Mythic Bestiary

Log 21: Tam Lin

Summary: Tam Lin, also called Tam Lane, Tomlin, and Tam Lien among other names, is an elf/fairy who is the leading man of his ballad of the same name. Though not the main character or truly a supernatural creature, he drives the plot and was meant to be a consort to a fairy queen.

Behavior: Tam Lin is mentioned to be...aggressive to say the least. Haunting his woods, it is said that any maiden who passes through it without a gift of some sort (typically a gold ring or green cloak) will have something taken from her by him. What this something is can vary, either a possession or the maiden's virginity. It is certainly a very steep difference.

Legend: There is one legend involving Tam Lin, and for the sake of recording it all, it will be told similarly to the Lorelei tale.

There was once a young woman by the name of Janet, who was the daughter of a nobleman who owned a great abundance of land. One day, her father offered her the forest of Carterhaugh, the wood that was rumored to be the home of the fairy Tam Lin. However, Janet happily accepted the gift, and quickly made her way into the wood the following morning.

Heading inside the forest, Janet found a double-headed rose, one that she quickly picked. Upon doing this, a man appeared, challenging her action. He stated that he was Tam Lin, she was in his woods, and he expected a gift and an apology for taking what was his. She instead refuted that these were her woods now, as her  father owned the surrounding land. She also said that she conveniently left any gifts she might have given him behind.

She left a bit later, and upon waking up in the morning found herself pregnant.

Her father told her to name the man who did this to her, but Janet said the father was a fairy, one whom she was going to see right now. He had to know that she was pregnant, she couldn't leave him in the dark. She left, and was greeted by him when she entered Carterhaugh. After talking for a while, she asked if he had ever been human, and he answered that he was once. He was a mortal man, riding his horse through Carterhaugh many years ago when his horse stumbled and he fell, but instead of hitting the ground, he was caught by the Fairy Queen. He goes on to explain that he was her lover for a while, but learned that every year she and her kin payed a tithe, or a sort of tax, to Hell on Halloween; in the form of a mortal sacrifice. He is afraid that he will be the tithe tonight, Halloween had once again come and he had seen no other mortals in the wood besides him.

Janet asks him how she can help, as she does not want to raise their child alone. He carefully gives her instructions, and she leaves, intent on coming back that night.

When she does come back, she sees an entourage of beautiful fairies riding through the woods, one of them her Tam Lin. The man calmly looked around, but upon seeing her, he begins to fall. She runs over and catches him, just as he instructed. What follows is a sequence of complicated events. He begins to shapeshift due to the Fairy Queen's influence, becoming an array of animals and eventually a flaming piece of coal. Janet keeps a tight hold on him, as he told her to, and is reassured because he said the morning prior that no matter what form he takes, he won't be able to harm her as she is carrying his child. Upon becoming a piece of coal, she finds a well and dunks him in it, and he transforms back into a man. The Fairy Queen, although angry, acknowledges that Janet is a brave woman, and admits that Tam Lin is now Janet's as she skillfully persevered despite the Queen's tricks. They live happily after that.

Weaknesses: Although not a threat, in a pinch, Tam Lin's wife can be called his weakness.