View source for Tam Lin

{{Short description|Scottish border ballad}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| translator    = [[Robert Burns]]
| image         = Page 161 illustration in More English Fairy Tales.png
| image_size    = 171px
| caption       = Illustration by [[John D. Batten]] for Tamlane in ''More English Fairy Tales''.<ref name="JacobsMore">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Joseph|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/More_English_Fairy_Tales/Tamlane|title=More English Fairy Tales|last2=Batten|first2=John D.|publisher=David Nutt|year=1894|isbn=0-370-01023-X|edition=2nd|location=London|pages=159–62 & notes : 238|chapter=Tamlane|author1-link=Joseph Jacobs|author-link2=John D. Batten}}</ref>
| author        = Anonymous
| illustrator   = [[John D. Batten]]
| cover_artist  = [[Pamela Dean]]
| country       = {{flag|Scotland}}
| language      = [[Scots language|Classical Scottish]]
| series        = 1
| genre         = [[Ballad]]
| publisher     = [[Scots Musical Museum]]
| release_date  = 1796
| english_release_date = 1796
| media_type    =
| pages         = 1
| isbn          =
| preceded_by   =
| followed_by   =
}}
'''Tam Lin''', also known as '''Tamas-Lin''', '''Tamlane''', '''Tamlene''', '''Tamlin''', '''Tambling''', '''Tomlin''', '''Tam-Lien''', '''Tam-a-Line''', '''Tam-Lyn''' or '''Tam-Lane''', is a character in the [[legend]]ary [[ballad]] originating from the [[Scottish Borders]].

==History==
The story of '''Tam Lin''' [təm˧˧:ləŋ˧˧] revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the [[Queen of the Fairies]]. The motif of winning a person (or subduing an enemy) by holding him through all forms of [[Transformation chase|transformation]] is found throughout Europe in [[Folklore|folktale]]s.<ref name=Child>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/englishscottishp02chil#page/334/mode/2up|editor-last=Child|editor-first=Francis James|chapter=Tam Lin|title=English and Scottish Popular Ballads|volume=I Part 2|pages=335–358|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin and Company]]|location=Boston|year=1890|access-date=2017-11-19}}</ref><ref name=Sacred>{{cite web|url=https://archive.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch039.htm|title=Tam Lin|work=The English and Scottish Popular Ballads|publisher=[[Internet Sacred Text Archive]]|year=2011|access-date=2017-11-19}}</ref>

The story has been adapted into numerous stories, songs, and films. It is also associated with a [[Reel (dance)|reel]] of the same name, which is also known as the ''Glasgow Reel''.

Tam Lin is listed as the [[List of the Child Ballads|39th]] [[Child Ballads|Child Ballad]] and [[List of folk songs by Roud number|number 35]] in the [[Roud Folk Song Index]].
===Synopsis===
[[File:Carterhaugh.jpg|thumb|[[Carterhaugh]], near the confluence of the [[Yarrow Water]] and the [[Ettrick Water]]<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Carterhaugh|date=2005|editor-first1=J.|editor-last1=Ayto|editor-first2=I|editor-last2=Crofton|editor-first3=P.|editor-last3=Cavill|title=Brewer's Britain and Ireland|publisher=Chambers Harrap}}</ref>|left|261x261px]]Most variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the [[virginity]] of any maiden who passes through the forest of [[Carterhaugh]]. 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.<ref name=Fresno>{{cite web|url=http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/C039.html|last1=Waltz|first1=Robert B.|last2=Engle|first2=David G.|title=Tam Lin|work=Folklore The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World|publisher=[[California State University, Fresno]]|year=2012|access-date=2017-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033318/http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/C039.html|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Child />

