From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kraken (pronounced
/ˈkreɪkən/ or
/ˈkrɑːkən/)
[1] are mythical
sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of
Norway and
Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works (see
Kraken in popular culture). The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real
giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles.
[2][3] These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and reportedly have "attacked" ships.
[4]
Kraken is the
definite article form of
krake, a Scandinavian word designating an unhealthy animal, or something twisted.
[5] In modern
German,
Krake (plural and
declined singular:
Kraken) means
octopus, but can also refer to the legendary Kraken.
[6]
History
Even though the name
kraken never appears in the
Norse sagas, there are similar sea monsters, the
hafgufa and
lyngbakr, both described in
Örvar-Odds saga as a giant spider-creature. the Norwegian text from c. 1250,
Konungs skuggsjá.
[7] Carolus Linnaeus included kraken as
cephalopods with the scientific name
Microcosmus in the first edition of his
Systema Naturae (1735), a taxonomic classification of living organisms, but excluded the animal in later editions. Kraken were also extensively described by
Erik Pontoppidan,
bishop of Bergen, in his "Natural History of Norway" (Copenhagen, 1752–3). Early accounts, including Pontoppidan's, describe the kraken as an animal "the size of a floating island" whose real danger for sailors was not the creature itself, but the
whirlpool it created after quickly descending back into the ocean. However, Pontoppidan also described the destructive potential of the giant beast: "It is said that if it grabbed the largest warship, it could manage to pull it down to the bottom of the ocean" (Sjögren, 1980). Kraken were always distinct from
sea serpents, also common in Scandinavian lore (
Jörmungandr for instance). A representative early description is given by the Swede
Jacob Wallenberg in his book
Min son på galejan ("My son on the galley") from 1781:
... Kraken, also called the Crab-fish, which [according to the pilots of Norway] is not that huge, for heads and tails counted, he is no larger than our
Öland is wide [i.e. less than 16 km] ... He stays at the sea floor, constantly surrounded by innumerable small fishes, who serve as his food and are fed by him in return: for his meal, if I remember correctly what E. Pontoppidan writes, lasts no longer than three months, and another three are then needed to digest it. His excrements nurture in the following an army of lesser fish, and for this reason, fishermen plumb after his resting place ... Gradually, Kraken ascends to the surface, and when he is at ten to twelve
fathoms, the boats had better move out of his vicinity, as he will shortly thereafter burst up, like a floating island, spurting water from his dreadful nostrils and making ring waves around him, which can reach many miles. Could one doubt that this is the
Leviathan of
Job?
According to Pontoppidan, Norwegian fishermen often took the risk of trying to fish over kraken, since the catch was so good.
.^ Though this item is still extremely expensive when sold through shouts I'm sure you've noticed that it's not as expensive as it used to be as are many other items.- Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Kraken Club 2 February 2010 8:24 UTC ffxi.allakhazam.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]
^ Reply to this ChocoboDragoon Sage Books 382 posts Score: Good smsimps wrote: You actually can make statistics say whatever you want.- Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Kraken Club 2 February 2010 8:24 UTC ffxi.allakhazam.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]
^ To use a more simple example, let's say you flip two coins.- Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Kraken Club 2 February 2010 8:24 UTC ffxi.allakhazam.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]
Pontoppidan also claimed that the monster was sometimes mistaken for an island, and that some maps that included islands that were only sometimes visible were actually indicating kraken. Pontoppidan also proposed that a young specimen of the monster once died and was washed ashore at
Alstahaug (Bengt Sjögren, 1980).
Imaginary view of a gigantic squid seizing a ship.
Since the late 18th century, kraken have been depicted in a number of ways, primarily as
large octopus-like creatures, and it has often been alleged that Pontoppidan's kraken might have been based on sailors' observations of the
giant squid.
.^ However, the development team would like to grant players more opportunities to obtain it.” So I believe that the drop rate remains at around 5%.- Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Kraken Club 2 February 2010 8:24 UTC ffxi.allakhazam.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]
Some traits of kraken resemble undersea
volcanic activity occurring in the
Iceland region, including bubbles of water; sudden, dangerous currents; and appearance of new islets.
In 1802, the French
malacologist Pierre Dénys de Montfort recognized the existence of two kinds of giant octopus in
Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière des Mollusques, an encyclopedic description of mollusks. Montfort claimed that the first type, the
kraken octopus, had been described by Norwegian sailors and American whalers, as well as ancient writers such as
Pliny the Elder. The much larger second type, the
colossal octopus (depicted in the above image), was reported to have attacked a sailing vessel from
Saint-Malo, off the coast of
Angola.
Montfort later dared more sensational claims. He proposed that ten British warships that had mysteriously disappeared one night in 1782 must have been attacked and sunk by giant octopuses. Unfortunately for Montfort, the British knew what had happened to the ships, resulting in a disgraceful revelation for Montfort. Pierre Dénys de Montfort's career never recovered and he died starving and poor in
Paris around 1820 (Sjögren, 1980). In defence of Pierre Dénys de Montfort, it should be noted that many of his sources for the "kraken octopus" probably described the very real
giant squid, proven to exist in 1857.
| The Kraken by Tennyson |
|
Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber'd and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
|
In 1830, possibly aware of Pierre Dénys de Montfort's work,
Alfred Tennyson published his popular poem "The Kraken" (essentially an irregular
sonnet), which disseminated Kraken in English with its long-standing superfluous
the. The poem in its last three lines, also bears similarities to the legend of
Leviathan, a sea monster, who shall rise to the surface at the
end of days.
See also
Notes
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1989.
- ^ O'Shea, S. 2003. "Giant Squid and Colossal Squid Fact Sheet". The Octopus News Magazine Online.
- ^ Boyle, Peter; Rodhouse, Paul (2005). "The search for the giant squid Architeuthis". Cephalopods: Ecology and Fisheries. Oxford, England: Blackwell. pp. 196. ISBN 0632060484.
- ^ Marx, Christy (2004). Life in the Ocean Depths. New York: Rosen. pp. 35. ISBN 082393988X.
- ^ Cognate with the English crook and crank.
- ^ Terrell (1999)
- ^ Or Speculum Regale, the "King's Mirror". The text describes a massive sea creature as large as an island. It is rarely seen by seamen and fishermen, and it is speculated that there are only one or two in the world. The Kraken eats by opening its massive mouth, belches up smaller fish, and eats the larger fish which come to feed upon them.
References
- John Wyndham (1953). 'The Kraken Wakes'/'Out of the Deeps' (US). ISBN 0-14-001075-0
- Sjögren, Bengt (1980). Berömda vidunder. Settern. ISBN 91-7586-023-6 (Swedish)
- Terrell, Peter; et al. (Eds.) (1999). German Unabridged Dictionary (4th ed.). Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-270235-1.
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