It’s dipped into single digits this week here, and have been thinking of the cold, admiring the return of ice ferns on windows:
And was reminded of this accounting of the cold, written by Olaus Magnus (1490-1557), who wrote A Treatise concerning the Northern Peoples in 1555. In addition to the descriptions of the northern lands, he also wrote of the many fantastical creatures living in the cold northern waters—all detailed on a map, the Carta Marina, that became the most accurate map of Scandinavia of its day. But it’s the meditation on cold that is staying with me right now…
Cold burns they eyes of animals and stiffens their hairs.
Cold makes wild beasts seek out men’s dwellings, wanting to relieve their hunger…
Cold makes wolves fiercer than normal to all animals and also to each other…
Cold causes the pelts of all animals to be thicker and handsomer.
Cold allows fish to be kept fresh for five or six months without salt.
Cold causes fish to die of suffocation under the ice if it is not broken.
Cold always stimulates greater voracity in animals…
Cold makes hares, foxes, and ermines change color.
Cold causes copper, glass, and earthenware vessels to break…
Cold allows games and the most delightful shows to be held on the ice…
Cold causes dry and leafy tree-trunks to produce a huge noise when they crack.
Cold causes clothes, when slightly damp, to stick to iron, if they touch it…
Cold makes all seed sown in the ground come up in greater abundance…
Cold causes inns to be set up, markets to be held, and wars to take place on frozen waters…
Cold causes nails to spring out from walls, doors, and locks.
Cold breaks stones in the field, earthenware, and glass jars.
Cold compresses greased shoes or leggings till they are as hard as bone.
Cold causes coughs, colds, and similar ailments.
Cold makes lips that touch iron stick to it as if held by indissoluble pitch.
What fascinating topics for exploration. First the woman’s name like saying Eadburg was here and that chamber of no sounds. Several times in an echocardiogram I have heard the sloshing of my blood and gurgling is the word that comes. At first startling but then comforting as it repeated over and over. Thank you for such interesting reads on a wild and windy night on the coast of Maine.
how fascinating that you experienced that sound and it lapsing into being a comfort. i love that--and love to think of you reading this on a wild evening in coastal Maine. 💜
I’m halfway through Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez, which had me well prepared to read the meditation on cold. Thanks for sharing.
It’s a classic isn’t it? Glad you enjoyed reading!
Soundless chambers terrify me because my tinnitus is so bad.
Also, the meditation on cold is fantastic.
ha, well, yes that would take away the experience for me as well--
What fascinating topics for exploration. First the woman’s name like saying Eadburg was here and that chamber of no sounds. Several times in an echocardiogram I have heard the sloshing of my blood and gurgling is the word that comes. At first startling but then comforting as it repeated over and over. Thank you for such interesting reads on a wild and windy night on the coast of Maine.
how fascinating that you experienced that sound and it lapsing into being a comfort. i love that--and love to think of you reading this on a wild evening in coastal Maine. 💜