#tamlin carterhaugh

[goddessofwisdom18]

The Severance of Spring

from my ACOTAR fanfic sequal "On the Vernal Downs" <3 available (alongside its predecessor) on my Ao3 profile!

[umthisistheonlyusernamenottaken]

Neslin AU idea -> A ballad of beasts

AU where Tamlin, unwilling to deal with his brothers' power struggle for the High Lord title after their father's death goes FUCK NO, and legs it for the mortal realm.

He eventually finds refuge in a little, faraway village called Carterhaugh. But even though he's fae, he has no idea how shit works in the mortal realm, and he needs a safe place to stay.

BUT, he can't just saunter into the place and be like 'please will you let me into your house and give me a safe place to stay??'

That goes against all the fae rules, sanctuary must be given freely of a mortal's own choice and mind, no asking allowed.

SO

He transforms himself into a cat and wanders around until he comes across Nesta; the prickliest woman of the village, who couldn't give less of a shit about other people, but who is instantly besotted by the bedraggled and clearly malnourished cat that's mewling pathetically at her village bookshop door.

<><><>

"Oh, you poor thing," she cooed, gathering up the golden cat into her arms and scratching it under the chin.

It purred happily, and she immediately made for her small cottage at the edge of town.

"You must be hungry, don't fret little one, I'll look after you."

<><><>

She takes him home and gives cat-lin a bath and feeds him, and everything, but Tam starts feeling guilty so he poofs back into his fae male form and Nesta rightfully freaks out, screaming at him to get out of her house but eventually she listens to his story

High Lord powers -> WILL be killed by brothers

Nesta's still kinda eh,

So Tam just PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE's and Nesta is eventually just like 'jesus fucking hell, fine, but i'm gonna make you do unpaid labour in the bookshop if you're gonna stay.'

So that's how life is for a while, they grow closer, and eventually Nesta tells him her story.

Years and years ago, her sisters were out playing in the woods near their home, and she was tasked by her mother with looking after them. But then as she was watching them, a thick wreath of shadow just... gathered them up and disappeared them from sight. They were never seen again, and Nesta's mother had hated her for it until her death, and Nesta has spent every day since then hating herself for it.

<><><>

"I- I tried," her throat bobbed, eyes going distant and hazy.

"I tried to go back for them, I took my winter cloak and walked to the wall to bring them back home."

A tear slid down her cheek, "I failed."

<><><>

Tamlin immediately goes sHaDowS? kidnapping? that fukcing bastard Rhysand -> Shit, I'm pretty sure I know where your sisters are -> cue trip across the faery world to find Feyre + Elain

SO, they finally trek to the wall, trek across the courts, end up in Night, and Tamlin + Rhysand confront each other (bitter ex lovers energy, obv)

<><><>

EXTRA BACKGROUND

Tamlin's father dies of illness or smth and his two older brothers fight to the death for the High Lord title, cept the winner almost forgot about Tamlin until the magic fails to go to him and he's like 'fuck', forgot to kill the other one, so he goes after Tamlin. BUT he makes the fatal mistake of asking Amarantha for help, and she's like, oh, you're trying to kill my beloved??! UNO reverse, fucker.

DEAD.

So now she's taken over the Spring Court and still trying to find Tamlin to make him her 'mate' and become High Lord/ Lady of Spring

BUT fae magic can't be sensed in the mortal realm, so she's just kind of been wasting time being a shitty ruler.

ALSO

Turns out Rhysand has only been taking young girls from the mortal realm to keep Amarantha happy-> she sacrifices them for her magic rituals, or if she likes them enough, keeps them as serving girls/ maids, and she'd originally wanted RHYSAND'S SISTER as her companion, so he was doing it for family. doesn't make it any better, but yeah

<><><>

"But if however, I were to present you to her... I am sure her appetites would be satiated for quite some time." Rhysand's eyes glittered and Nesta's stomach roiled at the implication. Beside her, Tamlin only listened with a stony silence.

Don't. she begged. Don't you fucking dare leave me.

