Marbendill Postcard

The Marbendill has no interest in luring anyone and mostly wishes to be left to his own devices under the sea. Best described as a psychic, slightly weird Merman, most tales describe the Marbendill as humanoid-like from the navel up, with his bottom half reminiscent of a seal’s. He is a marine creature and doesn’t like leaving the ocean. Sightings of the beings thus only occur when they get caught in fishermen’s nets – or when their bodies drift ashore post-mortem (there are also reports of them being found in sharks’ bellies). Apparently, they’ve resided in Iceland’s waters for a long time; there are records of Marbendill encounters in Landnámabók, the book that tells the tale of Iceland’s first settlers. Marbendill is a wise and mysterious being, almost oracle like in character. Indeed, Marbendill-tales almost always involve him negotiating his way out of captivity from a fisherman who’s caught him by accident and decides to keep him.