VINTAGE TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CHILD ROWLAND AND HIS QUEST (British🇬🇧)

The Body of British Folktales is a rich and fascinating collection of mythical and legendary traditions of England that have been passed down through generations. These captivating narratives encompass a vast array of stories, characters, and themes, ranging from tales of heroic knights and mystical creatures to supernatural occurrences and moral lessons. They provide a unique window into the cultural heritage and imagination of the British people.

Childe Rowland is a British fairytale that originated from a Scottish story. It is a fascinating blend of a fairytale and a ballad, and Robert Jamieson wrote it in 1814 after hearing it from a tailor during his childhood. The Dark Tower is the English version of the story, with an added element that was not part of the original. The tale is quite dark and mysterious.

The story follows the four children of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere: Childe Rowland, his two elder brothers, and his sister Burd Ellen. One day, while they were playing football near a churchyard, Burd Ellen was abducted by fairies and taken to the castle of King Elfland. Rowland seeks advice from Merlin, the wizard, and one by one, his brothers try to rescue her, but they never return from Elfland. Childe Rowland, armed with his trusty claymore, fights his way into the other world to rescue his sister.

The protagonist of the tale is Childe Rowland, who attempts to save his sister by venturing to the "Dark Tower" of Elfland. The story also incorporates "Childe Rowland" into the dark tower, and his horror at what he sees on his quest.

Let's read;

Once upon a time, there was a little princess named Burd Ellen who lived with her mother Queen Guinevere in a townhouse by the sea.

At this time, King Arthur had already been buried on the island of Avalon, and the famed Knights of the Round Table had been disbanded. The Castle of Camelot lay in ruins, and the Queen now lived with her children in a townhouse in the northern city of Carlisle.

Burd Ellen had three brothers. One day, while they were playing ball near the churchyard, Rowland, the youngest, was the most skillful player, and he impressed his siblings with his ball-handling abilities. At last, he let it drop. But he was about to kick it, he slipped in the mud, and instead of driving the ball towards the goal, he plunged the ball among them, and it bounced and rolled around over the church and landed in the graveyard behind it. His two elder brothers looked at him as he lay on the ground, and chorused together; "Rowland !!!!!"

Burd Ellen went to retrieve the ball and inadvertently circled the church "widdershins," or in the opposite direction of the sun, and disappeared.

(In superstitious times, it was considered bad luck to go "widdershins" or "anticlockwise" because the sun travels in the opposite direction.)

The three brothers searched for her everywhere, shouting for her east and west, up and down. But day after day went by, and she could not be found.

After a few days, the oldest brother went to the warlock Merlin (Myrddin Wyldt) and asked if he knew where his sister, the fair Burd Ellen, was.

"The fair Burd Ellen," said the warlock Merlin, "has been carried away by the fairies and is now in the castle of the King of Elfland because she went sent round the church "Widdershins" - the opposite way to the sun. She is now in the Dark Tower of the King of Elfland, and none but the boldest knight in Christendom will be able to bring her back."

"Is it possible to bring her back?" said her brother, "and I will do it or perish in the attempt."

"Possible indeed," said the warlock Merlin, "but woe to the man or mother's son who attempts it if he is not well taught beforehand what he is to do."

Now the eldest brother of fair Burd Ellen was brave, and danger did not dismay him. So he begged the Warlock to tell him exactly what he should do and what he should not do, as he was determined to go and seek his sister.