Vaticinium

From The Seven Sages of Rome
Familial relationshipsFather/son relationshipsAnimal taleBirdTalking birdDynastic marriageDisguiseMagicRichesOverheard secretFood and drink

The Prophecy

A father and son set sail together, and are surprised when crows (or, in some versions, a nightengale) land upon the mast, cawing. The boy understands their speech, and tells their father that they prophesy that one day he will be rich, and his father shall kneel before him, holding a basin for him to wash while his mother holds the towel. Enraged, the father flings his son overboard. The boy is saved by a passing ship, is left at a nearby port, and enters the service of the steward of the castle. The king of that land had long been plagued by ravens constantly circling him and cawing, and he offered half his kingdom and his daughter’s hand in marriage to any who could free him from this nuisance. The boy arrives at the court and explains to the king that the ravens want his judgement in a dispute to do with faith in times of hardship: in some versions, it is a lover's quarrel, in which two male ravens fight over which has claim the female based on whether they stood by her during famine; in other versions, it is a family issue, and an attentive father and absent mother fight over which has claim to their child. The king judges that the raven who was a faithful caregiver during the period of hardship has the rightful claim, and the three ravens fly away. The boy is given the hand of the princess, eventually takes the throne, and at long last decides to visit his parents. When they hear the king is coming, they kneel before him with a basin to for him to wash, and a towel, and do not recognise him until he reveals his identity to them.

Note

The problem of interpreting birds' speech is also seen in Praeceptum galli, and Avis.


Nishimura notes relevant motifs, analogues, and references:

Motifs and Types: TMI B215.1 Bird language. L425 Dream (prophecy) of future greatness causes banishment (imprisonment). M312.2 Prophecy: parents will humble themselves before their son. N682 Prophecy of future greatness fulfilled when hero returns home unknown. Parents serve him. ATU 517 The boy who understands the Language of Birds. Cf. ATU671 The three languages.

Analogues, references: Die Geschichte des Kaisers Skinder (including ‘9. amici‘); Afanasjew, Russische Volksmärchen, 247 ‘Die Vogelsprache’, and 249-253 ‘Gut genutzte Lehre’. This story is an analogue to the story of Joseph (hated by his family because he told them that he dreamt of becoming their king), in the Bible, ‘Genesis’, 37. The motif of parents casting their children into the sea is found in Apollodoros, Bibliotheke, 2.4.1 (Danae). A story involving a struggle between birds is found in Nihon Ryoiki, vol.2, 2 ‘Story of a man who saw the adultery of the ravens and was disgusted with the world, and cultivated goodness’. Birds' (lack of) fidelity as parallel for human relationships is found in: the Arabian Nights, in the 724th night, 'The Tale of Azdashir, Prince of al-Sayf al-A‘ẓam Shah and Princess Ḥayat al-Nufus, daughter of King ‘Abd al-Qadir’ and in the 134th night, ‘The Tale of Taj al-Muluk and Princess Dunya’; Rosen’s ‘Geschichte von der schönen Prinzessin von Griechenland’ in Das Papageienbuch, Night 26; Nakhshabi, Tales of a Parrot, 39 ‘The Story of the Emperor of China,…’; Qadiri, The Tooti Nameh, 33 ‘The Emperor of China, in a Dream, falls in love with the Queen of Room’. See also: Nihon Mukashibnashi Tsukan, 28, ‘Type Index’ 93; El Conde Lucanor, 21 ‘Was einem großen Philosophen mit einem kleinen König, seinem Zögling, begegnete’. Stories with characters who are said to understand the language of birds include Kathasaritsagara, Chapter 101, ‘163H. Sundarasena and Mandaravatī’; Eberhard, Typen chinesischer Volksmärchen, 8 ‘Der Mann, der die Vogelsprache verstand’; KHM 6 ‘Der treue Johannes’ in Grimm’s Fairy Tales; Kasshi Yawa, 23.5 ‘There is a Man who understands the Language of Birds.

Bibliography: Chauvin VIII 234. Krappe, 1925, pp. 347-365. Nihon Mukashibanashi Tsukan, ‘Kenkyu-hen 2’, 93.

Critical Literature
Nishimura (2001), Campbell (1907), Runte, Wikeley, Farrell (1984), Clouston (1884)
Vaticinium appears in the following versions and secondary versions
Vaticinium is narrated in the following occurrences
Narrator Pages
Prince A (Seven Sages), Aberystwyth National Library of Wales Cardiff MS 3.4 (RMWL Cardiff MS 5), Aberystwyth National Library of Wales Llanover MS 13075B, Aberystwyth National Library of Wales Llanstephan MS 171, Aberystwyth National Library of Wales Llanstephan MS 2., British Library, Additional MS 15685, Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek 9245, Bühnenfassung / Stage adaptation: Sebastian Wild, Tragedj, C (Sept Sages de Rome), Cambridge University Library MS Dd.1.17, Cambridge University Library MS Ff. 2, 38, Cambridge University Library MS Gg.6.28, Chartres Bibliothèque municipale 620, D (Sept Sages de Rome), Early Modern and Modern Welsh Version A, Edinburgh National Library of Scotland MS. 16500, Asloan Manuscript, Erasto, French A/L Overlap, French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages, German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus, I (Versio Italica), Il Libro dei Sette Savi, K (Sept Sages de Rome), L'Amabile di Continentia, Latin Version A: Allegatio/Libellus, London British Library Arundel 140, London British Library Cotton Galba E IX, London British Library Egerton 1995, M ('Male Marastre'), Middle English Version A, Middle Welsh Version A, Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare, Older Scots Version A: Buke of the Sevyne Sagis, Oxford Balliol College Library MS 354 (Richard Hill's Commonplace Book), Oxford Bodleian Library Jesus College MS. 111, Oxford Bodleian Library Jesus College MS. 20, Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson poet. 175, Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal 3516, Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 573, Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95, S (Scala Coeli), Storia d'una Crudele Matrigna, Storia di Stefano, Versio Italica (Latin), Welsh Version A: Chwedleu Seith Doethon Rufein
Vaticinium appears in the following manuscripts
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