“Where in the marisches boometh the bittern,
Nicker the Soul-less sits with his ghittern,
Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless,
Wailing his destiny, Nicker the Soul-less.”
From Brother Fabian’s Manuscript.
In the middle ages these water spirits were believed sometimes to leave their native streams, to appear at village dances, where they were recognised by the wet hem of their garments. They often sat beside the flowing brook or river, playing on a harp, or singing alluring songs while combing out their long golden or green hair.
“The Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays,
And mermaidens comb out their green hair always,
And bleach here their shining white clothes.”
Stagnelius (Keightley’s tr.).