Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America 9783111402772, 9783111039350

Table of contents :
INTRODUCTION
Revision of the Present Work
Purpose of the Present Work
The Method of the Study
Analysis of the Types
Analysis of the Motifs
Similarities of Tale-Telling Traditions
Summary of Conclusions
Notes
Suggestions for Finding Individual Tales
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS
TYPE INDEX
I. ANIMAL TALES
II. ORDINARY FOLKTALES
III. JOKES AND ANECDOTES
IV. FORMULA TALES
V. UNCLASSIFIED TALES
MOTIF-INDEX
A. MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIFS
B. ANIMALS
C. TABU
D. MAGIC
E. THE DEAD
F. MARVELS
G. OGRES
H. TESTS
J. THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH
K. DECEPTIONS
L. REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
M. ORDAINING THE FUTURE
N. CHANCE AND FATE
P. SOCIETY
Q. REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS
R. CAPTIVES AND FUGITIVES
S. UNNATURAL CRUELTY
T. SEX
U. THE NATURE OF LIFE
V. RELIGION
W. TRAITS OF CHARACTER
X. HUMOR
Z. MISCELLANEOUS GROUPS OF MOTIFS

Citation preview

TYPE A N D MOTIF-INDEX OF THE FOLKTALES OF ENGLAND A N D NORTH AMERICA

TYPE AND MOTIF-INDEX OF THE FOLKTALES OF ENGLAND AND NORTH AMERICA

by

E R N E S T W.

BAUGHMAN

INDIANA UNIVERSITY F O L K L O R E ' S E R I E S NO. 20 1966 MOUTON & CO. THE HAGUE · THE NETHERLANDS

I N D I A N A U N I V E R S I T Y F O L K L O R E S E R I E S N U M B E R 20 Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Publication Committee Editor: Richard M. Dorson Consulting Editor: John W. Ashton Assistant Editors: Warren A. Roberts, Thomas A. Sebeok

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 64-64495

© Copyright 1966 by the Folklore Institute of Indiana University The Indiana University Folklore Series was founded in 1939 for the publication of occasional papers and monographs by members of the faculty. This volume was composed at the Indiana University Research Center in Anthropology, Folklore, and Linguistics and printed by Mouton & Co., The Hague, The Netherlands.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I w i s n to t h a n k P r o f e s s o r S t i t h T h o m p s o n f o r h i s c o n t i n u i n g e n c o u r a g e m e n t s i n c e t h e i n c e p t i o n of t h i s s t u d y . It w a s t h r o u g h h i s s u g g e s t i o n a n d t r u s t t h a t I f i r s t u n d e r t o o k t h e w o r k . T h e o r i g i n a l 1953 s t u d y d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e r e s u l t s of h i s p a t i e n c e a n d t i m e in c o r r e l a t i n g t h e w o r k w i t h t h e e x i s t i n g i n d e x e s . F o r t h i s r e v i s i o n of t h e 1953 s t u d y , h e h a s o f f e r e d s u p p o r t a n d a s s i s t a n c e in c h e c k i n g a d d i t i o n s a n d c h a n g e s , p r o v i d i n g m e w i t h m a t e r i a l s I h a d not i n c l u d e d . He v e r y g r a c i o u s l y f u r n i s h e d a m i c r o f i l m copy of t h e r e v i s e d T y p e - I n d e x s o t h a t I c o u l d i n c o r p o r a t e t h e c h a n g e s of t h a t w o r k i n t o m y own. P r o f e s s o r A r c h e r T a y l o r of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a a t B e r k e l e y h a s g i v e n m e m u c h v a l u a b l e a i d in m y w o r k on t h e r e v i s i o n . He h a s s e n t m e m a n y c i t a t i o n s of v a r i a n t s w h i c h I w o u l d o t h e r w i s e h a v e m i s s e d . P r o f e s s o r s W a r r e n E . R o b e r t s of I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y , J a n B r u n v a n d of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of I d a h o , a n d H e r b e r t H a l p e r t of t h e M e m o r i a l U n i v e r s i t y of N e w f o u n d l a n d , h a v e a l s o s u p p l i e d t y p e v a r i a n t s . My w i f e , F r a n c e s , h a s s p e n t c o u n t l e s s h o u r s in c h e c k i n g t h e o r d e r of t h e m o t i f s w i t h t h e r e v i s e d M o t i f - I n d e x , in p l a c i n g t h e m a t e r i a l in t h e c o r r e c t o r d e r , in c h e c k i n g c r o s s r e f e r e n c e s , in p r e p a r i n g t h e m a n u s c r i p t — s o m a n y h o u r s , in f a c t , t h a t t h e p r e s e n t w o r k is a joint e f f o r t . . E . W. B .

