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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture One of the Exeter Book Riddles, no. 10, gives a similar kind of origin to the Barnacle Goose. The translation reads: My beak was bound and I was immersed, The current swept round me as I lay covered By mountain streams; I matured in the sea, Above the milling waves, my body Locked in a stray, floating spar. When, in black garments, I left wave And wood, I was full of life; Some of my clothing was white When the tides of air lifted me, The wind from the wave, then carried me far Over the seal's bath. Say what I am called. Kevin Crossley-Holland, whose translation this is, cites 12c. Giraldus Cambrensis in the commentary to this riddle in the Penguin Classics edition: Bernacae are like marsh-geese, but somewhat smaller. They are produced from fir-timber tossed along the sea, and are at first like gum. Afterwards they hang down by their beaks, as if from a seaweed attached to timber, surrounded by shells in order to grow more freely. Having thus in process of time been clothed with a strong coat of feathers, they either fall into the water or fly freely away into the air. Best wishes, Carolin Carolin Esser PhD-Student, Centre for Medieval Studies University of York [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: 17 March 2003 19:02 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] strange bird... medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > Dilectissimi sapientes > as a symbol of the immaculate virgin, I find the comparison with a bird > which is born from rotten wood floating on the sea: it has neither the > taste of rot nor the salt of the sea --> purity of the Virgin, though > she was conceived by "natural" ways. The bird, in my french poetry, is > name sap or sapinette (?) This is just a guess, but could it be the Barnacle Goose? I believe that it was actually classified as a vegetable, rather than meat, because of some such peculiarity in belief about its propagation. Cheers, Jim Bugslag Dr. Jim Bugslag, School of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MN, Canada, R3T 2N2 ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html