<><><>

Rhysand brings them both before Amarantha, who is instantly threatened by/ jealous of Nesta x Tamlin

So she proposes a bargain.

<><><>

"Is your love true, I wonder?" Amarantha's wicked fangs leered down at her.

Nesta fought to keep her voice even. "It is."

"Would you love him if he were a mere man?"

"I would."

"Would you love him if he had nothing?"

"I would."

"Ah, but would you love him if he were a beast?"

She turned to him then. To Tamlin. To the man that she had grown to love so purely and wholly. It was to him that she spoke her next words.

"Man or beast, I would love him with all my heart. Thorns and all."

<><><>

Thus begins the trial of beasts.

A blood red ribbon is used to bind Nesta and Tamlin by their wrists.

Amarantha uses Tamlin's shapeshifting powers against him and forces him to shift into beasts of all kind without any control over his body.

If Nesta can maintain her hold on him throughout his beastly transformations and endure the claws/ fangs/ gashes/ bites without cutting the ribbon, Amarantha will let them all go (Nesta, Tamlin, Feyre and Elain)

Nesta, being the bamf she is, completes the challenge.

Amarantha, pissed as hell thinking that Nesta wouldn't be able to do it, but unable to break her bargain without repercussions, has no choice but to let them go.

the end

or is it???

AMARANTHA LETS THEM GO, BUT NOWHERE DID SHE SAY SHE WOULDNT ATTACK THEM AFTERWARDS, SO THAT'S WHAT SHE DOES

she goes for Nesta, and THAT'S when Tamlin's High Lord power finally snaps into place, because it was dormant the entire time he was in the mortal realm and he goes full beast mode on Amarantha and murks her once and for all.

[1800naveen]

If Tamlin gets a mate and a healing arc, it has to be like the original story with Tam Lin and Janet.

So in the ballad, Janet meets Tam Lin as she picks flowers and he's like "why are you here?" She goes "Carterhaugh is mine, my daddy gave it to me." Things happen and the two have some fun (😏😏) together. Janet gets pregnant and says that her lover is a fairy when she goes back home (PULL OUT GAME WEAK ASF). She finds out later on that Tam Lin is in fact a human like her and that he's in some trouble with the queen of fairies and is going to get offered for the teind (tithe) on halloween and needs his true love to free him (which is Janet). Her job is to find Tam Lin on his horse, pull him off of him, and hold on tight as fairies transform him into various creatures. At the end, he is turned into a piece of burning coal and Janet tosses him into a well. He emerges naked and as himself again. The queen of fairies was mad but accepted defeat. Janet and Tam Lin got their happily ever after.

Imagine a scene where his mate holds him either in his beast form or as he's shifting between different animals/creatures, not letting go and letting him know that he won't deal with his problems alone again. I don't know if someone would transform him or he's doing the shapeshifting himself as he loses control of his magic.

OMG, SJM, WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THIS???

[tamlinweek]

Tamlin vs. Tam Lin: A Brief Retelling

Happy Spring Equinox! It is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The days are getting longer, the air is growing warmer, and the earth is growing greener. What better time to learn more about the inspiration behind our favorite High Lord of Spring than today?

O, I forbid you, maidens all That wear gold in your hair To come or go by Carterhaugh For young Tam Lin is there... ~Adapted from the translation of Child Ballad 39A

The Ballad of Tam Lin is an old Scottish folk tale about an enchanted young man who will be sacrificed by the Queen of the Faeries if his mortal love Janet does not save him at the crossroads at midnight on All Hallow's Eve. He says he was once mortal, but fell from his horse and was then taken to faerieland (which is why he is now the Queen's 'elfin knight' and thus cannot leave the boundaries of Carterhaugh).

