Beschrijving
The Equivocal Oath. (Isolde’s Ordeal.) A (guilty) woman whose husband accuses her of adultery clears herself under oath and by ordeal (wearing a red-hot iron without being hurt) by means of a trick: She summons her lover, who appears disguised as a pilgrim (donkey driver) and carries her from the boat dock to the lawcourt. She makes sure that the two of them fall to the ground (she falls off the donkey) and her lover lands on top of her (sees under her skirt).
At the trial, she swears honestly that no one except her husband and the pilgrim (driver) has ever lain on top of her (has ever seen her naked). Because what she swore under oath was true, she is not burned by the red-hot iron used for the ordeal [K1513].
At the trial, she swears honestly that no one except her husband and the pilgrim (driver) has ever lain on top of her (has ever seen her naked). Because what she swore under oath was true, she is not burned by the red-hot iron used for the ordeal [K1513].
Motief
K1513
Commentaar
Famous for its connection with Virgil’s legendary biography and for its depiction in the Roman Bocca della verità, as well as its place in the romance of 'Tristan and Isolde' which has been popular since the High Middle Ages.
Oorspronkelijk Verhaaltype
1418
Subgenre
mop