Heres Regni
Heres Regni
An Arab king is unable to conceive an heir, so has all his current wives imprisoned and marries a foreign woman. One of the imprisoned wives is pregnant and gives birth to a boy only a year before the foreign wife, raising the son in the castle-prison. The custom in the country is that the oldest is the heir, so the elder son is kept a secret from the people until fourteen years old. He comes to visit the palace, where he tells the king that his mother is dying and her last wish is to see her husband again. The king agrees to this and is given strict instructions by his son to dress as a woman and enter the castle through a hole in the rear wall at night. His elder son digs the hole and then points it out to the watchman, instructing him to cut off the head of anyone entering. When the king tries to enter, he is perceived as a stranger and beheaded, and the son has him buried in secret.
(from Murko, summarised by Ava Byrne)
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Entered by Ava Byrne Full translation of Murko's reproduction below.An Arab master, who ruled over the whole country and had a multitude of slaves in his service, who all bowed before him as if he was God, was a man of great wit and humour, and his entire people loved him because he could predict a great many things that would happen to his subjects. He had a multitude of wives, but none could please him with their fruit. One day, when he was thinking that he would not have an heir to rule Arabia, it occurred to him to dismiss all his wives and choose a new wife from a foreign people. His decision was soon carried out. He had a large palace built and ordered all of his wives to be brought there, assigned many eunuchs to serve them, and surrounded the palace with guards so that none could escape. He did this so that his wives would not learn of his strange plan. And he summoned some of his advisors and presented his plan to them. Since they all considered him a prophet, they were not able to advise on this unusual decision but bowed their heads and praised his plan. From that time on, he considered what kind of maiden and from what country he should take his wife. Finally, he chose the Grand Vizier’s daughter, whom he in fact married. The celebration was done in the Arabian custom, with special solemnity and a grand feast. Now the ruler began to live in the greatest contentment with his beloved, only wife. But this contentment did not last long, for he had not been with his wife for half a year when he received the news that one of his wives, who he had kept locked up in the palace and who had previously been his desert, had given birth to a healthy prince. Because it was established in the country that the eldest son of the ruler was always the heir, he was sorrowful at the news and ordered that no one in the palace should dare to utter a single word about the birth of his son. His command was fully obeyed, and so the child was raised by the mother with no one but the ruler knowing anything about it. After not even a year of the new marriage had passed, the new wife also gave birth to a son. This joy soon became known to the estates and to the common people. Everyone placed green trees in front of their homes and rejoiced around them. The ruler was the only one who felt sorrow in his heart instead of joy; for he feared that the new wife might receive news of the other son. But his worry was unwarranted; for his command was kept sacredly by all. He was outwardly quite at peace, but in his heart felt a burden, because he had sworn to never see any of the wives in his palace ever again, and even less to go into their castle. Now, the two sons grew up in the best of health until the age of seven; the younger was already being encouraged to study and passed over to teachers; the older, however, had no one to continue his instruction but his mother. For a few years, the ruler was very pleased with his younger son’s ingenuity, but still not completely at peace. He considered how he might be able to give the older one teachers; however, after thinking for a long time, he still could not come up with a solution. Finally, he decided to entrust one of his most discreet courtiers with the task of teaching his oldest son. The ruler’s plan was quickly and secretly carried out in the best possible way, which brought great relief to the father. The ruler’s satisfaction lasted a full seven years until the elder son, already fully trained in the liberal arts, wrote to him asking for permission to return to his homeland. This wish distressed the ruler; for he could have easily known in advance that, with his son’s return, the secret of the true heir, illegally concealed for so long, would become known to the entirety of the common people. He pondered, but could find nothing to calm him, and was unable to completely conceal his inner and outer turmoil. His wife soon recognised his sadness and tried to find a time where he had a cheerful face to speak to him herself and ask what was troubling him. This wish was soon granted when the ruler himself came into her room and said: “Dearest of all the women of our land, I can no longer hide from you what I have concealed for so long, and what no one knows except my only secret friend. I have another son, by my first wife, who I ordered to be raised in secret so as not to cause you any grief. It has been seven years since he was taught all the necessary arts in foreign lands; now he has asked for permission to return to our country. Will his visit be unpleasant for you?” “OH my dearest husband,” she answered, “how could you have concealed this from me for so long, when the joy in my heart would have doubled? Oh, that I could only embrace your son! I beg you, send messengers for him so that I can press him to my heart.” The ruler was very pleased with this unexpected answer and, from that moment on, was most anxious to see his son as soon as possible. This joy was shared by both spouses, who were, in a sense, satisfied; however, the arrival of the son soon disrupted this. He spoke little, and what he did say was ambiguous; he also remained constantly alone in his little room and would not allow anyone to approach him, except for a single servant. The unusual behaviour of the son angered the father, and he called on him to discover the reasons for the rare behaviour and asked him why he was so sad and constantly thinking so deeply. “Gracious father,” he said, “I remain constantly in my little room for your sake, so that the common people do not rebel against you because you have hidden your firstborn son for so long. The reason I am full of melancholy and sorrow is my mother’s long imprisonment.” “My decision,” said the father, “is the decision of a ruler who cannot change a single word; but you shall be allowed to visit your mother whenever you wish. I will report this to the chief guard.” The son thanked him for the favour and went to his mother the very next day. You, my dear Rhodygo, can imagine the joy this sorrowful mother must have felt. When the son returned from his mother to the court and stood before his father, he was even sadder than before and said: “My most gracious father! I have found my mother just as she was about to depart the world; but my arrival kept her soul in her body, and she longs to see you once more. Oh, do fulfil the only wish of your dying first wife!” This request moved the ruler to pity. “My dearest son!” he said, “how can I do this so that no one will see me when I have to go into the castle? You must know from the laws of our country that a word spoken by the ruler and not kept will send the entirety of the people into revolt.” “Gracious father,” said the deceitful son, “if this fear alone prevents you from fulfilling your wife’s last wish, then I will gladly help ensure that no one at court, let alone anyone among the common people, will have the slightest knowledge of it. Put on women’s clothing and go alone at night to the rear wall of the castle, where I will firstly make a passage so that you can enter inside; I will wait for you, and when you have fulfilled my mother’s wish, I will secretly lead you out again by the same way.”. This advice pleased the ruler, and they set the third day for it. Now, the ungrateful son took particular care to dig the hole in the wall so carefully that no one would see it. He succeeded in this task, as he had hoped. When evening came, the son called a watchman, led him to the broken wall, and said: “Inattentive people! Who made this entrance into the castle, and who is in the habit of coming here at night? I thereby command you, stand by this hole and if anyone creeps through here, cut off his head immediately.” The watchman did as the future ruler commanded. And when he saw a woman crawling through this hole, he cut off her head and then pulled her inside. When the murderous son heard that the guard had fulfilled his duty, he approached him and said: “Look, you are unfaithful guards of your ruler! This person must have visited the castle often; therefore, if you wish to keep your life and prevent your comrades’ death, bury this corpse immediately so that no one may learn of it.” So, it was done, and no one could know where the ruler had fallen into ruin. |
| Critical Literature |
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| Murko (1890), Nishimura (2001) |
| Heres Regni appears in the following versions and secondary versions |
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| Heres Regni is narrated in the following occurrences |
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| No recorded narrations available. |
| Heres Regni appears in the following manuscripts |
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| This inset story appears in no manuscripts of the database |