While A Court of Thorns and Roses is primarily a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it shares some qualities with the original Ballad. For example, Tamlin can change his shape at will. His beastly form is described as part wolf, part bear, and part elk. In the Ballad, Janet must free Tam Lin by pulling him down from his horse and holding tightly onto him while the faeries forcibly change his shape. If she lets go, her claim on him is forfeit. Depending on the telling, these shapes include:

a wolf

a bear

a lion

a serpent (sometimes a newt, a toad, and/or an eel)

a swan

a hot coal

When Janet at last succeeds, the Faerie Queen laments that had she known that Tam Lin would be stolen back, she would have replaced his heart with one of stone. (Or, more gruesomely, depending on the version, that she wished she had taken his eyes and replaced them with wooden ones.) Sound familiar?

What did the Faerie Queen want him for, anyway? According to the Ballad, the faeries sacrifice someone every seven years as a Tithe to Hell. Tam Lin believes that he is that year's Tithe, and it turns out to be true (because he is just that good-looking - and yes, that is canon!). In ACOTAR, the equally handsome Tamlin has seven times seven years to find someone who can free him from Amarantha's lustful claim upon him, or he is hers forever.

So, how exactly did he find someone to free him from such a fate? As we all know, ACOTAR's Feyre took an innocent life, so she had to cross the Wall to spend the rest of her life in Prythian. In the original Ballad, it's a little more complicated.

The story begins with Janet's father giving her the land containing Carterhaugh, the woods within which the legendary Tam Lin resides. He is said to collect a payment of any maiden passing through (usually her maidenhood ie virginity). From the way the Ballad is written, it seems that Janet seeks him out intentionally. For she has "kilted her green kirtle [skirt] above her knee", and green is said to be the faeries' color. Her hair is also described as yellow (ie blonde ie gold), and she has braided it above her brow in a most flattering way. When Janet searches Carterhaugh and doesn't find Tam Lin, she plucks a double rose that she finds nearby. He appears to tell her that she has taken something that belongs to him, and she sternly replies that the woods are hers to do with as she likes.

The Ballad does not go into detail, but upon returning to her father's house, Janet learns that she is pregnant. Because she does not want to marry anyone else, she returns to Carterhaugh to either find an herb to induce an abortion, or otherwise confront Tam Lin (sometimes both, depending on the version). When she asks him if he was ever human, he says he was, and the only way he can be human again (so that he can "be the baby's father") is if she frees him before he is sacrificed on All Hallow's Eve (as mentioned above).

With all this in mind, it's easy to see where Sarah J. Maas got the inspiration for her version of the story. While ACOTAR's Tamlin was never human, and never became human, he did need rescuing by someone who loved him enough to hold onto him until the end. At least until Book 2, *cough, cough*.

So well she minded what he said, And young Tam Lin did win; She covered him with her green cloak, As glad as a bird in spring. ~Adapted from the translation of Child Ballad 39A

So, there you have it! What other similarities have you noticed between the original Ballad and A Court of Thorns and Roses? Are you excited for Tamlin Week? Remember, it's happening on April 14 - 20, and you can find the prompts here. Happy Spring!

[praxidikegal]

Tam Lin! AU

Anaïs Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer

Tam Lin (Child 39) Lyrics

Janet sits in her lonely room

Sewing a silken seam

Looking out on Carterhaugh

Among the roses green

And Janet sits in her lonely bower

Sewing a silken thread

And longs to be in Carterhaugh

Among the roses red

She’s let the seam fall at her heel

The needle to her toe

And she has gone to Carterhaugh

As fast as she can go

She hadn’t pulled a rose, a rose

A rose, but only one

When then appeared him, young Tamlin

Says “Lady, let alone”

“What makes you pull the rose, the rose?

What makes you break the tree?

What makes you come to Carterhaugh

Without the leave of me?”

“But Carterhaugh is not your own

Roses there are many

I’ll come and go all as I please

And not ask leave of any”

And he has took her by the hand

Took her by the sleeve

And he has laid this lady down

Among the roses green

And he has took her by the arm

Took her by the hem

And he has laid this lady down

Among the roses red

[princess-ibri]

Found another Disney drawing from childhood that I decided to redo, so here’s Janet Carter from the Ballad of Tamlin

“O I forbid you, maidens a', That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh,For young Tam Lin is there.”

