Tam Lin, also known as Tamas-Lin, Tamlane, Tamlene, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam-Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam-Lyn or Tam-Lane, is a character in the legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders.
History The story of Tam Lin revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies. The motif of winning a person (or subduing an enemy) by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe in folktales.
The story has been adapted into numerous stories, songs, and films. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, which is also known as the Glasgow Reel.
Tam Lin is listed as the 39th Child Ballad and number 35 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Synopsis Most variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity of any maiden who passes through the forest of Carterhaugh. When a young woman, usually called Janet or Margaret, goes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, Tam Lin appears and asks her why she has come without his leave and taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh because her father has given it to her.
In most variants, Janet then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When asked about her condition, she declares that her baby's father is an elf whom she will not forsake. In some versions, she is informed of a herb that will induce abortion; in all the variants, when she returns to Carterhaugh and picks a plant, either the same roses as on her earlier visit or the herb, Tam Lin reappears and challenges her action.
She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance or, in some versions, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her pregnancy. Tam Lin reveals that, though he was once a mortal man, he was imprisoned in Carterhaugh by the Queen of Faeries after she kidnapped him by catching him when he fell from his horse. He goes on to tell Janet that the fairies give one of their people as a teind (tithe) to Hell at midnight on every seventh Hallowe'en. He asks Janet for her help in freeing him, and receives her agreement; he then instructs her to come to the forest at the time of the tithe, during which he'll be in the company of numerous faerie knights -- he tells her that she'll recognize him by his white horse. Janet must pull him down from his horse, thus making her the one to "catch" him this time, and hold him tightly: he warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus), but states that none of these forms will actually cause her harm. Tam Lin will eventually take the shape of burning coal; when this occurs, Janet is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked mortal man whom Janet must hide. She does as she is asked and wins her knight; though her success angers the Queen of Faeries, the latter accepts her defeat.
In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of the Laird of Roxburgh, the Laird of Foulis, the Earl of Forbes, or the Earl of Murray. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, Tam-a-line and Tamlane.
Early versions The ballad dates to at least as early as 1549 (the publication date of The Complaynt of Scotland that mentions "The Tayl of the Ȝong Tamlene" ('The Tale of the Young Tamelene') among a long list of medieval romances).The Complaynt of Scotland, c. vi., ed. J. A. H. Murray, E.E.T.S., p.68 (excerpted in: ) Michael Drayton's narrative poem Nimphidia (1627) includes a character called Tomalin who is a vassal and kinsman of Oberon, King of the Fairies. Robert Burns wrote a version of Tam Lin based on older versions of the ballad, which was printed in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum (1796).
The story featured in several nineteenth century books of fairy tales under different titles : "Elphin Irving, the Fairies' Cupbearer" in Traditional Tales of the English and Scottish Peasantry by Allan Cunningham (1822) "Wild Robin" in Little Prudy's Fairy Book by Sophie May (1866). "Tamlane" in More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1893).
Francis James Child collected fourteen traditional variants in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads in the nineteenth century. (Another Child ballad, Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane, has no connection with this ballad except for the similarity of the heroes' names.)
Motifs Child took the threat to take out Tam Lin's eyes as a common folklore precaution against mortals who could see fairies, in the tales of fairy ointment. Joseph Jacobs interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faeries would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.
In some variants, "Hind Etin" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and the heroine.
Influences Field recordings The ballad has been recorded several times from Scottish and Northern Irish people who learned it in the oral tradition. Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, County Londonderry knew a fragment of the ballad which can be heard via the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and Paddy Tunney of Mollybreen, County Fermanagh sang a version to Hugh Shields in 1968. In Scotland, Duncan Williamson of Auchtermuchty, Fifeshire, William Whyte of Aberdeen and Betsy Johnston of Glasgow all had traditional versions recorded, the latter two by Hamish Henderson.
Popular recordings of the ballad
Following are some of the notable recordings of the ballad, including their artists, titles, albums, and years: Artist Title Album YearFrankie Armstrong"Tam Lin"I Heard a Woman Singing1984Anne Briggs"Young Tambling"Anne Briggs1971Blood Ceremony"The Devil's Widow"Lord of Misrule2016Current 93"Tamlin"Tamlin1994Daniel Dutton"Tam Lin"Twelve Ballads2006Fairport Convention"Tam Lin"Liege & Lief1969Archie Fisher"Tam Lin"Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition2017Bob Hay"Tam Lin"Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns2006The Imagined Village (Benjamin Zephaniah, Eliza Carthy, et al.)"Tam Lyn Retold"The Imagined Village2007Bill Jones"Tale of Tam Lin"Panchpuran2001Alastair McDonald"Tam Lin"Heroes & Legends of Scotland2007Mediæval Bæbes"Tam Lin"Mirabilis2005Anaïs Mitchell & Jefferson HamerTam Lin (Child 39) Child Ballads2013Pete Morton"Tamlyn"Frivolous Love1984Mrs. Ackroyd Band"Tam Lin"Gnus & Roses1995Ian Page"Tam Lin"Folk Music of Scotland2008Pentangle"Tam Lin"The Time Has Come2007Steeleye Span"Tam Lin"Tonight's the Night, Live!1992Tempest"Tam Lin"Serrated Edge1992Tricky Pixie (Betsy Tinney, S. J. Tucker, Alexander James Adams)"Tam Lin" Mythcreants2009Mike Waterson"Tam Lyn"For Pence and Spicy Ale (reissue)1993Kathleen Yearwood"Tam Lin"Book of Hate1994Faun"Tamlin"Pagan2022
Benjamin Zephaniah was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk) for Tam Lyn Retold. He collected the award at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008.
