The Mary-Morgen are water fairies resembling women, sharing the symbolism of mermaids. They are part of the legendary heritage of Brittany, inhabitants of a beauty that fascinated the entire island of Ouessant. Morgens, Morgans, or Mari-Morgans are water spirits originating from Welsh and Breton folklore. These spirits are known for their association with bodies of water and their alleged propensity to drown men.
Etymology
In Breton, “Mor” means “sea,” and “ganet” means “born.” Therefore, Mary-Morgen literally means beings born of the sea. Anglophone forms include Marie-Morgan and Mari-Morgan.
According to Luzel, the plural of morgan is morganed, and their women are called morganezed.
Origin
The earliest mention of the name “Morgen” appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini, identifying the ruler of Avalon as “Morgen.” This connection suggests a potential link between Morgan le Fay and Breton myths. However, medievalist Lucy Allen Paton opposes this idea. She asserts that the Welsh name Morgen was pronounced as “Morien” in the twelfth century. Additionally, Paton notes that, apart from residing on an island, Morgan le Fay wasn’t initially linked to the sea in earlier literary works; this association emerged in later literature.
Description
On the north coast of Finistère, especially in Ouessant, it was believed until the late 19th century in the existence of the Morgans, a people living under the sea and emerging to walk along the shore. François-Marie Luzel collected the legend in 1873, also reported by Paul Sébillot in the “Revue des traditions populaires” in 1899.
According to François-Marie Luzel, the morganed are small men and women who live under the waves, led by a king whose palace surpassed in wonders anything on land. The Mary-Morgen would sometimes play on the sandy shores in the moonlight, but they could not be observed for long because, with the blink of an eye, everything would vanish. The Mary-Morgen are said to be peaceful and good-natured, and men would take advantage of them. However, this deception is mutual, as these creatures present themselves in the most enticing forms to lure men into the depths of the waters.
One of their representatives is Dahut, the cursed daughter of King Gradlon, transformed into a mermaid for condemning the city of Ys. She enchants sailors, dragging them to the depths of the sea, unleashing storms but also calming the wind. In local folklore, if parents or friends did not return in the evening, it was believed that Mary-Morgen had calmed their boat offshore.
Paul Sébillot describes the Mary-Morgen as creatures spending their time pursuing young fishermen with their romantic solicitations. If, unfortunately, one succumbed to their advances, they would be drawn under the waves and never seen again.
According to Édouard Brasey, the Mary-Morgen are feminine water fairies with the appearance of women, living only near the coasts and never in the open sea. They favor cave entrances and river mouths, residing in sumptuous underwater palaces where they lure their lovers—fishermen or sailors—who become their eternal prisoners but enjoy infinite pleasures in these underwater palaces, forgetting their terrestrial lives. Effigies of mermaids can be found in Breton churches.
Morgen Legends
The island of Ouessant
The oral tradition of the island of Ouessant preserved stories of Mary-Morgen frequenting the shores, collected by François-Marie Luzel in 1873.
Two young girls from Ouessant were once collecting seashells by the sea and spotted a Morgens drying her treasures in the sun, spread on two beautiful white cloths. The two curious girls approached her without being noticed, and the Morgen, surprised to see that the young girls were kind, gentle, and wise, gave each of them a treasure, instructing them to only look at it when they returned home. One of them, too impatient to see what she thought were marvelous treasures, opened her cloth and found only horse dung.
The other girl went home and opened her treasure in front of her parents: precious stones, pearls, gold, and rich fabrics. The family became wealthy and built a beautiful house. According to legend, their descendants still inhabit the island of Ouessant and live in wealth thanks to the treasure from the Morgen.
The Crozon cave
Paul Sébillot reports a legend mentioning the Mary-Morgen in the Morgat cave in Crozon, Finistère. The place was often inaccessible due to the sea level. One day, a local lord wishing for a child found an abandoned girl in a rush basket on his way. He took her to his castle, where he and his wife raised her as their own daughter.
However, often during the night, the child would disappear from her crib, and no one could find her. When she grew older, a “folgoat” horse would come to fetch her in the castle courtyard, and she would disappear for weeks. Her adoptive parents tried to keep her, but one day she did not return. According to the legend, she remains in the Crozon cave, the dwelling of the Mary-Morgen.
A Mary-Morgen is also said to live near Vannes, in the Duke’s pond. She can be seen on summer mornings, coming out of the water to comb her long seaweed hair in the sun and weave crowns of gladioli. She is believed to be a princess who jumped into the lake to escape a forced marriage.
The city of Ys
According to another Breton legend, the city of Ys was submerged, and when the sea calmed, the holy man Guénolé wanted to say a mass for the salvation of the city. As he raised his chalice, he saw the white torso of a girl with copper hair, with one arm raised to the sky, emerging from the waters. A tail of blue scales finished her body. It was Ahès-Dahut, turned into a Mary-Morgen. Guénolé’s hand trembled, and his chalice slipped from his grasp, shattering on the rocks. The mass was not consummated, and for this reason, the city of Ys remained cursed, and Ahès-Dahut was a prisoner in her mermaid form. Whenever she appears, a terrible storm erupts.
Symbolism
François-Marie Luzel compares the Mary-Morgen to marine creatures in Nordic traditions, such as nixes and undines, who steal human children.
Pop Culture
“Mari Vorgan” is the title of a novel by Roparz Hemon, published by Al Liamm. Many boats have carried and still carry the name Mary-Morgen.
“Sébastien et la Mary-Morgen” is a television series that aired in the early 1970s. The story continues Sébastien’s childhood after the series “Belle et Sébastien” and “Sébastien parmi les hommes.”