Thesaurus in puteo

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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