Tam Lin is the hero of a Borders' legend about fairies and mortal men. While this ballad is unique to Scotland, the motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe in folktales.^[1] “Heroine” redirects here. ... Scottish Borders (often referred to locally as The Borders or The Borderland) is one of 35 local government unitary council areas of Scotland. ... For other uses, see Legendary (disambiguation). ... by Sophie Anderson For other uses, see Fairy (disambiguation). ... Illustration by Arthur Rackham of the ballad The Twa Corbies A ballad is a story, usually a narrative or poem, in a song. ... This article is about the country. ... Tsarevna Frog by Viktor Vasnetsov: a frog metamorphoses into a princess Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular ethnic population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture. ...

Tam is the Scots pet-form of Thomas; one of several "Thomases" in myth, such as True Thomas also known as Thomas the Rhymer. Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ... A hypocoristic (or hypocorism) is a lesser form of the given name used in more intimate situations, as a term of endearment, a pet name. ... Thomas was not a Biblical given name, but originated from the Aramaic designation תום or Tôm. ... Look up Myth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Thomas the Rhymer (also Thomas Rhymer or Thomas Rymer) is the better-known name of Thomas Learmonth of Erceldoune, a 13th century Scottish laird and reputed soothsayer. ...

Synopsis

Most variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collected either a possession, or the virginity of any maidens who passed through the forest of Carterhaugh. A young maiden, usually called Janet or Margaret, came to Carterhaugh and plucked two roses, whereupon Tam appeared and asked why she was in Carterhaugh without his command and had taken what was his. She stated that she owned Carterhaugh, as her father had given it to her. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carterhaugh is a wood near Selkirk in the border region of Scotland[1]. This real location is the fictional setting for the meeting between Tam Lin and Janet (sometimes Margaret) in the ballad Tam Lin. ...

In most variants, she then went home, and discovered she was pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When an old knight taxed her with it, she announced that she would not declare him her baby's father, that her lover was an elf and that she loved him. She returned to Carterhaugh; in some variants, her brother had told her that a herb growing there would induce an abortion. In all, she picked something, whether the herb or the same roses as when they first meet. Tam reappeared, enraged and forbidding her to harm the child. The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... A small forest elf (älva) rescuing an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a creature of Germanic mythology which still survives in northern European folklore. ...

She asked him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance, or in some variants, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her seduction. He revealed that he was a mortal man, who, after falling from his horse, was rescued and captured by the Queen of the Fairies. Every seven years the fairies paid a tithe to Hell (Teind) of one of their people, and Tam feared he would become that tithe on that night (Hallowe'en). He was to ride as part of a company of knights, and Janet would recognise him by the white horse upon which he was riding. He warned her that, when she caught him, the fairies would attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus), but that he would do her no harm, and when he was finally turned into a burning coal she was to throw him into a well, whereupon he would reappear as a naked man and she should hide him. Janet did as she was asked, and won her knight. The Queen of the Fairies was not best pleased, but acknowledged her claim. A tithe (from Old English teogoþa tenth) is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Jewish or Christian religious organization. ... “The Inferno” redirects here. ... Teind is the Scottish term for tithe. ... Halloween, or Halloween, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children, who, in a tradition commonly known as trick-or-treating, dress in costumes and go door-to-door to collect sweets, fruit, and other gifts. ... Tsarevna Frog by Viktor Vasnetsov: a frog metamorphoses into a princess Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. ... This article is about Proteus in Greek mythology. ...

Motifs

Child took the threat to take out Tam Lin's eyes as a common folklore precaution against mortals who could see fairies, in the tales of fairy ointment. Joseph Jacobs interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faerie would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.^[2] Scottish folklore is the myths and legends historically told by the people of Scotland. ... Fairy Ointment or The Fairy Nurse is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales. ... Joseph Jacobs (1854, Australia - 1916) was a British literary historian. ...

In some variants, "Hind Etin" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and heroine.^[3] Hind Etin (Roud 33, Child 41) is a folk ballad existing in several variants. ...

