K is for the Knight named Silence (Women's Epics A to Z)

This year my theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is Women's Epics. My goal was to read 26 traditional epics from around the world that have women as their heroes. Because epics like this do exist, and they are fascinating! Read the intoduction post here.

Le Romane de Silence
France

This story is a 13th century French chivalric romance, that was discovered in 1911 "in the manor house of a British nobleman in a box marked 'old papers - no value'" (together with some letters from Henry VIII). Apparently it also contains "fourteen endearingly clumsy miniatures" (see one below). It was not published until the 1970s. I read the English translation in this book (which also has the French original). The text is about 6,700 lines long. The author's name is Heldris of Cornwall; this author is otherwise unknown. Some researchers argue that Heldris was possibly a woman, given the themes and morals of the story. In the text, the author claims they translated the story from Latin to French.

American storyteller Dolores Hydock has an amazing stage adaptation of this story, which is where I first encountered Silence. I highly recommend her telling!

What is it about?

TL;DR: In a kingdom where women can't inherit, a count raises his only daughter as a boy named Silence. Silence becomes a knight, but when the king's wife takes a liking to him, he gets caught up in court intrigue and a series of adventures.

CW: Mentions of sexual assault

Note: I am counting this as an epic with a woman hero, even though the protagonist lives as a man for most of the story. Since the male identity is imposed on Silance out of necessity, and once the ban on inheritance is lifted she returns to being a woman, I didn't think it would qualify as a story about being transgender. However, different readings are possible, as the story is definitely open to interpretation.

The story takes place in England in the time of King Evan, who is portrayed as a just and peaceful king. He marries a Norwegian princess named Eufeme. It happens one day in his kingdom that two counts marry twin sisters, and they get into a fight about inheritance, both claiming they had the older sister as a wife. The fight turns into a duel, and they kill each other. This angers the king so much that he declares that no woman in England shall ever inherit again.

Soon after, the king is attacked by a dragon while traveling. It kills thirty of his men. He declares that whoever can kill the dragon shall be a count, and shall have a choice of any woman as his wife. A young man named Cador volunteers; he is secretly in love with a girl named Eufemie, daughter of the count of Cornwall (note the one letter difference). Cador fights and kills the dragon, but he is seriously wounded. Eufemie, who is an accomplished doctor (and "versed in the seven arts") treats his injuries. They are both very much attracted to each other, but - as the narrator notes - they have to "suffer a little, first." What happens is the two lovebirds are both too shy to confess, so they spend several pages pining and suffering and crushing on each other until they finally get together (and do a whole lot of kissing). But all is well in the end, and they get married.

By law, Eufemie can't inherit her father's lands in Cornwall. Rather, her husband can, provided that he has a male heir to hold the land in fiefdom for. Soon after the wedding the old count of Cornwall passes away. The young couple at this point is expecting a baby, and because of the inheritance laws, they decide that whatever the baby is, they will say it is a boy, so that their child will keep their wealth. They only allow one woman to tend to Eufemie, and the baby, while it is a girl, is announced to be a boy. They name the child Silence, and agree that if they ever have a real son, they'll just "turn her back into a girl". They have the baby baptized in haste, the nurse "letting it dangle on purpose" to pretend it's sick, so that the priest won't look too closely. (Genius). From this point on, Silence is referred to as a "he" in the text.

They send baby Silance with his nurse to the woods to a small house on the lands of a friendly senechal. They are the only ones that know Silence's secret, and they swear to keep it, and raise him as a boy. Silence grows up excelling in things boys do. When he is old enough, his father sits him down and explains the plan and the reasoning behind it. Meanwhile, there are long allegorical debates going on between Nature and Nurture, both trying to claim the child and prove they are superior. Silence himself actually understand he is a girl, but he also enjoys the freedom of being able to ride and joust and hunt, and he hates the idea of having to sit in a room and embroider. He "saw, in short, that a man's life was much better than that of a woman." 

When Silence is twelve years old, two minstrels come visiting the senechal's court. Silence spends time with them and is intrigued. He decides to run away with them and learn to be a minstrel - reasoning that if his secret is ever found out, and he can't be a knight anymore, being a minstrel will come in handy. He disguises himself and follows the minstrels, sneaking into a ship to France. When they discover him, they agree to train him, in exchange for him being their servant. Meanwhile, Count Cador at home is devastated, thinking the minstrels abducted his son. Since Silence is nowhere to be found, he orders that all minstrels should be killed if they enter his lands.

Four years pass. Silence grows up, and becomes such a great minstrel that his masters grow jealous and try to kill him. He manages to convince them otherwise, and they part ways. Silence sails back to England. At first they almost arrest him for being a minstrel, but his father the count recognizes him (with the help of a mysterious old man - foreshadowing) in time, and the family is happily reunited. Count Cador lifts the ban on minstrels.

