KidLit Forum

Princess Rosamund
A.Context
— country and language: “Princess Rosamund” is a Danish fairytale translated in English.
— original collectors: Svend Grundtvig, E.T. Kristensen, Ingvor Bondesen and L. Budde
— title of collection: Danish Folk Tales
— number of tales in that collection : ~46
— English translation: Christian Bay, 1899, Harper & Brothers
— which volume you consulted: Volume XIX

B. Summary
Once upon a time there was a princess called Rosamund who had three gifts: whenever she wept, pearls rolled out from her eyes, when she smiled, roses dropped from her cheeks and with every step she made barefooted, a gold piece was left under her heels.
A brave prince who fought in a war wanted to marry her. Her parents sent her to him. The lady of honor who was set out to go with the princess was a witch. On the way, she killed the guards and pulled out Princess Rosamund’s eyes, leaving her in a ditch on one side of the road. The witch’s daughter appeared from a dark cloud and they both head for the castle, Prince Hermes’ Castel.
Two men found her afterwards and when they saw that her steps worth gold they forced her to walk until she fainted. They then run away, scared to have killed her.
Finally, a gardener finds her and he takes her home to his wife. She recovers and the gardener buys eyes, which fit her just fine because they were her eyes themselves. One day Rosamund hears them talking about how Prince Hermes married the princess but she is always mad and nobody can please her. The gardener and his wife decide to send Rosamund to try her luck with the mad princess. They arrived at the castle and she is immediately in service. One day as Rosamund waited for the mad princes, Prince Hermes enters the room. When she sees him she droops the coffee-pot with she had in her hands. The mad princess gets even angrier and boxes her ears. Rosamund starts to cry and pearls come out of her eyes. The Prince recognized her and killed the evil woman and her daughter. They married and live happily ever after.

C. Position in the Aarne-Thomson-Uther Index.
• TALES OF MAGIC 300-749
The story is a tale of magic and marriage. The girl has supernatural gifts and there is also a witch with magical powers.

D. Characters and functions according to Vladimir Propp.
The Initial Situation- Princess Rosamund has three gifts nad she lives in a castle together with her parents.
The Absentations- The princess and lady oh honor leaves the castle.
Trickery- The lady of honor is a witch and deceives the royal family.
Complicity- The daughter of the evil woman appears from a dark cloud.
Villainy- The witch marries his daughter with Prince Hermes
Acquisition of Magical Agent- The gardener buys Rosamund her eyes and puts them back into her head.
Meditation- The gardener and his wife sent Rosamud to the Prince Hermes’ Castel.
Struggle- Rosamund and the mad princess struggle.
Branding- Rosamund cries pearls and Prince Hermes recognizes her.
Victory - Prince Hermes kills the witch and her daughter.
The Wedding- Prince Hermes marries Princess Rosamund.

E. Similarities with other known tales (Romanian, Hungarian, French, German...)
The fairy tale is more alike Cinderella because Rosamund is replaced with another girl as being prince’s wife and she becomes a servant from a princess and backwards. Also the princess is recognized by some mark. In Cinderella by shoe size, here by Rosamund’s supernatural gifts.