Versions

There have been several interpretations of the Tam Lin story:

• Francis James Child collected fourteen variants in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,^[4] but the summary of Child Ballad 39A is considered to be the earliest^{[citation needed]}
• Joseph Jacobs included a variant, "Tamlane", in More English Fairy Tales.^[5]

Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 - September 11, 1896), was an American scholar and educationist, and collector of what came to be known as the Child Ballads. ... The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child. ... Joseph Jacobs (1854, Australia - 1916) was a British literary historian. ...

Modern retellings

Prose

• Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
• Tithe by Holly Black
• "My Kingdom" by Hannah Wolf Bowen, Abyss & Apex, Winter 2004
• Freedom & Necessity by Steve Brust and Emma Bull
• War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
• Tam Lin by Susan Cooper
• Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
• Wild Robin written and illustrated by Susan Jeffers (children's picture book)
• Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
• The Hawthorn Tree by Patrick Little (gender role variation)
• Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
• An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
• The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
• The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
• Summer's Lease by Eluki bes Shahar (Rosemary Edghill)
• "Cotillion" by Delia Sherman, in Firebirds, edited by Sharyn November
• Tam Lin in the graphic novel series Ballads and Sagas edited by Charles Vess
• Tam Lin: An Old Ballad by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak
• The Song Killer Saga: Book 3--Strum Again by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Hammered by Elizabeth Bear. ... Holly Black (born 1971) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles series of childrens fantasy books (illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi), Valiant : A Modern Tale of Faerie, and Tithe : A Modern Faerie Tale. ... Steven Brust in 2004 at Minicon 39 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Emma Bull (born 3rd January 1954) is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. ... A fantasy novel by Emma Bull, War for the Oaks (1987) is the story of Eddi McCandry, a rock musician who finds herself unwillingly pulled into the supernatural faerie conflict between good and evil. ... Emma Bull (born 3rd January 1954) is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. ... Susan Mary Cooper (born May 23, 1935) in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England is a British author. ... Tam Lin is a 1991 contemporary fantasy novel by U.S. author Pamela Dean based on the traditional Scottish border ballad Tam Lin. ... Pamela Dean (Pamela Dean Dyer-Bennet) is a fantasy author whose most notable book is Tam Lin, based on the Child Ballad of the same name, in which the Scottish fairy story is set on a midwestern college campus loosely based on Carleton College in Minnesota. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Diana Wynne Jones (born London August 16, 1934) is a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction. ... Patricia A. McKillip (February 29, 1948—) is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels. ... Carolyn Parkhurst is an American author who has published two books. ... The Perilous Gard is a novel written in 1971 by Elizabeth Marie Pope. ... Elizabeth Marie Pope (1917-1992) was an author specializing in Elizabethan England and the works of Milton and Shakespeare. ... eluki bes shahar (1956) is a notable American writer and editor of, primarily, science fiction and fantasy. ... Delia Sherman (born Tokyo, Japan) is an award-winning fantasy writer and editor. ... Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction is an award-winning[1] collection of short stories for young adults written by authors associated with Firebird Books, released on that imprint in 2003. ... Sharyn November (born 1960) is an American editor of books for children and teenagers. ... Charles Vess (born 1951) is an American illustrator. ... Jane Yolens Wizards Hall Jane Yolen (born February 11, 1939 in New York City) is an American author, and editor of almost 300 books. ... Elizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947, and lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington, in a log cabin filled with brilliant colors, beads and cats. ...

Theatre

• Tam Lin by N. G. McClernan

Music

• Tam Lin (song) by Pyewackett on The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Steeleye Span on Tonight's the Night, Live! LP
• Tam Lin (LP) by Frankie Armstrong, Brian Pearson, Blowzabella and Jon Gillaspie
• Tam Lin (song) by Fairport Convention on Liege & Lief LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Current 93 on SixSixSix: SickSickSick compilation LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Mediaeval Baebes on Mirabilis LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Broadside Electric on Amplificata LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Outgrabe on Love & Death LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Bob Hay and & Jolly Beggars on Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns LP
• Young Tambling (song) by Anne Briggs on The Time Has Come LP
• The Tale of Tam Lin (Song) by Bill Jones on Panchpuran LP
• Tamlin (LP) by Tamlin[1], folk-rock band from Ukraine
• Tam Lin (band)[2], romantic-folk band from Russia
• Tamlin (song) by Tamlin[3] on Dreams on the Shore LP
• Tam Lin (song) by Tempest (band) on Serrated Edge cassette (1992)

