Fairy Tale Channel (fairytalechannel.com): For Valentine's Day: Love and Marriage Celebrated in Fairy Tales (and Movies)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

For Valentine's Day: Love and Marriage Celebrated in Fairy Tales (and Movies)

A Fairy Tale Courtship

Reading the Fairy Tale Sweetheart Roland

True Love Enkindled

Even the title of the fairy tale, Sweetheart Roland, suggests a romantic love story. But the themes of courtship and marriage are often grim and violent events in fairy tales and this story does not disappoint. Before Roland the Sweetheart is even introduced, a mother mistakenly chops off the head of her only child and we see a girl lying in a pool of blood, all because of apron-envy. This story suggests that on the road to marital bliss, one must always remember the primary obstacles to happiness; in the opening scenes of this tale, jealousy is the hurdle. Survival (let alone happiness) depends on overcoming this destructive, obsessive, and deadly force. But the primary theme of this story, I think, is not human survival, but the survival and endurance of love. This tale describes the vicissitudes and trials encountered when pledging one’s self to a sweetheart.

Besides encountering surprising amounts of blood and gore in the opening sentences, one of the first oddities in the narrative is that the precise hands of the stepmother are described when she chops off the head of her daughter. She holds the axe in her right hand while groping with her left. This level of detail in oral narrative is striking. Why not just say she held the axe in her hands, or she simply chopped? This type of right hand versus left hand distinction is also encountered in Rapunzel, when the powerful sorceress cuts off the girl’s hair. Rapunzel is a similar story describing the hazards of negotiating a successful marriage, but at its heart this story focuses on the violation of marriage taboos. It would be interesting to track down this right-hand versus left-hand motif in other stories to determine if it really alludes to some obscure marriage rite or only pops up when a taboo is broken (or when it pops up at all).

But back to Sweetheart Roland. Most of the courtship or wooing in this tale takes place when the two protagonists are on the run. They undergo a process of transformation, assuming forms that are interdependent yet mutually advantageous for surviving the wrath of a treacherous world (here: an evil stepmother). In both instances Roland functions as the protector, in his guise as the sea and in his role as the fiddle player. The maiden is the quick-thinker, nimbly designing and adapting the forms of escape. Marriage requires a versatile skill set, including adaptability, quick thinking, persistence and constancy. This last virtue is poignantly alluded to when the maid assumes the shape of a granite field stone, waiting patiently for her lover to return. Love is a rocky road, as this fairy tale underscores. Even abandonment must be endured with good cheer and patience. Forget the seventies adage “love means never having to say sorry”. In this fairy tale “love means always loving”. It weathers hardship like a stone, it prevails over disappointments. It survives, somehow.

Contrast these ideas about love and partnership with modern notions, for example, the relationship at the center of the hit movie “No Strings Attached”. It’s hard to imagine that the heroine in the movie has found the type of love that would keep on loving, over vast amounts of time or even geological time as alluded to in the fairy tale . For a a very funny review of the movie read the New Yorker article by David Denby http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/no_strings_attached_reitman

But go see the movie and then remember Sweetheart Roland.

Which story do you prefer?

To read the fairy tale Sweetheart Roland:
http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2011/02/sweetheart-roland.html

Film versions of endless love:

No Strings Attached

Love Story

Modern Versions of Courtship, Love and Marriage

FairyTaleChannel.com

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Karva Chauth and the God of Death

In India married women and girls who are going to get married keep a fast for the long life of their husbands / fiancees. It's called Karva Chauth. There is a folklore surrounding it . Its like this:
Once there was a woman called Savitri ,who got married to a king. One day the king took ill and died, then the god of death ( "yama" in Indian mythology) came to take him. But Savitri begged to him that he should grant life to the king, but the god refused. But savitri was determined , she said unless and until the god does not grant life to the king , she will not eat or drink, this put the god in a dillemma. But Savitri was determined and she did not eat or drink for many days, this melted the heart of god and he gave back the life of king.

Thus , all the married women observe this fast in India for the good health and long life of their husbands. I would like it to compare with the western concept of Valentine 's day!

