European Fairy Tale Series

This is the first installment of a monthly series on

European fairy tales.
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 Table of Contents

Britains Teutonic Legacy 8

The Teutonic View of Fate 15

The Norns of Teutonic Mythology 18

The Three Heads of the Well 21

Bibliography and Further Reading 42

 Britains Teutonic Legacy

The Three Heads of the Well was found in

English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs and
published in 1890. This tale is especially
interesting because of its clear demonstration of a
vestigial memory of old Teutonic mytho-cultural
worldview.
Today, many people forget that Great
Britains primary cultural influence falls under the
Teutonic (Germanic) branch of the Indo-European
family. Both English and the Scots language (also
called Doric) descend from Old English, which is
the language of the original Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-
Saxon culture was the predominant cultural group
in both England and the Scottish Lowlands, the
Gaelic language being retained in the Highlands
(though both Gaelic and French loan words did
make their way into the Scots language).
There are two main reasons that this has
been forgotten today. In the post-World War
climate, where Germany was the enemy in both
wars, we begin to see the British distance
themselves from their own Germanic heritage.

8
Germanic Language Tree with languages spoken in Britain in Red.

9
 The second reason that applies most
specifically to the Scots is that anti-English
sentiment was (and still is) very strong among many
in Scotland, so the Celtic culture has been inflated
while Scotlands own Anglo-Saxon heritage has
been brushed under the rug.
But, the funny thing about folklore is that
cultural influences will be retained irrespective of
shifts in social attitudes and politics. So we see
Germanic myth turn up frequently the folk tradition
of both Lowland Scotland and England. This is
evidenced time and time again in Lowland Scots
folklore. For example, the Lowland Scottish
Brownie figure from folklore is a version of the
English Hob, the German Kobold, and
Scandinavian Tomten and Nisse. They are all
Germanic house elves. This figure does not feature
in the lore of the Gaelic Highlands.
Teutonic lore turns up in Lowland Scots lore
even more overtly. One common figure, which we
will discuss further in Volume IV of this series, is
the Queen of Elphame. The Scots word Elphame
is cognate to the Norse Alfheim. Both words
literally mean Elf Home. Elphame is often
translated as Fairy Land, however, it is significant
that its literal meaning alludes to elves specifically.

10
The Lowland Scottish Brownie is analogous to English,
Norse, and German figures, but is not found in
Highland Lore

11
 Elves come strictly from Germanic folklore
and mythology. Whereas the word fairy is
borrowed from the French, but fairy is often used
to denote the Celtic Sidhe. In time, the word came
to be conflated with all manner of folklore
supernatural figures.
In Lowland Scottish lore, the Queen of
Elphame often appears and interacts with humans.
This experience is actually recorded in the Scottish
witch trial records, wherein it is documented that
accused witches claimed that this figure took them
away from Middle Earth and transported them to
Elphame. If Middle Earth reminds you of Tolkiens
The Lord of the Rings, then you will probably be
aware that Tolkien borrowed the concept from
Germanic mythology.
Of course, when two cultures live side by
side and interact with one another, there is diffusion
and blending. And altercations with England over
the centuries knee-jerked the Lowland Scots into
claiming a Gaelic identity despite speaking an
Anglo-Saxon language themselves. But, it is
important to recognize these cultural inheritances.
The border region on either side of the Scots-
English border can be said to be its own distinctive
culture. And in the folk tradition, we see strong
Anglo-Saxon cultural inheritance appearing both
north and south of the Scottish border.

