Asmund and Signy
Encyclopedia
Asmund and Signy is an Icelandic fairy tale
collected in Islandische Märchen. Andrew Lang
included it in The Brown Fairy Book.
s, and told Signy that he would hollow them out and live in them. Signy asked to live there, too, and Asmund agreed. They lived there a time, when their father had to go to war, and their mother died.
Nearby, a king had a son, Prince Ring, who had heard of Signy's beauty and was determined to marry her. When setting out in search for her, he met a beautiful woman who told him she was Signy and explained her being alone on the way as stemming from her grief at her mother's death; she was, in fact, a gigantic
witch. He told her he wished to marry her. She agreed but said she had to go into the woods and would join him at the ship. In the woods, she tore up the two oaks and carried them with her. Ring carried her home, where she was made welcome, and the oaks were planted outside her windows.
The prince asked her when they could marry, she agreed to a date, and he brought her fine cloth to make her wedding gown. As soon as he left, she took on her own shape and raged, because she could not sew and would soon starve if her brother did not bring her raw meat and bones. A giant brought her meat, but she still raged over the cloth.
Asmund asked Signy to sew the cloth, because otherwise they would have no peace. Signy did so, and Ring was pleased with the clothing. But the witch continued to rave about her food. Finally, Asmund brought Ring to listen to her plans after the wedding: slaughtering the courtiers and bringing her relatives, the giants, to court. Ring burned down the house with both her and her brother in it.
Ring fell in love with Signy at sight, and Asmund with Ring's sister, so they had a double wedding, and Asmund returned with his bride to his father's kingdom.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected in Islandische Märchen. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots 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 of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Brown Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A king and queen had a son, Asmund, and a daughter, Signy. Asmund loved the outdoors. He persuaded his father to give him two giant oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s, and told Signy that he would hollow them out and live in them. Signy asked to live there, too, and Asmund agreed. They lived there a time, when their father had to go to war, and their mother died.
Nearby, a king had a son, Prince Ring, who had heard of Signy's beauty and was determined to marry her. When setting out in search for her, he met a beautiful woman who told him she was Signy and explained her being alone on the way as stemming from her grief at her mother's death; she was, in fact, a gigantic
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
witch. He told her he wished to marry her. She agreed but said she had to go into the woods and would join him at the ship. In the woods, she tore up the two oaks and carried them with her. Ring carried her home, where she was made welcome, and the oaks were planted outside her windows.
The prince asked her when they could marry, she agreed to a date, and he brought her fine cloth to make her wedding gown. As soon as he left, she took on her own shape and raged, because she could not sew and would soon starve if her brother did not bring her raw meat and bones. A giant brought her meat, but she still raged over the cloth.
Asmund asked Signy to sew the cloth, because otherwise they would have no peace. Signy did so, and Ring was pleased with the clothing. But the witch continued to rave about her food. Finally, Asmund brought Ring to listen to her plans after the wedding: slaughtering the courtiers and bringing her relatives, the giants, to court. Ring burned down the house with both her and her brother in it.
Ring fell in love with Signy at sight, and Asmund with Ring's sister, so they had a double wedding, and Asmund returned with his bride to his father's kingdom.