White-Bear-King-Valemon

White-Bear-King-Valemon (Kvitebjørn kong Valemon) is a Norwegian fairy tale. The tale was published as No. 90 in Asbjørnsen and Moe's Norske Folke-Eventyr. Ny Samling (1871).[1] George Webbe Dasent translated it for his Tales from the Fjeld.[2]

White-Bear King Valemon by Theodor Kittelsen.

The familiar version was collected by the artist August Schneider in 1870 from Setesdal.[3] Jørgen Moe collected a variant of the tale Bygland, summarized in the 2nd edition of Norske Folke-Eventyr (1852).[4][5]

It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom". A similar Norwegian tale that exhibits this motif is East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Asbjørnsen & Moe, No. 41). Others of this type include: The Brown Bear of Norway, The Daughter of the Skies, The Enchanted Pig, The Tale of the Hoodie, Master Semolina, The Enchanted Snake, The Sprig of Rosemary, and The Black Bull of Norroway.[6]

Synopsis

A king had two ugly and mean daughters and one, the youngest, who was beautiful and gentle. She dreamed of a golden wreath. Her father set goldsmiths to make it, but none of them matched her dream. Then she saw a white bear in the woods and it had the wreath. The bear would not give it to her before she agreed to go away with him, and got three days to prepare for the trip. The daughter did not care for anything as long as she had the wreath, and her father was glad of her happiness and thought he could keep off the bear, but when it arrived, it attacked the king's army and defeated them, unscathed.

An illustration by Jenny Nyström

The king sent out his oldest daughter. The bear took her on its back and rushed off with her, but asked her if she had ever sat softer or seen clearer, and she said she had, on her mother's lap, and at her father's court; so the white bear brought her back to the castle.

The next Thursday it came again, and the king tried his second daughter, and she also failed. The third Thursday, the king had sent his third daughter, and she had never sat softer or seen clearer, so it took her to its castle. Every night, it turned into a man and came to her bed in the dark.

Every year, the princess had a child, but as soon as the baby was born, the bear rushed away with it. At the end of three years, she asked to visit her parents. There, her mother gave her a candle so that she could see him. At night, she lit it and looked at him, and a drop of tallow fell on his forehead, waking him. He told her that if she had waited another month, he would have been free of an evil witch queen's spell, but now he must go to the witch's realm and become her husband. He rushed off, but she seized his fur and rode him, though the branches battered her, until she was so tired that she fell off.

An illustration by Carl Larsson

The princess searched in a forest until she came to a cottage where an old woman and a little girl were. The old woman told her that the bear had gone by; the little girl had a scissors that, whenever she cut in the air, silk and velvet appeared, but she said the woman had more need of it, and gave it to her. She went on to another hut, with another old woman and little girl. This time, the little girl gave her a flask that poured whatever was wished for and never emptied. She went on to a third hut, where the little girl gave her a cloth that could conjure up food. The fourth night, the princess came to a hut where an old woman had many children who cried for food and had no clothing. The princess fed and clothed them, so the old woman had her husband, a smith, make her iron claws so she could climb the mountainside to the witch's country.

The princess reached the witch's castle. She started to clip out cloth. The witch offered to trade for them; the princess insisted on a night with her sweetheart, but the witch agreed but drugged him with a sleeping potion, so that she could not wake him. The next day, she bribed her way in with the flask; again the witch had put him to sleep, but an artisan next door heard her and told the king. The third day, she bribed her way in with the cloth, and the king had not drunk the drink, and they could talk. They come up with an idea how to kill the witch.

And so the day arrived when the king was to marry the witch, and witches from various lands came there for this occasion. But the king had carpenters put a hidden trapdoor in a bridge over a deep chasm where the wedding procession would ride, and so the witch-bride fell through it along with all of her bridesmaids. With the forces of evil destroyed, and the curse broken, the king and the princess took the treasures from the witch's castle and then went to his homeland for the real wedding. On the way, they took the little girls, and the princess learned that they were her own daughters, whom the king had taken so they could aid her in her quest.[7][8]

Analysis

The tale is classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom". According to Jan-Öjvind Swahn's study on some 1,100 variants of Cupid and Psyche and related types, he concluded that the bear is the "most usual" form of the supernatural husband in Germanic and Slavonic areas.[9]

In some tales, before the separation from her supernatural husband, the wife's children are taken from her and hidden elsewhere. Scholarship locates this motif across Celtic and Germanic speaking areas.[10][11][12]

