Morgens
Encyclopedia
Morgens, Morgans or Mari-Morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits
that drown men. They may lure men to their death by their own sylphic beauty, or with glimpses of underwater gardens with buildings of gold or crystal. They are also blamed for heavy flooding that destroys crops or villages. In the story of the drowning of Ys
, a city in Brittany, the king's daughter, Dahut
, is the cause, and she becomes a sea morgen.
The morgens are eternally young, and like sirens they sit in the water and comb their hair seductively. In Arthurian legend
, particularly Geoffrey of Monmouth
's Vita Merlini
, the ruler of Avalon
is referred to as "Morgen". As such, the origin of Morgan le Fay
may be connected to these Breton myths.
Tales of morgens are preserved in the British countryside, even some parts of South West England, like the one from western Somerset, where a fisherman adopts an infant morgen, only to have her revert to the sea when she grows up.
Water deity
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important...
that drown men. They may lure men to their death by their own sylphic beauty, or with glimpses of underwater gardens with buildings of gold or crystal. They are also blamed for heavy flooding that destroys crops or villages. In the story of the drowning of Ys
Ys
Ys , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
, a city in Brittany, the king's daughter, Dahut
Dahut
Dahut , also called Ahes, was a magician and a princess of Cornouaille present in several Breton legends.-Dahut's birth:...
, is the cause, and she becomes a sea morgen.
The morgens are eternally young, and like sirens they sit in the water and comb their hair seductively. In Arthurian legend
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...
, particularly Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's Vita Merlini
Vita Merlini
Vita Merlini, or The Life of Merlin, is a work by the Norman-Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth, composed in Latin around AD 1150. It retells incidents from the life of the Brythonic seer Merlin, and is based on traditional material about him....
, the ruler of Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
is referred to as "Morgen". As such, the origin of Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
may be connected to these Breton myths.
Tales of morgens are preserved in the British countryside, even some parts of South West England, like the one from western Somerset, where a fisherman adopts an infant morgen, only to have her revert to the sea when she grows up.
See also
- KelpieKelpieThe kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland; the name may be from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach "heifer, colt".-Description and behaviour:...
- MelusineMelusineMelusine is a figure of European legends and folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers.She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down...
- Morgan le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
- Moura Encantada
- MurigenMurigenIn Welsh mythology, Murigen was a goddess of lakes, and associated with flooding. She is also known as Morgan, probably a specific personification of morgens, the Welsh term for water sprites....
- NaiadNaiadIn Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks....
- NäkkiNäkkiIn Finnish mythology, a Näkki is a Neck that resides in murky pools, wells, docks, piers and under bridges that cross rivers.He has been borrowed from Näcken in Scandinavian folklore and is closely related to Russian Vodyanoi....
- NixNixThe Neck/Nixie are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human form. The spirit has appeared in the myths and legends of all Germanic peoples in Europe....
- RusalkaRusalkaIn Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
- SelkieSelkieSelkies are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore....
- SirenSirenIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
- Vodyanoi
- Welsh MythologyWelsh mythologyWelsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
- MermaidMermaidA mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
s - PotamidesPotamides (mythology)Potamides, also called potameides , were a type of water nymphs of Greco-Roman mythology. They were assigned as a class of nymphs of fresh water known as naiads, and as such belonged to a category that presided over rivers and streams.-Origin and abode:Potamides were identified by the names...