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Author
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Comment
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KKeslar
Registered User
(10/3/06 12:39 pm)
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Death in Fairytales and Folklore
I would like to research the concept of "death" in Indo-European Folklore, but I have no idea with which texts to begin. I'd like to make statements about how Folklore generally tends to treat the figure and phenomenon of death. Any advice (texts, topics, tales, ideas, directions) is greatly appreciated, as I am a novice in the field and presenting on the topic in only two months.
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(10/3/06 1:15 pm)
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Re: Death in Fairytales and Folklore
Endicott Studio's most recent edition but one was all about death
(and rebirth) in fairy tales and folklore, and it was a good one
(and I'm not just saying that because my work was in it!). Check
it out here.
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neverossa
Registered User
(10/4/06 2:10 pm)
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Re: Death in Fairytales and Folklore
The topic is enormous! I think it would be best for you to focus on a more specific subject (i.e. Death in fairy tales or Death in Western Tradition, just to avoid to discuss all Europe...; or in a specific period). An Italian folklorist Alfonso Maria di Nola wrote a massive book on death in the European tradition, but I'm afraid you can find it only in Italian.
For death in fairy-tales you can give a look to the works of Vladimir Propp and also to the influence of the eastern shamanistic tradition, in which the relation with the otherworld is fundamental, in fairy tales such as A tale of the Tontlawald (it's Estonian, you find it in Lang's books); but even in Grimm's The Juniper Tree.
You can explore how death is linked to supernatural beings such as fairies (especially in Ireland: check Evans-Wentz: The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries; also every book of Katherine Briggs); and also the legend of the wild hunt, linked to Odin in Norse mythology, but even to fairy women, such as Perchta, the Italian Befana, etc. which are a sort of goddesses of the dead.
Edited by: neverossa at: 10/4/06 2:13 pm
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