Hungarian folk tales can be very interesting.
There are a brutal scene [mostly with women of course] but there are always
flowers and something magical as well... it can be a really sick matching
sometimes.
This tale is about a princess who is gifted
by a fairy [or in other versions by Christ himself] and because of that she has
only jelous people around her, except her brother, the only one person who
truly care for her.
When she laughs roses fell out from her mouth,
when she cries pearl come out from her eyes and there are gold coins and
flowers everywhere she steps. Usually she is the symbol of the suffering black
or white bride type.
Her brother always carried her picture with
himself and one day he met the king at the neighbouring kingdom. He saw the picture of the princess and
fell in love with her. The king asked his nanny [or in other versions his stepmother]
to join him to meet this magical princess. But he didnꞌt know that his nanny wanted
her own daughter to be his bride.
On the way back the nanny gouged out the
princess eyes and pushed her into the river then she had sat her own daughter
onto the throne. [Have the king not noticed that they werenꞌt the same
girls? Love is blind... but that much? Haha] She lied to the king that from the
dust and tiredness have become the "princess" this ugly and magicless...
[believable story.] So the angry - and accordingly not too smart - king put the princess's brother into the prison.
Meanwhile the real - eyeless - princess was fished
up from the river by local fishermen. On
the price of her gold coins and flowers they bought back her eyes. So out
of gratitude she made them rich and she has transformed into a golden snake and the fishermen brought her to the king before the evil nanny could find out that she is alive.
The king finally recognized her [?!] and married her - I hope after she transformed into human form again... Her brother freed from
jail. The evil nanny and her daughter were executed by roping them to a
horse. They will live happily ever after in the afterlife... [1]
I chose this tale for my blog title because it
sounded very artistically but not a coincidence I used it in past tense. I can
get melancholy easily nowadays [mostly from the people around me]. Years ago I
was more cheerful and hopeful like the princess with her gifts and then I must woke
up from my dreams... [F♥♥♥ reality.] Sure she is more fortunate than
me. She has tonnes of money and pearls and a man who loves her... Iꞌm jelous.
I found a similar tale in Persian folklore. One
girl got 4 magical presents from 4 women. Almost the same, she laughs roses,
cries pearls and under her pillow at nights there are a bag of gold coins [ashraf]. The similarity with this Middle Eastern version
maybe is not a coincidence at all. All along our history we mixed with many
cultures. Many of our folk tales turned to another
level at the times when turks lived here with us for 150 years. [1552—1693] Yes,
another happy years with invaders... Our history were frenetic. But the
best part is that Turkish people today think that their ancestors lived in harmony with us and we parted
in friendship from them???! Anyway, they like us [I hope] and there are Hungarian memorial houses and statues along their country. Humanity amaze me again and again.
We donꞌt know if our version was first or theirs, but Turkish folklore has a similar tale as ours ["The Rose-Beauty"] and we can find this story in other Middle-Eastern folklores also. The absolute beauty and supernature origin are typical symbols among the Hindu and Persian hero/heroine characters. Maybe we influenced by them.
There are many interfering variations of this tale on every Hungarian speech areas. Other European cultures inspired on our tale as well and there are variations in the Irish, Danish, French and Italian folklore.
We donꞌt know if our version was first or theirs, but Turkish folklore has a similar tale as ours ["The Rose-Beauty"] and we can find this story in other Middle-Eastern folklores also. The absolute beauty and supernature origin are typical symbols among the Hindu and Persian hero/heroine characters. Maybe we influenced by them.
There are many interfering variations of this tale on every Hungarian speech areas. Other European cultures inspired on our tale as well and there are variations in the Irish, Danish, French and Italian folklore.
The 'gifted princess' motive was also
found in the XII century Bertha-saga. The saga is around the birth of Charles the Great [King of Franks].
Bertha - or Bertrada - was her mother who was born with clubfoot. In those times it meant a gift, because: "Many myths and
legends exist in Europe and Asia, in which clubfooted people are described as
the link between the world of the living and the spirit world." - Wikipedia
In some medieval legends the queen was
referred to as Hungarian princess, but in reality I doubt it that she has any Hungarian origin and I think French people also agree with me.
Good Day!/Szép Napot! ✌
