Meremægden

**Meremægden** is gelēaflic wæterwiht mid menniscum hēafde and bodige, and þǣm tægle wæterdēores, swylce fisc. Þæt ƿord *meremægden* wearþ ** on Nīwum Englisce gecweden. Se werlic efengemæcca is *merewer*, þēah man brȳceþ ēac þone wordcwide *meremægden* for werlicum wihtum. Mænig land þǣre worulde gelīca wihta habbaþ, gemǣne būtan clāðas.

Micel gelīc sirena, meremægdnu sungon tō lēodum and godum, and hīe besungon, tōstregdende hīe fram hiera weorc, āfylaþ hīe of hiera scipum, oþþe hiera scipu on grunde stīeran. In ōþrum lārum, hīe þringaþ sencende menn hwīlum fandiaþ hīe tō sparienne. Man gelīefeþ ēac þæt meremægdnu bringaþ menn tō hiera undermererīcum. In Hans Christian Andersenes Lȳtlum Meremægdne, man þynceþ hit þæt meremægdnu forgietaþ þe menn underwæter āblāwan ne magon, hwīlum ōþra menn gelīefaþ þæt meremægdnu menn āsencaþ forþǣm hiera wræðe.

Man þynceþ Grēcisc hǣðenscipes sirena hwīlum bēoþ in laterum folclāre meremægdenlic; sum sprǣca brūcaþ þæt ælce word for begen bridd and fiscwihta, swylce þæt Maltesisc word 'sirena.' Ōðer sibbcynna gelēaflicra wihta sind wæterylfe and selkies, dēor þe fram sǣcūm intō mannum weorðaþ.

## Stǣr

### Bryttisc īega

[left|thumb|175px|''Se Fiscoþmann and þæt Meremægden'', of [Frederic Leighton, c. 1856–1858]]

In Bryttiscum folclāre, man þenceþ hit þæt meremægdnu unspēdlica hwata wǣron - begen forebodende misgelimp, and hīe wiðeriende. Mænig cynn þæs cwidegieddes *[[Sir Patrick Spens]]* hæfþ meremægden mid þǣm dēaþwyrdodum scipum sprecende; in sumum, hēo sægeþ þæt næfre sēoþ hīe land ongēan, and in ōþrum, hēo sægeþ þæt hīe nēah stæþ bēoþ, ac hīe sind wīs genōg tō witenne þæt begen ælce bēoþ. Hīe magon ēac tācn unwederes bēoþ.

Man þenceþ sum meremægdnu ofermicelnes hæfdon, oþ 2,000 fēt.

Meremægdn magon ēac up īe swimman, tō færscwæterum lagum. On ānum dæge, in læge nēah his hūs, Lornties Hlāford wīfmann sēah, and fandode hīe tō sparienne; his þegn warnode þæt hēo meremægden wæs, and þæt meremægden begeal þe hēo hine cwellan, gif ne forþǣm his þegn.

Meremægdnu magon ēac mā helpfulle bēon, sellende mannum gescēad hǣle. Sum tala āsciaþ þā frignunge gif meremægdnu þurhlīfende sāwla hæfden. Man þynceþ hit ēac þæt mereweras wildera and mā unfæger bēoþ þonne meremægdnu, ac ne reccaþ menn.

### Warsaw Meremægden

Þæt meremægden, oþþe *syrenka*, is Warsawes tācn. Man brēac meremægdenbiliðas on Warsawes tācnscielde swā hiera tācn siþþan middlunge þæs 14ª gēarhundredes. Mæniga gesegena tōefnaþ gelēaflic Triton mid þǣre byrig, þe mæg se fruma bēon þæs meremægdnes geþēodes mid þǣre byrig.

### Ōðer

Oninnan þǣm Nīwum Taíno þēodum þāra Caribbean īega, þæt meremægden Aycayia hātte. Hire mearcunga sind gelīc þā gydenne Jagua, and þā hibiscus blōstm þæs majaguabēam Hibiscus tiliaceus. Bisena ōðra sidaþinga beinniaþ þā Mami Wata of Westum and Middlum Affrica, þā Jengu of Cameroon, sēo Merrow of Scotlande and Īrlande, þā Rusalkas of Russlande and Ucrægne, þā Iara fram Brazil and þā Grēcisc Oceanids, Nereids, and Naiads. Ān fræscwæter meremægdenlic wiht Ēoropisces folclāre is Melusine, þe twegen fisctæglas hæfþ, ac ōðer fadunga habbaþ hīe mid þǣm nǣdres niðerhealfe. Man þynceþ hit þæt in Iapane, etenne þone ningyes flǣscmete unealdiende undēadlicnesse seleþ. In sumum Ēoropiscum gesegenum meremægdnu bēoþ unspēdlic.

Meremægdnu sind cūþ for hiera rence, ac ēac for hiera unsceaþfulnesse. Hīe oft lufiaþ menn, and swīðe willaþ hiera lufe for werum sōðian (sēo meremægdendeorf). Mislimplīce, gewisse mid geongum meremægdnum, hīe oft forgīetaþ þe menn ne magon underwæter āblāwan. Mereweras seldbeþencaþ ymbe mennisc gelimpas, ac in Finniscum hǣðenscipe merefolc magon wysca bēodan, sēocnessa hǣlan, wyrgþa forniman, wyrtdrincas brēowan and ēac mattuc beran. Meremægdnu ēac habbaþ sumra þissa mearcunga.