Variants

Denmark

In a Danish variant collected by Danish author Mathias Winther with the title Prins Hvidbjørn ("Prince Whitebear") and published in 1823, a king with three daughters is visited by a white bear. The king sends his daughters to shoo away the animal. The bears asks each princess to climb on his back, but only the third agrees. He departs with the princess and stops by a cave - their new home, for the next years. He tells her he becomes a prince at night, and, if she does not light any lamp at night for the next seven years, he will be disenchanted. They live like this for the next six years: she visits her family on her sister's weddings and on her father's birthday. She disobeys her husband and breaks his trust. The prince returns to ursine form and takes the princess to his sisters. They give her a golden bowl, a golden hat and a third golden object - all items she will use to bribe the false bride for three nights with her husband.[13] Norwegian scholar Jørgen Moe noted the resemblance between Winther's tale and the Norwegian tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.[14]

Author Svend Grundtvig collected a variant from Vendsyssel, titled Hvidebjørn kongens søn ("Whitebear King's Son"): a king, father of four daughters, rides his horse through a meadow and begins to sink into the ground. A bear appears and offers his help, in exchange for the king's youngest daughter. Twice he refuses, but on the third time relents. The bear appears at court to get the girl, but the king tries to trick the bear by giving him servants' daughters. The bear eventually gets the princess and marries her. They live together and she gives birth to three children that the bear takes from her and hides elsewhere. The princess visits her family on the occasion on her sisters' weddings. After the third wedding, the princess decides to see who her husband really is, by lighting a lamp at night. The prince wakes and, feling betrayed, reveals he was enchanted and a maiden who could love him without seeing his true face for seven years could have broken the curse. The prince becomes a bear and takes the princess to his three sisters, who are taking care of their children and each gives the princess three golden objects (a golden medal, a golden thread and another golden object). The bear takes her to the foot of the Glass Mountain and leaves her there. A blacksmith fashions her a pair of iron shoes so she can climb the steep mountain. The princess uses the three golden objects to bribe the false bride for three nights with her husband.[15] The tale was republished in 1970 with its classification: AT 425A.[16]

Folktale collector Jens Kamp collected another Danish variant from Vendsyssel with the title Prinds Hvidbjørn ("Prince White-Bear"). In this tale, a king has three daughters, the youngest his favourite and his two elders haughty and proud. One day, the king enters a mist-covered forest, when a bear appears and promises to help him in exchange for his youngest daughter. The king refuses twice and continues his way, but on the third time, he accepts the offer. Some time later, the bear visits the king to get the third princess, but the man tricks and passes his two elders as the princess. The bear asks the girl a riddle to check the girl's identity and only the third princess answers it. The bear takes the princess to a splendid castle. They live as husband and wife and she gives birth to three children in the next years, two boys and a girl. However, the bear takes her children away from her. She laments over the fact that she cannot see her children, so at least she can see her family. The bear agrees to take her to her sister's wedding, but warns her to only listen to her father, not to her mother nor her sisters. The princess is told by her mother and sisters to light a candle at night to see his true face. She returns to the bear's castle and does just that; she sees a handsome man on her bed and inclines to kiss him, but three drops of candlewax fall on his chest. The bear awakes and tells his wife she should have waited for seven years for his curse to be broken, but now it is late. He becomes a bear and takes the princess to his sisters' castles, where their children are being cared for. Each of her sisters-in-law gives her a dress and a golden object: she gets from the first a golden dress and a spinning wheel, from the second a silver dress and a golden heel, and from the third a bronze dress and a golden thread-winder. The bear departs without her and arrives at the Glass Mountain. Meanwhile, the princess meets a blacksmith who fashions her a pair of metal shoes to climb the mountain. She does and arrives at a castle, where she finds work as a servant. Her husband is to be married to his stepmother's daughter, and the princess uses the dresses and golden objects to trade for three nights with her husband.[17]