12
Map of respondents in the 2011 census who stated that
they can speak the Germanic Scots language. Map by
Wikimedia user SkateTier

13
 The reasoning for emphasizing the Anglo-
Saxon legacy in Lowland Scottish culture is
because it goes hand in hand with the English folk
tradition. Sometimes we see an even greater
influence of the Anglo-Saxon cultural influence
lingering on in the Lowland Scots tradition than we
do in the English canon of lore. While England,
especially in the south, became more cosmopolitan,
had greater interaction with continental Europe, and
began modernizing, Scotland remained largely
isolated and more rural which allowed old Anglo-
Saxon culture to linger on longer.
Unfortunately, 20th century politics have
rendered us with the inaccurate notion that Scotland
is unilaterally a Celtic culture. And that
misunderstanding sullies the impetus to look at
Scottish lore with a clear vision which allows us to
see the Anglo-Saxon heritage. But, if we can
understand the rich Teutonic footprint left upon
Lowland Scottish lore, then we can couple it with
English folklore to gain a firmer perspective on the
old Anglo-Saxon worldview that lingered on in the
British Isles.

Sign on the English-Scottish border,

photo by Callum Black
14
 The Teutonic View of Fate

The Anglo-Saxons held a mytho-

cosmological worldview very similar to the Norse
and continental Germans, their ethno-cultural close
cousins. In some cases the beliefs were essentially
identical, in other cases there were slight variations
or mythical figures unique to each group.
Because the ancient Anglo-Saxon
mythology largely did not survive intact, we tend to
look to the Norse tradition to understand the
worldview of Anglo-Saxon Britain. That said, the
influence of old Anglo-Saxon mytho-culture can be
found quite strongly in the folklore of England and
Lowland Scotland. Therefore, if we look toward
Norse mythology to gain a background on wider
Teutonic mythos, and then look again at English
and Scottish folklore, we suddenly can see the
Teutonic elements have been there right under our
noses all along, we simply lacked the eyes to see
them. So, by studying the Norse canon of lore and
then returning to British folklore we now have a
framework of understanding that allows us to better
understand the worldview of the Anglo-Saxons as it
continued to influence British culture for centuries.
The Three Heads of the Well is an English
fairy tale that presents an obvious reference to the

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Teutonic mythical figures called the Norns. The
Norns are analogous to the Greek Fates, however,

The Norns weaving Wyrd over an infants cradle, by

Johannes Gehrts

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the Teutonic worldview of fate and destiny differed
from the Greek version. While the Greeks believed
that fate was fixed in stone and unchangeable, the
Germanic view asserted that fate was malleable.
The Anglo-Saxon word for fate is called Wyrd
(pronounced the same as word), which is cognate
to Urr (Anglicized as Urd) in the Norse.
Envision Wyrd like a cosmic web and each
thread is made up by elements of your life. Some
threads are things that you have no control over,
such as where you were born, the socio-economic
status you were born into, and your family. Other
threads are formed by your own choices in life. So,
with determination, you have the ability to work at
re-weaving your web and thereby change your
Wyrd. The Norns are the mythical beings who
govern the realm of Wyrd and can assist your
journey.

The Three Witches in Orson Welles' 1948 film.

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 The Norns of Teutonic Mythology

The Norns are known from the Norse

tradition as three mythical women who lived at the
Well of Urd and spun the threads that weave the
fate of mortals. In Norse mythology, they are named
Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, which roughly translate
as Became, Becoming, and Will be. In other
words, the three figures stand for past, present, and
future.
However, the name Urd appears not only as
the name of one of the Norns, but it is also given to
the Well of Urd, where the Norns reside. It is
cognate for the Anglo-Saxon word, Wyrd. And,
there were cognates in the Old Germanic languages
in continental Europe as well.
Snorri Sturluson, the 12th century Icelandic
historian who preserved the Old Norse beliefs in
writing for us, mentioned that the Norns were said
to visit each newborn child to weave their fate.
Memories of these figures turn up frequently
in folklore and Early Modern literature, though
people without this background information are not
aware of it. Shakespeare mentions the weird
sisters in his play MacBeth, who affect fate in
the plot of that story. They are three witchy women
who predict the destiny of the characters. We see

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the Norns appear in Disneys Sleeping Beauty, as
three the magical fairy women who arrive to give
gifts of fate and destiny to the baby Aurora.

