Mythology of Dufflepuds

[fantasia]

I always thought Lewis made up the race of Dufflepuds. Except I ran across this gem while I was doing a homeschool history lesson with my kiddos.



So does anybody know anything about the history/mythology of the dufflepuds?

[Stylteralmaldo]

Apparently the origins go back to Ancient Greece with Aristophanes play The Birds way back in 414 BC. Pliny the Elder (23ad - 79ad) describes them:

He [Ctesias] speaks also of another race of men, who are known as Monocoli, who have only one leg, but are able to leap with surprising agility. The same people are also called Sciapodae, because they are in the habit of lying on their backs, during the time of the extreme heat, and protect themselves from the sun by the shade of their feet.

Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopod_(creature)

[Cleander]

There was also an island off the coast of Ireland reputed to be inhabited by one-legged, one-armed men. They were eventually wiped out by some adventuring mythological hero.