World Folklore
January 05, 2001

by John Enright, Senior Librarian, Social Sciences Collection, Mid-Manhattan Library

The History and Social Sciences Department has several sources related to the study of world folklore. goblinThese works include dictionaries, encyclopedia, bibliographies, indices, and collections of folktales. Most of the folklore material is located in the 398 Call Number. To locate collections of folktales for a certain ethnic or cultural group try doing a SUBJECT search in the Library Catalog using the name of the desired group combined with the term FOLKLORE (E.g. African Folklore).

Other terms to search under include:

Broader Terms
Ethnology, Manners and Customs, Folk Literature, Story Telling

Narrower Terms
Fairy Tales, Ethnic Folklore, Folklore Classification, Fairies - (country)

basreliefDictionaries

Dixon-Kennedy, Mike. Celtic Myth & Legend: An A-Z of People and Places. London: Blandford, 1996. [REF 398.2089 D]

  • Cultural origins of each entry are identified (i.e. Irish, British, Welsh, etc.).
  • Appendices include: Celtic genealogies, bibliography, and a glossary of non-Celtic deities mentioned in the text.

Funk & Wagnalls. Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. [REF 398.042 F]

  • Very comprehensive: covers the folklife of 12 major religions and 2405 counties, regions, and peoples.
  • Entries are cross-referenced and include bibliographic notations. A geographical index appears in the back.

Jobes, Gertude. Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Symbols. 2 vols. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1962. [REF 398.03 J]

  • Entries are arranged alphabetically by main heading with some sub-headings indexed.
  • The main focus of the work is symbols (both Christian and pagan are covered).
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Jones, Allison ed. Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore. New York: Larousse, 1995. [REF 398.03 J]

  • A fairly comprehensive work with related topics and cross-references included with each entry.
  • Appendices include: biographical notes for prominent folklorists, a directory of ethnographical and folklore museums, and a calendar of festivals and folkloric events.

Encyclopedia

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Brunvard, Jan Harold. American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1996. [REF 398.097 A]

  • A general reference work on American folklore aimed at scholars, students and writers.
  • Entries are cross-referenced with bibliographic notations.
  • Appendices include: a major name index, listings of various folkloric schools of thought, and a directory of folklorists, musicians and influential scholars.

Encyclopedia Mythica. Lindemans, M.F. http://www.pantheon.org

  • An online encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and legends, which contains more than 5700 entries. Each entry has a pronunciation guide and a list of other names for the entity
  • The site is maintained by M.F. Lindemans and various contributors.

Green, Thomas A. (ed.) Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997. [REF 398.03 F]

  • Covers all aspects of folklore and folklife.
  • The subject material is aimed at students and scholars of folklore as a discipline.

weaponsSnodgrass, Mary Ellen. Encyclopedia of Fable. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1998. [REF 398.203 S]

  • Presents the genre of fable as well as the major sub-genres (cruelty joke, exemplary tale, pourquoi story, and storytelling).
  • Entries are long and detailed with citations and bibliographies.
  • Appendices include: a timeline of fable, a listing of major authors and sources of fable, and complete references for all primary and secondary sources consulted.

Spalding, Henry D. Encyclopedia of Black Folklore and Humor. New York: Jonathan David, 1978. [REF 398.2097 S]

  • Mainly an African-American social history told through tales, anecdotes, biographies and historical notations.

Cavorting ImpsMonsters, Magic and Mythical Beasts

Briggs, Kathrine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976. [REF 398.2103 B]

  • Almost completely confined to 'fairies' from the British Isles
  • Includes a bibliography and motif index in the back.

Cooper, J.C. Symbolic and Mythological Animals. London: HarperCollins, 1992.[REF 398.469 C]

  • Draws from ancient Rome, Greece, Britain, Babylon, Egypt, Africa, Modern Europe, and the Americas.
  • Entries are cross-referenced and cover the nature of the creature as well as its folkloric and literary origins.

Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes, and Goblins. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1996. [REF 398.2103 R]

  • Very comprehensive with over 2000 individual entries. A good ready reference source.
  • Appendices include: lists of additional names for each spirit/creature type and an extensive bibliography.
Electric Brain

South, Malcolm.(ed.) Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. [REF 398.469 M]

  • The work is designed as a research guide which describes 20 mythical creatures and their appearances in history, literature, and art.
  • Limited in scope, as it only discusses 20 creatures, but each is covered in great detail.

Indices

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Anthropological Index Online. Royal Anthropological Institute. Availiable through New York Public Library's Electronic Resources.

  • Indexes more than 750 anthropological journals and magazines.
  • Covers 1970 to the present, with some limited coverage of the 1960s.

Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States. Library of Congress. http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/source/

  • An online directory maintained by the Library of Congress with information on folk life resources in the United States

Gargoyle Playing FluteIreland, Norma. Olin and Joseph Sprug. Index to Fairy Tales. 4 Volume, 1949 - 1992. [REF 016.3982 I]

  • An index of individual folk and fairy tales published in books and collections produced during the specified range of years. The index is searchable by subject and title.
  • A very good resource for locating specific tales or to find out what is published on a given subject.

Social Sciences Index. H.W. Wilson Company. Availiable on CD-ROM in the History and Social Sciences Department

  • Indexes over 500 English language periodicals.
  • Covers 1990 to the present.

Thompson, Stith. Motif-Index of Folk Literature; a Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-books, and Local Legends. 6 vols. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1958-1966. [REF 398.012 T]

  • A classification of the major elements that make up traditional folk literature indexed by motif.
  • Important to note that the index does not include superstitions, religions beliefs, riddles, or proverbs.

walking sticksPeriodicals

The following journals are devoted to the study of folklore and folkloristics, which can be obtained in the periodical department the fourth floor of the Mid-Manhattan library. Articles related to world folklore can also be found in a wide range of periodicals from other disciplines (i.e. anthropology, sociology, psychology, etc.).

  1. Folklore Record. V.1-5 1878-1882 (microfilm)
  2. Folklore Journal. v.1-7 1883-1889 (microfilm) Continues: Folklore Record
  3. Folklore: The Journal of the Folklore Society. v.1 1890- (Library has: v.85- 1974-). Continues: Folklore Journal
  4. Journal of American Folklore. v.9-87 1896-1974 (microfilm). v.88 1975- (bound).
  5. Western Folklore. v.33 1974-

DemonsBibliographies

A bibliography is a list or collection of works related to a particular subject, style, period, or author. A bibliography can also be annotated, which means that it contains descriptive and/or critical notes relating to each individual work on the list. Bibliographies are a useful research tool, as they allow the researcher to see the scope of publication for a given subject. The History and Social Sciences Department has two bibliographies related to the subject of folklore.

Carnes, Pack. Fable Scholarship. New York: Garland, 1985. [REF 016.3982]

  • Focus is on Aesop and the Aesopic fable.
  • Works are indexed by name and subject as well as by Perry number and collection number
  • Includes an annotated bibliography.

Haywood, Charles. A Bibliography of North American Folklore and Folksong. 2 vols. New York: Dover, 1961. [REF 016.398 H]

  • An excellent source for Native American folktales
  • Items are classified by title, subject, and geographic region. Geographic regions are further sub-divided by tribe.
  • A separate index of Composers, Arrangers, and Performers is included in the back of volume II.

Vampiri Europeana: Folklore. Hayes, Melinda K. http://www-isd.usc.edu/~melindah/eurovamp/folklore.htm

  • A bibliography of non-English and translated works relating to vampires in European folklore.

Costumed CatsSuperstitions

Each of the following reference works is a quick and easy way to locate the origins and effects of a given superstition. Have you always wanted to know why it is considered bad luck to open an umbrella in the house? Well here's where to find out.

