The Three Enchanted Princes

The Three Enchanted Princes (Italian: Li tre rri anemale) is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.[1] It is Aarne-Thompson-Uther index ATU 552, "The Girls who married animals". At the end of the tale, the prince's brothers-in-law help him in defeating the dragon (or sorcerer, or ogre).

Synopsis

The king of Green Bank had three beautiful daughters. The king of Fair Meadows had three sons, who had been transformed into a falcon, a stag, and a dolphin; these sons loved the three daughters, but the king would not marry them to animals. The sons summoned all the animals of their kind and made war until the king yielded. They were married, and the queen gave each of her daughters a ring so they could recognize one another.

After the wedding, the queen gave birth to a son, Tittone. One day, she lamented that she never heard what happened to her daughters. Tittone set out to find them. He found the eldest with the falcon husband; she hid him and persuaded her husband to let him visit. He stayed for a time, and the falcon gave him a feather when he set out to find the other sisters. After a time, he found the second sister, and her husband the stag made him welcome, and when he left, gave him some of its hair. He found the third husband, and her husband the dolphin made him welcome and gave him some scales when he left.

Returning, he found a maiden captive in a tower, where a dragon slept, and which was surrounded by a lake. She begged him to save her. He threw down the feather, hairs, and scales, and his brothers-in-law appeared. The falcon summoned griffins to carry her to freedom; when the dragon woke, the stag summoned lions, bears, and other animals to tear it to pieces; the dolphin had waves engulf the tower to destroy it. This freed the brothers-in-law from their enchanted shapes, and they returned with their brides to their own parents, and Tittone returned to his with his bride.

Analysis

The tale as translated into English language as King Falcon, King Dolphin, and King Stag and published in The Italian Fairy Book.[2]

There are variants where the girls' father is the one that gives away the daughters to the animals, and their brother, born years later, goes after them. In other variants, the princesses and the prince are born in the same generation, and it is the brother who weds his sisters to the animals.

The second variation lies in the brothers-in-law: usually, there are three animals, one terrestrial, a second aerial and the third aquatic,[3] as in Musäus's version (respectively, a bear, a falcon and a giant fish). In the famous Russian version Marya Morevna, the husbands-to-be are a falcon, an eagle and a raven. In Czech fairy tale film The Prince and the Evening Star, the prince marries his sisters to the Sun, the Moon and the Wind, who are princes or kings, as per the original tale by author Bozena Nemcova.[4]

Variants

Professor Stith Thompson commented that, apart from two ancient literary versions (Musäus and Giambattista Basile), the tale is also widespread all over Europe.[5]

Europe

Italy

Apart from Basile's literary work, the tale is attested in Italian folktale compilations, with seven variants (AT 552 and AT 552A), according to an 20th century inquiry,[6] Other variants were collected by 19th century folklorists: "The Fair Fiorita"[7] (La bella Fiorita), by Domenico Comparetti;[8] Lu re di li setti muntagni d'oru[9] and Li tri figghi obbidienti[10] by Giuseppe Pitrè; Von der schönen Cardia,[11] by Laura Gonzenbach; Lu Bbastunélle,[12] by Gennaro Finnamore; La bella del Mondo,[13] by Antonio de Nino; Die vier Königskinder,[14] by Hermann Knust.

In De Nino's version, the sisters are married to the "Vento Maggiore", the sirocco and the sun, while in Gonzenbach's they are married to the king of ravens, the king of "the wild animals" and the king of birds.

