that lake there is what appears to be a little floating island; for it
floats about in the lake, here and there approaching the shore sometimes
so near that one may step out upon it; and this occurs most frequently
on Sundays. And such is the property of this islet that if one who is
ill steps out upon it and partakes of the herbs that grow there, he is
healed at once, no matter what his ailment may be. Another singular fact
is this, that never more than one can come upon it at one time, though
many may wish to do so; for as soon as one has landed, the island
immediately floats away. It also has this peculiarity that it floats
constantly about in the lake for seven winters; but as soon as the
seventh winter is past, it floats to the shore somewhere and unites with
the other land, as if it had always been joined to it. But when that
moment has come, a crash like a peal of thunder is heard, and, when the
din is past, another island can be seen in the lake of the same size and
character as the earlier one. Thus it happens regularly every seventh
year that, as soon as the one island has joined the mainland, another
appears, though no one knows whence it comes.[186]
Footnote 186:
See _Ériu_, IV, 6. Kuno Meyer knows of no such story in Irish
folklore, but refers to similar tales told of floating islands in
Wales and Scotland.
There is another little island in that country, which the natives call
Inhisgluer.[187] There is a large village on this island and also a
church; for the population is about large enough for a parish. But when
people die there, they are not buried in the earth but are set up around
the church along the churchyard fence, and there they stand like living
men with their limbs all shriveled but their hair and nails unmarred.
They never decay and birds never light on them. And every one who is
living is able to recognize his father or grandfather and all the
successive ancestors from whom he has descended.
Footnote 187:
Inhisgluair, now Inishglory, is on the west coast of Ireland in county
Mayo. Giraldus mentions the legend but assigns it to a different
locality; see _Opera_, V, 83 and note. The _Irish Nennius_ (193) adds
that the nails and hair grow and that unsalted meat does not decay on
the island. The island is also referred to in the _Reliquiae
Antiquae_, II, 103.
There is still another quite extensive lake that is called Logri.[188]
In that lake is an islet inhabited by men who live a celibate life and
may be called, as one likes, either monks or hermits; they live there in
such numbers that they fill the island, though at times they are fewer.
It is said concerning this isle that it is healthful and quite free from
diseases, so that people grow aged more slowly there than elsewhere in
the land. But when one does grow very old and sickly and can see the end
of the days allotted by the Lord, he has to be carried to some place on
the mainland to die; for no one can die of disease on the island. One
may sicken and suffer there, but his spirit cannot depart from the body
before he has been removed from the island.
Footnote 188:
Giraldus refers briefly to this legend. _Opera_, V, 81. The editor of
Giraldus’ writings adds in a note (_ibid._): “the isle of the living
was three miles from Roscrea, parish of Cobally, in a lake called Loch
Cré, now dried up.” Roscrea is near the north edge of Munster not far
from the Slieve Bloom mountains. See also the _Irish Nennius_, 217.
Meyer identifies Logri with Loch Ree in west central Ireland. _Ériu_,
IV, 7.
There is another large lake which the natives call Logherne.[189] In
this lake there is a great abundance of fish of the sort that we call
salmon; and the fish is sent into all the country about in such
quantities that all have plenty for table use. In this lake there are
also many islands, one of which is called Kertinagh by the natives. This
island might very well be inhabited, as far as size is concerned, if men
dared occupy it. But it is reported about this island that the powers of
evil have as great authority over one-half of it as they have in hell
itself. Venturesome men who have tried to settle there have said that
they suffered as great trouble and torment as souls are believed to
suffer in hell. But on the other half of the island there is a church
with a churchyard about it. Both halves are now deserted, however,
though we are told that over the half where the church is the demons
have no power.[190]
Footnote 189:
Probably Lough Erne, though Loch Uair, now Lough Owel, in Westmeath
has also been suggested.
Footnote 190:
Giraldus calls this island the Purgatory of Saint Patrick; but this
famous place was “on an island in Lough Derg, in county Donegal.”
_Opera_, V, 82-83 and note. It seems likely, however, that two
different legends have been confused in the Welshman’s account.