Popular instrumental recordings
Following are some of the notable instrumental recordings, including their artists, titles, albums, and years: Artist Title Album YearDavey Arthur (with Three Fingered Jack)"Tam Lin" (with 2 other reels)Bigger Than You Think2010Séamus Egan"Tamlin" (with 2 other reels)In Your Ear1998Elephant Revival"Tam Lin Set"It's Alive2012Tania Elizabeth"Tam Lynn's"This Side Up2000Fiddler's Green"Tam Lin"Wall of Folk2011Joe Jewell"Tam Lin"Bluebells of Scotland1997King Chiaullee"Tam Lin" (with 3 other reels)Reel: Ode2003Jeremy Kittel"Tamlin"Celtic Fiddle2003Catriona MacDonald & Ian Lowthian"Tam Lin" (with 2 other reels)Opus Blue1993Trent Wagler & The Steel Wheels"Tam Lin"Blue Heaven2006
Adaptations
Prose John Myers Myers tells a variant in Silverlock (1949) The Armourer's House, by Rosemary Sutcliff (1951) -- includes a telling of the Tam Lin tale, which parallels the novel's theme of a girl struggling to obtain her dreams. Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends, by Barbara Ker Wilson (1954) Thursday, by Catherine Storr (1971) Red Shift, by Alan Garner (1973) The Queen of Spells, by Dahlov Ipcar (1973) The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1974) Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones (1985) Tam Lin by Joan D. Vinge, in Imaginary Lands edited by Robin McKinley (1986) Nattens demon (translated from Norwegian as Demon of the Night), by Margit Sandemo (1987) Tam Lin: An Old Ballad, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak (1990) Hold Me Fast, Don't Let Me Pass, by Alice Munro, in Friend of My Youth (1990) Tam Lin by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Warwick Hutton (1991) Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean (1991) Tam Lin, in the graphic novel series Ballads and Sagas edited by Charles Vess (1995) Winter Rose, by Patricia McKillip (1996) Never Let Go, by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft (1999) Burd Janet, by Jane Yolen, in Not One Damsel in Distress (2000) Tam Lin (a version in Scots), by Ian MacFadyen, in The Eildon Tree, Special Double Issue 4-5: Winter 2001, edited by Tom Bryan "Cotillion", by Delia Sherman, in Firebirds, edited by Sharyn November (2003) The Dogs of Babel (UK edition: Lorelei's Secret), by Carolyn Parkhurst (2003) Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black (2004) "He Said, Sidhe Said" by Tanya Huff, in Faerie Tales ed. Russell Davis and Martin H. Greenberg (2004) An Earthly Knight, by Janet McNaughton (2005) Blood and Iron, by Elizabeth Bear (2006) Summer's Lease, by Eluki bes Shahar (Rosemary Edghill) "The Lady and the Fox," by Kelly Link, in My True Love Gave to Me, ed. Stephanie Perkins (2014) A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas (2015) Roses and Rot, by Kat Howard (2016)
Theatre The Thyme of the Season by Duncan Pflaster (incorporates elements and allusions to the story) Tamlane by Edwin Stiven
Film Tam Lin (1970 movie) directed by Roddy McDowall, and starring Ava Gardner. Tam Lin (1982 short film) directed by Michael Korolenko but never distributed. An Old Ballad (1988 animated film) directed by Valentyna Kostyleva, Kyїvnaukfilm.
Novels
In Carolyn Parkhurst's novel The Dogs of Babel (also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK), a section of Tam Lin plays a pivotal role in the story. In it the narrator, Paul Iverson, discovers that his recently deceased wife left an encrypted message to him in their bookshelf, quoting Tam Lin. The multi-faceted novel Red Shift by Alan Garner can be read as a subtle reworking of the ballad. In the fantasy novel The Battle of Evernight by Cecilia Dart-Thornton, the story of Tam Lin is told as the story of Tamlain Conmor. Tamlin appears in the fantasy novel Rumors of Spring by Richard Grant. In Jim Butcher's novel Cold Days, Tam Lin is referenced as a former Knight of the Winter Court. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (2015) has a fairy character named Tamlin whom the protagonist saves from an evil fairy queen, though the novel's plot resembles Beauty and the Beast.
Comic books Tam-Lin, a closet drama written by Elaine Lee and illustrated by Charles Vess, appears in The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Vess's collection of adaptations of traditional songs, mostly into comics form. In the Vertigo comic book, Fables, Tam Lin died in the defence of the last stronghold of the Fables against the forces of the Adversary. He is claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries, who had a reputation of a scoundrel, but gave up his chance of freedom to his page. In the Vertigo comic book series, The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, the notion that Faerie pays a sacrificial tithe to Hell is mentioned in the storyline "Season of Mists".