The king hears about Silence's safe return, and summons him to court, making him one of his retainers. Queen Eufeme soon takes a special liking to the boy. One day she manages to stay alone with him while others are out to hunt, and tries her best to seduce Silance, with no uncertain hints (including boobs). Silence politely but firmly refuses her advances. The queen is angered. A few months later she tries again, at first saying she had just been joking, trying to test his loyalty to the king. But then she gets serious again, and when Silence resists, she tears at her own clothes, punches herself and cries for help, telling the king Silence tried to assault her.

King Evan doesn't want to really dishonor such a nice young man as Silence, and he doesn't want anyone to know his wife has been compromised either. To placate his wife, instead he sends Silence to France, to his liege lord the French king's court. He sends a letter of recommendation with him. However, the queen manages to swap out the letters, sending a message instructing the French king to kill the young man on arrival.

The French immediately take a liking to Silence, and the king is shocked by the letter. Instead of following orders, he debates the issue with his ministers, then decides to message Evan for confirmation. The trick comes to light. Evan sends a new letter, praising Silence, and the young man stays in the French court in comfort. When he is almost 18, the French king knights him.

Soon after, a rebellion breaks out in England. Silence returns with a contingent of French knights to save King Evan on the battlefield. He turns out to be an amazing fighter, and the battle is won. However, now that Silence is back, a knight, and a hero, Queen Eufeme makes another attempt at him. When Silence rejects her, she goes to her husband, and this time, the king has had enough. He wants Silence gone, but wants to be sneaky about it. So, the queen comes up with a plan.

Here is where Merlin comes into the story. There is a prophecy that he is living as a wild man, and he can only ever be captured by a woman. The queen suggests they should order Silence to capture Merlin, because he will surely perish in the attempt. 

Joke's on them: Silence is not a man. (Hello, Tolkien.) He meets Merlin in disguise, and learns the trick for taming the wild man himself. With his captured prize he returns to King Evan's court. Everyone turns out to see the famous captive. Merlin laughs at random times, but refuses to explain what he is so amused about. He only speaks when Evan threatens to behead him. Then he reveals all the trickery at hand: that Silence is a woman, that one of the queen's attending nuns us actually a man (and her lover). The king has everyone disrobed, and the truth comes to light. Silence tells her story. 

King Evan declares that since she was such a great knight, women can inherit again. The queen and her lover are executed, and the king takes Silence (dressed as a woman now) as his new wife. The end.

The highlights

Honestly, the biggest highlight of the whole romance is the narrator. Right off the bat, they instruct the reader that "anyone who has them [the pages of this work] should burn them, rather than share them with the kind of people who don't know a good story when they hear one." Best opening ever. Then they move on to a long rant about the state of the world in general, and the avarice of rich people, saying "I really have to let it all out a little, in order to get into the proper frame of mind." They circle back to ranting periodically throughout the romance. For example, when mentioning that in the olden days royal weddings lasted for a year, and now the "avarice of men" has ruined that tradition, they say "I'd really like to kill the bastards who have so abased honor."

The scene of Cador fighting the dragon was very well written; action-packed and descriptive. One of the best dragon fights I have read in epics. In addition, it had nice details such as the dragon being sluggish because it had gorged itself on 30 men... Similarly, the battle where Silence saved the king's life was one hell of an action scene. Best line: "The blade of a Poitevin sword was an unwelcome intruder to a thousand men."

This line: "The more there is mutual consent / the more luxuriantly love grows."

Cador and Eufemie's love story is like a tale within a tale, and it is an adorable one. Two young lovers pining for each other, both being idiots about it, the narrator making snide comments, and then insinuating some spicy situations (almost directly saying their baby was concieved before the wedding). Even when Eufemie gives birth (the text has some very naturalistic descriptions of her suffering during her pregnancy), the count rushes to her bed first, asking how she is (approaching a woman in childbed is against tradition). Honestly, these two are one of the underrated love stories of medieval literature.

The queen's line when Silence refuses her advances: "Are you trying to jack up the price? If you are such an expert at selling yourself dear, you should go into the business." The whole seduction scene, honestly, reads like a gender-bent version of what a woman in a powerless position would have to deal with from a man. If you don't put out, you're a whore. The queen also outright calls Silence homophobic names, claiming he must be queer if he is not aroused by her.

Another suspiciously realistic situation: The fallout from the queen's pretended assault is less of a biblical "Potifar's wife" scene, and more like a realistic reaction of a powerful man to a woman's complaint. While the queen demands Silence's head (and Silence keeps quiet out of a sense of duty), the king decides not to dole out punishment. He literally rolls his eyes. "Just think of it all as a dream, sweetheart. Nothing happened, nothing's wrong, nothing should come of it." 

