Mermaids Read online

  LONDON’S MERMAID TAVERN

  Founded in the fifteenth century, the famous Mermaid Tavern on London’s Bread Street was a favorite hangout for prominent Elizabethan gentlemen. A literary club met there in the early 1600s; members included such luminaries as Ben Jonson and Francis Beaumont. A painting by Faed called Shakespeare and His Contemporaries pictures the Bard at the Mermaid Tavern with his friends Sir Walter Raleigh, John Donne, Francis Bacon, and the Earl of Southampton.

  Selkie Stories

  Many selkie legends end tragically, such as The Secret of Roan Inish (a 1994 film directed by John Sayles, based on Rosalie K. Fry’s novel The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, discussed in Chapter 2). In the old Orkney Islands ballad, the “Great Silkie of Sule Skerry,” a selkie male has a child with a human woman. The selkie comes to claim his son, and in exchange gives the mother a purse full of gold. Before they depart, the selkie predicts a sad fate for himself and the child—for selkies are known to possess the gift of clairvoyance. He tells the woman that she’ll marry a gunner who will kill both her son and the selkie father.

  In a tale from the Shetland Islands, a seal hunter named Herman Perk becomes stranded during a storm. A selkie male rescues him after making Perk promise to return the selkie’s wife’s pelt, which had been stolen, so she can change back into a seal and rejoin him in the sea.

  Another story tells of a selkie’s revenge on the residents of the Kalsoy Island in the Faroes because the men killed her seal husband and children. The selkie swears to drown the people or cause them to fall from cliffs until so many have died that their ghosts could hold hands and encircle the island.

  SOULS OF THE DROWNED

  Some folklore tells us that the selkies developed from the souls of humans who drowned at sea—they’re magical and mystical beings.

  The Merrow

  Irish folklore describes a gentle and benevolent race of merfolk called the merrow. The word comes from the Gaelic murúch or muiroighe—muir means “sea” and oigh means “young woman.” Like mermaids from other cultures, merrows combine beautiful human torsos with fishy lower parts—at least when they live in the ocean. However, legend says these lovely beings—males as well as females—occasionally assume legs and come ashore for long periods of time. There they mingle with and marry human beings, even raise families. Despite their wondrous singing voices and webbed fingers, their loved ones and neighbors may not realize their true identities. In the end, though, merrow-folk long for their watery home and usually return to the sea.

  One peculiarity of the merrows is the cohuleen druith, a magical red hat that gives them the ability to live underwater. This special talisman serves a purpose similar to that of the selkie’s sealskin—for if a merrow loses her precious hat, she can’t return to her underwater world.

  Another unique quality of the merrow is her pleasant disposition—she seems to lack the tempestuous and sometimes malicious nature expressed by mermaids from other locales. Although lady merrows have been known to tempt human men into their aquatic realms, legend says those males lived happily ever after with their mermaid mates. They even became merfolk themselves and shared the merrows’ enchanted existence beneath the sea.

  “She sinks into her spell: and when full soon

  Her lips move and she soars into her song,

  what creatures of the midmost main shall throng

  In furrowed surf-clouds to the summoning rune:

  Till he, the fated mariner, hears her cry,

  And up her rock, bare-breasted,

  comes to die?”

  —Dante Gabriel Rossetti, A Sea-Spell

  MARRIED TO A MERMAID

  Irish sailors who drowned at sea were said to have “married a mermaid.”

  The Merry Maids of Cornwall

  Steeped in mythology and folklore, Cornwall lies at the center of England’s most beloved and enduring legend, that of King Arthur. Not surprisingly, plenty of mermaid stories and sightings also come from this seaside locale. Cornish mermaids—or “merry maids”—share many characteristics of mermaids elsewhere: great beauty, enchanting singing voices, and a penchant for luring mariners to watery graves.

  Reputedly, mermaids comb their hair and enchant Cornish fishermen at a place known as Mermaid’s Rock near Lamorna on Cornwall’s eastern tip. Legend says that if the mermaids are heard singing, a ship will sink nearby seven days later.