—Robert Burns ‘ Tam Lin’

[swiftsnowmane]

I hope no one minds me chiming in on this topic, but as someone who read ACotaR solely because I'd heard it was a 'Tam Lin' retelling, I came to the story with certain expectations. And while I realise that the Calanmai has a negative reputation amongst the fandom (for understandable reasons), initially, my reaction was to be intrigued and excited because it seemed like the author was finally going to be covering certain key story elements that evoked the original tale. So, in my case, it was moreso the way that whole sequence ended up panning out that bothered me.

Upon my initial reading, I figured that the Calanmai was going to be SJM's way of trying to incorporate the 'warning' from the Tam Lin ballad into her 'version' of the story: "I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair / To travel to Carterhaugh for young Tam Lin is there". One of the most delightful things about the folk ballad is that Janet hears the warning and basically goes: 'An enchanted dude in the woods who might want to bed me? That doesn't sound scary at all...that sounds like exactly what I want', and then immediately runs off to find him. While SJM did also make it so Feyre was 'warned' not to hunt in the forest due to of the presence of the fey at the beginning of the story, the actual 'warning' in the folk ballad is specifically geared towards warning 'maidens' not to go near Tam Lin because he's believed to seduce them in the forest ('Carterhaugh' refers to a wooded area, not a 'hall' like it is sometimes interpreted). Some interpretations of the folk ballad claim that Janet and Tam Lin's initial encounter is of 'dubious consent', but I don't interpret it that way simply because Janet knowingly and willingly goes into the forest (despite, or even because of the warning), symbolically picks the double rose, and then lies with Tam Lin. She then becomes pregnant, and is about to have an abortion until Tam Lin essentially promises her that he's going to 'man up' (literally, turn back into a 'man') and be her husband, as long as she 'holds him tight and fears him not'. The whole ballad is about a willful young woman who makes her own choices and defies everyone at each turn. But it's clear that even if Janet and Tam Lin's relationship in the ballad is consensual, other people in the region of Caterhaugh believe there is a potential *threat* of dubcon/non-con by stepping into those particular woods.

In light of the above, I can sort of see SJM trying to find a way to 'explain' this side of things (that Tamlin is made to participate in this kind of thing as a ritualistic event, but he hates having to do it, and is trying to spare Feyre from potentially becoming his victim). However, where things start to go 'off course' with SJM's version is that it's Tamlin himself warning Feyre not to go out there, instead of someone else doing the 'warning'. And he's warning her because of a real threat, not just a perceived one as in the folk ballad. It therefore poses Tamlin as the 'authority' to be defied rather than the one for which Feyre is doing the defying. And it gives Rhysand the 'in' to sneak his way into the story and interrupt this potentially pivotal scene. So my feeling is that if Rhysand wasn't originally supposed to be present at that point, then how was the Calanmai meant to go down? I'm honestly not sure, and can only speculate. In the orignal ballad, the Janet character is already pregnant with Tam Lin's child before the time comes when she has to save him from the Faerie Queen. I don't think Feyre's story would have 'gone there' yet even without Rhysand in the picture, but it still makes me wonder. Perhaps Feyre was indeed still going to be warned (either by Tamlin or by someone else in the household) but in a way where she was told more specifically about the dangers of was going to happen that night, rather than being left in the dark about certain details, so her defiance comes across as more of an informed choice to take a big risk rather than as just naivete or heedlessness. Perhaps the 'biting' moment was still supposed to happen (or something similar to it) but without Feyre having first randomly running into Rhysand (and him creepily posing himself as her 'rescuer'). This is just conjecture on my part, but it does seem like the way the Calanmai scenes were ultimately presented in ACoTaR had a LOT to do with the fact that they are when SJM ended up introducing Rhysand. It moves the focus of the scene from the female character's informed risk-taking, to this outside male character suddenly coming in, taking control, and steering her around. Maybe I'm overthinking things, but there's just so many contradictory mixed signals happening in those scenes in terms of both the Calanmai and Tamlin's character, and it's likely that Rhys being inserted into those scenes ended up greatly altering how they were originally meant to come across.

