The Lindworm Prince

Tonight’s blogstonishing tale brings us Norway or Denmark, depending on who you ask, and into some very strange family drama. The story is familiar to many, there was a King and a Queen...but no prince or princess. This was deeply upsetting, as both wanted a child (and an heir). Then, Queen meets Old Hag, Old Hag grants wish, and the wish has a catastrophic outcome (of course).

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When the old Hag asked the Queen why she looked so sad, the Queen brushed her off and said it didn't matter because no one could fix it. But, then the woman said she might be able to...and that caught the Queen's attetion (despite the woman being a complete stranger...and how did she get on the castle grounds anyway?). She met the woman and recieved specific instructions: "Tonight, at sunset, take a little drinking-cup with two ears and put it bottom upwards on the ground in the north-west corner of your garden. Then go and lift it up tomorrow morning at sunrise, and you will discover two roses underneath it, one red and one white. If you eat the red rose, a little boy will be born to you and if you a white rose, a little girl will be sent. But whatever you do, you must not eat both the roses or you'll be sorry." The Queen tried to pay the woman with a golden ring, but the woman refused and reminded her to only eat one rose.

Guess how many roses the Queen ate?

She ate both roses.

Shortly thereafter, she became pregnant with twins and while the king way away she gave birth. One was a lovely baby boy…but the other was a Lindworm, which is similar to a serpent or medieval dragon. Of course, after birth she was terrified of the Lindworm and before she could do anything it wriggled out of her chambers and no one saw it again.

So, the royal family enjoyed the healthy baby prince and the King was overjoyed with his heir. The Queen never mentioned the Lindworm, and no one else seemed to have noticed it.

As the baby grew into a handsome prince, he was sent off to foreign kingdoms to find a suitable Queen. He finally found a beautiful, accomplished princess and they made their way back to the kingdom, but, at the crossroads on their way back to the kingdom, they were confronted by a gruesome Lindworm. And this wasn't just any Lindworm, it was huge and terrifying. He lay on the road, and demanded "A bride for me before a bride for you." And while the coach tried different routes along the way to out manuveur the lindworm failed. He finally made it back home, shared the tale with his family, and the Queen confirmed that the Lindworm was in fact the prince's brother.

So, the king wrote to nearby kingdoms that his son was seeking a bride. The first princess to arrive, was decided to be the lindworm's wife. She agreed not to see her future husband until they were at the altar. Of course, a horrifying wedding ensued but the deed was done and the Lindworm had a wife. Until the next morning, when it was discovered that his wife was nowhere to be fun. No, she didn't run away. She was eaten.

Even though she was eaten, he still had a wife so the prince made his way to search for another bride. But, once again, the Lindworm blocked the path and demanded a bride. The process repeated again, and we end up with another eaten bridge.

Frustrated, the King notes he has already made enemies of two kingdoms thanks to his Lindworm son and where exactly can he find another bride?

Not wanting to make another kingdom an enemy, the King traveled down an isolated road and ended up a cottage near the woods where he knew of a farmer that lived with his only daughter. The king asked for his daughter to marry the Lindworm and promised riches. While the man protested at first, the King would not give up and eventually handed over his daughter. When she learned of her fate, she taveled to the woods weeping and likely dreading her impending death. When she was walking in the woods, an old woman approached her. She asked what was wrong, and the gril shared her fate, but then the woman said she could help. 

She gave her these instructions: After the marriage, the girl was to ask for 10 snow-white shift nightgown to wear, then an entire tub full of lye water, a tub full of fresh milk, and as many whips as the servant boy can carry in his arms. Then, all of it would have to be brought to the bed chamber. The old woman tells the girl that the Lindworm will enter and ask to shed a shift, and the girl should only agree to it if her new husband agrees to slough a layer of his skin. When all of his skin is off, he must be distracted. When he's distracted, dip the whips in lye and whip him as many times as you can. Then, wash him in the fresh milk and, finally, and most terrifying, you must hold him in your arms for one moment.

Although this was an overwhelming amount of directions, the girl knew it was her only hope to survive the night. So, she agreed.

It was a horrible experience, and by the end, the Lindworm was a quivering mass of flesh. The moment she took him in her arms, she fell asleep.

The next morning, the King came to check on the new couple's room sure he would find yet another eaten bride. However, he saw the girl and beside her lay not the hideous Lindworm, but a Prince even more handsome than his son. He couldn't believe it and, without waking the couple, the King ftched the Queen and the entire castle rejoiced. The couple held another wedding, and the couple lived happily ever after.

This story is a very common one, with a dragon-twist. Stories of a horrific bridgeroom are common -- I mean, just look at beauty and the beast. This is just a slightly more lizard-like beast instead of, well, whatever the beast was (a bear? werewolf).

All good fairytales warn the reader the consequences of…something. In this one, it was the issues of gluttony and ignoring wise words.

The blog image is of 16th-century lindworm statue in Klagenfurt, Austria, featuring wings and limbs. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. 

Thanks to Tucker B for this blogstonishing suggestion!