  Despite their name, the merry maids aren’t always cheerful. According to one Cornish story, an angry merry maid took revenge on the town of Padstow, transforming its waterway from a thriving port into a treacherous sandbar ominously known as Doom Bar. Once the seafarers’ helpful friend, the mermaid used to sit on a rock in the town’s cove and she guided large ships up the River Camel safely into the harbor. Then one day a sailor shot her—stories vary as to who killed her and why—and with her dying breath she cursed the town. Never again would ships sail into Padstow’s harbor, she swore.

  Soon a storm arose, destroying a number of craft in the area. In the river’s mouth the turbulent tides deposited a huge mass of sand on which ships foundered. The once navigable waters became so shallow that only small boats could make their way into Padstow, and over the centuries many ships wrecked on Doom Bar. The mermaid’s curse prevailed.

  DIVINE ANCESTRY

  Some Irish say that before human beings occupied the Emerald Isle, a race of semi-divine beings lived there. These deities may have resembled mermaids, and some Irish families believe they are descended from these mythical beings.

  The Mermaid of Zennor

  An old Cornish tale gives a different spin to the familiar idea of mermaids enchanting men with their songs. In this story, a strange, lovely, and well-dressed woman became enthralled with a handsome young Zennor man named Mathew Trewella, known throughout the village for his magnificent singing voice, and she came to hear him sing in church. Attracted by her beauty and mysterious nature, Mathew decided to get to know the woman. One Sunday after church, he followed her as she walked to the cliffs overlooking the sea—but he never returned.

  Years later, a ship’s captain weighed anchor near Zennor and soon a mermaid hailed him with her charming voice. She asked him to lift his anchor, for it lay on the roof of her underwater abode where she lived with Mathew Trewella. The mermaid, named Morveren, the daughter of the sea king Llyr, turned out to be the beautiful woman who’d come ashore to hear Mathew sing. Zennor’s fishermen still hear Mathew’s voice soaring on the waves. If he sings high, they say, the seas will be smooth, but it’ll be rough going if he sings low.

  WARNING TO THE FAITHFUL

  In a sixteenth-century church on the northern coast of Cornwall near St. Ives, the end panel of a wooden pew features a handsome carving of a typical mermaid. The bas relief figure, dubbed the Mermaid of Zennor, holds a mirror in one hand and a comb in the other. Is she a symbol of good luck to the local fishermen? Or, does she warn the faithful against sins of the flesh, like mermaid depictions in many medieval Christian churches?

  Wise and Winsome Wishes

  Like fairies, leprechauns, and genies, mermaids are said to have the ability to grant wishes and bring good luck to human beings. These wise and winsome creatures have been known to share the gift of knowledge with humans, to heal the sick, and to offer treasures of all kinds to people they favor. If you capture a mermaid, she may share a secret with you or give you a reward in exchange for her freedom. But magical merfolk can be tricksters, and their gifts often come with strings attached.

  According to Cornish myth, a fisherman named Lutey Cury rescues a beached mermaid and helps her back into the water. In return, she promises him three wishes. He asks her for the power to heal the sick, the power to defuse wicked spells, and to have these powers passed on to his children after his death. The mermaid grants his wishes, but then tries to drag Lutey into the sea with her. Knowing that iron is an amulet against the dangers of mermaids and other supernatural beings, he pulls out his knife and escapes.

  F
or nine years, Lutey uses his gifts for the good of the Cornish people. But at the end of that time, the mermaid returns to take Lutey back with her to her home beneath the sea. After his disappearance, Lutey’s children receive his powers according to his third wish. But Lutey’s good fortune comes at a high price. In return for the mermaid’s largess, every nine years the sea claims one of Lutey’s descendants.

  HARRY POTTER MEETS THE MERFOLK

  Merpeople attend the funeral of wizard Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth novel in J. K. Rowling’s popular series. Unlike the beautiful merfolk in most folklore, these beasts are things only a mother could love, with gray skin on their upper humanoid torsos and silver fishtails, green hair and beards, yellow eyes, and broken yellow teeth. When they speak, they screech instead of enchanting people with melodious songs—for ostensibly their language is intended to be heard underwater.

