Tam Lin
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Tam Lin is the hero of a Scottish Borders' legend about faeries and mortal men (one of several "Thomases" in myth, such as True Thomas also known as Thomas the Rhymer).
There are many versions of the Tam Lin story, but that summary of Child Ballad 39A (from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child) is considered to be the earliest. Modern renditions of the ballad have been recorded by the folklore oriented rock band Steeleye Span, the folk-rock group Fairport Convention, the British experimental/folk group Current 93, and the mediaeval-oriented group The Mediaeval Baebes. Tam Lin is also the name of a New York City-based singer-songwriter whose name is taken from this ballad.
The legend has it that Tam Lin collected either a possession, or the virginity of any maidens who passed through the forest of Carterhaugh. A young maiden called Janet 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. She then went home, and discovered she was pregnant, and announced that her lover was an elf and that she loved him. She returned to Carterhaugh, and discovered Tam 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 of one of their people, and Tam was fated to 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, of course, and won her knight. The Queen of the Fairies was not best pleased, but acknowledged her claim.
See also
Modern retellings
- Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
- The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
- Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
- Tam Lin by N. G. McClernan
- Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
- An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
In the fictional Elfquest saga, "Tam" is given as the soul name of central character Cutter. Creator Richard Pini relates that the name was inspired by the fairy tale.