Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. For today’s Mermaid Monday post, I am going to give you a list of great Mermaid Stories to study over the Summer! For this list, I am sharing five Mermaid legends and folktales from Celtic lands. These are not ranked in any way, as they are all very interesting, and I highly recommend studying all of these stories, so if you find my small description interesting, please look deeper into the story. Without further ado, let’s look at five Mermaid stories to study for Summer!
Melusine
~Of course, I just had to begin this list with my beloved Melusine! I have created an entire 7-Month-Long Online Class all about Melusine (which is currently in its third month with my first cohort of students). Melusine is a Faery Queen Mermaid Goddess whose story was first told in medieval France, with her being born the daughter of a Faery Woman and a Scottish King. She was raised in Avalon and would go on to be a Lady of the Fountain until she met her future husband, Raymond. She blessed his life, aiding him in getting a title, and she built his castle (and the town along with it). Her only requirement before their marriage was that he should not see her on Saturdays, as it was that day that she spent in a large ornate bathtub in her Mermaid form! Her story is very beautiful, moving, tragic, and complex, which makes her tale ideal to deep dive into over several months.
Gwenhudwy
~This Welsh Mermaid Queen’s name is also spelled Gwenhidw. She is described as the wife of Gwydion ab Don. Her name means ‘white enchantment’ or ‘white spell’ and is described as a morforwyn, which is the Welsh word for Mermaid! She is often seen as the controller of the waves, with her horses that run along the waves as they crest, but it must be noted that the horses are a modern association, with older folklore stating that she had sheep (specifically ewes, female sheep) running along the waves while they crest. This also connects her to the ninth wave, which is a very magickal wave in Celtic traditions! She is one of the lesser-known Mermaids on this list, so I highly suggest looking into her more.
Peregrine and the Mermaid
~This is another Welsh Mermaid story. It tells the tale of Peregrine, who was a fisherman who lucked upon a Mermaid one day. Due to his benevolence in deciding to aid her, he was blessed by the Mermaid. She even would go on to save his life, by telling him to leave the sea early one day, so that he would not die in a storm!
Mermaid of Zennor
~This is a Cornish folktale about a Mermaid who heard a beautiful song coming from a Church. She became enamoured with the lovely voice, and went on to express her love to the young man, whom she found out was the singer, and he happily went to go and live with her in the Ocean. The other villagers never knew what happened to the young man until a ship captain one day encountered the Mermaid. Of course, she would reveal that the man still lived and was her husband, and that they even had children! Clearly, the man was very happy and blessed by being with this Mermaid.
Marina the Merrow
~This is an Irish story, Merrow is an Irish Mermaid (with the word meaning ‘sea maid’). Marina is a Merrow who washed up on the shore one day, and she is aided by a young man. In gratitude, she told him she would grant him three wishes, and she is very impressed that the man does not wish for anything selfish. She eventually decided to return for this man nine years later, after having granted an extra wish to the man and his lineage due to his selflessness. Marina did, in fact, come back to claim the man, enchanting him, and he was never seen again. It is known that Merrows like to take human men for husbands because the males of their own race are so ugly, and this story shows this through Marina taking this human for her husband by the end!
~I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of Celtic Mermaid stories to study for Summer. What is your favorite Mermaid folktale? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a photo of the Mermaid Chair found in the Church of Zennor, a lasting representation of the legend! I found the picture on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zennor_Mermaid_Chair.JPG.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading
- Melusine by Jean d’Arras
- Mermaid Magic by Lucy Cavendish & Serene Conneeley
- The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey
- Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, & Lore by Skye Alexander
- https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/12/22/gwenhidw-mermaid-queen-of-wales/
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/peregrine-and-the-mermaid-wales
- https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/learn/resources/stories-and-rhymes/mermaid-of-zennor/
- https://www.hiddendublintours.com/blog/marina-the-merrow-the-irish-mermaid-traditional-irish-story/