  The Blue Men of the Muir

  Although females dominate merfolk mythology, Scottish folklore includes a group of mermen known as the Blue Men of the Muir. Muir is the Gaelic word for “sea.” Named for their blue-gray color, these dangerous water spirits—like Alexander the Great’s mermaid sister Thessalonike (see Chapter 4)—approached mariners and asked them a question. If the seamen couldn’t answer it correctly, the mermen wrecked their ships and dragged the sailors down into the depths.

  The Blue Men were said to live in the Minch Channel, a body of water between the western islands of the Hebrides, off the coast of northern Scotland. Generations of sailors and fishermen have reported seeing these sea-colored merfolk riding the waves near the Shiant Islands. Shiant means “charmed” and the Blue Men are believed to be magical spirits who cause the turbulent tides there. Struth nan Fear Gorma, a body of water between the Shiant Islands and the Isle of Lewis, means “the Stream of the Blue Men.”

  Other Scottish legends tell of dark, dangerous merfolk who reside in the waters near the Orkney Islands. Known as the Finfolk, these mysterious and malevolent beings normally live under the sea in a place called Finfolkaheem, but swim or steal boats to come ashore. Looking for human captives, the Finfolk wait for unsupervised children who stray near the water and nab them—then they take their captives to Finfolkaheem and keep them there as slaves.

  GREEDY MERMEN

  Scottish legend says the Finfolk are fond of silver, especially silver jewelry. If you ever find yourself endangered by one of these creatures, toss three silver coins as far away from you as possible. The greedy beast will drop you and scurry after the money.

  Ladies of the Lakes

  Ireland and Britain’s mermaids not only swim through the salty seas, they also make their homes in freshwater. Some of these mystical maids are believed to have divine lineages. Others possess more sinister natures.

  One such malevolent mermaid appears in the Mermaids’ Pool below Kinder Downfall in Derbyshire each year on Easter’s Eve at the stroke of midnight. Legend says that if you lean over to gaze into the pool, you may see a vision of the future—or the mermaid may drag you down to your death. Another mermaid haunts Black Mere Pool near Leek in the North Staffordshire Moors, according to local folklore. A number people have drowned in this eerie spot, and in 1679 a serial killer dumped a female victim’s body in the pool. Perhaps that’s why the mermaid supposedly rises from the dark pool at midnight to reap vengeance by enticing unwitting male passersby to their deaths.

  Celtic goddesses often appear as triparted beings, representing the three phases of womanhood: maiden, mother, and crone. In her maiden form, the Irish lake goddess Aine is depicted as a mermaid, reputed to live at the bottom of Ireland’s Lough Gur. Legend says the Earl of Desmond captured her by stealing her magic cloak (a garment similar to the selkie’s sealskin), and they had a son together. After the child’s birth, the Earl granted Aine her freedom and she returned to the lake. Years later, their son joined her there.

  Every seven years, Lough Gur supposedly dries up. When this happens, you can see a sacred tree (perhaps the Celtic World Tree) growing in the bottom of the lake, where Aine in her crone-form lives and knits the cloth of life.

  THE MERMAID INN

  In the mid-nineteenth century a pub near Black Mere Pool capitalized on the legend and renamed itself the Mermaid Inn. It claims to be the highest-elevation restaurant in England, sited on a hill 1,640 feet above sea level.

  Water Fairies

  “This mysterious female gave Arthur his sword Excalibur . . . She may be a Celtic lake divinity in origin, perhaps of the same kind as the Gwagged Annwn—lake fairies in modern Welsh folklore.”

  —Ronan Coghlan, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends

  Welsh mythology says golden-haired maids known as Gwagged Annwn (a.k.a. morgans, water maidens, and ladies of the lake) live in underwater villages at the bottoms of certain magical lakes. Unlike conventional mermaids, these water fairies lack the usual fishy features—they appear completely human. These lovely creatures not only swim in the lakes of Wales, they can sometimes be seen walking weightlessly on the surface of the water or gliding along in golden boats.

