Merrow

Merrow (from Irish murúch, Middle Irish murdúchann or murdúchu) is an Irish-English term for a mermaid or merman.

The word appears in two tales set in Ireland published in the 19th century. In Lady of Gollerus, a green-haired beautiful merrow is forced to wed a local Kerry man who deprives her of the "magical cap" (cohuleen druith). And in the The Soul Cages a green-bodied grotesque male merrow entertains a fisherman at his home, displaying a collection of castaway human souls.

These tales with commentary were first published in T. C. Croker's Fairy Legends (1828). William Butler Yeats and others writing on the subject borrowed heavily from this work. The latter tale was not genuine folktale but piece invented by Thomas Keightley.

A number of other terms in Irish are used to denote a mermaid or sea-nymph, some tracing back to mythological tracts from the medieval to the post-medieval period. The Middle Irish murdúchann is a siren-like creatures encountered by legendary ancestors of the Irish (either Goidels or Milesians) according to the Book of Invasions. This and suire are terms for the mermaid that appear in onomastic tales of the Dindsenchas. A muirgheilt, literally "sea-lunatic", is the term for the mermaid Lí Ban.

Merrow (disambiguation)

Merrow may refer to

People

Ogre (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, ogres are a lesser race of giants. An aquatic subrace of ogres is known as "merrow". D&D ogres are also closely related to the race of ogre magi, a more intelligent race with blue skin and great magical abilities. Typically Ogres stand between nine and ten feet tall and can weigh up to 650 lbs. Ogres are closely related to trolls, and are distantly related to the various races of giants.

Publication history

Ogres have a long history within the Dungeons & Dragons game.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974–1976)

The ogre was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974). They are described simply as large and fearsome monsters.

Ogre variants appeared in Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)

The ogre appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where they are described as ugly-tempered and voracious creatures sometimes found as mercenaries.