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Heads in the Well Folktale Motif 249
eluded in the group conjecturally or on other grounds.
The distribution pattern of the remaining twenty-five
examples," in which the motif is clearly present, is interesting:
two English," one Scottish/ one of Welsh gypsy
origin," six Irish," three from the United States.!" seven
Swedish, J J two from Swedish areas in Finland.:" and
three Norwegian.:" In addition to these, I am informed
by Miss Briggs of the existence of an unpublished English
gypsy version. The examples are thus limited to two
areas, Great Britain (with offshoots in Ireland and the
United States closely resembling the English versions),
and Scandinavia; despite the large number of Scandinavian
versions, it is the opinion of W. E. Roberts that
the group is more likely to have originated in England
and spread from there to Scandinavia than vice
versa.!" He considers that it probably arose by the
,3 These ligures are based on the appearance or non-appearance of
Roberts's motif V C 3 or 8 (combing, washing or feeding the heads) in his
tabular analysis of variants on pp. 13-70. However, on p. II9 he speaks
as if only seventeen versions have heads, while "the remaining versions
show wide diversity in this element" As so many versions are inaccessible
in manuscript collections. I have been unable to resolve this apparent
contradiction; since, however, the figures in the table on pp. 13-70 hold
good when cross-checked against those of another table on 87-8, it seems
most likely that a slip on p. II9 is the explanation.
6 George Peele, The Old Wives' Tale (1595). The History of the Four
Kings of Cantcrbury, Colchester, Cornwall and Cumberland, in R II.
Cunningham, Ail/using Prose Chapbooks (1889).
7 R. Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1870), 105-7.
8 J. Sampson, 'Welsh Gypsy Folk-Tales', [ournal of the Gypsy Lore
Society N.S. IV (I9IO-II), 40-7.
9 An Lochrann (July-August and September 1910), 6-7, 3. Irish Folklore
Commission Archives, 1\1S rao, 43-77; MS 2{2, 554-63, and 1\:1S 243, 1-4;
;VIS 212, 214-30. R Fowler, The Western Island (1945), 64-70. M. 6.
Tiomanaidhe, 'Cunog', Bealoideas I (1927-8), 355-6.
10 B. Lowrimore, 'Six California Tales', California Folklore Quarterly
IV (1945), 155 no. 2. B. M. Dobie, 'Tales and Rhymes of a Texas Household',
Publications of the Texas Folklore Society VI (1927), 42-5. L.
Roberts, 'Folk-Stories for Telling', Mountain Life and Work XXVII I
(Winter HI5I) 25-8.
11 W. Liungman, Sueriges Samtligu Folksagor (1949), I 130-I, and 165.
G. O. Hvlten-Cavallius and G. Stephens, Svenska Folk-Sagor och Afentyr
(1844), 123-9, and 445 n. 3. V dstsuenska Folkminnesarkiuet, Liungrnan
no. 32, p. 1. E. Wigstrcm, Skiinske Visor, Sagar och Siigner (1880), 46-9.
Uppsala Landsmdls- och Folkrninnesarkiuei, no. 3053.
12 O. Hackman, Finlands suenske Folhdiktning (1917), I 189-9°, no. 80a
var. 3 and var. 4.
13 Norsk Folkenrinnesamling (Xlanuscript Collection), Hans Ross no.
XXII 4, and P. Chr. Asbjernson no. VI 178. P. Chr. Asbjornson and
.T. Moe, Norske Folke-Euent.yr (1842-52), no. 55.
14 ot». cit.. 120-1.