C30A. A pound of flesh, ATU 890. .12.14.-.17.23.26.-.33.
A person borrows money on the condition that if he does not return by a certain date, he will have to give the lender a certain amount of his own flesh. The lender cannot slaughter flesh because he is unable to comply with the formally logical but essentially absurd requirement imposed on him.
Hausa, Egyptian Arabs, Moroccan Berbers, Catalans, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians (Campania, Puglia), Germans, French, Irish, Palestinians, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mehri, Socotra , Sindhi, Ancient India, Northern India (Hindi), (Rajastans), Koreans, Bosnians, Slovenes, Croats, Hungarians, Greeks, Czechs, Poles, Adygs, Avars, Lucks, Turks, Lurs, Persians (Isfahan), Tajiks (Balkh), Pashtuns, Norwegians, Icelanders, Swedes, Finns, Latvians, Bashkirs, Kazakhs. {El-Shamy 2004, No. 790:540, referring to Al-Shadi, Moore 1920:205-207, indicates that the Arabs of Sudan have a motive. There is no such motive in this text}.
West Africa. Hausa [Balu's merchant borrowed money from Nwanko and returned it in two months; otherwise he would cut out a piece of meat from him; B.'s wife squandered the money, N. took him to court; B. accidentally knocked him out on the way. the mulu's eye, tore off the donkey's tail, killed the man by accidentally jumping on his head from the roof; the victims also went to the judge; he asked the owner of the mule to cut it in half and get 30 coins from B. (the mule cost 50), and if he refuses the lawsuit, then give B. 10 coins for anxiety; to the relative of the deceased to jump off the roof on B., and if he does not want to pay B. 10 coins; said that the donkey was tailless, the owner paid 10 coins; let N. cut off meat, but not blood, which was not mentioned in the contract; N. also paid B.]: Zhukov, Kotlyar 1976, No. 202:478-488.
North Africa. Egyptian Arabs, Moroccan Berbers: El-Shamy 2004, No. 790:538-540.
Southern Europe. Catalans [the captain borrows the money on the condition that if he does not return it by a certain day, he will give a pound of his flesh; judge: let the moneylender carve the meat himself, exactly a pound; and if if he makes a mistake, let him cut off the missing from his own body; the moneylender waives his demand]: Oriol, Pujol 2008, No. 890:177; Portuguese (Extremadura, Azores) [the moneylender gives money with the condition that in case of non-payment, the person must give a pound of his flesh; the debtor's wife disguises herself as a judge and requires the plaintiff to carve meat but not shed a drop of blood]: Cardigos 2005, No. 890:222; Italians (Campania, Puglia): Cerise, Serafini 1975, No. 890:221; Spaniards: Uther 2004 (1), No. 890:515
Western Europe. Germans (Schleswig-Holstein, but possibly also the south), French, Irish: Uther 2004 (1), No. 890:515.
Western Asia. Palestinians, Bahrain, Yemen: El-Shamy 2004, No. 890:538-540; Saudi Arabia: Juhaiman 1999 [hoping to take possession of his wife, the rich man gave the poor man money on the condition that if he he would go broke, he would cut off as much as money weighed from his body; his wife explained to the poor man that they wanted to trap him; he came back and said that the money was taken away by robbers; the merchant's Jewish friend attacked him, but the poor man knocked out his eye; ran, chased him, he ran into a woman and she threw it away; to escape, the poor man climbed onto the roof, fell on the old man and broke his leg; the poor man jumped on his donkey, belt, behind who was tied, cut short, the donkey ran away; all the victims came to the judge; the poor man saw him doing inappropriate work; the judge asked for silence, promised to decide in his favor; the merchant has the right to carve meat , but without bones, veins and blood, and cannot - let him pay 200 gold; similar decisions in other lawsuits; two eyes of a Jew are worth one eye of a Muslim; let a Jew knock out the other eye, and then a poor man - alone; let the woman who is thrown