More about mermaid

[Rafal]

Research update. Warning: big post.

I was comparing these pictures from different versions of Das Buch der Natur and some stuff was confusing to me. So I decided to do it in a more methodical way. It soon turn our that you need to check not one section of the book (On sea monsters ) but ... four.

Here are sections potentially relevant:

MERWUNDERN: sea wonders, sea monsters
VISCHEN: fish
SLANGEN: snakes
WÜRMEN: worms

Of course you shouldn't expect modern scientific precision from it. So "worms" may be earthworms, insects, snails, frogs or little snakes. And, as you may guess, there is a big mix of real and fantasy creatures.

It turned out for me very soon that the artists often didn't understand what they were drawing. In some cases it seems that they didn't even read the text but just were copying some picture from another manuscript and changing details as they liked.

I made a comparison of five manuscripts:
   

Different type of mermaids actually appear 3 times among creatures with different names. Twice in sea monsters and once in snakes. I translated their descriptions:

1) Von den merweiben. (Sea woman)
Sirens possess a wondrously melodious voice, as Aristotle states. In German, they may be called "sea-women," for from the head down to
the navel they have the form of a woman—of noble stature yet with a fearsome countenance. They also have very long, coarse hair upon
their heads, much like the hair of a horse. They frequently appear at sea with their little ones, whom they carry in their arms just
as human women do, for they possess large breasts with which they nurse their young. The lower part of the creature resembles that
of an eagle—according to Adelinus—featuring very sharp talons on its feet with which it tears whatever it seizes; at the very end,
it has a tail covered in scales like a fish, with which it swims through the waters. It sings with extraordinary sweetness;
yet its voice is not articulated like that of a human, but is rather a warbling or chirping sound, such as birds possess.
When sailors hear this voice, they often fall asleep, overcome by the sweetness of the song, and are then torn apart by the sea-women.
For this reason, sailors plug their ears so as not to hear the singing; indeed, whenever they catch sight of a siren or sea-woman,
they are seized with great fear. By this creature, I understand those unvirtuous women who have forsaken womanly propriety and who lure
many a man into wickedness.

2) Von der merjuncfrawen. (Sea virgin / Scylla)
Scylla may be called a mermaid—a marvel of the sea that is hostile to sailors and all mankind, yet delights in and craves human blood and flesh.
The creature has a head and bosom just like a maiden’s, a wide, wrinkled mouth—like a siren’s—with very sharp teeth, and a bestial body with
a tail like a dolphin’s. The Book of Things states that these creatures are extraordinarily strong and not easily overcome in the water,
though on land they are not as powerful and are virtually incapable of fighting. Adelinus says that these creatures can sing quite beautifully
and have an intense craving for flesh; he also notes that these sea-marvels dwell in the sea separating the lands of Italy and Sicily.
By this creature, I understand those deceitful maidens who walk about with the headbands of virgins, calling themselves virgins and claiming
to have fasted strictly, yet secretly eat meat on Fridays—a thing they crave intensely.

3 Von der sirên (siren)
The "sirena" is a type of siren, though it is not the siren we described earlier when writing about the wonders of the sea. According to a certain scholar,
this serpent is found in Arabia; there are many of them in that kingdom, and they are swifter than horses. There are also certain kinds of serpents
that possess wings, enabling them to fly. The venom of these serpents is so potent that a bite causes death before the victim even feels pain;
thus, the person dies without suffering.

I will now describe the manuscripts and pictures in my next post