I absolutely loved that the French king, instead of blindly following cruel orders, double checked to see if the message was indeed real. Good job.

I also liked the shout-out to Arthurian legend: when Silence captures Merlin she tells him she wants him dead, because he got her ancestor - Gorlain, Duke of Cornwall - killed once upon a time. (The husband of Queen Ygraine, mother of Arthur). 

This line, before Merlin's reveal: "He is preparing a sauce so spicy that it will give several people indigestion before nightfall." Hot tea shall be spilled, as they say.

And here are some of the closing lines: 

Master Heldris says here and now

that one should praise a good woman

more than one should blame a bad one.

And I will tell you why:

a woman has less motivation,

provided that she even has the choice,

to be good than to be bad.

READING ALL OF THE ABOVE - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Was the epic written by a woman or a man?

Tarot Tales: K is for Kings and Knights

Welcome to the 2021 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Tarot Tales. I am making a selection of folktales, legends, and other traditional stories that correspond to tarot cards. Storytelling and tarot go well together. Do other stories come to mind? Let me know in the comments!

This post is the first one about the Minor Arcana. So, instead of one card, I'll be focusing on eight: four Kings, and four Knights. Comments will be shorter, but since Kings and Knights are very common in folklore, the selection process was also a lot easier. 

(If you have suggestions for Kings and Knights from more non-European cultures, let me know!)

CUPS (emotions, water)

King of Cups: Zal (Persia)

The King of Cups is emotionally mature, compassionate, caring, and kind. He is diplomatic, intuitive, warm-hearted, and an excellent mentor. For these reasons I chose my favorite hero from the Persian Book of Kings, Zal. Born with white hair, Zal was put out into the mountains by his father to die, but the mythical Simurgh bird raised him. As an adult, he returned to his kingdom and became a wise, level-headed and diplomatic ruler - and a kind and loving father to one of the greatest Persian heroes, Rostam. He also has a gorgeous love story.

Knight of Cups: Oisín (Ireland & Scotland)

This is my favorite guy in the deck. Romantic, creative, charming, and on top of that just as caring, kind, and compassionate as the King. He is all about beauty and love, all heart and imagination. He is the downright knight in shining armor. I chose another old favorite of mine: Oisín (or Ossian), the famous bard of Irish and Scottish legends. Oisín is the son of the legendary hero Fionn Mac Cumhail, part human, part fae. He is the odd one out of the rowdy warriors of the Fianna, more a musician and a diplomat than a fighter (although he can definitely hold his own in an adventure). He is most famous from the love story where he runs away with the Queen of the Land of Youth.

WANDS (action, fire)

King of Wands: Setuli, King of the Birds (Eswatini)

This king is THE King. He is a true leader, a great role model. He takes on challenges, defeats obstacles, makes dreams into reality. He is a visionary, all energy, action and innovation. If I was going to put Arthur in the deck, this would be him - but I wanted to pick someone less obvious. So, let me introduce you to Setuli, King of Birds, from the tales of Eswatini. He is born deaf and mute, but when his magician brother takes him into the wilderness, he meets a wise old woman and she helps him gain magic powers through his own bravery and determination. Setuli then uses his new powers to turn birds into people, and sets out on a journey. He ends up breaking a curse on another kingdom, and those people join him too; he defeats monsters and makes daring plans, and in the end he lives happily ever after as the ruler of a prosperous land. 

Knight of Wands: Astolfo (Italy)

This Knight is daring, enthusiastic, and passionate. He has a lot of energy to go around: he gets into spontaneous adventures, sweeps damsels off their feet, helps out friends, goes on quests, makes magic happen. He has as much charm as Cups, but in a less dreamy and more adventurous way. For these reasons I chose Astolfo, one of the heroes of the Italian epic Orlando Furioso. He is an English prince, one of Charlemagne's paladins, most famous for riding the first hippogriff recorded in legends! After rescuing the magic steed from a wizard, he flies it to the Moon to find the lost wits of his friend Orlando. It is quite an adventure story!

SWORDS (intellect, air)

King of Swords: Solomon (Jewish, Christian & Muslim traditions)

This King is all about wisdom, knowledge, and intellect. He makes good, impartial judgment, he is respected and trusted by everyone, and he always finds the truth. He follows logic instead of emotions, and he is good at what he does. He is also a strong authority figure. I thought the legendary King Solomon would be a good fit for this card. Recently I was doing some research on Solomon's judgment (the baby-cutting-in-half thing), and it is a lot deeper than most people realize.