Tam Lin is also the name of an Irish reel. Steeleye Span are a British folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. ... Frankie Armstrong (born January 13, 1941 in Workington, Cumbria, England) is a singer and voice teacher. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In between recording and releasing Unhalfbricking, tragedy struck. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Mediaeval Baebes is an English ensemble of female musicians founded by Miranda Sex Garden member Katharine Blake in the 1990s, featuring some of her MSG cohorts as well as other friends who share her love of medieval music. ... Broadside Electric are a Philadelphia-area folk-rock (self-described as Folk Music with Teeth) band. ... Anne Briggs 1973 album Sing a Song For You Anne Patricia Briggs (born 1944), known as Anne Briggs, is an English folk singer. ... Bill Jones William Leon Jones (born December 20, 1949) is a U.S. politician who served as the 27th Secretary of State of California Born in Coalinga, California, Jones earned his bachelors degree in agribusiness and plant sciences from California State University, Fresno in 1971. ... Tempest is a folk Rock Band based out of San Francisco, CA. They focus mostly on playing modernized, almost metal versions of folk songs and traditional ballads. ... For other uses, see Reel (disambiguation). ...

Film

• Tam Lin (1970) directed by Roddy McDowall, and starring Ava Gardner.

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (September 17, 1928 – October 3, 1998) was a British actor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Other

• Tam-Lin, a Closet drama written by Elaine Lee and illustrated by Charles Vess, in The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Vess's collection of adaptations of traditional songs, mostly into comics form.
• In Carolyn Parkhurst's novel The Dogs of Babel, a section of Tam Lin plays a pivotal role in the story. In it the narrator, Paul Iverson, discovers that his recently deceased wife left an encrypted message to him in their bookshelf, quoting Tam Lin.
• In the Vertigo comic book, Fables, Tam Lin died in the defense of the last stronghold of the Fables against the forces of the Adversary. He is claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries, who had a reputation of a scoundrel, but gave up his chance of freedom to his page.
• In the Vertigo comic book series The Books of Magic, The Names of Magic and The Books of Faerie, Tamlin is the father of the protagonist Timothy Hunter, potentially the greatest sorcerer in the world. In The Books of Faerie: The Widow's Tale, the story of Tamlin's romance with Queen Titania of Faerie is revealed.

A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. ... Elaine Lee is an American actor, playwright, comic book colorist and comic book writer. ... Charles Vess (born 1951) is an American illustrator. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... Carolyn Parkhurst is an American author who has published two books. ... The Dogs of Babel (also known as Loreleis Secret in the UK) is the debut novel of Carolyn Parkhurst. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... Fables is a Vertigo comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham. ... Cover for the Italian edition of the series. ...

Trivia

Tam Lin is also the name of a New York City-based singer-songwriter whose name is taken from this ballad.

Another Child ballad, Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane has no connection with this ballad except for the similarity of the heroes' names. The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child. ... Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane is Child ballad number 28. ...

References

Joseph Jacobs (1854, Australia - 1916) was a British literary historian. ... Joseph Jacobs (1854, Australia - 1916) was a British literary historian. ...

See also

• Gil Brenton
• The Sprig of Rosemary

Gil Brenton is Child ballad 5 existing in several variants. ... The Sprig of Rosemary is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros in Cuentos Populars Catalans. ...

External links

• A website devoted to Tam Lin
• An Earthly Knight a novel written by Janet McNaughton based on Tam Lin and Lady Isabel and The Elf Knight
• Variant by Burns circa 1792
• A website for the play Tam Lin
• Tam Lin, a New York City-based singer-songwriter whose name is taken from the Scottish ballad
• A web page about Patricia McKillip's "Winter Rose"
• Rosemary Edghill/Eluki bes Shahar's unabriged telling of "Summer's Lease"
• A painting of Tam Lin by Kentucky artist Daniel Dutton