ν

INTRODUCTION R e v i s i o n of the P r e s e n t Work

This study was originally begun in 1944 and completed as a 1953.1 Generally speaking it made use of tales published b e f o r e c o v e r a g e stopped in some instances as e a r l y as 1944 and 1945. 225 types with 709 variants and 1,051 whole-number motifs with

doctoral dissertation in 1950, although journal The 1953 study included 10,057 variants.

Even b e f o r e the 1953 v e r s i o n was submitted, I had become aware of the impossibility of including many new publications; since 1953 many m o r e tales have been published and have demanded inclusion. The present study lists 371 types with 1,652 variants, and 1,211 whole-number motifs with 11,431 variants. S i x t y - f i v e types not represented at all in the 1953 v e r s i o n have now been published in A m e r i c a and England. 2 A l s o , since 1953 the two m a j o r indexes f o r folktale study have been r e v i s e d and considerably enlarged: The Motif-Index of F o l k - L i t e r a t u r e by Stith Thompson and The Types of the F o l k - T a l e by Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson.' These much-needed revisions have necessitated many changes in the order and numbering of both types and motifs in the present study. A l l type and motif numbers in the 1953 study have been carefully checked against the current type- and motif-index numbering. A l l c r o s s r e f e r e n c e s to type and motif numbers have been checked to conform with the new Thompson revisions. Another cause f o r considerable readjustment was the moving of seventy motifs to type status in the r e v i s e d T y p e s of the F o l k - T a l e . Incorporating these changes and additions into the present study has presented problems, especially in adjusting the statistical tables. Many motif categories suffered l o s s e s to the types while others gained f r o m new materials. It might be added that the two revisions of the Thompson indexes have greatly inc r e a s e d the necessity of r e v i s i o n of the present study; in both indexes many, perhaps most, of the r e f e r e n c e s to English and A m e r i c a n variants are to my 1953 study. The problem of deciding when to stop gathering m a t e r i a l s has been as troublesome as it was in 1953. If a work of this kind is ever to be published, one must at some point stop, and concentrate on presenting those already accumulated. In the analysis of the types and the motifs which f o l l o w s , all f i g u r e s w i l l be f r o m the present (1964) revision unless otherwise indicated. A few motifs have been added which do not appear in the r e v i s e d Motif-Index; these a r e indicated by an asterisk following the numbers. No new types have been added, but s e v e r a l new type subdivisions have been created, always with clear indication (by enclosure in brackets) that these subdivisions do not appear in the Types of the F o l k - T a l e . The types concerned are 328, 812, 955, 1090, 1278, 1539, 1735, 1δΤ3, 1875 and 1920.

Purpose of the P r e s e n t Work The purpose of this work is to study the folktales in the English language tradition in both the British Isles and North A m e r i c a , to show what is included in the corpus of each country, to show the frequency of occurrence and the distribution of each tale, and to determine, as f a r as possible, what the relationship between the tales of the two count r i e s has been. This relationship might be of two kinds, direct borrowing of tales by the younger country, or the adoption of tale-telling traditions in North A m e r i c a that a r e s i m i l a r to those existing in England. It has long been surmised that North A m e r i c a n folktales a r e similar to those of England, and there are s e v e r a l reasons f o r thinking so. Many o b s e r v e r s have pointed vi

