“Hoydel.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 183.
Tale Summary
There was once a carpenter named Hoydel, who turned into a thief and a murderer. Every time he killed someone, he put a notch on his walking stick, and before long there were so many that he had room only for three more. One day he met a priest, and gave confession before killing him, and then also killed someone else. With one notch left to make, he met another priest living as a hermit, and asked him also to hear his confession. Hoydel said that if he refused to absolve him he would kill him, cut another notch on his stick, and then kill himself. The hermit asked the murderer if he still had the staff he had used to kill his first victim. He did, and was instructed to put the thing in the ground, kneel before it, and pray. He was told by the priest before he went on his way that if the staff began to grow and bear fruit he would find salvation. Years later, the hermit passed by the place and saw Hoydel still kneeling by the staff which had borne red apples. The priest touched him, and Hoydel turned to dust, and a white dove emerged and flew to the heavens.
Fairy Tale Title
Hoydel
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
Engelbert Suss
Common Tale Type
Tale Classification
Page Range of Tale
p. 183
Full Citation of Tale
“Hoydel.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 183.
Original Source of the Tale
Tale Notes
Research and Curation
Kaeli Waggener, 2023
Book Title
The Turnip Princess : and other newly discovered fairy tales
Book Author/Editor(s)
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
Illustrator(s)
Engelbert Suss
Publisher
Penguin Books
Date Published
2015
Decade Published
2010-2019
Publisher City
New York
Publisher Country
United States
Language
English
Rights
Copyright not evaluated
Digital Copy
Available at the Internet Archive
Book Notes
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth traversed the forests, lowlands, and mountains of northern Bavaria to record fairy tales. Most of Schönwerth's work was lost-- until a few years ago, when thirty boxes of manuscripts were uncovered in a German municipal archive. Available for the first time in English, the tales are violent, dark, full of action, and upend the relationship between damsels in distress and their dragon-slaying heroes.