More of Gellert Here I am in Truth or Consequences, NM looking in the library for something completely different, and I find a book titled "The Treasury of Snake Lore". Now, I have another project in mind that this might work for, so I open it up and in the table of contents, find "The Dog Gellert"! Of course, I couldn't resist reading. This tale, whose source is given as Gesta Romanorum, differs yet again from the versions I shared previously. In "The Dog Gellert", the infant son has three nursemaids, and the knight has a falcon and a greyhound whom he loves second only to his child. In this story, the knight goes to a tournament, taking his wife and domestics, leaving the child alone with only the greyhound and the falcon to guard him. A serpent that lived in a hole near the castle, taking advantage of the profound silence crept forth to devour the child. The falcon flapped his wings until he awoke the hound, who killed the serphent after a fierce battle, then lay down to lick and heal his wounds. When the three nurses returned they found the cradle overturned, blood everywhere, and no child. They endeavored to flee rather than meet the anger of the parents, but were caught by the wife. To her they told a tale of the dog attacking and killing the son. The wife told her husband knight. Maddened with fury the knight rushed to the spot. The greyhound tried to rise to greet his master, but was met with the point of a sword. On examination, the child was found safely entangled in the bloody bedclothes, unharmed. All this is pretty much the same, but the particular differences, and the slightly different ending is interesting. In this version, the knight, overcome with remorse, abandoned the profession of arms, broke his lance in pieces and vowed a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he spent the rest of his days in peace. I'd just like to point up some of the differences. For instance, three nursemaids - in medival tales there are often three women in some characterization or another, often dipicted in an unsavory light. This is a convienence of the Christian church, which at that time was working very hard to discredit the Old Religion - Paganism. In Paganism, the Goddess is threefold, mother, maiden and crone. The theme of three women is seen over and over again in various myths and stories in many countries and times. You can just about tell which religion was predominant at the time by whether the women are revered or vilified ;) In this case, the three nursemaids are frightened by their virtuos knight and his lady and try to flee their righteous wrath, then tell a false story (although they mistakenly believed it true) that causes the death of the faithful hound. I think the knights change of heart and giving himself over to religious life pretty much speaks for itself ;) All in all, greyhound aside, it is interesting to see these different versions of the tale as it has been tweaked and rewritten to serve the purpose of different people. I am looking for a place to "hole up" for the winter, so I should be a bit more punctual if you write with questions or requests. I still will not be able to do anything elaborate like portraits (no studio) but I will be able to do computer graphics or drawings if there is something you've been needing. Blessedbe Summer Posted: Saturday 28th October 2006, 11:00 AM

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