It once happened in that country (and this seems indeed strange) that a
living creature was caught in the forest as to which no one could say
definitely whether it was a man or some other animal; for no one could
get a word from it or be sure that it understood human speech. It had
the human shape, however, in every detail, both as to hands and face and
feet; but the entire body was covered with hair as the beasts are, and
down the back it had a long coarse mane like that of a horse, which fell
to both sides and trailed along the ground when the creature stooped in
walking. I believe I have now recounted most of the marvels that have
their origin in the nature of the land itself, so far as we seem to have
sure knowledge concerning them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XI
IRISH MARVELS WHICH HAVE MIRACULOUS ORIGINS
_Son._ I consider it fortunate that I had some curiosity to know about
these matters, for there are no doubt many so ill-informed that they
have never heard about such things. Most men who may hear these accounts
are likely to find them marvelous, though also somewhat informing. But
since I gather from your remarks that there may be certain other things
that are wonderful and seem worth discussing, either native to the land
or having some other origin, I wish to request that nothing be omitted
which you consider worth mentioning, now that we have taken up these
subjects.
_Father._ There still remain certain things that may be thought
marvelous; these, however, are not native to the land but have
originated in the miraculous powers of holy men, and we know of a truth
that these do exist. Certain things are told, too, of which we cannot be
sure whether they are credible or merely the talk of men, though they
are common rumor in that country; but what follows we know to be true
beyond a doubt.
In that same lake that I mentioned earlier which is called Logri, lies a
little island named Inisclodran. Once there was a holy man named
Diermicius who had a church on the isle near which he lived. Into this
church and churchyard of which he is the patron no female creature is
allowed to enter. All beasts are aware of this, for both birds and other
animals which are without human reason avoid it as carefully as humans
do. And no creature of the female sex ever ventures into that
churchyard, nor could it enter if it tried.[191]
Footnote 191:
The holy island which is shunned by all females is mentioned by
Giraldus (_Opera_, V, 80-81), but he fails to give the name of either
the lake or the island. In the “Wonders of Ireland” (_Irish Nennius_,
217) this island is also the one on which no one is permitted to die.
A similar legend is alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 107. Meyer
believes that “the Norse version offers a combination or confusion of
two different Irish stories, one relating to Diarmait’s churchyard in
Inis Clothrann, and the other relating to an island on Loch Cré.”
_Ériu_, IV, 9.
Once there was a holy man in that country named Kevinus, who lived in a
place called Glumelaga.[192] At the time he lived almost as a hermit,
and the event which we shall now relate occurred in his day. It so
befell that a young man was living with him, a kinsman of his who was
his servant, and the saint loved the youth very much. But the lad fell
ill before his eyes, and the malady grew so heavy and severe that death
seemed imminent. It was in the spring time, in the month of March, when
the man’s illness was at the worst. Then it happened that the youth
asked his kinsman Kevinus to give him an apple, saying that he would
find relief from his illness if he got what he asked for. It seemed
unlikely, however, that apples could be gotten in that season, as the
buds had only just begun to swell and sprout forth leaves on the fruit
trees. But because the holy Kevinus grieved sorely over the illness of
his kinsman, and also because he was unable to procure what he had
requested, he knelt down in prayer and implored God to send him somewhat
of those things, so that his kinsman might find the relief that he
yearned for. Having risen from prayer, he stepped outside and looked
around. Near the house stood a willow of large growth. Kevinus looked up
among the branches of the willow as if expecting to find help and
comfort there; then he saw that apples had grown upon the willow, just
as there would be on an apple tree in the proper season. He picked three
apples and gave them to the youth, and after the lad had eaten of these,
his illness began to leave him and he was cured of the malady. But the
willow has ever since continued to keep the gift that God gave it on
that occasion, for every year it bears apples like an apple tree; and
since that day these have always been called Saint Kevinus’ apples.[193]
They have been carried into all parts of Ireland in order that those who
are ill may partake of them; and they seem to have virtue in all human
ailments, for those who eat of them appear to get relief. But they are
not sweet in taste and would not be wanted if men did not prize them for
their healing properties. Many wonderful things have come to pass in
Ireland which certain highly endowed saints have brought about in an
instant; and these, too, must seem very marvelous. Thus far, however, we
have spoken only of such things as have been achieved through a holiness
so great that they remain as a testimony to this day and seem as
wonderful now as on the day when they first occurred. But those other
matters that men regard as surely genuine and speak of as actual facts
we may now proceed to point out.
