This year, my A to Z Blogging Challenge theme is Romance Tropes in Folklore! For each letter, I will pick a popular trope from romcom movies and romance novels, and see if I can find the same trope in folktales and legends. Because it's fun. Here we go.
THE TROPE
So this one is a general type of romance where a soldier/guard/someone who serves royalty falls in love with the royal lady high above their station. That they are supposed to protect, more often than not.
THE FOLKLORE
Once again, this one is by far not unheard of in folklore (sue me). Soldiers, especially veteran soldiers often end up making their fortune in folktales, and that sometimes involves winning a princess. However, I went looking for a queen instead, and those were not as common. Still, I get to include one of my favorite folktales, so here we go.
THE STORIES
The green dragoon (Hungarian folktale)
A widow queen who rules a country marches her army to war. One dragoon steps out of line to relieve himself, and accidentally gets trapped in an enchanted forest. By the time he is free, the war is over, the queen lost, and she has been trapped inside a cursed castle for 77 years. The soldier decides to go and save her, and he puts up with three nights of horrible hauntings to break the curse.
Do you have favorite romance stories that feature this trope?
Do you like the folktale versions?
Don't forget to leave a link in the comments so I can visit you back!
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Ooh er! Which is worse, fighting in a war or being trapped in an enchanted forest... And was he still young and was the Queen ancient - who knows...
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Made me think of the movie "Mrs. Brown" with Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. The logine: "When Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert dies, she finds solace in her trusted servant, Mr. John Brown, but their relationship also brings scandal and turmoil." Not exactly what you described, but close enough for the movies.
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