out t h a t b o t h c o u n t r i e s l a c k t a l e s of t h e l o n g e r , m o r e c o m p l e x k i n d s s u c h a s t h e e l a b o r a t e M ä r c h e n or the s e r i o u s h e r o tale.s F o l k l o r i s t s have often noted the s c a r c i t y or even the l a c k of f o l k t a l e s i n b o t h c o u n t r i e s . 6 S i n c e E n g l i s h c u l t u r e h a s b e e n d o m i n a n t i n N o r t h A m e r i c a in s p i t e of l a r g e a d m i x t u r e s of p e o p l e s f r o m e v e r y c o u n t r y of t h e g l o b e , i t s h o u l d f o l l o w t h a t E n g l i s h f o l k l o r e i s a l s o d o m i n a n t . In s u p p o r t of t h i s a s s u m p t i o n , it h a s b e e n found that English ballads a r e well r e p r e s e n t e d in North A m e r i c a , with c l e a r indications of d i r e c t b o r r o w i n g , a n d i t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e t o s u p p o s e t h a t t h e f i n d i n g s a b o u t t h e b a l l a d s m a y i n d i c a t e a s i m i l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p f o r t h e f o l k t a l e s . 7 It h a s a l s o f r e q u e n t l y b e e n a s s u m e d t h a t — e v e n if a d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p c a n n o t b e p r o v e d — t h e r e a r e s i m i l a r i t i e s in t h e t a l e t e l l i n g t r a d i t i o n s of t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s . T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e s e t r a d i t i o n s a r e b r i e f l y : a l a c k of M ä r c h e n a n d o t h e r c o m p l e x t a l e s ; ' a p r e f e r e n c e f o r s h o r t r a t h e r t h a n l o n g t a l e s ; a n i n t e r e s t i n l o c a l s t o r i e s ; ' a l a c k of i n t e r e s t in t h e r e l i g i o u s t a l e ; a n d a c o m m o n i n t e r e s t in s u p e r n a t u r a l phenomena, especially witches and ghosts.10 A n o t h e r a s p e c t of t h e p r o b l e m of A m e r i c a n b o r r o w i n g s f r o m E n g l a n d — o n e t h a t i s e a s i l y o v e r l o o k e d — i s the possibility that e a r l y English colonists brought c e r t a i n tales to A m e r i c a w h i c h h a v e b e e n r e c o r d e d h e r e b u t n o t in E n g l a n d . It m a y e v e n b e t h a t s o m e of t h o s e o r i g i n a l s a r e no l o n g e r t o l d in E n g l a n d s o t h a t t h e i r r e c o v e r y t h e r e i s now i m p o s s i b l e . It i s p r o b a b l e , h o w e v e r , t h a t m a n y t a l e s c u r r e n t in b o t h c o u n t r i e s h a v e not b e e n published and that future c o l l e c t i o n s — w h i c h a r e badly needed f r o m c e r t a i n a r e a s — m a y a l t e r the p r e s e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s r a t h e r radically.

T h e M e t h o d of t h e Study T h e f i r s t t a s k , of c o u r s e , w a s t o f i n d a n d t o p u t i n t o u s a b l e f o r m t h e t a l e s of t h e two c o u n t r i e s . At t h i s p o i n t , i t b e c a m e n e c e s s a r y t o s e t l i m i t s on t h e m a t e r i a l s to b e i n c l u d e d . It w a s d e c i d e d a t t h e o u t s e t to e x c l u d e — f r o m t h e f i n a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , a t l e a s t — t h e t a l e s of d i s t i n c t f o r e i g n - l a n g u a g e g r o u p s in N o r t h A m e r i c a s u c h a s t h e A r m e n i a n of B o s t o n a n d D e t r o i t , t h e F r e n c h of L o u i s i a n a , M i s s o u r i , a n d C a n a d a , a n d t h e S p a n i s h of t h e S o u t h w e s t . It s e e m e d a d v i s a b l e a l s o t o e x c l u d e t h e t a l e s of t h e A m e r i c a n I n d i a n a n d of t h e A m e r i c a n N e g r o . T h e t a l e s of b o t h t h e s e g r o u p s c r e a t e d m a n y d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t c o u l d not b e t r e a t e d in a s t u d y s u c h a s t h e p r e s e n t one; t h e N e g r o t a l e s n e e d e d i n t e n s i v e s t u d y , a n d the E u r o p e a n - A m e r i c a n Indian t a l e r e l a t i o n s h i p has a l r e a d y b e e n e x a m i n e d by Stith T h o m p s o n . " T h e chief e x c l u s i o n f r o m t h e B r i t i s h I s l e s m a t e r i a l s w a s t h e C e l t i c t a l e ; t h i s e x c l u s i o n m e a n t d i s r e g a r d i n g m o s t of t h e t a l e s of W a l e s a n d M o n m o u t h , H i g h l a n d S c o t l a n d , I r e l a n d , a n d t h e G a e l i c I s l a n d s s u c h a s t h e I s l e of M a n a n d the I s l e of S k y e . M o n m o u t h , p o l i t i c a l l y E n g l i s h , i s r e g a r d e d a s W e l s h in t h e c u l t u r a l s e n s e ; v a r i a n t s f r o m there a r e designated "Welsh Border."12 It s e e m e d a d v i s a b l e , h o w e v e r , d u r i n g t h e p r o c e s s of a b s t r a c t i n g t a l e s f r o m p e r i o d i c a l s , t o s u m m a r i z e t h e t a l e s f r o m t h e e x c l u d e d g r o u p s a n d to e n t e r t h e m in t h e t y p e a n d m o t i f c h a p t e r s of t h e s t u d y , a l t h o u g h t h e y c o u l d n o t b e u s e d in t h e s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s e s . " A p p r o x i m a t e l y t h i r t e e n t h o u s a n d v a r i a n t s ( e l e v e n t h o u s a n d in t h e 1953 s t u d y ) h a v e b e e n a b s t r a c t e d f r o m a v a i l a b l e s o u r c e s . 1 4 A l m o s t i m m e d i a t e l y , it w a s p o s s i b l e t o d i v i d e t h e s e t h i r t e e n t h o u s a n d v a r i a n t s i n t o two g r o u p s . T h e f i r s t of t h e s e i n c l u d e s t h o s e v a r i a n t s c l a s s i f i a b l e by m e a n s of t h e A a r n e - T h o m p s o n T y p e s of t h e F o l k - T a l e , t h e s t a n d a r d i n d e x of t a l e s h a v i n g E u r o p e a n d i s t r i b u t i o n . 1 5 T h i s i n d e x e s t a b l i s h e d a s t y p e s a p p r o x i m a t e l y e i g h t h u n d r e d i n d i v i d u a l E u r o p e a n t a l e s . In t h e r e c e n t r e v i s i o n of t h i s w o r k t h e n u m b e r of t a l e s i n c l u d e d h a s b e e n s u b s t a n t i a l l y e n l a r g e d . F o r o u r p u r p o s e s , t h e r e i o r e , a t y p e is a n y t a l e h a v i n g a p l a c e a n d a n u m b e r in t h e A a r n e - T h o m p s o n c a n o n . T h e f i r s t m a j o r t a s k of c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , t h e n , h a s b e e n to a r r a n g e t h e E n g l i s h a n d A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s of the t y p e s a c c o r d i n g to t h e s e n u m b e r s a n d t o b r i n g t h e m t o g e t h e r in a c h a p t e r e n t i t l e d " T h e T y p e s . " No new t y p e n u m b e r s w e r e u s e d in t h e 1953 s t u d y , t h o u g h s e v e r a l · subdivisions w e r e s u g g e s t e d and w e r e d e s i g n a t e d . Since then, the Type-Index has been

