Vaticinium – The Prophecy
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: See also Vaticinium and Amici for the extended version of this tale, as found in most of the Historia texts.
From Brunner, The Seven Sages of Rome (Southern Version) (1933)
[Added by Jane Bonsall]
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As noted above, this story is expanded in Vaticinium and Amici, in which the story of the faithful friend (sometimes titled Amis et Amile, or Amis and Amiloun) is appended to the story told above. Another story, given the title Vaticinium 1, also deals with the 'prophetic' interpretation of the speech of birds, though in that story the interpreter cannot truly comprehend bird's speech, and uses the lie to further his own ends. The problem of interpreting birds' speech is also seen in Praeceptum galli, and Avis.
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 |
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| Nishimura (2001), Campbell (1907), Runte, Wikeley, Farrell (1984), Clouston (1884) |
| Vaticinium is narrated in the following occurrences | ||||
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