Knight of Swords: Mercury Ali (1001 Nights)

Knight of Swords is a bundle of energy and intellect. He is unstoppable, always up for a challenge, good with words, and usually the smartest person in the room (sometimes annoyingly so). He is all about action and winning (I love it that Telluric Tarot symbolizes him with the coffee plant). Now, I could have picked a lot of heroes for this one, but I wanted to highlight the intellect part. So instead of a knight I chose a trickster: the infamous Mercury Ali from the 1001 Nights. He is a legendary rogue from Cairo, who travels to Bagdad and gets into an endless prank war with a clever lady named Zaynab. He goes through many adventures, sometimes fighting with wits, and sometimes with a magic spear, until he can marry his lady love.

(CW: this story has a few seriously problematic parts, but in my opinion none of them are essential to the plot, and can be easily skipped.)

PENTACLES (material things, earth)

King of Pentacles: Laurin (Germany)

This King symbolizes wealth, abundance, and material security. He is grounded, respected, traditional, and successful in making his domain flourish. He is also kind of a fatherly figure and a family man. I immediately thought King Laurin would be a good fit. In German legends he is the Dwarf king of the mountains of Tyrol. He reigns over a wealthy underground kingdom full of treasures, and has a beautiful rose garden in the mountains. He features into a long and amazing legend about the struggle between humans and Dwarves.

Knight of Pentacles: Kay the Senechal (Britain)

He is not a very knightly Knight. This guy is about hard work, planning, and practical things. He is patient, responsible, reliable, persistent, and honorable. He is also, to me, one of my favorite knights from Arthurian legends: Sir Kay the Senechal. Kay is generally known for his sharp tongue and grumpy demeanor (and for being King Arthur's mean foster brother), but behind the scenes, he is the one that keeps the lights on in Camelot. In the old Welsh legends he literally keeps everyone warm by the heat radiating from his body. He might not be a good fighter, or a romantic hero, but he keeps all of them housed, clothed, and fed. You're welcome. 

Who are your favorite heroes, kings, and knights in shining armor?

(And don't worry, we'll get to the queens too!)

The Wedding of Sir Gawain (Feminist Folktales 15.)

Another Thursday, another post for Feminist Folktales! It's a series of traditional stories from around the world that display motifs that reflect feminist values. I am not changing any of the stories, merely researching and compiling them, and posting them here as food for thought. You can find the list of posts here.

Origin: England, 15th century

The story

It's Christmas time, and King Arthur goes hunting to Inglewood Forest. He gets lost somehow, and meets a mysterious knight who challenges him to answer a riddle or lose his head: What is it that all women desire the most?
Arthur goes looking for the answer, along with his knights; among them, his nephew Sir Gawain who is hell bent on saving his uncle. Arthur meets a horribly ugly lady in the woods. She claims she knows the right answer, and is willing to tell the king if she gets Sir Gawain as a husband in return. Gawain agrees to the deal to save Arthur, and the loathy lady reveals the answer: What all women desire the most is sovereignty, the freedom to decide their own fate.
Arthur is saved, but now Gawain has to keep his promise, and marry the hag. He does so, and when they are left alone for their wedding night she turns into a beautiful woman, offering her husband a choice: Should she be beautiful by day and ugly by night, or the other way around? Sir Gawain remembers the lesson from the riddle, and offers her the freedom to decide her own destiny. This breaks the other half of the curse, and she remains beautiful day and night.

What makes it a feminist story?

Illustration by Juan Wijngaard

I don't think this one needs much of an explanation. The message is so clear that sometimes I have teenagers in the audience calling me out on telling "feminist stuff." The first time I ask the question "What is it that all women in the world desire the most?", even adult audiences tend to snicker and pass whispered jokes around. Most of the jokes are not very creative, centering on sex and money, which speaks volumes in itself. I especially like the comments that declare that all women in the world want... a certain male appendage the most, because in those cases I can point out it's false, because there are plenty of women who are attracted to the female anatomy instead, or both, or neither. The looks are priceless.
I also like the part where I ask the audience what they think Sir Gawain would choose: a wife beautiful at night, or during the day? I usually have them vote to see the numbers. It speaks volumes how many of them vote for a woman with representational value (beautiful by day) even at the cost of having to sleep with the hag at night. I guess they feel like that option is easier to swing (I have been told multiple times that one can sleep or have sex during the day). At the end of the vote I like to ask the audience if anyone has another, third solution. Someone always says "be beautiful all the time!" as if those magic words could work. But there is also always someone - usually one person, usually a quiet and observant boy or man in the back - who eventually says "Every woman in the world desires the freedom to decide their own destiny..." Those are the ones to look pay attention to. This story spells out the moral for everyone in advance, even highlights and repeats it - and yet, most people immediately forget it amidst the excitement and humor of the story. It is interesting to think about how, while the theory is appreciated (the reveal of the right answer always gets a loud reaction), when it comes to applying it in practice, not many people think of it immediately. For the moral to turn into an understanding and a habit, it requires attention, empathy, and practice.

