Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
K85B — Three-legged horse.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewThe three-legged horse is distinguished by its strength and speed, and is ridden by a rider of non-human nature.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Acts of heroes
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 8, Queer and monstrous beings, creatures, objects and loci, folk beliefs related to particular phenomena and objects.
K85 has 5 other sub-motifs
RelatedK85. The antagonist owns the fastest horse. The hero obtains an even faster horse (usually the brother or sister of this horse), which is the only one that surpasses the antagonist's horse and usually orders the antagonist to throw off his rider.
K85a. When assessing the speed of a horse, the speed of thought (lightning, or something else) and wind are compared.
K85b. The three-legged horse is distinguished by its strength and speed, and is ridden by a rider of non-human nature.
K85c. A three-legged horse is strong and fast, but its four-legged brother is faster.
K85d. Covered with skins (coated with resin and sprinkled with sand, etc.), the mighty horse becomes invulnerable to the bites of other horses.
K85e. Magical horses live in water.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| N14 | 99.80% | fairy-tale text ends with a formula stating that the narrator attended a feast and/or wedding arranged by the characters of the fairy tale. |
| L108E | 99.79% | A fox has a child, usually adopted (she cares for a lamb, a foal, etc.), a wolf or a bear kills it, and the fox takes revenge. |
| N33 | 99.69% | hero drives the enemy into the ground, or he and the enemy alternately drive each other into the ground (ankle-deep, waist-deep, etc.). |
| B32A | 99.59% | The enemies of a hero sailing the sea turn into seals or dolphins. |
| I137 | 99.59% | One of the constellations is associated with footwear, usually with (worn-out) bast shoes. |
| I95B | 99.59% | Orion is a yoke. |
| K35A7 | 99.59% | A character finds a feather, the touch of which brings health and beauty. |
| K38F3 | 99.59% | To kill the dragon, the hero digs a pit and hides in it. When the dragon crawls nearby or over the pit, the hero strikes it with a fatal blow of his sword. |
| M39A2A | 99.59% | fool buys spoons and/or a table, tells the table to go on its own feet, throws away spoons because they rattle. The two episodes are usually combined. |
| M39A3B | 99.59% | fool decides that stumps need hats, puts pots on the stumps. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
20 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 20 traditions: Dards (Kalash, Kho, Kohistani, Shina, Pashai), France, Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen, Czech, Czechs, Danes, Danish, Western Ukrainians, Byelarusians, Belarusians, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Karachays, Balkar, Ossetians, Ingush, Avar, Andi, Akhvakh, Nogai, Crimean Tatars, Karaims, Mordvins, Kets, Nanai, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Bosnians
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