Childe Rowland

Author: Joseph Jacobs

Time Period: 1851 CE–1900 CE

Country or Culture: England

Genre: Folktale

PLOT SUMMARY

Childe Rowland, Burd Ellen, and their two brothers play ball outside of a church. As they run back and forth, Childe Rowland kicks the ball so hard that it flies over the building and Burd Ellen goes racing off to fetch it. When their sister fails to return, the brothers go searching for her, but Burd Ellen is nowhere to be found.

Not knowing what to do, the eldest brother seeks advice from the warlock Merlin. The old man tells him that the sister must have run around the church “widdershins”—that is, in the opposite direction of the sun. If she did this, he explains, the king of Elfland would have been able to abduct her and hold her captive in the Dark Tower. Merlin then tells the eldest brother that it is possible to save Ellen, but only if the brother is able to follow very specific rules while in Elfland. The brother understands that he is risking his life but agrees to learn the rules and takes off in search of his sister.

Days pass, and when the eldest brother does not return, the middle brother likewise seeks the advice of Merlin. He is given the same instructions and disappears in search of his siblings, also failing to return.

When Childe Rowland decides that it is up to him to save all three siblings, his mother, the queen, at first refuses, scared of having no children left. Eventually, however, Childe Rowland convinces her and seeks out the advice of the warlock Merlin, who tells him that he must obey two very simple rules. First, he must chop off the head of anyone he meets on the way to save Burd Ellen; second, he must abstain from eating any food or drinking liquid while in Elfland. To help him with this, the queen gives Childe Rowland his father’s sword, giving it her blessing to ensure it will always strike true.

Childe Rowland then marches into the land of the fairies. There, he encounters three people—a horse-herd, a cowherd, and a hen-wife— chopping the heads off of all three after asking them for further directions. The hen-wife teaches him the spell to enter the Dark Tower, which he performs successfully.

In the twilight of the Dark Tower, Childe Rowland sees precious stones and ornate decorations hanging from the ceiling as his sister, Burd Ellen, combs her hair among the jewels. She tells him that the eldest and middle brothers had made it to the Dark Tower, but the king of Elfland cast a spell on them and they now lie in a deathlike sleep. Childe Rowland tells Burd Ellen that he is hungry from his journey, and while she wants to warn him not to eat, a spell makes her fetch him rich bread and milk without saying a word. Just as he is about to feast, however, he remembers Merlin’s advice and throws the food to the ground.

At that moment, the king of Elfland enters and threatens to kill Childe Rowland. The boy draws the sword that is enchanted with his mother’s blessing and battles the king, bringing him to his knees. Childe Rowland then demands that the king release him and his siblings, and after a few incantations are spoken, the four children are able to leave the Dark Tower, returning safely home once again.

SIGNIFICANCE

The version of “Childe Rowland” that remains the most popular today is as Joseph Jacobs told it in 1892. Earlier versions had been popular for centuries, with Scottish ballads of the fairy tale existing in oral histories and elements of the narrative inspiring playwright William Shakespeare. It was Jacobs, however, who compiled these variations together, providing a somewhat definitive narrative.

Jacobs also provided some commentary on the fairy tale. In his understanding, the roots of “Childe Rowland” reflect wars in prehistoric England. From the perspective of the queen’s children, the king of Elfland represented a foreign army who raided their land and stole a young woman to become a bride (in essence, a slave) in the Dark Tower. Jacobs further suggests that the fairy tale is rooted at the historical moment when popular paganism fell under the rising influence of Christianity, so that the fairies of Elfland represent the “threat” of paganism in the face of the new monotheistic religion.

Viewed through this lens, “Childe Rowland” is as much about the enduring power of the family as it is about the danger of foreign influences. The darkest elements of the narrative—the intention to make the young Burd Ellen a slave wife, for instance—are obscured by the inclusion of the mystical details, such as the magical nature of the Dark Tower and the superstitious disappearance that results from walking around a church “widdershins.” These supernatural elements both reference the pagan religions that Jacobs sources into the fairy tale while also making the story friendlier to children (even if the grotesque violence of beheadings remains). The elements also highlight the power of the family, masculinity, and Christianity; it is the mother’s blessing on the father’s sword that allows Childe Rowland to defeat the king of Elfland, for instance, and an improper engagement with a religious building (the widdershins walk) that initiates all the problems. When considered in historical context, these themes are reflected on an even more basic level, with the political violence and tribal warfare of prehistoric England making tight family bonds and a firm sense of local community necessary for small groups of people to survive.

In this sense, the character of Childe Rowland is ultimately one of great hope. The youngest child—the weakest and least experienced in the world—is able to defeat the powerful magic of the king of Elfland and save the future of his family. While the xenophobic fear of outsiders and different spiritual beliefs is rooted in the past, the hope that our loved ones will protect us remains today, and it is in that hope that “Childe Rowland” has continued to earn its audience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bily, Cynthia A. “Joseph Jacobs.” Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works (2007): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 10 May 2013.

“English Fairy Tales.” Literary World 21 (1890): 439. Print.

Jacobs, Joseph. “Childe Rowland.” English Fairy Tales. London: Nutt, 1890. 117–24. Print.

Shah, Idries. World Tales. London: Octagon , 1991. Print.

Tatar, Maria. Introduction. The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: Norton, 1999. ix–xviii. Print.