r e v i s e d and the new numbering has been f o l l o w e d in this study. S e v e r a l type subdivisions not adopted by P r o f e s s o r Thoinpson in this study appear in b r a c k e t s . The second and l a r g e r group consists of those variants which a r e not included in the T y p e - I n d e x . Naturally, the T y p e - I n d e x does not contain a l l of the important tales having an independent existence. This second group has, h o w e v e r , been c l a s s i f i e d according to the system of the Motif-Index of F o l k - L i t e r a t u r e . 1 6 In my 1953 study new motif numbers w e r e added, or subdivisions of existing m o t i f s made whenever n e c e s s a r y . Stith Thompson v e r y c a r e f u l l y c o r r e l a t e d these new numbers with the 1932-36 edition of the Motif Index and with the manuscript of the r e v i s i o n of that w o r k which was then in p r o g r e s s . 1 7 The variants· of this group a r e incorporated in the chapter of this study entitled " T h e M o t i f s . " Following each tale entry a r e the bibliographical r e f e r e n c e s a r r a n g e d in g e o graphical o r d e r . Once the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s and geographical distributions had been made, it was possible to consider the relationship of the bodies of tales f r o m the Old W o r l d to those of the New W o r l d , and to show which types and m o t i f s have been c o l l e c t e d in both a r e a s , and which have been c o l l e c t e d in only one a r e a . F i n a l l y , it was possible to reach a conclusion about existing disparities and about the relationship of the t a l e - t e l l i n g traditions of the two countries.

