Anonymous, Búkolla

Romina Werth (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1862 - 1864

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Fairy Tale

Resources

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The Icelandic wonder tale about a magic cow named Búkolla, who understands and speaks human language, is one of the most popular folktales in Iceland. The tale is classified as ATU 313

The Magic Flight

in the international tale-type index (Uther, 194-97). In Einar Ól. Sveinsson’s Icelandic tale-type index, the tale of Búkolla is given the reference number EÓS 313 (Sveinsson 1929, 15). The tale was first printed in Jón Árnason’s collection of legends and folktales,

Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og ævintýri

, published in two volumes between 1862 and 1864 in Leipzig, Germany (Árnason, II, 445-46). In Árnason’s collection, the tale is titled

Búkolla og strákurinn

[Bukolla and the Boy]. It was contributed by Árnason’s friend and colleague, Magnús Grímsson (1825–1860), who…

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2112 words

Citation: Werth, Romina. "Búkolla". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41014, accessed 27 July 2024.]

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