Russia

Apart from the story about Koschei, the Deathless and Marya Morevna (both present in the same variant), Russian folktale compilations attest similar tales about human maidens marrying either animals or personifications of nature (sun, wind, storm, etc.). For instance, the tale The Sun, The Moon and Crow Crowson.[15] In another variant by Alexander Afanasyev, Fedor Tugarin and Anastasia the Beautiful, prince Fedor Tugarin weds his sisters to the wind, the hail and the thunder.[16][17]

Another tale was compiled by author A. A. Erlenwein, which was translated by Angelo de Gubernatis in his Florilegio with the name Vaniúsha, where the sisters marry a bear, an iron-nosed bird ("uccello dal naso di ferro") and a pike ("luccio").[18][19]

Ireland

Jeremiah Curtin collected an Irish variant titled The Weaver's Son and the Giant of the White Hill, where a poor family "sells" their daughters to three noblemen for "their price in gold/silver/copper". Years later, their youngest brother visits each of the sisters and is given a "a bit of wool from the ram, a bit of fin from the salmon, and a feather from the eagle".[20][21]

France

French historian Robert Darnton cites, in his book The Great Cat Massacre, a burlesque narrative of a couple of peasant parents marrying their daughter off to a wolf, a fox, a hare and a pig.[22]

A variant from Brittany was collected by Paul Sébillot, titled Le Château suspendu dans les airs (English: "The Castle that hangs in the air"). The brothers-in-law are the King of the Birds, King of the Fishes and King of the Rats and Mice.[23]

Germany

German author Johann Karl August Musäus wrote a literary treatment of the tale type in his Volksmärchen der Deutschen, with the title Die Bücher der Chronika der drei Schwestern ("The Book of the Chronicles of the Three Sisters").[24][25][26] The tale was later published as The Chronicles of the Three Sisters.[27]

The Brothers Grimm collected, in the very first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812) the tale Die drei Schwestern ("The Three Sisters"), where the maidens are bethroted to a bear, an eagle and a generic fish due to their father's gambling.[28] The tale, previously KHM 82, was later withdrawn from the collection.[29]

Louis Curtze collected a variant from Dieringhausen, in Germany, titled Reinhold, das Wunderkind.[30] The name is quite similar to the main character of Musäus's version, whose name was translated as "Rinaldo, the son of wonder".[31]

Heinrich Pröhle collected the tale Bärenheid, Adelheid und Wallfild, the sisters' names, which mirror the animals they will be married to: respectively, Bären (English: "bear"), Adler (English: "eagle") and Wallfische (English: "whale").[32]

Gustav F. Meyer published a version titled De dree verwünschenen Prinzen, in the 1909 edition of Heimat. Gustav Meyer referred, in his annotations, to Basile's, Musäus's and Grimm's versions.[33]

Ernst Meier published a Swabian version titled Donner, Blitz und Wetter (English: "Thunder, Lightning and Weather").[34] Meier interpreted the characters of the meteorological phenomena as probably the remnants of ancient deities.[35]

Denmark

Svend Grundtvig collected a Danish variant titled The Wishing-Box: Hans, the son of a poor peasant, receives from his father a wishing-box his father was given by a sorcerer, in exchange for Hans's older sisters. The wishing-box contains a magical being that must serve the owner of the box.[36]

Lithuania

August Leskien collected a variant in Lithuania ("Von dem Königssohn, der auszog, um seine drei Schwestern zu suchen"), where the animals are a falcon, a griffin and an eagle.[37]

Portugal

There are two Portuguese variants: What Came of Picking Flowers (Cravo, Rosa e Jasmim), by Teophilo Braga[38] and A Torre da Babylonia, by Adolpho Coelho.[39]

Hungary

In a Hungarian variant ("Der Schwager von Rabe, Bär und Fisch"), by Elisabet Róna-Sklarek, the animals are raven, bear and fish.[40]

Servia

In a Serbian variant, Bash Tchelik, or Real Steel, the prince accidentally releases Bash Tchelik from his prison, who kidnaps the prince's wife. He later travels to his sisters' kingdoms and discovers them married, respectively, to the king of dragons, the king of eagles and the king of falcons.[41] The tale was also collected by British author Elodie Lawton Mijatovich and translated as Bash-Chalek, or, True Steel.[42] A third translation was Steelpacha.[43]

Greece

Johann Georg von Hahn collected a version titled Der Schwager des Löwen, des Tigers und des Adlers from Negades, in Epiros. The animals are a lion, a tiger and an eagle.[44]

French Hellenist Émile Legrand collected a variant titled Le Dracophage.[45]