A n a l y s i s of the T y p e s

P e r h a p s the best approach to the p r o b l e m of correspondence of the English and North A m e r i c a n tales is the tabular one. T a b l e 1 indicates the number of types found in England only, in A m e r i c a only, and the number found in both countries. T a b l e 2 contains not m e r e l y the number of individual types r e p r e s e n t e d in both countries, but also the number of variants of types f o r each A a r n e - T h o m p s o n subdivision. The tabulations of T a b l e 1 show that of the 371 types and their subdivisions r e p r e sented by English or A m e r i c a n variants, 63 (16.9%) a r e in England only, 212 (57.1%) a r e in A m e r i c a only, and 96 (25.8%) a r e in both countries. Only one-fourth of the types a r e to be found both in England and in A m e r i c a . The possibility r e m a i n s , h o w e v e r , that many of the types f o r which only A m e r i c a n variants have been r e p o r t e d m a y have c o m e f r o m England or Lowland Scotland or U l s t e r , even though they have never been r e c o r d e d in those countries. An examination of the a r e a s f r o m which they w e r e r e c o r d e d in A m e r ica tends to substantiate this p o s s i b i l i t y . F o r example, T y p e 1535 The R i c h and the P o o r Peasant, the story of the pseudo-magic cowhide, has been r e c o r d e d in New Y o r k by Gardner and in North Carolina by Boggs, by C a r t e r , and by Chase. This a l m o s t i m m e diately suggests that T y p e 1535 must have been brought f r o m England, Scotland, or U l s t e r by the English or S c o t c h - I r i s h who settled these regions during the late seventeenth century and the f i r s t part of the eighteenth century. Indeed, it would be d i f f i c u l t to attribute any other sovfrces to the s t o r y , e s p e c i a l l y since B o g g s , C a r t e r and Chase have c o l l e c t e d f r o m English stock of long r e s i d e n c e in this country. This kind of background examination r e v e a l s that ninety-eight of the types in the " A m e r i c a n - o n l y " c a t e g o r y probably have English or S c o t c h - I r i s h roots. 1 8 If w e admit the supposition that these ninety-eight types have English sources, w e find that the above tabulations a r e a l t e r e d as f o l l o w s : English only 63 (16.9%), A m e r i c a n only 114 (33.4%), both English and A m e r i c a n 194 (50.9%). It is possible that an even g r e a t e r number than the ninety-eight types could be subtracted f r o m the " A m e r i c a n - o n l y " group and added to the "both" group. A second approach to the p r o b l e m of correspondence of the English and A m e r i c a n types is to c o m p a r e the number of variants r e p o r t e d f r o m England and f r o m A m e r i c a . Total variants of all types England Lowland Scotland

United States Canada

385 5 390 viii

1231 31_ ΤΣ52

T o t a l s f o r v a r i a n t s f o r m a j o r c a t e g o r i e s of the t y p e s Part Part

I Animal Tales English 44

(2.6%)

American

II O r d i n a r y F o l k t a l e s E n g l i s h 161 (9.7%)

American

319 (19.3%)

American

888 (53.7%) 1262 (76.4%)

P a r t III J o k e s a n d A n e c d o t e s English J j i 5 ( l l . l % ) 390 (23.6%)

55

(3.3%)

It c a n r e a d i l y be s e e n that t h e r e a r e , o v e r a l l , m o r e A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s than E n g l i s h , and that t h e r e a r e m o r e A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s within e a c h c a t e g o r y , the m o s t notable A m e r i c a n p r e p o n d e r a n c e being in J o k e s and A n e c d o t e s . " TABLE 1 The N u m b e r of T y p e s Having V a r i a n t s f r o m E n g l a n d only, f r o m A m e r i c a only, or f r o m Both Countries. T h e l i s t i n g i s by S u b d i v i s i o n s of the r e v i s e d A a r n e - T h o m p s o n T y p e - I n d e x . England only No. Part I

1- 299

America only No.

%

Totals

%

Both No.

%

1

9.09

5

45.4

5

45.4

11

1

9.09

5

45.4

5

45.4

11

9 6

0 0 0 6.6 7.6 16.6 25.0 20.0 32.1 24.0

16 12 0 10 10 5 4 6 6 13

69.5 92.3 0 66.6 76.9 83.3 50.0 40.0 21.4 52.0

7 1 1 4 2 0 2 6 13 6

30.4 7.6 100.0 26.6 15.3 0 25.0 40.0 46.4 24.0

23 13 1 15 13 6 8 15 28 25

23

15.6

82

55.7

42

28.5

147

10 2 0 16 6 1 2 1 0 0 1

29.4 10.5 0 29.6 28.5 20.0 3.2 12.5 0 0 50.0

13 13 4 22 10 3 54 3 2 1 0

38.2 68.4 80.0 40.7 47.6 60.0 88.5 37.5 100.0 50.0 0

11 4 1 16 5 1 5 4 0 1 1

32.3 21.0 20.0 29.6 23.8 20.0 8.1 50.0 0 50.0 50.0

34 19 5 54 21 5 61 8 2 2 2

Sub total

39

19.2

125

58.6

49

23.0

213

Totals

63

16.9

212

57.1

96

25.8

371

Sub t o t a l P a r t II

300- 399 4 0 0 - 459 4 6 0 - 499 500- 559 560- 649 650- 699 7 0 0 - 749 7 5 0 - 849 850- 999 1000- 1199