out be the wife of the poor man, have a child with him, and then return to her first husband; let the old man jump on the poor man from the roof, and what breaks is God's will; the donkey's owner said that he came just like that, but he did not have a donkey at all]: 29-31; Lebedev 1990, No. 48 [Juha ibn Ali spread a rumor that his donkey was defecating with gold, put coins in the feed; the chief moneylender bought the donkey; make up for the loss, demanded that the poor man's borrower pay half a kilo of meat; the judge found the moneylender right; the poor man shared his grief with D.; D. judge: if more meat is cut, it must be returned to its place or cut the same amount from the lender; the moneylender paid D., and he gave the money to the poor man]: 230-233; mehri [when dying, the father tells his son to marry in Hilal for a hundred dirhams; the son mortgaged the house and slave, received 95; borrowed 5 from the moneylender; if he does not return it in a year, he has the right to cut off as much flesh from the debtor's body as he weighs 5 dirhams; in two houses, the young man is told that their daughter is not worth a hundred dirhams; in the third, they give her daughter; he brings her home, builds a hut; she tells her to sell her jewelry, use this money to buy the house and the slave, and there will be more; tells her to buy a carpet and invite guests; sends her husband trades, stays with the slave; three men promise her money for love; she shaves off her first beard, burns her crotch with a ring; he tells friends that the pleasure was 300 dirhams; the same with the other two; they decide to find her husband; told the Sultan that they gave this man money, but he did not return it; they took his ship; he became a baker; the wife came disguised as a man, promised to pay his debt , if he allows him to see his wife; he refused; the third time agreed; she pledged his beard, belt and staff; comes to the Sultan: if those three have a stigma in their crotch, execute them, and if no - the execution of me and the baker; those three were executed, the Sultan returned the ship and property to the man; at home, the wife talks to her husband, everything is explained; that moneylender appeared, demanded the flesh of man; the sultan agrees; wife in the guise of a sheriff, appeared unrecognized on horseback; offered 1,000 dirhams, but the moneylender refused; the imaginary sheriff: if you cut off more weight, let that person cut off the same amount from you; the moneylender took 5 dirhams; as a reward, the imaginary sheriff took a man's ring; at home, his wife showed it to her husband; the Sultan's husband showed a gem; the vizier said that he gave this stone to the man's wife, with whom he slept; The sultan arrested a man; his wife ordered silver shoes to be made, brought one, said that the other was stolen by a vizier; he swore that he had never seen this woman in his life; she said that she was the wife of someone he was slandered; the sultan executed the vizier, let the man go]: Müller 1907, No. 19:73-87; Socotra [when dying, the father tells his son to take his wife, paying for her as much silver as she weighs; one person asks for 700 thalers for the eldest daughter, and silver equal to her weight for the youngest daughter; the person pays, but not enough, 6 pounds; the person borrowed them on the condition that if he does not give it back in a month, the lender can cut from his leg is a pound of flesh; the moneylender counted 3 pounds according to the calculations of the man's father, but 3 remain; a month later the moneylender came; the man offers 3 pounds of French coins, but the moneylender does not agree; wife told the moneylender to go to the judge; she dressed up as a judge herself; told the moneylender that he could carve a pound of flesh, but not a gram more or less, otherwise she would pay with his life; or let him take 3 pounds of silver; loan took the money; the wife got home before her husband and changed clothes]: Müller 1902, No. K: 149-151.
