Tale of the doomed prince
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The Tale of the Doomed Prince is an ancient Egyptian story which survived partially on the verso of Papyrus Harris 500. Some scholars think that the missing end was a happy one and that the tale would better be called "The prince who was threatened by three fates" or the like.[1]
[edit] Synopsis
When the king's son is born the three Hathors foretold that he would die through a crocodile, a snake or a dog. His father, afraid for his safety, brought him up isolated from all possible dangers. When he grew up the prince decided to face his doom, travelled abroad to Nahrin, where he succeeded in winning the heart of a princess cooped up in a high tower by reaching her window, the condition set by her father for giving her away. The prince did not tell the king the truth about himself, but explained that he had had to leave home because of is stepmother. After marrying the princess he told her of his doom. His wife began to watch over him and saved him from a snake. Some time after that the prince went for a stroll with his dog. The dog started talking and told him it was his fate. Fleeing from the dog he ran to a lake where he was seized by a crocodile which instead of killing him enlists his help in its fight against a demon. This is where the tale breaks off.
[edit] Motifs
Some of its motifs reappear in later European fairytales.
- The birth of a child is long delayed.(cf. Sleeping Beauty)
- Death is foretold at birth (cf. Sleeping Beauty, The Youth who was Doomed to be Hanged [2])
- The attempt to prevent doom by measures of isolation from the natural environment (cf. Sleeping Beauty)
- Three is the number of the dangers/tasks awaiting the protagonist
- Death of the mother, replaced by a stepmother who hates the protagonist(s) (cf. Snowwhite, Hansel and Gretel)
- Leaving home to seek one's destiny/fortune
- Hiding one's true identity [3]
- Freeing a princess locked up in a high tower (cf. Rapunzel)[4]
- Talking animals (cf. The Princess and the Frog)
- A person/animal setting (often unpalatable) conditions for helping the protagonist (cf. The Princess and the Frog, Rumpelstiltskin)
[edit] References
- Gaston Maspero, Popular Stories of Ancient Egypt, Kessinger Publishing 2003, ISBN 0766176371, pp.185ff.
- M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol.2
- Graham Anderson, Fairytale in the Ancient World, Routledge 2000, ISBN 0415237025
- ^ Lichtheim, op.cit., p.200
- ^ Anderson, op.cit., p.122
- ^ Anderson, op.cit., p.122
- ^ Anderson, op.cit., p.121
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