Verea Viteazul
Romanian folklore hero.
Verea Viteazul is a figure from Romanian folklore, known as a strong and brave hero. He is the central character in a number of folktales rooted in old Romanian folk traditions and legends. In one story, after hunting and killing three pigeons, he rests beneath a large tree with his horse and dogs, starting a fire to cook the birds. An old woman’s voice complains of cold from the tree, and he invites her down. She gives him three hairs to throw on his animals, then descends barefoot, carrying frogs on a spit, and tries to touch his pigeons. When he stops her, she says those cooking pigeons should eat frogs and vice versa. He pushes her away, and the hairs become chains binding his horse and dogs. The old woman transforms into a monster, threatens to strangle him, and orders him still. She then cuts open his belly, removes his intestines, heart, and kidneys, and fills the cavity with horse dung or wood rot. She takes his organs to her home in the tree, heals his wound with magical water, and warns him he will die if he tells anyone. He returns to his palace.
- Field
- Folklore
- Nationality
- Romanian
- Known for
- Main character in Romanian fairy tales featuring a plot with an old hag on a tree
Lore & Background
Verea Viteazul appears as the main character in the Romanian fairy tale 'Chiperi Viteazul lumii, Verea Viteazul' (first published in the 19th century by Petre Ispirescu), in the Moldavian folk tale 'Verea-Viteazul' (published in the scientific collection 'Genuri si specii folkloristice' in 1972), and in the tale 'Fat-Frumos and Verea Viteazul' (first published in 1973 in a compilation by Grigore Botezatu). All these tales are based on ancient folk Romanian traditions and legends.
The tales describe a single plot with some variations: after shooting three pigeons on a hunt, Verea Viteazul rests under a huge tree with his horse and dogs and lights a fire to fry the pigeons. He hears the voice of an old woman from the tree who complains she is cold. He invites her down, and she gives him three hairs to throw on his horse and dogs. After he does so, she descends barefoot with frogs on a spit and tries to touch his pigeons. When he pushes her away, the hairs turn into chains binding his horse and dogs, and the old woman grows into a monster, threatening to strangle him. She rips open his belly, removes his intestines, heart, and kidneys, and stuffs his belly with horse dung or wood rot. She takes his viscera to her house on top of a tree, heals his belly with magic water, and releases him with a warning that if he tells anyone, he will die immediately. Verea Viteazul then returns to his palace.
Reader's Guide
Verea Viteazul holds significance in Romanian folklore as a traditional hero whose story appears in multiple published collections from the early 20th century onward. His tale, centered on a confrontation with an old hag on a tree, has drawn scholarly attention for its parallels to other European folk figures. German explorer Hans Fink draws an analogy between the old hag and the German folk character Perchta or Frau Bercht. Romanian-Spanish scholar Angela Castineira Ionescu points to her perverted sexual fetishism in her work on the structure of traditional Romanian tales. The character's legacy is preserved through the works of folklorists such as Alexandru Vasiliu, Grigore Botezatu, and the scientific collection 'Genuri si specii folkloristice'. These sources ensure that Verea Viteazul remains a subject of study in comparative folklore and Romanian cultural history.
Did You Know?
- In the tale, the old hag stuffs Verea Viteazul's belly with horse dung or wood rot after removing his organs.
- The tale was first collected and published by Petre Ispirescu in the 19th century.
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