South Asia. Sindhi [the poor peasant asks the loan shark in vain; has been starving with his wife for four days; four wanderers come, no one wants to shelter them; the peasant sheltered; the wife sends to the moneylender; he agrees to give money if the peasant returns it tomorrow at noon or he cuts off a pound of his flesh from him; the guests bless the peasant, promising to help; the peasant does not have time to bring it money to the moneylender; on the way, the peasant threw a stone at the camel that was poisoning the crops, he died; pushed the child, who fell dead; tripped over the sleeper, he died; all four took the peasant to court king; in each case, the peasant is defended by one of those four guests, turns the case so that the accuser himself pays the peasant 100 rupees; let the moneylender cut off exactly a pound of flesh, and if more or less, will be punished; let the camel owner kill the camel with a stone, otherwise he will give 10 camels; let the father of the deceased child give his wife to the peasant, who will give birth to a new one, and when he grows up, let the father take his wife and child (he naturally refuses the offer); let the deceased's brother jump off the wall himself; the farmer returns with 400 rupees]: Schimmel 1995, No. 18:118-126; north India (Hindi) [wealthy merchant Dindayal was forced to go to a loan shark named Keshavdas to borrow a large sum for a short period of time; he gave on the condition that if the debt was not repaid in due time time, he will cut gray (about 1 kg) of meat from any part of D.'s body; D. was a little late with payment, the judge decided in favor of the moneylender; D. turned to Shah Abbas; he invited Birbal to solve the case; B.: if the moneylender will cut out at least a little more or less than 1 sulfur, then he and the whole family will be executed, and the property will go to the treasury; and if he refuses the contract, the moneylender must pay a fine; he paid]: Beskrovny, Chelyshev 1978:58-62; (cf. Rajastans [the old man brought a load of firewood to the bazaar; Sethji asks how much he wants for the cart; five rupees; S. takes firewood with the cart and oxen; the old man's youngest son promises to settle the matter; also brings a cart of firewood and asks for two clenched fists with pence; S. has a penny in each fist; the young man is going to cut off his hands: he negotiated fists, not just money; S. returns the oxen, the wagon, humbly asks for forgiveness and gives another 500 rupees]: Dinesh 1979:115-119); Ancient India [the motive is in Tripitaka, translated into Chinese in 492 (a collection of texts of the Buddhist canon, originally in Sanskrit, 5th-3rd centuries BC)]: Liungman 196:236
China - Korea. Koreans [the girl marries rich Lee, rejecting his poor friend Kim; K. goes to work, gets rich; Lee is impoverished, went into debt, came to ask for money from K.; he gives money on bail A pound of flesh L. cannot pay; the judge's daughter offers a solution: K. can take flesh but not blood; the judge is made famous]: Cho 2001, No. 128:248-249.
The Balkans. Bosnians [the loafer Omer's parents have died, young siblings are left; he wants to marry Meira, but needs money; merchant Isakar gives for 7 years on the condition that if O. does not give it back, The lender will cut off his drachma (3.73 g) of flesh from his tongue; the deadline is near, but there is no money; M. asked the kadia to give her chair and robe for an hour; I. and O. did not recognize her; M. pretends to read a book laws, requires I. to cut off exactly the drachma, otherwise he will not pay forever; I. is ready to forgive the debt, but M. demands the execution of the sentence; finally, I. not only forgives the debt, but also pays the imaginary cadia a huge amount; a real cadia praises M. for his wisdom; at home O. is shocked to see the money brought by his wife; he took up his mind and became rich in trade]: Popović 1922:73-74 (=Golenishchev-Kutuzov 1991:289-294 ); Slovenes [the poor man borrowed money from a Jew; if he does not give it back, he will cut off his Polish language; the poor man's wife asks the judge to allow her to take his place when her husband's case is being considered; makes solution: a Jew can cut off exactly half of his tongue, and if he cuts more or less, he will lose his own; as a result, a Jew has to pay what he lent to the poor man]: Popović 1922 : 75; Croats: Popović 1922:75 (Dubrovnik) [a Christian owes a Jew 10 ducats; if he does not give it back on time, a Jew has the right to cut off the drachma from his tongue; the judge orders to cut off exactly the drachma, otherwise will cut off the Jew's language; in the end, he pays 30 ducats himself], 76 (Herzegovina) [a Christian must return a hundred pennies to a Jew before dark, otherwise the Jew will cut off a pound of flesh from his leg; the Christian got it money, but a Jew deliberately ban the shop early; judge to a Jew: you can cut it off, but if you get more or less, you will be executed; as a result, a Jew pays a Christian 5,000 pennies]; Hungarians, Greeks : Uther 2004 (1), No. 890:515
Central Europe. Czechs, Poles: Uther 2004 (1), No. 890:515
