Niels and the Giants

Last updated

"Niels and the Giants" is a Danish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Crimson Fairy Book .

Contents

Synopsis

A couple had two sons. The older was content to be a shepherd like his father, but the younger, Niels, wanted to be a hunter. He got a gun, practiced with it, and became a good shot. The mother decided she wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. The family sold everything they own and set out; Niels brought the gun. One night, they did not stay at an inn because the heat had made them go slowly that day, and the moon was up. They came to a crossroads in the forest and did not know which way to go. They decided to stay there. In the first watch, the older son shot a stag; in the second, the younger climbed a tree and saw three giants. They were eating, and by careful shots, he had them quarrel about knocking each other's hands and making them prick themselves with the forks. The third giant realized he was about and caught him.

They demanded a service of him. They wished to carry off the king's daughter, and had put everyone to sleep in the castle except a little black dog. If he shot the dog so it did not bark and wake everyone, they would spare his life. They threw him in and he landed on grass. He shot the dog and went to the gate, but on the way, he saw an enormous sword, a drinking horn, and an inscription saying that whoever drank from the horn could wield the sword. He looked through the castle and found the princess. He took half her handkerchief and one of her slippers. Then he drained the horn and could wield the sword. He went to the gate, where there was a small door and a large door. He opened the small door, claimed he was too weak for the large one, and cut off the giants' heads as they came through. Then he ran to rejoin his family, with his sword. He shut the door with such a bang that the castle woke. They were astounded by the bodies. The princess said they must find the giant-slayer, because she was honor-bound to marry him. She had a house built, and put over its door that whoever told the story of his life could stay there for nothing. [1]

Meanwhile, Niels and his family went on toward Rome, but they met a man who showed them the holes in his shoes, and told them the shoes had been new when he left Rome. Discouraged, they turned back. They came upon the house and decided to stay there. The steward questioned the father and the older son, and told the princess that nothing had happened to them, but admitted he had not asked them all. The princess went herself. The older brother put in that he had forgotten to tell that his brother had found a sword. Niels, who had guessed this was a way to discover him, wanted to escape, but they found the sword, and searched him, finding the handkerchief and slipper. Niels was afraid that they would punish him, but the princess said only they must wait until her father returned. When he did, the princess married Niels, who was king after the king died.

Analysis

The tale is classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as ATU 304, "The Skillful Hunter" or "The Dangerous Night-Watch". [2]

According to scholar Kurt Ranke, tale type 304 occurs in Europe (Central, Northern and "especially" Eastern) and is "frequent" in Turkish tradition. [3]

Combinations

Herbert Halpert and Widdowson stated that "a standard element" of this tale type was the decapitation of the robbers (or giants), a sequence of tale type AT 956, "Robbers' Heads cut off one by one as they enter house". [4]

In some variants of ATU 304, before the hero enters the castle of the princesses and kills the giants, he meets a personified being (an old man or an old woman) that controls the day and night cycle, either with balls or yarns (a black one symbolizing the night, and a white one representing the day). The hero then ties this being up a tree so that it remains nighttime. [5] He takes advantage of the cloak of darkness to lure the giants (robbers, in other variants) to the castle to kill them. This type of narrative is classified as another tale type: AaTh 723*, "Hero Binds Midnight, Dawn, and Midday". [6]

This secondary sequence was identified by Herbert Halpert and J.D.A Widdowson as existing in "Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, [7] Armenia [from Detroit immigrants], Bashkir, and Persia" and in two African variants. [8] Professor Raluca Nicolae adds Albanian and East Bohemian tales where the motif appears. [9]

In addition, Richard MacGillivray Dawkins described this sequence in regards to Greek variants of tale type ATU 552, "The Girls Who Married Animals": the hero stills finds a person who alternates day and night by manipulating balls of white and black yarn or skeins, whom he ties up a tree, and later finds a cadre of robbers or giants who intend to invade a nearby king's castle. [10]

In turn, Hungarian-American scholar Linda Degh argued that the tale type 723* "was formed specifically in the Hungarian folk tradition". [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Égig érő fa</span> Element of Hungarian Shamanism

The égig érő fa, also called életfa, világfa, or tetejetlen fa, is an element of Hungarian shamanism and native faith, and a typical element of Hungarian folk art and folk tales, and also a distinct folk tale type.

The Canary Prince is an Italian fairy tale, the 18th tale in Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. He took the tale from Turin, making various stylistic changes; he noted it developed a medieval motif, but such tales as Marie de France's Yonec produced a rather different effect, being tales of adultery. A variant on Rapunzel, Aarne–Thompson type 310, The Maiden in the Tower, it includes many motifs that differentiate it from that tale. Other fairy tales of this type include Anthousa, Xanthousa, Chrisomalousa, Petrosinella, Prunella, and Rapunzel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Master Maid</span> Norwegian fairy tale

"The Master Maid" is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr. "Master" indicates "superior, skilled." Jørgen Moe wrote the tale down from the storyteller Anne Godlid in Seljord on a short visit in the autumn of 1842. Andrew Lang translated the tale to English and included it in his The Blue Fairy Book (1889). A later translation was made by George Dasent, in his Popular Tales from the North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Death of Koschei the Deathless</span> Russian fairy tale

The Death of Koschei the Deathless or Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book. The character Koschei is an evil immortal man who menaces young women with his magic.

