The Legend of Palinuro (Palinuro Primrose origin)

Christ statue, the Redentore, in Maratea, Italy.

Until I set out to write a novel that I would be engrossed in reading as a consumer, I did not realize the amount of research that would be required to write a good, believable story. The cool part about it was that I was able to first let my imagination run with the kinds of elements I thought would make for a fascinating plot and then research information and places that fit my vision.

            So, the legend of Palinuro was something I came across as I was researching remote places in Italy for my protagonist, Jessie Extebarria, to hide himself from the world. I picked Italy because it's history is rich and I have never been there, which required more research and pictures to be able to write about it with a realistic descriptiveness. I also wanted an image system that I could weave into the story to give it depth, beyond my original premise. I explored the flora and fauna of Southern Italy and came across a rare flower with a cool name and a legend: the Palinuro Primrose.
     

            The Palinuro Primrose has been considered by many to be a rarity biologically in that it is regarded as a living fossil and ancestor of all wild growing primroses in Europe.  There is a legend behind the name of the flower and Cape Palinuro in the National Park of Cilento, which is in the Campania region.  The legend of Palinuro asserts that the captain of the boat of Enea, a refugee of Troy who escaped during its siege, had a man named Palinuro as his helmsman.  Palinuro fell in love with Kamataton, a girl as beautiful as a anyone could be, but with a heart of stone. So she didn't return Palinuro's love.

The story varies as to whether Palinuro was lulled to sleep and fell overboard or intentionally went into the water in pursuit of Kamataton. He was said to have followed her image to the bottom of the sea, giving the Cape and the coastal Palinuro Primrose its name.  The more dramatic and tragic ending, however, involved Palinuro being  lulled to sleep off the coast of Cilento and falling into the crystal clear waters of the sea during a violent storm.  For three days and nights he struggled in the rough waters, being kept afloat by the wooden rudder of the boat. Upon finally reaching the shore, Palinuro was savagely killed by the locals. Wow!

 

The information gathered from my research allowed my plot to become richer and more layered, just the way I like it. My imagination kicked into gear and the primrose took on a significant role in the story imagery and development. It's an example of how a writer's research can have a tremendous impact on a story and how it unfolds. Who knew?

 

I think readers are going to find this novel fascinating. I hope a literary agent will share my enthusiasm once I am finished!

 

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