Things to consider

As a storyteller I feel like it's important to consider how (and why) we describe ugliness. Simply saying "old woman" doesn't equal ugly, and neither does any kind of disability. I usually go with ridiculously over the top descriptions that highlight an unkept appearance, with things like copious amounts of ear wax, mushrooms growing on the head, etc.

Sources

You can find the text and background analysis here.

Notes

I first heard this story from Ed Stivender, but it is a favorite in the repertoire of many storytellers.

Herburt and Hild (Feminist Folktales 10.)

Another Thursday, another post for Feminist Folktales! It's a series of traditional stories from around the world that display motifs that reflect feminist values. I am not changing any of the stories, merely researching and compiling them, and posting them here as food for thought. You can find the list of posts here.

Origin: German, from an Old Norse source

The story

Count Herthegh has three sons. The youngest, Tristram, accidentally kills his middle brother in a duel, and flees from home. The father blames the eldest son, Herburt, for not keeping his siblings out of trouble, and chases him away. Herburt goes to the court of his uncle, King Thidrek (Dietrich, Theodoric the Great), and becomes a knight. He serves his uncle so valiantly than when Thidrek decides to marry King Arthur's daughter, Hild, he sends Herburt do deliver his proposal.

Herburt goes to King Arthur's court where he distinguishes himself as a knight, but can't get near the princess. By law no one can lay eyes on her. Eventually one day when she goes to church he finds a way to catch her gaze (he sets a bunch of mice free inside the church), they exchange smiles, and even a few words in secret. Hild soon asks her father to give Herburt ho her as a personal servant. Herburt now has a chance to deliver Thidrek's proposal, as he spends time with the princess every day. They talk, they get to know each other, and Hild asks a lot of questions about Thidrek (Herburt even draws his face for her). She decides she doesn't want to marry the king - she is in love with Herburt, and he with her.
The lovers decide to run away together. Arthur soon notices the escape and sends soldiers to bring back Hild and kill Herburt. The lovers decide their only chance is for Hild to not be a maiden anymore, so they jump into some bushes and do the deed. By the time the soldiers catch up, she has lost her virginity, and thus by custom belongs to Herburt. Herburt fights and kills anyone who objects, and the lovers flee to another kingdom, where they marry and live happily ever after.

What makes it a feminist story?

I picked this story for the series because it is such a beautiful counterpart to Tristan and Iseult. T&I's tragedy is started by a love potion, and the devastating ending is the result of the tension between love and honor: Tristan loves Iseult, but he owes his loyalty to his uncle King Mark of Cornwall, so he hands over the lady out of honor.
Herburt's story also features a Tristram, but he is a violent and dumb fellow. Herburt is the sensible eldest sibling who has to take the blame for everything. Leaving this toxic family environment behind, he finds honor and a new home at his uncle Thidrek's court... but he is not blindly loyal to him. When he first finds a way to talk to Hild, he delivers the proposal without an ulterior motive, praising Thidrek and painting him (literally) as a great king. He is not trying to seduce Hild, but they fall in love anyway. They have two choices from that point on: Herburt delivers the bride to Thidrek and keeps his honor at the expense of her living in an unhappy marriage forever - or they elope together, leaving both their honors sullied, and seek happiness elsewhere together.

In this story love conquers social pressure. Herburt does not sacrifice his own (and Hild's) happiness for his honor and status. In the end, they find a third solution: a third kingdom where they can be happy together, and where the king hold Herburt in "great honor" and his service results in "many stories of his deeds."
Hild makes an independent choice as well. She decides who she wants to spend her life with, and stands up for her choice; she doesn't become a martyr for her honor, or for Herburt's protection. She trusts him, and trusts that they can find happiness together; she gets on a horse and rides away with him, leaving her status and wealth as Arthur's daughter and Thidrek's bride in the dust. This is a bold, daring choice, but not an impulsive one. Herburt and Hild are not brought together by an accidental potion, or love at a distance: They know, love, and trust each other.
The end of the story takes a very practical turn. The lovers get down to business among the bushes, taking advantage of their time's general ideas of purity to tie their lives together. They know Thidrek would not marry a woman who has been 'spoiled' by one of his knights. This is an outdated, literally medieval way of looking at virginity, which serves as a genius loophole for our heroes. If someone values a woman as much as her virginity... well, tough luck.
What I love about this story (apart from the cute romance) is that it doesn't include any self-inflicted angst. Herburt and Hild step over social limits that stands between them and their happiness, and demonstrate how those limits are useless and arbitrary. "Honor" is subjective, and no royal pat on the head is worth a lifetime spend in an unhappy marriage.
(Thidrek, by the way, happily marries some other random princess in the end.)

Things to consider

Age limits, obviously. I'd totally tell this to teens, though.

