Cut-off finger proves wife's chastity. A chaste wife substitutes a maidservant for seducer. A finger and ring are cut off as proof of wife's unfaithfulness (chastity wager with husband). Refuted by husband, who knows they are not his wife's

Motif

Cut-off finger proves wife's chastity. A chaste wife substitutes a maidservant for seducer. A finger and ring are cut off as proof of wife's unfaithfulness (chastity wager with husband). Refuted by husband, who knows they are not his wife's.

Deceptions. · Deceptions connected with adultery. · Adulteress outwits husband. · view the constellation · filed as K1512.1

ask the rhapsode about this motif →

Scholars’ trail — 6references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

Irish mythCross
WelshMacCulloch Celtic 110.
general Cf. Type 882
general Köhler-Bolte I 375
general Child V 497 s. v. "Substitution"
general Wesselski Märchen 213 No. 19

Within the index

Filed under The cut-off nose. (Lai of the Tresses.) A woman leaves her husband's bed and has another woman take her place. The husband addresses her, gets no answer and cuts off her nose (hair). In the morning the wife still has her nose (hair). The husband is made to believe that it has grown back by a miracle (or that he was dreaming).

wander