Continuing our theme for the month of May (our illustrator insists this is essential, and who am I to argue), we will be covering mermaids both this week and next. Stories of mermaids are so diverse and so many - indeed, from all over the world, although we shall confine ourselves to the folklore of the British Isles and surrounds, as always - that we would be hard pressed to cover them in one post.
Below you’ll find
Where you might encounter a mermaid
How to identify them
Are they dangerous? (oh goodness yes)
How to survive
Story time!
where to find a mermaid
Mermaids are to be found in all the waters around the British Isles - most often in the seas, but they have also been known to swim up rivers and even inhabit freshwater lakes. Some live in underwater caves. Sailors come across them sitting on rocks both by the shore and out to sea.
How to identify them
Mermaids are distinguished by their fish tail and human upper body. Many stories also suggest they are likely to carry a comb and mirror, and be seen combing out their long and beautiful hair while singing with irresistible sweetness. While mermaids are typically described as human in size and beautiful, some Celtic descriptions of mermaids had them as monstrous beings. One that was supposed to have washed ashore around 887AD was 160ft in length, with hair 18ft long, and fingers and nose each 7ft. Truly, if she wanted to sink your ship, she would have no need to raise a storm.
Mermaids should be distinguished from merrows, which we shall discuss another week, as their behaviour is notably different. The mermaid of the highlands is sometimes known as the Ceasg (keeask), and has the tail of a young salmon - in some stories it is suggested that she can take it off, like a selkie takes off her seal skin, to appear fully human. The offspring of any union between the Ceasg and a human are likely to become exceptionable pilots and navigators of ships.
are they dangerous?
The danger of mermaids depends very much on where you are. Tucked up in bed, they’re just a thrilling tale. On the rocks by the seaside? They’re a risky yet tantalising prospect. On the high seas, in boat of dubious sturdiness? They may be death incarnate.
Mermaids love to lure humans into the water, and are quite happy with anything from seduction to drowning to devouring when it comes to their victims. They’re also capable of raising great ship-sinking storms, which may destroy an entire fleet.
They’re also capable of tenderness, helpfulness, and the granting of wishes - some of which we will touch on in stories next week.
how to survive
The best way to survive a mermaid is not to go near the ocean, or any large body of water. Not very practical advice, however, particularly for those who make a living from the sea. The next best way to survive is to be aware of mermaids and their charms - if you come across a beautiful woman in a body of water, and you find yourself thinking that you would like to be in the water with her, be alert to trickery and question whether you are acting of your own accord. Mermaids can occasionally be driven off by cold iron (see next week’s story). Mermaids are more likely to raise a storm in vengeance than malevolence, so remember to be respectful and do not try to harm them.
If you have the opportunity to do a mermaid a good turn - most often carrying her back to the water if she becomes stranded - such an act is likely to bring you good fortune. However, beware her allurements the deeper you carry her into her own domain.
Lorntie and the mermaid
story time
lorntie and the mermaid
In Forfarshire, Scotland, there once lived a young Laird - the Laird of Lorntie. One evening as he returned from a successful hunt, accompanied only by two greyhounds and a manservant, he happened to pass a solitary lake not three miles from home, surrounded by a dark and watchful wood.
As their path drew near the lake, from between the trees the laird heard the cry of a woman in distress - it sounded as though she was drowning in the lake! He spurred his horse through the trees and saw a beautiful woman struggling in the water not too far from the shore, and, it seemed to him, at the very moment of sinking. She appeared to recognise him and called out, ‘Help! Help, Lorntie! Help Lor-’ then the waters closed over her head and caught the last word before she could finish it.
In a flash Lorntie had leapt into the water, his good heart full of fear for the woman and unable to resist the impulse to save her. He reached for her long yellow locks, which lay like strands of gold on the surface, when suddenly he was seized from behind by his faithful manservant and dragged ashore. The manservant, more wise to the ways of the wilds and perceptive than his master, had seen what Lorntie hadn’t.
‘Bide, Lorntie - bide a blink!’ he cried, as Lorntie would have dashed him aside and leapt back in. ‘That wauling madam was nae other, God sauf us! than the mermaid.’ Confronted with this claim, Lorntie immediately saw the truth in front of him, and it was confirmed as he mounted his horse. The mermaid rose half out of the water and exclaimed in a voice of fiendish disappointment and ferocity
Lorntie, Lorntie,
Were it na your man,
I had gart your heart’s bluid,
Skirl in my pan.
[skirl (Scots): to sizzle, crackle and sputter in a frying pan]