KEMP OWYNE
The Text is that given (nearly literatim) by Buchan and Motherwell, and also in the MSS. of the latter.
The Story .—This adventure of Owyne (Owain, ‘the King’s son Urien,’ Ywaine, etc.), with the subsequent transformation, has a parallel in an Icelandic saga. Rehabilitation in human shape by means of a kiss is a common tale in the Scandinavian area; occasionally three kisses are necessary.
A similar ballad, now lost, but re-written by the contributor, from scraps of recitation by an old woman in Berwickshire, localises the story of the fire-drake (‘the laidly worm’) near Bamborough in Northumberland; and Kinloch said that the term ‘Childe o’ Wane’ was still applied by disconsolate damsels of Bamborough to any youth who champions them. However, Mr. R. W. Clark of Bamborough, who has kindly made inquiries for me, could find no survival of this use.
The ballad is also called ‘Kempion.’