Sub t o t a l P a r t III

1200- 1349 1350- 1449 1450- 1524 1525- 1724 1725- 1849 1860- 1874 1875- 1999 2000- 2199 2200- 2299 2300- 2399 2400- 2499

0 0 0 1 1 1 2 3

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Analysis of the Motifs Before analyzing the motifs, it is necessary to explain what a motif is, and to show why certain tales are included in this chapter of the study rather than in that devoted to the types. Ordinarily we think of a motif as a component—an element—of one tale, of several, or of many tales. It may be a concept, a phenomenon, a characteristic, a power, a happening, a creature, or an object. We must remember, however, that a motif may be in itself a short and simple story, and that it may not be related to any one of the types. 20 The account of a witch's taking milk f r o m a neighbor's cow by squeezing an ax handle or a towel (D2083.3.1) seems to be an example of this class of motif. Obviously there are hundreds of such simple folk reports on many kinds of subjects. They provide the bulk of the chapter on motifs in this study. Also included in this chapter are several fairly complex tales. Most of these, however, have been listed as types in the new revision of the Aarne-Thompson Type-Index, but a few, such as (D702.1.1) "Cat's paw cut off; woman's hand missing," or (F235.4.1) "Mortal midwife attending fairy woman in confinement," are not, although they appear to be rather well-developed, multiple-motif stories. In analyzing the materials and interpreting the evidence of the motif chapter, one becomes aware of several difficulties, both of procedure and of interpretation. First of all, it was found advisable to exclude motifs which are integral parts of the established types because these motifs were the basis for the analysis of types given above; their inclusion in the motif analysis would mean duplication of that material. Next, it became necessary to determine the unit to be used for the motif analysis. Because of the great number of motif subdivisions, it seemed desirable to analyze the motif section on the basis of the whole-number motif, and to disregard the subdivisions as separate entities. 21 This procedure was not altogether satisfactory because some whole-number motifs—notably G303 (Devil)—contain many separate tales. E a r l i e r attempts to analyze the motifs, however, had shown that it was impossible to determine accurately, or with any consistency, exactly what it is that constitutes an individual tale. The fine line of distinction between parallels and analogues is a difficult one to draw; it is even more difficult to maintain that distinction consistently. These considerations dictated the use of the whole-number motif as the basis for comparison. The changing of a number of motifs to types in the new revision of the Type-Index has, of course, been taken into account. These originally appeared in the motif section of the 1953 study. Since they have assumed the status of types and type variants, they are not included as motifs in the present study. The losses of motifs to the types are listed in Table 5 so that the reader can restore them in the motif totals if he wishes to make comparisons between the 1953 study and the present study. Some preliminary generalizations about the motif findings may be of interest. There is some correspondence between the English and American materials in almost every m a j o r category, with two notable exceptions. These are the motifs concerning fairies and elves, F200-399, and the tall tale, X900-1899. There are 446 variants in the Section oivjairies and elves, all of them from England and Lowland Scotland with the exception of about ten f r o m America. The American variants fall into two groups: those from informants who have come to America in recent years, and those which purport to be stories of American Indian fairies or elves. There are a few English analogues to American tall tales, but in most instances the similarities are more apparent than real. The categories which show the closest correspondence between the two areas are those about ghosts and witches, Sections Ε and G. This correspondence may be the result of a direct relationship, but another possibility immediately suggests itself. A comparison of English and American ghosts and witches with those of other Germanic peoples (as reported by Kittredge in Witchcraft in Old and New England, by Thorpe in Northern Mythology, and by G r i m m in Deutsche Mythologie), seems to indicate that there is a fairly common and consistent Germanic tradition of ghosts and witches. It must be pointed out that stories of both ghosts and witches contain an element—and a very important one—of belief—which xi