St. John's Fire Celebration

In Hautes-Pyrénées an area of the Midday-Pyrenees, in France the tallest and most slender tree is sought for the St. John’s festivities. In mountain areas, a fir tree is selected, otherwise a poplar. After removing all branches, a number of wedges are carved into the trunk and the tree is saved for the June 23 St. John’s Fire. It is rolled down the mountain or hill and after being blessed by the priest, is rammed into the earth. On St. John’s Day the tree is set aflame. (Jakob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie)

Fairy Stones and Fairy Veneration

The Celts left behind an abundance of stone monuments, pillars and rock formations in the areas they populated. At these sacred sites, sacrifices were presented and celebrations held. According to folk tradition, the fairies were honored at such places and these customs persisted into the Middle Ages. In regions where the population had once been primarily Celtic, there are still numerous springs, fountains and lakes associated with these folk traditions. Sacrifices were made here, people assembled at these sites to auger the future and sacred images were dipped into the water. Brittany in particular has many such bodies of water for this is an area the Celts populated for a very long time. Gregory of Tours reports of a sacred lake called Gabli near Helanus Mountain where sacrifices were made on a frequent basis. Here, objects were usually thrown in the water, especially pins or needles. In other places such as Perpignan, the Church encouraged dipping the relics of saints in the water instead of making an offering. This was to discourage fairy veneration and to Chrisitanize the tradition if could not be stopped. It has been arguied by some that instead of Christianizing the pagan religion, these attempts actually incorporated pagan elements into Christianity.
The German Knight Arnold von Harff on his pilgrimage between 1496 – 1499 reports of visiting a so-called Venusberg near Norcia. There was a small lake and chapel and he was told that sorcerers assembled before the altar and pronounced their spells and charms. Whenever this happened, vapors rose from the lake and caused such frightful weather, that it stormed and rained in a three or four mile radius. Finally the owner of the castle had gallows erected between the lake and chapel and threatened to hang anyone who participated in such practices.

From: Der Aberglaube des Mittelalters, Carl Meyer

Fairy's Lullaby, A Midsummer Night's Dream 2.2

First Fairy:
You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blindworms, do no wrong;
Come not near our Fairy Queen.
Chorus:
Philomel with melody,
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby.
Never harm
Nor spell nor charm
Come our lovely lady nigh.
So good night with lullaby.
First Fairy:
Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legged spinners, hence;
Beetles black, approach not near;
Worms nor snail do no offence.
Chorus (dancing):
Philomel with melody,
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby.
Never harm
Nor spell nor charm
Come our lovely lady nigh.
So good night, with lullaby.

In the Witches' Kitchen

Witches and sorcerers needed a varied supply of potions and salves to achieve their goals. They supposedly concocted these magic ointments in isolated places, often in the woods or on the moor and a cauldron was one of their most important utensils. 18th century documents from the witch trial of nun Renata Sengerinn of Unterzell Cloister near Wuerzburg describe the ingredients she had in her witch's kitchen. According to Carl Meyer in Der Aberglaube des Mittelalters, many of her ingredients also appear in the most famous account of all, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act IV.
First Witch:
Round about the cauldron go,
In the poisoned entrals throw.
Toad that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Sweltered venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i'th' charmed pot
All:
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Second Witch:
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog.
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing.
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
All:
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Third Witch:
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravined salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digged i'th' dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat and slips of yew
Slivered in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-delivered by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab.
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron
For th' ingredience of our cauldron.
All:
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fairy Tale of Interest: The Tale of Two Snakes

