Sapia Liccarda
Encyclopedia
Sapia Liccarda is an Italian literary fairy tale
written by Giambattista Basile
in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
. It is not known whether he had a specific source, either literary or oral, for this tale.
Italo Calvino
identified a Florentine tale, The King in the Basket, in his Italian Folktales
as a variant on it, while noting the vast difference in tone.
The king's castle was across the way, and his three sons, Cecciariello, Grazuloo, and Tore, flirted with the three daughters. The older two seduced the older two, but Sapia Liccarda gave Tore the slip, and increased his desire for her. The older two became pregnant. They craved the king's bread, and Sapia Liccarda went to the king's castle to beg it, with a flax comb on her back. She got it, and when Tore tried to seize her, the comb scratched his hand. Then they craved pears, and she went to the royal garden to get them. Tore saw her and climbed a tree to get her the pears, but when he tried to climb down and seize her, she took away the ladder. Finally, the older sisters were delivered of their sons, and Sapia Liccarda went to the castle for the third
time, to leave each baby in his father's bed, and a stone in Tore's. The older two were pleased to have such fine young sons, and Tore was jealous of them.
The merchant returned and found the rings of his older two daughters stained. He was ready to beat them when the king's sons asked him to let them marry his daughters. He agreed.
Sapia Liccarda, thinking Tore angry with her, made a fine statue of herself in sugar paste and left it in her bed. Tore came in and stabbed the statue, and said he would suck her blood as well, but when he tasted the sugar paste, it was so sweet that he lamented his wickedness. Sapia Liccarda told him the truth, and they made their peace in the bed.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
written by Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...
in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
Pentamerone
The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...
. It is not known whether he had a specific source, either literary or oral, for this tale.
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
identified a Florentine tale, The King in the Basket, in his Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales is a collection of 200 Italian folktales published in 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began to undertake the project that will lead to the Italian Folktales in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale; his intention was to emulate the Brothers Grimm in...
as a variant on it, while noting the vast difference in tone.
Synopsis
A rich merchant had three daughters, Bella, Cenzolla, and the youngest, Sapia Liccarda. He went on a trip and nailed up all the windows so they could not lean out and gossip, and gave them rings that would stain if they did something shameful. The older sisters managed to lean out anyway.The king's castle was across the way, and his three sons, Cecciariello, Grazuloo, and Tore, flirted with the three daughters. The older two seduced the older two, but Sapia Liccarda gave Tore the slip, and increased his desire for her. The older two became pregnant. They craved the king's bread, and Sapia Liccarda went to the king's castle to beg it, with a flax comb on her back. She got it, and when Tore tried to seize her, the comb scratched his hand. Then they craved pears, and she went to the royal garden to get them. Tore saw her and climbed a tree to get her the pears, but when he tried to climb down and seize her, she took away the ladder. Finally, the older sisters were delivered of their sons, and Sapia Liccarda went to the castle for the third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, to leave each baby in his father's bed, and a stone in Tore's. The older two were pleased to have such fine young sons, and Tore was jealous of them.
The merchant returned and found the rings of his older two daughters stained. He was ready to beat them when the king's sons asked him to let them marry his daughters. He agreed.
Sapia Liccarda, thinking Tore angry with her, made a fine statue of herself in sugar paste and left it in her bed. Tore came in and stabbed the statue, and said he would suck her blood as well, but when he tasted the sugar paste, it was so sweet that he lamented his wickedness. Sapia Liccarda told him the truth, and they made their peace in the bed.