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Belle-Belle Ou Le Chevalier Fortuné
''Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné'' is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. It is a story about a female wartime cross-dressers. In the story, a king forms an army for his war against an emperor. He demands a soldier from each noble household. An elderly nobleman is too old to serve in the army, so his three daughters offer to serve in his place. The first two fail to convincingly pass as men, but Belle-Belle the youngest daughter acquires magical help from a fairy shepherdess. Posing as a knight, Belle-Belle is the object of unrequited love for a queen. When Belle-Belle reveals that she is a woman to escape criminal charges, she is married to the king. Plot summary A king, driven from his capital by an emperor, was forming an army and demanded that one person from every noble household become a soldier or face a heavy fine. An impoverished nobleman was distressed by this news. He was too old to serve himself, and had three daughters and no sons. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame D'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (September 1652 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. Her 1697 collection ''Les Contes des Fées'' (Fairy Tales) coined the literary genre's name and included the first story to feature "Prince Charmant" or Prince Charming. She is considered to have been a member of '' les conteuses'' group of French female authors. Biography D'Aulnoy was born in Barneville-la-Bertran, in Normandy, as a member of the noble family of Le Jumel de Barneville. She was the niece of Marie Bruneau des Loges, the friend of François de Malherbe and of Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac. In 1666, she was given at the age of fifteen (by her father) in an arranged marriage to a Parisian thirty years older— François de la Motte, Baron d'Aulnoy, of the household of the Duke of Vendôme. The baron was a freethinker and a known gambler. In 1669, the Baron d'Aulnoy was accused of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lute Player
The Lute Player, The Tsaritsa Harpist or The Tsaritsa who Played the Gusli (), is a Russian fairy tale. It was published by Alexander Afanasyev in his collection ''Russian Fairy Tales'', as number 338. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Violet Fairy Book'' (1901). The instrument actually described in the fairy tale is a gusli. Synopsis A king lived happily with his queen, but after a time, wanted to fight and so win glory. He set out against a wicked king, but lost and was captured. He sent a message to his queen to ransom him. His queen thought that if she went herself, the wicked king would take her as one of his wives, and she did not know whether she could trust her ministers. She cut her hair, disguised herself as a boy, and set out with a gusli. She reached the court of the wicked king and charmed him with her music. He promised her whatever she wished, and she said she wanted a companion on the way, so she asked for one of his prisoners. He let her choose, and she pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1697 Books
Events January–March * January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy. * January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé'' (literally "Tales of Past Times", known in England as "Mother Goose tales") in Paris, a collection of popular fairy tales, including ''Cinderella'', ''Puss in Boots'', ''Red Riding Hood'', ''The Sleeping Beauty'' and ''Bluebeard''. * February 22 – Gerrit de Heere becomes the new Governor of Dutch Ceylon, succeeding Thomas van Rhee and administering the colony for almost six years until his death. * February 26 – Conquistador Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi and 114 soldiers arrive at Lake Petén Itzá in what is now Guatemala and begin the Spanish conquest of Guatemala with an attack on the capital of the Itza people there before moving northward to the Yucatan peninsula. * March 9 – Grand Embassy of Peter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ileana Simziana
''Ileana Simziana'' or ''Ileana Sînziana'' (also translated to English as ''The Princess Who Would be a Prince or Iliane of the Golden Tresses'' and ''Helena Goldengarland'') is a Romanian fairy tale collected and written down by Petre Ispirescu between 1872 and 1886. It tells the story of an unnamed youngest daughter of an emperor, who dresses up as a man, goes to serve another emperor and rescues the titular princess Ileana. The protagonist later goes on a quest to obtain the Holy Water and is hit by a monk's curse that causes her to transform into a man, Făt-Frumos, a Prince Charming figure. Făt Frumos then marries Ileana in the happy ending. Synopsis The tale introduces an emperor with three daughters, who is sad that he didn't have a son. The oldest daughter goes to the emperor and asks him what problem he is having and tells him that she will go to serve another emperor as a soldier only to make him happy. Then the emperor makes a copper bridge and turns into a wolf. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Planché
James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including extravaganza, farce, comedy, burletta, melodrama and opera. Planché was responsible for introducing historically accurate costume into nineteenth century British theatre, and subsequently became an acknowledged expert on historical costume, publishing a number of works on the topic. Planché's interest in historical costume led to other antiquarian research, including heraldry and genealogy. He was elected a Society of Antiquaries of London, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1829, and was influential in the foundation of the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1854 and promoted to Somerset Herald in 1866, Planché undertook heraldic and ceremonial duties as a member of the College of Arms. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laura Valentine
