Tam Lin
Encyclopedia
Tam Lin (also called Tamlane, Tamlin, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, or Tam Lane) is the hero
of a legend
ary ballad
originating from the Scottish Borders
. The story revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies
. While this ballad
is specific to Scotland
, the motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe
in folktales.
The story has been adapted into various stories, songs and films.
Most variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity
of any maidens who pass through the forest of Carterhaugh
. A young maiden, usually called Janet or Margaret, comes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, whereupon Tam appears and asks why she is in Carterhaugh without his command and has taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh, because her father has given it to her.
In most variants, she then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When an old knight
taxes her with it, she announces that she will not declare him her baby's father, that her lover is an elf
and that she loves him. She returns to Carterhaugh. In some variants, her brother has told her that an herb growing there will induce an abortion. In all, she picks something, whether the herb or the same roses as when they first met. Tam reappears, enraged, and forbids her to abort.
She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance, or in some variants, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her seduction. He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, after falling from his horse, was rescued and captured by the Queen of the Fairies. Every seven years, the fairies pay a teind
, a tithe
to Hell
, of one of their people, and Tam fears he will become that tithe on that night (Hallowe'en
). He is to ride as part of a company of knights, and Janet will recognise him by the white horse upon which he is riding. He warns her that, when she catches him, the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus
), but that he will do her no harm, and when he is finally turned into a burning coal she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man and she should hide him. Janet does as she is asked, and wins her knight. The Queen of the Fairies is not best pleased, but acknowledges her claim.
In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of The Laird of Roxburgh, the Laird of Foulis, the Earl of Forbes or the Earl of Murray. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, and Tam-a-line.
".
There have been several interpretations of the Tam Lin story:
. Joseph Jacobs
interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faerie would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.
In some variants, "Hind Etin
" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and heroine.
There are also versions which change the original story. "Tam Lyn retold" by Benjamin Zephaniah
& Eliza Carthy
(on the 2007 album The Imagined Village
) retells the story with the girl meeting a man in a club and having a one night stand. 6 months later she finds him to say she's pregnant and finds out he's an immigrant without a valid visa and has a court case the following day. She attends the court and sees him go though various transformations before becoming himself: a kind peaceful person. The judge sees this and lets him become a legal citizen, free to bring up his child with his wife. "Discovery" by Three Weird Sisters
hints at a darker Tam Lin with ulterior motives for his seduction of the girl.
of a New York City-based singer-songwriter, an LP by Frankie Armstrong
, Brian Pearson, Blowzabella
and Jon Gillaspie, and for the title of an Irish
reel
.
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
of a legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
originating from the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
. The story revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
. While this ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
is specific to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in folktales.
The story has been adapted into various stories, songs and films.
Synopsis
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
of any maidens who pass through the forest of Carterhaugh
Carterhaugh
Carterhaugh is a wood and farm near the confluence of the Yarrow Water and the Ettrick Water near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.. This real location is the fictional setting for the meeting between Tam Lin and Janet in the ballad "Tam Lin".Some researchers of the Tam Lin ballad equate...
. A young maiden, usually called Janet or Margaret, comes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, whereupon Tam appears and asks why she is in Carterhaugh without his command and has taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh, because her father has given it to her.
In most variants, she then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When an old knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
taxes her with it, she announces that she will not declare him her baby's father, that her lover is an elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
and that she loves him. She returns to Carterhaugh. In some variants, her brother has told her that an herb growing there will induce an abortion. In all, she picks something, whether the herb or the same roses as when they first met. Tam reappears, enraged, and forbids her to abort.
She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance, or in some variants, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her seduction. He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, after falling from his horse, was rescued and captured by the Queen of the Fairies. Every seven years, the fairies pay a teind
Teind
Teind is a Scots word for tithe meaning a tenth part of. In Scotland, a teind was a tithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy....
, a tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, of one of their people, and Tam fears he will become that tithe on that night (Hallowe'en
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
). He is to ride as part of a company of knights, and Janet will recognise him by the white horse upon which he is riding. He warns her that, when she catches him, the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus is an early sea-god, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea", whose name suggests the "first" , as protogonos is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". He became the son of Poseidon in the Olympian theogony In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς)...
), but that he will do her no harm, and when he is finally turned into a burning coal she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man and she should hide him. Janet does as she is asked, and wins her knight. The Queen of the Fairies is not best pleased, but acknowledges her claim.
In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of The Laird of Roxburgh, the Laird of Foulis, the Earl of Forbes or the Earl of Murray. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, and Tam-a-line.