A variant from Crete, Die Töchter des Königs Tsun Matsun, was collected by Paul Kretschmer. In this, the brother-in-law are the king of tigers and lions and the king of birds.[46]

Richard McGillivrey Dawkins collected two variants from Ulaghátsh, in Cappadocia, which he dubbed The Magic Brothers-in-Law: in the first, they are married to dervishes; in the second, the girls are married to devs.[47]

Albania

In an Albanian tale collected by Auguste Dozon (Les Trois Fréres et Les Trois Soeurs), the sisters are married to the sun, the moon and the south wind.[48] It was also collected in German language by linguist August Leskien as Die Geschichte von den drei Brüdern, den drei Schwestern und dem halbeisernen Mann.[49]

Georgia

In a Georgian variant, sourced as Mingrelian, Kazha-ndii, the youngest prince gives his sisters as brides to three "demis". They later help him to rescue his bride from the antagonist.[50]

Causasus Mountains

In a version in Avar language, by Anton Schiefner (Der schwarze Nart), the animals are a wolf, a hawk and a falcon.[51]

America

Canada

In a Canadian tale, The Boy and the Robbers' Magical Booty, the brothers-in-law are normal humans, but each one of them gives the hero a fish's scale, a feather and a piece of wool to summon animals to his aid in order to defeat the Giant of the Sea.[52]

Brazil

A version of the tale is attested in Brazilian folklore, collected by Silvio Romero in Sergipe as O bicho Manjaléo[53] and translated as The Beast Slayer by writer Elsie Spicer Eells.[54] The animal brothers-in-law are referred as King of Fishes, King of Rams and King of Pigeons.

Africa

Cape Verde

Anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons collected in Cape Verde a variant The Three Brothers-in-Law: his life in the egg, where the hero is given a feather, a scale and a horn to summon the animals to his aid.[55]

Asia

Turkey

Ignacz Kúnos translated a version collected in Istanbul, titled Der Windteufel[56] or The Storm Fiend,[57] where an evil wind spirit carries away the hero's sisters, and later they are married to a lion, a tiger and the "Padishah of the Peris", the emerald anka.

Palestine

Professors Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaan collected a peculiar Palestinian version, from an old storyteller in Ramallah. This version (Gazele) is peculiar in the sense that is combined with ATU 300 "The Dragon-Slayer" and ATU 302 "The Ogre's Life in the Egg".[58]

Philippines

Professor Dean Fansler collected two variants from the archipelago: Juan and his Adventures and Pedro and the Giants. In the first story, Juan finds his sisters married to the king of lions, the king of eagles and king of fishes. In the second, two giants marry Pedro's sisters and help him gain a princess for wife.[59]

Africa

West Africa

In a Hausa story, a couple has four young daughters that disappear. A son is born later and, when he grows older, seeks his sisters and finds them safe and sound, and married to a bull, a ram, a dog and a hawk. Each of the animals gives a piece of hair or plumage to the boy, if he needs their assistance.[60]

