ATU 533 The Speaking Horsehead
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The tale in brief
On the way to her bridegroom a princess is forced by her maid to change clothes and places with her; her horse is killed, but its head, hung on the wall, speaks and reveals the deceit.
Summary written for RunoVerse from Antti Aarne’s list of tale types of 1910 and the Finnic texts linked on this page.
Runosong types
The SKVR or ERAB type index cites this tale type in its description of these song types:
- Syöjätär ja tyttö Syöjätär (the Ogress) and the Girl · SKVR · 20 poems
Finnic and Finland-Swedish sources cited in the catalogue
The entries of the catalogue’s list of literature and variants that concern Finnic tradition.
Finnish Rausmaa 1982ff. I, No. 82
Finnish-Swedish Hackman 1917f. I, No. 110
Karelian Kecskeméti/Paunonen 1974
Full references:
- Rausmaa 1982ff.: Rausmaa, Pirkko-Liisa (ed.): Suomalaiset kansansadut 1–6. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1982–2000.
- Hackman 1917f.: Hackman, Oskar (ed.): Finlands svenska folkdiktning I A: Sagor. Referatsamling 1–2. Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland, 1917–1920. Read online ↗ (National Library of Finland)
- Kecskeméti/Paunonen 1974: Kecskeméti, István; Paunonen, Heikki: Die Märchentypen in den Publikationen der Finnisch-ugrischen Gesellschaft. Journal de la Société Finno-Ougrienne 73 (1974), 205–265.
Motifs and related tale types
Motifs: Speaking Horse-Head B133.3·Helpful Animal Killed by Hero's Enemy B335·Magic Animal Head D1011·Recognition by Overheard Conversation with Dog H13.1.2·Recognition by Overheard Conversation with Stove H13.2.7·Disguise as Goose-Girl (Turkey-Girl) K1816.5·False Bride Takes True Bride's Place on the Way to the Wedding K1911.1.1·Impostor Forces Oath of Secrecy K1933·Impostor Forces Hero (Heroine) to Change Places with Him (Her) K1934·Treacherous Maidservant K2252
Combines with: ATU 403 The Black and the White Bride
Related types: ATU 870 The Princess Confined in the Mound·ATU 894 The Ghoulish Schoolmaster and the Stone of Pity·ATU 425A The Animal as Bridegroom·ATU 404 The Blinded Bride
Sources
Tale-type number, title, classification, related types and the Finnic sources: Hans-Jörg Uther, The Types of International Folktales (FF Communications 284–286, Helsinki 2004). · Uther 2004, part I (FF Communications 284), free online ↗
Runosong types cited in the type indexes: the song-type indexes of SKVR and ERAB.
Motifs and combinations with other tale types: the Trilogy dataset, from Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk-Literature and the ATU catalogue.
The plot summary, the notes and the arrangement of this page are RunoVerse’s own.