Kraken

Legendary Creatures

The kraken is a legendary cryptid of enormous size, associated with the Norwegian Sea off Norway and described as something like a cephalopod. The legend may have originated in sightings of giant squid. First described in a Norwegian glossary in 1646, it later appeared in travel accounts and fiction. Pontoppidan's 1753 account described it as a huge octopus reputed to pull down ships.

Type: Legendary cryptid
Earliest cited description: A Norwegian glossary in 1646
Pontoppidan's description: A tremendous octopus reputed to pull down ships

Sources and credits

Article: Kraken (English Wikipedia)
Wikidata: Q193165
Text: Card text is adapted from the English Wikipedia article by an automated summary. Wikipedia content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for its contributors. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Article history and contributors
Illustration: By Pierre Denys de Montfort (1766–1820) / Étienne Claude Voysard (1746–1812.). Public domain · File page on Wikimedia Commons
Pierre Denys de Montfort (1766–1820) / Étienne Claude Voysard (1746–1812.), de Montfort, P.D. (1801). Le Poulpe Colossal. [pp. 256–412] In: Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des mollusques, animaux sans vertèbres et a sang blanc. Ouvrage faisant suite aux œuvres de Leclerc de Buffon, et partie du cours complet d'histoire naturelle rédigé par C. S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs sociétés savantes. Tome Second. L'Imprimerie de F. Dufart, Paris. 424 pp. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51804
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