From Topographia Hibernica British Library MS 13 B VIII (c. 1188 CE)
The barnacle goose myth is a widely-reported historical misconception about the breeding habits of the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) and brant goose (Branta bernicla).[1] One version of the myth is that these geese emerge fully formed from goose barnacles (Cirripedia).[2] Other myths exist about how the barnacle goose supposedly emerges and grows from matter other than bird eggs.
The etymology of the term "barnacle" suggests Latin, Old English, and French roots.[3] There are few references in pre-Christian books and manuscripts – some Roman or Greek. The main vector for the myth into modern times was monastic manuscripts and in particular the Bestiary.[4]
The myth owes its long standing popularity to an early ignorance of the migration patterns of geese. Early medieval discussions of the nature of living organisms were often based on myths or genuine ignorance of what is now known about phenomena such as bird migration. It was not until the late 19th century that bird migration research showed that such geese migrate northwards to nest and breed in Greenland or northern Scandinavia.[5][6]
^Amongst the plethora of published sources on this myth, the two principal sources are: van der Lugt, M. (2000) Animal legendaire et discours savant medieval;la barnacle dans tous ses etats., Micrologus, 8, 351–393.;and, HeronAllen, E. (1928) Barnacles in nature & myth (London).
^Minogue, Kristen (29 January 2013). "Science, Superstition and the Goose Barnacle". Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
^The Oxford English Dictionary reports the barnacle goose as a bird, of which the breeding place was long unknown, and was formerly believed to be produced out of the fruit of a tree growing by the seashore, or itself to grow upon the tree attached by its bill, also called tree goose, or to be produced out of a shell which grew upon this tree, or was engendered as a kind of 'mushroom' or spume from the corruption or rotting of timber in the water. The etymology of the term "barnacle" is probably Middle English "bernekke" or "bernake" which is identical with Old French "bernaque", and the medieval Latin bernacae or berneka. The history of the use of this word is traced back as far as the 11th or 12th centuries; see, Müller, F. Max, 1871, Lectures on the Science of Language. London: Longmans, Green. v. 2. pp. 583–604. Muller suggests that "bernacula" might be a variant of "*pernacula" , a possible diminutive of "perna" 'a kind of shellfish,' afterwards confused with "*bernicula" , a supposed aphetic form of "*hibernacula", which might be applied to the barnacle-goose from its being found in Hibernia (Ireland). Also called Solan Geese. See, Hulme, F Edward (1886) Sampson Low, p.168.
^See, Sprouse, S. J. (2015). The Associative Branches of the Irish Barnacle: Gerald of Wales and the Natural World. Hortulus, 11, 2.
^Kenicer, G. J. (2020). Plant Magic, Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; pp 150–151.
^Mayntz, M. (2020). Migration: Exploring the Remarkable Journeys of Birds. London: Quadrille; pp 110–111; the following article provides a comprehensive historical account of the Barnacle Goose Myth, Lappo, E. G., Popovkina, A. B. & Mooij, J. H. (2019). About geese growing on trees The Medieval interpretation of the Barnacle and Brent goose origin. Goose Bulletin, 24(July), 8–21; retrieved from https://cms.geese.org/sites/default/files/Goose%20Bulletin24.pdf (25th January 2021). Not all the sources referenced are available in English.
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