The Norns by Herman Heinrich

19
 Circling back to the weird sisters, it is
important to understand that weird is an
etymological evolution of wyrd. The word only
recently came to mean strange or unusual more
recently in English language development. When
Shakespeare used weird, it still held a meaning
that pertained to the mystical, supernatural, and to
fate.
In The Three Heads, the word weird is
used as a verb in the old fashioned meaning. The
heads of the well use it to mean wish or, in
other words, a verb that indicates direct control over
fate. In addition, the figures who are weirding
gifts of fate to our protagonist are three female
supernatural figures who are found living in a well.
It is amazing that such an overt memory of
ancient Teutonic pagan worldview was still alive in
the folk stories being told in late 19th century
England. This speaks volumes about concepts such
as Jungs cultural unconscious. Our heritage lives
on through us in ways that we are not even
consciously aware of. However, by studying our
ancient cultural roots, we can gain greater
understanding of our cultural inheritance, which in
turn gives us better understanding of ourselves.

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 The Three Heads of the Well

Long ago in the days of old, even before

King Arthur presided over his Knights of the Round
Table, in the eastern part of jolly old England
reigned a king who held court at Colchester.
At the height of his glorious reign, the
kings beloved queen contracted a grave illness and
died suddenly, leaving the bereft king alone with
their only child, a daughter of fifteen years. The
young princess was renown all through the land for
not only her stunning beauty, but also for her gentle
and kind spirit.
It came to pass that the king fell upon
difficult times and his treasury was near depleted.
His advisors told him of a rich noble woman who
also had just one only daughter, and she was a
widow. Though she was not pleasant to look upon,
in fact she was humpbacked with the nose of a
pelican bird, the king was blinded by the shine of
her pocketbook. He took the homely woman as his
wife and brought her and her daughter to live at the
palace. The new queens daughter had the
appearance of jaundice, with a yellow pallor to her
skin. Despite the princess best effort to welcome
her new step-mother and step-sister, the two were
filled with envy for the beautiful young girl, and
their hearts were full of malice.
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 It was not too long before the new queens
envy overtook her. She began to spread false
rumors about the princess and made sure that the
lies reached the ears of the king. The king was
loathe to believe slander of his daughter, but the
reports kept coming in. Eventually, he began to
believe that his daughter was as immoral and poorly
behaved as the rumors suggested.

Miranda by Sir Francis Dicksee

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 The princess, of course, caught wind of the
things being said about her and was aware that she
had fallen from the good grace of her father. This
became all too overwhelming for the young woman,
still mourning the loss of her dear mother. Strolling
in the garden one afternoon, she crossed paths with
her father. She opened her mouth to address him,
but her emotion overwhelmed her and she began to
cry. She begged his permission to leave the palace
and seek a new life in the wide world.
Believing his child to be a lost cause at this
point, the king consented to her request. He bade his
wife to give his daughter whatever provisions she
thought would be necessary for her journey. The
spiteful old queen gave the princess only an old
burlap sack containing just a loaf of brown bread, a
hunk of hard cheese, and one bottle of beer. Though
this was a pitiful dowry for the daughter of a king,
the princess took it with gratitude, and started upon
her journey.
The princess made the rounds through the
castle to say goodbye to all the servants who had
served her well and watched her grow since
infancy. The cook and kitchen maids broke into
sobs as they embraced the maiden they had watched
grow up. Even the stable master shed a tear to see
her go. But, go she did. She had to.

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Young Peasant Girl by Ivan Ivanovich

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 And so she left the castle, through the
courtyard. The peasants in the yard stopped and
bowed in respect as she walked by. As she walked
toward the gates, the guards lifted their arms in
salute. And none could believe that their beloved
princess was leaving the castle alone dressed only in
a peasants frock and equipped with a pathetic
burlap sack.
She walked, and she walked. Through
groves, and forests, over hills and down through
valleys, until at last she came upon a cave beside a
brook. Sitting on a large stone at the caves entrance
was an old hermit go greeted her. Good morrow to
you, fair maiden! And whither dost thou journey?
Good morning to you, sir, the maiden
replied, I travel through the world alone to seek my
fortune, whatever it may be.
What dost thou carry in thine burlap sack
and bottle? said the old man.
In my bag I carry provisions; bread and
cheese, and my bottle holds a small bit of beer.
Have you breakfasted today? Would you like to
share this meal with me? she asked him.
Why, it happens that I am famished! the
hermit exclaimed. The princess handed over her
sack and bottle and bid him to eat his fill. With all
of mine heart, I thank thee! cried the old fellow.

