The King of Ireland's Son is a children's novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by Padraic Colum, and illustrated by Willy Pogany. It is the story of the eldest of the King of Ireland's sons, and his adventures winning and then finding Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter, who after being won is kidnapped from him by the King of the Land of Mist.
The work is solidly based in Irish folklore, described as "his great synthesis of fireside tales",[1] and "a marvellous compendium of Irish folktales re-told".[2] The 1916 edition published by Henry Holt is interleaved with plates of illustrations in full colour.[3]
The King of Ireland's oldest son returns the swanskin to Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter. Illustration by Willy Pogány for Padraic Colum's The King of Ireland's Son (1916).
This is one of the classics of Irish children's literature, its magical stories winding in and out of each other from the start in a long, epic and complex narrative.[4][5]
When the careless King of Ireland's son goes out,
His hound at his heel, His hawk on his wrist, A brave steed to carry him whither he list, The blue sky above him, The green grass below him
he meets an eccentric old man full of harmlessness and duplicity who invites him to a game of chess for whatever stake the winner might like. Characters like Flann, otherwise known as Gilly the Goat-Boy, the proud and heartless Lasarfhiona or Flame-of-Wine, the magical Spae-Woman and the vicious farmer who takes on Flann as a farmhand make this an entrancing, funny and always-remembered story.
In the first segment, Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter, the oldest son of the King of Ireland loses a wager against his father's enemy and should find him in a year and a day's time. He is advised by a talking eagle to spy on three swan maidens that will descend on a lake. They are the daughters of the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands, the wizard the prince is looking for. The prince is instructed to hide the swanskin of the swan with a green ribbon, who is Fedelma, the Enchanter's youngest daughter. After arriving at the Enchanter's kingdom, he promises marriage to Fedelma, resisting her sisters', Aefa and Gilveen, advances, and is forced to fulfill three difficult tasks to the Enchanter.[6]
In the chapter The Unique Tale, the Spae-Woman tells the heroes the following story: a queen wishes for a blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter, and carelessly wishes her sons to "go with the wild geese". As soon as the daughter (named Sheen, 'Storm') is born, the seven princes change into gray wild geese and fly away from the castle.[7] It is later revealed that Sheen changed her name to Caintigern and became Queen when she married the King of Ireland, who, in turn, is the father of two of the main characters: the King of Ireland's Son and Gilly of the Goatskin (Gilla Na Chreck An Gour). The seven wild geese are, thus, their uncles.[8]
Reception
Written in the years before 1916 in America by Colum, a close friend and colleague of some of those who led the Easter Rising, this was the ultimate calling-up of Irish mythology and legend, and, paired with James Stephens' Irish Fairy Tales, made many happy hours for children curled up before glowing turf fires to read by the light of Tilley lamps in the long winter evenings of the new Ireland.
Adaptations
Another evolution from the original folktale was written by Brendan Behan, published in Brendan Behan's Island, 1962, pp. 136–141.
The King of Ireland's Son public domain audiobook at LibriVox
References
^Kiely, Benedict (October 1949), "The Core of Colum's Ireland", The Irish Monthly, 77 (916): 448, JSTOR 20516057
^O'Connor, Anne (April 1994), "The Lure of Lore", Books Ireland (176): 96–97, doi:10.2307/20626869, JSTOR 20626869
^Colum, Padraic (1916), The King of Ireland's Son, New York: Henry Holt, hdl:2027/hvd.32044004359204
^Viguers, Ruth Hill; Cornelia Meigs (ed.) (1969). A Critical History of Children's Literature. Macmillan Publishing co. p. 426. ISBN0-02-583900-4. {{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help)
^Foster, John Wilson. Fictions of the Irish Literary Revival: A Changeling Art. Syracuse University Press. 1987. pp. 279-283. ISBN0-8156-2374-7.
^Colum, Padraic. The King of Ireland's Son. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1916. pp. 5-59. [1]
^Colum, Padraic. The King of Ireland's son. New York: Macmillan. 1916. pp. 130-147.