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. Tam Lin reveals that, though he was once a mortal man, he was imprisoned in Carterhaugh by the Queen of Faeries after she kidnapped him by catching him when he fell from his horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tam-lin.org/|title=What is Tam Lin?|last=Achland|first=A.|date=1997|website=Tam Lin Baladry|access-date=20 November 2023}}</ref> He goes on to tell Janet that the fairies give one of their people as a [[teind]] ([[tithe]]) to [[Hell]]  at midnight on every seventh [[Halloween|Hallowe'en]]. He asks Janet for her help in freeing him, and receives her agreement; he then instructs her to come to the forest at the time of the tithe, during which he'll be in the company of numerous faerie knights -- he tells her that she'll recognize him by his white horse. Janet must pull him down from his horse, thus making her the one to "catch" him this time, and hold him tightly: he warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by [[Transformation chase|turning him]] into all manner of beasts (see [[Proteus]]), but states that none of these forms will actually cause her harm. Tam Lin will eventually take the shape of burning coal; when this occurs, Janet is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked mortal man whom Janet must hide. She does as she is asked and wins her knight; though her success angers the Queen of Faeries, the latter accepts her defeat.<ref name=Child /><ref name=Fresno />

In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of the Laird of [[Roxburgh]], the Laird of [[Foulis Castle|Foulis]], the [[Lord Forbes|Earl]] of [[Castle Forbes|Forbes]], or the [[Earl of Moray|Earl of Murray]]. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, Tam-a-line and Tamlane.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/balladsweirdwond00choprich#page/n115/mode/2up|last=Chope|first=R.P.|title=Tamlane|work=Ballads Weird and Wonderful|pages=53–60|publisher=Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.|year=1911|access-date=2017-11-19}}</ref><ref name= JacobsMore />
[[File:Tam Lin opening verses.png|thumb|409x409px|[[Robert Burns]]' Tam Lin, printed in [[James Johnson (engraver)|James Johnson]]'s ''[[Scots Musical Museum]]'' (1796).]]

===Early versions===
The ballad dates to at least as early as 1549 (the publication date of ''[[The Complaynt of Scotland]]'' that mentions "The Tayl of the [[Yogh|Ȝ]]ong Tamlene" ('The Tale of the Young Tamelene') among a long list of medieval romances).<ref name=Child /><ref>The Complaynt of Scotland, c. vi., ed. J. A. H. Murray, E.E.T.S., p.68 (excerpted in: {{cite book|last=Ker|first=W. P.|author-link=William Paton Ker|title=Epic and romance: essays on medieval literature|publisher=Macmillan|year=1922|url=https://archive.org/details/KerEpicAndRomance1922|page=[https://archive.org/details/KerEpicAndRomance1922/page/n418 389]}})</ref> [[Michael Drayton]]'s narrative poem ''Nimphidia'' (1627) includes a character called Tomalin who is a vassal and kinsman of [[Oberon]], King of the Fairies. [[Robert Burns]] wrote a version of Tam Lin based on older versions of the ballad, which was printed in [[James Johnson (engraver)|James Johnson]]'s ''[[Scots Musical Museum]]'' (1796).<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC - Robert Burns - Tam Lin|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/tam_lin/|access-date=2021-03-09|website=BBC|language=en-GB}}</ref>

The story featured in several nineteenth century books of fairy tales under different titles :
* "Elphin Irving, the Fairies' Cupbearer" in ''Traditional Tales of the English and Scottish Peasantry'' by [[Allan Cunningham (author)|Allan Cunningham]] (1822){{NoteTag|{{wikisource-inline|Traditional Tales of the English and Scottish Peasantry/Elphin Irving, the Fairies' Cupbearer|Elphin Irving, the Fairies' Cupbearer|single=true}}}}
* "Wild Robin" in ''Little Prudy's Fairy Book'' by [[Rebecca Sophia Clarke|Sophie May]] (1866).{{NoteTag|{{wikisource-inline|Fairy Book (Clarke)/Wild Robin|Wild Robin|single=true}}}}
* "Tamlane" in ''More English Fairy Tales'' by [[Joseph Jacobs]] (1893).

[[Francis James Child]] collected fourteen traditional variants in ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'' in the nineteenth century.<ref name="Child" /> (Another Child ballad, ''[[Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane]]'', has no connection with this ballad except for the similarity of the heroes' names.)

