queen are said to be sleeping in legendary desert city of [[Zerzura]]. Trespassers are warned not to wake them. According to the legend they will eventually one day waken.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Examples from the Americas ==
=== United States ===
* The [[Puebloan peoples|Pueblo]] hero-god [[Montezuma (mythology)|Montezuma]] is believed to have been a divine king in prehistoric times, and suspended in an Arizona mountain that bears his image.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Ute Mountain|The Sleeping Ute]] mountain in Colorado is said to have been a "Great Warrior God" who fell asleep while recovering from wounds received in a great battle with "the Evil Ones" (there are many other variants of this legend).{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Tecumseh]] of the [[Shawnee]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Emperor Norton]] is claimed by several defunct civil rights groups to have been destined to return to the US when the unity of the Republic is at its nadir.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
* Some adherents of the [[QAnon]] conspiracy theory believe that American figure [[John F. Kennedy Jr.]] will one day return to purge corruption from the American government.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pitofsky|first=Marina|date=November 2, 2021|title=QAnon supporters gather over theory that JFK Jr. will emerge, announce Trump to be reinstated|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/02/texas-qanon-believers-back-theory-trump-reinstated/6255234001/|access-date=November 20, 2021|work=USA Today|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Some Americans believe that [[Elvis Presley]] is [[Elvis sightings|still alive]], and will soon return to create new music.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* An urban legend claims that [[Walt Disney]] has been [[cryogenically frozen]] and is stored under the [[Matterhorn Bobsleds]] ride at [[Disneyland]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mikkelson |first=David |title=FACT CHECK: Was Walt Disney Frozen? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suspended-animation/ |website=[[Snopes]] |date=19 October 1995 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123132948/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suspended-animation/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Peru ===
* The [[Inkarri]] (from Spanish ''Inca Rey'', "Inca King") of the [[indigenous peoples of Peru]], who will return one day to restore the [[Inca Empire]].<ref>OMER, Aurélie. Cuatro versiones inéditas del mito de Inkarrí. Áreas de estudio: Shipetiari y Quero. Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana, 2015, vol. 41, no 81, p. 405-434.</ref> There are two main versions of the myth with several local variations:
** In the first, Inkarri was the last [[Sapa Inca]]. He was decapitated by the Spaniards, who buried his head in an unknown location. The head is not dead but [[hibernating]] while it [[Regeneration (biology)|regenerates]] the rest of the body. When the regeneration is complete, Inkarri will return.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
** In the second, Inkarri and his wife Qollari were the founders of [[Cusco]]. They fled to the [[Amazon jungle]] (to a place called [[Paititi]], or variations thereof), where they sleep under rocks and will return one day.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

=== Brazil ===
* The [[:pt:Pedra do Reino#A seita sebastianista e o massacre|Pedra Bonita massacre]] was a massacre involving a cult of [[Sebastianism | Sebastianists]] who believed the lost king was buried in a hidden kingdom underneath their settlement.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Examples by religion ==

=== Judaism ===
* [[King David]] is depicted in [[Hayim Nahman Bialik]]'s tale "King David in the Cave" as sleeping along with his warriors deep inside a cave, waiting for the blast of the [[shofar]] that will awaken them from their millennia of slumber and arouse them to redeem Israel.<ref>[http://members.tripod.com/alabasters_archive/canaanism_solutions.html "Canaanism:" Solutions and Problems] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120717024232/http://members.tripod.com/alabasters_archive/canaanism_solutions.html |date=2012-07-17 }}, Boas Evron, Alabaster's Archive</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.benyehuda.org/bialik/veyehi_hayom_hamelex_david_bameara.html|title=הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד בַּמְּעָרָה / ח"נ ביאליק|website=www.benyehuda.org}}</ref> This role was not attributed to King David in earlier Jewish tradition.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
* The body of the [[Golem]] of [[Prague]] is said to be hidden in the attic of the [[Old New Synagogue]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== Christianity ===
* St. [[John the Evangelist]] – according to the [[Golden Legend]], he is only sleeping in his grave at [[Ephesus]] until the coming of the [[Antichrist]], when he would be needed as a witness.<ref>[[Isidore of Seville]] – De ortu et obitu patrum (5th century)</ref><ref>[[Jacobus de Voragine]] – The Golden Legend</ref>{{dubious|At a first reading & text search, I cannot find such a legend at http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/goldenlegend-volume4.asp - pls. more accurate source!|date=August 2016}}

=== Islam ===
* [[Muhammad al-Mahdi|Muḥammad al-Mahdī]] ([[Shi'a Islam|Shīʿa]] motif, identified with the mysterious son of [[Hasan al-Askari|Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī]] but occasionally other important figures in Shīʿa history like [[At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim|al-Ṭayyib Abū al-Qāṣim]]), sometimes called The ''Qāʾim'') when identified with a historical figure as opposed to someone yet-to-come, the individual is endowed with unnaturally long lifespan and is said to be in occultation.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], whom Muslims believe to be in occultation, will return alongside the [[Mahdi]] to defeat the false Messiah, the [[Dajjal]]. Though Muslims believe Jesus will return to Earth, this is not a resurrection, as Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross. Rather, Muslims generally believe that Jesus [[entering Heaven alive|entered Heaven alive]], and that he will return to Earth before the End of Days. See also: [[Islamic view of Jesus' death]] and [[Occultation (Islam)]]

