The Green Knight (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Green Knight is a Danish fairy tale
, collected by Evald Tang Kristensen
in "Eventyr fra Jylland" and by Svend Grundtvig
in Danish Fairy Tales.
This tale combines Aarne-Thompson type 510A with type 425N, the bird husband, and type 432, the prince as bird. Others of the first type include Cinderella
, The Sharp Grey Sheep
, The Golden Slipper
, The Story of Tam and Cam
, Rushen Coatie
, Fair, Brown and Trembling
and Katie Woodencloak
; of the second two, The Feather of Finist the Falcon
, The Blue Bird
, and The Greenish Bird
.
Andrew Lang
included a translation of Kristensen's version in The Olive Fairy Book.
As soon as she was her stepmother, the woman began to maltreat the princess. The king, seeing this, sent the princess to a summer palace, or had one built for her. He went there one day to bid her farewell because he was going on a long journey, to a great tournament. She told him to greet her to the Green Knight. At the tournament, he met no Green Knight, but on the way home, he came through a forest where he found a swineherd
, and on asking whose pigs they were, was told they were the Green Knight's. He went on and found the marvellous castle where the Green Knight, a handsome young man lived. He gave him his daughter's greetings. The Green Knight had never heard of her -- in some variants, he says she must have been thinking of the green of the graveyard -- but makes the king welcome and gives him a gift: either a green book or a casket with his portrait.
The king returned home. In the variants with the book, the princess had not known why she had spoken of the Green Knight, and when she went through the pages of the book, he flew in as a bird and courted her; in the variants with the casket, she recognizes him as the man she dreamed of, and he comes to court her. In all variants, he visits her secretly, to avoid her stepmother, but her stepmother learns of it. In the bird variants, she puts a poisoned pair of scissors in the window; in the others, she puts a poisoned nail in the oar he used to row out. In all, he was injured visiting the princess and stopped.
The princess, not knowing why, is told by a bird, or overhears two birds talking, of his illness, and that a snake with nine young snakes in her father's stables could cure him. She got the snakes, went to the Green Knight's castle, and got a job in the kitchen. There, she persuaded them to let her cook the soup for him. For three days, she fed him a soup made from three of the young snakes, and he recovered.
In some variants, he went to the kitchen and recognized her; in others, she asked to marry him, and he refused because he had already promised to marry, and she cleaned herself up so that he recognized her. In all, they marry.
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 Evald Tang Kristensen
Evald Tang Kristensen
Evald Tang Kristensen was a Danish folklore collector and author. Working first as a schoolteacher and later solely as a collector, he assembled and published a huge amount of detailed information on all aspects of folklore as he visited country people throughout his native Jutland.-Early...
in "Eventyr fra Jylland" and by Svend Grundtvig
Svend Grundtvig
Svend Hersleb Grundtvig was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested in Danish folk songs. He began the large project of editing Danish ballads. He also co-edited Icelandic ballads. He...
in Danish Fairy Tales.
This tale combines Aarne-Thompson type 510A with type 425N, the bird husband, and type 432, the prince as bird. Others of the first type include Cinderella
Cinderella
"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...
, The Sharp Grey Sheep
The Sharp Grey Sheep
The Sharp Grey Sheep or The Sharp-Horned Grey Sheep is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Dewar, labourer, from Glendaruail, Cowal....
, The Golden Slipper
The Golden Slipper
The Golden Slipper is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine.-Synopsis:...
, The Story of Tam and Cam
The Story of Tam and Cam
The Story of Tấm and Cám is an ancient Vietnamese fairy tale. Best known as the Vietnamese version of Cinderella.The last section of the story has been the subject of controversy. An edited version was published in secondary school textbooks in 2011. This was supported by some educators and...
, Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine, as is Cinderella.-Synopsis:A queen with a daughter died...
