Mermaids: in the German tale of Undine, a man marries a woman from the sea, but eventually wearies of being taunted over it by other men of the land. He tells his water-wife to return to her own element, but the spirits of the flood are offended and decide on his destruction, and send Undine back to the earth to go into her faithless husband's house and, once back in his bed, kiss him to death.

The mermaid in German is Meerfrau or Meriminni; in Danish the Siren is Maremind; in France, she is Melusina; in Icelandic and Old Norse, Marmennill; in Breton, Marie-Morgan; and in Ireland, she is the Merrow and changes to a true woman by virtue of her enchanted cap or cohuleen druith. Steal the cohuleen druith and the merrow becomes a woman and also the wife of the thief, but if she gets hold of her old cap again she will return to the sea.

In the Norse 'Saga of Half', there's an account of a merman captured and briefly held captive on land, who sings this plaint to the sea:

Cold water to the eyes! / Flesh raw to the teeth!

A shroud to the dead! / Flit me back to the sea!

Henceforth never / men in ships sailing

Draw me to dry land / from the depths of the sea!

In 1187, a merman was fished up off the coast of Suffolk, held captive for a while and then lost back to the sea; it looked like a man, but never spoke.

From the Speculum Regale, 12^th-century Iceland: "A monster is seen also near Greenland, which people call the Margygr. This creature appears like a woman as far down as her waist, with breast and bosom like a woman, long hands, and soft hair, the neck and head in all respects like those of a human being. The hands seem to people to be long, and the fingers not to be parted, but united by a web like that on the feet of water-birds. From the waist downwards, this monster resembles a fish, with scales, tail and fins. This prodigy is believed to show itself especially before heavy storms. The habit of this creature is to dive frequently and rise again to the surface with fishes in its hands. When sailors see it playing with the fish, or throwing them towards the ship, they fear that they are doomed to lose several of the crew; but when it casts the fish, or, turning from the vessel, flings them away from her, then the sailors take it as a good omen that they will not suffer loss in the impending storm. This monster has a very horrible face, with broad brow and piercing eyes, a wide mouth, and double chin."

The Landnama or Icelandic Doomsday Book speaks of a merman being caught off the isle of Grimsey. Icelandic annals also record the appearance of mermaids off the coast in 1305 and 1329.

From Pontoppidan's Natural History of Norway: "About a mile from the coast of Denmark, near Landscrona, three sailors, observing something like a dead body floating in the water, rowed towards it. When they came within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as at first, for it had not stirred; but at that instant it sank, and came up almost immediately in the same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let the boat float, that they might the better examine the monster, which, by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned his face and stared at them, which gave them a good opportunity of examining him narrowly. He stood in the same place for seven or eight minutes, and was seen above the water breast-high. At last they grew apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire; at which the monster blew up his cheeks and made a kind of lowing noise, and then dived from their view. In regard to his form, they declare in their affidavits, which were regularly taken and recorded, that he appeared like an old man, strong limbed, with broad shoulders, but his arms they could not see. His head was small in proportion to his body, and had short, curled black hair, which did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his head, and he had a meagre face, with a black beard; about the body downwards, this merman was quite pointed like a fish."

In 1430, a tempest and flood in Holland stranded a mermaid, which some local girls adopted. This happened in the town of Edam in West Friesland.

In 1531, a mermaid was captured in the Baltic sea and sent as a gift to King Sigismund of Poland; it lived in his court three days and was seen by everyone there.

A merman was also caught near Rocca de Sintra, as related by Damian Goes.

In 1560, near the island of Mandar west of Ceylon, some fisherman netted seven merman and mermaids. This was witnessed by several Jesuits, along with Father Henriques, and one Bosquez who was the physician to the Viceroy of Goa. The latter examined and dissected the creatures, and said their internal structures were like those of human beings.

"See-wyf. A monster resembling a Siren, caught near the island of Borne, or Boeren, in the Department of Amboine. It was 59 inches long, and in proportion as an eel. It lived on land, in a vat full of water, during four days seven hours. From time to time it uttered little cries like those of a mouse. It would not eat, though it was offered small fish, shells, crabs, lobsters, &c. After its death, some excrement was discovered in the vat, like the secretion of a cat." From a natural history of sea creatures, published in 1717 by Blathazar Coyett (Governor of the islands of the province of Amboine) and Adrien Van der Stell (governor regent of the province of Amboine). Vol 2, p 240. A plate shows the mermaid in color, its body olive-tinted and its hair the color of kelp; its fingers are four-jointed and there is a fringe around its waist which was orange, with a blue border. It had a slate-grey face and green fins, and a delicate row of pink hairs running the length of its tail.

Source: S. Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (1967)

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Posted August 27th, 2005.