Introduction
The Myth of Melusina
The Myth of Pressina (Melusina's Mother)
The Framework of the Melusina Myth
Fairy Tales Influenced by the Melusina Myth
Sources for the Melusina Myth
Bibliography
About the Author

MELUSINA

by Homeira Foth

In French mythology, Melusina, or Melusine, was a water-sprite related to the Dames Blanches (the white ladies). The Melusina legend became extremely popular during the middle-ages, especially in the northern regions of France. Melusina was a cherished figure among noblemen and members of the royalty; some individuals even claimed to be related to her. In the early 1500s, Jean d'Arras, a French historian, received orders from the Duke of Berry to record all the information he could gather on Melusina. Jean d'Arras spent a number of years researching and collecting material for his major work, Chronique de Melusine. Much of his research was indebted to William de Portenach's previous chronicles on the history of Melusina. Portenach's manuscripts no longer exists; therefore, Chronique de Melusine is the oldest surviving written text on the Melusina myth. In 1478, Arras's other work, Le Liure de Melusine en Fracoys was published posthumously. Arras's work added to the popularization of the myth and, after his death, numerous versions of the Melusina myth were published in different languages, including German, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, and Italian (for a detailed list of these works please refer to Sabine Baring-Gould's chapter on Melusina, in Curious Myths of the Middle Ages).

The following is a short summary of the myth of Melusina, followed by a summary of the myth of Pressina (Melusina's mother); the two myths bear some obvious similarities, and may have a shared origin.

The Myth of Melusina

Emmerick, the Count of Poitou, was a wealthy and generous nobleman with two children, Bertram and Blanifert. One day as Emmerick was coming back from a hunting trip he met another count, the Count de la Foret, who through some misfortune, had lost all of his money. Out of kindness, Emmerick allowed Count de la Foret to live on his land; he also adopted his eldest son, Raymond, as a way to ease Foret's financial burden. Raymond and Emmerick became good friends and went on many hunting trips together. However, on one tragic trip, Emmerick was attacked by a wild boar, and Raymond in an effort to save him, took out his sword and killed the wild boar, yet in the process accidentally killed Emmerick as well. Raymond became extremely distraught by this event. He rode aimlessly for days on his horse, not knowing where he was going, and not knowing how to explain the accident to Emmerick's family. In the height despair, Raymond came upon a fountain in the middle of the forest: Le Fontaine de Soif("the Fountain of Thirst"). Sitting by the fountain were three women dressed in white. Raymond had never seen a sight as beautiful as the three women. One of the women, acknowledged Raymond, and introduced herself as "Melusina." She offered Raymond some water and asked him why he looked so sad. Melusina not only comforted Raymond but also gave him advice on how to explain Emmerick's death to Bertram and Blanifert. While listening to Melusina's kind words, Raymond became enchanted by her beauty and wisdom. He fell in love with Melusina and asked for her hand in marriage. Melusina said she would marry Raymond on one condition: He was not allowed to see her on Saturdays, under any circumstances. Raymond agreed to her terms, and head back home with both good news about the marriage and bad news about Emmerick's death.

Raymond and Melusina married and shortly thereafter. Melusina, with her own hands, built a majestic castle and named it Lusinia. They had numerous children, yet every one of them was strangely deformed in some manner. Urian, their first child, had pendulous ears, with one red eye and one green eye; Gedes had a scarlet-colored face; Gyot had one eye above the other; Anthony had only one eye. Geoffrey, one of the younger sons, had boar's tusks instead of teeth; he was known as Geoffrey "Le Grand Dente" ("the Great Tooth"), or Geoffrey "the Horrible" due to his violent disposition.

Raymond and Melusina lived peacefully for a number of years. However, one Saturday night, during dinner, Raymond's father, Count de la Foret, and his brothers teased him about his wife's secretive behavior until he was unable to suppress his curiosity any longer. Raymond went upstairs to her chamber to find her, and there he heard the bath running. He quietly opened the door to the bath just enough to see an unbelievable sight: Melusina, from the waist up, was her beautiful self; yet, from the waist down, her body had been transformed into a giant serpent's tale. Raymond, although disturbed by the sight, did not mention what he saw for sometime. One day Melusina and Raymond were informed that their sons Geoffrey and Fromont had fought and that Fromont, in order to seek refuge, had escaped to a nearby monastery. However, Geoffrey, in a fit of rage, had burned down the monastery, killing not only his brother, but a hundred monks as well. Raymond was angered by the news and blamed Melusina for Geoffrey's uncontrollable behavior. When Melusina attempted to comfort him, he pushed her away and said, "Away odious serpent, contaminator of an honorable race!" Immediately after the words were uttered, Raymond regretted what he had said and asked for forgiveness. It was too late. Melusina reminded him that he had broken the vow, and said she must leave forever. Then she transformed herself into her serpentine form and flew away.

According to French legends, Melusina would fly around Lusinia and other castles where kings and noblemen lived, crying and wailing when something tragic was about to occur to the family. She became an omen of death.