Footnote 192:
Glendalough. St. Kevin was the founder of the great abbey of
Glendalough. The year of his death is variously given as 617 and 618.
Footnote 193:
For a less detailed account of Saint Kevin and the wonderful willow,
see Giraldus, _Opera_, V, 113. Cf. _Ériu_, IV, 9.
In that country there is also a place called Themar,[194] which in olden
times was apparently a capital or royal borough; now, however, it is
deserted, for no one dares to dwell there. It was this event that caused
the place to be abandoned: all the people in the land believed that the
king who resided at Themar would always render just decisions and never
do otherwise; although they were heathen in other respects and did not
have the true faith concerning God, they held firmly to their belief
that every case would be decided properly if that king passed upon it;
and never, they thought, could an unrighteous decision come from his
throne. On what seems to have been the highest point of the borough, the
king had a handsome and well built castle in which was a large and
beautiful hall, where he was accustomed to sit in judgment. But once it
happened that certain lawsuits came before the king for decision in
which his friends and acquaintances were interested on the one side, and
he was anxious to support their contentions in every way. But those who
were interested in the suits on the other side were hostile toward him,
and he was their enemy. So the outcome was that the king shaped his
decision more according to his own wish than to justice. But because an
unrighteous judgment had come whence all people expected just decisions
and because of this popular belief, the judgment seat was overturned and
the hall and the castle likewise, even to their very foundations. The
site, too, was overturned, so that those parts of the earth which had
formerly pointed downward were now turned upward; and all the houses and
halls were turned down into the earth and thus it has been ever since.
But because such a great miracle happened there, no one has since dared
to inhabit the place, nor has any king ventured to set up his throne
there; and yet, it is the loveliest place known in all that country. It
is also thought that if men should attempt to rebuild the town, not a
single day would pass without the appearance of some new marvel.
Footnote 194:
Themar was the ancient royal seat Temhair, now Tara. It seems to be
alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105. Cf. _Ériu_, IV, 10.
There is still another wonder in that country which must seem quite
incredible; nevertheless, those who dwell in the land affirm the truth
of it and ascribe it to the anger of a holy man. It is told that when
the holy Patricius[195] preached Christianity in that country, there was
one clan which opposed him more stubbornly than any other people in the
land; and these people strove to do insult in many ways both to God and
to the holy man. And when he was preaching the faith to them as to
others and came to confer with them where they held their assemblies,
they adopted the plan of howling at him like wolves. When he saw that he
could do very little to promote his mission among these people, he grew
very wroth and prayed God to send some form of affliction upon them to
be shared by their posterity as a constant reminder of their
disobedience. Later these clansmen did suffer a fitting and severe
though very marvelous punishment, for it is told that all the members of
that clan are changed into wolves for a period and roam through the
woods feeding upon the same food as wolves; but they are worse than
wolves, for in all their wiles they have the wit of men, though they are
as eager to devour men as to destroy other creatures. It is reported
that to some this affliction comes every seventh winter, while in the
intervening years they are men; others suffer it continuously for seven
winters all told and are never stricken again.[196]
Footnote 195:
Saint Patrick.
Footnote 196:
See the poem on the “Wonders of Ireland” (_Reliquiae Antiquae_, II,
105), where this transformation is alluded to. Stories of men who have
become wolves are also told in Giraldus, _Opera_, V, 101, and in the
_Irish Nennius_, 205; but these differ widely from the account given
above. Stories of werewolves and lycanthropy are found in folklore
everywhere.
There is still another matter, that about the men who are called
“gelts,”[197] which must seem wonderful. Men appear to become gelts in
this way: when hostile forces meet and are drawn up in two lines and
both set up a terrifying battle-cry, it happens that timid and youthful
men who have never been in the host before are sometimes seized with
such fear and terror that they lose their wits and run away from the
rest into the forest, where they seek food like beasts and shun the
meeting of men like wild animals. It is also told that if these people
live in the woods for twenty winters in this way, feathers will grow
upon their bodies as on birds; these serve to protect them from frost
and cold, but they have no large feathers to use in flight as birds
have. But so great is their fleetness said to be that it is not possible
for other men or even for greyhounds to come near them; for those men
can dash up into a tree almost as swiftly as apes or squirrels.