## Gerǣswoda Gesihþa

Gerǣswoda gesihþa ymbe dēad oþþe līfende meremægdnu cwōm of stedum swylce swā Java and Bryttiscum Columbian. Þǣr sind twā Canadisca cȳþþa of Vancouver and Victorian, sum fram betweonan 1870 and 1890, and sēo ōþran fram 1967.

In Wēodmōnaðe 2009, Qiryat Yam þorp in Israele bēad $1,000,000 lēan for ǣnige þe meremægdnu sōðian in hiera rimum, æfter mænigra twelfa lēode cūðdon meremægden sēonende, hlēapende ūt þǣm wætere gelīc delfin and fremmende lyftsealta fore tō þǣm dēopum eftgānde.

## Tācnung

Of Dorothy Dinnersteines bēc *Þæt Meremægden and se Werbula*, mennisc-dēorisc dōcas swylce þā werbula and meremægden bēoþ ealdmanna understandnes þæt menn and dēor begen syndrig and ælce sind, and manna "mearcunga sind inweardlic unefen, þe ūre þurhstandnes mid, and ūre sundornes fram, eorðan ōþrum dēordum tō mannum rūnisc and dēop bēoþ; and of þissum þurhstandnessum, and þissum sundornessum, habbaþ begen on eorðe fremdnes and mihtelicne þēaw tō þencenne hēr æt hām."

## Cynst and gewritu

[thumb|left|187px|16ª gēarhundredes [Zennor meremægdenstōl]]

John William Waterhouse macode getæse biliþ fram 1895 oþ 1905, hātte *Meremægden* (sēo þæt hēafod þisses gewrites). Late Bryttisc es cynstweorcmōd, man onwrāh þās mētinge mid gōdum dōme (þe him earnode þone Cynelices es geþēodscipe), ac intō sundorhorde tōfōr and ne oþ þā 1970a ne eftcwōm. Hit is nū in Andrew Lloyd-Webberes sundorhorde.

Þæt mǣste welcūðe weorc nīwlic gēarhundredes is Hans Christian Andersenes folcatalu Þæt Lȳtle Meremægden (1836), þe man ontō mænigum sprǣcum āwendode. Andersenes tācnung, þe man fæst macode mid bræsene hēahgræfte in Cēapmannahæfnhȳðe, wearþ sēo Westerne rihtbisen siþþan hēo wrīten wæs. Þæt meremægden, swā Andersen gewrāt, mæg efne þurhstandende sāwle begīetan bȳ beweddiende mann.

Þæt mǣste welcūðe glīwweorc ymbe meremægdnu sind þās of Felix Mendelssohn in his Fair Melusina glīwsange and þā þrēo "Rīnisc dohtor" Richard Wagneres Der Ring des Nibelungen. Lorelei, se nama ān þāra Rīnisc meremægda, wearþ tācnung sirenes. Mā nīwlicu tācnung glīwes is Taiwanisc glīwwyrhta Fan-Long Ko's Þæt Wēpende Meremægden.

Sue Monk Kidd gewrāt bōc gehāten *Se Meremægdenstōl*. Se nama cymþ of meremægdne þe unwǣre sanctas wearþ.

Film ymbe meremægdnu beinnaþ 1984 lustfilm *Splash*, mid Daryl Hannah. Scēawung 1963 feorrsīenendebyrdnesse Route 66, *Sēo Wælhrēoƿoste Sǣ* hātte, wæs ymbe wǣre meremægden þe in Weeki Wachee wæterperroce swanc. Man hæfde ēac meremægdnu in þǣre gelēaflicum feorrsīenendebyrdnesse *Charmed*, and þonne þǣre dohtorendebyrdnesse *Mermaid*. Tācniscu film beinniaþ Disneyes glīwisce fadunge Andersenes tale, and Hayao Miyazakies *Ponyo*.

### Herewealdscipe

In herewealdscipe, þæt biliþ meremægdnes gemǣne camb and scēawere hæfþ, and cūþ swā 'meremægden in hire īdelnesse' is. Man brēac Merefolc tō tācnienne cræftignesse and fægernesse in sprǣce.

Scield- and sweordwieldende meremægden (*[[Siren|Syrenka]]*) is on þǣm wǣrum Warsawes herewealdscield, sēo hēafodburg Polalandes. Sēo burg Norþfolc, Virginia ēac brȳceþ meremægden swā hiera tācn, and byrgisc cynstweorc mid missenlicum gefægrodum meremægdengræfte bēoþ geond þǣm burhstede. Sēo hēafodburh Hamilton, Bermuda hæfþ þæt meremægden on hire herewealdscielde, þe man mæg geond þǣre byrig gesēon.

Michaëlle Jeanes sundorherewealdscield, Canada's Governor General, hæfþ twegen Simbi, meremægdenlicu wihta fram Haitisc Fūdū, swā bearwan.

## Fruman