Thesaurus in puteo: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:19, 27 November 2025

MurderRichesDeceptionDeceitful sonFamilial relationshipsFather/son relationshipsPatricide

The Treasure in the Well

A pious knight dotes on his son, who in turn plots against his father, wishing to kill him. One night the knight dreams that he discovers a great treasure at the bottom of a nearby well, and the next morning he brings his son with him to investigate. He climbs down into the well, and discovers that there really is a great treasure there - but his son seizes his opportunity, and throws a large stone down into the well, crushing and killing his father. The son keeps all the treasure for himself.

From Gräße's 1842 edition of the Aventewr von Diocleciano.

[Added by Jane Bonsall.]

Note
Nishimura notes that this story (motif TU4955: the treasure in the well) may be linked to the story of the death of Palamedes in Le Roman de Troie (lines 27685-876), in which Odysseus contrives to have the commander Palamedes lowered into an old well and then killed by stones dropped upon him. See Kure Shigeichi, Greek Mythology, p. 367; and Kozu Harushige, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology.

Critical Literature
Nishimura (2001), "Gräße, Das älteste Mährchen- und Legendenbuch des christlichen Mittelalters, oder die Gesta Romanorum (1842)

Thesaurus in puteo appears in the following versions and secondary versions

Thesaurus in puteo is narrated in the following occurrences

Narrator	Pages
Empress	Aventewr von Diocleciano

Thesaurus in puteo appears in the following manuscripts
This inset story appears in no manuscripts of the database

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Inset Story
-|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001)
+|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); "Gräße, Das älteste Mährchen- und Legendenbuch des christlichen Mittelalters, oder die Gesta Romanorum (1842)
-|Has Content Tag=Murder; Parricide; Riches; Deception; Deceitful son; Familial relationships; Father/son relationships
+|Has Motif=Murder; Riches; Deception; Deceitful son; Familial relationships; Father/son relationships; Patricide
 |Has Summary='''The Treasure in the Well'''
-Once there was a pious knight who doted on his son, who in turn plotted against his father, wishing to kill him. One night the knight dreamed that he discovered a great treasure at the bottom of a nearby well, and the next morning he brought his son with him to investigate. He climbed down into the well, and discovered that there really was a great treasure there - but his son seized his opportunity, and threw a large stone down into the well, crushing and killing his father. The son kept all the treasure for himself.
+A pious knight dotes on his son, who in turn plots against his father, wishing to kill him. One night the knight dreams that he discovers a great treasure at the bottom of a nearby well, and the next morning he brings his son with him to investigate. He climbs down into the well, and discovers that there really is a great treasure there - but his son seizes his opportunity, and throws a large stone down into the well, crushing and killing his father. The son keeps all the treasure for himself.
+From [[Gräße, Das älteste Mährchen- und Legendenbuch des christlichen Mittelalters, oder die Gesta Romanorum (1842)|Gräße's 1842 edition of the Aventewr von Diocleciano]].
+[Added by Jane Bonsall.''']'''
+|Has Note=Nishimura notes that this story (motif TU4955: the treasure in the well) may be linked to the story of the death of Palamedes in ''Le Roman de Troie'' (lines 27685-876), in which Odysseus contrives to have the commander Palamedes lowered into an old well and then killed by stones dropped upon him. See Kure Shigeichi, ''Greek Mythology'', p. 367; and Kozu Harushige, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology''.
 }}