El cuento de los hijos ingratos y del fingido tesoro (Aa-Th. 982): raices míticas, tradiciones folklóricas y contextos culturales

Abstract

An analysis is made of sorne literary and oral versions of the tale-type Aa-Th 982 («Supposed chest of gold induces children to care for aged father»), emphasis being laid on its folklore connections and its relations with the indo-european mythical cyde concerning the ordeals suffered by the First King when he surrenders his kingdom and properties to his heirs. This folktale is part of a wide set of fictitious stories and cross-cultural traditions focussed on the eviction of old people, and it obviously refers to the celtic ritual motif of the «Holy Mawle». A new actuality and a stronger social meaning are confered to it in a post-medieval culture marked by a disruption of old patrimonial customs and a growing influence of individualism, coeval with the alteration of age old family structures and values.