Cultural Influences
The synopsis of Childe Rowland is found in a Scandinavian medieval ballad. Although the hero and heroine appear under different names, and the elf-king is replaced by a mermaid, the story is essentially the same: The youngest brother rides out to rescue his sister, and succeeds. The sister in this ballad has lived under a different name, probably oblivious of her background until her brother revives her.
"Childe Rowland" is referenced briefly in King Lear, by Gloucester's son, Edgar, disguised as mad Tom, in one of his mad ramblings:
- Child Rowland to the Dark Tower came,
- His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum,
- I smell the blood of a British man'
Robert Browning's 1855 poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, takes its inspiration more from Shakespeare than the fairy tale, and has no real connection with the latter.
Stephen King has also written about the character Rowland (spelled Roland) in his Dark Tower series, though this explicitly references the Robert Browning 1855 poem. In this sci-fi/fantasy tale, Roland is the last gunslinger on a tireless mission to reach the Dark Tower, the nexus of all worlds. It is perhaps worth noting that, while King seems to have based the novels more on the Browning poem, there are some similarities between Roland's tale and "Childe Rowland," such as the sorcerer "Maerlyn" and an antagonistic "king" figure (represented in the novel by the Crimson King). Also his father's sword is represented by Roland's large .45 revolvers and the Door Upon The Hill is referred to many times as "doors to other whens and wheres", the most notable reference being when Roland's small group retrieve a boy through a door drawn in the dirt in a "Speaking Circle" a circle of stones made home by a Demon of sorts.
The story has influenced several lesser known fantasy novels as well. Lord Dunsany's 1924 novel The King of Elfland's Daughter shares many similarities with it, while Alan Garner drew heavily on the tale for his novel Elidor (1965), using it as the start of his story. American fantasy and science fiction author Andre Norton retold the fairy tale in her novel Warlock of the Witch World (1967) with the setting moved to her Witch World. Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men (2003) introduces a character named Roland de Chumsfanleigh, who is kidnapped by the Queen of the Elves. Gordon R. Dickson's unfinished science fiction series Childe Cycle (1959) was named for the Browning poem.
English folk singer Martin Carthy used an adaptation of the tale for the basis of his song Jack Rowland, which appeared on his 1982 album Out of the Cut.
The Irish poet and playwright Louis MacNeice wrote a radio play, The Dark Tower, based on the Childe Rowland story. In it, Rowland, the youngest son, is sent to face the Dark Tower. After many adventures he arrives and raises the trumpet to his lips... A major theme of the play is the notion of free will. Initially Rowland is impelled through duty and his mother's driving will. Eventually he breaks the shackles she has imposed on him and makes his own free choice. The play was first broadcast on the BBC Home Service (now Radio 4) on 26 January 1946. The original music was composed by Benjamin Britten.
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