i s not p r e s e n t , o r a t l e a s t not in t h e s a m e w a y , in the M ä r c h e n o r t h e n u m s k u l l s t o r y . S e r i o u s b e l i e f in w i t c h e s and g h o s t s would n a t u r a l l y tend to k e e p t h e s e t r a d i t i o n s a l i v e and to e x e r t an i n f l u e n c e w h i c h would not b e p r e s e n t in t h e p e r p e t u a t i o n of s t o r i e s t h a t do not i n v o l v e b e l i e f . Of c o u r s e , it c o u l d a l s o b e a r g u e d t h a t s e r i o u s b e l i e f i s p r e s e n t in the s t o r i e s of f a i r i e s and e l v e s , and that t h e s e s t o r i e s should b e a s w e l l r e p r e s e n t e d in A m e r i c a a s t h o s e of g h o s t s and w i t c h e s . T h e f a c t i s that b e l i e f in f a i r i e s h a s n e v e r a t any t i m e t a k e n hold in A m e r i c a ; b e l i e f in g h o s t s and w i t c h e s i s v e r y m u c h in e v i d e n c e in both c o u n t r i e s e v e n t o d a y . T h e t a b u l a t i o n s of T a b l e 3 show that a t o t a l of 1 , 2 1 1 w h o l e - n u m b e r m o t i f s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d in the m o t i f c h a p t e r of t h i s study. Of t h i s t o t a l , 2 7 5 ( 2 2 . 8 % ) h a v e only E n g l i s h v a r i a n t s ; 3 1 5 ( 2 6 . 0 % ) have v a r i a n t s f r o m both E n g l a n d and A m e r i c a ; and 6 2 1 ( 5 1 . 1 % ) h a v e only A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s . A f u r t h e r e x a m i n a t i o n , h o w e v e r , r e v e a l s c e r t a i n p o t e n t i a l i t i e s . If we e x c l u d e the t a l l t a l e , X 9 0 0 - 1 8 9 9 , f r o m the p e r c e n t a g e c o m p u t a t i o n s ( b e c a u s e i t i s " a n o v e r w h e l m i n g l y A m e r i c a n p h e n o m e n o n ) , we f i n d that the m o t i f t o t a l i s 8 8 5 , d i s t r i b u t e d a s f o l l o w s : E n g l i s h 2 7 2 ( 3 0 . 7 % ) , both 2 9 8 ( 3 3 . 6 % ) , A m e r i c a n , only 3 1 5 ( 3 5 . 5 % ) . If we t h e n e x c l u d e the p r e d o m i n a n t l y E n g l i s h S u b s e c t i o n s F a i r i e s and E l v e s , F 2 0 0 - 3 9 9 , we h a v e a t o t a l of 8 2 3 m o t i f s , divided a s f o l l o w s : E n g l i s h 2 1 6 ( 2 6 . 2 % ) , both 2 9 2 ( 3 5 . 4 % ) , A m e r i c a n 315 ( 3 8 . 2 % ) . Having e x c l u d e d t h e s e p r e d o m i n a n t l y A m e r i c a n and p r e d o m i n a n t l y E n g l i s h m a t e r i a l s , we find a g r e a t e r p e r c e n t a g e of m o t i f s a m o n g t h e " b o t h " g r o u p . T h e f a c t that only about o n e - t h i r d of the m o t i f s h a v e both E n g l i s h and A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s d o e s not s e e m n o t a b l y s i g n i f i c a n t , e s p e c i a l l y when we h a v e had to e x c l u d e two l a r g e b l o c k s of m a t e r i a l s to r a i s e that f i g u r e f r o m o n e - f o u r t h to o n e - t h i r d . TABLE 3 T h e N u m b e r of Individual M o t i f s f r o m E n g l a n d Only, f r o m A m e r i c a Only, and f r o m B o t h C o u n t r i e s , L i s t e d A c c o r d i n g to the M a j o r S e c t i o n s of the T h o m p s o n M o t i f - I n d e x , with Percentages Section

England Only No. %

Both No.

