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" Iron John" (also " Iron Hans"; German: Der Eisenhans) is a German fairy tale found in the collections of the Grimm Brothers, tale number 136, about an iron-skinned wild man and a prince. The original German title is Eisenhans, a compound of Eisen "iron" and Hans (like English John, a common short form of the personal name Johannes). It represents Aarne–Thompson type 502, "The wild man as a helper".Aarne, Antti; Thompson, Stith. The types of the folktale: a classification and bibliography. Folklore Fellows Communications FFC no. 184. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1961. pp. 169-170.
Most people see the story as a parable about a boy maturing into . The story also became the basis for the book by Robert Bly which spawned the mythopoetic men's movement in the early 1990s. The book spent 62 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Some years later, a wandering explorer accompanied by a dog hears of these dangerous woods and asks permission to hunt in the forest, claiming that he might be able to discover the fate of the other hunters. The man and his dog are allowed to enter. As they come to a lake in the middle of the forest, the dog is dragged under water by a giant bare arm. The hunter returns to the forest the next day with a group of men to empty the lake. They find lying down at the bottom of the lake a large and naked wild man with rusted iron-like skin (some versions show him in some article of clothing) and sporting a shaggy beard and hair that are long enough to go down to his knees. They capture him and he is locked in a cage in the courtyard as a curiosity. The king declares that no one is allowed to set the wild man free or they will face the penalty of death.
Years later, the 8-year-old prince is playing with a ball in the courtyard. He accidentally rolls it into the cage where the iron-skinned man picks it up and will only return it if he is set free. He states further that the only key to the cage is hidden beneath the queen's pillow.
Though the prince hesitates, he eventually builds up the courage to sneak into his mother's room and steal the key. He releases the wild iron-skinned man who reveals his name to be Iron John (or Iron Hans depending on the translation). The prince fears he will be killed for setting Iron John free, so Iron John agrees to take the prince with him into the forest.
Iron John is a powerful being and has many treasures that he guards. He sets the prince to watch over his well, but warns him not to let anything touch it or fall in because it will turn instantly to gold. The prince obeys at first, but begins to play in the well eventually turning all his hair into gold. Disappointed in the boy's failure, Iron John sends him away to experience poverty and struggle. Iron John also tells the prince that if he ever needs anything, simply to call the name of Iron John three times.
The prince travels to a distant land and offers his services to its king. Since he is ashamed of his golden hair, he refuses to remove his cap before its king and is sent to assist the gardener.
When war comes to the kingdom, the prince sees his chance to make a name for himself. He calls upon Iron John, who gives him a horse, armor, and a legion of iron warriors to fight alongside him. The prince successfully defends his new homeland, but returns all that he borrowed to Iron John before returning to his former position.
In celebration, the king announces a banquet and offers his daughter's hand in marriage to any one of the knights who can catch a golden apple that will be thrown into their midst. The king hopes that the mysterious knight who saved the kingdom will show himself for such a prize. Again the prince asks Iron John for help, and again Iron John disguises the prince as the mysterious knight. Though the prince catches the golden apple and escapes, and does so again on two more occasions, he is eventually found out.
After telling his tale to the court, the prince is returned to his former station, marries the princess, and is happily reunited with his parents. Iron John too comes to the wedding. This time, he is seen without his wild man appearance that made him frightening, as his true form is a stately king. Iron John reveals to the prince he was under an enchantment until he found someone worthy and pure of heart to set him free, and in his gratitude he bequeaths all his treasures to the prince.
The oldest variant to be preserved is the Italian Guerrino and the Savage Man.Paul Delarue, The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales, p 384, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York 1956 In chivalric romance the motif appears in recognizable if rationalized form in Roswall and Lillian.Hibbard, Laura A. Medieval Romance in England. New York: Burt Franklin, 1963. p. 291. This in turn influenced the ballad The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward, too closely related not to be derived.Laura A. Hibbard, Medieval Romance in England p290-1 New York Burt Franklin,1963
Accessed 2023-06-30. Similarly, German scholar Hans-Jörg Uther noted that type ATU 502 is "often" the first part to ATU 314, "Goldener".
