Folk Literature & Fable, HOM-MĂŒN
Step into the world of folklore, fables, legends, tall tales, and epics, in which heroes are known to undertake arduous journeys and dragons, fairies, and giants abound. Stories such as these circulated long before systems of writing were developed; ballads, folktales, poems, and the like were transmitted exclusively by word of mouth before written languages took over, and they continue to captivate listeners and readers to this day.
Folk Literature & Fable Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Homerâs Odyssey vs. Christopher Nolanâs Film: Changes from Poem to Screen
Comparison has long been charged with the theft of joy, but thereâs a case to be made for the joy that comes from......
Hortensius Hortalus, Quintus
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus was a Roman orator and politician, Ciceroâs opponent in the Verres trial. Delivering......
Hua Mulan
Hua Mulan, heroine in Chinese legend whoâdisguised as a manâjoined the army in place of her father. After performing......
Huangdi
Huangdi, third of ancient Chinaâs mythological emperors, a culture hero and patron saint of Daoism. Huangdi is......
Huon de Bordeaux
Huon de Bordeaux, Old French poem, written in epic metre, dating from the first half of the 13th century. Charlot,......
Hurston, Zora Neale
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist and writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance who celebrated......
Hydra
Hydra, in Greek legend, a gigantic, many-headed, serpentlike monster that inhabited the marshes of Lerna, near......
Icelandersâ sagas
Icelandersâ sagas, the class of heroic prose narratives written during 1200â20 about the great families who lived......
Idylls of the King
Idylls of the King, poetic treatment of the Arthurian legend by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, comprising 12 poems published......
Igorâs Campaign, The Song of
The Song of Igorâs Campaign, masterpiece of Old Russian literature, an account of the unsuccessful campaign in......
Iliad
Iliad, ancient Greek epic poem in 24 books traditionally attributed to the poet Homer and was likely composed in......
Illyés, Gyula
Gyula Illyés was a Hungarian poet, novelist, dramatist, and dissident, a leading literary figure in Hungary during......
Ilya Of Murom
Ilya Of Murom, a hero of the oldest known Old Russian byliny, traditional heroic folk chants. He is presented as......
In the Penal Colony
In the Penal Colony, novella by Franz Kafka, written in 1914 and published in German as In der Strafkolonie in......
Interrogation of the Old Men, The
The Interrogation of the Old Men, in Irish literature, the preeminent tale of the Old Irish Fenian cycle of heroic......
Iolaus
Iolaus, ancient Greek hero, the nephew, charioteer, and assistant of Heracles. He was the son of Iphicles, himself......
Irving, Washington
Washington Irving was described as the âfirst American man of letters.â He wrote numerous works but is best known......
Is cow tipping real?
Perhaps youâve heard stories of cow tipping. Peopleâusually young men and perhaps after a few beersâgo into fields......
Is the Odyssey a True Story?
The short answer is that nobody knows if any of itâthe Trojan War and Odysseusâs subsequent meandering homeward......
Iskander, Fazil
Fazil Iskander was an Abkhazian author who wrote in Russian and was best known for using humour and a digressive......
Iwein
Iwein, Middle High German Arthurian epic poem by Hartmann von Aue, written about 1200. The poem, which is some......
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk, classic fairy tale about a boy, Jack, who climbs a towering beanstalk grown from magic......
Jack-oâ-lantern
Jack-oâ-lantern, in meteorology, a mysterious light seen at night flickering over marshes; when approached, it......
Jacobs, Joseph
Joseph Jacobs was an Australian-born English folklore scholar, one of the most popular 19th-century adapters of......
Jason
Jason, in Greek mythology, leader of the Argonauts and son of Aeson, king of Iolcos in Thessaly. His fatherâs half-brother......
John Brownâs Body
John Brownâs Body, epic poem in eight sections about the American Civil War by Stephen Vincent BenĂ©t, published......
John Henry
John Henry, hero of a widely sung African American folk ballad. It describes his contest with a steam drill, in......
Just So Stories
Just So Stories, collection of childrenâs animal fables linked by poems by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1902.......
Kalevala
Kalevala, Finnish national epic compiled from old Finnish ballads, lyrical songs, and incantations that were a......
Kalevipoeg
Kalevipoeg, Estonian national epic compiled in 1857â61 by the Estonian physician, folklorist, and poet F. Reinhold......
