Hind Etin [Child 41]

DESCRIPTION: Lady Margaret is lured by a sound to Elmond's Wood, where (Akin/Etin) keeps her while she bears 7 sons. The eldest seeks to know why his mother is sad, then accomplishes (a reunion with her family, a pardon for his father, and) a churching for all.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1818 (Buchan/Moreira-TheGlenbuchatBallads); Danish versions are said to date to the sixteenth century
KEYWORDS: pregnancy captivity children escape
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (14 citations):
Child 41, "Hind Etin" (3 texts)
Bronson 41, "Hind Etin" (2 versions)
Bronson-SingingTraditionOfChildsPopularBallads 41, "Hind Etin" (2 versions: #1, #2)
Chambers-ScottishBallads, pp. 193-200, "Hynde Etin" (1 text)
Buchan/Moreira-TheGlenbuchatBallads, pp. 205-209, "Young Aikin" (1 text)
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #157, p. 1, "Young Aiken" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan2 331, "Young Aiken" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Leach-TheBalladBook, pp. 141-148, "Hind Etin" (2 text -- 1 from Danish)
Quiller-Couch-OxfordBookOfBallads 36, "Hynd Etin" (1 text)
Grigson-PenguinBookOfBallads 21, "Hind Etin" (1 text)
Buchan-ABookOfScottishBallads 28, "Hind Etin" (1 text)
Whitelaw-BookOfScottishBallads, pp. 125-127, "Young Aikin" (1 text)
Morgan-MedievalBallads-ChivalryRomanceAndEverydayLife, pp. 51-57, "Hind Etin" (1 text)
DT 41, HINDETIN*
Roud #33
NOTES [75 words]: The notes in Buchan/Moreira-TheGlenbuchatBallads, following Child, observe that the British versions of this ballad are far less supernatural than the Scandinavian equivalents. This makes it interesting to note that, although child calls the kidnapper "Etin," most of the handful of field collections call him "Aiken." Was Hind Etin originally thought of as an etin (troll)? And was he then naturalized? I doubt we can answer this with certainty. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
File: C041

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