#finkfolk

[mermaidlauren]

Buying my first Mermaid Tail....

[emma-leprost]

Study with me: Scottish History

More history focusing on Orkney. Talking about standing stones and folklore, my favorites.

1. When did Orkney and Shetland become Scottish?

1472, in compensation for the nonpayment of the dowry of Margaret of Denmark, queen of James III.

2. What did ancient classical literature call the Orkney Islands?

The Orcades.

3. Explain the history of the Standing Stones of Stenness.

The Stones o' Stenness is a henge monument: a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork - usually a ditch with an external bank. 

The monument contains four stones: 16-19 feet tall, yet only 1 foot wide. Originally, there were thought to be 12 stones in total, although recent studies have argued that the monument was never fully completed. The monument is believed to have been constructed in 3100 BC which makes it one of the oldest stone circles in Britain.

4. Explain the history of the Odin Stone.

The Odin Stone was part of the Standing Stones of Stenness. Constructed around 3000 BC, the Odin Stone occupied a special place in the customs, traditions and lore of the Orcadian people. It stood 8 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide and had a hole through it’s center.

The Odin Stone was used by local couples for engagements by holding hands through the gap. It was associated with other ceremonies and believed to possess magical power. 

In 1814, the Odin Stone was destroyed when the landowner smashed it after being annoyed at people trespassing on his land to visit the stone.

5. Discuss two myths from Orkney’s folklore.

Orkney’s folklore combines elements of Norse, Scottish and Celtic myth, with Norse being the most prevalent. The sea was a major player in folklore: containing creatures such as Finfolk ( dark and gloomy sorcerers) and the selkie folk (handsome yet deceptive). 

The Finmen were shapeshifters who could control the tides and storms. They were great sailors and would travel from their undersea world to the human world whenever they pleased. They spent winters in the luxury of Finfolkaheem, a majestic city of unknown location, but often said to be at the bottom of the sea. In the summer, they returned to Orkney to take up residence on their magical island home, Hildaland: one of Orkney's magical vanishing islands.

The Finfolk were responsible for many abductions of mortal folk, dragging them to their homes on the hidden island and forcing them to become their husband or wife. (If a Finwoman did not marry a mortal, she was doomed to become old and ugly by marrying a Finman).

The Finmen were used by the common people to explain disappearances and deaths at sea. With the arrival of Christianity, the Finfolk were said to have “disappeared”.

The selkie (Orcadian for ‘seal’) are creatures with the ability to transform from seals into humans. While the ancient tales never agree on exactly when the selkie could transform (some say every 9th night, others only on midsummer’s eve), the selkie needed to cast off their sealskin in in order to shapeshift. If the skin was lost or stolen, the selkie would remain as a human forever.

A selkie man was said to have magical powers over enchanting mortal women. A woman could summon a selkie man by shedding 7 tears into the sea at high tide. If a woman was lost at sea, she was said to have been taken by a selkie.

A common folklore story is one of a mortal man tricking a selkie woman by stealing her skin and forcing her to live with him as his wife. Usually the skin is returned to the selkie and she returns to her underwater home.

Historians now believe that the Finkfolk and the selkie were originally the same creature to past peoples, and only diverged into two separate beings as time progressed. The selkie of the distant past were actually quite terrifying. Only in more recent folklore have they been watered down into gentle, more benign people.