Research Guides: Myths, Fairy Tales and Folklore: Encyclopedias and Indexes

Reference to the rescue!

Why Reference?

Reference materials are excellent resources for providing an overview of the subject you are researching. They will provide well-known facts on literary authors and their works; historical and political events that may have impacted their work; the society and culture in which they lived and worked and/or may have based their work upon; as well as the impact of their work on future generations. They are trustworthy and reliable, giving you the correct information you will need for your research papers and presentations.

Reference books, either in print or electronic format, will also provide you with keywords and terms to use in your searches through the library catalog or databases. If you are searching for a research topic, using the overview on a subject that a reference source provides can spark the idea for a researchable thesis question.

Encyclopedias and Indexes

New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology by Félix Guirand
Here, in all their wonder and splendor, are the Mythologies of Mankind.. from pre-biblical Egypt and pre-Homeric Greece to the farthest researches of Africa, the Orient, the Pacific and the Americas.. all gathered into one mammoth volume of unprecedented scope and beauty, and illustrated with an incomparable scope and beauty, and illustrated with an incomparable assemblage of authentic paintings, sculpture, symbols, idols, ritual and sacrificial objects, many rarely seen by modern Western eyes. This monumental work is the first complete encyclopedia of world anthology. Originally published in France by the famous house of Larousse, it contains of course all the well-loved myths of Classical Antiquity. But more than half the book is devoted to the strange and unfamiliar mythologies of civilizations...from Peru to Persia, from Tahiti to Togoland.
The Facts on File encyclopedia of world mythology and legend by Anthony S. Mercatante
Impressive in scope, the set takes its title seriously—featured here are not only myths and legends from the Western hemisphere but a large survey of folklore and fables from Africa, India, ancient cultures, and the world's aboriginal and native peoples. The A-to-Z articles run in length from a paragraph to several pages, each including cross-references to other entries and related subjects and crisp black-and-white illustrations that replace some of the earlier editions' murkier reproductions. Previous volumes used a numbered entry system, which has been discontinued; the indexes, including a list of entries by culture, now refer readers to page numbers.
World Mythology: from indigenous tales to classical legends by Tamsin Hughes
The woman's encyclopedia of myths and secrets by Barbara G Walker
This fascinating, scholarly hodgepodge spotlights the feminist underpinnings of myth, religion, and culture. Before being lionized as zaftig Norse angels who guided strong warriors to Valhalla, Valkyries may have offered rebirth through cannibalization. "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on Diana, goddess of the hunt. Marriage was once considered a sin, not a sacred union: St. Bernard once proclaimed "it was easier for a man to bring the dead back to life than to live with a woman without endangering his soul." A few of the other topics expounded upon are the Milky Way, Cinderella, the moon, and males giving birth.
Enzyklopädie des Märchens : Handwörterbuch zur historischen und vergleichenden Erzählforschung by Kurt Ranke
Presents the results of almost two centuries of international research in the field of folk narrative tradition past and present. The Encyclopedia is to comprise 14 volumes, which will contain approximately 3900 alphabetically arranged entries covering theories and methods, genre questions, problems of style and structure, issues of context and performance, important tale-types and motifs, biographies of scholars and collectors, and national and regional surveys about folk narrative tradition and folk narrative research. Project web site, in English: http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~enzmaer/vorstellung-engl.html
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales by Donald Haase
Folk and fairy tales exist in all cultures and are at the heart of civilization. This massive Encyclopedia gives students and general readers a broad, multicultural survey of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Included are hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries written by numerous expert contributors. Entries cover themes and motifs, individuals, characters and character types, national traditions, genres, and a range of other topics. Each entry cites works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources.
Folklore: an encyclopedia of beliefs, customs, tales, music, and art by Thomas A. Green
The broad field of folklore studies, developed over the past two centuries, provides significant insights into many aspects of human culture. While the term "folklore" conjures images of ancient practices and beliefs or folk heroes and traditional stories, it also applies to today's ever-changing cultural landscape. Even certain aspects of modern Internet-based popular culture and contemporary rites of passage represent folklore. This encyclopedia covers all the major genres of both ancient and contemporary folklore. This second edition adds more than 100 entries that examine the folklore practices of major ethnic groups, folk heroes, creatures of myth and legend, and emerging areas of interest in folklore studies.
The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography, based on the system of Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson by Hans-Jörg Uther
The catalog of international tale types (ATU) based on the system of Aarne / Thompson constitutes a fundamentally new edition with extensive additions and innovations. The descriptions of the tale types have been completely rewritten and made more precise. The essential research cited for each type includes extensive documentation of its international distribution as well as monographic works or articles on that type. More than two hundred and fifty new types have been added. Types with very limited distribution have been omitted. A detailed subject index includes the most important subjects, actions, and other motifs, including actors and settings.
A guide to folktales in the English language: based on the Aarne-Thompson classification system by D. L. Ashliman
A Guide to Folktales in the English Language is designed to assist both the folklore specialist and the general reader in locating the texts of folktales published in collections. Author D.L.Ashliman follows the widely accepted type classification established by folklorists Annti Aarne and Stith Thompson and last revised in 1961, organizing more than 5,000 stories and episodes under some 1,000 basic plots. Each plot is presented in capsule form, followed by the titles and essential bibliographic data of published variants. The result is a comprehensive overview of all major European folktales that will be invaluable for students of folklore, literature, and popular culture.
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 Stith Thompson
A comprehensive listing of the recognizable and consistently repeated story elements (e.g., common characters, objects, actions, and events) that are used in traditional stories and folktales. Motifs are classified by increasingly specific categories and numbered for ease of reference.
Medieval folklore: a guide to myths, legends, tales, and customs by Carl Lindahl
Medieval Folklore offers a wide-ranging guide to the lore of the Middle Ages--from the mundane to the supernatural. Definitive and lively articles focus on the great tales and traditions of the age and includes information on daily and nightly customs and activities; religious beliefs of the pagan, Christian, Muslim, and Jew; key works of oral and written literature; traditional music and art; holidays and feasts; food and drink; and plants and animals, both real and fantastical.
Index to fairy tales, 1949-1972; including folklore, legends, & myths, in collections. by Norma Olin Ireland
Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions by Raphael Patai
Provides a multicultural reference work on Jewish folklore, legends, customs, including over 250 A-Z original, signed articles that cover major themes, beliefs, traditions, and folkways of Jewish groups around the world. The diverse range of articles covers specific artifacts, rituals, ceremonies, biblical figures, and legends-in addition to broad topics such as humor, folk dance, costumes, and folk narratives.