See also

References
  1. Giambattista Basile, The Pentamerone "The Three Enchanted Princes"
  2. Macdonell, Anne. The Italian fairy book. London: Unwin. 1911. pp. 70-77.
  3. Baudis, Josef. Czech folk tales. London: Allen & Unwin. [1917.] pp. 98-103.
  4. "Sonnenkönig, Mondkönig, Windkönig". In: Waldau, Alfred. Böhmisches Märchenbuch. Prag: Drug und Verlag von Rath. Serzabeth. 1860. pp. 440-457.
  5. Thompson, Stith. The Folktale. University of California Press. 1977. pp. 55-56. ISBN 0-520-03537-2
  6. Discoteca di Stato (1975). Alberto Mario Cirese; Liliana Serafini (eds.). Tradizioni orali non cantate: primo inventario nazionale per tipi, motivi o argomenti [Oral and Non Sung Traditions: First National Inventory by Types, Motifs or Topics] (in Italian and English). Ministero dei beni culturali e ambientali. p. 128.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Crane, Thomas Frederick. Italian Popular Tales. Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin and Co.. 1885. pp. 61-66 and 343.
  8. Comparetti, Domenico. Novelline popolari italiane. Italia, Torino: Ermano Loescher. 1875. pp. 83-88.
  9. Pitrè, Giuseppe. Novelline popolari siciliane raccolte in Palermo ed annotate. L.F. Lauriel. 1873. pp. 7-24.
  10. "Li tri figghi obbidienti". Fiabe Novelle e Racconti Popolari Siciliani (in Italian). 1. 1875. pp. 142–148.
  11. Gonzenbach, Laura. Sicilianische Märchen. Leipzig: Engelmann. 1870. pp. 185-191.
  12. Finamore, Gennaro. Tradizioni popolari abruzzesi. Vol. I (Parte Prima). Italy, Lanciano: Tipografia di R. Carabba. 1882. pp. 109-117.
  13. Nino, Antonio de. Usi e costumi abruzzesi; descritti da Antonio de Nino. Volume Terzo. Firenze: G. Barbera. 1897. pp. 112-119.
  14. "Italienische Märchen". In: Jahrbuch für romanische und englische Literatur. Volume 7. Leipzieg: F. A. Brockhaus. 1866. pp. 284-286. .
  15. Russian Folk-Tales by Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev. Translated by Leonard Arthur Magnus.New York: E. P. Dutton and Company. 1916. pp. 318-320.
  16. "Fedor Tugarin and Anastasia the Beautiful." In: The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev. Volume I, edited by Haney Jack V., pp. 408-12. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2014. Accessed August 16, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctt9qhm7n.105.
  17. Ralston, William Ralston Shedden. Russian folk-tales. London: Smith, Elder, & co.. 1873. pp. 97-98.
  18. Gubernatis, Angelo de. Florilegio delle novelline popolari. Milano U. Hoepli. 1883. pp. 212-214.
  19. Erlenwein, A. A. Narodnyja skazki sobrannyja seljskimi uciteljami. Moscow: 1863.
  20. Curtin, Jeremiah. Myths and folk-lore of Ireland. London: S. Low, Marson, Searle [and] Rivington. 1890. pp. 64-77.
  21. Groome, Francis Hindes. Gypsy folk-tales. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1899. p. lxx.
  22. Darnton, Robert. The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History. New York: Basic Books. 1984. pp. 35-36.
  23. Sébillot, Paul. Contes de terre et de mer. G. Charpentier. 1883. pp. 212-222.
  24. J. K. A. Musäus. Volksmärchen der Deutschen. München 1976. pp. 17-36.
  25. J. K. A. Musäus. Volksmärchen der Deutschen. München 1976. pp. 36-60.
  26. J. K. A. Musäus. Volksmärchen der Deutschen. München 1976. pp. 60-73.
  27. Lemon, Mark. Fairy Tales. London: John Stark. [ca. 187x?] pp. 1-100.
  28. Grimm, Jacob, Wilhelm Grimm, JACK ZIPES, and ANDREA DEZSÖ. "THE THREE SISTERS." In: The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition, 251-62. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2014. Accessed August 16, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctt6wq18v.89.
  29. Bolte, Johannes; Polívka, Jiri. Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. hausmärchen der brüder Grimm. Zweiter Band (NR. 61-120). Germany, Leipzig: Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1913. pp. 190–199.
