Morgen with harp by Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler (1855)

Morgens, Morgans or Mari-Morgans are Welsh and Breton water sprites 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. Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler (1802–1848) was a German sculptor. ... The term water sprite or water faery may refer to a creature of general lore which resembles a human female, but is the color of the sea. ... Flight of King Gradlon, by E. V. Luminais, 1884 (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper) Ys (also spelled Is or Ker-Ys in Breton) is a mythical city built in the Douarnenez bay in Brittany by Gradlon, King of Cornouaille, for his daughter Dahut. ...

The morgens are eternally young, and like sirens they sit in the water and comb their hair seductively.^[1] In many ways they are a female version of the Scandinavian nixie. In Arthurian legend the "Lady of the Lake" is named "Morgen".^[2] The origin of Morgan le Fay may lie in these Breton myths.^[3] Strömkarlen from 1884 by Ernst Josephson has formed many modern Swedes view of Näcken. ... The Arthurian legend or the Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. ... Morgan le Fay, by Anthony Frederick Sandys (1829 - 1904), 1864 (Birmingham Art Gallery): A spell-brewing Morgaine distinctly of Tennysons generation Morgaine redirects here. ...

Tales of morgens are preserved in the English countryside, 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.^[4]

References

1. ^ Franklin, Anna (2002) The Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Fairies Vega, London, p. 182;
2. ^ Rhys, John (1891) Studies in the Arthurian Legend Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 348;
3. ^ Sykes, Egerton and Kendall, Alan (2002 ed.) Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology Routledge, New York, p. 132;
4. ^ Tongue, Ruth L. (1970) Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.

See also

Kelpie Melusine Morgan le Fay Murigen Naiad Näkki Nix Rusalka Selkie Siren Gutt pÃ¥ hvit hest (Boy on white horse) by Theodor Kittelsen, depicting the nix as a white kelpie The kelpie is a supernatural shape-shifting water horse from Gaelic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland. ... Melusines secret discovered, from One of sixteen paintings by Guillebert de Mets circa 1410. ... Morgan le Fay, by Anthony Frederick Sandys (1829 - 1904), 1864 (Birmingham Art Gallery): A spell-brewing Morgaine distinctly of Tennysons generation Morgaine redirects here. ... In Goidelic mythology, Murigen was a goddess of lakes. ... --65. ... In Finnish mythology, a Näkki is a Nix that resides in murky pools, wells, docks, piers and under bridges that cross rivers. ... Strömkarlen from 1884 by Ernst Josephson has formed many modern Swedes view of Näcken. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Selkies (also known as silkies or selchies) are mythological creatures in Irish and Scottish mythology that can transform themselves from seals to humans, where selkie is simply the Orcadian word for seal. The legend apparently originated on the Orkney Islands. ... Odysseus and the Sirens. ...