Versions
The first recorded version of the song appears in the 1549 book "The Complaynt of ScotlandThe Complaynt of Scotland
The Complaynt of Scotland is a book printed in 1549 and is an important work of the Scots language.The book is a continuation of the war of words between Scotland and England in the sixteenth century...
".
There have been several interpretations of the Tam Lin story:
- Francis James ChildFrancis James ChildFrancis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...
collected fourteen variants in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, but the summary of Child Ballad 39A is considered to be the earliest (Another Child ballad, Burd Ellen and Young TamlaneBurd Ellen and Young TamlaneBurd Ellen and Young Tamlane is Child ballad number 28.Despite similarity in names, it appears to have no connection with Tam Lin, nor with the tale of Childe Rowland, though they both have characters named Burd Ellen; indeed, Francis James Child was unable to connect this ballad with any other...
has no connection with this ballad except for the similarity of the heroes' names.) - Joseph JacobsJoseph JacobsJoseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...
included a variant, "Tamlane", in More English Fairy Tales.
Motifs
Child took the threat to take out Tam Lin's eyes as a common folklore precaution against mortals who could see fairies, in the tales of fairy ointmentFairy ointment
Fairy Ointment or The Fairy Nurse is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales. It has been told in many variants. Andrew Lang included one in The Lilac Fairy Book....
. Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...
interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faerie would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.
In some variants, "Hind Etin
Hind Etin
"Hind Etin" is a folk ballad existing in several variants.-Synopsis:Lady Margaret goes to the woods, and her breaking a branch is questioned by Hind Etin, who takes her with him into the forest. She bears him seven sons, but laments that they are never christened, nor she herself churched...
" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and heroine.
Adaptations
Prose
- Blood and Iron by Elizabeth BearElizabeth BearSarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky is an American author. Writing under the name Elizabeth Bear, she works primarily in the genre of speculative fiction, and was a winner of the 2005 John W...
- "My Kingdom" by Hannah Wolf Bowen, Abyss & Apex, Winter 2004
- Tam Lin by Susan CooperSusan CooperSusan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
- The Armourer's HouseThe Armourer's HouseThe Armourer's House is a children's historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and first published in 1951.It is set primarily in London during the reign of King Henry VIII...
by Rosemary SutcliffRosemary SutcliffRosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
includes a telling of the Tam Lin tale, which parallels the novel's theme of a young girl struggling to obtain her dreams. - Tam LinTam Lin (novel)Tam Lin is a 1991 contemporary fantasy novel by United States author Pamela Dean, who based it on the traditional Scottish border ballad "Tam Lin".-Plot introduction:The protagonist of Tam Lin is Janet Carter...
by Pamela DeanPamela DeanPamela Dean Dyer-Bennet is an American fantasy author whose most notable book is Tam Lin, based on the Child Ballad of the same name, in which the Scottish fairy story is set on a midwestern college campus loosely based on her alma mater, Carleton College in Minnesota.She was a member of the... - Wild Robin written and illustrated by Susan Jeffers (children's picture book)
- The Nightwood by Robin Muller
- Fire and HemlockFire and HemlockFire and Hemlock is a modern fantasy by British author Diana Wynne Jones based largely on the Scottish ballads "Tam Lin" and "Thomas the Rhymer."...
by Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction... - The Hawthorn Tree by Patrick Little (gender role variation)
- An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
- The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn ParkhurstCarolyn ParkhurstCarolyn Parkhurst is an American author who has published three books. Her first, the 2003 best-seller The Dogs of Babel also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK, was a New York Times Notable Book and on the New York Times Best Seller List.She followed that effort with the New York Times...
- The Perilous GardThe Perilous GardThe Perilous Gard is a novel written in 1971 by Elizabeth Marie Pope. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1975.-Plot summary:The Perilous Gard takes place in England during the 1550s. The lead character, Kate Sutton, is a lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth I of England when she is still a...
by Elizabeth Marie PopeElizabeth Marie PopeElizabeth Marie Pope was an author specializing in Elizabethan England and the works of John Milton and William Shakespeare.Elizabeth Marie Pope was born on May 1, 1917 in Washington, D.C., to Christopher Herman Pope and Florence Anna Thompson Pope. In 1940, she received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr... - Summer's Lease by Eluki bes Shahar (Rosemary EdghillRosemary EdghillRosemary Edghill is an American writer and editor, who has often used that pseudonym in place of her legal name, eluki bes shahar...
) - "Cotillion" by Delia ShermanDelia ShermanCordelia Caroline Sherman , known professionally as Delia Sherman, is a fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award...
