Albatross, the great
wanderer of the southern seas.
This bird, often romanticized or cursed in literature, belongs to the Diomedeidae family.
They have the longest wingspan of any bird species at up to 12
feet. These amazing birds can
travel incredible distances in very short periods of time by utilizing a flying
technique called dynamic soaring, which involves gliding on wind up-drafts
above waves for more lift and maintaining flight with little to no effort.
A Wandering Albatross skimming over the
ocean’s surface. (photo from the Wikimedia Files)
Albatrosses, because of
their prolonged flying above the oceans, feed on organisms found on the ocean
surface such as: fish, cephalopods (squid), krill, crabs, and more. They will feast on carrion floating on the
water surface as well. They tend
to hang around ships to take advantage of any fish waste left behind.
Perhaps largely due to the
reliance on the wind for transportation for both Albatrosses and sailors, their
frequent interactions would eventually lead to the Albatross becoming an
integral part of maritime superstition.
During the Age of the
Sail, seamen were highly superstitious.
Life at sea was very dangerous and difficult. Many behaviors or habits we wouldn’t give much thought to in
this day and age would be taboo onboard a sailing ship as it was believed to
bring bad luck (No whistling, women, red heads, or bananas on board; don’t set
sail on certain days; don’t utter words like drowning, goodbye, good luck, or
pig; no cutting/trimming hair, beards, and nails while at sea).
The Albatross is both a
sign of good and bad luck. The
main belief is that the Albatross carries the souls of dead mariners. Sighting one flying overhead was considered
good luck as the sailors believed that the mariner soul the Albatross carried
had come to protect them from harm or bring needed winds for the ship’s
sails. Some sailors believed an
Albatross sighting would be a bad omen as it would mean someone was doomed to
die in the near future. Regardless
of which way a sailor would view the Albatross, the shooting and killing of an
Albatross was a promised curse to befall the entire crew.
The poem, The Rime of
the Ancient Mariner by Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, illustrates both sides of luck the Albatross represents. Following are excerpts from that epic
poem:
The Wedding-Guest sat
on a stone:
He cannot choose but
hear;
And thus spake on that
ancient man,
The bright-eyed
Mariner.
Translation: An old
mariner pulls aside a young man going to a wedding to tell a story.
'The ship was cheered,
the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below
the hill,
Below the lighthouse
top.
And now the STORM-BLAST
came, and he
Was tyrannous and
strong:
He struck with his
o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south
along.
The ice was here, the
ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled,
and roared and howled,
Like noises in a
swound!
At length did cross an
Albatross,
Thorough the fog it
came;
As if it had been a
Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's
name.
It ate the food it
ne'er had eat,
And round and round it
flew.
The ice did split with
a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us
through!
And a good south wind
sprung up behind;
The Albatross did
follow,
And every day, for food
or play,
Came to the mariner's
hollo!
To help translate the
above, the sailors sailed from the harbor in
fine weather, then a terrible storm drove them south to be surrounded by ice
fields. An Albatross came and they
offered the bird food. The
Albatross flew around until the ice split and the ship’s helmsmen steered them
out. A good wind caught their
sails to continue their journey.
In mist or cloud, on
mast or shroud,
It perched for vespers
nine;
Whiles all the night,
through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white
Moon-shine.'
'God save thee, ancient
Mariner!
From the fiends, that
plague thee thus!—
Why look'st thou
so?'—With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.
Translation: A mysterious fog shrouds the ship. They cannot see. A sailor panics and shoots the
Albatross.
And I had done a hellish
thing,
And it would work 'em
woe:
For all averred, I had
killed the bird
That made the breeze to
blow.
Ah wretch! said they,
the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to
blow!
The sailor realizes his
woe.
Day after day, day
after day,
We stuck, nor breath
nor motion;
As idle as a painted
ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Translation: The crew is now trapped on calm water
with no breeze to carry them away.
Ah! well a-day! what
evil looks
Had I from old and
young!
Instead of the cross,
the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
Translation: The sailor is made to wear the
Albatross to display his shame by the rest of the crew.
The story continues
on. The cursed mariner is the sole
survivor of a doomed ship and crew.
He lives the rest of his life in great pain and the only relief he may
receive is by sharing his tale as he does with the young man that was on his
way to a wedding.
Normally, I would share
the whole story here, but you would still be reading the poem by the time my
next bird lore blog came out. So,
the entirety of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner can be found here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253.
