The Great Turf by Albrecht Dürer (1503)
Did you ever get lost in the woods in familiar territory? Maybe it happened because you stepped on an enchanted clump of ‘stray sod.’
Stray sod blends in with the rest of the turf in meadows and forests and is only discernible to the forces that created it. Some believe that it grows on the back of a tiny fairy that spends his time hunched over on the ground, waiting patiently. Woe to the walker or hiker who has the misfortune of stepping upon it. He or she will quickly lose their way, unable to figure out their intended direction or wheareabouts.
Usually, neither children nor adults will wander too far into unknown wilderness. When things begin to look a little too strange, a survival instinct will kick in whereby they’ll feel spooked and turn towards familiar territory. Unfortunately, some people (not unlike myself) lack this instinct.
I’ve been lost in a lot of places: Paris, Rome, Athens, a small town in Germany, Halifax, Dartmouth… the list is long. My sense of direction leaves something to be desired. As you can imagine, I’ve also been lost in the woods. A lot. Sometimes while alone, but at other times with children in tow. As if being lost isn’t bewildering enough, it’s even more difficult to appear like you know where you’re going when you just don’t have a clue. If stray sod did not exist, people like me would have had to invent it – if only to save face.
There is one way to supposedly break the spell of the enchanted turf, and that is to take off one’s jacket, turn it inside out and put it back on again. Unfortunately, I get so disoriented when lost that I can never remember to do this.
The Irish were among the first Europeans to settle in the Eastern Passage/Cow Bay area. When they left Ireland, I don’t imagine they left their faith and superstitions behind, but brought them along with them to the New World. Among their beliefs would have been those associated with faeries and leprechauns. Though to some it may all seem like nonsense, living on the edge of a misty bog, I do find it difficult not to believe…
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
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Albrecht Durer and leprechauns in the same post. Where else am I going to see that? I love this. Thanks flandrumhill for the great stuff you do here; always a worthwhile read.
Peace
Good, bad or just plain strange, idiosyncrasies are my specialty 😉 Pax to you too fw.
Mysteries of the bogs … once again we strangely converge. The Durer is perfect. I’ve been thinking of using his hare. Thanks for today’s post. Cheers, Anne
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Anne. I’ve been thinking about that hare too!
I’d never heard of ‘stray sods’ before reading your post. Next time we’re in the forests or the fields, I’ll know what to watch out for – the cure for sudden bewildering signs of disorientation is to take off one’s jacket, etc. Got to make a mental note! 🙂 What a beautiful story!
That’s a wonderful picture – no doubt far more so “in the flesh”… I confess to not having previously heard of Albrecht Dürer – thanks for the introduction, Flan! 😉
Actually, following a couple of links, I’ve realised I have, in a roundabout way, “heard of” Dürer – this pic, for example…
…is highly familiar!
Paintings seemed to be so full of vibrancy in that era – perhaps because that was the only accurate means of recording images at the time..?
Dürer’s most famous image is his drawing of his brother’s ‘Praying Hands.’ You can read the story behind the image at
http://www.moytura.com/reflections/prayinghands.htm
We certainly record images differently now than during the Renaissance. Static paintings have taken a back seat to ‘moving pictures’ these days 😦
(sorry, it’s not clear from that link, that the title of the piece is “The Adoration of the Magi”)
Ahh yes, that one also looks familiar…