  Just as mermaids and other sea deities do, the Gwagged Annwn sometimes mingle with people, coming on land to take human lovers. The fairies call the shots, however, and if their mates don’t adhere to the rules set by these beautiful water maids they disappear, back into their underwater homes.

  Another type of water fairy known as the asrai (also called Dancers on the Mist and scarille) hide underwater during the day—but at night they can sometimes be seen dancing on the surface of ponds and lakes. Some people say they resemble mist. If sunlight hits them, the asrai melt into the water and disappear.

  Like mermaids, their haunting beauty enchants men. Legends describe them as having pale, silvery skin and the bodies of comely young women that don’t deteriorate, even though the asrai can live to be hundreds of years old. But don’t get too close to these mysterious maids—their touch is like dry ice and it can burn your skin instantly. Usually believed to inhabit the lakes and rivers of Shropshire and Cheshire, England, the asrai have been known to show up in Scotland’s waters, too.

  MERMAID MUSES

  Merfolk have populated the Emerald Isle’s waters for millennia, serving as subjects for numerous Irish bards. They go by other Gaelic names as well, including Muir-gheilt, Samhghubha, Muidhuachán, and Suire. The Suire, a type of sea nymph, supposedly greeted the Milesians when they first landed in Ireland.

  Captured Mermaids

  Occasionally, someone manages to capture a mermaid. The Annals of Ulster and the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters (which chronicle Celtic history) list several accounts of mermaids who were caught in the years 558, 571, 887, and 1118. The 887 entry in Annals of the Four Masters is most unusual. It reported that a huge mermaid washed up on the Scottish coast—a pure white creature 195 feet long with hair 18 feet long and fingers 7 feet long!

  In 1810, three men claimed to have discovered two merchildren on the Isle of Man. One had died, but the other had a brown body about two feet long with a scaly purple tail and green hair. In Suffolk, during the twelfth century, locals trapped a merman and imprisoned him in Orford Castle for six months until he finally managed to escape.

  A popular Irish legend tells of a girl named Liban or Lioth Bean (meaning “beautiful woman”) whose family died in a flood. She survived by metamorphosing into a half-human, half-salmon mermaid and went to live in an underwater cave. Like other mermaids, she possessed an exquisite singing voice and the people of Ulster became so enamored of her that they decided to capture her. Even the local cleric couldn’t resist Liban’s charms—he insisted that she be buried with him in the same casket. To smooth over the awkward situation, the church canonized her as St. Murgen (meaning sea-born). She now serves as the spiritual guardian of Ulster.

  PIRATES AND MERMAIDS

  In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the notorious English pirate Blackbeard and his crew set
out to capture a mermaid in a place called Whitecap Bay, where mermaids are believed to thrive. Several seamen use themselves as “bait” to attract the sultry sirens—but the mermaids turn out to be more than a match for the sailors. A battle ensues and the sea maids sink the pirates’ ship. But some of the men manage to capture a sweet and beautiful young mermaid named Syrena. As mermaids sometimes do, she falls in love with one of the crew, a missionary named Philip Swift, and spirits him away to live with her in the sea.

  “The little sea-princesses . . . were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail.”

  —Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Mermaid”

  CHAPTER 6

  * * *

  European Mermaids

  EUROPE’S MERFOLK are as interesting and diverse as the people who populate this continent. Some, including Scandinavia’s handsome Havman and Warsaw’s benevolent protectress Warszawska Syrenka, are usually friendly toward humans. Others, such as Germany’s nix, display the merfolk’s darker side. The most famous of all—and perhaps the most beloved today—hails from Denmark: Hans Christian Andersen’s little mermaid.

  The Story of the Little Mermaid

  Our modern-day fascination with mermaids stems, in large part, from Disney’s movie version of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid.” Released in 1989, the film won two Oscars and two Golden Globe awards, and has become one of the most celebrated animated movies of all time.