Sources

The saga of Thidrek of Bern (Garland, 1988.)

Notes

I would love to tell this story parallel to Tristan and Iseult. Especially because I like to imagine that the Tristram in this story is the same as Tristan in the other one...

The Beauty in the Tale: Medieval Story Camp with the Világszép Foundation

Gather around, people, I'm going to tell you about my day job.
Two years ago I joined the Világszép Foundation as one of their resident storytellers. The Foundation was started in 2010 with the goal of aiding and supporting children in the state care system. Originally it organized summer camps, and then they added a volunteer storytelling program that sends tellers to group homes to tell bedtime stories to the children (we don't call these orphanages because most of the kids are not orphans, they just can't live with their family for various reasons). Since then, we have added several new programs, such as an inclusive kindergarten, inclusive after school programs, volunteer mentors, and career and crisis help. Still, the summer camps remain a large part of our work; we organize 6 or 7 of them every summer in the Story Center in Paloznak, a magical, peaceful lace by Lake Balaton. Storytelling is an integral part of every camp, but for kids aged 8-11 we specifically organize Story Camps around a theme. This year, our theme was Knights and Chivalry, and I would like to tell you more about it.

The camp was five beautiful, sunny days long. We started off each day with nursery rhymes and storytelling, and closed each one with a story and a lullaby (it might seem like nursery rhymes and lullabies are strange for this age group, but they create a connection that the kids rarely get to experience). The theme was all about chivalry, especially virtues: we used the stories to start discussions and activities about how real knights treat each other and the people around them. We had many adventures, built castles, made shields, and even held a tournament at the end of the week, after which we knighted all fourteen children.

Of course all of this would not have been a coherent whole without the storytelling. Story Camp is always especially fun for the tellers because we get to tell to the same audience regularly, opening and closing every day. The story collection for the camp took a lot of research, planning, and collecting to fit the age group, the virtues, the themes, the activities, and the Világszép philosophy - I had a lot of fun compiling it, and I was quite proud of the result. We ended up having nine "official" stories:
Prince Milinkuc (Hungarian folktale about a prince who has an incredible dream that he holds on to through many trials, and an evil ing who sends him various riddles to solve)
Dame Ragnell (A 15th century feminist classic, asking the big question: "What is it that all women want the most?")
Sistram and the Dragon (King Dietrich and his mentor drag a young knight out of a dragon's mouth - teamwork, people!)
The Kitchen Knight (Sir Gareth arrives to Camelot as a kitchen lad, but then goes on a quest with sassy Lady Lynet and proves his worth)
Astolfo travels to the Moon (A snippet from Orlando Furioso where an English knight takes a hippogriff to the Moon to find the lost common sense of his best friend)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (I LOVE telling a classic to an audience that has not heard it before!)
The Bonny Lass of Anglesey (Scottish ballad about an epic dance-off between a brave lady and some English lords)
Culhwch and Olwen (Old Welsh superhero team-up with a brave prince and some famous knights from Arthur's court)
Damon and Pythias (A medieval retelling of an old Greek tale of Friendship where one friends offers to die in the place of another)

It is always great fun for a storyteller to tell to the same audience for days. Kids get used to the stories and the medieval world, and become familiar with some of the characters (Sir Gawain, obviously, became a fan favorite). Three of us shared the nine stories above, so the kids also got to hear different styles of storytelling. You could tell that they were very much engaged because they made comments, asked questions, and even corrected us when we said something wrong (sometimes to the point where I had to take a pause to laugh myself).

Beside the "official" storytelling times, I also adored spontaneous storytelling moments, of which we had quite a lot. We had afternoon nap time every day, but since this age group doesn't really nap (or stay quiet) anymore, I offered them that they could join me in the Story Room (yes, we have one) and lie down to listen to some tales. These were my favorite moments of the entire camp: I sat on a couch surrounded by children - some listening intently, some dozing off, and some lying quietly until it was their turn to open their eyes and tell me what I should tell next. They were peaceful, beautiful afternoons filled with stories. At one point the kids discovered that I like superheroes and I speak Marvel (we got into a conversation over lunch about whether or not Thor's hammer is made of vibranium) (it isn't) they came to the afternoon sessions to ask for "superhero stories." I defaulted to Thor and Loki since the interest was already there... and I ended up telling them my entire Norse mythology repertoire. They listened with rapt attention, asked questions, discussed details, compared myth to Marvel, and even acted out some fun moments of the stories (such as Thor pretending to be a bride). Once again, I discovered how pop culture can be a bridge to traditional stories, and I got to nerd out to my heart's extent.
Every once in a while a kid asked for a story when no one else was around. These moments also had a certain kind of magic, and I tried my best to select stories that would fit that very special one-person audience.