Another closely related tale is the former tale type AT 532, "I Don't Know" or Neznaiko (a sapient horse instructs the hero to play dumb).Cooper, David L. (editor/translator); Dobšinský, Pavol (collector). Traditional Slovak Folktales. Armonk, New York; London, England: M. E. Sharpe. 2001. p. 274. . The former type happens in Hungarian tale NemtutkaArnold Ipolyi. Ipolyi Arnold népmesegyüjteménye (Népköltési gyüjtemény 13. kötet). Budapest: Az Athenaeum Részvénytársualt Tulajdona. 1914. pp. 196-202. and Russian tale Story of Ivan, the Peasant's Son.Steele, Robert. The Russian garland: being Russian folk tales. London: A.M. Philpot. 1916? pp. 39-49.
These three tale types (ATU 502, ATU 314 and AaTh 532), which refer to a male protagonist expelled from home, are said to be "widespread in Europe".
Accessed 2023-06-17.
The tale type is also reported in the East Slavic Folktale Classification () as type SUS 502, : the prince releases a supernatural prisoner his father captured, and is expelled from home; he reaches another kingdom and, through heroics, gets to marry a princess.Barag, Lev. "Сравнительный указатель сюжетов. Восточнославянская сказка". Leningrad: НАУКА, 1979. pp. 143-144. In addition, according to Jack V. Haney, the story is "known" in Russia since 1786, via printed books, and the supernatural captive is either a bogatyr or a Leshy. (2025). 9781626740549, University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626740549
Folklorist Franz Xaver von Schönwerth collected in the 19th century a variant titled König Goldhaar ("King Goldenlocks"). In this tale, a king has a golden-haired son. One day, the king captures a wild man who is made of iron and brings it home in a cage. The young prince accidentally tosses his ball inside the cage, which the wild man promises to return if the boy releases him. The prince fulfills his promise, to the king's anger, who orders his son execution. However, the king's servants spare the boy and bring the king a poor shepherd's little finger as proof of his deed. The prince changes clothes with the shepherd and wanders off to another kingdom, where he finds work as the royal gardener's assistant. The prince, in his work as a gardener, arranges bouquets for the princesses, and ties a strand of his golden hair to the youngest's. Some time later, the king announces that he shall marry his elder daughter to the one who she gives her bouquet of flowers. The elder marries a prince, and so does the middle one. As for the youngest, she withholds hers until the gardener's assistant passes by her. She then gives the youth her bouquet, they marry and she moves out to his hut. Later, the king falls ill, and only the apples of Paradise can cure him. The gardener's assistant goes to the woods and meets the wild man again, who gives King Goldenlocks a club and orders him to strike a rock: a passage to a lush garden opens for King Goldenlocks to fetch the apples and rush out of the garden. It happens thus, and King Goldenlocks, the apples in his pocket, goes to a tavern and meets his brothers-in-law, who do not recognize him. King Goldenlocks agrees to let them have the apples, as long as they agree to be marked on their backs with the gallows. Next, the king is still sick, and needs snake's milk. King Goldenlocks follows the wild man's instructions again and gets the snake's milk; he then goes to meet his brothers-in-law again, who take the snake's milk in exchange for marking their backs again. Lastly, war breaks out, and the king sends his sons-in-law to protect the kingdom. King Goldenlocks meets the wild man again, who furnishes him with armour, weapons and a horse for him to join the battle. After three campaigns, King Goldenlocks, as a mysterious knights, receives an injury in his feet, which the king, his father-in-law, dresses with a handkerchief. Back to the castle, the king summons everyone for a banquet, and goes to the gardener's assistant hut to invite him in person. Once there, he sees his injured foot, and realizes the gardener's assistant was the knight at the battlefield. The tale was classified as both type ATU 502, "The Wild Man as a Helper", and ATU 314, "Goldener".
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