Assipattle and the Stoor Worm: Difference between revisions
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*{{citation |last=Briggs |first=Katharine Mary |title=Abbey Lubbers, Banshees, & Boggarts |year=1979 |publisher=Kestrel Books |isbn=0-7226-5537-1}} |
*{{citation |last=Briggs |first=Katharine Mary |title=Abbey Lubbers, Banshees, & Boggarts |year=1979 |publisher=Kestrel Books |isbn=0-7226-5537-1}} |
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*{{citation |last=Briggs |first=Katharine Mary |title=Folk Tales of Britain: Narratives |year=2011 |origyear=1970 |publisher=The Folio Society |volume=II}} |
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*{{citation |last1=Davidson |first1=Hilda Roderick Ellis |last2=Chaudhri |first2=Anna |title=A Companion to the Fairy Tale |year=2003 |publisher=DS Brewer |isbn=978-1-84384-081-7}} |
*{{citation |last1=Davidson |first1=Hilda Roderick Ellis |last2=Chaudhri |first2=Anna |title=A Companion to the Fairy Tale |year=2003 |publisher=DS Brewer |isbn=978-1-84384-081-7}} |
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*{{citation |last=Hartland |first=E. S. |title=The Legend of Perseus |year=1894 |publisher=Nutt |volume=I |url=https://archive.org/stream/legendofperseuss01hart#page/n7/mode/2up}} |
*{{citation |last=Hartland |first=E. S. |title=The Legend of Perseus |year=1894 |publisher=Nutt |volume=I |url=https://archive.org/stream/legendofperseuss01hart#page/n7/mode/2up}} |
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Revision as of 20:55, 11 November 2014
Assipattle and the Stoor Worm is an Orcadian folktale relating the battle between the eponymous hero and a gigantic sea serpent known as the stoor worm. The tale was preserved by 19th-century antiquarian Walter Traill Dennison, and retold by another Orcadian folklorist, Ernest Marwick, in a 20th-century version that integrates Dennison's texts with tidbits from other oral storytellers.
Synopsis
The seventh son of a goodman,[a] Assipattle and his family live on their father's farm, which is nestled in a valley under the hillsides of Leegarth. A lazy daydreamer, Assipattle is scorned by his older brothers and his parents but his sister, who he is greatly attached to, is more tolerant of his idle musing and slothful ways. Often neglected and usually dressed in the tattered hand-me down clothes from his brothers, his days are spent carrying out menial tasks but he would rather avoid work as much as possible. Frequently teased by his brothers, he habitually sprawls among the ashes at the fireside in the evenings, narrating tales featuring himself as a hero victorious in all battles.
Assipattle's loneliness increases when his sister leaves home to serve as a maid for Princess Gem-de-lovely, the only daughter of the king, and his sole heir. Within a short time, the country is in turmoil as the evil stoor worm has arrived in the kingdom. A gigantic vile sea serpent, it is capable of destroying entire villages; the king is advised by a sorcerer that the only way to appease the monster is by feeding it seven virgins each Saturday. The citizens are outraged as their daughters are eaten by the stoor worm and insist the king finds an alternative solution. After seeking further advice, the king is told the only way to make the monster leave is to sacrifice the Princess; he is allowed time to find someone to slay the monster before she is sacrificed.
In a desperate attempt to save Princess Gem-de-lovely, who was loved by everyone except her evil step-mother, the king despatches messengers to let everyone know he will give his kingdom, the magical sword Sickersnapper that he had inherited from Odin and the princess's hand in marriage to anyone who can defeat the stoor worm. A messenger arrives at Leegarth, conveys the news to the family and Assipattle declares he will trounce the beast, drawing mocking responses from his father and brothers.
Prospective heroes arrived but all shied away from the challenge when they saw the monster.