, in Firebirds, edited by Sharyn NovemberSharyn NovemberSharyn November is an American editor of books for children and teenagers. She is Senior Editor for Viking Children's Books and Editorial Director of Firebird Books, which is a mainly paperback imprint publishing fantasy and science fiction for teenagers and adults... - Tam Lin in the graphic novel series Ballads and Sagas edited by Charles VessCharles VessCharles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha...
- Tam Lin: An Old Ballad by Jane YolenJane YolenJane Hyatt Yolen is an American author and editor of almost 300 books. These include folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's books...
, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak - Burd Janet by Jane YolenJane YolenJane Hyatt Yolen is an American author and editor of almost 300 books. These include folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's books...
, in Not One Damsel in Distress - Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip
- Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen by Sally Keehn
- "He Said, Sidhe Said" by Tanya HuffTanya HuffTanya Sue Huff is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science-fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood...
, in Finding Magic - "Demon of the Night" by Margit SandemoMargit SandemoMargit Sandemo is a Norwegian-Swedish historical fantasy author. She has been the best-selling author in the Nordic Countries since the 1980s, when her novel series of 47 books, The Legend of the Ice People, was published...
- The Queen of Spells by Dahlov IpcarDahlov IpcarDahlov Ipcar is an American painter, illustrator and author. She is best known for her colorful, kaleidoscopic-styled paintings featuring animals - primarily in either farm or wild settings...
- "Shapes" by K. Elizabeth Cornwell, in "Fickle Muses"
- Tithe by Holly BlackHolly BlackHolly Black née Riggenbach is an American writer and editor, best known for writing The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.-Early life and education:...
- "Fire and Hemlock" by Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
Theatre
- Tam Lin by N. G. McClernan
- The Thyme of the Season by Duncan PflasterDuncan PflasterDuncan Pflaster is an American Off-Off-Broadway playwright, composer and actor. His first play Wilder and Wilder , was produced in 1995 at Florida Playwrights' Theatre in Hollywood, FL...
(incorporates elements and allusions to the story)
Music
- Tamlin (Тамлин) - folk-rock band from Ukraine
- Realworld - video of The stage projection of Benjamin Zephania's retelling of Tam Lyn
- The TamlinsThe TamlinsThe Tamlins were a 1970s Jamaican reggae and dub vocal group. Composed of Carlton Smith, Junior Moore, and Derrick Lara, The Tamlins are among the most recognized back-up singers in reggae, especially for their years of international touring in support of Peter Tosh...
- A Jamaican vocal group
Songs
The following bands and singers have recorded musical versions, all called "Tam Lin" unless otherwise stated:- Frankie ArmstrongFrankie ArmstrongFrankie Armstrong is a singer and voice teacher.She has worked as a singer in the folk scene and the women's movement and as a trainer in social and youth work...
on I Heard a Woman Singing, and a longer version on the compilation album Ballads (Fellside Records). - "Young Tambling" by Anne BriggsAnne BriggsAnne Briggs is an English folk singer. Although she traveled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achieve widespread public acknowledgment of her music...
on The Time Has Come LP - Broadside ElectricBroadside ElectricBroadside Electric are an American electric folk band from Philadelphia. Formed in 1990, they are still active in 2011...
on Amplificata - Current 93Current 93Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
on the limited edition Numbered single Tamlin as release 100 on the Durto Label and SixSixSix: SickSickSick compilation - Arcturus by Enter the HaggisEnter the HaggisEnter the Haggis is a Canadian Indie/Celtic/Folk Rock world-fusion band based in Toronto, Canada. Commonly called ETH, the band has been playing and recording since 1996. Their latest studio album, "Whitelake" is the band's ninth album....
on Aerials (2001) - "Tam Lin" by Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
on Liege & LiefLiege & LiefLiege & Lief is the fourth album by the English rock band Fairport Convention. It is the third and final album the group released in the UK in 1969, all of which prominently feature Sandy Denny as lead female vocalist...
, Sense of OccasionSense of OccasionSense of Occasion is a 2007 studio album by British folk-rock veterans Fairport Convention. The title comes from the fact that 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the band ....
and Across the Decades (live) - "Tamlin" by harpist and singer/songwriter Gillian Grassie on Serpentine (2007)
- Bob Hay and & Jolly Beggars on Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns
- The Tale of Tam Lin by Bill Jones on Panchpuran
- Mediæval BæbesMediæval BæbesThe Mediæval Bæbes are a British ensemble of female musicians founded in the 1990s by Katharine Blake and included some of her colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who share her love of mediaeval music...