Kampan
Kampan was sometimes called the finest Tamil poet, whose principal achievement is the epic IrÄmÄvatÄram (Ramaâs......
KaradĆŸiÄ, Vuk StefanoviÄ
Vuk StefanoviÄ KaradĆŸiÄ was a language scholar and the father of Serbian folk-literature scholarship, who, in reforming......
King Arthur
King Arthur, legendary British king who appears in a cycle of medieval romances (known as the Matter of Britain)......
Kingis Quair, The
The Kingis Quair, (c. 1423; âThe Kingâs Bookâ), love-dream allegory written in Early Scots and attributed to James......
kobold
kobold, in German folklore, mischievous household spirit who usually helps with chores and gives other valuable......
kraken
kraken, legendary sea monster of Scandinavian and Norwegian lore, perhaps imagined from sightings ofgiant squids......
Krasicki, Ignacy
Ignacy Krasicki was a major Polish poet, satirist, and prose writer of the Enlightenment. Born to an aristocratic......
Kreutzwald, F. Reinhold
F. Reinhold Kreutzwald was a physician, folklorist, and poet who compiled the Estonian national epic poem Kalevipoeg......
Kriemhild
Kriemhild, in Germanic heroic legend, sister of the Burgundian kings Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher. In Norse legend......
Krylov, Ivan Andreyevich
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov was a Russian writer of innocent-sounding fables that satirized contemporary social types......
KrÄvÄ-MickieviÄius, Vincas
Vincas KrÄvÄ-MickieviÄius was a Lithuanian poet, philologist, and playwright whose mastery of style gave him a......
Kumarasambhava
Kumarasambhava, epic poem by Kalidasa written in the 5th century ce. The work describes the courting of the ascetic......
La Fontaine, Jean de
Jean de La Fontaine was a poet whose Fables rank among the greatest masterpieces of French literature. La Fontaine......
Lancelot
Lancelot, one of the greatest knights in Arthurian romance; he was the lover of Arthurâs queen, Guinevere, and......
Lang, Andrew
Andrew Lang was a Scottish scholar and man of letters noted for his collections of fairy tales and translations......
Lawamon
Lawamon was an early Middle English poet, author of the romance-chronicle the Brut (c. 1200), one of the most notable......
LaxdĂŠla saga
LaxdĂŠla saga, one of the Icelandersâ sagas. The tale, written about 1245 by an anonymous author (possibly a woman),......
Le Braz, Anatole
Anatole Le Braz was a French folklorist, novelist, and poet who collected and edited the legends and popular beliefs......
legend
legend, traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend......
Legend of Good Women
Legend of Good Women, dream-vision by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in the 1380s. The fourth and final work of the......
LemminkÀinen
LemminkÀinen, hero of Finnish traditional songs. In these songs, LemminkÀinen travels to an otherworldly place......
Lie, Jonas
Jonas Lie was a novelist whose goal was to reflect in his writings the nature, the folk life, and the social spirit......
List of 10 Old Wivesâ Tales
Old wivesâ tales are traditional beliefs that are not based on fact. They are a form of superstition or cultural......
list of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Costumed heroes have appeared in films since the Golden Age of Hollywood, with crimefighters such as the Shadow,......
Little Prince, The
The Little Prince, fable and modern classic by French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that was published......
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood, fairy tale about a young girl who wears a red cloak and encounters a wolf on her way to......
Livius Andronicus, Lucius
Lucius Livius Andronicus was the founder of Roman epic poetry and drama. He was a Greek slave, freed by a member......
Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen was the central figure in a cycle of poems composed in the 9th or 10th century in Powys (Wales). Set......
Lohengrin
Lohengrin, the knight of the swan, hero of German versions of a legend widely known in variant forms from the European......
Lucan
Lucan was a Roman poet and republican patriot whose historical epic, the Bellum civile, better known as the Pharsalia......
Luck of Roaring Camp, The
The Luck of Roaring Camp, short story by Bret Harte, published in 1868 in the Overland Monthly, which Harte edited.......
Lugalbanda
Lugalbanda, one of the major figures in the surviving Sumerian epics and the hero of the tale called the Lugalbanda......
Lusiads, The
The Lusiads, epic poem by LuĂs de CamĂ”es, published in 1572 as Os LusĂadas. The work describes the discovery of......
Lyonnesse
Lyonnesse, mythical âlostâ land supposed once to have connected Cornwall in the west of England with the Isles......
