Cormar attacking the spirit of the water

Cormar was a hero in James Macpherson's epic poem Works of Ossian, the son of Fingal (1796). This episode depicts the moment when Cormar is described as having taken a wave 'by the curling head and searched its dark womb with his steel and forced the spirit to flee'. In many ancient cultures the sea is a feminine element, and the savagery of the language in Ossian's poem suggests a deep fear of its powers. (Monsters and Maidens, 2004)

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