Swan maiden

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Valkyries of the Völundarkviða, as swan-maidens

The Swan Maiden (also called swan may or swanmay in fantasy fiction and Dungeons and Dragons) is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form.^[1]^[2] Despite the name, males are found in a small number of legends. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached.

1 Typical legend
2 Animal wife motif
3 Fiction
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Typical legend

The folktales usually adhere to the following basic plot. A young, unmarried man steals a magic robe made of swan feathers from a swan maiden so that she will not fly away and winds up marrying her. Usually she bears him children. When the children are older they sing a song about where their father has hidden their mother's robe, or one asks why the mother always weeps, and finds the cloak for her, or they otherwise betray the secret. The swan maiden immediately gets her robe and disappears to where she came from. Although leaving the children may grieve her, she does not take them with her.

If the husband is able to find her again, it is an arduous quest, and often the impossibility is clear enough that he does not even try.

[edit] Animal wife motif

This is a common motif in folk tales across the world, though the animals vary. The Italian fairy tale "The Dove Girl" features a dove. There are Celtic selkies, taking seal shape. A Croatian tale features a she-wolf. In Africa, the same motif is shown through buffalo maidens. In East Asia, it is also known featuring maidens who transform into various bird species. In Japan, it is an angel whose robe is stolen (the Tennin). In Russian fairy-tales there are also several characters, connected with the Swan-maiden.

[edit] Fiction

The swan maiden has appeared in numerous items of fiction, starting with the ballet Swan Lake and continuing in modern novels of the fantasy genre such as Three Hearts and Three Lions. A notable recent appearance is of the swan-men in the Anita Blake series, including Kaspar Gunderson.