shelidonJuly 1, 2024Leave a Comment

Well, we’re back with our collection of strange sea lore, and apologies for the interruption but work has been wild and I had to focus on the revision of my novel.

Where?

This legend takes place in Orford Castle — in Suffolk, Southeast England — a manor near the homonymous Ness and not too far from the sea. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by King Henry II to consolidate royal power in the region and counter the influence of powerful local nobles like the Bigod family, powerful Normans who rose to prominence in England after the conquest and held the earldom of Norfolk from the 12th to 13th centuries.

All that survives of the castle is its polygonal keep, described as one of the most remarkable in England, and it was likely based on Byzantine architecture, which makes it a rather unique design for an English castle. Its construction cost the substantial sum of £1,414 9s 2d, as recorded in the Royal Pipe Rolls. Over the centuries, the castle passed through various owners, including Richard I, King John, and the Ufford and Willoughby families, but the legend we’re concerned with happened right after its construction.

What happened?

According to the chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall, in around 1167 local fishermen caught a naked, hairy “wild man” in their nets near Orford.
Ralph was an English chronicler who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a monk of the Cistercian abbey at Coggeshall in Essex who later served as the abbey’s sixth abbot from 1207 to 1218. He had traveled with the Crusaders in 1185 and was present during the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, receiving a head wound that caused him suffering later in life, so maybe part of his chronicles are due to battle wounds and migraine, but his “Chronicle of English Affairs” provides an important primary source for the early years of King John’s reign. He also wrote the “Chronicon Anglicanum”, covering the years from 1187 to 1224 and continuing an earlier chronicle started in 1066, and continued the chronicle of Ralph Niger, extending it from 1162 to 1178. The story of the wild man is included in the first chronicle.

The fishermen brought the strange creature back to Orford Castle, where the constable held him captive for several months. The man was understandably pissed and, according to the chronicles, he both refused to speak and behaved in a feral manner.
It’s unclear whether the man was believed to be a merfolk: some accounts describe the creature as a “merman”, suggesting it may have been some kind of sea-dwelling humanoid, but other stories support the theory of a regular wild man, as they will be very popular in the XVII century, who was simply unfortunate enough to be caught by a net. The incident apparently inspired the growth of “wild man” carvings on baptismal fonts in churches across coastal areas of Suffolk and Norfolk.
According to this source, the Market Square of Orford holds a memorial to him, and other representations can be found on the Butley Orford Oysterage and on Pinney’s Quay.

Eventually, the wild man managed to escape from the castle and return to the sea.

Sources

Aside from the original source, the tale is told by Richard Jones in his Myths and Legends of Britain and Ireland. Here’s how he tells the story:

There is little today to suggest what a prosperous port Orford once was, save the ruins of its mighty castle built in 1165 by Henry II. It was to this imposing fortress that a group of agitated fishermen brought a most remarkable catch. Having spent a day trawling the waters off the Suffolk coast, they noticed that their nets were unusually heavy, and they discovered a strange creature caught up amongst the fish.

It resembled a man, but its naked body was covered with hair, a long, shaggy beard, and a bald crown. Over the days that followed, the castle governor, Bartholomew de Granville, attempted to communicate with his strange prisoner but to no avail. Apart from a few grunts, the Wild Man of Orford, as he became known, would say nothing. They fed him a diet of raw fish from which he would always wring out the moisture before eating. They even took him to a service at Orford Church and were perturbed to discover the sacraments meant nothing to him.

However, he seemed relatively happy at the castle and did not attempt to escape, even when he was taken to sea for a swim. After a few months, he began to grow restless. One day, when his guardians took him for his customary swim, he slipped beneath the surface and was never seen again.

If you prefer podcasts, I can recommend you this one by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.

Amy Elizabeth did a beautiful lithograph inspired by this legend and you can buy it here.