Caucasus - Asia Minor. Adygi [the poor man borrows money with the condition of allowing the creditor to cut a piece of meat out of his body if he does not repay the debt on time; he cannot repay the debt on time; a smart intercessor makes a decision: if the creditor will cut out more or less than the agreed piece, then he will undergo the same operation himself; the creditor refuses his money]: Tkhamokova 2014, No. 890:180; Avars [the poor man borrowed from the moneylender paid money with interest; once he promised, taking 100, to return 140, and if he was even a day late, let the lender cut off a pound of flesh from him; on his way to court, the poor man tried to stop him a fallen bull and accidentally gouged out his eye, the owner of the bull also went to court; the poor man decided that it was better to run, knocked the pregnant woman down and she threw it away, her husband joined those going to court; the poor man tried pull the donkey out of the puddle, tore off its tail; the judge was not at home and the poor man made an agreement with his wife; the next day, the judge took a receipt from four complainants: the person who disagreed with the decision must pay; the moneylender must cut exactly a pound, no more, no less; let the owner of the bull cut it lengthwise and see how much more he is given for half with a whole eye; the baby was seven months old, let the husband will give a wife to the poor man for seven months to give birth to another; they all had to pay the poor man; the donkey's owner did not get involved and said that his donkey did not have a tail at all]: Khalilov 1965, No. 81:254-256 ; lucky [the poor man began to borrow money and invest in the business; gave a receipt: if he does not repay the debt, let the moneylender cut out a pound of meat from him; went broke; when he went to court, he accidentally gouged out the eye of the runner bull; ran and knocked down a pregnant woman, she had a miscarriage; began to help get the donkey out of the mud, tore off his tail; the judge was not at home, his wife decided the cases; took a receipt from all the complainants that she was not the person who agrees with the court decision will pay the person who agrees; allows the moneylender to cut exactly a pound, and if there is a surplus or shortage, they will cut it out from him; let the owner of the bull cut it in half, sell it both halves and see what is the difference between halves with an eye and without an eye; let the pregnant husband give his wife to the poor man for seven months so that the baby is born again; all complainants did not agree with the decision and they paid; the donkey's owner said that the donkey did not have a tail at all and left]: Aliyeva 2013, No. 52:242-244; Turks (Ankara) [the young man borrows money from a stranger with the condition that in case of no return, give it back a kilogram of her flesh, cut off from her leg; the wife negotiates with the judge to demand that the plaintiff take exactly one kilogram, not one gram less or more; the plaintiff waives his claim and pays penalty]: Eberhardt, Boratav 1953, No. 297:339
Iran - Central Asia. Lura [the debtor has guaranteed that the lender can cut the flesh out of his leg; Judge: exactly a pound, and if it is more or less, the lender will pay a fine]: Marzolph 1984, No. 1534.3:220; Persians: Osmanov 1958 [the judge got drunk, he was removed, put Bul-Kasem; the merchant's son Mehrak squandered his fortune, but promised the dervish to improve; borrowed money from the Jew - if he did not return it with interest, he he would cut out a pound of flesh from him; M. did not return it, tried to escape from the Jew; trying to stop the racing horse, he knocked out his eye; came across a pregnant woman who had a miscarriage; fell on an old man, killed him; tore off the donkey's tail ; everyone complains to the judge; he orders to cut off exactly a pound and not shed a drop of blood; let the horse be cut lengthwise, the blind half will be given to M. and take half of the horse's cost from him; let the woman give birth to M. another boy or two girls; you have to feed M. all his life, and when he is old, fall off the fence on him; everyone refuses to agree with the verdict and is punished for this; (then the judge explains M. the meaning of his various orders, which seem strange)]: 320-372; Romaskevich 1934a, No. 61 []: 313-326; Marzolph 1984, No. 1534.7 (Isfahan) [as in Luristan: the judge decided that the lender could cut from the debtor is a piece of caviar flesh, but exactly a pound, nothing more, no less]: 221; Tajiks (Balkh) [the poor man asked the rich man for money; he gave a condition to cut meat out of the poor man's body, if the debt was not repaid on time; the poor man was unable to repay the debt, the judge ordered the condition to be fulfilled, but the poor man demanded that the Balkh judge be contacted; on the way he saw the man chasing the runaway a horse and asks for help in catching it; the poor man threw a stone and knocked out the horse's eye; the owner also went with him to the judge; on the way, the poor man asked the woman for water, accidentally pushed her, she threw the child away; husband joined those who were going to the judge; while on vacation, the poor man heard screams, climbed