知識の鮭

知識の鮭（Salmon of Knowledge） (An Bradán Feasa) は、アイルランド神話のフェニアン・サイクルに登場する生き物で、時に「賢者」として知られ、かつて鮭に変身したフィンタン・マク・ボクラと同一視されることもある。

フィニアン・サイクル

鮭の物語は『フィンの少年時代』において重要であり、この物語はフィン・マックールの若き日の冒険を描いている。物語では、普通の鮭が知恵の泉（Connla's Well、『アン・トバー・セガイス（an Tobar Segais）』）を取り囲む九本のハシバミの木から泉に落ちた九つのハシバミの実を食べた。この行為によって、鮭は世界のあらゆる知識を得た。その鮭の身を最初に食べた者は、同様にこの知識を得るとのことだ。

詩人フィネガスはこの鮭を捕まえようと七年間釣りを続けた。ついにフィネガスは鮭を釣り上げ、従者でありクー・ハイルの息子であるフーリンに魚を渡した。調理するよう命じたが、決して食べてはならないと厳命した。フーリンは鮭を何度もひっくり返しながら調理したが、火の通り具合を確かめようと親指で魚に触れた時、熱々の脂が滴り落ちて指を火傷した。フーリンは痛みを和らげようと火傷した指を舐めた。フーリンは知らなかった――鮭の知恵のすべてが、その一滴の脂に凝縮されていたことを。調理した食事をフィネガスに持っていくと、主人は少年の目にこれまで見たことのない知恵が輝いていることに気づいた。フィネガスはフーリンに鮭を食べたかどうか尋ねた。

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.

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 Hanes Taliesin (16th c.) has a similar story of how the poet Taliesin received his wisdom, that also involves shape-shifting into the form of a fish.

Heinrich Zimmer suggested that the episode may have been transferred from Scandinavia as part of the heritage of the Norse-Gaels. 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 テンプレート:Lang "enemies (pl.)" > "brave enemies" > "brave (free) warriors" (Zimmer 1891, p. 15ff),.

In the Icelandic 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 Hreiðmarr. The treasure Hreiðmarr was receiving as ransom was then protected by his son Fáfnir, who took the shape of a 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. 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.

The motif is well-known in European folktales and corresponds to Aarne–Thompson type 673 (KHM 17, see 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. 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

In the 1973 movie The Wicker Man directed by Robin Hardy, a villager dresses up as the Salmon of Knowledge during the May Day celebrations. 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 Salmon story as a source of her inspiration in her childhood.

See also

• Mead of poetry
• Hallucinogenic fish

Sources

• The boyhood of Fin mac Cumhal テンプレート:Webarchive In: T. W. Rolleston (ed.) The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland, G. G. Harrap & Co., 1910, pp. 106–115.
• The Salmon of Knowledge Celtic.org. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
• The Boyhood Deeds of Finn mac Cumhaill