Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/244

 220 Correspondence.

Theseus is acknowledged by his father, persuades the latter with her calumnies to present a cup of poison to the boy. The tragedy is averted, however, by /I^geus discovering Theseus' identity by means of his old sword.

At the time of publishing my book I overlooked the conjecture of Mr. George Henderson that in one of the versions of the Irish saga of the feast of Bricriu, Sualdam the father of Cuchullin was the person who tested that hero's courage. This suggestion is interesting and quite plausible ; we have the father fighting with his son for the same reason in other variants of the tale.

Nearly all the previous lists of variants have included examples of hostile encounters between other relatives than father and son. As I have already said, I think that these should be kept apart, as they form a class by themselves. Those who are interested in them will find a rich field in the popular literature of the Balkan Peninsula and Modern Greece celebrating the exploits of Haiducks and Klephts. In the Servian and Bulgarian songs we have some interesting combats between Marko Kralievitch and his sister's son.

Lastly, I should like to call attention to an article entitled Die iranische Heldensage bei den Armeniern ^ by Chalatianz, in which the writer has indicated another variant, one of the heroes of which is Bourze. Here we meet once more with the marriage away from home, and in fact, the direct influence of the Sohrab and Rustem tale is evident. The great popularity of the Sohrab and Rustem episode in the Shah Nameh, caused it to be imitated in the later Persian epics, which form a Rustem cycle. In the Tahatigir Nameh, Rustem fights with his son Tahangir. Recog- nition prevents a tragedy. {Reference in note, Ethe, Neiipersische Liieratur, p. 234, in Geiger-Kuhn, Griindriss der irafiischen Fhilologie, II. Band.) In the Bourzo Nameh, Rustem fights with Bourzo, son of Sohrab (Noldeke, Das iranische Nationakpos, p. 209, Grundriss, II. Band).

MuRR.w A. Potter.

' Zcitschrift dcs Vcrcins fur Volkskunde, vol. xiv., p. 41.