Mermaid Monday: Danish Mermaid, 1749 January 29, 2018
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Here is a short mermaid report from the middle of the eighteenth century. It appeared in a British newspaper 11 Sep 1749, but the mermaid catch was said to have actually taken place in Denmark 3 Sep of that year.
We hear from Nykoping in Jutland, that the Fisherman there had catched a Mermaid, which from the Waist upwards had a human Form, and that the rest was like a Fish, with a great Tail turning up behind; that she struggled so much in the Net, that she presently killed herself; and that her Fingers, instead of being separated, were joined together by a Membrane.
Beach has been able to identify two Nykøbings in Denmark but neither are in Jutland. There was no subsequent news about what happened to this creature: which, of course, just adds to the suspicion that this was a canard from Scandinavia that some trusting British journalists had lapped up. Still, if anyone can find the original Danish report or the town/village where the mermaid was caught Beach would be grateful: drbeachcombing AT gmail DOT com
PS The image is of course the Little Mermaid from Copenhagen. Beach was just thinking there has probably never been such a cheap nationally iconic object. The most recognisable landmark in Scandinavia cost a couple of thousand dollars… Florence’s Cathedral cost a billion.
29 Jan 2018: Morten writes in ‘Just a quick note: There are three Nykøbing in Denmark. It is Nykøbing Falster, Nykøbing Sjælland and Nykøbing Mors – the last one is a region in Jutland.’
