|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
kraken
kraken, a mythical sea monster of enormous size said to inhabit the waters off the coasts of Norway and Sweden. According to one legend the kraken lies sleeping on the seabed battening on huge sea worms in its sleep; when the waters at the bottom of the sea grow warm from the fires of hell, the monster will rise to the surface and die. Another legend has the monster rising from the sea and lying on the surface like an island, only to sink again to the bottom. It is sometimes depicted in the form of a giant squid.
Belief in the kraken's existence can be traced back at least to 1555 when Bishop Olaus Magnus of Sweden described it as having a skin which looked like gravel on the seashore so that men were tempted, when it appeared on the surface, to think it was in fact an island, and to land on it and light fires to cook their victuals. It was also reported that in 1700 a Danish priest celebrated mass on its back. Bishop Pontoppidan of Norway described the kraken as an enormous sea monster but poured scorn on it rising to the surface in the shape of an island. |
|
|
Cite this article
"kraken." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kraken." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 14, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-kraken.html "kraken." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-kraken.html |
|
kraken
kraken an enormous mythical sea monster said to appear off the coast of Norway.
|
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kraken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kraken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 14, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-kraken.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kraken." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-kraken.html |
|
kraken
kraken •blacken, bracken, slacken
•Sri Lankan
•Alaskan, Gascon, Madagascan, Nebraskan
•Aachen, darken, hearken, kraken, Marcan, Petrarchan
•Interlaken
•beckon, Deccan, pekan, reckon
•Mencken
•awaken, bacon, betaken, forsaken, Jamaican, mistaken, partaken, shaken, taken, waken
•godforsaken
•archdeacon, beacon, Costa Rican, deacon, Dominican, Mohican, Mozambican, Puerto Rican, weaken
•quicken, sicken, stricken, thicken, Wiccan
•silken
•Incan, Lincoln
•brisken, Franciscan
•barbican • Rubicon • Gallican
•Anglican
•Helicon, pelican
•basilican, Millikan, silicon
•publican • pantechnicon • Copernican
•African • American • hurricane
•lexicon, Mexican
•Corsican • Vatican • liken
•Brocken, Moroccan
•falcon, Lorcan, Majorcan, Minorcan
•Balcon, Balkan
•gyrfalcon
•awoken, bespoken, betoken, broken, foretoken, oaken, outspoken, plain-spoken, ryokan, spoken, token, woken
•heartbroken
•Lucan, toucan
•Saarbrücken • Buchan • Vulcan
•drunken, Duncan, shrunken, sunken
•Etruscan, molluscan (US molluskan), Tuscan
•Ardnamurchan • lochan
|
|
|
Cite this article
"kraken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kraken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 14, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kraken.html "kraken." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kraken.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
