μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Belfagor. The devil frightened by the shrewish wife. A man persuades his shrewish wife to let herself be lowered into a well. When he comes to pull her out he raises a genie (devil) who is glad to escape from the woman. Later he frightens the devil by telling him that his wife has escaped.

Sex. · Married life. · Characteristics of wives and husbands. · view the constellation · filed as T251.1.1

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Scholars’ trail — 10references

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.

  • SpanishBoggs FFC XC 50 No. 332
  • Italian Novella*Rotunda
  • India*Thompson-Balys.
  • general *Type 1164
  • general **Axon The Story of Belfagor in Literature and Folklore (1902)
  • general *BP I 382, 388, IV 176 n. 1
  • general *Prato RTP IV 174
  • general *Bolte Zs. f. Vksk. XV 104
  • general Child V 107f., 305a
  • general *Chauvin VIII 152 No. 154. Rumanian: Schullerus FFC LXXVIII No. 1164 I*
Within the index

Filed under Avoiding the shrewish wife.

1 finer motif beneath it
Devil flees shrewish wife and enters body of a duke. Exorcised by telling him that they are sending for his wife
Filed beside it
Late husband chooses to remain in Purgatory rather than to return to his shrewish wifeMan had rather remain transformed to mule than to live with his shrewish wifeMan forces devil to take back the shrewish wifeMinstrel throws wife into sea: her tongue the heaviest thing on board. Ordered to throw all heavy articles overboardThief overhears and oversees quarrel of two jealous wives. Arraigned before judge, he asks any punishment be given him rather than that of having two wives
Travels with
Marital experiences of the devil. (Cf. H1153, K216.1, K2325, T251.1.1.)

wander