Salmon of Knowledge
Sub grouping | Mythical fish |
---|---|
Other name(s) | Bradán Feasa |
Country | Ireland |
The Salmon of Knowledge (Irish: An Bradán Feasa) is a creature in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, sometimes identified with Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.
Fenian Cycle
The Salmon story figures prominently in
The poet
Related mythologies
In Irish mythology, several primordial beings that personify old age and ancient knowledge are described as taking the shape of a salmon. Most notably, this includes Fintan mac Bóchra and Tuan mac Cairill.
The Welsh Hanes Taliesin (16th c.) has a similar story of how the poet Taliesin received his wisdom,[4] that also involves shape-shifting into the form of a fish.
In the
The
In popular culture
In 1999, in celebration of the return of fish to the River Lagan, the city of Belfast erected a sculpture titled The Salmon of Knowledge but locally called The Big Fish.[10] Each tile used to make the sculpture references part of Belfast's history. If following the local folklore, wisdom can still be gained by kissing the sculpture of The Salmon of Knowledge today.
In 2019, the Dublin-based Gilla Band released "The Salmon of Knowledge" on their album The Talkies, which takes its title and some thematic content from the folk tale.
See also
References
- ^ SEANETTA, ssm67alba. "The Big Fish". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ériu. Royal Irish Academy. 1904. pp. Kuno Meyer, "The Boyish Exploits of Finn", pp. 185–186.
- ^ "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn mac Cumhaill". www.maryjones.us. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "The life of Taliesin the bard". BBC Wales. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ a b Zimmer, Heinrich (1891). Keltische Beiträge III, in: Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum und deutsche Litteratur (in German). Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. pp. 1–171.
- ^ Raszmann, August (1863). Bd. Die Sage von den Wölsungen und Niflungen in der Edda und Wölsungasaga (in German). C. Rümpler.
- ISBN 978-0-19-820523-4.
- ^ "Erläuterungen zu den ersten neun Büchern der Dänischen Geschichte des Saxo Grammaticus Teil I Bücher I-V – Wikisource". de.m.wikisource.org. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-3-11-023767-2.
- ^ "The Big Fish". Guide to Public Art. Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 22 January 2003.
Sources
- The boyhood of Fin mac Cumhal In: T. W. Rolleston (ed.) The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland, G. G. Harrap & Co., 1910, pp. 106–115.
- The Salmon of Knowledge Celtic.org. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- The Boyhood Deeds of Finn mac Cumhaill