But an 11-hour flight beats Felix's three weeks in a boat with storms, seasickness, pirates, and the dangerous grosse Merfisch of the deep:
"Yet another peril is to be met with, which is called Troyp, from the fish Trays, which, when it becomes aware of a ship, comes forth from the depths, and pierces the ship with his beak; for he has a beak fashioned like an auger, and unless he be driven away from the ship he bores through it. He cannot be forced away from the ship save by a fearless look, so that one should lean out of the ship over the water, and unflinchingly look into the eyes of the fish, while the fish meanwhile looks at him with a terrible gaze. If he who looks at the fish grows terrified, and begins to turn his eyes away, the beast straightway rises, snatches him down beneath the water, and devours him. Let this suffice about the perils of the sea." -- Fabri, Wanderings, vol. VII, p. 125.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KA 16, fol. 106v
I love this picture. It looks like a painting that one of my brothers teachers painted. Thats pretty creepy about looking at the fish and turning away in fear. I would never want to come along one of these fish.
ReplyDeleteThis passage sounds creepy in the way that the fish attacks if you look away. I am horrible at staring contests so doing it with a fish would be tragic for me. I would make sure that someone else was looking over the edge.
ReplyDeleteThis fish story makes me think of the fish that are in the Mississippi River in some areas. They are a fish that jump out of the water sometimes over the boat (if the boat is small). I was wondering if Felix had seen a fish that is similar to a sword fish or even a sword fish?
ReplyDeleteI've actually heard this passage from somewhere. It makes a good point on the perils of the sea and how easily it can devour someone. Hopefully I will never come face to face with a creature such as this one. Just the image of it is intimidating.
ReplyDeleteA three week boat ride sounds just terrible, especially when having to worry about fish drilling holes in your ship. Compared to this, taking an airplane sounds like a breeze. I don't know how effective staring at a fish is if trying to drive it away, but I suppose it would be worth a shot. If it was me, though, I'd probably try to net the thing and cook it for dinner!
ReplyDeleteThis story seems very familiar and reminds me of the story in the bible of Jonah being swallowed by the whale. It’s just interesting how a lot of biblical stories all tie to one another. But this picture is very cool, and I like the use of all the colors, it makes this portrayal stands out.
ReplyDeleteVery neat story, as Fred said; i see the resemblance to the Bible. Very cool picture as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Painting looks really mesmerizing. It as the evil look in it and the story is familiar to the story's of Hindu mythology. I love the colours used in this painting. It actually shows the ferociousness in the fish as man eater.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. The passage and the painting both have some very interesting features to them.
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