I think it was you that had the ask that said SJM said she had to add Rhys in earlier than she’d planned, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since then. Honestly, when you think about it in terms of Calanmai, that makes perfect sense.

Think about it.

The only time the High Lords are actually made to go is in the first book, and then they never have to again? Not to mention, that means that every year, Amarantha would have to allow all the High Lords to leave her control and why would she ever do that? It wouldn’t make logical sense for this supposed clever villain who snagged control of Prythian to let the people she wanted control over go where they could form alliances against her or run away, unless she herself was also attending… And she wasn’t and doesn’t look like she ever did either. So there wasn’t a point for Calanmai, and it was likely added in in editing so Rhys could be introduced earlier.

Hi anon! Yes, in this series of posts (here, here, and here), I got an anon who mentioned Rhysand being added in later.

It truly does make sense for ACOTAR given how his scenes aren't really pivotal to the plot. But for Calanmai, I can see it either way. Either it originally wasn't included and was added to give Rhysand a means to step into the story, which explains why the worldbuilding around Calanmai is... iffy, or as I mentioned in the first linked post, you can fully cut Rhysand out of Calanmai entirely and just have Lucien find Feyre and the plot flows just fine (which might also be likely given I don't think Sarah truly thought out her worldbuilding here and she promptly forgets all High Lords are supposed to do Calanmai, so because Sarah seems to think only Tamlin does Calanmai there's nothing necessitating that Amarantha let the others out, so...)

[highladyelain]

GUYS!! Gwyn is so blantantly Tamlins daughter. Here’s why :

I refuse to believe that sjm would have put so much detail and emphasis on Gwyns conception if it wasn’t going to be of importance later on in this series.

Okay this is my strongest point :

Tamlins character is obviously loosely inspired by the character of Tam Lin, a character in a legendary ballad originating in the Scottish Borders. In the ballad, Tam Lin collects the virginity of any maiden who walks passes through the forest of Carterhaugh. A young women ( named Janet in most variations ) walks through this land and later discovers she is pregnant and when asked who the father is will not reveal his name and declares the babies father is an elf. she’s decides she doesn’t not want to keep the baby, having no intention of raising it by herself but Tam Lin stops her, states he is willing to help raise the child and confesses that he used to be a mortal man, but was so handsome that the queen of faries took him for herself and plans to sacrifice him to hell. There’s way more to it, but I feel there are just too many similarities in Gwyns revelation to this for it not to be a valid and substantial theory. Also the queen of faries = Amarantha, and the collection of virginity = the great rite.

Other points include :

- we know that Gwyn was conceived on the great rite - in which the high lords of prythian allow ancient and powerful magic to enter their bodies in order to find the maiden and ensure the continued prosperity of their lands.

-Gwyn is twenty-eight, meaning the only high lord who would have taken part in this rite would have been Tamlin.

- If it was a lesser fae or someone of no significance, there would be no reason to mention any of this.

- Gwyn states that ‘no one ever showed up to ask about twin girls’ which, on the one hand may be because he did not know - but also, we should consider that at this point Amarantha is at large and if Tamlin were to acknowledge these children, she would most certainly make them suffer.

- ( this is were it gets ridiculous but stick with me ) the rite takes place on fire night, also known as ‘Calanmai’ - which is thought to be inspired by the Welsh celebration, Calen Mai which is celebrated in wales on may the first with bonfires and festivities.

- Gwyneth is a Welsh name !! as is the name of her deceased twin sister, Catrin.

- Fire night = Gwyns copper hair could possibly allude to fire ?

- Tamlin is a musician, we know he plays the fiddle beautifully and Gwyn is a beautiful musician also, her instrument being her voice.

