Saturday, May 25, 2024

Folktales and Law


The legal system, its representatives, and principles rarely appear in traditional folktales despite the importance it has in daily life (don't jaywalk kids!). However, a few exceptions stand out.


“Tainted Witness” in Burmese Law Tales by Muang Htin Aung. 

“The Fly” in Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole. 

“The Peasant and the Workman” in Folk Tales of All Nations by F.H. Lee. 

“Nature’s Way” in 100 Armenian Tales and Their Folkloristic Relevance by Susie Hoogasian-Villa. 

“The Five Queer Brothers” in Chinese Nights' Entertainment by Adele Marion Fielde.   

Orestes at Athens by Aeschylus, translated by Oliver Taplin 

Judgement of Solomon in the Bible (1 Kings 3:16–28) 


There's also a criminological study a German fairy tale corpus:

The Criminological Significance of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales (1987) by Gerhard O. W. Mueller.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Folktales Throughout History

Where did folktales originate? That question's unanswerable because the stories likely predate literacy and printing. And contemporary folklorists prioritize function over origin. Nonetheless, scholars have unearthed old written versions of popular tales, possibly the first recorded variants of certain stories or story cycles:


The Doomed Prince (1290s - 1210s B.C.E.)

The Story of Two Brothers (1200 - 1194 B.C.E.)

Perseus and Andromeda (1 - 200 C.E.)

Cupid and Psyche (120s - 170s C.E.)

Yeh-hsien (850 - 860 C.E.)

About a Girl Saved from Wolf Cubs (1022 - 1024 C.E.)

Troylus and Zellandine (1330 - 1340 C.E.)

Culhwch and Olwen (1382 C.E.)


Hopefully, the above examples inspire writers and readers to explore the genre's rich history. 

Friday, May 10, 2024

Variants of "The Clever Farmgirl" (ATU 875)

 

Does solving a man's riddles make him love you? Probably not. The female protagonists of these tales, however, manage to turn it into an effective mating strategy. The downside is that the man won't stay in love. That's the part where kidnapping and (possible) Stockholm syndrome come in.

The Peasant's Wise Daughter

Clever Manka

A Female Solomon

The Poor Girl That Became a Queen

The Clever Girl

Monday, May 6, 2024

Variants of "Sleeping Beauty" (ATU 410)

 

"Sleeping Beauty"(?) by Rene Cloke

We all know this one: an innocent woman put into a coma, then revived by further violation of her personhood. It's dark. It's tragic. It's old. The earliest stories appear in medieval times: Pandragus et Libanor, reportedly composed in February 1294 by Baudouin Butor. Every other variant seems to postdates it, but the trope of an enchanted sleeper goes back to Greek mythology with Endymion.

Troylus and Zellandine

Frayre de Joy and Sor de Plaser

Sun, Moon Talia

The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood


Source: Sleeping Beauties: Sleeping Beauty and Snow White Tales From Around the World by Heidi Anne Heiner.

Spooky Tales

  Halloween is coming! For many, it's the best holiday of the year, and there are countless traditions that go along with it. A common o...