Laura Belinda Charlotte Jewry (married name Laura Valentine, pen names Mrs. S. Valentine and Aunt Louisa; 1814–1899) was a Victorian English writer primarily known for her children's literature. Her work was often produced in children's series including Aunt Louisa's Toy Books, Aunt Louisa’s Big Picture Series, and The Young Folk's Shakespeare Series. Biography Laura Belinda Charlotte Jewry was born at the Victory in England. Her father, Admiral Jewry, served in the English Navy. At an early age, she connected with the Lord Elphinstone family. She spent her maiden life in India till she married Reverend Richard Valentine, a clergyman of the Church of England. Within 12 months of their marriage, she was widowed. Her literature often was educational, told of travel, or described the London scene. As an adult novelist, Laura Valentine specialized in florid historical romance. Her main novels were ''Kirkholme Priory'' (1847), ''The Vassal'' (1850), and ''The Cup and the Lip'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples that Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, migrated to Britain after its End of Roman rule in Britain, Roman occupiers left. English is the list of languages by total number of speakers, most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire (succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations) and the United States. English is the list of languages by number of native speakers, third-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish language, Spanish; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers. English is either the official language or one of the official languages in list of countries and territories where English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baron Munchausen
Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Münchhausen. Born in Bodenwerder, Hanover, the real-life Münchhausen fought for the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739. After retiring in 1760, he became a minor celebrity within German aristocratic circles for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career. After hearing some of Münchhausen's stories, Raspe adapted them anonymously into literary form, first in German as ephemeral magazine pieces and then in English as the 1785 book, which was first published in Oxford by a bookseller named Smith. The book was soon translated into other European languages, including a German version expanded by the poet Gottfried August Bürger. The real-life Münchhausen wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Clever Little Tailor
"The Clever Little Tailor" () is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale 114. It is Aarne-Thompson type 850, The Princess's Birthmarks. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Green Fairy Book''. Synopsis A proud princess set a riddle to her wooers and sent them away when they could not answer. Three tailors came. Two were known for their cleverness and skill, and the third for his uselessness. The princess asked them what two colors were her hairs. The first said black and white; the second brown and red; the third gold and silver, and he was right. The princess demanded that he spend the night with a bear as well. In his stall, the tailor began to crack nuts. He offered the bear not nuts but pebbles, and the bear could not crack them. The tailor took one away, substituted a nut, and cracked it. The tailor began to fiddle, and the bear danced. The tailor offered to teach it, but first he had to cut its nails. He trapped it in a vise and left it there. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How The Hermit Helped To Win The King's Daughter
How the Hermit Helped to Win the King's Daughter is an Italian fairy tale, collected by Laura Gonzenbach in ''Sicilianische Märchen''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Pink Fairy Book''. Synopsis A rich man divided his property among his three sons when he died. The king offered his daughter to whoever built a ship that traveled over both land and sea. The oldest son tried, and when old men came to beg for work, sent them all away. He spent all his money on it, and a squall destroyed it. The second son tried after him, but ended up the same. The youngest thought to try as well, because he was not rich enough to support all three of them. He hired everyone, included a little old man with a white beard whom his brothers had rejected but whom he appointed as overseer. This old man was a holy hermit. When the ship was done, he told the youngest son to lay claim to the princess. The youngest son asked him to stay with him, and the hermit asked him for half of everything he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fool Of The World And The Flying Ship
''The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship'' is a made-for-television stop motion-animated film released in the United Kingdom on 27 December 1990 on ITV, based on the Eastern European folk tale. It was co-produced with WGBH Boston for broadcast on '' Long Ago and Far Away''. ''The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship'' was released on DVD in the United Kingdom. Synopsis In the kingdom of Russia, its ruler Tsar Nicolai finds his daughter, Princess Alexeya, is unwilling to marry any suitors presented to her, despite their gifts to her father. One day, to his surprise, she declares she will only marry a man if they can bring her father a ship that can fly, which the Czar joyfully agrees to. Word of this proposal is spread across the kingdom, which presents an opportunity to two young men - Sergei and Boris - to convince their father, a poor woodsman, and their mother, to finance their journey to honor this request. Once the pair are given supplies and money, they greedily was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