Norway

In a Norwegian variant collected in Valdres with the title Kong Hvidevallbjørn ("King Whitevalbear"), a king loses his way in a dark forest when a polar bear appears and demands his youngest daughter as his bride. The king agrees at the moment and returns home. Some time later, the polar bear appears and wants the king to uphold his end of the bargain: for two days, the king deceives the polar bear with daughters other people. On the third day, the polar bear returns and fetches the girl. She climbs onto his back and they travel far to his castle. The polar bear reveals he was enchanted into that form by an ugly witch who wanted him to marry her daughter. He takes off his bearskin at night to sleep on their bed, and by morning wears the bearskin again. They live like this for three years: the princess gives birth to three children, that the bear takes from her and brings to one of his sisters. After three years, the princess wants to visit her family. The polar bear takes her to his parents-in-law and tells her he will sleep by another room, and that no one must bring any light to see him. The princess tells her mother about the bearskin. That night, the princess lights a lamp to see him more clearly, and three drops of wax fall on his body. The polar bear warns her she shouldn't have done that, since his curse would have been over had she waited some more time, but now he has to return and marry the "Gygerdatter" ("Gyger's daughter"). The prince turns back into a polar bear and takes the princess to visit his sisters and their children. The princess receives from her sisters-in-law three dresses, one bright "like the moon", the other "like the stars", and the third like "the sun". The princess takes her to a Glass Mountain and leaves her there by its foot, while he climbs the slope mountain. The princess cries, but a man takes pity on her and makes her a pair of metal shoes. She tries to climb the Glass Mountain twice and succeeds on the third. She reaches the Gygergaard ("The City of the Gygers") and finds that her husband, now human, is there. The princess works as the Gyger's servant, and must wash a black thing white and grind twelve barrels of malt. A man appears to her- her husband - and demands a kiss for his help. She refuses, but he helps her anyway. On the third day, the princess is sent to Hell to get a nuptial jewel for the Gyger's daughter. The man gives her directions to Hell, some warnings on how to treat the things she meets on the road, and advises her not to eat anything while there, get the jewels and escape. At the end of the tale, the princess uses the three dresses as bargaining chips to be with her husband during the three days of celebration. The princess wakes her husband on the third day and they concoct a plan to get rid of the Gyger and her daughter. The next day, the princess shall hold candles during the ceremony, suffering the pain of their burning on her hands until it consumes her whole body. However, as her husband and the Gyger's daughter enter the bedchambers, the prince asks his bride to trade places with the princess. Thus, the Gyger's daughter burns to death, the princess and her husband flee the castle, get their children and return to her parents.[18] The tale was compared to other Animal Bridegroom variants, including an Italian one by Stanislao Prato.[19]

Sweden

A Swedish variant was collected with the title Hvitebjørn i skogen går ("A Whitebear walks in the forest"), which also begins with tale type AaTh 621, "The Louseskin".[20]

In another Swedish tale titled Prinz Vilius ("Prince Vilius"), a king gets lost in the woods, when a bear appears to help him in exchange for the first thing that greets him when he returns home. Unfortunately for him, it is his daughter that greets him. The white bear. Vilius, comes to take the girl as his wife. The white bear becomes human at night, and remains a bear during the day. They have seven children together and one day the girl wants to visit her family. The girl goes to her father's house and her stepmother convinces her to spy on Vilius at night. She follows her instructions and light a candle to better see him. A drop of wax falls on his body and he wakes up with a startle. Vilius admonishes his wife that he must disappear to a place beyond the Earth and the Sun. The girl goes after him with their seven children, and stops by three old ladies' houses, the first the Mistress of Bears, the second the Mistress of Lions and the third the Mistress of Falcons. The third lady directs her to a castle where Vilius is living with a new wife named Frau Sonne. A falcon takes the girl to the castle. She takes out golden spinning instruments to bribe Frau Sonne for three nights with her husband.[21]

In media

The film The Polar Bear King (Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon) is based on this fairy tale.
Similar elements to this story appear in 2 episodes of The StoryTeller episodes "Hans My Hedgehog" which involve a princess marrying an enchanted man who removes his animal form at night and also in "The True Bride" where exchanges for a night with a missing prince are met with a sleeping potion prompting prisoners to inform the prince of the weeping of the True Bride each night.
Valemon is a character in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, and a portion of the comic is set in his kingdom.
Jessica Day George's novel Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow (based on East of the Sun and West of the Moon) references White-Bear-King-Valemon; when an enchanted bear requests the woodcutter's youngest daughter to live with a palace for one year, the woodcutter's wife recalls the story of King Valemon.[22]
The main illustration became, in black-and-white form, the logo of the publisher Norsk Folkeminnelag.