25
Juliette and the Friar by Sir Francis Dicksee

26
 After he had eaten and returned the
remainder to her, the old man said, Dear maiden,
as thou sojourn on, thou will come upon a thick and
thorny hedge which is unpassable. Here, take thee
this wand in thine hand. Strike the hedge thrice and
speak aloud pray, hedge, let me pass, and it will
part and let thee through. A ways further, thou wilt
come to a well. Within the well dwell three golden
heads which will arise from the water and speak to
thee. Whatever they shall ask of thee, do it.
The princess took the hermits advice to
heart, thanked him for his gift, and set off down the
path. She soon found the hedge, just as he said, and
found that it was indeed unpassable. The princess
lifted the wand and tapped the hedge firmly three
times saying pray, hedge, let me pass, with each
strike. Just as the kindly old man had predicted, the
hedge parted and let her pass through.
And so she walked, and she walked. And
then she came to the well. Weary from her travels,
the princess sat down beside the well to rest her
tired feet. But, no sooner had she sat when a shining
golden head rose up through the water! It was the
beautiful face of a woman that glittered like gold.
The princess was mesmerized by this sight. And
then the head began to sing:

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The Three Heads of the Well by Arthur Rackham

28
 'Wash me and comb me,
And lay me down softly.
And lay me on a bank to dry,
That I may look pretty,
When somebody passes by.'
The princess did not hesitate. She reached
down and ran her hands through the hair that shone
like the sun as it waved through the water. She
picked out the leaves, and the burrs, and the twigs
that had gotten entangled therein. Gently, she lifted
the delicate golden head from the water and cradled
it lovingly in her own lap. She pulled her own silver
comb from her pocket, the only treasure she was
able to take with her from the castle, and carefully
combed out the snarls until the hair was soft and
neat. The princess handled the head with care and
softly laid it down to dry upon the primrose bank
beside them.
No sooner had she done this when a second
and then a third head appeared, each singing the
same song as the first. And so, the princess did the
same for each with as much tenderness as she did
for the first. By now, she was famished as well as
tired, so she sat down again and pulled out her
provisions to have her supper.
As she ate beside the well, the three heads,
now sitting together on the primrose bank, said to
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each other What shall we weird for this damsel
who has treated us with such kindness?
The first head said, I weird her such beauty
that she will charm every man who lays his eyes
upon her.
The second head said, I weird her a voice
so sweet that her song exceeds even the
nightingales.
And, the third head said, My gift will be
even greater. I will weird her to be so fortunate that
she shall become queen to the greatest prince in all
the land.
When the princess had finished her meal, the
heads had been dried and warmed by the sun and
were ready to be placed back into their well. As
sweetly and tenderly as a mother, the maiden
carefully picked them up one by one and placed
them gently back in their watery home. With a
sincere goodbye, the princess picked up her burlap
sack and continued on her way.
And so, she walked and she walked until she
came to a woodland wherein she saw a king hunting
with his noble entourage. The princess tried to
quietly pass unseen, but the king spotted her from
afar and was lured by a strong curiosity. The king
turned his horse in her direction and approached
her. Immediately struck by her beauty, the likes of
which he had never seen on any other woman, and
30
lulled into devotion by the lilting song of her voice,
the king asked her to marry him on the spot. The
princess hesitated. But, she had endured so much
heartache in her short life, and was ever so weary
from her wanderings. She looked into the eyes of
this king and saw that he was sincere and that he
loved her truly and would treat her well. And so, the
maiden consented to marry this king whom she had
only just met.