  30. Curtze, Louis. Volksüberlieferungen aus dem Fürstenthum Waldeck nebst einem Idiotikon. Arolsen: verlag vom A. Speper. 1860. pp. 96-113.
  31. Lemon, Mark. Fairy Tales. London: John Stark. [ca. 187x?] p. 77
  32. Pröhle, Heinrich. Kinder- und Volksmärchen. Leipzig: 1853. pp. 1-5.
  33. Meyer, Gustav F. "De dree verwünschenen Prinzen". In: Heimat nr. 19. 1909. pp. 248-250. [PPN846060221_0019]
  34. Meier, Ernst. Deutsche Volksmärchen aus Schwaben. Stuttgart: 1852. pp. 29-38.
  35. Meier, Ernst. Deutsche Volksmärchen aus Schwaben. Stuttgart: 1852. pp. 300-301.
  36. Grundtvig, Sven, 1824-1883, and Gustav Hein. Danish Fairy Tales. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell company. 1914. pp. 42-57.
  37. Leskien, August/Brugman, K. Litauische Volkslieder und Märchen. Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner. 1882. pp. 423-430 and 566-571.
  38. Braga, Teophilo. Contos tradicionaes do povo portuguez. Magalhães e Moniz. 1883. pp. 20-24.
  39. Coelho, Francisco Adolpho. Contos populares portuguezes. Lisboa, Plantier. 1907. pp. 34-37.
  40. Róna-Sklarek, Elisabet. Ungarische Volksmärchen. Neue Folge. Leipzig: Dieterich. 1909. pp. 167-186 and 293-294.
  41. Petrovitch, Woislav M. Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.. 1921 [1914]. pp. 247-267.
  42. Mijatovich, Elodie Lawton. Serbian folk-lore: popular tales; selected and translated. London : W. Isbister & Co.. 1874. pp. 146-172.
  43. Houghton, Louise Seymour. The Russian grandmother's wonder tales. New York: C. Scribner's sons. 1906. pp. 299-347.
  44. von Hahn, Johann Georg. Griechische und Albanesische Märchen 1-2. München/Berlin: Georg Müller. 1918 [1864]. pp. 139-145 and 363.
  45. Legrand, Emile. Recueil de contes populaires grecs. Paris : E. Leroux. 1881. pp. 145-160.
  46. Kretschmer, Paul. Neugriechische Märchen. 1919. pp. 77-84.
  47. Dawkins, Richard McGillivray. Modern Greek in Asia Minor: A study of the dialects of Siĺli, Cappadocia and Phárasa, with grammar, texts, translations and glossary. London: Cambridge University Press. 1916. pp. 354-357 and 378-383.
  48. Dozon, Auguste. Contes Albanais. Paris: Leroux. 1881. pp. 121-134.
  49. Leskien, August. Balkanmärchen. Jena: Eugen Diederichs. 1915. pp. 272-278.
  50. Wardrop, Marjory Scott. Georgian folk tales. London: D. Nutt. 1894. pp. 112-118.
  51. Schiefner, Anton. Awarische Texte. K. Akademie der wissenschaften. 1873. pp. xiixv and 33-47.
  52. Macmillan, Cyrus. Canadian Wonder Tales. New York: John Lane Company. 1918. pp. 138-146.
  53. Romero, Silvio. Contos populares do Brazil. São Paulo: Livraria de Francisco Alves. 1907. pp. 35-43.
  54. Eells, Elsie Spicer. Tales of Giants from Brazil. New York: Dood, Mead and Company. 1918. pp. 133, 135-154.
  55. Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews; Hispanic Society of America. Folk-lore From the Cape Verde Islands. Part I. Cambridge, Mass.: and New York, American folk-lore society, 1923. pp. 208-211.
  56. Kúnos, Ignácz. Türkische Volksmärchen aus Stambul. Gesammelt, übersetzt und eingeleitet von Ignaz Kúnos. Leiden: Brill. 1905. pp. 125-139.
  57. Kunos, Ignacz. Forty-four Turkish fairy tales. London: G. Harrap. [undated] pp. 102-116.
  58. Muhawi, Ibrahim; Kanaana, Sharif. Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales. University of California Press. 1989. pp. 150-159 and 347-348.ISBN 0-520-06292-2
  59. Fansler, Dean Spouill. Filipino Popular Tales. The American folk-lore society. 1921. pp. 171-178.
  60. Tremearne, Arthur John Newman. Hausa superstitions and customs: an introduction to the folk-lore and the folk. London: Bale. 1913. pp. 131-132.

Bibliography
  • Bolte, Johannes; Polívka, Jiri. Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. hausmärchen der brüder Grimm. Dritter Band (NR. 121-225). Germany, Leipzig: Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1913. pp. 424–443.
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