Bear's Son Tale
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"Bear's Son Tale" (german: link=no, das Märchen vom Bärensohn, Bärensohnmärchen) refers to an analogous group of narratives that, according to 's 1910 thesis, represent the
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 (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
material reworked to create the Anglo-Saxon poem ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
''s first part, the
Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...
-kin Story. Panzer collected over 200 analogue tales mostly from Eurasia. Others have added more examples from worldwide. The Bear's Son motif (B635.1) is exhibited only generally, not reliably. Exceptions include versions of "''
Jean de l'Ours Jean de l'Ours () or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale ''Jean de l'Ours'' classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can also denote any tale of this type. ...
''", and the Grimms' fairy tale " Strong Hans" or "". ''Beowulf'' does not explicitly reveal a bear origin for its hero, but his name and great strength connect him to the animal closely. Most of the tales are formally catalogued as either Aarne-Thompson folktale type 301, "The Three Stolen Princesses" or AT type 650A, " Strong John" or "''Starker Hans''". Their plotlines are similar, with some differences; in the latter, the hero is subjected to tests by ordeal. "Bear's Son Tale" has thus become only an informal term for tale type classification in folkloristics, but scholars in Beowulf criticism continue to assert the usefulness of the term in their studies.


Core characteristics

Beowulf studies comparing it to the Bear's Son Tale see these common core characteristics: a hero is raised by or descended from a bear, with bear-like strength. He and companions must guard a dwelling against a monster (which Panzer calls "''Der Dämon im Waldhaus''"). The companions are defeated, but the hero wounds the creature, sending him to flight. In pursuit, the hero descends into a netherworld or underground domain. The hero often has a second round of adversaries. Other common elements are a captive princess, betrayal by a close friend or ally of the hero, and magical
weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
s. Some of these elements are paralleled in the Grendel Story of Beowulf, others are not.


Parallel elements

Some of the traits in the Bear's Son Tale regarded as being paralleled in ''Beowulf'' will be explained further below.


Betrayal

The betrayal element (F601.3) transpires in the fairy tale version (see
Jean de l'Ours Jean de l'Ours () or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale ''Jean de l'Ours'' classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can also denote any tale of this type. ...
) as follows: After the hero descends to the world underground and rescues the princess, he is betrayed by his companions, who instead of pulling him up by a rope, either cuts it or releases it so he falls to the bottom. The parallel to this in ''Beowulf'', (according to Panzer and Chambers) is that after seeing blood come up from Grendel's ''mere'' (lake), the Danes only wait until
nones Nones may refer to: * ''Nones'' (Auden), a 1951 book of poems by W. H. Auden * ''Nones'' (Berio), a 1954 orchestral composition by Luciano Berio *Nones (calendar), or ''Nonae'', days of the Roman Calendar *None (liturgy) Nones (), also known as N ...
(3 PM) in the afternoon, and then they abandon the hero at the lake.


Magic weapon

The hero in the Bear's Son Tale may have a magic sword (motif D1081, usually found in Type 301A) or a walking-stick (Type 301B). The magic sword in ''Beowulf'' is supposedly represented by the sword of the "ancient giants' sword" (''ealdsweord eotenisc'') that Beowulf discovered in Grendel's mother's lair.


Elements lacking in Beowulf

Some significant elements of the folktale missing in Beowulf (listed by Chambers) are: the captive , one of whom he marries, the hero's rescue by a "miraculous helper", his return to the Upper World under an assumed identity, and his retribution against his treacherous companions.


Princess

The princess or three princesses to be rescued are lacking in ''Beowulf'', but this absence has been rationalized by
W. W. Lawrence William Witherle Lawrence (1876 − July 25, 1958) was an American philologist who served as Professor of English at Columbia University from 1905 to 1936. Biography William Witherle Lawrence was born in Bangor, Maine in 1876. His father, Frank ...
, who theorized that
romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a Interpersonal attraction, strong attraction towards another person, and the Courtship, courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emot ...
elements are superfluous and out-of-place in historical epics and had to be truncated.


Elements in Beowulf not in folktale

Among elements considered vital to the epic are the loss of the ogre/demon's arm, and the trail of blood which leads the hero to the demon's lair (, cited by ). These are not paralleled in any obvious way in the Bear's Son Tale.


Grendel's severed arm

Regarding Beowulf wrenching Grendel's arm off, Robert A. Barakat stated that no counterpart was to be found in the Bear' Son Tale of "''Juan del Oso''" (Mexican version of
Jean de l'Ours Jean de l'Ours () or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale ''Jean de l'Ours'' classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can also denote any tale of this type. ...
). This was because there was no mention of "actual physical damage
uan UAN is a solution of urea and ammonium nitrate in water used as a fertilizer. Uan or UAN may also refer to: * Adapa, an alternate name for the first of the Mesopotamian seven sages * Autonomous University of Nayarit ((in Spanish: ), a Mexican pu ...
inflicted" on the devil during the barehanded wrestling phase. However, Juan did cut off one of the devil's ears afterwards with his weapon. For a folktale analogue to Grendel's severed arm, commentators have looked on Celtic (Irish) tale of "The Hand and Child" type. The parallel had been recognized already in the 19th century by several writers, but
Carl Wilhelm von Sydow Carl Wilhelm von Sydow (21 December 1878 – 4 March 1952) was a Swedish folklore scholar. A professor at Lund University, he was a pioneer of folklore studies in Sweden and contributed to establishing systematic methods in the field. Early life ...
is generally credited with developing the analysis which took notice.