Illustration by Gustaf Tenggren

31
 The king swelled with happiness at her
consent and brought her home to his castle, where
they were married the very next day. When the king
discovered that his new bride was none other than
the daughter of the king of Colchester, he ordered
that carriages and retinue be prepared so that he
may pay his respects to his new father-in-law.
The carriage that held himself and his new
queen was plated in gold and bedecked with the
most precious gems. So, when they approached the
castle in Colchester, the old king was astonished by
the sight of their entourage.
When the old king realized that this glorious
young queen was his own daughter, he was
astonished! She and the young king told the story of
her journeys and how they came to meet to her
father and his court.
The entire castle was a buzz with the warm
feeling of joy for their beloved princess good
fortune. That is, all except for the ugly old queen
and her hideous club-footed daughter, who were
seething with jealousy. Nevertheless, the whole
castle rejoiced with a great feast and dancing that
continued for several days.
When the festivities ended, the old king
gifted his daughter with the dowry befitting of her
status, and she and her husband returned to their
own home.

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Illustration by Edmund Dulac

33
 The miserable hump-backed princess saw
that her step-sister had come into such good luck in
her travels, that she had a mind to do the same for
herself. So, she told her mother, the old queen, who
agreed that she should also try her luck on the road.
The old woman, who had been so stingy to her step-
daughter, gave quite different provisions to her own
daughter. The wicked and nasty princess was
furnished with gorgeous gowns and robes, with rich
food of every delicious sort, and instead of beer, she
received fine wine.
And so, the wicked princess started out on
her journey and followed the same road her step-
sister had taken. Eventually, she also came upon the
very same hermit who had assisted the good
princess. And the old man asked her, Young lady,
wherefore dost thou travel?
Offended that such a low peasant would
address her, she retorted, That is none of your
business!
The old man tried again. Then, what have
thou in thine bag and bottle?
Again she dismissed him, Very good things
that are for me and no one else.
But, he was very hungry and so he asked,
Please wouldst thou share with a poor old man?

34
 Annoyed now, the wicked princess replied,
I wouldnt share a crumb with you unless you
would choke on it.
The old hermit, who had by now given her
several opportunities to change her tune, glared at
her with an intensity that sent a shiver down her
spine. Coldly and severely he said, May evil
fortune be thy companion on thy journey. And
then he turned his back and walked into his cave.
That might make most people stop to
reconsider, but not this wicked, wicked princess.
Without a thought in her selfish head, she continued
on her journey. Eventually, she came upon the very
same hedge that the good princess had so easily
passed through. It was still set open when she
viewed it from afar, so she could see that the road
passed through it.
But, she thought her eyes were playing
tricks on her, for the hedge seemed move closer and
closer with each step she took, until there was but a
small opening when she stood before it. The
monstrous princess thought of the riches that her
step-sister had received and was determined to find
the same.
So, she forced her way through the tiny gap.
But, the hedge continued to close as she walked
between it and its thorns tore at her flesh as she

35
passed through. Her skin was bleeding and bruised,
but she thought of gold and riches and marched on.
Eventually she came to the very same well
that held the three golden heads. Thinking to use the
well water to wash herself, as she was now coated
in dried blood and thorns, she sat down beside the
well. Just as before, one of the heads rose to the
surface and began to sing Wash me, comb me, and
lay me down softly
But, before she could finish her song, the
rude and cruel princess struck the head with her
wine bottle and shouted Hows that for a
washing?! The second and third heads arose and
attempted to sing her their song, but she struck them
with the bottle as well.

Illustration by John D. Batten

36
 As before, the wicked girl had been given
every chance to change her behavior, but she had
only doubled down. And so, the three heads
discussed together what kind of fortune should
befall her for her cruel treatment.
The first head said, I weird her to be
stricken by leprosy on her face!
The second head said, I weird her voice to
become as harsh as a crows call!
And, the third head said, My gift will be
even greater! I weird that this spoiled princess will
marry only a low, common, and poor country
cobbler!