Lyre of Orpheus, The
The Lyre of Orpheus, novel by Robertson Davies, published in 1988. The book is the third in the so-called Cornish......
Lönnrot, Elias
Elias Lönnrot was a folklorist and philologist who created the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala (1835, enlarged......
Mab
Mab, in English folklore, the queen of the fairies. Mab is a mischievous but basically benevolent figure. In William......
Mabinogion
Mabinogion, collection of 11 medieval Welsh tales based on mythology, folklore, and heroic legends. The tales provide......
Macaire
Macaire, title often assigned to a French medieval epic poem, or chanson de geste, after one of its chief characters.......
Macdonald, George
George Macdonald was a novelist of Scottish life, poet, and writer of Christian allegories of manâs pilgrimage......
MaeldĂșin
MaeldĂșin, hero of the longest of the Irish immram (âtravel talesâ), known as Immram Curaig Mael DĂșin. MaeldĂșin......
Mahabharata
Mahabharata, one of the two Sanskrit epic poems of ancient India (the other being the Ramayana). The Mahabharata......
MailĂĄth, JĂĄnos, GrĂłf
JĂĄnos, Count MailĂĄth was a Hungarian writer and historian, who interpreted Magyar culture to the Germans and who......
Malory, Thomas
Thomas Malory was an English writer whose identity remains uncertain but whose name is famous as that of the author......
Man Who Was Thursday, The
The Man Who Was Thursday, allegorical novel by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1908. It relates the experiences of......
Map, Walter
Walter Map was an English churchman and writer whose work helps to illuminate the society and religious issues......
Mardi
Mardi, third novel by Herman Melville, originally published in two volumes as Mardi: And a Voyage Thither in 1849.......
Markish, Peretz
Peretz Markish was a Soviet Yiddish poet and novelist whose work extols Soviet Russia and mourns the destruction......
Masque of the Red Death, The
The Masque of the Red Death, allegorical short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in Grahamâs Magazine in......
Masukagami
Masukagami, historical epic about the Kamakura period (1192â1333) and one of the four best-known kagami (records)......
Math
Math, in the Welsh collection of stories known as the Mabinogion, king of Gwynedd in the North. He is also the......
McAlmon, Robert
Robert McAlmon was an American author and publisher and an exemplar of the literary expatriate in Paris during......
Medusa
Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures called Gorgons, known for her petrifying effect......
Meier Helmbrecht
Meier Helmbrecht, realistic medieval epic poem (c. 1250), remarkable for its portrayal of the seamy decline of......
Memnon
Memnon, in Greek mythology, son of Tithonus (son of Laomedon, legendary king of Troy) and Eos (Dawn) and king of......
Merlin
Merlin, enchanter and wise man in Arthurian legend and romance of the Middle Ages, linked with personages in ancient......
mermaid
mermaid, a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar......
Midnightâs Children
Midnightâs Children, allegorical novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 1981. It is a historical chronicle of modern......
Milesian tale
Milesian tale, originally one of a group of works written in Greek by Aristides of Miletus (2nd century bc), consisting......
Milton, John
John Milton was an English poet, pamphleteer, and historian, considered the most significant English author after......
Mimnermus
Mimnermus was a Greek elegiac poet, long thought to have been from Colophon; that city claimed him because of his......
Minotaur
Minotaur, in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and the head of a bull. It......
minstrel
minstrel, (from Latin ministerium, âserviceâ), between the 12th and 17th centuries, a professional entertainer......
mock-epic
mock-epic, form of satire that adapts the elevated heroic style of the classical epic poem to a trivial subject.......
Momaday, N. Scott
N. Scott Momaday was an American author who often wrote about his Kiowa heritage. For his novel House Made of Dawn......
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay, fairy enchantress of Arthurian legend and romance. Geoffrey of Monmouthâs Vita Merlini (c. 1150)......
Morte Darthur, Le
Le Morte Darthur, the first English-language prose version of the Arthurian legend, completed by Sir Thomas Malory......
MusÀus, Johann Karl August
Johann Karl August MusÀus was a German satirist and writer of fairy tales, remembered for his graceful and delicately......
MĂ€rchen
MĂ€rchen, folktale characterized by elements of magic or the supernatural, such as the endowment of a mortal character......
MĂŒnchhausen, Baron
Baron MĂŒnchhausen was a Hanoverian storyteller, some of whose tales were the basis for the collection The Adventures......