Kemp Owyne

"Kemp Owyne"or"Kempion"(Roud3912,Child34) is a traditional English-language folk ballad.

KempionfromThe Book of British ballads(1842)

Synopsis

The heroine isturnedinto aworm(dragon), usually by herstepmother,who curses her to remain so until the king's son comes to kiss her three times. When he arrives, she offers him a belt, a ring, and a sword to kiss her, promising the things would magically protect him; the third time, she turns back into a woman. In some variants, he asks who enchanted her, awerewolformermaid;she says it was her stepmother and curses her into a monstrous creature, permanently.

Variants

The hero of the story appears to beYwain,from Arthurian legend. It is not clear how he came to be attached to this story, although many other Arthurian knights appear in other ballads with as little connection to their roles in the Arthurian legend, for instanceSir Lionel,who appears in a ballad of the same name.

Joseph Jacobshas suggested that "The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh"(which he collected for hisEnglish Fairy Taleswith touches from the ballad of "Kempion" ) is a localised version of the ballad of "Kemp Owyne",itself possibly a version of theIcelandic saga of Áslól and Hjálmtèr.

In the variant collected byFrancis James Child,the three magical items all had the same property; he believed that originally, each one had a unique property, but these were lost.

"Dove Isabeau" (1989), written byJane Yolenand illustrated byDennis Nolan,shifts the title character to the transformed heroine but retains the narrative of the ballad, with the addition of a pet cat inhabited by the spirit of Isabeau's dead mother, who assists the hero in his rescue.Brian Petersincluded a recording titled "Kemp Owyne" on his albumSharper Than the Thorn.Frankie Armstrongincluded a recording titled "Kemp Owen" on her albumThe Garden of Love.Fay Hieldincludes a recording titled "Kemp Owen" on her albumLooking Glass.Bryony Griffithsings "Kemp Owen" on her 2014 debut solo albumNightshade.

This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included inBallads Weird and Wonderful(1912) and illustrated byVernon Hill.

Scandinavian ballads

Child notes similarities with severalScandinavianballads: "Jomfruen i ormeham"(DgF59,TSBA 28 – maid transformed into snake); "Jomfruen i linden"(DgF 66,SMB12,NMB15, TSB A 30 – maid transformed into lime tree); "Trolden og bondens hustru"(DgF 52, TSB A 14 – knight transformed into troll); and"Lindormen"(DgF 65, SMB 11, NMB 14, TSB A 29 – prince transformed into serpent (alindworm)).

Translations

• (Modern English translation)Bodenhemier, Lou (7 July 2020)."Child Ballad 34A, Kemp Owyne"(PDF).Medieval Literature in Translation.Retrieved2 August2020.

See also

• List of the Child Ballads
• The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea
• Loathly lady

External links

• Gene Wolfe's use of the ballad
• The Laidley Worm