Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1999, Page 132

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THE BROTHER OF THE SNAKE AND FISH AS KINGS
according to biologist Henrich Krøyer
(1851: 27-28; cf. Jensen, 1919), also been
viewed as kings amongst their species.
There are records, especially from Norway,
about sejkonger, hysekonger and bros-
mekonger, that are kings of saithe (Pol-
lachius virens), haddock (Melanogrammus
æglefinus) and cod (Brosme brosme), re-
spectively.
In northem Norway, from Varanger in
the north, in Lofoten and to Brønnøy in the
south, dried cod malformed with a ‘crown’
have been used as “weather fish”, or vejr-
fisker as they were locally known. They
were dried and hung up under the ceiling
with a thin thread fastened on the dorsal fin.
The “weather fish” predicted the direction
of the wind and were regarded as a kind of
primitive barometer. In some places,
among others at Tromsø, “weather fish”
were seen in the local stores. They were
also brought to the sea and used in the cab-
in while fishing (Bratrein, 1986; Svanberg,
in press).
According to Nordic folk belief, there
are ‘kings’ not only among various fish
species, but also among other animals,
where rare species or large specimens have
been regarded as kings and leaders. Both
‘grass snake kings’ and ‘viper kings’ are
known in Danish and Swedish folk tradi-
tion (Brøndegaard, 1985: 326, 337). They
were characterised by being unusually
large and having a ‘crown’ on their heads.
They were kings over the other grass
snakes (Natrix natrix) and vipers (Vipera
berus), respectively. There also exist folk
beliefs regarding birds being guided by
kings. In many places in southern and cen-
tral Europe, the comcrake (Crex crex) has
been viewed as a king and leader of flocks
of quail (Coturnix coturnix). This folk be-
lief has resulted in local names for the com-
crake. In German-speaking areas, it is
known as Wachtelkonig; in Denmark,
vagtelkonge and vagtelvise; in France, roi
des cailles; and in Italy, re di quigle. The
peasants believed the comcrake escorteđ
large flocks of quail (Brehm, 1926: 338;
Brøndegaard, 1985: 115; Swainson, 1888:
177). The eagle owl (Bubo bubo) was
called ugglekungen in Smáland (ULMA,
93:19). The wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
is regarded as king of birds in a tale record-
ed from various parts of Europe, hence its
name, roi des oiseaux, in French, and Za-
unkonig, in German. ‘The knowledge that
he is king of birds has made the wren [...],
that proudest and most conceited of all the
feathered kind,’ (Swainson, 1888: 36). In
Sweden (and in some other parts of Eu-
rope), the same story is attributed to the
goldcrest (Regulus regulus), kungsfágeln in
Swedish (Hylten-Cavallius, 1863-64: 319).
There are alsó a few examples from the
Faroe Islands. King eider (Somateria
spectabilis), sometimes observed together
with eiders (Somateria mollissima) that
seem to fear it, is locally known as æðu-
kongur in the Faroe Islands (Lockwood,
1961: 12), cf. one of its Danish names, kon-
geedderfugl. However, most well known is
a black-browed albatross (Diomedea
melanophris), which, from 1860, and for
almost three decades, stayed in the colony
of gannets (Sula sula) on Mykineshólmur.
The inhabitants of Mykines called it
súlukongur (Danjalsson, 1951: 70).