Etymology
According to folklorists Jennifer Westwood and Sophia Kingshill, the name Assipattle translates as Ash-paddle, very similar to Askeladd (Ash-Lad), a character in Norwegian folk stories.[2] The Sanday folklorist Walter Traill Dennison, who transcribed the tales, defines Ass as the local dialect for ashes and to pattle as similar to the up and down flailing movements a fish makes with its tail while attempting to escape if floundering at the water’s edge.[3] Other spelling variants, Ashiepattle, Aessi-pattle or Assie pattle, share a common definition of a Cinderella type figure, an unkempt, idle and uncared for child who spends a large amount of time huddled at the fireside and may be evolved from Old Norse.[4]
Genre
According to folklore researcher Jacqueline Simpson the story of "Assipattle and the Stoor Worm" is classified as a dragon-slayer tale. She describes it as "almost pure märchen in style and content, apart from the local aetiologies";[5][b] folklorist E. S. Hartland stated it was "a purely Norse tale",[7] demonstrating the triumph of bravery over adversity.[8] Briggs also classifies it as a dragon tale describing the difference in size compared to the much smaller St George's dragon.[9] Assipattle is the male counterpart of the Cinderella (Cinder-girl) stories, but is older and may be indicative of eras when inheritance was via daughters as opposed to sons.[10][11]
Textual sources
Traill Dennison recalled that when he was a child simple Orkney storytellers recited many variations of the tale.[12] Two of his renditions were published: a shorter treatment in standard English serialised in The Scottish Antiquary magazine in 1891,[c] and the full tale, sprinkled with many local terms annotated by Dennison, was reprinted complete with his notes in Douglas's Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales published in about 1893.[14]
Marwick's 20th-century version is a composite, in his own words the "retelling of one of Orkney's best folk-tales", based primarily on the two texts recorded by Traill Dennison, and drawing from "the memories of the late J. Fotheringhame and other Sanday informants."[14]
References
Notes
- ^ Goodman is an obsolete term predominantly used in Scotland to describe the "male head of a household".[1]
- ^ Märchen is a German term used by some folklorists to describe "wonder tales".[6]
- ^ The spelling of the monster's name was incorrectly given throughout as Stove Worm, which was noted in the next volume.[13]
Citations
- ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2014), "goodman", Oxford Dictionary of English (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 8 November 2014
- ^ Westwood & Kingshill (2012), p. 416
- ^ Traill Dennison (1901), p. 300
- ^ "Assiepattle", Dictionary of the Scots Language, Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004, retrieved 8 November 2014
- ^ Simpson (1978), p. 83
- ^ Davidson & Chaudhri (2003), p. 39
- ^ Hartland (1894), p. 77
- ^ White (1982), p. 236
- ^ Briggs (1979), p. 61
- ^ Westwood & Kingshill (2012), p. 415
- ^ Hartley (1914), p. 250
- ^ Traill Dennison (1901), p. 299: (Traill Dennison's notes)
- ^ Traill Dennison (1891), p. 167: (Editor's note) sfnp error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFTraill_Dennison1891 (help)
- ^ a b Marwick (2000), pp. 201–202
Bibliography
- Briggs, Katharine Mary (1979), Abbey Lubbers, Banshees, & Boggarts, Kestrel Books, ISBN 0-7226-5537-1
- Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis; Chaudhri, Anna (2003), A Companion to the Fairy Tale, DS Brewer, ISBN 978-1-84384-081-7
- Hartland, E. S. (1894), The Legend of Perseus, vol. I, Nutt
- Hartley, Catherine Gasquoine (1914), The position of woman in primitive society; a study of the matriarchy, Eveleigh Nash
- Marwick, Ernest W. (2000) [1975], The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland, Birlinn, ISBN 978-1-84158-048-7
- Simpson, Jacqueline (1978), "Fifty British Dragon Tales: An Analysis", Folklore, 89 (1), Taylor & Francis, JSTOR 1260098
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - Traill Dennison, Walter (1891), "Orkney Folklore, Sea Myths", The Scottish Antiquary, or, Northern Notes and Queries, 5 (19), Edinburgh University Press
- Traill Dennison, Walter (1891), "Orkney Folklore. Sea Myths", The Scottish Antiquary, or, Northern Notes and Queries, 5 (20), Edinburgh University Press
- Traill Dennison, Walter (1901) [189?], "Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm", in Douglas, George (ed.), Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales, Walter Scott
- Westwood, Jennifer; Kingshill, Sophia (2012), The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4090-6171-7
- Williams, Herschel (1908), Fairy Tales from Folk Lore, Moffat, Yard
- White, Beatrice (1982), "British Dragons by Jacqueline Simpson, Review", Folklore, 93 (2), Taylor & Francis, JSTOR 1259956
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