Among the memorable figures in Icelandic legend is Prince Ring, known in Icelandic as Hríngur kóngsson. His story, part of the country’s vibrant folktale tradition, was collected by the folklorist Jón Árnason and has since travelled far beyond Icelandic shores.
Gathering tales and translations
Prince Ring’s story first appeared in print in Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri, a notable anthology edited by Jón Árnason between 1862 and 1864. The tale would later find audiences abroad: Josef Poestion rendered it as “Ring, der Königssohn” in his 1884 German-language volume Isländische Märchen. Subsequent German translations appeared under different titles, but it was Andrew Lang’s inclusion in The Yellow Fairy Book (1894) that brought the story to English-speaking readers under the name “Prince Ring.” European folklorists drew on these translations, with variations in titles and minor narrative emphasis, evidencing the tale’s appeal.
A story of transformations and riddles
The tale begins as Prince Ring and his companions hunt a hind adorned with a golden ring on its antlers. They are soon lost in darkness and separated, with Prince Ring venturing alone. On a remote shore, he encounters a woman by a barrel who tricks him inside and casts him adrift at sea. After washing ashore, he is discovered by a giant, who shelters him from danger but warns against entering a mysterious parlour in the household.
Curiosity eventually leads Prince Ring to a black dog within the parlour, which speaks and asks to be chosen. Later, when the giant foresees his own death, he offers Prince Ring anything in the house; the prince requests the dog, who introduces himself as Snati-Snati. They travel together, and soon the prince finds work in a castle, quickly gaining favour with the king, much to the displeasure of a court adviser named Red.
Red’s scheming increases the challenges Prince Ring faces. With Snati-Snati’s help, the prince fells many trees and overcomes wild oxen. The dog’s shrewd advice proves crucial when the king demands the lost golden cloak, chessboard, and chess piece be recovered before Christmas, promising his daughter’s hand as reward. Together, the prince and Snati-Snati embark on a quest through a world of trolls, tricks, magical hunger, and a perilous struggle with supernatural beings.
Victory brings not only treasure but revelations. On his wedding night, Snati-Snati asks to sleep at the couple’s feet; the next morning the prince finds another prince in human form, with an ugly dogskin nearby. Burning the skin releases him from enchantment. This second prince, also named Ring, reveals a saga of stepmothers, curses, and transformations in which both princes were unwittingly entangled.
Resolution arrives with shared kingdoms and marriages, a striking division of treasures and roles typical of Icelandic storytelling. The weaving together of shape-shifting, magical creatures, and fateful promises gives Prince Ring’s tale its enduring hold on readers, whether in Iceland or in translation.
