The lure of merfolk
Merpeople
A Human History
Vaughn Scribner
Reaktion Books 2020
Hb, 320pp, £20, ISBN 9781789143140
Lusty, dangerous, pious, monstrous, thought provoking, ancient, modern. These are only a few of the ways in which merpeople can be described in Vaughn Scribner’s impressive Merpeople: A Human History. It is a noteworthy book not just for its literary content but for its beautiful plates.
Merpeople have long endured in art, culture, film, religion, philosophy, photography and politics. The book covers a wide range of perceptions – from Western to global.
Their sightings are well documented throughout the ages. They can be beautiful – sirens with flowing locks, manatees or dugongs or the less visually appealing chimeras. They can be clever, religious or non-religious. They can be compared to humans of the time – an example being Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I – with the latter receiving a more flattering comparison.
The work starts in mediæval times and mermen (or tritons) are discussed with relevance, among other things, to the mediæval Christian Church – mermen appeared in church carvings but often in combination with mermaids, as mermen were considerably more limited. In mediæval times they served to reinforce patriarchal notions of the Church.
By the Renaissance merpeople had been fully integrated into aspects of life. As travel became more accessible so too did these mysterious creatures;.