References

Asbjørnsen & Moe 1871, pp. 154–162
Dasent 1874, pp. 353–363
Asbjørnsen & Moe 1871, Norske Folkeventyr:Ny Samling, p.v, p.245
Asbjørnsen & Moe 1871, Ny Samling, p.245
Asbjørnsen & Moe 1852, NFE, pp.466-7
Heidi Anne Heiner, "Tales Similar to East of the Sun & West of the Moon"
"6 mystérieux contes que vous ne connaissiez pas". OEPDL (in French). Retrieved 2018-07-27.
Zeno. "Norwegen, Klara Stroebe: Nordische Volksmärchen, 29. Der weiße Bär König Valemon". www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2018-07-27.
Swahn, Jan Öjvind. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche. Lund, C.W.K. Gleerup. 1955. p. 228.
Bronfman, Judith. Chaucer's Clerk's Tale: The Griselda Story Received, Rewritten, Illustrated. Routledge, 2021 [1994]. p. 313. ISBN 9780367357443.
Storie di Amore e Psiche. A cura di Annamaria Zesi. Roma: L'Asino d'Oro Edizioni. 2010. pp. 220-221. ISBN 978-88-6443-052-2.
BETTRIDGE, WILLIAM EDWIN; Utley, Francis Lee. “New Light on the Origin of the Griselda Story”. In: Texas Studies in Literature and Language 13, no. 2 (1971): 167. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754145.
Winther, Matthias. Danske Folkeeventyr, samlede. (Gesammelte dänische Volksmärchen). Kjobehavn: 1823. pp. 20-25.
Moe, Jørgen. Samlede skrifter. Volume 2. Kristiania: forlagt af Alb. Cammermeyer, 1877. pp. 24-25.
Grundtvig, Svend. Gamle Danske Minder I Folkemunde. Ny samling, 1ste og 1det hefte. Kjøbenhavn: C. G. Iversen, 1856. pp. 35-45.
Grundtvig, Svend. Gamle Danske Minder I Folkemunde. Ny samling, 1ste og 1det hefte. Akademisk Forlag, 1970 [Kjøbenhavn: C. G. Iversen, 1856]. Annex.
Kamp, Jens. Danske Folkeminder, æventyr, Folkesagn, Gaader, Rim Og Folketro. Odense: R. Nielsen, 1877. pp. 294-302.
Bergh, Hallvard A. Ellestad. Nye Folke-eventyr Og Sagn Fra Valders. Christiania: J.W. Cappelen, 1879. pp. 1-20.
Nordisk tidskrift for filologi. Ny Raekke. Sjette bind. København: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag (F. Hegel & Sön). 1884. p. 52.
Harris, Joseph. The Ballad and Oral Literature. Harvard University Press, 1991. pp. 281-282. ISBN 9780674060456.
Schier, Kurt. Schwedische Volksmärchen. Diederichs, 1971. pp. 43-53. ISBN 978-3-424-00427-4.
George, Jessica Day. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.
"You, live in a palace?" Frida's eyes were moving from the bear to her youngest daughter, and she looked much more interested than frightened now. She licked her lips.
"So this is an enchanted bear? Like King Valdemon in the old legends?"

Bibliography

Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen; Moe, Jørgen, eds. (1871). "90.Hvidebjørn Kong Valemon". Norske folke-eventyr: ny samling. Christiania: Jackob Dybwad i Komm. pp. 154–162.
- Projekt Runeberg edition, Kvitebjørn kong Valemon, Kvitebjørn kong Valemon
Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen; Moe, Jørgen, eds. (1852). Norske folke-eventyr (2 ed.). Christiania: Johan Dahl. pp. 466–467. (variant)
Dasent, G. W. (tr.), ed. (1874). "King Valemon, the White Bear". Tales from the Fjeld: A Second Series of Popular Tales. Asbjørnsen&Moe. Chapman & Hall. pp. 353–363.
Erik Henning Edvardsen: Kvitebjørn kong Valemon 1. Gerhard August Schneider - arkitekten bak norske evnetyrillustrasjoner. Norsk Folkeminnelags skrifter nr. 155. Aschehoug. ISBN 82-03-19015-4. Oslo 2005.
Erik Henning Edvardsen: Kvitebjørn kong Valemon 2. Gerhard August Schneider - den illustrerte eventyrutgaven som aldri utkom. Norsk Folkeminnelags skrifter nr. 157. Aschehoug. ISBN 978-82-03-19197-8. Oslo 2007.