===Motifs===
Child took the threat to take out Tam Lin's eyes as a common [[Scottish folklore|folklore]] precaution against mortals who could see fairies, in the tales of [[fairy ointment]]. [[Joseph Jacobs]] interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faeries would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.<ref name="JacobsMore" />

In some variants, "[[Hind Etin]]" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and the heroine.<ref name="Child" />{{rp|340}}

==Influences==
===Field recordings===
The ballad has been recorded several times from Scottish and Northern Irish people who learned it in the oral tradition. [[Eddie Butcher]] of [[Magilligan]], [[County Londonderry]] knew a fragment of the ballad which can be heard via the [[Irish Traditional Music Archive]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Archive|first=Irish Traditional Music|date=2021-03-09|title=Saturday night is Halloween night, song / Eddie Butcher|url=https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/saturday-night-is-halloween-night-eddie-butcher|access-date=2021-03-09|website=ITMA|language=en|archive-date=1 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701173233/https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/saturday-night-is-halloween-night-eddie-butcher|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Paddy Tunney]] of [[Mallybreen|Mollybreen]], [[County Fermanagh]] sang a version to [[Hugh Shields]] in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saturday Night is Hallowe'en Night (Roud Folksong Index S251048)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S251048|access-date=2021-03-09|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> In Scotland, [[Duncan Williamson]] of [[Auchtermuchty]], [[Fife|Fifeshire]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tam Lin (Roud Folksong Index S336896)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S336896|access-date=2021-03-09|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> William Whyte of [[Aberdeen]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tam Lin (Roud Folksong Index S332203)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S332203|access-date=2021-03-09|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> and Betsy Johnston of [[Glasgow]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tam Lin (Roud Folksong Index S162763)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S162763|access-date=2021-03-09|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> all had traditional versions recorded, the latter two by [[Hamish Henderson]].

===Popular recordings of the ballad===
<!--ARTISTS MUST HAVE WIKI PAGES. If you don't know how to add to the table, enter the artist, song, album and year in sentence form after the table. Others will add the recordings to the table later.-->
Following are some of the notable recordings of the ballad, including their artists, titles, albums, and years:
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"| Artist
!scope="col"| Title
!scope="col"| Album
!scope="col"| Year

|-
|[[Frankie Armstrong]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''I Heard a Woman Singing''
|1984
|-
|[[Anne Briggs]]
|"Young Tambling"
|''[[Anne Briggs (album)|Anne Briggs]]''
|1971
|-
|[[Current 93]]
|"Tamlin"
|''Tamlin''
|1994
|-
|[[Daniel Dutton]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Twelve Ballads''
|2006
|-
|[[Fairport Convention]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''[[Liege & Lief]]''
|1969
|-
|[[Archie Fisher]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition''
|2017
|-
|[[Bob Hay (musician)|Bob Hay]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns''
|2006
|-
|[[The Imagined Village]] ([[Benjamin Zephaniah]], [[Eliza Carthy]], et al.)
|"Tam Lyn Retold"
|''The Imagined Village''
|2007
|-
|[[Bill Jones (musician)|Bill Jones]]
|"Tale of Tam Lin"
|''Panchpuran''
|2001
|-
|[[Alastair McDonald (musician)|Alastair McDonald]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Heroes & Legends of Scotland''
|2007
|-
|[[Mediæval Bæbes]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Mirabilis''
|2005
|-
|[[Anaïs Mitchell]] & Jefferson Hamer
|''Tam Lin (Child 39)''<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Folk Alley Sessions|chapter=Tam Lin (Child 39)|people=[[Anaïs Mitchell]] & Jefferson Hamer|publisher= FreshGrass Foundation|date=2013}} {{YouTube|c3yTEUnyYDA}}</ref>
|''[[Child Ballads (album)|Child Ballads]]''
|2013
|-
|[[Pete Morton]]
|"Tamlyn"
|''Frivolous Love''
|1984
|-
|[[Les Barker|Mrs. Ackroyd Band]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Gnus & Roses''
|1995
|-
|[[Ian Page (singer)|Ian Page]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Folk Music of Scotland''
|2008
|-
|[[Pentangle (band)|Pentangle]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''The Time Has Come''
|2007
|-
|[[Steeleye Span]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Tonight's the Night, Live!''
|1992
|-
|[[Tempest (Celtic rock band)|Tempest]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Serrated Edge''
|1992
|-
|Tricky Pixie (Betsy Tinney, [[S. J. Tucker]], [[Alexander James Adams]])
|"Tam Lin" 
|''Mythcreants''
|2009
|-
|[[The Watersons|Mike Waterson]]
|"Tam Lyn"
|''For Pence and Spicy Ale'' (reissue)
|1993
|-
|[[Kathleen Yearwood]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Book of Hate''
|1994
|-
|[[Faun (band)|Faun]]
|"Tamlin"
|''Pagan''
|2022
|}

