The sea was a dangerous place in the Middle Ages. Whilst sea trade was essential for the economy of the island kingdoms of the British Isles, life at sea was far from a safe occupation. Storms could smash even the most robust medieval ship to pieces in the right circumstances. But, for the more superstitious, long sea voyages ran the risk for encountering monstrous leviathans and perilous supernatural creatures.
Medieval folklore held that a wide variety of fantastic creatures were potentially lurking in the depths of the ocean. Many, at the time, were unsure as to whether sea serpents, krakens and mermaids were mythical or simply rarely seen marvels of the ocean. The medieval Mappa Mundi displays illustrations of mermaids alongside fish – exotic perhaps, but also perhaps real.
Ocean Leviathans
Stories of gigantic ocean dwelling monsters date all the way back to antiquity. The biblical story of Jonah literally tells of how a man is swallowed by such a leviathan. Miraculously, he survives within its belly for three days and three nights.
Strabo, writing in Roman times, tells us of a great sea beast, whose carcass was washed ashore on the northern Levant, sometime between 130 and 51 BC. The creature is described as around 100ft in length, dragon like, covered in horny scales and with jaws large enough to swallow a man on horseback.
Isidore of Seville wrote his famous work Etymology in the early seventh century. It became a very popular reference source during the medieval period in a genre that was referred to as a ‘bestiary’ (which might best be described as an encyclopaedia of animals and mythical beasts). Isidore provides his readers with an entry for ‘sea-monsters’ (as distinct from whales). He uses the Latin term ‘bellua’ to identify them and asserts that these ocean-going monsters are so vast that they have bodies the size of mountains. Interestingly, Isidore’s entry for his bellua sits between the entry for whales and seahorses; he seems to have regarded them as every bit as real as these other marine animals.
Sea Serpents
Sea serpents appear as illustrations on medieval maps and manuscripts. Some illustrations show them spouting water like a whale. This raises the distinct possibility that occasional sightings of whales may have been mistaken for sea serpents.
Perhaps the most fearsome sea serpent of all is the mythical Midgard serpent. This creature was well known in Norse mythology of the early medieval period. This creature was supposed to have been the monstrous offspring of Loki and the ogress Angrboda. The gods cast it into the outer seas where it grew so large that it encircled the entire world. According to Norse mythology, this horror will arise from the deep at Ragnarök to do battle with Thor.
Of course, there are no gigantic sea serpents known in nature. There are large snake-like creatures in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters but none of these are technically serpents. The European conger eel can grow to a length of about 10ft; that’s big, but hardly colossal. Another candidate is an oarfish, a slender snake-like fish that can grow as large as 56ft.
The largest known actual sea serpents (Palaeophis) were pre-historic. These creatures lived around 35 million years ago and grew to a maximum length of around 30ft (which is around the size of a large Anaconda).
The Kraken
Another ocean-going monster is the Kraken. The beast is typically thought of in our day as a colossal squid-like monster, capable of crushing a ship in its tentacles.
This creature comes from Scandinavian folklore and was first described by an Italian writer as a sciu-crak in 1700. At the time, stories of this beast were in circulation within the oral traditions of Scandinavian sailors. But we might ask, how far back do such traditions go? Do they extend back to medieval times, or are they more recent?
Finding earlier medieval references to what was, by 1700, an established theme within Scandinavian folklore, is problematic. However, it has been suggested that an ocean-going animal named as a hafgufa in a thirteenth century Icelandic work (the King’s Mirror) might be such a reference.
The creature described in the King’s Mirror is indeed gigantic. So gigantic in fact that it can be mistaken for an island. When the beast submerges, we are informed that its huge size creates a whirlpool so vast that it could suck unwary sailors to their doom in the ocean depths.
Of course, we now know that there are indeed giant squids living deep in the ocean. The largest specimen yet recorded was 43ft in length. However, some scientists believe that the species can potentially grow up to 66ft long.
Sea Demons
Early medieval Irish mythology speaks of a foul race of sea demons known as the Fomorians. These creatures were depicted as enemies of the early Irish. In one tale their appearance is described as so foul and warped by the harsh environment of the seas that it was impossible to put into words.
In the Irish tale of the destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, these creatures are accounted so fierce that three of them were thought capable to ripping 600 warriors to shreds with their claws and teeth.
These fierce sea demons became associated with sea raiders in later times. Some have suggested that such tales may recall the brutal age of Viking raids that plagued the Irish coast during the ninth and tenth centuries.
