「知識の鮭」を編集中

The '''知識の鮭（Salmon of Knowledge）''' (An Bradán Feasa) is a creature in the [[Fenian Cycle]] of [[Irish mythology]], sometimes identified with [[Fintan mac Bóchra]], who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.

==Fenian Cycle==
The Salmon story figures prominently in ''[[The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn]]'', which recounts the early adventures of [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]]. In the story, an ordinary [[salmon]] ate nine [[hazelnuts]] that fell into the [[Connla's Well|Well of Wisdom]] (''an Tobar Segais'') from nine hazel trees that surrounded the well. By this act, the salmon gained all the world's knowledge. The first person to eat of its flesh would in turn gain this knowledge.<ref>{{cite web|author=SEANETTA, ssm67alba|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/salmon-of-knowledge#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Big%20Fish%2C%E2%80%9D%20also,Lagan%20in%20Donegall%20Quay%2C%20Belfast. |title=The Big Fish | publisher=Atlas Obscura|access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref>

The poet [[Finn Eces]] (or Finegas) spent seven years fishing for this salmon. Finally Finn caught the salmon and gave the fish to Fionn, his servant and son of [[Cumhaill]], with instructions to cook it but on no account eat any of it. Fionn cooked the salmon, turning it over and over, but when he touched the fish with his thumb to see if it was cooked, he burnt his finger on a drop of hot cooking fish fat. Fionn sucked on his burned finger to ease the pain. Little did Fionn know that all the salmon's wisdom had been concentrated into that one drop of fat. When he brought the cooked meal to Finn Eces, his master saw that the boy's eyes shone with a previously unseen wisdom. Finn Eces asked Fionn if he had eaten any of the salmon. Answering no, the boy explained what had happened. Finn Eces realized that Fionn had received the wisdom of the salmon, so gave him the rest of the fish to eat. Fionn ate the salmon and in so doing gained all the knowledge of the world. For the rest of his life, Fionn could draw upon this knowledge merely by biting his thumb. The deep knowledge and wisdom gained from the Salmon of Knowledge allowed Fionn to become the leader of the [[Fianna]], the famed heroes of Irish myth.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bvkq9UZUVkQC&pg=180|title=Ériu|date=1904|publisher=Royal Irish Academy|pages=Kuno Meyer, "The Boyish Exploits of Finn", pp. 185–186|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn mac Cumhaill|url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/f02.html|access-date=2021-01-05|website=www.maryjones.us}}</ref>

== Related mythologies ==
In Irish mythology, several primordial beings that personify old age and ancient knowledge are described as taking the shape of a salmon. Most notably, this includes [[Fintan mac Bóchra]] and [[Tuan mac Cairill]].

The [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] [[Hanes Taliesin]] (16th c.) has a similar story of how the poet [[Taliesin]] received his wisdom,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/myths_taliesin.shtml | title=The life of Taliesin the bard |publisher = BBC Wales |access-date=18 June 2020 }}</ref> that also involves shape-shifting into the form of a fish.

[[Heinrich Zimmer (Celticist)|Heinrich Zimmer]] suggested that the episode may have been transferred from Scandinavia as part of the heritage of the [[Norse–Gaels|Norse-Gaels]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Heinrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6tJAAAAYAAJ&dq=fianna+zimmer+fiandr&pg=PA15 |title=Keltische Beiträge III, in: Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum und deutsche Litteratur |date=1891 |publisher=Weidmannsche Buchhandlung |pages=1–171 |language=de}}</ref> This is supported by further circumstantial evidence regarding Norse motifs in the Fenian cycle, including his suggestion that the name of the [[Fianna]] can be traced back to an Irish rendering of Old Norse {{Lang|non|fiandr}} "enemies (pl.)" > "brave enemies" > "brave (free) warriors" (Zimmer 1891, p.&nbsp;15ff),.<ref name=":0" />

