The Daughter Of King Under-Waves
Encyclopedia
The Daughter Of King Under-Waves (Nighean Righ Fo Thuinn) is a Scottish fairy tale
collected by John Francis Campbell
in Popular Tales of the West Highlands
. He listed as his source Roderick MacLean, a tailor of Ken Tangval, Barra, who reported hearing it from old men in South Uist, including Angus Macintyre, Bornish, who was about eighty. The text was written by H. MacLean, 1860.
It is a version of the tale of the loathly lady
. This form of the tale appears in Hrólfr Kraki's saga and also in Child ballad 32, King Henry
.
, with hair down to her heels, appeared to them. She appealed to Fionn for shelter and was rejected; she screamed and went to Oisean, who also rejected her; she screamed and went to Diarmaid, who sheltered her. She turned into the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She asked Diarmaid where he would have the finest castle built, and he said above Beinn Eudainn. It appeared, and they lived there. Three
times, she gave a grayhound pup to one of the Fhinn who asked for it, and Diarmaid angrily said that she would not have done it if she remembered what he had saved her from and then begged her pardon, but the third time, despite his apology, she and the castle vanished.
He set out in search
and found his way under the sea; there, he found three gulps of blood. There he met a woman gathering rushes, who told him that the king's daughter had just returned and was ill; no doctor could help her, and a bed of rushes was the most wholesome. The woman carried him to her in the bundle of rushes, and they were glad to see each other. She told him she had lost three gulps of blood; when he told her he had them, she told him she needed the cup of Righ Magh an Ioghnaidh, the King of Plain of Wonder, to drink from to recover. He set out and came to a rivulet he could not cross. A little russet man brought him over, and he reached the castle. There he shouted that he wanted either the cup or battle, and the king three times sent out forces against him, and Diarmaid killed them all. The king asked who he was, and said that if he had known that he would have given him the cup, because he would have known he would kill all his men. The little russet man bore him back and told him how to cure the woman, and warned him that he would take a great dislike to her when he did, and should say so and accept only a return to his own land from the king. He gave her the drinks as the man had said, and she recovered, but he took a dislike to her and admitted it. He accepted nothing but a ship back to his home.
.
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...
collected by John Francis Campbell
John Francis Campbell
John Francis Campbell , Celtic scholar, educated at Eton and Edinburgh, was afterwards Secretary to the Lighthouse Commission...
in Popular Tales of the West Highlands
Popular Tales of the West Highlands
Popular Tales of the West Highlands is a four-volume collection of fairy tales, collected and published by John Francis Campbell, and often translated from Gaelic as well. Alexander Carmichael was one of the main contributors...
. He listed as his source Roderick MacLean, a tailor of Ken Tangval, Barra, who reported hearing it from old men in South Uist, including Angus Macintyre, Bornish, who was about eighty. The text was written by H. MacLean, 1860.
It is a version of the tale of the loathly lady
Loathly lady
The loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented the sovereignty of the...
. This form of the tale appears in Hrólfr Kraki's saga and also in Child ballad 32, King Henry
King Henry (song)
"King Henry" is Child ballad 32.It is a version of the tale of the loathly lady. This form of the tale appears in Hrólfr Kraki's saga and also in the Scottish tale, The Daughter Of King Under-Waves...
.
Synopsis
The Fhinn were on the side of Beinn Eudainn, during a wild night. An uncouth womanLoathly lady
The loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented the sovereignty of the...
, with hair down to her heels, appeared to them. She appealed to Fionn for shelter and was rejected; she screamed and went to Oisean, who also rejected her; she screamed and went to Diarmaid, who sheltered her. She turned into the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She asked Diarmaid where he would have the finest castle built, and he said above Beinn Eudainn. It appeared, and they lived there. Three
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...
times, she gave a grayhound pup to one of the Fhinn who asked for it, and Diarmaid angrily said that she would not have done it if she remembered what he had saved her from and then begged her pardon, but the third time, despite his apology, she and the castle vanished.
He set out in search
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
and found his way under the sea; there, he found three gulps of blood. There he met a woman gathering rushes, who told him that the king's daughter had just returned and was ill; no doctor could help her, and a bed of rushes was the most wholesome. The woman carried him to her in the bundle of rushes, and they were glad to see each other. She told him she had lost three gulps of blood; when he told her he had them, she told him she needed the cup of Righ Magh an Ioghnaidh, the King of Plain of Wonder, to drink from to recover. He set out and came to a rivulet he could not cross. A little russet man brought him over, and he reached the castle. There he shouted that he wanted either the cup or battle, and the king three times sent out forces against him, and Diarmaid killed them all. The king asked who he was, and said that if he had known that he would have given him the cup, because he would have known he would kill all his men. The little russet man bore him back and told him how to cure the woman, and warned him that he would take a great dislike to her when he did, and should say so and accept only a return to his own land from the king. He gave her the drinks as the man had said, and she recovered, but he took a dislike to her and admitted it. He accepted nothing but a ship back to his home.
Motifs
The loathly lady is a common motif, appearing in such tales as The Marriage of Sir GawainThe Marriage of Sir Gawain
"The Marriage of Sir Gawain" is an English Arthurian ballad, collected as Child Ballad 31. Found in the Percy Folio, it is a fragmented account of the story of Sir Gawain and the loathly lady, which has been preserved in fuller form in the medieval poem The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle...
.