Mermaids
Mermaids feature very prominently, both on medieval maps and manuscript illustrations. The concept of the creatures we recognise as mermaids took shape over the course of the Middle Ages. However, the term ‘mermaid’ itself was does not appear to have been used until the late Middle Ages (although images of mermaids predate this).
The mermaid borrowed much from classical antiquity. Greek and Roman mythology incorporated sea nymphs, supernatural female creatures much like mermaids but which lacked fish tails. They also spoke of sirens – harpy like creatures that dwelt on the rocky coast of Sicily and lured sailors to their deaths with their mesmerizing cries. However, the classic image of a mermaid comes from an eastern pagan goddess, Atargatis, who the Greeks associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Atargatis is a sea goddess, amongst other things, and is often depicted as having a fish tail.
The mermaid came to be seen as a kind of fay creature of the oceans. She was not evil per se, but she was usually depicted as alluring, capricious and dangerous. Love between a mortal and a mermaid was likely to be a doomed affair. She could, however, be helpful to her human friends, warning them of storms or helping them find good fishing grounds.
Mermaids in Churches
Images of mermaids appear in many churches across Europe. It is perhaps a little surprising given the fact that they clearly have non-Christian origins. However, during the Middle Ages, their images were co-opted to convey Christian symbolism.
So, if you see a medieval image of a mermaid with a mirror and comb, she is displaying the sin of pride. If she has a musical instrument, she is displaying the sin of lust. And a mermaid with a fish in her hand is clearly in the grip of sin. These were therefore seen as perilous creatures, strongly associated with tempting mankind to sinfulness.
Zennor Church in Cornwall is well known for a bench depicting a mermaid displaying the classic medieval symbolism for pridefulness. Local folklore speaks of a man who became besotted with a mermaid and disappeared with her, never to be seen again. Presumably she seduced him away with her to her home beneath the waves.
Whether this old folktale is medieval or, alternatively, a more recent tale inspired by the bench itself, we cannot say for sure.
The Selkie
A variation on the theme of mermaids is the selkie of Scottish mythology. These creatures took the form of seals whilst swimming in the ocean. However, they possessed the power to shapeshift into human form by shedding their skin. This transformation could only occur when the moon was full or at Midsummer. At such times the selkie could take on a human shape and come ashore.
Like the sirens of classical mythology these creatures were said to have captivating singing voice. They are generally portrayed as friendly to mankind. However, like the mermaids, they could be capricious. Any love between a human and a selkie was likely to be doomed for the simple reason that the selkie would eventually return to the sea and leave their lover behind.
The earliest reference to these creatures appears in an Icelandic saga, the Orkneyinga Saga, written in the thirteenth century. These creatures therefore had a Scandinavian connection and found their way into Scottish and Irish folklore from the Scandinavian peoples who settled along the coast. The thirteenth century saga specifically deals with Orkney and the Shetlands. These Scottish islands (then Norwegian) therefore provide the earliest attestation for this mythical creature.
The Carta Mariner
As the Middle Ages gave way to the early modern period, Europeans began to set forth to explore the world’s oceans. Christopher Columbus was amongst the early pioneers in 1492. This would lead to a growth in stories of sightings of sea monsters, mostly identified (or misidentified) drawing on earlier medieval maritime myths.
The Scandinavian cartographer, Olaus Magnus, created the Carta Marina between 1527 and 1539. It was a map that became famous for the colourful variety of maritime creatures and sea monsters it depicted in the Scandinavian waters. All of these drew heavily on older medieval ideas concerning the nature of ocean-going leviathans such as Isidore of Saville’s bellua.
Of course, as mankind explored more of the oceans, the old tales of sea monsters and mermaids were gradually supplanted by a more scientific understanding of marine life. The leviathans of medieval myth may not all have been real but our seas are, as it turns out, populated by many natural marvels that are just as extraordinary.
Myths and Legends of the Medieval World
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Other recent stories covering medieval myths and folklore
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Medieval Summer Folk Traditions
Saint George in Medieval England
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References and Further Reading
Fantastic Creatures in Mythology and Folklore, J Wood, Bloomsbury, 2018
Medieval Folklore, Lindahl, McNamara & Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2002
Smithsonian Institute Ocean website – Giant Squid
The destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, published on celt.ucc.ie
Images
Giant Oarfish: Photograph by Leo Smith, 1996 (via Wiki Commons)
Display of sperm whale and giant squid battling in the Museum of Natural History: Photography by Mike Goren, 2005 (via Wiki Commons)
Mermaid Chair: Photograph by August Schwerdfeger, 2013 (via Wiki Commons)
Carta Marina: Map created by Olaus Magnus, 1539 (via Wiki Commons)