Guiomar’s Mother in Pedroso’s Tale

Overview

The witch recognizes royal blood when the disguised prince enters her house. She allows shelter but sets tasks intended to challenge him; when he returns with bird guano and newly grown grapes, she repeatedly suspects Guiomar’s assistance. The tale explicitly identifies Guiomar as her daughter and gives the girl’s father a separate role in the pursuit.

After three answering spits reveal the escape, she sends the father to retrieve the pair. His reports of an old man and a hermit enable her to recognize Guiomar’s transformations, although he failed to do so. The witch then pursues them herself and recognizes the daughter as an eel in the river. Unable to bring her back by calling, she declares that the first kiss received at the prince’s palace will make him forget Guiomar.

The curse takes effect through an affectionate kiss from his sister while he sleeps, rather than a hostile enchantress entering the palace. Guiomar later overcomes it by recreating their shared journey. Her mother departs after casting the curse; the conclusion neither kills nor rehabilitates her.

Origins & earliest records

Consiglieri Pedroso, Portuguese Folk-Tales, translated from the original manuscript by Henriqueta Monteiro, London: Elliot Stock for the Folk-Lore Society, 1882; tale IV, pp. 14–20. The selected account does not identify an individual narrator or collecting locality.

Records & interpretation

The located 1882 English translation presents this figure within a complete collected narrative. Pedroso’s introductory pp. 1–2 describe the thirty published selections from his larger collection.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Portuguese Folk-Tales IV: The Daughter of the Witch, pp. 14–20

   Collected by Consiglieri Pedroso; translated by Henriqueta Monteiro · 1882

   Located complete narrative in the original London edition; Ralston’s comparative introduction is separate commentary.

Family, evolution & connections

Guiomar’s two parents - Pedroso IV

The explicitly named daughter and her two distinct parents in The Daughter of the Witch.

A joint-parent heading branches to Guiomar; her final husband is labelled beside her. Both parents and the prince are personally unnamed. The father is not explicitly called a witch. No offspring of Guiomar’s marriage are supplied; disguises are appearances of the fugitives, not extra relatives.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textPortuguese Folk-Tales, original 1882 edition scan and transcriptionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.