Footnote 197:
Gelt (_gjalti_) is evidently a Celtic loanword, a form of the Irish
_geilt_, meaning mad or madman. Cf. the _Adventures of Suibhne Geilt_,
translated by J. G. O’Keefe. Suibhne was an Irish king who lost his
reason in battle and for years afterwards led a wild life in the
woods. O’Keefe thinks that the author of the _King’s Mirror_ must have
heard the tale of Suibhne (pp. xxxiv-xxxv). See also _Ériu_, IV, 12.
There happened something once in the borough called Cloena,[198] which
will also seem marvelous. In this town there is a church dedicated to
the memory of a saint named Kiranus.[199] One Sunday while the populace
was at church hearing mass, it befell that an anchor was dropped from
the sky as if thrown from a ship; for a rope was attached to it, and one
of the flukes of the anchor got caught in the arch above the church
door. The people all rushed out of the church and marveled much as their
eyes followed the rope upward. They saw a ship with men on board
floating before the anchor cable; and soon they saw a man leap overboard
and dive down to the anchor as if to release it. The movements of his
hands and feet and all his actions appeared like those of a man swimming
in the water. When he came down to the anchor, he tried to loosen it,
but the people immediately rushed up and attempted to seize him. In this
church where the anchor was caught, there is a bishop’s throne. The
bishop was present when this occurred and forbade his people to hold the
man; for, said he, it might prove fatal as when one is held under water.
As soon as the man was released, he hurried back up to the ship; and
when he was up the crew cut the rope and the ship sailed away out of
sight. But the anchor has remained in the church since then as a
testimony to this event.[200]
Footnote 198:
Kuno Meyer identifies Cloena with Clonmacnois. _Ériu_, IV, 12.
Clonmacnois is in King’s county eight miles southwest of Athlone.
Footnote 199:
St. Ciaran (Kiranus) of Clonmacnois was the founder of a great
monastery there. The year of his death is given as 547.
Footnote 200:
In the _Irish Nennius_ (211-213) the following version of this tale
appears. “Congalach, son of Maelmithig, was at the fair of Teltown on
a certain day, when he saw a ship (sailing) along in the air. One of
the crew cast a dart at a salmon. The dart fell down in the presence
of the gathering, and a man came out of the ship after it. When he
seized its end from above, a man from below seized it from below. Upon
which the man from above said: ‘I am being drowned,’ said he. ‘Let him
go,’ said Congalach; and he is allowed to go up, and then he goes from
them swimming.” The translation is by Kuno Meyer: _Ériu_, IV, 13.
Congalach was an Irish king (944-956); Teltown is in county Meath. The
legend is alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105, with some
difference in details.
I believe we have now mentioned all the features of this country that
are most worth discussing. But there is one other matter that I can tell
about, if you wish, for the sport or amusement of it. Long time ago a
clownish fellow lived in that country; he was a Christian, however, and
his name was Klefsan.[201] It is told of this one that there never was a
man who, when he saw Klefsan, was not compelled to laugh at his amusing
and absurd remarks. Even though a man was heavy at heart, he could not
restrain his laughter, we are told, when he heard that man talk. But
Klefsan fell ill and died and was buried in the churchyard like other
men. He lay long in the earth until the flesh had decayed from his
bones, and his bones, too, were largely crumbled. Then it came to pass
that other corpses were buried in the same churchyard, and graves were
dug so near the place where Klefsan lay that his skull was unearthed,
and it was whole. They set it up on a high rock in the churchyard, where
it has remained ever since. But whoever comes to that place and sees
that skull and looks into the opening where the mouth and tongue once
were immediately begins to laugh, even though he were in a sorrowful
mood before he caught sight of that skull. Thus his dead bones make
almost as many people laugh as he himself did when alive. Now I know of
no further facts about that country which appear to be suitable
materials with which to lengthen a talk like this.
Footnote 201:
A somewhat different version of this tale is found in the poem on the
“Wonders of Ireland” (_Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105). See also _Ériu_,
IV, 14.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XII
THE MARVELS OF THE ICELANDIC SEAS:
WHALES; THE KRAKEN
_Son._ Now since we have discussed everything in Ireland that may be
counted marvelous, let us have a talk about Iceland and the wonders that
are found in the Icelandic seas.
