LibGuides: Folklore: Background information

Encyclopedias, dictionaries

Gale eBooks
100s of encyclopedias, dictionaries on many different topics, including Folklore. Word counts showing in search results convey length and depth of articles. Includes Creation Myths of the World,

Motif-index of folk-literature; a classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jest-books, and local legends by Thompson, Stith, 1885-1976
Call Number: GR 67 T52

Publication Date: 1955-58; Rev. and enl. ed.

Links to the Hathi Trust online version of Stith Thompson's 6-volume classic work. Complex structure begins with vol. 6, the index.
The types of the folk-tale; a classification and bibliography. Antti Aarne's Verzeichnis der Märchentypen (FF communications no.3) translated and enlarged by Stith Thompson by Aarne, Antti, updated and translated by Thompson
Publication Date: 1973

Aarne's work was limited to European folk tales, laying the foundation for Stith Thompson's contribution to the indexing effort. In 1961, Thompson revised and expanded the text he had translated in 1928, creating the Aarne-Thompson (AT or AaTh) tale type system.

ThEMA (Thesaurus Exemplorum Medii Aevi)
Searchable database of medieval stories originally from the Latin aimed at preaching, intended as instructional tools for the lay audience. The exempla summaries are provided in the language of the indexer, for the most part in French and Italian. The index keywords are created in five languages: French, German, English, Italian, and Spanish.
Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts
From D. L. Ashliman, University of Pittsburgh. Use [ctrl] f (find) for most complete search. Headings are not intuitive. English sources.