I also feel like it is evident from his small but noteworthy role in this book that Tamlins story is far from over, and although I don’t feel that sjm will give him a large role in the next books - this would certainly be something which would give him a purpose, and perhaps drag him out of the deep darkness he is facing.

let’s just take a moment to imagine HIGH LADY GWYNETH BERDARA !!! 🙌🏻 also guys she is so so powerful and doesn’t even realise it yet !

[jayahult]

So, recently I've been listening to one @readwithcindy 's videos on the popular supernatural series "A Court of Thorns and Roses," which are quite funny, but there was one thing that struck me - the use of the already-existing character of Tam Lin (Tamlin in the books, apparently.) The story seems to wildly diverge from the existing story of Tam Lin, which is funny because Tam Lin's story is already very well-suited to a supernatural romance. There are several versions of the tale, across multiple retellings, but they generally follow the same beats. A woman named Janet is told by her father not to go to Carterhaugh, because Tam Lin lives there, a fairy or a "wild shade" who has promised that any young woman who comes there without his permission will leave "without their maidenhead." He is, in essence, a seducer. Janet does not listen to this advice, and meets Tam Lin, and then has a questionably-consensual exchange with him - in a lot of tellings, it's pretty vague, but judging by the following events she seems fine with the sex part, and more upset that he's a fairy than anything else. Some time goes by, and eventually her father speaks up and is like, "Listen, you've been getting sick to your stomach a lot and you've been putting on a suspicious amount of weight. I think we all know what's going on here. Who among my servants or knights knocked you up, so we can at least give the baby a last name?" Janet, of course, is like, "None of them. Tam Lin knocked me up," and is very ashamed of this.

Eventually, she goes back to Carterhaugh, and looks for a "poison rose" that is implied to be an abortifacient, at which point Tam Lin is like, "Ah-ha-ha, don't get an abortion, you're so sexy," and she's like, "well, you're a fairy and honestly I'm not sure if you guys can pay child support, much less be in a stable relationship with me, "and he's like, "well, wait, I can explain." This is where the story generally diverges a bit in different tellings - in some variations, Tam Lin simply changes into a variety of wild, dangerous animals but never harms Janet so long as she continues to embrace him, proving the trueness and constancy of his love. In the other tellings, he was once a mortal man before being captured by the Queen of Fairies, who gives one of their own as a tithe to Hell every seven years on Halloween - yes, that Halloween - and he wants to be with Janet, but he's staying distant because he's afraid that he's the tithe this year. However, he hatches a plan. When he rides to see the Queen of Fairies, he'll take a fall from his horse into Janet's waiting arms. The fairies transform him into dangerous animals to dissuade her, but she holds fast, only stopping him when he is transformed into a burning coal, whereon she drops him into a well, where he becomes a naked man once more. The Queen of Fairies is mad, but admits defeat, and they live happily ever after.

Now, this is all rich, fertile ground for some kind of fantastical erotic thriller, and for some reason Sara J. Maas seems to have ignored almost all of this judging by Cindy's review. There's a ton of potential here! I'm sad to see it go to waste.

[ataurusinabookshop]

Tam Lin Tattoo

Story: When a young woman, usually called Janet or Margaret, goes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, Tam appears and asks her why she has come without his leave and taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh because her father has given it to her.

In most variants, Janet then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When asked about her condition, she declares that her baby's father is an elf whom she will not forsake. In some versions, she is informed of a herb that will induce abortion; in all the variants, when she returns to Carterhaugh and picks a plant, either the same roses as on her earlier visit or the herb, Tam reappears and challenges her action.

She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance or, in some versions, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her pregnancy. He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, falling from his horse, was caught and captured by the Queen of Fairies. Every seven years, the fairies give one of their people as a teind (tithe) to Hell and Tam fears he will become the tithe that night, which is Hallowe'en. He is to ride as part of a company of elven knights. Janet will recognise him by the white horse upon which he rides and by other signs. He instructs her to rescue him by pulling him down from the white horse, so Janet "catches" him this time, and holds him tightly. He warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus), but that he will do her no harm. When he is finally turned into a burning coal, she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man, and she must hide him. Janet does as she is asked and wins her knight. The Queen of Fairies is angry but acknowledges defeat.

