Knucker is a dialect word for a sort of water dragon, living in knuckerholes in Sussex, England. "The word comes from the Old Englishnicor which means "water monster" and is used in the poem Beowulf. It may also be related to the word "nixie", which is a form of water spirit, to "Old Nick", a euphemism for the devil, or to the words "Nykur" (Icelandic water horse), "Nickel" (German goblin), "Knocker" (Cornish goblin), "Näcken" and "Neck" (Scandinavian water men and water spirits), "Näkineiu" and "Näkk" (Estonian mermaid and singing water animal), and "Näkki" (Finnish water spirit)."[1]
The knucker is said to have wings, and is sometimes described as a sea serpent. The knucker has "a giant, slithering sea serpent's body, and cold, bold sea serpent's eyes and a deadly, hissing sea serpent's mouth".[2]
In folkloreedit
The most famous knucker lived, according to legend, at Lyminster. The knucker apparently caused a lot of trouble, consuming local livestock and even villagers, and so it was decided to slay the monster. A number of different legends recount how this was done.
One version has the dragon slain by a knight-errant after the king of Sussex offered his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever rid them of the beast. Legend says that after marrying the princess, the knight settled in Lyminster and his gravestone, the Slayer's Slab, can be seen in Lyminster church.
An alternative legend has the dragon outwitted by a local farmer's boy, called Jim Pulk or Jim Puttock, said in some versions to be from Wick, after the Mayor of Arundel offered a reward. He killed the dragon by cooking it a giant poisoned pie, which he took to the knuckerhole on a horse and cart. The dragon ate up pie, horse and cart. When it had expired the boy returned and cut off its head. In some versions he then dies himself, probably of the same poison he used on the dragon, though this is possibly a later addition designed to explain the Slayer's Slab.
It was believed that knuckers could be found at knuckerholes in various places in Sussex, including Binsted, Lyminster, Lancing, Shoreham and Worthing.[1] A knucker hole is a very deep round pool, which is considered to be infinitely deep. However, even though the knucker hole in Lyminster is only thirty feet (9 m) deep, a local legend says that the villagers tied together the six bellropes from the church tower and lowered them into the pool, but they could not reach the bottom.[3]
Referencesedit
^ ab"Dragons & Serpents In Sussex". Retrieved 1 February 2010.
^"the Antonine itineraries". 27 October 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
Further readingedit
Simpson, Jacqueline (1973). The Folklore Of Sussex. Batsford.
January 01, 1970
knucker, also, neck, water, spirit, dialect, word, sort, water, dragon, living, knuckerholes, sussex, england, word, comes, from, english, nicor, which, means, water, monster, used, poem, beowulf, also, related, word, nixie, which, form, water, spirit, nick, e. See also Neck water spirit Knucker is a dialect word for a sort of water dragon living in knuckerholes in Sussex England The word comes from the Old English nicor which means water monster and is used in the poem Beowulf It may also be related to the word nixie which is a form of water spirit to Old Nick a euphemism for the devil or to the words Nykur Icelandic water horse Nickel German goblin Knocker Cornish goblin Nacken and Neck Scandinavian water men and water spirits Nakineiu and Nakk Estonian mermaid and singing water animal and Nakki Finnish water spirit 1 KnuckerGroupingMythological creature Water dragonFirst attestedIn folkloreCountryEnglandRegionSussexDetailsDeep pools of water called knuckerholes Contents 1 Appearance 2 In folklore 3 References 4 Further readingAppearance editThe knucker is said to have wings and is sometimes described as a sea serpent The knucker has a giant slithering sea serpent s body and cold bold sea serpent s eyes and a deadly hissing sea serpent s mouth 2 In folklore editThe most famous knucker lived according to legend at Lyminster The knucker apparently caused a lot of trouble consuming local livestock and even villagers and so it was decided to slay the monster A number of different legends recount how this was done One version has the dragon slain by a knight errant after the king of Sussex offered his daughter s hand in marriage to whoever rid them of the beast Legend says that after marrying the princess the knight settled in Lyminster and his gravestone the Slayer s Slab can be seen in Lyminster church An alternative legend has the dragon outwitted by a local farmer s boy called Jim Pulk or Jim Puttock said in some versions to be from Wick after the Mayor of Arundel offered a reward He killed the dragon by cooking it a giant poisoned pie which he took to the knuckerhole on a horse and cart The dragon ate up pie horse and cart When it had expired the boy returned and cut off its head In some versions he then dies himself probably of the same poison he used on the dragon though this is possibly a later addition designed to explain the Slayer s Slab It was believed that knuckers could be found at knuckerholes in various places in Sussex including Binsted Lyminster Lancing Shoreham and Worthing 1 A knucker hole is a very deep round pool which is considered to be infinitely deep However even though the knucker hole in Lyminster is only thirty feet 9 m deep a local legend says that the villagers tied together the six bellropes from the church tower and lowered them into the pool but they could not reach the bottom 3 References edit a b Dragons amp Serpents In Sussex Retrieved 1 February 2010 sussexpast co uk PDF the Antonine itineraries 27 October 2016 Retrieved 23 July 2020 Further reading editSimpson Jacqueline 1973 The Folklore Of Sussex Batsford Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Knucker amp oldid 1210708838, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
