[2] Walter Map recorded a story of "Nicholas Pipe," who appeared like a normal human but had the ability to live under the sea for long periods of time, and would warn ships of storms.
[3] Gervase of Tilbury's version told of Nicholas Papa of Apulia, a skilled sailor who was sent by King Roger of Sicily to explore the bottom of the ocean, and reported seeing trees, valleys and mountains underwater.
Nick Fish discovers that Messina rests on three columns, some of which are broken, and brings back hot and fresh water from springs in the ocean around Naples.
After becoming a merman, Nicolau explores the sea and eventually wishes to swim the dangerous Saluet between Santa Margarita and Arta, but drowns in the crossing.
In contrasting variants, catching sight of him was considered a bad omen; he would summon storms, and looking at his salt-reddened eyes could turn a sailor's hair white.
[9] However, German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther, in his 2004 revision, reformulated it as type ATU 434*, "The Diver (Cola Pesce)", of the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, and singled out the previous Estonian variants as its own oikotype.
[11] Friedrich Schiller's 1797 ballad "Der Taucher" ("The Diver") has been pointed out as a possible adaptation of this legend due to its strong similarities.
[12] Robert D. San Souci’s 1997 picture book Nicholas Pipe is based on Walter Map’s version of the story.
In the picture book, Nicholas Pipe is a merman who falls in love with a human woman, and she restores him to life with her tears.