The Thirteenth Son of the King of Erin
Encyclopedia
"The Thirteenth Son of the King of Erin" is an Irish fairy tale
collected by Jeremiah Curtin
in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it in A Book of Dragons
.
explained that any man or beast with thirteen young should drive one away, to fall under Heaven's will. The king could not bear to chose one of his sons. The seer said he should shut the door on the last son to return that night. This was the oldest, Seán Ruadh. He asked his father for an outfit for the road, and the king gave him it and a black horse that could run faster than the wind.
One day, he put on some poor clothing and was hired by a king to herd his cows. The king also told him that an urfeist, a sea serpent
, demanded a king's daughter every seven years, and this year the lot had fallen on his own daughter
. Many king's sons said they would save her, but her father did not believe them. The sea serpent would appear one day, he did not know when.
Three
giants
lived near the king's lands. Seán Ruadh pastured the cows on their lands, and fought with them, one per day. They promised their swords of light and horses if he would spare them, but he killed them, and their housekeepers, glad to be freed, showed him all their treasures. Each day the cows gave more milk than they ever had before.
On the fourth day, he dressed in the black clothing of the first giant, took its black horse, and went down the shore. The princess awaited the sea serpent there. Seán Ruadh asked her to take his head in her lap until it arrived; then she should wake him. She took it, took three hairs from his head, and woke him when the sea serpent arrived. They fought. Seán Ruadh cut off its head, but it instantly grew back. The sea serpent left, but said it would return.
The next day, he wore the blue clothing of the second giant and rode its brown horse, but when he laid down as before, the princess compared his hair to the three hairs and noted he was the same knight as the first one. He cut the sea serpent in half, but the halves joined again, and it threatened that no one would save her the third day.
The third day, he wore the many-colored clothing of the third giant, with its blue glass boots, and rode its red horse. When he was dressed the housekeeper told him that no one could fight the sea serpent that day; the only way to defeat him was to throw the brown apple she gave him down its open mouth. He took it. Again, the princess knew him by the hairs. He threw the brown apple, and the sea serpent melted away into jelly. The princess grabbed his boots and one came off. He had to leave it with her.
Many men claimed to be the hero, but a seer said they must all try on the boot. Finally, every man had tried it except the cowherd. They sent twenty men for him, but he overpowered them; when they sent another twenty, he overpowered them as well; finally, the seer told the king to go himself, and when the king asked and told him not to mind his work, Seán Ruadh came. The boot fitted on of its own. The princess jumped to his arms. He was told that the men swarming about had claimed to have saved her, and he cut off all their heads. Then he married the princess at a great wedding feast and took her with him to the giants' lands.
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 Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin was an American translator and folklorist.-Life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Curtin spent his early life in Milwaukee County and later graduated from Harvard College in 1863. In 1864 he went to Russia, where he worked as both a translator and for the U.S. legation...
in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it in A Book of Dragons
A Book of Dragons
A Book of Dragons is a 1965 anthology of 14 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
.
Synopsis
A king had thirteen sons. One day, he saw a swan driving away one of its thirteen cygnets, and a seerClairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
explained that any man or beast with thirteen young should drive one away, to fall under Heaven's will. The king could not bear to chose one of his sons. The seer said he should shut the door on the last son to return that night. This was the oldest, Seán Ruadh. He asked his father for an outfit for the road, and the king gave him it and a black horse that could run faster than the wind.
One day, he put on some poor clothing and was hired by a king to herd his cows. The king also told him that an urfeist, a sea serpent
Sea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
, demanded a king's daughter every seven years, and this year the lot had fallen on his own daughter
Princess and dragon
Princess and dragon is a generic premise common to many legends and fairy tales. It is not a fairy tale itself, but along with Prince Charming, is a repeated cliché...
. Many king's sons said they would save her, but her father did not believe them. The sea serpent would appear one day, he did not know when.
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...
giants
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
lived near the king's lands. Seán Ruadh pastured the cows on their lands, and fought with them, one per day. They promised their swords of light and horses if he would spare them, but he killed them, and their housekeepers, glad to be freed, showed him all their treasures. Each day the cows gave more milk than they ever had before.
On the fourth day, he dressed in the black clothing of the first giant, took its black horse, and went down the shore. The princess awaited the sea serpent there. Seán Ruadh asked her to take his head in her lap until it arrived; then she should wake him. She took it, took three hairs from his head, and woke him when the sea serpent arrived. They fought. Seán Ruadh cut off its head, but it instantly grew back. The sea serpent left, but said it would return.
The next day, he wore the blue clothing of the second giant and rode its brown horse, but when he laid down as before, the princess compared his hair to the three hairs and noted he was the same knight as the first one. He cut the sea serpent in half, but the halves joined again, and it threatened that no one would save her the third day.
The third day, he wore the many-colored clothing of the third giant, with its blue glass boots, and rode its red horse. When he was dressed the housekeeper told him that no one could fight the sea serpent that day; the only way to defeat him was to throw the brown apple she gave him down its open mouth. He took it. Again, the princess knew him by the hairs. He threw the brown apple, and the sea serpent melted away into jelly. The princess grabbed his boots and one came off. He had to leave it with her.
Many men claimed to be the hero, but a seer said they must all try on the boot. Finally, every man had tried it except the cowherd. They sent twenty men for him, but he overpowered them; when they sent another twenty, he overpowered them as well; finally, the seer told the king to go himself, and when the king asked and told him not to mind his work, Seán Ruadh came. The boot fitted on of its own. The princess jumped to his arms. He was told that the men swarming about had claimed to have saved her, and he cut off all their heads. Then he married the princess at a great wedding feast and took her with him to the giants' lands.
See also
- The Sea-MaidenThe Sea-MaidenThe Sea-Maiden is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Mackenzie, fisherman, near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it in Celtic Fairy Tales.-Synopsis:...
- The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of LifeThe Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of LifeThe Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...
- 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...
- The King of Lochlin's Three DaughtersThe King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters"The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...