Hafgufa
Sign in to saveAlso known as Hafgufu, havguva, havgumsen, havstramben
' ( "sea" + "steam"; "sea-reek"; "sea-steamer'") is a sea creature, purported to inhabit Iceland's waters (Greenland Sea) and southward toward Helluland. Although it was thought to be a sea monster, research suggests that the stories originated from a specialized feeding technique among whales known as trap-feeding.
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Nomenclature
- Norwegian ''King's Mirror''
- Odd's saga
- Original sea monster and analogues
- In popular culture
- Explanatory notes
- References
' ( "sea" + "steam"; "sea-reek"; "sea-steamer'") is a sea creature, purported to inhabit Iceland's waters (Greenland Sea) and southward toward Helluland. Although it was thought to be a sea monster, research suggests that the stories originated from a specialized feeding technique among whales known as trap-feeding.
The hafgufa is mentioned in the mid-13th century Norwegian tract called the Konungs skuggsjá ("King's Mirror"). Later recensions of Örvar-Odds saga feature hafgufa and lyngbakr as similar but distinct creatures.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hafgufa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.