I told twenty-three stories in five days, and each of them was a very memorable, unique experience. Whether it was with the whole group, or with a few kids, or just one child, they all carried the story-magic of Paloznak and the Világszép (lit. "Beauty of the World") atmosphere. They were days filled with smiles, hugs, sunshine, swimming, fruit straight from the trees, and peace. It was the perfect place to be, and I would not trade it for any other gig or performance.
I'm already counting down the days for next summer!

The Battle of Kosovo (Following folktales around the world 67. - Kosovo)

Today I continue the blog series titled Following folktales around the world! If you would like to know what the series is all about, you can find the introduction post here. You can find all posts under the Following Folktales label, or you can follow the series on Facebook!

Kosovo is a partially recognized state; those who do not recognize it claim it is a part of Serbia. Either way, it was hard to find folktales specifically from Kosovo, so I decided to look at some epic poetry instead.

The Battle of Kosovo
Serbian epic poems
John Matthias and Vladeta Vuckovic
Swallow Press/Ohio University Press Athens 1987.

This volume contains English transations of Serbian epic poems about the Battle of Kosovo (1389) against the Ottoman empire. Charles Simic notes in the Preface that it is unique in this epic cycle that it celebrates defeat, rather than victory. The poems are from the collections of Vuk Karadzic (we'll talk more about him later), who gathered them at the beginning of the 1800s from blind old women and old men who recited them as poems, instead of from the original tale-singers. The authors of the book tried to reflect the rhythm and language of the poems, and the Preface claims that they succeeded very well in capturing their authentic tone. The book comes with a long introduction, footnotes, and translation notes.

Fénypontok és kapcsolatok helyett:

The epic poems do have a unique tone and visual world. Supper in Krushevatz, for example, mirrors almost perfectly the Last Supper; the Tsar announces that someone will betray him on the battlefield the next day. He is seated at the table with his best warriors on his left and right; this fragment also serves as the enumeration of the epic cycle, listing all the famous heroes and their best features. On the other side, the Turkish army's overwhelming numbers are described very well in Captain Milosh and Ivan Kosanchich: "If all the Serbs were changed to grains of salt / We could not even salt their wretched dinners!" And yet, the superior numbers do not discourage the Serbian heroes. Both Sultan and Tsar died in the battle that day, but still, the Serbian army and kingdom were sorely defeated. It is a very touching moment in the ballad of Musich Stefan when the knight on his way to the battle encounters a peasant girl, who is carrying a Serbian helmet that she fished out of the river flooding with blood. The knight sees the helmet and weeps, but goes on to fight in the losing battle. The same girl also appears in another text as the Maiden of Kosovo: She goes around on the field after the battle, bathing the wounded and giving the bread and wine as communion. She is searching for the hero she was promised to marry. Similarly touching is the song of Tsar Lazar and Tsaritsa Militsa - the wife begs her husband to leave at least one of her nine brothers at home, so that he can ride to the battlefield and bring news later. The tsar agrees, but she is refused in turn by all nine of her brothers, and left home with a servant. Two ravens later bring news from the battlefield about the defeat. In fact, in several texts the battle is told through someone bringing news, rather than directly. In The Death of the Mother of the Yugovichi, the mother of the nine warriors grows wings herself and flies to the field to bring the bodies of her sons home, and then dies of heartbreak.
These poems really are heroic and somber in their tome. No wonder their collection became popular in the early 1800s, when Serbians began to revolt against Turkish rule. I would have loved to read more epic poems of this king. For those who are interested, I recomment Albert Lord's classic book "The Singer of Tales."

Where to next?
Serbia!

K is for Knights of all kinds

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! My theme this year is Representation and Diversity in Traditional Stories. I am looking for rare and interesting motifs in folktales, fairy tales, and legends that add variety to the well-known canon.

"Chivalry is not dead" you hear way too often - usually from guys who expect a badge for holding a door open for you. Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, Cory O'Brien, posted an epic takedown of the idea of what chivalry really refers to (hint: Not your dating game).
With that said, people love knights. Kids, especially, love knights. Heck, I love knights. Who could be considered a "knight" in the middle ages was fairly limited - but in the world of story, there are some spectacular exceptions that allow knighthood for people who would not traditionally be included.

Chivalry is for everyone.

Silence
Let's hear it for the girls! Silence is a 13th century French romance about a girl who is raised as a boy in order to allow her to inherit. She is named Silence for the secrecy, and she becomes a knight, going through epic adventures.
(Read the book here. Also, Dolores Hydock has an epic storytelling performance of Silence, and you can even buy it on a CD!)

Bradamante
Another famous female knight, from Ariosto's 16th century epic Orlando Furioso. She is in love with a Muslim hero, and rescues him from captivity, among other adventures. While not technically a traditional story, Orlando Furioso is built on medieval legends and folklore. Also, this is the source Rowling got the hippogriff from.
(Read about her here)

In addition, here is an entire book on female knights in Chinese folklore!