From the Panchatantra, Book of Indian Fairy Tales

Once upon a time there was a king named Devasakti. He had a son who was very weakand growing weaker by the day. It was found that he had a snake in his stomach. Experts, physicians and surgeons tried to nurse him back to health without success. Dejected, the son left his palace one night and took shelter in a lonely and dilapidated temple in another town ruled by a monarch called Bali. Every day, the son would go out to beg and return to the temple in the night. King Bali had two daughters who came of age. Following a tradition, the two daughters would get up every dawn and touch the feet of their father in reverence. One day, after paying respects to the king one of his daughters said, "Victory to the king. We are happy in every way." The second daughter said, "O king, reap the harvest of your actions." The king, very angry at the words of the second daughter, called his ministers and told them, "Take this foul-mouthed woman away and marry her off to some stranger. Let her reap the consequences of her actions." In compliance with the orders of the king, the ministers took her away and married her without pomp or ceremony to Devasakti's son living in the old temple. The daughter considered the king's son as God's gift and after persuading him, left for another country. The princess and the son of Devasakti reached a city where they camped close to a lake. She asked her husband to take care of the camp and went into the city with her maids to buy daily needs like rice, salt, butter oil and vegetables. After shopping, she returned to the lake where she saw a surprising spectacle. The prince was sleeping, resting his head on an anthill. The serpent in his stomach came out to breath fresh air. Then another serpent emerged from the anthill for the same reason. Both of them glared at each other. The anthill inmate said, "You wicked creature, why do you torment such a handsome prince." The other serpent retorted, "Why are you polluting the two golden urns in your hole." Thus in their row, they revealed the secrets of each other. The serpent in the anthill told the other serpent, "Don't be arrogant. Who does not know the secret of your death? If the prince drinks a concoction made of gruel and mustard you will die unsung." "Oh, is that so? You will also perish if someone pours hot oil or hot water in your anthill. Don't be too proud," said the serpent in the prince's stomach. The princess, who heard all that passed between the two serpents, poured hot oil into the anthill and took the two golden urns and gave the mustard concoction to her husband and killed the serpent inside his stomach. Both Divyasakti's son and his daughter-in-law returned to his kingdom and lived happily ever after.

Fairy Tale of Interest: A wee wife predicts war or peace for all the land.

War and Peace

In the year 1644, on the 18th of August, the Prince Elector Johann Georg I moved his army past the city of Chemnitz. There, his men captured a wild little wife in the thicket of the area. She was only one ell high but otherwise had a human shape. Her face, hands and feet were smooth, but the rest of her body was rough. The wee wife began to speak: “I prophesy and bring peace to all the land.” The Prince Elector ordered that the wee wife be released, because twenty-five years earlier a wee husband had been found with the same shape. He foreboded unrest and war for all the land.

The theme of penance and Mary of Egypt....

The legend of the Virgin Mary shares themes associated with Mary of Egypt, patron saint of repentant sinners. Mary of Egypt was a penitent living in the wilderness and was widely venerated during the Middle Ages. Miraculously she was able to nourish herself on plants, nuts and berries. After a harsh life in the wilderness had destroyed her clothing, the only protection from the elements was her long golden hair. The solitude of the desert was the only place she could properly atone for her sins.

The fairy tale .... what is it?

Maerchen or Fairy Tale: a working definition

A fairy tale is a fictitious story, originally conveyed orally to a cohesive social group or community, bound together by language, custom or geography. Often fairy tales describe universal human experiences, core (religious) beliefs or the values of a social community. The problems of every day life are often explored: living within a family structure, finding a mate, securing status or riches, establishing oneself in life, life’s seasons and cycles . Main characteristics include fabulous or fantastic elements, a storyline that is played out independently from any specific time or place, an anti-hero or anti-heroine winning out against all odds (i.e., the youngest, smallest, dumbest, poorest succeeds over the oldest, tallest, smartest or richest). Fairy tale justice means the last shall be first and the first shall be last. As an oral tradition, the fairy tale often uses a narrative template with three-fold repetition. Only in the third segment is the adversary overcome, victory assured, success achieved.
Often considered a form of literature suitable for children, fairy tales may contain explicit violence, sex and macabre events and are not always suited for younger readers.

The Brother Grimm write in their Preface to the First Volume of fairy tales that “Fairy tales, sagas and history stand together and present us with the fresh and lively spirit of pre-historical times. …The fairy tale is more poetic, the saga is more historical in nature.”

The saga is firmly anchored in a specific time, often a specific year, geographic region or city/town/place. Persons are mentioned by name, often a specific historical figure or king is mentioned. The saga often explains strange phenomena, unusual features in the landscape, the origin of an ethnic group or names long since forgotten but which were once of local significance. Sagas describe the memory of an historical event. History is explained by a community remembering its past and offering explanations for local custom and tradition. The saga is a means of connecting current circumstances to precise past reference points. Some of these reference points may be authentic, others are probably completely invented.

The saga in its purest form celebrates or commemorates a folk memory or tradition and has not been corrupted by current trends, commentaries or promotions. (In other words, it's not politically correct!)