[[Benjamin Zephaniah]] was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk |title=TalkAwhile UK Acoustic music forum |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |access-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>) for ''[[Tam Lyn|Tam Lyn Retold]]''. He collected the award at [[The Cambridge Folk Festival]] on 2 August 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=26229.0 |title=Best Original Song |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |date=3 August 2008 |access-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

===Popular instrumental recordings===
<!--ARTISTS MUST HAVE WIKI PAGES. If you don't know how to add to the table, enter the artist, song, album and year in sentence form after the table. Others will add the recordings to the table later.-->
Following are some of the notable instrumental recordings, including their artists, titles, albums, and years:
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"| Artist
!scope="col"| Title
!scope="col"| Album
!scope="col"| Year

|-
|[[Davey Arthur|Davey Arthur (with Three Fingered Jack)]]
|"Tam Lin" (with 2 other reels)
|''Bigger Than You Think''
|2010
|-	
|[[Séamus Egan]]
|"Tamlin" (with 2 other reels)
|''In Your Ear''
|1998
|-
|[[Elephant Revival]]
|"Tam Lin Set"
|''It's Alive''
|2012
|-
|[[The Duhks|Tania Elizabeth]]
|"Tam Lynn's"
|''This Side Up''
|2000
|-
|[[Fiddler's Green (band)|Fiddler's Green]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Wall of Folk''
|2011
|-
|[[Joe Jewell]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Bluebells of Scotland''
|1997
|-
|[[King Chiaullee]]
|"Tam Lin" (with 3 other reels)
|''Reel: Ode''
|2003
|-
|[[Jeremy Kittel]]
|"Tamlin"
|''Celtic Fiddle''
|2003
|-
|[[Catriona MacDonald|Catriona MacDonald & Ian Lowthian]]
|"Tam Lin" (with 2 other reels)
|''Opus Blue''
|1993
|-
|[[The Steel Wheels|Trent Wagler & The Steel Wheels]]
|"Tam Lin"
|''Blue Heaven''
|2006
|}

==Adaptations==
[[File:Tam Lin by Pamela Dean.jpg|thumb|318x318px|[[Thomas Canty]]'s cover art for [[Tam Lin (novel)|Tam Lin by Pamela Dean]]]]