The Myth of Pressina (Melusina's Mother)

Helmas, the King of Albania, who had recently lost his wife, spent a great deal of time hunting alone. On one of his hunting trip he came across a fountain where he saw a beautiful woman, the fairy Pressina. He fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. Pressina agreed to the marriage on one condition: he was not allowed to see her during her lying-in. He consented and in a short time after their marriage, Pressina became pregnant and gave birth to three daughters at once: Melusina, Melior, and Plantina. The King's son from the first marriage told his father the good news, and Helmas, out of the sheer excitement of having triplets broke his promise by rushing into Pressina's room. Pressina became very upset at her husband. She scolded him, took the children and ran way. She escaped to Cephalonia, a hidden island. When her daughters were fifteen years of age, Pressina told them about their father and how he had broken the breach of promise. Out of the three daughters, Melusina was the most angered and sought revenge of her father. She convinced her sisters to help her kidnap the father and imprison him inside of Mount Brandelois. Pressina was enraged at Melusina's cruel behavior and as a punishment placed a curse on her: she would turn into a monstrous half-serpent creature every Saturday of her life.

The Framework of the Melusina Myth

According to Baring-Gould, the structure or the framework of the Melusina story is based on a mythical archetype involving mortal men and supernatural women. The general framework can be broken down as such: The Melusina myth fits this model with one exception: Raymond never recovers Melusina.

Fairy Tales Influenced by the Melusina Myth

Popular European fairy tales, such as "Undine," written by Lamotte Fouque, and "The Little Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen, possess many characteristics of the Melusina story and can be viewed as variations of the myth. In "Undine," a young knight falls in love with a water fairy, Undine, and asks her to marry him. He promises Undine that he will never leave her; however, the young knight falls in love with another, a mortal woman, and as a result abandons Undine. Undine is heartbroken and ,on the eve of the young knight's wedding to his new love, she comes to him in his sleep and kisses him to death. In "The Little Mermaid," a mermaid saves a prince from drowning after a shipwreck and falls madly in love with him. She decides she wantes to be a mortal with legs in order to be near him. The little mermaid makes a deal with a water sorceress by which she gains legs but suffers from excruciating pain when she walks. She also has to give up her beautiful voice. In her human form she becomes the Prince's constant attendant, yet he never falls in love with her since he is not able to talk to her. He eventually marries a princess, and the little mermaid is left heartbroken. In the end, the little mermaid leaves the prince and returns to the sea as a water spirit.

Sources for the Melusina Myth

Baring-Gould contends that the Melusina myth finds its roots in Celtic mythology. In Celtic mythology, Banshees are female spirits who linger around certain households, lamenting and wailing when someone in the family is about to die. In French mythology, the "White Ladies," or the Les Dames Blanches, have some of the same characteristics as the Irish Banshees; therefore, it is possible that the Melusina myth originated in Ireland, was carried over time to the northern regions of France, such as Normandy and Brittany, and was gradually assimilated into local French myths. Baring-Gould argues that no figures from other myths correspond as closely to the Banshees as do the White Ladies of French mythology.

The "White Ladies" were primarily associated with the Normandy region in France. The French believed that these fairies crowded the forests of Normandy and lurked near streams, bridges, and ravines, where they would accost lost travelers. The White Ladies were generally known as being irresistibly beautiful, yet they were also cruel and furtive. They stopped travelers and forced them to dance or to answer their cryptic riddles. If travelers refused to dance, or if they gave wrong answers, the White Ladies would torment them, and afterward toss them into ditches. Melusina and her sisters qualify as White Ladies, yet unlike the White Ladies they were friendly and helpful to lost wayfarers. The White Ladies also functioned as intermediaries between the living and the dead, and as a result possessed abilities to foresee deaths. Like the Celtic Banshees, the White Ladies warned mortals of imminent deaths in families by lingering outside homes, weeping and wailing.

According to Baring-Gould, another source for the Melusina myth can be traced back to the mermaid or merman figure found in ancient art. Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans, all seem to have their own version of the mermaid or merman figure. Archeological excavations of all these civilizations have revealed engravings on stones of mermaid-like creatures. It is difficult to pinpoint the genesis of these creatures; however, this phenomenon does suggest stories and myths travel across countries and continents, and along the way are modifed or altered to fit the needs of the culture at hand. The Melusina myth can, in a simple manner, be viewed as an amalgam of Celtic mythology with a number of other ancient myths.

Bibliography

Baring-Gould, Sabine. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. London: Rivington, 1877.
Briggs, Katharine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies. New York: Pantheon, 1976.
Robinson, Herbert Spencer and Knox Wilson. Myths and Legends of All Nations. Savage, Maryland: Littlefield Adams, 1990.

Homeira Foth is currently a graduate student in the English department at San Jose State University. This essay is based on an oral report she made to an Engl 256: Twentieth Century British Literature seminar in the fall of 1997.

© 1998 Homeira Foth. All rights reserved.