Twelve Ox Princes of Thorsteinn’s Tale

Overview

Twelve royal brothers lose their way while hunting and shelter in a troll household. A captive princess warns that their hostess intends to kill them in bed. Their deception makes the troll kill her own daughters instead. As the brothers overpower her, she curses them to become oxen, returning daily to their father’s palace but becoming human only for their meal on a remote lake island. They cannot be released until someone brings that same food to them in their father’s kingdom.

The king sees twelve harmless oxen arrive and leave at fixed times. They refuse the food he offers. Thorsteinn follows their extraordinary speed to a lake; the last ox waits and lets him ride across. Outside an island hall lie twelve ox-shapes, while twelve men eat silently within. They give him bread and wine, which he saves. Afterwards they resume the ox-shapes and the last again carries him to shore.

Thorsteinn also releases the cursed princess, who explains the brothers’ condition. At the palace he offers them the saved bread and wine. Their ox-shapes slip away, and their father recognizes the men. The rescued brothers later renounce their inheritance in favor of Thorsteinn and the princess. These removable shapes and temporary meal-time appearances belong to this particular curse; they are not a hereditary race of animal people.

Origins & earliest records

Icelandic Legends, second series (1866), The Story of Thorsteinn, the Carl’s Son, pp. 473–481.

Records & interpretation

Complete tale from the royal brothers’ hunt through release and Thorsteinn’s succession; this is separate from the later story of Thorsteinn the king’s son.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Icelandic Legends, second series: Thorsteinn, the Carl’s Son, pp. 473–481

   Collected by Jón Árnason; translated by George E. J. Powell and Eiríkr Magnússon · 1866

   Complete collected narrative; curse p. 476, ox-shapes pp. 477–480 and ending p. 481.

Family, evolution & connections

The twelve royal brothers in Thorsteinn’s tale

The explicitly stated king, queen and twelve unnamed sons.

Joint-parent branching follows the opening and the later father’s recognition. The men and ox forms are one set of twelve sons. Thorsteinn is another household’s son, and succession by gratitude does not make him a biological son of this king. No individual brother names are supplied.

References

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

1. Primary textIcelandic Legends, surviving 1866 alternate copyResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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