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Overview
Guiomar loves a prince whom her witch mother refuses to let her marry. She has him enter the house dressed as a poor petitioner and secretly helps fulfil the mother’s tasks: obtaining a pot of bird guano and grapes from vines planted that same day. Before their flight she leaves three spits at the threshold, which answer the mother’s questions in sequence and delay discovery.
When her father pursues them, Guiomar turns the prince into a road and herself into an old man carrying a sack. On his next approach they become a hermitage and hermit. Her mother recognizes both disguises after hearing his report. Facing the mother directly, Guiomar changes the prince into a river and herself into an eel, refusing three calls to return by moving her tail.
The mother’s parting curse makes the prince forget Guiomar when his sister kisses him asleep. Living opposite his palace, Guiomar uses witchcraft to frustrate three visiting chamberlains with an unlightable fire, spilled water and a striking window. Their complaints draw the prince to her. She recreates the road, hermitage and river scenes inside the house, prompting recognition. She finally resumes her ordinary form and marries him.
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.
- 01
Portuguese Folk-Tales IV: The Daughter of the Witch, pp. 14–20
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.
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- Guiomar’s witch mother and unnamed father
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.
Guiomar’s witch mother
The opening expressly identifies Guiomar as the witch’s daughter. During pursuit, her father fails to recognize the disguises; her mother recognizes them. Neither the father’s failure nor the mother’s witchcraft supplies an unnamed ancestor or a second Guiomar.
Guiomar’s unnamed father
The witch sends the girl’s father after the fugitives, and Guiomar identifies him as her father. He is a distinct parent, not a masculine form of the pursuing witch; the telling supplies no personal name or witch classification for him.
The unnamed prince who regains his memory
Guiomar restores the prince’s memory by recreating their flight disguises, then marries him. His mother and sisters belong to his household; the sister’s kiss triggers forgetfulness, but she is not another spouse. No children are reported.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- 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.