(Illustration “Sainte-Odile” by François Baumann, 1857) (Originally posted on Patreon, February 2023). In complete contrast with the last post, this “redemption” story leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve put off translating this folktale for years for various reasons, but the emphasis on the father’s part of Odile’s story is one of them. YetContinue reading “Saint Odile, Bride of Alsace”
Tag Archives: french folktales
The Ankou of Brittany
(Originally posted on Patreon and Twitter, September through October, 2021). The following is a translation of the article “L’Ankou, l’ouvrier de la mort” serialized on Twitter: “In Brittany, Death is personified by a fearsome being called the Ankou. The Ankou isn’t exactly ‘Death itself’ but a servant of Death (oberour ar marv) that labors forContinue reading “The Ankou of Brittany”
Some Dragon-lore of Alsace
The following paragraphs are translated from Revue d’Alsace, 1851. They were originally published on Patreon in March 2021. The serpents that can be seen, sometimes, at night on the banks of the river Mossig in the Kronthal valley, and shine with a phosphorescent glow, are also specters from hell. The devil also appears in theContinue reading “Some Dragon-lore of Alsace”
“The Bride of the Dead,” Alsatian folktale
(Originally posted on Patreon in October 2020). “La fiancée du mort,” collected by Anatole Le Braz in La légende de la mort chez les Bretons Amoricains, 1902. In Bégard, the title of “handsomest peasant’s son that ever lived” fell to René Pennek, son of Ervoann, and the “prettiest girl in ten leagues around” was DunvelContinue reading ““The Bride of the Dead,” Alsatian folktale”
A Sunken City of Ys
(I found a book about Death legends in Brittany, and I couldn’t resist. Then I encountered a chapter all about a sunken city I had never heard of…and I just had to explore it. Come with me on this trip to the sunken City of Is.) One night, some sailors from Douarnenez were moored inContinue reading “A Sunken City of Ys”
“The Wondrous Scarab,” an Alsatian folktale
Strangely enough, I’ve encountered many Alsatian folktales about scarab beetles. I say strange, because when I think of scarab beetles I immediately picture Ancient Egypt, but here we are instead in the liminal forests between France and Germany, encountering many forms of wondrous scarabs1. This particular folktale is pulled from the collection Révue des traditionsContinue reading ““The Wondrous Scarab,” an Alsatian folktale”
“The Enchanted Armies of Ochsenfeld,” an Alsatian folktale
(Originally posted February 2018) I translated this particular version of the tale from Récits historiques et légendaires d’Alsace, collected by Robert Wolf. 1922. Not far from Cernay lies a great, desolate plain called the Ochsenfeld1 cattlefield. There, come evening, a faint clatter of weapons can often be heard. It is here that the armies of the infamous sons ofContinue reading ““The Enchanted Armies of Ochsenfeld,” an Alsatian folktale”
“Tales of Christmas Horror from Illzach, France”
‘Twas the Wednesday before Christmas…. (Originally posted to Patreon as a Christmas special for my patrons, 2018) From Illzach: The Beast of the Wednesday Before Christmas (oral tradition, recorded in the Revue des traditions populaires, 1901) This phantom animal is the size of a year-old calf; its eyes glow like lightning and are as bigContinue reading ““Tales of Christmas Horror from Illzach, France””
“The Silver Rose,” an Alsatian folktale
(Originally posted in the Folktales’ section of the little translator website, June 30, 2016) I translated this particular French version of the tale from the Castles of France website, and this version has been frequently posted in other folktale centers around the Internet. Other versions were collected by or referenced to Auguste Stoeber, either inContinue reading ““The Silver Rose,” an Alsatian folktale”
“The Cursed Bridge of the Faeries Over the Vologne River (Vosges Mountains)”
(Originally posted December 2014) Translated from “Maudit Pont des Fées enjambant la Vologne (Vosges),” an article that was originally published in Le Pays lorrain in 1908, then reprinted online in La France pittoresque in October 2013. A Vosgian1 legend states that a well-formed hunter from Gérardmer, who had been promised a glorious destiny so longContinue reading ““The Cursed Bridge of the Faeries Over the Vologne River (Vosges Mountains)””
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