The Salmon Of Knowledge, The Wisest Creature From Irish Folklore
Public DomainThe salmon eating hazelnuts that have fallen into the Well of Wisdom.
The Salmon of Knowledge is a legendary Irish folklore creature said to dwell in Tobar Segais, or the Well of Wisdom. This fish was said to bestow immense knowledge upon the first person who consumed its flesh. And its story is fully intertwined with the story of folk hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.
As the tale goes, the Salmon of Knowledge first gained its extraordinary powers when it consumed nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Well of Segais from nine surrounding trees of wisdom. The hazelnuts were imbued with magical properties that just so happened to grant the salmon the ability to absorb all the world’s knowledge.
As word of this enchanted salmon spread, humans sought to catch the fish and harness its knowledge for themselves.
And so it was that the poet Finnegas spent seven years of his life fishing for the salmon. At last, he succeeded in his quest, and entrusted the task of cooking the salmon to his young apprentice, Fionn mac Cumhaill — with a warning not to taste the fish.
However, as Fionn was cooking the salmon, he burned his thumb. Acting on instinct, Fionn sucked his thumb to soothe the burn, unwittingly tasting a small portion of the salmon — and absorbing all of its knowledge and wisdom.
Finnegas, when presented with his meal, noticed a light in the boy’s eyes that wasn’t there before. When Fionn told him what had happened, Finnegas realized the salmon’s knowledge had already passed on to Fionn, and gave the boy the rest of the fish to eat.
From then on, all Fionn mac Cumhaill needed to do to draw upon the salmon’s knowledge was bite his thumb. And this deep knowledge and wisdom enabled Fionn to become a great hero in Irish lore.
