"King Henry" ( English King Henry , Child 32 , Roud 3967 [1] ) - Scottish folk ballad . It was first recorded in 1783 by Professor Scott. reprinted this version in 1806, adding to it 14 stanzas from an unknown source. Francis James Child in his meeting cited only the original version of the ballad, considering the addition of Jamison unauthentic [2] .
Julius Markovich Danielle translated the ballad into Russian [2] .
Story
King Henry goes hunting. He drives the male deer and sits down to feast with his companions in his hunting hut. Suddenly the floor shakes and an unimaginably ugly giantess enters the hut. She demands Henry’s meat, and when he wonders what exactly she wants, he says that he should give his horse to her. It is not easy for the king to do this, but he kills his horse and feeds the guest. The story repeats with the hounds and hunting falcons of Henry. To make the giantess drink, the king sews a wineskin out of the skin of his horse and fills it with wine. After she asks to make the bed, he gains an armful of heather and covers it with his mantle. Further, the guest invites the king to take off his clothes and lie down next to her. This prospect seems Henry uglier than others, but the next morning he discovers a beautiful girl next to him. The king asks whether such a wonderful vision has visited him for a long time, and the girl replies that she will remain so in the future, because he fulfilled all her wishes [2] .
The motive of the enchanted “ disgusting lady ” is also present in the childish ballads “ The Marriage of Sir Gawain ” ( Eng. The Marriage of Sir Gawain , Child 31) and (to a lesser extent) “ Knight Avayn ” ( Eng. Kemp Owyne , Child 34). Similar stories are found in Gaelic, Welsh and Scandinavian folklore (an example from the latter is the story of King Helga in the saga about Hrolva Zherdinka ). Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775–1818) used the ballad plot for one of his tales, King Jamie, which appeared in his collection Tales of Wonder [2] [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 English and Scottish Folk Ballad: Compilation / Comp. L. M. Arinstein. - M: Rainbow, 1988 .-- 512 p. - ISBN 5-05-001852-8 .
- ↑ King Henry [Child 32] . The Traditional Ballad Index. An annotated source to folk song from the English-speaking world . Robert B. Waltz. Date of treatment January 7, 2017.