The Red Ettin
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The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a
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 ...
collected by
Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacob ...
. It was included by
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
in ''
The Blue Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collectio ...
''.


Synopsis

Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one—or a single widow had three sons. One day the eldest son was told by his mother to fetch water for a cake, because it was time for him to seek his fortune, and the cake was all she could give him. The can was broken, the water he brought back little, and so the cake was small. The mother offered him all of it with her curse, or half with her blessing, and he took the whole. He left behind a knife, and said if the blade grew rusty, he was dead. He met a shepherd, a swineherd, and a goatherd; each of the
three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
told him the Red Ettin of Ireland had kidnapped the king of Scotland's daughter, but that he was not the man to rescue her. The shepherd also told him to be wary of the beasts he would meet next. They each had two heads, with four horns on each head, and the man fled them and hid in a castle. An old woman told him that it was the castle of the Red Ettin, which had three heads, and he should leave, but he begged her to hide him as best she could, for fear of the beasts. The Red Ettin returned, soon found him, and asked him three riddles; when he could answer none of them, the Ettin turned him to stone. At home, his knife grew rusty. In the variants with three sons, the younger brother went after the elder, and met the same fate. The youngest son, or the son of the other widow, set out after him, or them. First, a raven called over his head to look out as he brought the water, and so he patched up the holes and brought back enough water for a large cake. Then he left half with his mother for her blessing. He met an old woman on the way who asked for a piece of his cake, and he gave it to her. She, being a
fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
, gave him a magical wand and a great deal of advice on what to do, and vanished. The shepherd, swineherd, and goatherd told him of the Red Ettin and the king of Scotland's daughter, and said that he was the man to defeat him. He walked boldly through the beasts to the castle, striking one dead with the wand, and stayed at the castle. The Red Ettin asked him his riddle, but the man answered and cut off the Ettin's three heads. He restored the stone and freed the women the Red Ettin held prisoner, and the king married him to his daughter.


Commentary

Joseph Jacobs collected a version with the three men, but suppressed one because it was repetitious. Andrew Lang included all three young men. The word ''etin'' or ''ettin'' is related to Germanic ''
Jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) ...
''. The incident of the life token is also present in variants of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale type ATU 303, "The Twins or Blood Brothers".


See also

*
Jack and His Comrades Jack and his Comrades is a short Irish fairy tale describing the title character's story of success with the help of his animal helpers, collected by folklorist Patrick Kennedy from a resident of County Wexford, Ireland, and published in ''Le ...
*
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box is a Romani fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome's ''In Gypsy Tents''. Ruth Manning-Sanders included it in '' The Red King and the Witch: G ...
*
The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired is a Celtic fairy tale translated by Dr. Macleod Clarke. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Orange Fairy Book''. Synopsis A goat herder and his wife had three sons and a daughter. One day, the daughter va ...
*
The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. George MacDonald retold it as "The Giant's Heart" in ''Adela Cathcart''. A version of the tale also appears in '' A Book of Giants'' by Ruth Manning ...
*
The Girl and the Dead Man The Girl and the Dead Man is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'', listing his informant as Ann Darroch, in Islay. Synopsis A poor woman's oldest daughter said she would go seek her ...
* The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters *
Tritill, Litill, and the Birds Tritill, Litill, and the Birds is a Hungarian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Crimson Fairy Book''. A version of the tale also appears in ''A Book of Ogres and Trolls'', by Ruth Manning-Sanders. That version is said to come from Ice ...
*
Jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) ...


References


External links


The Blue Fairy Book
Edited by Andrew Lang, at http://www.gutenberg.org - direct link t
Andrew Lang collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Ettin Scottish fairy tales Characters in fairy tales Scottish folklore Northumbrian folklore ATU 300-399 Joseph Jacobs