Antarah
How about a knight of color? The Romance of Antar is an amazing Arab epic from the early middle ages, one that is said to have influenced many European romances of chivalry. Antar himself is the son of an Arab chief and a black slave woman, and he becomes the hero known all over the Middle East.
(I blogged about the romance of Antar last year)

Sir Palomedes
One of the famous knights of King Arthur's court, Sir Palomedes, is also described as a "Saracen" which in medieval literature refers to Muslims (he converts to Christianity later) and Arabs. He is one of the hunters of the Questing Beast, and he appears in a number of Arthurian legends.
(Read about him here)

Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell
Also known as Sir Gawain and the Loathy Lady; I am including it because it is one of the quintessential feminist tales in most modern storytellers' repertoire. The moral of the story is that what women desire in the world more than anything is to be able to decide their own fate. Sir Gawain is proven to be a knight that learns this lesson, and gives up his privilege as a man to allow freedom to the woman he marries.
(Read about the story here)

Bisclavret / Gorlagon
Just for the heck of it: Both stories (one from Marie de France, and one from a 14th century author) involve a knight who is also a werewolf. He gets stuck in wolf form because his wife betrays him, and goes to live in the court of a king (usually King Arthur) until the truth comes to life and he can return to human. I am including it because lycanthropy is often symbolic for physical or mental conditions in tradition.
(Read about Bisclavret here, and Gorlagon here)

Who is your favorite knight and why?

Story Saturday: The king that breathes fire, and other badasses (Exploring the Dietrich cycle, V.)

Now that I have been all over Dwarves and mountains, it feels like it is time to introduce some of the human heroes of the Dietrich cycle - specifically, the ones that will make an appearance in the storytelling show.
There is quite a few of them, so for today, I am focusing on the first three in order of appearance:

King Dietrich of Bern

Since he is less well known than Arthur, here is the gist: Dietrich is described as a tall and strong man (naturally), with fair hair that falls to his shoulders in "heavy curls." He is not exceedingly handsome, but he does have the redeeming quality of being able to breathe fire when angry (who wouldn't want that in a man). His shield shows a golden lion in a read field, reaching up towards a golden crown. He has two excellent, Dwarf-made swords, the first one (which he gives away) is called Nagelring, the second one (which he wins in an epic blind fight) is called Eckesachs (Ekkisax). Dietrich is heroic, brave, just, boisterous, generous, and all those other things a king needs to be. Sometimes he makes mistakes.

Fun fact: At one point early in his adventures, Dietrich is thrown into a pit full of venomous snakes. By the time Hildebrand comes to rescue him, young Dietrich has already eaten some of the adders.
(Take that, Ragnar Lodbrok)

Hildebrand

If we are drawing comparisons, Hildebrand is Dietrich's Merlin - with no magic, and infinitely more badassery. Think Ser Barristan Selmy. He is a famous swordsman who is hired to be Dietrich's mentor when the boy is only five years old - so begins a life of friendship and shared adventures. From the very first quest of Dietrich (where they kill two giants), master and pupil fight side by side, and Hildebrand holds his own very well against multiple enemies, even when he is past his 100th birthday. Despite his prowess in battle (and literally being named "battle sword"), Hildebrand is the wiser and more level-headed of the two, often helping Dietrich with diplomatic advice, and jumping in front of him when he is about to do something stupid.
Hildebrand has a beloved and wise wife (the Lady Ute) and a brave son, Hadubrand. He is the lord of Castle Garden, and as such, his device is a white castle and golden flowers on a red field.

Fun fact: Hildebrand gets his own story (called the Hildebrandslied) in which he returns home from 32 years of exile, and has to fight his own son who doesn't recognize him. In earlier versions of the story, he ends up killing Hadubrand; in later versions, they recognize each other in time. People love a happy ending.

Sistram

Doubtless my favorite knight of the bunch, Sistram is really no one special - and yet endlessly entertaining. He makes a memorable entrance into the epic: Dietrich pulls him out of a dragon's mouth (Sistram keeps yelling instructions to the king while danging from the dragon's jaws). To commemorate the event, Sistram wears green armor adorned with a green and a brown dragon. He is described as tall and lean, fair, with light blond, curly hair and bright eyes. He enjoys play and games, drinking, eating, and other forms of merriment.

Essentially, he is the guy at the party that makes good use of the story that starts with "No shit, there I was, half swallowed by a dragon..."

Fun fact: Sistram doesn't actually appear in the legend of Virginal. There is another knight that gets fished out of a dragon's mouth, but since he is not nearly as interesting as Sistram, I merged the two episodes, and the two knights, into one.