on Mirabilis (2005) - Outgrabe on Love & Death
- Pyewackett on The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret
- Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
on Tonight's the Night, Live! - "Tamlin" by the Ukrainian band Tamlin (Тамлин) on Dreams on the Shore (2005 - Сны на Берегу) and rearranged on On The Winter's Threshold (2008 - На Пороге Зимы)
- Tempest (band)Tempest (band)Tempest is a Celtic rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, based in Oakland, California. They fuse together the traditional Celtic music with Norwegian and European folk, American folk, and progressive rock....
on Serrated Edge cassette (1992) - Tricky Pixie on Mythcreants (2009)
- "Tam Lyn" by The WatersonsThe WatersonsThe Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
on the 1993 CD reissue of their album For Pence and Spicy Ale" and also on their 2004 4CD anthology "Mighty River of Song" - Coyote Run on "Between Wick and Flame"
- "Tamlin" by Gillian Grassie on her 2007 CD release of the album Serpentine"
There are also versions which change the original story. "Tam Lyn retold" by Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
& Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
(on the 2007 album The Imagined Village
The Imagined Village
The Imagined Village is a folk musical project founded by Simon Emmerson of the Afro Celt Sound System. It is intended to produce modern folk music that represents modern multiculturalism in the United Kingdom and as such, features musicians from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds...
) retells the story with the girl meeting a man in a club and having a one night stand. 6 months later she finds him to say she's pregnant and finds out he's an immigrant without a valid visa and has a court case the following day. She attends the court and sees him go though various transformations before becoming himself: a kind peaceful person. The judge sees this and lets him become a legal citizen, free to bring up his child with his wife. "Discovery" by Three Weird Sisters
Three Weird Sisters (band)
Three Weird Sisters is a band from Atlanta, Georgia. The group performs filk music with harp, double bass, guitar, and bodhran accompaniment. Their albums include Hair of the Frog and Rite the First Time....
hints at a darker Tam Lin with ulterior motives for his seduction of the girl.
Other musical uses
As well as these versions, the name has also been used as the stage nameStage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of a New York City-based singer-songwriter, an LP by Frankie Armstrong
Frankie Armstrong
Frankie Armstrong is a singer and voice teacher.She has worked as a singer in the folk scene and the women's movement and as a trainer in social and youth work...
, Brian Pearson, Blowzabella
Blowzabella
Blowzabella are an English band who play bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies and an array of acoustic instruments to produce an inimitable, driving, drone-based sound influenced by British and European traditional dance music.-History:...
and Jon Gillaspie, and for the title of an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
reel
Irish dance
Irish dancing or Irish dance is a group of traditional dance forms originating in Ireland which can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances. Irish social dances can be divided further into céilí and set dancing...
.
Film
- Tam-LinTam-Lin (film)Tam-Lin, also known as The Ballad of Tam-Lin, The Devil's Widow and The Devil's Woman, is a 1970 British film made by Commonwealth United Entertainment, Winkast Film Productions Ltd. and distributed by American International Pictures . It was directed by Roddy McDowall and produced by Alan Ladd, Jr...
(1970) directed by Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
, and starring Ava GardnerAva GardnerAva Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
.
Other
- Tam-Lin, a Closet dramaCloset dramaA closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
written by Elaine LeeElaine LeeElaine Lee is an American actor, playwright, comic book colorist and comic book writer.-Theatre:She received a 1980 Daytime EMMY nomination for her role on NBC-TV’s The Doctors and was a founding member and artistic director of Manhattan-based theatre company, Wild Hair Productions.Wild Hair began...
and illustrated by Charles VessCharles VessCharles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha...
, in The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Vess's collection of adaptations of traditional songs, mostly into comicsComicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
form. - In Carolyn ParkhurstCarolyn ParkhurstCarolyn Parkhurst is an American author who has published three books. Her first, the 2003 best-seller The Dogs of Babel also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK, was a New York Times Notable Book and on the New York Times Best Seller List.She followed that effort with the New York Times...
's novel The Dogs of BabelThe Dogs of BabelThe Dogs of Babel is the debut novel of Carolyn Parkhurst. It was one of The New York Times Notable Fiction & Poetry books of 2003...
, (also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK), a section of Tam Lin plays a pivotal role in the story. In it the narrator, Paul Iverson, discovers that his recently deceased wife left an encrypted message to him in their bookshelf, quoting Tam Lin. - In the Vertigo comic book, Fables, Tam Lin died in the defense of the last stronghold of the Fables against the forces of the Adversary. He is claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries, who had a reputation of a scoundrel, but gave up his chance of freedom to his page.