===Prose===
* [[John Myers Myers]] tells a variant in ''[[Silverlock]]'' (1949)
*''[[The Armourer's House]]'', by [[Rosemary Sutcliff]] (1951) -- includes a telling of the Tam Lin tale, which parallels the novel's theme of a girl struggling to obtain her dreams.
* ''Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends'', by [[Barbara Ker Wilson]] (1954)
* ''Thursday'', by [[Catherine Storr]] (1971)
* ''[[Red Shift (novel)|Red Shift]]'', by [[Alan Garner]] (1973)
* ''The Queen of Spells'', by [[Dahlov Ipcar]] (1973)
* ''[[The Perilous Gard]]'', by [[Elizabeth Marie Pope]] (1974)
* ''[[Fire and Hemlock]]'', by [[Diana Wynne Jones]] (1985)
* ''Tam Lin'' by Joan D. Vinge, in ''Imaginary Lands'' edited by [[Robin McKinley]] (1986)
* ''Nattens demon'' (translated from Norwegian as ''Demon of the Night''), by [[Margit Sandemo]] (1987)
* ''Tam Lin: An Old Ballad'', by [[Jane Yolen]], illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak (1990)
* ''Hold Me Fast, Don't Let Me Pass'', by [[Alice Munro]], in ''[[Friend of My Youth]]'' (1990)
* ''Tam Lin'' by [[Susan Cooper]], illustrated by [[Warwick Hutton]] (1991)
* ''[[Tam Lin (novel)|Tam Lin]]'', by [[Pamela Dean]] (1991)
* ''Tam Lin'', in the graphic novel series ''Ballads and Sagas'' edited by [[Charles Vess]] (1995)
* ''[[Winter Rose (novel)|Winter Rose]]'', by [[Patricia McKillip]] (1996)
* ''Never Let Go'', by [[Geraldine McCaughrean]], illustrated by Jason Cockcroft (1999)
* ''Burd Janet'', by [[Jane Yolen]], in ''Not One Damsel in Distress'' (2000)
* ''Tam Lin'' (a version in [[Scots language|Scots]]), by Ian MacFadyen, in ''The Eildon Tree'', Special Double Issue 4-5: Winter 2001, edited by Tom Bryan 
* "Cotillion", by [[Delia Sherman]], in ''[[Firebirds (anthology)|Firebirds]]'', edited by [[Sharyn November]] (2003)
* ''[[The Dogs of Babel]]'' (UK edition: ''Lorelei's Secret''), by [[Carolyn Parkhurst]] (2003)
* ''[[Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale]]'' by [[Holly Black]] (2004)
* "He Said, Sidhe Said" by [[Tanya Huff]], in ''Faerie Tales'' ed. Russell Davis and Martin H. Greenberg (2004)
* ''An Earthly Knight'', by [[Janet McNaughton]] (2005)
* ''Blood and Iron'', by [[Elizabeth Bear]] (2006)
* ''Summer's Lease'', by Eluki bes Shahar ([[Rosemary Edghill]]) {{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
* "The Lady and the Fox," by [[Kelly Link]], in ''My True Love Gave to Me'', ed. Stephanie Perkins (2014)
* ''[[A Court of Thorns and Roses]]'', by [[Sarah J. Maas]] (2015)
* ''Roses and Rot'', by [[Kat Howard]] (2016)

===Theatre===
*''The Thyme of the Season'' by [[Duncan Pflaster]] (incorporates elements and allusions to the story)
*''Tamlane'' by Edwin Stiven<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|date=3 June 2020|title=Obituary: Charles Nowosielski, visionary director behind Theatre Alba|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituary-charles-nowosielski-visionary-director-behind-theatre-alba-2871701}}</ref>

===Film===
*''[[Tam-Lin (film)|Tam-Lin]]'' (1970 movie) directed by [[Roddy McDowall]], and starring [[Ava Gardner]].
*''[[An Old Ballad]]'' (1988 animated film) directed by [[Valentyna Kostyleva]], [[Kyivnaukfilm|Kyїvnaukfilm]].<ref>{{YouTube|AUuKiSbIm9k|An Old Ballad (1988 animated film)}}</ref>

===Novels===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}
* In [[Carolyn Parkhurst]]'s novel ''[[The Dogs of Babel]]'' (also known as ''Lorelei's Secret'' in the UK), a section of Tam Lin plays a pivotal role in the story.  In it the narrator, Paul Iverson, discovers that his recently deceased wife left an encrypted message to him in their bookshelf, quoting Tam Lin.
* The multi-faceted novel ''[[Red Shift (novel)|Red Shift]]'' by [[Alan Garner]] can be read as a subtle reworking of the ballad.
* In the fantasy novel ''[[The Battle of Evernight]]'' by [[Cecilia Dart-Thornton]], the story of Tam Lin is told as the story of Tamlain Conmor.
* Tamlin appears in the fantasy novel ''Rumors of Spring'' by [[Richard Grant (author)|Richard Grant]].
* In [[Jim Butcher]]'s novel [[Cold Days]] Tam Lin is referenced as a former Knight of the Winter Court
* ''[[A Court of Thorns and Roses]]'' by [[Sarah J. Maas]] (2015) has a fairy character named Tamlin whom the protagonist saves from an evil fairy queen, though the novel's plot resembles ''[[Beauty and the Beast]].''