Illustration by John D. Batten

37
 Oblivious, the selfish girl went on her way.
On and on she went until she came to a village. It
was market day and so the town square was bustling
with people. They all stopped to stare at her as she
passed through, aghast at her leprosy riddled face
and screechy squawk of a voice. Every single
person shunned her, some even ran away, and
children screamed in fear. The princess felt so low
for the first time in her life. She thought that she
might break down and die on the spot.
As she stood alone in the middle of the
square, a kindly cobbler approached her. He had
recently repaired the shoes of a poor old fellow who
had no money to pay him and had thus given him a
medicinal ointment known to cure leprosy and a
bottle of magical elixir to cure all physical
afflictions, including a harsh voice, in return for his
work. The cobbler, very poor himself but rich in
the generosity of his heart, took pity on the
disfigured girl standing all alone. He felt compelled
to help her. And so, he approached her and asked
who she might be. The miserable princess
answered, Though you may not believe it to look
at me, I am the king of Colchesters step-daughter.
And the cobbler replied, My dear, I can
cure your afflictions. If I help you, will you in
return take me for a husband?
By now, all pride and haughty attitude had
been driven from the young woman, and she was
38
desperate for his help. Yes, she exclaimed, with
all my heart, yes I will marry you if you can help
me!
And so, the cobbler took from his sack the
ointment and elixir, bade her take a swig of the
liquid, and then he daubed her face with ointment.
Come with me to my home, lady, for this treatment
will take several weeks. Skeptical, but seeing no
other alternative, the desperate princess said that she
would. Immediately she could hear that her own
voice was softer than before, and so she knew that
the cobbler was genuine in his promise.
In a few weeks time, just as promised, the
poor princess was made well again. Not only had
her leprosy healed and her voice become sweet, but
her humped back and clubbed foot were cured. And
so, she and the cobbler were wed and they set out to
journey to Colchester so that she may introduce her
husband to her mother and step-father and share the
story of her good fortune.
Well, the detestable and wretched old queen
had no good in her heart at all. She could not see
that her daughter had found a great treasure in this
poor cobbler. And, she cared not a jot that this
lowly peasant had cured her daughter when no one
else could, that he loved her, and treated her very
well. All that she saw was his lowly origins and that
her daughter had not married for wealth.

39
Peasant couple by Luigi Bechi

40
 Filled with shame for what her daughter had
become, the wicked old queen flew into a
downward spiral until she lost the will to live and
hanged herself in her bedchamber.
When the shock of the event had passed, the
king found that he felt free again, as if a millstone
had been removed from his neck. For, his second
wife had brought only negativity into his life. He
was happy that the castle would be free of the dark
shadow that her presence had cast upon it. Though,
he was a good man, and he was pleased to see that
his step-daughter had been made well and was
happy. He gave her dowry of one hundred pounds
to the cobbler and sent them on their way.
The cobbler left with his wife, no longer a
princess, but finally a kind woman. They returned to
his home in the far away village. Together the
cobbler and his wife lived together for many years;
he mending shoes, with his wife happily spinning
thread for him.

THE END

41
Bibliography and Further Reading:

Bates, Brian. The Real Middle Earth. Oxford:

Sidgwick& Jackson, 2002.
Briggs, Katharine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies:
Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other
Supernatural Creatures. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1976.
Henderson, Lizanne and Edward J. Cowan. Scottish
Fairy Belief. Eastbourne, UK: CPI Antony
Rowe, 2011.
Jacobs, J. English Fairy Tales. London: D. Nutt,
1980.
Lindow, John. Norse Mythology. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2001.
Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and
Goblins: An Enclyclopedia. New York: W.
W. Norton & Co, Inc., 1996.
Simpson, Jacqueline. European Mythology.
London: The Hamlyn Publishing Group,
1987.
Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits.
Eastbourne, UK: Sussex Academic Press,
2005.

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 About the Author:

Carolyn Emerick writes about

the history, mythology, and folk
belief of Northwestern Europe.
She has a bachelors degree in
English literature, and possesses
a lifelong learning and love of
European cultural heritage.

Learn more at:

www.CarolynEmerick.com
Subscribe for $1 at:
www.Patreon.com/CarolynEmerick
Follow on Facebook at
www.Facebook.com/CarolynEmerick.writer

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