the wall and jumped down, intending to run on, but fell on the person lying under the wall, he died; the brothers of the deceased also went to Balkh; the owner of the donkey asks for help to raise it, the poor man pulled the tail and tore it off; the donkey's owner went with the others; in Balkh they see how people buried a living person; they killed another, although he swore not guilty; saw a mukhtasib who drank to vomit; the judge's decisions; 1) let the lender cut out the meat, and if he turns out to be more or less, let him cut him out and punish him with sticks; the lender refused to slaughter the poor man and paid all the money he had with him (the same with all the other plaintiffs - they have to pay because they cannot execute the decision); 2) let the horse's owner cut it half way and sell the poor man half without an eye for half the price of a whole horse; 3) let the husband give his wife to the poor man, who will return her as soon as she is the same month pregnant; 4) let the brother the deceased will jump on the poor man from the roof of the madrasah; 5) let the owner of the tailless donkey tear off the judge's tail; he began to kick the person who came up; the poor man is happy, but asks for an explanation of what he saw when entering Balkh; 1) whoever was buried alive left; everyone thought he was dead, and the judge divided his property between the heirs; but that man returned and the judge ordered him to be buried; 2) the blacksmith killed the man, but since there are few blacksmiths, the judge ordered the execution of one of the cotton combers, of whom there are many; 3) mukhtasib is ex officio tasting wine from infidels to decide whether it is ripe for sale; he was just returning from the tasting; joyful the poor man returned home; he lived his life until he drank the bowls of death and changed the clothes of this perishable world to those of the world of eternity]: Niyazmukhamedov 1945:185-193; Pashtuns [debators agreed that the winner could cut a pound of meat from the loser; the judge decided in favor of the winner, but on the condition that if he carved even a little more or less, he would be hanged; the winner refused his intention]: Lebedev 1955:130-131.
Baltoscandia. Icelanders, Swedes, Finns: Uther 2004 (1), No. 890:515; Norwegians [while in Turkey, a merchant buys a bride by giving gold to her weight; for this purpose he borrows money from a moneylender (Jew), promising a "pound of Christian flesh" as collateral; in his absence, three other men fall in love with his wife; she deceives them all and receives money from them not to reveal the secret; Her husband suspects her of infidelity, punishes her and leaves her; she dresses as a man and finds him in a foreign country where he is being held in captivity; acting as a judge, she releases her husband]: Hodne 1984, No. 890:195; Latvians [the court orders the accused to slaughter a pound of meat; his wife disguises herself as a lawyer, appears in court and saves her husband]: Aris, Medne 1977, No. 890:330.
Volga - Perm. The Bashkirs [the poor man borrowed a pound of flour from bai on the condition that if he does not repay the debt on time, he will cut a pound of meat from him; Erense was a judge: bai could cut off meat, but exactly half a pound; bai refused its requirements]: Barag 1992, No. 60 (76): 159.
Turkestan. Kazakhs [the scientist's three sons are wise; the eldest is asked who owns the newborn camel; one camel gave birth to a living and the other to a dead one, but no one was present; the elder brother ordered the camel to be put in a boat and taken across the river; only the mother followed him into the water; the khan made the brothers viziers; the shepherd says that the thief stole money from his pocket , and the thief says his money; his elder brother tells him to throw coins into hot water; they are fat, so the shepherd is right; when the middle brother judged, buy came; the poor man borrowed a pound of meat from him for the sick child, promising return it even if you cut it out of your own caviar; the child is dead, but there is no meat; middle brother: you can cut it, but only for sure a pound, otherwise you will be beaten with whips; buy leaves; when the younger brother judges, one person says that the other took away his gold; the judge tells them to fight; one is stronger than the other; so he took it away; the viziers are jealous, although to destroy the brothers, they let a snake into the khan's bedroom; his younger brother hacked her, threw her under the bed; khan thinks he wants to kill him; older brother: the padishah let the talking parrot go to his sister's wedding; he brought a seed; an apple tree has grown; the envious vizier smeared the fruit with poison, ordered to give to the criminal, he died; the padishah killed a parrot; sees a younger gardener who ate the fruit, tasted the apple himself, is younger, bitterly repented; middle brother: the golden eagle splashed the bowl when the owner is in the desert wanted to drink from it; he killed the golden eagle, then saw snake venom dripping into the bowl; the khan found a snake killed under his bed; reluctantly let the brothers go]: Daurenbekov 1979:389-395.