Tale of the doomed prince
Encyclopedia
The Tale of the Doomed Prince is an ancient Egyptian story, dating to the 18th Dynasty
, written in hieratic text, which survived partially on the verso of Papyrus Harris 500
currently housed in the British Museum
. The papyrus was burned in an explosion; because of this damage the conclusion of the story is missing. Some scholars speculate that the missing ending was mostly likely a happy one and that the tale could be more aptly named "The Prince who was Threatened by Three Fates" or the like.
There are dozens of translations of this story from a wide variety of scholars. The translations by Miriam Lichtheim
and William Kelly Simpson
from the 1970s are both widely-accepted versions.
The king of Egypt was very sad that a son had not yet been born to him. The king prays to the gods, and that night his wife conceives a child. When the king's son is born the seven Hathors (goddesses, who pronounce the fate of each child at birth) foretell that he will die either by crocodile, snake or dog. His father, afraid for his son’s safety, builds his son an isolated palace in the mountains, so as to keep him away from danger. The prince sees from his palace, a man with a dog. He asks his father for a dog. The king warily gives the prince a dog, not wishing his son to be unhappy. When the prince grows up, he decides to face his doom, travelling abroad to Nahrin
. There he meets a group of young men competing for the heart of the princess. The prince succeeds in winning the heart of a princess by jumping (possibly flying) to the window of the room where the princess is locked up. The prince did not tell the king the truth about himself, but said he was the son of a charioteer, and explained that he had had to leave home because of his new stepmother. Eventually the king agrees to let the prince-in-disguise marry his daughter, after seeing the merits of the young man. After marrying the princess he tells her of his three dooms, and of his prince-hood. She urges him to kill the dog, but the prince cannot bear to kill the dog he has raised from a puppy. His wife watches over him dutifully, and stops a snake from biting the prince in his sleep. Thus, one of the prince’s fates is defeated. Some time after that the prince goes for a walk with his dog. The dog began speaking (the dog possibly bites the prince), and told the prince he was meant to be killed by the dog. Fleeing from the dog, he runs to a lake where he is seized by a crocodile who, instead of killing him, enlists his help in its fight against a demon (or a water spirit)
This is where the tale breaks off.
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
, written in hieratic text, which survived partially on the verso of Papyrus Harris 500
Papyrus Harris 500
The Papyrus Harris 500, alt. pHarris 500 or P. British Museum 10060, contains copies of the ancient Egyptian tales of The Doomed Prince and The Taking of Joppa, of love poems and of the Harper's Song from the tomb of King Intef...
currently housed in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. The papyrus was burned in an explosion; because of this damage the conclusion of the story is missing. Some scholars speculate that the missing ending was mostly likely a happy one and that the tale could be more aptly named "The Prince who was Threatened by Three Fates" or the like.
There are dozens of translations of this story from a wide variety of scholars. The translations by Miriam Lichtheim
Miriam Lichtheim
Miriam Lichtheim was a translator of ancient Egyptian texts whose translations are still widely used.-Biography:In the 1930s she studied under Hans Jakob Polotsky at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem...
and William Kelly Simpson
William Kelly Simpson
William Kelly Simpson is an American professor emeritus of Egyptology, Archaeology, Ancient Egyptian literature, and Afro-Asiatic languages at Yale University....
from the 1970s are both widely-accepted versions.
Synopsis
The story goes as follows:The king of Egypt was very sad that a son had not yet been born to him. The king prays to the gods, and that night his wife conceives a child. When the king's son is born the seven Hathors (goddesses, who pronounce the fate of each child at birth) foretell that he will die either by crocodile, snake or dog. His father, afraid for his son’s safety, builds his son an isolated palace in the mountains, so as to keep him away from danger. The prince sees from his palace, a man with a dog. He asks his father for a dog. The king warily gives the prince a dog, not wishing his son to be unhappy. When the prince grows up, he decides to face his doom, travelling abroad to Nahrin
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
. There he meets a group of young men competing for the heart of the princess. The prince succeeds in winning the heart of a princess by jumping (possibly flying) to the window of the room where the princess is locked up. The prince did not tell the king the truth about himself, but said he was the son of a charioteer, and explained that he had had to leave home because of his new stepmother. Eventually the king agrees to let the prince-in-disguise marry his daughter, after seeing the merits of the young man. After marrying the princess he tells her of his three dooms, and of his prince-hood. She urges him to kill the dog, but the prince cannot bear to kill the dog he has raised from a puppy. His wife watches over him dutifully, and stops a snake from biting the prince in his sleep. Thus, one of the prince’s fates is defeated. Some time after that the prince goes for a walk with his dog. The dog began speaking (the dog possibly bites the prince), and told the prince he was meant to be killed by the dog. Fleeing from the dog, he runs to a lake where he is seized by a crocodile who, instead of killing him, enlists his help in its fight against a demon (or a water spirit)
This is where the tale breaks off.
Significance
This story is an example of an Egyptian folktale. It shows the existence of written and oral traditions in ancient Egyptian culture. The story also emphasizes the importance of the concept of fate to the Egyptian society. The idea of personal fate, destiny or doom surely played an integral role in people’s lives. The tale also highlights the perception of bravery and heroism. The prince performs a feat of daring heroism to rescue and marry the princess. In addition, something can be seen in this story of the relationship between husband and wife. The husband is honest with his wife, and the wife protects her husband. Another important point is the fact that the prince leaves Egypt and goes abroad to seek his fortune. It details aspects of the prince's life once he leaves his homeland.Motifs
Some of its motifs reappear in later European fairy tales.- The birth of a child is long delayed.(cf. Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
) - Death is foretold at birth (cf. Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
, The Youth who was Doomed to be Hanged ) - The attempt to prevent doom by measures of isolation from the natural environment (cf. Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
) - Three is the number of the dangers/tasks awaiting the protagonist
- Death of the mother, replaced by a stepmother who hates the protagonist(s) (cf. Snowwhite, Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
, 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...
) - Leaving home to seek one's destiny/fortune
- Hiding one's true identity (cf. Snow WhiteSnow White"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
, Little Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
) - Freeing a princess locked up in a high tower (cf. RapunzelRapunzel"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
) - Talking animals (cf. The Princess and the Frog)
- A person/animal setting (often unpalatable) conditions for helping the protagonist (cf. The Princess and the Frog, RumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
) - Cheating death, the ability to overcome doom
External links
- http://www.fairytalechannel.org/search/label/Doomed%20Prince, a translation of the complete German text by Alfred Wiedemann, The Doomed Prince
- http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=110336&partid=1&searchText=doomed+prince&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx¤tPage=1, a photograph of the papyrus containing the tale of The Doomed Prince
- http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx, website containing information about The Doomed Prince
- http://www.aigyptos.uni-muenchen.de/indexe.htm, website through the University of Munchen providing more information