Editing Merman (section)

== Scandinavian folklore ==
=== Marbendill ===
{{main|marmennill}}
[[Iceland]]ic folklore beliefs speak of sea-dwelling humans (humanoids) known as ''marbendlar'' (sing. ''{{linktext|marbendill}}''),{{sfnp|Ármann Jakobsson|2002}} which is the later Norse,{{Refn|''{{lang|non|marbendil}}'' is attested in ''[[Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka|Hálfs saga]]'' (early 14th cent.).}}<ref name="cochrane"/> and modern Icelandic form of ''[[marmennill]]''.<ref name="webster-EB1891"/><ref name="macculloch"/>

[[Jón lærði Guðmundsson]] ('the Learned', d. 1658)'s writings concerning elves{{efn|Halldor specifies ''Tíðfordríf'' and commentary on the Snorra Edda}} includes the merman or ''marbendill'' as a "water-elf". This merman is described as seal-like from the waist down.<ref name="halldor1924"/><ref name="jon_arnason-eng-vol2-intro"/> Jón the Learned also wrote down a short tale or folktale concerning it,<ref name="jon_arnason"/> which has been translated under the titles "The Merman"<ref name="jon_arnason-eng-vol1-merman"/> and "Of Marbendill".<ref name="jon_arnason-iceland_review"/>

[[Jón Árnason (author)|Jón Árnasson]], building on this classification, divided the water-elves into two groups: the male marbendill vs. the female known variously as {{lang|is|hafgýgur, haffrú, margýgur}}, or {{lang|is|meyfiskur}}.<ref name="jon_arnason-saebuar"/> But in current times, {{lang|is|hafmey}} is the common designation of the mermaid.<ref name="olina_thorvardardottir"/> This gender classification however is not in alignment with the medieval source described above, which pairs the margýgr with the ([[#Hafstrambr|hafstrambr]]).

=== Havmand ===
According to Norwegian folklore dating back to the 18th century, ''{{interlanguage link|havmand|no}}'' takes the mermaid (''havfrue'') as wife, and the offspring or young they produce are called ''marmæler'' (sing. {{langx|no|marmæle}}).<ref name="pontoppidan"/><ref name="pontoppidan-eng"/>

Norwegian mermen (''havmænd'') were later ascribed the general characteristic that they are of "a dusky hue, with a long beard, black hair, and from the waist upwards resemble a man, but downwards are like a fish."{{Refn|Thorpe<ref name="thorpe2-p027-norw"/> who cites Faye as general source (p. 9, note 2), and translates {{harvp|Faye|1833}}'s description in Danish: "mørkladne, have langt Skiæg, sort Haar og ligne oventil et Menneste; men nedentil en Fisk" (pp. 58–59). Faye cites  Pontoppidan as a source (p. 62).}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Pontpoddian had included a section on the latest sightings. One ''havmand'' allegedly seen in 1719 of particularly large size, measuring {{convert|3|fathom|m}}, was dark-grey in colour; it had paws like the seal-calf (seal) but might be counted among the whale-kind, according to the commentator.{{sfnp|Pontoppidan|1755|pp=190–191}} Another seen in 1723 (taken from the writing of Andreas Bussæus 1679–1735) was like an old man, with curled black hair and black beard, coarse-skinned but shaggy. One witness noticed its body was taper-ended like a fish.{{sfnp|Pontoppidan|1755|pp=194–195}}}}

While the ''marmæler'' does literally mean 'sea-talker',<ref name="bassett"/> the word is thought to be a corruption of ''marmenill'', the aforementioned Old Norse term for merman.<ref name="GhM"/>

=== Prophesying ===
An alleged ''marmennill'' prophesying to an early Icelandic settler has already been noted (cf. [[#Medieval period|§Medieval period]]). In the story "The Merman", a captured ''marbendill'' laughs thrice, and when pressed, reveals to the peasant his insight (buried gold, wife's infidelity, dog's fidelity) on promise of release. The peasant finds wonderful gray milk-cows next to his property, which he presumes were the merman's gift; the unruly cows were made obedient by bursting the strange bladder or sac on their muzzle (with the stick he carried).<ref name="jon_arnason"/><ref name="jon_arnason-eng-vol1-merman"/><ref name="jon_arnason-iceland_review"/>

=== Abductions ===
In Sweden, the superstition of the merman ({{langx|sv|hafsman}}) abducting a human girl to become his wife has been documented ([[Hälsingland]], early 19th century); the merman's consort is said to be occasionally spotted sitting on a holme (small island), laundering her linen or combing her hair.<ref name="grafstroem&forssell"/>

There is a Swedish [[ballad]] ({{langx|sv|{{ill|Visa (verse)|lt=visa|sv|Visa}}}}) entitled "''Hafsmannen''" about a merman abducting a girl; the Danish ballad "''Rosmer Havmand''" is a cognate ballad based on the same legend.<ref name="goedecke"/><ref name="child_ballad-rosmer"/>

"[[Agnete og Havmanden]]" is another [[Scandinavia]]n ballad work with this theme, but it is of late composition (late 18th century). It tells of a merman who had been mated to a human woman named Agnete; the merman unsuccessfully pleaded with her to come back to him and [[The Merman's Children|their children in the sea]].<ref name="kramer"/>

[[File:Sjoekungen_by_John_Bauer_1911.jpg|thumb|[[Agnete_og_Havmanden|''The merman'' ]](1911) by [[John Bauer (illustrator)|John Bauer]]]]