The pink fairy book (1897) (14597437839)

The Golden Lion (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Vom goldnen Löwen'') is an Italian

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

collected by Laura Gonzenbach in ''Sicilianische Märchen''.

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish 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 o ...

included it in ''

The Pink Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...

''.

Synopsis

A merchant had three sons. The oldest set out and found a city where the king had proclaimed that whoever found his daughter within eight days would marry her, but anyone who tried and failed would lose his head. The son tried and failed. His second brother followed and also failed. The

youngest son The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters. In a family of many daught ...

, following his brothers, discovered their fates and rebuffed an old woman who sought alms from him. She asked if he was in trouble, and the son explained the situation. She told him that he should purchase a statue of a golden lion that played music, so that he could hide inside it. After the statue was completed, the man hid inside. The old woman showed the lion to the king. When he wanted it, she told him she could only lend it to him overnight. He brought it down a secret stairway to twelve identical women. During the night, the youth implored the princess to help him, and she told him she would wear a white sash when he came hunting for her so he could identify her. The old woman took the lion away. The youth came out of hiding and went to the king, who gave him permission to search for the princess. The young man went to the place where the princess was hidden and chose the woman who was wearing the white sash. The king agreed to their wedding. The merchant's son and the princess then sailed off with her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

. They also gave the old woman enough money for the rest of her days.

Analysis

This method of winning the princess is also found in the fairy tales ''

The Fair Fiorita The Fair Fiorita is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in ''Italian Popular Tales''. Italo Calvino included a variant of it, ''The Princesses Wed to the First Passer-By'', in his ''Italian Folktales''. Synopsis A king with ...

'' and ''

The Princess Who Was Hidden Underground The Princess Who Was Hidden Underground is a German fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Violet Fairy Book''.Andrew Lang, ''The Violet Fairy Book''"The Princess Who Was Hidden Underground"/ref> Synopsis In a far away kingdom there was a ...

''.

Classification

Soon after he developed his classification of folktales, Finnish folklorist

Antti Aarne Antti Amatus Aarne (December 5, 1867 in Pori – February 2, 1925 in Helsinki) was a Finnish folklorist. Background Antti was a student of Kaarle Krohn, the son of the folklorist Julius Krohn. He further developed their historic-geographi ...

published, in 1912, a study on the collections of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

, Austrian consul

Johann Georg von Hahn Johann Georg von Hahn (11 July 1811 – 23 September 1869) was an Austrian and later Austro-Hungarian diplomat, philologist and specialist in Albanian history, language and culture. Hahn was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1847, he was named Aust ...

, Danish folklorist

Svend Grundtvig Svend Hersleb Grundtvig (9 September 1824, Copenhagen – 14 July 1883, Frederiksberg) was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested i ...

, Swiss scholar Laura Gonzenbach and

Alexander Afanasyev Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...

. According to this primary system, developed in 1910, the tale fits type 854, "The Golden Buck (Goat, Ram)": the prince enters a princess's room hidden in a statue of an animal made of gold and wins the hand of the princess. This typing was corroborated by professors

Jack Zipes Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies, who has published and lectured on German literature, critical theory, German Jewish culture, children's literature, and folklore. ...

and

Stith Thompson Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...

, who also classified the tale as AaTh 854, "The Golden Ram". According to Reinhold Köhler's annotations on the tale, in a Greek variant, the hero dresses in the golden fleece of a lamb to enter the princess's quarters, and in another tale he can change into an eagle to reach her room. In an Irish variant, the prince enters the princess's room inside a golden deer. According to Jack Zipes, the tale type is found in Europe, Turkey and South America, and has a literary tradition.Pitrè, Giuseppe; Zipes, Jack David; Russo, Joseph. ''The collected Sicilian folk and fairy tales of Giuseppe Pitrè''. New York: Routledge, 2013 009 p. 879. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Lion, The Italian literature Italian fairy tales Lions in literature ATU 850-999 Laura Gonzenbach