^Colum, Padraic. The King of Ireland's Son. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1916. pp. 287-295. [2]
February 10, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The King of Ireland s Son news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message The King of Ireland s Son is a children s novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany It is the story of the eldest of the King of Ireland s sons and his adventures winning and then finding Fedelma the Enchanter s Daughter who after being won is kidnapped from him by the King of the Land of Mist The King of Ireland s SonAuthorPadraic ColumIllustratorWilly PoganyCountryIrelandLanguageEnglishGenreChildren s novelPublication date1916Media typePrint Hardcover The work is solidly based in Irish folklore described as his great synthesis of fireside tales 1 and a marvellous compendium of Irish folktales re told 2 The 1916 edition published by Henry Holt is interleaved with plates of illustrations in full colour 3 Contents 1 Stories 2 Reception 3 Adaptations 4 External links 5 ReferencesStories Edit The King of Ireland s oldest son returns the swanskin to Fedelma the Enchanter s Daughter Illustration by Willy Pogany for Padraic Colum s The King of Ireland s Son 1916 This is one of the classics of Irish children s literature its magical stories winding in and out of each other from the start in a long epic and complex narrative 4 5 When the careless King of Ireland s son goes out His hound at his heel His hawk on his wrist A brave steed to carry him whither he list The blue sky above him The green grass below himhe meets an eccentric old man full of harmlessness and duplicity who invites him to a game of chess for whatever stake the winner might like Characters like Flann otherwise known as Gilly the Goat Boy the proud and heartless Lasarfhiona or Flame of Wine the magical Spae Woman and the vicious farmer who takes on Flann as a farmhand make this an entrancing funny and always remembered story In the first segment Fedelma the Enchanter s Daughter the oldest son of the King of Ireland loses a wager against his father s enemy and should find him in a year and a day s time He is advised by a talking eagle to spy on three swan maidens that will descend on a lake They are the daughters of the Enchanter of the Black Back Lands the wizard the prince is looking for The prince is instructed to hide the swanskin of the swan with a green ribbon who is Fedelma the Enchanter s youngest daughter After arriving at the Enchanter s kingdom he promises marriage to Fedelma resisting her sisters Aefa and Gilveen advances and is forced to fulfill three difficult tasks to the Enchanter 6 In the chapter The Unique Tale the Spae Woman tells the heroes the following story a queen wishes for a blue eyed blonde haired daughter and carelessly wishes her sons to go with the wild geese As soon as the daughter named Sheen Storm is born the seven princes change into gray wild geese and fly away from the castle 7 It is later revealed that Sheen changed her name to Caintigern and became Queen when she married the King of Ireland who in turn is the father of two of the main characters the King of Ireland s Son and Gilly of the Goatskin Gilla Na Chreck An Gour The seven wild geese are thus their uncles 8 Reception EditWritten in the years before 1916 in America by Colum a close friend and colleague of some of those who led the Easter Rising this was the ultimate calling up of Irish mythology and legend and paired with James Stephens Irish Fairy Tales made many happy hours for children curled up before glowing turf fires to read by the light of Tilley lamps in the long winter evenings of the new Ireland Adaptations EditAnother evolution from the original folktale was written by Brendan Behan published in Brendan Behan s Island 1962 pp 136 141 External links EditThe King of Ireland s Son at Project Gutenberg The King of Ireland s Son at Sacred Texts http sacred texts com neu celt kis index htm The King of Ireland s Son public domain audiobook at LibriVoxReferences Edit Kiely Benedict October 1949 The Core of Colum s Ireland The Irish Monthly 77 916 448 JSTOR 20516057 O Connor Anne April 1994 The Lure of Lore Books Ireland 176 96 97 doi 10 2307 20626869 JSTOR 20626869 Colum Padraic 1916 The King of Ireland s Son New York Henry Holt hdl 2027 hvd 32044004359204 Viguers Ruth Hill Cornelia Meigs ed 1969 A Critical History of Children s Literature Macmillan Publishing co p 426 ISBN 0 02 583900 4 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author2 has generic name help Foster John Wilson Fictions of the Irish Literary Revival A Changeling Art Syracuse University Press 1987 pp 279 283 ISBN 0 8156 2374 7 Colum Padraic The King of Ireland s Son New York H Holt and Company 1916 pp 5 59 1 Colum Padraic The King of Ireland s son New York Macmillan 1916 pp 130 147 Colum Padraic The King of Ireland s Son New York H Holt and Company 1916 pp 287 295 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The King of Ireland 27s Son amp oldid 1125725899, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
