Middle-earth Flora & Fauna - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Telchar · 10-04-2003, 02:49 AM

This question pussled me! To my knowledge Tolkien NEVER wrote anything about 'a kraken' let alone 'The Kraken', so I did a little research.

It seems that our friend David Day (may someone roast his balls over a slow fire)is on the move again. In A Tolkien Bestiary he describes the watcher in the water as a kraken created by Morgoth, BUT this is as usual his own invention of myth...

The Kraken of Norwegian legend is an enormous sea monster, capable of capsizing a ship. The earliest stories date from the 12th century and tell of a creature the size of an island. In 1752, the Bishop of Bergen described one as being a mile and a half across. Worrying words indeed, especially in a book seriously entitled The Natural History of Norway. In 1830, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote his poem "The Kraken". By this time, there was huge enthusiasm for the study of the natural world. He combined the Scandinavian legend with his own view of a creature from the deep. We now believe that the Kraken is in fact a giant squid. It is the largest invertebrate predator on earth, growing to more than 20m and has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. We know they exist. There are reports of them attacking ships in the 1930s, probably mistaking them for whales and one was washed up on a beach in Scotland not so long ago. But although the mystery of the Kraken is solved, the giant squid is still shrouded in mystery: as yet, scientists haven't seen a living specimen.

Pleased to share...
T

10-04-2003, 02:49 AM	#10
Telchar Stonehearted Dwarf Smith Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 2,247	This question pussled me! To my knowledge Tolkien NEVER wrote anything about 'a kraken' let alone 'The Kraken', so I did a little research. It seems that our friend David Day (may someone roast his balls over a slow fire)is on the move again. In A Tolkien Bestiary he describes the watcher in the water as a kraken created by Morgoth, BUT this is as usual his own invention of myth... The Kraken of Norwegian legend is an enormous sea monster, capable of capsizing a ship. The earliest stories date from the 12th century and tell of a creature the size of an island. In 1752, the Bishop of Bergen described one as being a mile and a half across. Worrying words indeed, especially in a book seriously entitled The Natural History of Norway. In 1830, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote his poem "The Kraken". By this time, there was huge enthusiasm for the study of the natural world. He combined the Scandinavian legend with his own view of a creature from the deep. We now believe that the Kraken is in fact a giant squid. It is the largest invertebrate predator on earth, growing to more than 20m and has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. We know they exist. There are reports of them attacking ships in the 1930s, probably mistaking them for whales and one was washed up on a beach in Scotland not so long ago. But although the mystery of the Kraken is solved, the giant squid is still shrouded in mystery: as yet, scientists haven't seen a living specimen. Pleased to share... T __________________ Anar Kaluva Tielyanna.