Recipe for Cross-Notched Stollen

Note:
An almond paste filling is optional in this stollen recipe but highly recommended! (Any nut paste can be used, be creative, but stick to one type of nut only!)

Dough:
Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons dark rum:
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup cubed citron
1/4 cup candied orange peel
Cover and let soak at least 1 hour. (This will be added after the dough rises).

1 package instant yeast dissolved in
3/4 cup warm milk
Let stand 10 minutes until frothy

Add:
1 1/2 cups all purpse flour
1/3 cup sugar
Mix until smooth
Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until double in size

Mix in to dough mixture:
2 beaten eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
grated zest of lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Knead in by hand:
1 1/2 cups bread flour until smooth and elastic

Add while kneading:
1 3/4 sticks soft butter
the dried fruit/rum mixture
1/4 cup coarsely chopped and lightly toasted almonds

Knead until all fruits and nuts are incorporated.
Let rise in buttered bowl 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until double in size.

Mix together (optional) filling:
8 ounces almond paste is mixed together with:
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons soft butter

Roll into log about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter

Remove dough from bowl and lightly roll out to a 1-inch thick oval (roughly 14 x 9 inches). Place nut log in center. Fold over and shape into loaf.
Brush loaf with 1 tablespoon melted butter.Place on greased cookie sheet.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Using sharp knife, cut 3 cross-shaped notches across top of loaf.
Let rise until double in size.
Bake stollen for about 50 minutes or when knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
Top with powdered sugar.
Cool before serving.

The Virgin Mary and the Snake

Fairy Tale of Interest:
In this saga, the Virgin Mary shows the best way to protect oneself against a snake.

Grimm’s Saga No. 10 The Hazel Branch

One afternoon the Christ Child lay down in his cradle and when he was asleep, his mother came and watched him full of joy. She spoke “Have you fallen asleep, my child? Sleep softly, I want to go into the forest and pick a handful of strawberries for you; I know you will enjoy them when you wake up.” Outside in the wood she found a place with the most beautiful strawberries. When she bent over to pick them, an adder jumped up out of the grass. She was startled, left the berries and hurried away. The adder shot after her, but the Mother of God, as you can well imagine, knew what to do and hid behind a hazel bush and stayed there until the adder had slithered away. She then went back to collect the berries and when she was on her way home, she spoke “As the hazel bush has been my protection now, so shall it protect others in the future.” For this reason since ancient times a green hazel branch is the most certain protection against adders, snakes, vipers and everything else that creeps on the earth.

Maria durch ein Dornwald ging / Mary walked through the thorn wood

Fairy Tales of Interest for the New Year

The secret lives of others are revealed here:
No. 116: “The Lover Invited to Dinner” (see below for complete translation) has all the elements of a good New Year’s tale: love, romance and secret yearnings. Augury and magic are employed to discern if the New Year will bring fulfillment of one’s deepest desires.
The protagonist is a female tax collector: she leads a rather mundane life and is perhaps even loathed by most of her acquaintances. In the Bible, “tax collector” instantly designates an undesirable, socially tainted person. But this tax collector has a secret inner life which moves her to take year-end action. The time between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve is a special time for prognostication: weather augury is common, as much of one's fortunes, health and happiness are linked to a successful harvest and the resulting food supply. After enduring unrequited love silently (or other hardships), ringing in the New Year suggests the time is now right to change tack; but as with all magic, the outcome isn’t always to one’s liking. Frequent themes and symbols: bread, knives, food and divination at the midnight hour. When developing your own traditions for a New Year’s Eve celebration, include the following elements: augury (often using common household foodstuffs: bread, breadcrumbs or even onions or eating a special dish served only on this occasion), reflection on the past, hopes for the future, New Year’s resolutions and solemn oaths to turn a new leaf, ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, toasts of wine and not to forget the revelry.

Love and joy come to you
Peace and prosperity too.

Designing your own New Year's celebration:
1. Ringing of bells to signify the ending of the New Year
2. Singing a song or reciting an appropriate verse
3. Opening the front door to let in the New Year (and close)
4. Toasting to commemorate events in the past year
5. Toasting to mark hopes for the New Year
6. New Year's resolutions
7. Opening the back door to let the old year out
8. Ringing of bells to celebrate the New Year