How Ian Dìreach got the Blue Falcon is a Scottish fairy tale, collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands. He recorded it from a quarryman in Knockderry, Roseneath, named Angus Campbell.

The Blue Mountains is a fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book (1894), but provided no bibliographical information and its origin remains obscure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mermaid and the Boy</span>

The Mermaid and the Boy is a Sámi fairy tale first collected in the mid-19th century. It tells the story of a prince unknowingly promised to a mermaid before he was born, then obtains magical powers to transform into animals later in the story.

Molly Whuppie is an English fairy tale set in Scotland and collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales. A Highland version, Maol a Chliobain, was collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands. Jacobs noted the relationship between the two tales, and an Irish variant, "Smallhead," and concluded that the tale was Celtic in origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clever Little Tailor</span> German fairy tale

"The Clever Little Tailor" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale 114. It is Aarne-Thompson type 850, The Princess's Birthmarks. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Water of Life (German fairy tale)</span> German fairy tale

"The Water of Life" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 97.

The Green Knight is a Danish fairy tale, collected by Svend Grundtvig (1824-1883) in Danish Fairy Tales (18??) and by Evald Tang Kristensen (1843-1929) in Eventyr fra Jylland (1881). Andrew Lang included a translation of Kristensen's version in The Olive Fairy Book (1907).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen</span> Irish fairy tale

The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen is an Irish fairy tale collected in Hibernian Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.

Conall Cra Bhuidhe or Conall Yellowclaw is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sea-Maiden</span> Scottish fairy tale

The Sea-Maiden is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Mackenzie, fisherman, near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it in Celtic Fairy Tales.

"The Brown Bear of the Green Glen" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John MacDonald, a "Traveling Tinker". He also noted the parallels with The Water of Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The King of England and his Three Sons</span> Romani fairy tale

The King of England and his Three Sons is a Romani fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in More English Fairy Tales. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome's In Gypsy Tents, where the informant was John Roberts, a Welsh Roma. Groome published the tale as An Old King and his three Sons in England.

The Blue Belt is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. It is Aarne-Thompson type 590.

Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grateful dead (folklore)</span> Motif and a group of related folktales

Grateful dead is both a motif and a group of related folktales present in many cultures throughout the world.

The Serpent Prince or The Snake Prince is a Hungarian folk tale collected by Hungarian-American scholar Linda Dégh, featuring the marriage between a human maiden and a husband in serpent guise.

References

  1. ↑ "Gynækolog Niels Lund Middelfart". Sunday, 5 February 2017
  2. ↑ Aarne, Antti; Thompson, Stith. The types of the folktale: a classification and bibliography. Folklore Fellows Communications FFC no. 184. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1961. pp. 97-98.
  3. ↑ Ranke, Kurt. Folktales of Germany. Routledge & K. Paul. 1966. p. 208. ISBN   9788130400327.
  4. ↑ Folktales of Newfoundland: The Resilience of the Oral Tradition . Herbert Halpert and J.D.A. Widdowson; with the assistance of Martin J. Lovelace and Eileen Collins. London and New York: Routledge. 2015. p. 52. ISBN   978-1-138-84281-6.
  5. ↑ Róna-Sklarek, Elisabet. Ungarische Volksmärchen. Neue Folge. Leipzig: Dieterich. 1909. p. 295.
  6. ↑ Aarne, Antti; Thompson, Stith. The types of the folktale: a classification and bibliography. Thirs Edition. Folklore Fellows Communications FFC no. 184. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1973 [1961]. p. 250.
  7. ↑ Mourier, Jules. Contes Et Légendes Du Caucase . Paris: Maisonneuve et Ch. Leclerc, 1888. pp. 43-51.
  8. ↑ Folktales of Newfoundland: The Resilience of the Oral Tradition . Herbert Halpert and J.D.A. Widdowson; with the assistance of Martin J. Lovelace and Eileen Collins. London and New York: Routledge. 2015. p. 52. ISBN   978-1-138-84281-6.
  9. ↑ Nicolae, Raluca. "Personifications of Day and Night in Romanian Folktales". In: Fabula 49, 1-2 (2008): 74. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/FABL.2008.006
  10. ↑ Dawkins, Richard McGillivray. Modern Greek folktales. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1953. pp. 121-122.
  11. ↑ Degh, Linda. Folktales and Society: Story-telling in a Hungarian Peasant Community . Translated by Emily M. Schossberger. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 1989. p. 314. ISBN   9780253316790.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.