Tattoo Idea

The Janet embracing proteus-Tamlin

[bryaxisthefaceofnightmares]

SJM Does It Again - Tamlin is Tam Lin???

Okay so I’m researching a completely different book and I come across this lil tidbit....

“In Scotland a teind was a tithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy. It is also an old lowland term for a tribute due to be paid by the fairies to the devil every seven years. Found in the story of Tam Lin as well as in the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer. Teind is a Scots word for tithe, meaning a tenth part.”

Spring Court is the only court that demand a tithe...Tamlin is the high lord of Spring...

I have kept in the link for the Tam Lin folklore above but basically...

- Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity of any maiden who passes through the forest of Carterhaugh.  - A young woman, usually called Janet or Margaret, goes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose. - Tam Lin appears and asks her why she has come without his leave and taken what is his. - Janet/Margaret returns home pregnant. - When she returns to Carterhaugh and picks the same roses as on her earlier visit, Tam reappears and challenges her action. - He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, falling from his horse, was caught and captured by the Queen of Fairies. -Every seven years, the fairies give one of their people as a tithe to the Devil in Hell and Tam fears he will become the tithe that night, which is Hallowe'en. He is to ride as part of a company of elven knights.  - Janet/Margaret will recognise him by the white horse upon which he rides and by other signs. He instructs her to rescue him by pulling him down from the white horse - so Janet/Margaret "catches" him this time - and holding him tightly.  - He warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts. - When he is finally turned into a burning coal, she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man. - Janet/Margaret does as she is asked and wins her knight. - The Queen of Fairies is angry but acknowledges defeat.

Some differences from Feyre/Tamlin but weirdly similar??? Am I just going crazy????

[lionborncityfreer]

ok I don’t know if anyone’s brought this up yet or if sj maas has talked about this yet but if not I’d just like to bring to your attention the roots of the names “Velaris”

velaris - Type: verb (language: latin)

second-person singular present passive indicative of vēlō

ok so that’s all great but guess what vēlō means

velo - Type: verb

conceal { verb }

cover { adjective verb noun }

hide { verb }

Velaris is the hidden city

Velaris is a literal translation of “to conceal/hide”

sj maas you sly fox

...

in the same vein, Calanmai means “may day” in welsh and is basically the welsh equivalent of Beltane

Hybern is an old latin name for ireland

but most interestingly

Tamlin is likely derived from an old scottish ballad called Tam Lin, about a man abducted by fairies and rescued by his true love

*cough cough*

sound familiar?

in the story, it begins with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity of any maiden who passes through the forest (usually of Carterhaugh). When a young woman picks a double rose in aforementioned forest, Tam appears and asks her why she has come without his leave and taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh because her father has given it to her. In some versions, she then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant. When asked about her condition, she declares that her baby's father is an elf whom she will not forsake. In some versions, she is informed of a herb that will induce abortion, in all, when she returns to Carterhaugh and picks a plant, either the same roses as on her earlier visit or the herb, Tam reappears and challenges her. She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance or immediately after their first meeting resulted in her pregnancy. He reveals that he was a mortal, who, falling from his horse, was caught and captured by the Queen of Fairies. Every seven years, the faeries give one of their people as a teind (tithe) to Hell and Tam fears he will become the tithe that night. He is to ride as part of a company of faerie knights. She will recognize him by the white horse upon which he rides and by other signs. He instructs her to rescue him by pulling him down from the white horse - so she "catches" him this time - and holding him tightly. He warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts, but that he will do her no harm. When he is finally turned into a burning coal, she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man, and she must hide him. She does as she is asked and wins her knight. The Queen of Fairies is angry but acknowledges defeat. (taken mostly from the wikipedia article)

idk about y’all but this makes me very nervous because 1) there are elements of both The Tool’s and Rhys’s backstories in this legend and 2) the girl gets pregnant by Tam (aaah!) which does not bode well for ACOWAR