The Inexperienced Use of the Black Book is a motif in Scandinavian folklore. In such legends, a servant, maid or someone else unexpectedly happens to find and read the Black Book, thus summoning the devil, while the owner, often a clergyman, is away. The only way to save oneself is to give the devil a task that he can’t solve: to empty a fjord, to untie all knots in a fishing net, to twist a rope of sand, to row against the wind with a boat filled with empty buckets, etc.. The devil is then kept busy until the expert or the owner of the book returns and exorcises the devil away.
It is given an ML (Migratory Legend) number of 3020 and is related to Aarne-Thompson type 325, "Apprentice and Ghost" and type 565, "The Magic Mill".
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or book:
“I can’t really hear the audience applause when I’m on stage. I’m totally immersed in the piece. But sometimes I get a lot of it and wonder, “Now, why did they applaud here?” If it’s a white crowd, they usually applaud because they think it’s a pretty movement. If it’s a black crowd, it’s usually because they identify with the message.”
—Judith Jamison (b. 1944)
“Grief with drenched book and candle christens the cherub time....”
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