Letter

L. Reversal of fortune

Group No.

L100 – L199

Group name

Unpromising hero (heroine)

Description

L111.2.1. Future hero found in boat (basket, bushes). Legends of Moses, Cyrus, Beowulf and others. *Usener Die Sintfluthsagen (Bonn, 1899) 80ff.; Hdwb. d. Märchens I s.v. ”Aussetzung in Boot“; Icelandic: *Boberg; Missouri French: Carrière; Italian Novella: Rotunda; Jewish: *Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys; Japanese: Ikeda.
 
L113.1.4. Shepherd as hero. Type 922; Jewish: *Neuman.
 
L113.1.7. Slave as hero. Jewish: Neuman.
 
L122. Unsophisticated hero. *Dickson 128ff. nn. 94 – 99; Irish myth: *Cross; Jewish: Neuman.
 
L123. Pauper hero. Jewish: *Neuman; India: *Thompson-Balys.
 
L142. Pupil surpasses master. *Fb ”mester“ II 584a; Alphabet No. 38; Jewish: Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
L142.3. Son surpasses father in skill. Jewish: *Neuman; India: Thompson-Balys.
 
L165. Lowly boy becomes king. (Most references to L161 apply here). Jewish: *Neuman; India: *Thompson-Balys; Buddhist myth: Malalasekera I 51; Chinese: Eberhard FFC CXX 249; Tuamotu: Stimson MS (T-G. 3/45).