De Lys, Claudia. A Treasury of American Superstitions. New York: Philosophical Library, 1948. [REF 398.042 L]

  • A compendium of American superstitions divided into 24 sections with cross-references and an index
  • Each entry explains the nature of the superstition and investigates its origins.

Radford E. and M.A. Radford. Encyclopaedia of Superstitions. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1969. [REF 398.4103 R]

  • Limited to superstitions from Britain.
  • Distinguishes between superstition and custom.
  • The superstition's effects, origins, and influence on British life are outlined.

Folklore Collections

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The History and Social Sciences department collection holds hundreds of anthologies of folktales from various cultural and ethnic groups. Here are a few print and electronic collections of folktales from around the world.

The Cinderella Project. University of Southern Mississippi. http://www.usmenglish.com/fairytales/cinderella/cinderella.html

  • A text and image archive containing over a dozen different versions of the Cinderella fable.

Clarkson, Atelia and Gilbert Cross. World Folktales. New York: Charles Scribner Sons, 1980. [398.2 W]

  • Contains over 60 folktales
  • Tales from Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.

Dorsen, Richard M. Folktales Told Around the World. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1975. [398.2 F]

  • Tales are divided geographically/ethnically.
  • Many are folktales which are being published for the first time.
  • Tales from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America, and Oceania.

Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories http://HCA.Gilead.org.il/

  • More than 120 of Andersen's tales drawn from the English translation by H. P. Paull.

Grimms' Fairy Tales. National Geographic. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html

  • 12 of the Grimms' fairy tales taken from a 1914 translation, and a chronology of the Brother's lives.

Ruggoff, Milton Allan. A Harvest of World Folk Tales. New York: Viking Press, 1949. [REF 398.2 R]

  • About 200 different folktales and legends.
  • Tales from Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Central America

SureLaLune: Fairy Tale Pages. Heiner, Heidi Anne. http://members.aol.com/surlalune/frytales/index.htm

  • Folklore studies site with annotated original versions of 15 European fairy tales.

Yolden, Jane. Favorite Folktales from Around the World. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. [398.2 F]

  • Tales are divided by theme/motif.
  • Tales from Russia, North America, the Middle East, Japan, Germany, and Sweden

General Works

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Aging and Death in Folklore. Ashliman, D.L. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/aging.html

  • An academic treatment of the perceptions of death and old age in traditional folklore.

Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Vintage Books, 1975. [398.45 B]

  • Looks at the value of fairy tales in the educational and emotional lives of children.

Brunvand, Jan Harold. Folklore: A Study and Research Guide. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976. [REF 016.398 B]

  • Comprehensive work, which contains an overview of the subject, a guide to the major references, theories and genres; and how to structure a folklore research paper.

Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch's Mythology. New York: Modern Library, 1993. [398.2 B]

  • Considered a definitive work on Greek, Roman, Scandinavian, Celtic and Asian fables.

Dundes, Alan. Interpreting Folklore. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980. [398.042 D]

  • One of the first attempts by an academic to address: why folklore exists, how it developed, and what it offers?

Dundes, Alan (ed.). International Folkloristics: Classic Contributions by the Founders of Folklore. Navyerk: Rowman and Littlefield, 1989. [398 I]

  • Highlights the major theories, methods, and concepts in the history of folklore studies.

Goldstein, Kenneth S. A Guide for Field Workers in Folklore. Hatboro: Folklore Associates, 1964. [398.018 G]

  • Somewhat dated, but still useful as a guide for conducting field research.

Grimm Brother's Home Page. Ashliman, D.L. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.html

  • A collection of essays and historical information on the brother's Grimm compiled by D.L. Ashliman a professor of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994. [398.2 W]

  • Looks at how changing prejudices concerning women affect the status of fairy tales.
  • Makes the claim that women were the original tellers of fairy tales.