Total

%

29

10.4 41.1 16.6 17.1 22.6

7 7 3 40 74

25.0 41.1 25.0 40.4 57.8

28 17 12 99 128

7 22 7 83 48

7.6 18.3 33.3 57.6 60.7

15 68 5 35 14

16.3 56.6 23.8 24.3 17.7

92 120 21 144

0 16.6 100.0 26.6 25.0

3 18 0 4 2

33.3 60.0 0 26.6 50.0

6 7 0 7 1

66.6 23.3 0

9 30 2 15 4

25.0 0 22.2 7.1

4 0 5 12

50.0 0 55.5 85.7

2 1 2 1

25.0 100.0 22.2 7.1

9 14

17.6 1.5 10.5 22.8

25 304 17 621

73.5 93.2 89.4 51.1

3 17 0 315

8.8 5.2 0 26.0

34 326 19 1211

A Β C D Ε

18 3 7 42 25

64.2 17.6 58.3 42.4 19.5

F G Η J Κ

70 30 7 26 17

76.08 25.0 33.3 18.03 21.5

Μ Ν Ρ Q R

0 5 2 4 1

Τ υ V w

2 0 2 1 6 5 2 275

Χ900 Χ900ζ Totals

America Only No. % 3 7 2 17

xii

46.6 25.0

79

8 1

T a b l e 3 a l s o s h o w s t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n p e r c e n t a g e s f o r e a c h S e c t i o n of t h e m o t i f s . These p e r c e n t a g e s s h o w t h a t o n l y s i x of t h e S e c t i o n s h a v e m o r e t h a n f o r t y p e r c e n t of t h e i r m o t i f s in t h e " b o t h " c a t e g o r y . T h e y a r e S e c t i o n s M, O r d a i n i n g the F u t u r e (66.6%), E , T h e D e a d (57.8%), G, O g r e s (56.6%), Q, R e w a r d s a n d P u n i s h m e n t s (46.6%), B. A n i m a l s (41.1%), a n d D, M a g i c (40.4%). T h e p e r c e n t a g e s f o r t h e s e s i x S e c t i o n s a p p e a r t o b e s i g nificant. S e v e r a l other Sections have higher p e r c e n t a g e s , but they contain so few v a r i ants that the c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s cannot be c o n s i d e r e d i m p o r t a n t . O t h e r c o m p a r i s o n s w h i c h s h e d s o m e l i g h t o n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s of t h e t a l e s of t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s a r e t h e n u m b e r of v a r i a n t s i n e a c h m o t i f s e c t i o n , a n d t h e t o t a l of a l l m o t i f v a r iants. Table 4 shows that the total v a r i a n t s f r o m England and Lowland Scotland n u m b e r 3 , 9 6 6 ( 3 4 . 6 % of a l l m o t i f v a r i a n t s ) ; t h e A m e r i c a n n u m b e r 7 , 4 6 5 ( 6 5 . 3 % of a l l v a r i a n t s ) . T h e g r a n d t o t a l i s 1 1 , 4 3 1 . If h o w e v e r , w e a g a i n e x c l u d e S u b s e c t i o n s X 9 0 0 - 1 8 9 9 T a l l T a l e s , w e f i n d t h a t t h e r e a r e 3 , 9 3 7 E n g l i s h a n d o n l y 3 , 6 7 0 A m e r i c a n v a r i a n t s . If w e f u r t h e r exclude S u b s e c t i o n s F 2 0 0 - 3 9 9 F a i r i e s a n d E l v e s , w e find that t h e r e a r e 3,501 E n g l i s h v a r i a n t s r e m a i n i n g and 3,660 A m e r i c a n . T h e s e e x c l u s i o n s show v e r y c l e a r l y how m u c h t h e i n c l u s i o n of t h e s e b i a s e d S u b s e c t i o n s w e i g h t s t h e p i c t u r e w h e n o n l y t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of v a r i a n t s i s c o n s i d e r e d . S e c t i o n X c o n t a i n s t h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r of v a r i a n t s ; S e c t i o n s L a n d S a r e n o t r e p r e s e n t e d a t a l l . In t h e f o l l o w i n g t a b u l a t i o n t h e S e c t i o n s a n d t h e i r v a r i a n t s a r e l i s t e d i n d e s c e n d i n g o r d e r , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e n u m b e r of v a r i a n t s . Section

English

American

Total

X.

Humor

3871

(3362)

3911

(3408)

E.

The Dead

1085

(1024)

1068

(835)

2153

(1859)

G.

Ogres

1025

(997)

600

(473)

1625

(1470)

D.

Magic

568

(537)

303

(204)

871

F.

Marvels

641

(616)

105

(76)

746

(692)

J.

The Wise and the F o o l i s h

135

(133)

486

(417)

621

(550)

V.

Religion

17

(13)

276

(239)

293

(252)

K.

Deceptions

54

(56)

181

(133)

235

(189)

N.

Chance and Fate

40

(27)

174

(154)

214

(181)

B.

Animals

A.

Mythological Motifs

M.

Ordaining the Future

Z.

M i s c e l l a n e o u s G r o u p s of M o t i f s

40

(46)"

(741)2'

98

(99)

96

(109)

194

(208)

106

(99)

41

(42)

147

(141)

38

(35)

52

(43)

90

(78)

2

(4)

79

(71)

81

(75)

41

(38)

30

(23)

71

(61)

6

(6)

56

(42)

62

(48)

Q.

Rewards and Punishments

W.

T r a i t s of C h a r a c t e r

H.

Tests

33

(32)

19

(18)

52

(50)

C.

Tabu

23

(21)

15

(11)

38

(32)

T.

Sex

6

(4)

7

(4)

13

(8)

R.

Captives and Fugitives

4

(3)

5

(6)

9

(9)

U.

T h e N a t u r e of L i f e

2

(1)

1

(1)

3

(2)

P.

Society

(3) (10,057)

2

(3)

0

(0)

2

3966

(3794)

7465

(6263)

11,431

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