Askeladden
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
folktales. In some ways, he represents the small man who succeeds where all others fail. He always wins in the end, often winning the princess and half the kingdom.
Folk tales
In many folk tales, the Ash Lad is portrayed as the youngest of three brothers. Early in a typical tale, the older brothers appear to have much greater chances of success in life. For example, one brother might be extremely well read in books and newspapers. Another brother might be extremely competent in another area. In contrast, the Ash Lad is looked down upon as a seemingly drowsy ne'er do well, perhaps even as a loner or misunderstood eccentricEccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
, who spends too much time sitting by the fireplace lost in thought as he is poking the ashes.
As the typical story unfolds, the oldest brothers try first to heroically overcome some major crisis or problem. As an example, one tale involves rescuing a princess held captive in a land East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...
. The two older brothers, who are tied to conventional thinking, typically fall flat on their faces. In contrast, it is the Ash Lad who comes up with creative solutions. He is smarter, more tactical, more receptive and more aware of the needs of others. He outwits trolls, dodges charging unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
s or gets a magic Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
ship to transport him where he ultimately saves the princess.
The "heroic" trait of the character is probably most prominent in the stories told by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Moe
right|thumb|Norske Folkeeventyr Asbjørnsen and Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe was a Norwegian bishop and author...
. The tales they collected present the "classical" Ash Lad. In other stories, collected by others, the character and his brothers are presented as mere scoundrels, even thieves. Those stories present the youngest brother as the one with the wits about him, and thus, he gets away with the loot. They always steal from the wealthy farmers or even the king. Those stories are documented from Vest-Agder
Vest-Agder
In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...
, in their time the poorest parts of Norway, where suppression was common. Thus, the Ash Lad has some similarities with the Norwegian crime writer Gjest Baardsen (1791–1849).
In modern parlance, the Ash Lad is an individualist
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
, free-thinker, and nonconformist who is capable of deep abstract, analytical thinking "outside the box", or who can create a scientific paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
A Paradigm shift is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science...
. He is capable of acting as a true visionary or innovative early adopter. In contrast, the older brothers are more conformist and conventional.
Name
The name Askeladden is constructed. It is not present in any recorded source. His original name is in fact Oskefisen or Askefis, the one who sits and is blowing in the ashes. This would make sense, as the job of blowing on the embers was often assigned to the person of the household who was considered the least fit for other, more demanding chores - typically a fragile grandmother or a small child. In this way, the Ash Lad's presumed ineptness is underlined at the beginning of the tale. One can also imagine that the chore of keeping the fire up is somewhat important, as a fireplace is the actual heart of the house. In Asbjørnsens's first edition (1843), the name is rendered as Askepott, which in Norway is commonly associated with CinderellaCinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
. This was later turned into Askeladden by Moltke Moe
Moltke Moe
Moltke Moe was a Norwegian folklorist.-Biographu:Ingebret Moltke Moe was born in Krødsherad, Buskerud County, Norway. He was the son of Church of Norway Bishop Jørgen Moe. After school graduation in 1876 he began to study theology, but eventually he was caught more by folklore and religious history...
.
The character is also closely related to the common and quite nationalistic jokes of the three Scandinavian archetypes, the Norwegian, the Swede and the Dane. In those jokes, the Norwegian always succeeds in petty contests where the others do not. The jokes resemble the fairy-tale pattern and are mostly told by Norwegian children. Here, one can interpret the Norwegian as the youngest and underdog brother of the three, a parallel to the historical facts of Norway's position in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
.
Adventures of Askeladden
Askeladden is the protagonist in numerous folk tales:- Prinsessen som ingen kunne målbinde
- Askeladden som kappåt med trollet
- Dukken i gresset
- Jomfruen på glassberget
- Det har ingen nød med den som alle kvinnfolk er glad i
- De syv folene
- Risen som ikke hadde noe hjerte på seg
- Gjete kongens harer
- Askeladden som fikk prinsessen til å løgste seg
- Askeladden og de gode hjelperne
- Gullslottet som hang i luften
- Rødrev og Askeladden
- Per, Pål og Espen Askeladd
- som stjal sølvendene til trollet
Modern culture
- In the popular MMORPG RuneScapeRuneScapeRuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
, there is a NPC called Askeladden who is a small child yet he succeeds where most others cannot during the Fremennik Trials. - In the Japanese historical manga series, Vinland SagaVinland Saga (manga)is a Japanese historical manga series written and drawn by award-winning manga author Makoto Yukimura. The series is published by Kodansha, and was first serialized in the youth-targeted Weekly Shōnen Magazine before moving to the monthly manga magazine Afternoon, aimed at younger adult men...
, there is a character named Askeladd who is a clear reference to the old Norse tale as both characters possess many of the same characteristics.
See also
- Boots Who Made the Princess Say, "That's A Story"Boots Who Made the Princess Say, "That's A Story"Boots Who Made the Princess Say, "That's A Story" or The Ash Lad who made the Princess Say, "You're A Liar" is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.It is Aarne-Thompson type 852....
- Soria Moria CastleSoria Moria CastleSoria Moria Castle is a Norwegian fairy tale made famous by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their classic Norske Folkeeventyr...
- Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...