- In the Vertigo comic book series The Books of MagicThe Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
, The Names of Magic and The Books of Faerie, Tamlin is the father of the protagonist Timothy Hunter, potentially the greatest sorcerer in the world. In The Books of Faerie: The Widow's Tale, the story of Tamlin's romance with Queen Titania of Faerie is revealed. - In The House of the ScorpionThe House of the ScorpionThe House of the Scorpion is a science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer. It is about a young boy named Matteo Alacrán who is being raised by a drug lord of the same name, usually referred to by his assumed title "El Patrón" throughout the text. It is a story about the struggle to survive as a free...
, a novel by Nancy FarmerNancy Farmer (author)Nancy Farmer is a prominent children's book author from the United States.Farmer was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She earned her B.A. at Reed College and later studied chemistry and entomology at the University of California, Berkeley...
, Tam Lin is the bodyguard of the protagonist, the clone of Matteo Alacrán. - The multi-faceted novel Red ShiftRed Shift (novel)Red Shift is a fantasy novel by Alan Garner. It spans over a thousand years but one geographical area: Southern Cheshire, England. Garner evokes the essence of place, allowing his characters to echo each other through time, as if their destinies may be predefined by the soil on which they walk...
by Alan GarnerAlan GarnerWith his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...
can be read as a subtle reworking of the ballad . - In the fantasy novel The Battle of EvernightThe Battle of EvernightThe Battle of Evernight is a fantasy novel by Cecilia Dart-Thornton, published in 2003 by Warner Aspect, a division of Time Warner U.S.A., Pan Macmillan U.K., , , Luitingh-Sijthoff, Netherlands, Pipe Verlag, Germany and A.S.T. Publishing, Russia.. It is the third novel in the Bitterbynde trilogy...
by Cecilia Dart-ThorntonCecilia Dart-ThorntonCecilia Dart-Thornton is an Australian author of fantasy novels, most notably the Bitterbynde Trilogy.-Biography:Cecilia Dart-Thornton was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She became a schoolteacher before...
, the story of Tam Lin is told as the story of Tamlain Conmor. - The novel Fire and HemlockFire and HemlockFire and Hemlock is a modern fantasy by British author Diana Wynne Jones based largely on the Scottish ballads "Tam Lin" and "Thomas the Rhymer."...
by Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
, is a version of Tam Lin in which Tam Lin's captivity lasts into the 20th century. - the story was also inserted in C Dart-Thornton's last book of the Bitterbynd trilogy
- In the Shin Megami Tensei series of video games, Tam Lin is a recurring demon that can often be recruited relatively early and is one of the very few demons whose design share an exact model with another demon - its brother model being another northern European mythological hero; Cu Chulainn.
- This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in Ballads Weird and Wonderful (1912) and illustrated by Vernon Hill (sculptor)Vernon Hill (sculptor)Vernon Hill was a sculptor, lithographer and Illustrator.-Biography:Vernon Hill was born in Halifax and undertook formal training in print-making from an early age, being apprenticed as a lithographer in his early teen....
. - Tamlin appears in the fantasy novel Rumors of Spring by Richard Grant.
- The Rose, The Knight, and The Faery Host are paintings by Stephanie Pui-Mun LawStephanie Pui-Mun LawStephanie Pui-Mun Law is an American painter and illustrator who works predominantly in watercolor and whose art is inspired by, and depicts scenes of fantasy, the Other World, and the surreal...
depicting various parts of the Tam Lin legend. - The Choose Your Own AdventureChoose Your Own AdventureChoose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
book Enchanted Kingdom has an ending in which you are rescued from the fairies by a girl you've befriended, who has to hold onto you through three transformations.
External links
- A website devoted to Tam Lin
- An Earthly Knight a novel written by Janet McNaughton based on Tam Lin and Lady Isabel and The Elf KnightLady Isabel and the Elf Knight"Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" is the English common name representative of a very large class of European ballads. The subject matter is frequently associated with the genre of the Halewyn legends circulating in Europe...
- Variant by Burns circa 1792
- A website for the play Tam Lin
- Tam Lin, a New York City-based singer-songwriter whose name is taken from the Scottish ballad
- A web page about Patricia McKillip's "Winter Rose"
- Rosemary Edghill/Eluki bes Shahar's unabriged telling of "Summer's Lease"
- A painting of Tam Lin by Kentucky artist Daniel DuttonDaniel DuttonDaniel Dutton, born 1959 near Somerset, Kentucky, is a contemporary artist, lyricist, composer, artistic director, and amateur filmmaker, whose work combines visual, musical, and narrative arts. He is best known for his first opera, The Stone Man....
- A retelling of Tam Lin by K. Elizabeth Cornwell
- The music of Gillian Grassie, Singer, Songwriter, Harpist