polska: Jean de l'Ours

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Jean de l'Ours (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ də luʁs]) or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale Jean de l'Ours classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can also denote any tale of this type. Some typical elements are that the hero is born half-bear, half-human; he obtains a weapon, usually a heavy iron cane, and on his journey; he bands up with two or three companions. At a castle the hero defeats an adversary, pursues him to a hole, discovers an underworld, and rescues three princesses. The companions abandon him in the hole, taking the princesses for themselves. The hero escapes, finds the companions and ge…

Evidence: 63 • authority: 72

Fehérlófia (lit. The Son of the White Horse or The Son of the White Mare) is a Hungarian folk tale published by László Arany in Eredeti Népmesék (1862). Its main character is a youth named Fehérlófia, a "Hungarian folk hero". The tale is classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as tale type ATU 301, "The Three Stolen Princesses", but the Hungarian National Catalogue of Folktales (MNK) classifies the tale as AaTh 301B.

Evidence: 57 • authority: 72

"Bear's Son Tale" (German: das Märchen vom Bärensohn, Bärensohnmärchen) refers to an analogous group of narratives that, according to Friedrich Panzer's 1910 thesis, represent the fairy tale material reworked to create the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf's first part, the Grendel-kin Story. Panzer collected over 200 analogue tales mostly from Eurasia. The Bear's Son motif (B635.1) is exhibited only generally, not reliably. Exceptions include versions of "Jean de l'Ours", and the Grimms' fairy tale "Strong Hans" or "Der Starke Hans". Beowulf does not explicitly reveal a bear origin for its hero, but his name and great strength connect him to the animal closely. Most of the tales are formally catalo…

Evidence: 40 • authority: 72

The Adventures of Massang is a Kalmyk folktale about a strong hero born of a cow, who finds three companions and has further adventures. The tale was published in the Siddi-Kur (or Siddhi-Kur), a compilation of Kalmyk and Mongolian stories. The story is related, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, to type ATU 301, "The Three Stolen Princesses", as a former subtype, AaTh 301B, "The Strong Man and his Companions": a hero of hybrid human-animal origin finds strong companions and climbs down to an underworld, and is eventually betrayed by his companions.

Evidence: 22 • authority: 88

State Legends: A New Non-Conventional Type of Folktale. This study delves into the exploration of State lore, a distinct category of folktales that are intricately tied to tangible objects or specific locations within the diverse states of the United States. State lore is meticulously collected and categorized as a unique tale type in ‘The Rainbow Book of American Folktales and Legends’, an extensive anthology by Maria Leach that encapsulates a wide array of American oral and written narratives. The primary objective of this paper is to scrutinize the defining characteristics and functions of State lore. These include its factual underpinnings, the creative embellishments that transform the…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

"East of the Sun and West of the Moon" (Norwegian: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne) is a Norwegian fairy-tale. It was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, who compiled it from variants they recorded in the regions of Ringerike and Telemark. The tale was first published in 1844 as No. 42 in Norske Folkeeventyr Anden Deel, before being subsequently renumbered as No. 41 in 1852. "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" was included by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book (1889). It is related to the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, and is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Hassan of Basra is a folktale associated with the Arabian Nights, a compilation of Persian and Arabic folktales. Similar stories are attested in the same collection: Janshah and Mazin of Khorassan. The tale is related to the international cycle of the swan maiden, a creature that alternates between human and avian forms, and to tale type ATU 400, "The Man on a Quest for the Lost Wife", of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index. In addition, the initial part of the tale, classified as type ATU 936*, "The Golden Mountain", is indicated by scholars as a common opening of the former narrative, among other regions, in West Asia and Southern Europe, including Greece.

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Maid Lena (Danish: Jomfru Lene af Søndervand; German: Jungfer Lene von Söndervand; English: "Maiden Lene from Sondervand") is a Danish folktale collected by author Svend Grundtvig. It features versions of the swan maiden, a mythic female character that alternates between human and animal shapes. The story is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 400, "The Man on a Quest for the Lost Wife", in a form of the narrative that, according to scholars, appears in Northern Europe, namely, in Scandinavia and in the Baltic Sea.

Evidence: — • authority: 72

The Fisherman's Daughter (Hebrew: "בת הדייג") is a Jewish tale collected from a Jewish-Iranian source. The story is part of the more general cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, and is classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as tale type ATU 433B, a type that deals with maidens disenchanting serpentine husbands. In the story, however, the tale continues with the adventures of the banished heroine, who meets a dead youth, rescues and marries him, and she eventually is found by her first husband, the snake prince whom she disenchanted before.