_Father._ Aside from the whales in the ocean, there are, I should say,
but few things in the Icelandic waters which are worth mentioning or
discussing. The whales vary much both in kind and size. Those that are
called blubber-cutters—and they are the most numerous—grow to a length
of twenty ells;[202] a great many of them are, however, so small that
they measure only ten ells; the rest are in between, each having its own
size. These fishes have neither teeth nor whalebone, nor are they
dangerous either to ships or men, but are rather disposed to avoid the
fishermen. Nevertheless, they are constantly being caught and driven to
land by the hundreds, and where many are caught, they provide much food
for men.[203] There are also other varieties of small whales, such as
the porpoise, which is never longer than five ells, and the caaing
whale, which has a length of seven ells only.
Footnote 202:
An ell was approximately eighteen inches.
Footnote 203:
Whale fishing is an ancient industry in Norway; it is mentioned as
early as the ninth century in the writings of Alfred the Great. See
Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, I, 172.
There is another kind of whales called the grampus, which grow no longer
than twelve ells and have teeth in proportion to their size very much as
dogs have. They are also ravenous for other whales just as dogs are for
other beasts. They gather in flocks and attack large whales, and, when a
large one is caught alone, they worry and bite it till it succumbs. It
is likely, however, that this one, while defending itself with mighty
blows, kills a large number of them before it perishes.
There are two other varieties, the beaked whale and the “hog whale,” the
largest of which are not more than twenty-five ells in length. These are
not fit to be eaten, for the fat that is drawn from them cannot be
digested either by man or by any beast that may partake of it. For it
runs through them and even through wood; and after it has stood a while,
scarcely any vessel can contain it, even if made of horn. There are
certain other types which are worth a passing mention only, namely the
“raven whale” and the white whale.[204] The white whales are so named
because of their snow white color, while most other varieties are black,
except that some of them have spots, such as the “shield whale,” the
“spear whale,” and the baleen whale. All these kinds that I have just
mentioned may be freely eaten and many other kinds too.
Footnote 204:
Probably the beluga, also called white whale. The other varieties
named in this paragraph, excepting the beaked whale and the baleen
whale seem not to have been identified with any known types of whales.
It has been suggested that some of them may have been sharks. See
Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 243.
There is another sort of whales called the “fish driver,”[205] which is
perhaps the most useful of all to men; for it drives the herring and all
other kinds of fish in toward the land from the ocean outside, as if
appointed and sent by the Lord for this purpose. This is its duty and
office as long as the fishermen keep the peace on the fishing grounds.
Its nature is also peculiar in this, that it seemingly knows how to
spare both ships and men. But when the fishermen fall to quarreling and
fighting, so that blood is spilt, this whale seems able to perceive it;
for it moves in between the land and the fish and chases the shoals back
into the ocean, just as it earlier had driven them in toward the men.
These whales are not more than thirty ells in length, or forty at the
very largest. They would provide good food, if men were allowed to hunt
them, but no one is permitted to catch or harm them, since they are of
such great and constant service to men.
Footnote 205:
The editor of the Sorö edition identifies this with the nor-caper
(_Balæna glacialis_), though he thinks it possible that the fin-fish
(_Balænoptera laticeps_) may be meant (p. 125).
Another kind is called the sperm whale. These are toothed whales, though
the teeth are barely large enough to be carved into fair-sized knife
handles or chess men. They are neither fierce nor savage, but rather of
a gentle nature, and so far as possible they avoid the fishermen. In
size they are about like those that I mentioned last. Their teeth are so
numerous that more than seventy can be found in the head of a single
whale of this sort.
Still another species is called the right whale;[206] this has no fins
along the spine and is about as large as the sort that we mentioned
last. Sea-faring men fear it very much, for it is by nature disposed to
sport with ships.
Footnote 206:
_Balæna mysticetus_; also called bowhead or Greenland whale.
There is another kind called the Greenland shark,[207] which is peculiar
in this, that it has caul and fat in the abdomen like cattle. The
largest of these whales grow to a length of thirty ells at most.