===Comic books===
* ''Tam-Lin'', a [[closet drama]] written by [[Elaine Lee]] and illustrated by [[Charles Vess]], appears in ''The Book of Ballads and Sagas'', Vess's collection of adaptations of traditional songs, mostly into comics form.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Neil|last1=Gaiman|first2=Jane|last2=Yolan|first3=Sharyn|last3=McCrumb|first4=Midori |last4=Snyder|first5=Charles|last5=De Lint|others=Illustrated by Charles Vess|title=The Book of Ballads and Sagas|publisher=Titan Comics|date=2018|isbn= 978-1782763321}}</ref>
* In the [[Vertigo Comics|Vertigo]] comic book, ''[[Fables (Vertigo)|Fables]]'', Tam Lin died in the defence of the last stronghold of the Fables against the forces of the Adversary. He is claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries, who had a reputation of a scoundrel, but gave up his chance of freedom to his page.
* In the Vertigo comic book series, ''[[The Sandman (DC Comics)|The Sandman]]'' by [[Neil Gaiman]], the notion that Faerie pays a sacrificial tithe to Hell is mentioned in the storyline "Season of Mists".
* In the Vertigo comic book series ''[[The Books of Magic]]'', ''The Names of Magic'', and ''The Books of Faerie'', Tamlin is the father of the protagonist Timothy Hunter, potentially the greatest sorcerer in the world. In ''The Books of Faerie: The Widow's Tale'', the story of Tamlin's romance with Queen Titania of Faerie is revealed.<ref name="vert-ency">{{Cite book  | last = Irvine | first = Alex | author-link = Alexander C. Irvine | contribution = The Books of Faerie | editor-last = Dougall  | editor-first = Alastair  | title = The Vertigo Encyclopedia  | pages = 36–37 | publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]  | place = New York  | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-7566-4122-1 | oclc = 213309015}}</ref>
===Other===
* In the mobile game [[Fate/Grand Order]], Tam Lin are used to refer to Fairy Knights in the English Translation of the game.
* In the ''[[Megami Tensei|Shin Megami Tensei]]'' series of video games, Tam Lin is a recurring demon that can often be recruited relatively early and is one of the very few demons whose design share an exact model with another demon – its brother model being another northern European mythological hero, [[Cú Chulainn|Cu Chulainn]].
* This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in ''Ballads Weird and Wonderful'' (1912) and illustrated by [[Vernon Hill (sculptor)|Vernon Hill]].
* ''The Rose'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=720 |title=The Rose |publisher=Shadowscapes.com |access-date=2014-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128084140/http://shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=720 |archive-date=28 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''The Knight'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=732 |title=Stephanie Pui-Mun Law |publisher=Shadowscapes |access-date=2014-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716050654/http://www.shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=732 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and ''The Faery Host''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=718 |title=The Faery Host |publisher=Shadowscapes.com |access-date=2014-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128084307/http://shadowscapes.com/image.php?lineid=4&bid=718 |archive-date=28 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> are paintings by [[Stephanie Pui-Mun Law]] depicting various parts of the Tam Lin legend.
* The [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] book ''Enchanted Kingdom'' has an ending in which the reader/player's character is rescued from the fairies by a girl whom the character has befriended, who has to hold onto the character through three transformations.
* In [[Seanan McGuire]]'s October Daye series, the poem is both spoken and referenced over the course of the series, and Janet is a character in some of the later books. The events of the poem occurred in universe.
* [[Alastair White]]'s fashion-opera ''WOAD'' adapts the ballad to explore the implications of multiverse theory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alastair White: WOAD |url=https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/opera/alastair-white-woad/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Classical Music |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Wikisource|Tam Lin}}
*[[List of the Child Ballads]]
*[[Barbara Allen (song)|Barbara Allen]]
*[[Gil Brenton]]
*[[The Sprig of Rosemary]]
*[[Thomas the Rhymer]]

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{NoteFoot|2}}
===References===
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.contemplator.com/child/tamlin.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070122174326/http://www.contemplator.com/child/tamlin.html|archivedate=22 January 2007|title=Variant by Burns circa 1792}}
* {{cite web|url=https://tam-lin.org|url-status=live| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209080011/http://tam-lin.org/|archivedate=9 February 2020|title=A website devoted to Tam Lin}}
{{Francis James Child}}
{{scottish folklore}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:16th century in Scotland]]
[[Category:Border ballads]]
[[Category:Middle Scots poems]]
[[Category:Child Ballads]]
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[[Category:Medieval Scottish literature]]
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[[Category:Traditional Celtic fiddle tunes]]
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[[Category:1549 in Europe]]
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