Trail of blood

Beowulf determines Grendel's lair by following a trail of blood. Although this is not specifically mirrored in the Bear's Son Tale, the hero is able to track the adversary to a hole in the ground (or a well), and a trail of blood has been speculated. Chambers found that an Icelandic Bear's Son Tale, "''Bjarndrengur''" ("Bear-boy") parallels this exactly, and Bear-boy and his companions follow the blood-trail of the giant who had been grabbed by the beard but who has torn away.


History and reception

's monumental study, ''Studien zur germanischen Sagengeschichte'', Part I: Beowulf, sought to prove that ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
'' was an eighth century Anglo-Saxon reworking of the "Bear's son" motif, which has been present since antiquity and widely disseminated. Later, the Panzer hypothesis on Beowulf was supported by
W. W. Lawrence William Witherle Lawrence (1876 − July 25, 1958) was an American philologist who served as Professor of English at Columbia University from 1905 to 1936. Biography William Witherle Lawrence was born in Bangor, Maine in 1876. His father, Frank ...
and
R. W. Chambers Raymond Wilson Chambers (12 November 1874 – 23 April 1942) was a British literary scholar, author, librarian and academic; throughout his career he was associated with University College London (UCL). Life Chambers was educated at Univer ...
, who elucidated and expanded on it. John F. Vickrey, who took up the thesis in 2009, wrote that there were very few studies focusing on folklore origins of Beowulf for 40 years as of his writing.
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
was very interested in the idea of the bear-son folktale underlying ''Beowulf'', and pointed to several minor but illuminating characteristics supporting the assumption: Beowulf's uncouthness and appetite, the strength of his grip, and his refusal to use weapons against Grendel. He also saw Unferth as a link between folktale and legend, his (covert) roles as smith and treacherous friend standing behind his gift to Beowulf of the "hafted blade" that ''fails''. Critics of Panzer's thesis have argued however that many of the incidents he sees as specific to the Bear's Son Story are in fact generic folktale elements; and that a closer analogue to ''Beowulf'' is to be found in
Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a ...
and the story of the 'Monstrous Arm'.


Tale group

Panzer lists some 202 examples of Bear's Son Tales in his study, The "Strong John" subgroup includes more than 400 tales counted in the Baltic-Scandinavia area. The tale remained current in French Canada, but its original may no longer survive in France.


North American examples

Panzer's list did not include any North American examples, but "Bear's son" tales have been known to have disseminated to native North American populations, and these are considered to have European origins, an example being the
Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
story published as "The Underground Journey" by Robert H. Lowie in 1909.


Other literary examples

There are several other literary examples perceived as being related to Bear's Son Tales. One example regarded as particularly important to the Beowulf study is the bear-hero
Bödvar Bjarki Bödvar Bjarki ( non, Bǫðvarr Bjarki ), meaning 'Warlike Little-Bear', is the hero appearing in tales of Hrólfr Kraki in the ''Hrólfs saga kraka'', in the Latin epitome to the lost ''Skjöldunga saga'', and as ''Biarco'' in Saxo Grammaticus' ...
who appears as a companion to Hrólf Kraki in the
legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991) ...
''
Hrólfs saga kraka Hrólfs saga kraka, the ''Saga of King Rolf Kraki'', is a late legendary saga on the adventures Hrólfr Kraki, a semi-legendary king in what is now Denmark, and his clan, the Skjöldungs. The events can be dated to the late 5th century and the 6th ...
''. Another literary incident is in the ''
Grettis saga ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...
'', or the saga of
Grettir the Strong ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...
. Also, there have been attempts to associate
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
with the bear, and thus with the Bear's Son Tales. An attempt to make the connection by asserting Arthur's name as based on the root ''arth-'' meaning "bear" in
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
has been refuted. Therefore, a more elaborate explanation has been advanced, which postulates Arthur's prototype to be the mythological
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"guardian of the bear" of
constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...
lore.
Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
in the cave of
Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...
, has also been related to the theme.


Psychoanalytic interpretations

For
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
, the bear-parents represent the parents seen in their animal (sexual) guise – the bear as the dark, bestial aspect of the parental
archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
. Their offspring, represented by Tolkien in '' Sellic Spell'' as "a surly, lumpish boy...slow to learn the speech of the land", is the undersocialised child. And in the underground struggle,
Géza Róheim Géza Róheim ( hu, Róheim Géza; September 12, 1891 – June 7, 1953) was a Hungarian psychoanalyst and anthropologist. Considered by some as the most important anthropologist-psychoanalyst, he is often credited with founding the field ...
argued, we find a representation of the
primal scene Primal may refer to: Psychotherapy * ''Primal'', the core concept in primal therapy, denotes the full reliving and cathartic release of an early traumatic experience * Primal scene (in psychoanalysis), refers to the witnessing by a young child of ...
, as encapsulated in the infantile unconscious.Róheim, Géza (1992), ''Fire in the Dragon'', p. 71


See also


Notes


References

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Further reading

* Barakat, Robert A. "The Bear's Son Tale in Northern Mexico." I: ''The Journal of American Folklore'' 78, no. 310 (1965): 330-36. doi:10.2307/538440. *Rhys Carpenter, ''Folk Tale, Fiction and Saga in Homeric Epics'' (Cambridge 1946) * Ting, Nai-tung. "AT Type 301 in China and Some Countries Adjacent to China: A Study of a Regional Group and its Significance in World Tradition". In: ''Fabula'' 11, Jahresband (1970): 54-125, doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/fabl.1970.11.1.54 European folklore North American folklore ATU 300-399 ATU 650-699