In the [[Iceland]]ic ''[[Völsunga saga]]'' (late 13th century), these motifs also recur: [[Odin]], [[Loki]], and [[Hœnir]] slew an [[otter]] that they later found to be [[Ótr]], the son of the [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarf]] [[Hreiðmarr]]. The treasure Hreiðmarr was receiving as ransom was then protected by his son [[Fáfnir]], who took the shape of a [[Germanic dragon|worm or dragon]]. On behalf of his brother [[Regin]], Fáfnir was later slain by [[Sigurð]]. Regin asked Sigurð to cook Fáfnir's heart for him to eat, but, like Fionn, Sigurð tasted it and gained knowledge of the speech of birds. Thus he learnt about Regin's treachery and confronted him.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raszmann|first=August|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4grQAAAAMAAJ&q=niflungensage&pg=PA1|title=Bd. Die Sage von den Wölsungen und Niflungen in der Edda und Wölsungasaga|date=1863|publisher=C. Rümpler|language=de}}</ref> Similarly, [[Saxo Grammaticus]] ([[Gesta Danorum]], V.2.6-V.2.8, 12th c.) describes how Eric acquired eloquence and wisdom by eating the snake-infested stew his step-mother [[Kraka]] had prepared for his half-brother Roller.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saxo (Grammaticus)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67K6BwAAQBAJ&q=eloqu&pg=PA269|title=Gesta Danorum|date=2015|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-820523-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Erläuterungen zu den ersten neun Büchern der Dänischen Geschichte des Saxo Grammaticus Teil I Bücher I-V – Wikisource|url=https://de.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Erl%C3%A4uterungen_zu_den_ersten_neun_B%C3%BCchern_der_D%C3%A4nischen_Geschichte_des_Saxo_Grammaticus_Teil_I_B%C3%BCcher_I-V|access-date=2020-07-06|website=de.m.wikisource.org}}</ref>

The [[Motif (folkloristics)|motif]] is well-known in European folktales and corresponds to [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|Aarne–Thompson]] type 673 ([[Grimms' Fairy Tales|KHM]] 17, see [[The White Snake|The White Serpent's Flesh]]), frequently found in Central and Eastern Europe, but also in Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, in the Baltic countries and occasionally also outside Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ranke|first=Kurt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1hQZnGGXLMC&q=sprache+der+tiere+aarne+schlange&pg=PT338|title=Enzyklopädie des Märchens: Suchen-Verführung|date=2010|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-023767-2|pages=647|language=de}}</ref> As both the majority of fairy tales and the Germanic versions point to a serpent being digested, but not a salmon, it seems likely that the salmon is a substitute for an original serpent.

==In popular culture==
{{main|Irish mythology in popular culture#Salmon of Knowledge}}

In the 1973 movie ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' directed by [[Robin Hardy (film director)|Robin Hardy]], a villager dresses up as the Salmon of Knowledge during the [[May Day]] celebrations.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Walsh|first=John|url=https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Wicker_Man_The_Official_Story_of_the/oo-rEAAAQBAJ?hl=en|title=The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film|date=2023|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=978-1-80-336508-4|pages=192|language=en}}</ref>
In 2019, the [[Dublin]]-based [[Gilla Band]] released "The Salmon of Knowledge" on their album ''[[The Talkies]]'', which takes its title and some thematic content from the folk tale. [[Patti Smith]] remembers<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-11-18 |title=Opinion {{!}} Patti Smith on the One Desire That Lasts Forever |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-patti-smith.html |access-date=2025-11-23 |language=en}}</ref> Salmon story as a source of her inspiration in her childhood.

==See also==
* [[Mead of poetry]]
* [[Hallucinogenic fish]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* [http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/finnboyhood.htm The boyhood of Fin mac Cumhal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927045738/http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/finnboyhood.htm |date=27 September 2011 }} In: T. W. Rolleston (ed.) ''The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland'', [[G. G. Harrap & Co.]], 1910, pp.&nbsp;106–115.
* [https://archive.today/20081205064444/http://www.celtic.org/salmonofknowledge.html The Salmon of Knowledge] ''Celtic.org''. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
* [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/f02.html The Boyhood Deeds of Finn mac Cumhaill]

== 参照 ==

{{DEFAULTSORT:ちしきのさけ}}
[[Category:Legendary fish]]
[[Category:Fenian Cycle]]
[[Category:Salmon]]
[[Category:Medieval literature]]
[[Category:Medieval legends]]
[[Category:Hazelnuts]]
[[Category:Trees in mythology]]