=== Druze ===

* [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh]] (either died or disappeared in 1021 AD at the age of 35), is believed by the [[Druze]] to return at the End of Time to rule from Egypt.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

=== Hinduism ===
* Viṣṇu is often depicted as asleep, woken up by the other gods asking for his help. His [[avatar]] [[Krishna]] informs [[Arjuna]] in the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' that he periodically returns to Earth to establish order and justice. The ''[[Mahabharata]]'' specifically claims that [[Vishnu]] will appear in his tenth avatar of [[Kalki]], yet to come, at the end of the [[Kali Yuga]] to rule as king.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

== Sleeping anti-hero and villain ==
Sometimes this type of story or archetype is also attached to not-so-heroic figures, who are either simple anti-heroes or fully villains, whose return would mean the end of the world, or whose sleep represents something positive. This kind of archetype is known as the "Chained Satan" archetype.<ref name="Mher in the Carved Rock">{{cite web|url=http://www.hums.canterbury.ac.nz/clas/ejms/out_of_print/JMSv1n2/JMSv1n2Boyle.pdf|title=School of Humanities and Creative Arts - University of Canterbury|website=The University of Canterbury|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-date=2 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602115916/http://www.hums.canterbury.ac.nz/clas/ejms/out_of_print/JMSv1n2/JMSv1n2Boyle.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Among examples of this are:
* The [[Sleeping Giant (Connecticut)|Sleeping Giant]] mountain in [[Connecticut]], United States was said by the local [[Quinnipiac]] people to be the demon Hobbomock, sealed by the [[Great Spirit]]. One day he will supposedly awaken and destroy the world.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Artavasdes I of Armenia]], who according to [[Moses of Chorene]] was chained and cursed to stay eternally chained by his father [[Artaxias I]].<ref name="Mher in the Carved Rock"/>
* [[Loki]] in [[Norse mythology]] was bound by the gods after he engineered the death of [[Baldr]]. With the onset of [[Ragnarök]], Loki is foretold to be set free and fight alongside the forces of the [[Jötunn|jötnar]] against the [[Norse gods|gods]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* [[Gog and Magog]] in Christianity and Islam
* [[Dukljan]] ([[Serbian mythology]]).{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Typhon]] and [[Enceladus (giant)|Enceladus]] in [[Mount Etna]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Tamamo-no-Mae]] ([[Sessho-seki]])
*[[Monkey King|Sun Wukong]] (''[[Journey to the West]]'')

== In popular culture ==
In the 2015 video game [[Undertale]], a song associated with the character [[Asgore]] plays named Bergentrückung.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcamjcoRmrQ |title=Undertale OST - Bergentrückung (Intro) + ASGORE Extended |date=2015-09-20 |last=Elu Tran [Archived] |access-date=2025-05-11 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Cthulhu]]
* [[The Chosen One (trope)]]
* [[Honi HaM'agel]]
* [[King Arthur's messianic return]]
* [[The Longing]]
* [[Seven Sleepers]]
* [[Sidhe]]
* [[Stasis (fiction)|Stasis]]
* [[Suspended animation]]
* [[Rip Van Winkle]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=henken>
{{citation|last=Henken |first=Elissa R. |title=National Redeemer: Owain Glyndŵr in Welsh Tradition |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpDJObx8lpMC&pg=PA83 |page=83|isbn=0801483492 }}
</ref>

<ref name=thompson>
{{citation|last=Thompson |first=Stith |title=The Folktale |publisher=University of California Press |year=1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIuLBDOUc80C&pg=PA85 |pages=264–265|isbn=9780520033597 }}
</ref>
}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{citation|last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |title=Has the Time Come?' (MLSIT 8009): The Barbarossa Legend in Ireland and Its Historical Background |journal=Béaloideas |volume=59 <!--The Fairy Hill Is on Fire! Proceedings of the Symposium on theSupernatural in Irish and Scottish Migratory Legends--> |year=1991 |pages=197–207 |doi=10.2307/20522387 |jstor=20522387 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEcsAQAAIAAJ&q=%221960.2%22|url-access=subscription }} {{JSTOR|20522387}}
* {{citation|last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |title=Migratory Legends in Medieval Irish Literature |journal=Béaloideas |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |author-mask=2 |issue=Finscealta Agus Litriocht: Paipeir a cuireadh I lathair ag an Siompoisiam Nordach-Ceiltech / Legends and Fiction: Papers Presented at the Nordic-Celtic Legend Symposium |year=1992–1993 |volume=60/61 |pages=57–74 |doi=10.2307/20522397 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_8hAQAAMAAJ&q=D%C3%B3nall |jstor=20522397|url-access=subscription }}
* {{citation|last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |author-mask=2 |title=The Importance of Folklore within the European Heritage: Some Remarks  |journal=Béaloideas |volume=68 |year=2000 |pages=67–98 |doi=10.2307/20522558 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxvaAAAAMAAJ |jstor=20522558|url-access=subscription }}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/sleep.html List of other sleeping hero legends]

{{DEFAULTSORT:King In The Mountain}}
[[Category:Legendary monarchs]]
[[Category:Medieval legends]]
[[Category:Comparative mythology]]
[[Category:King asleep in mountain| ]]
[[Category:Literary motifs]]
[[Category:Mythological archetypes]]