, Fair, Brown and Trembling
Fair, Brown and Trembling
Fair, Brown and Trembling is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland and Joseph Jacobs in his Celtic Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A...
and Katie Woodencloak
Katie Woodencloak
Katie Woodencloak or Kari Woodengown is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book....
; of the second two, The Feather of Finist the Falcon
The Feather of Finist the Falcon
The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne–Thompson type 432, the prince as bird...
, The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird (fairy tale)
"The Blue Bird" is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy, published in 1697. An English translation was included in The Green Fairy Book, 1892, collected by Andrew Lang.The tale is Aarne-Thompson type 432, The Prince as Bird...
, and The Greenish Bird
The Greenish Bird
The Greenish Bird is a Mexican fairy tale collected by Joel Gomez in La Encantada, Texas from a seventy-four-year-old woman, Mrs. P.E.It combines Aarne-Thompson types 425, the Search for the Lost Husband, and 432, the Prince as Bird...
.
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included a translation of Kristensen's version in The Olive Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A dying queen asked her husband to do whatever their daughter asked of him, whatever it was, and the king promised. The widow of a count and her daughter did everything to make themselves the princess's favorites (in some variants persuading the princess to have them stay at the castle), and then the widow told her that they could not stay unless the king married her. The princess implored the king to do it, and when his objections could not convince her, he married the woman.As soon as she was her stepmother, the woman began to maltreat the princess. The king, seeing this, sent the princess to a summer palace, or had one built for her. He went there one day to bid her farewell because he was going on a long journey, to a great tournament. She told him to greet her to the Green Knight. At the tournament, he met no Green Knight, but on the way home, he came through a forest where he found a swineherd
Swineherd
A swineherd is a person who looks after pigs. The term has fallen out of popular use in favour of pig farmer.-Swineherds in literature:* Hans Christian Andersen wrote a Fairy tale called, "The Swineherd"....
, and on asking whose pigs they were, was told they were the Green Knight's. He went on and found the marvellous castle where the Green Knight, a handsome young man lived. He gave him his daughter's greetings. The Green Knight had never heard of her -- in some variants, he says she must have been thinking of the green of the graveyard -- but makes the king welcome and gives him a gift: either a green book or a casket with his portrait.
The king returned home. In the variants with the book, the princess had not known why she had spoken of the Green Knight, and when she went through the pages of the book, he flew in as a bird and courted her; in the variants with the casket, she recognizes him as the man she dreamed of, and he comes to court her. In all variants, he visits her secretly, to avoid her stepmother, but her stepmother learns of it. In the bird variants, she puts a poisoned pair of scissors in the window; in the others, she puts a poisoned nail in the oar he used to row out. In all, he was injured visiting the princess and stopped.
The princess, not knowing why, is told by a bird, or overhears two birds talking, of his illness, and that a snake with nine young snakes in her father's stables could cure him. She got the snakes, went to the Green Knight's castle, and got a job in the kitchen. There, she persuaded them to let her cook the soup for him. For three days, she fed him a soup made from three of the young snakes, and he recovered.
In some variants, he went to the kitchen and recognized her; in others, she asked to marry him, and he refused because he had already promised to marry, and she cleaned herself up so that he recognized her. In all, they marry.
See also
- The Canary PrinceThe Canary PrinceThe Canary Prince is an Italian fairy tale, the 18th tale in Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. He took the tale from Turin, making various stylistic changes; he noted it developed a medieval motif, but such tales as Marie de France's Yonec produced a rather different effect, being tales of...
- The Three SistersThe Three Sisters (fairy tale)The Three Sisters is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.-Synopsis:A woman had three daughters; the two older were very unlucky but the youngest, Nella, was very fortunate. A prince married her and hid her from his wicked mother, visiting...
- The Enchanted SnakeThe Enchanted SnakeThe Enchanted Snake or The Snake is an Italian fairy tale. Giambattista Basile wrote a variant in the Pentamerone. Andrew Lang drew upon this variant, for inclusion in The Green Fairy Book....