Electronic Encyclopedias

Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to dictionaries, language reference, Islamic studies and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.
Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
Search across a range of encyclopedias, dictionaries and more.
Brill Online Reference Works This link opens in a new window
Brill Online is a searchable suite of databases. NYU's subscription includes the following: Brill's New Pauly, Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Encyclopaedia of the Quran, Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, Brockelmann Online, Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics and Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World.

Dictionaries and Handbooks

The Oxford companion to fairy tales by Jack Zipes
From its ancient roots in the oral tradition to the postmodernist reworkings of the present day, the fairy tale has retained its powerful hold over the cultural imagination of Europe and North America. Now The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales provides the first authoritative reference source for this complex, captivating genre.
With more than 800 entries written by a team of 67 specialists from around the world, the Companion offers an illuminating look at the classic tales themselves, both ancient and modern, from Jack and Jill and Cinderella to Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz.
Companion to Literary Myths, Heroes and Archetypes by Pierre Brunel
This work explores the nature of the literary myth in a collection of essays. Each traces the progress of a particular myth (or group of myths) through literature, whether fiction, poetry or drama. Drawing on legends from prehistory to the modern age, the text explores the origin, development and various incarnations of different characters. Entries, presented in an A-Z fashion, also cover: later myths which have greatly influenced western culture, such as Don Juan and Faust; places that have become literary myths, such as Eden and Atlantis; and heroic factual figures such as Louis XIV and Napoleon. A large number of non-European myths from parts of the world as diverse as Africa, China, Japan, Latin America and India are also discussed.
Classical mythology by Mark P. O. Morford
Classical Mythology is the most comprehensive survey of classical mythology available. Featuring the authors' clear and extensive translations of original sources, it brings to life the myths and legends of Greece and Rome in a lucid and engaging style. The text contains a wide variety of faithfully translated passages from Greek and Latin sources, including Homer, Hesiod, all the Homeric Hymns, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Plato, Lucian, Lucretius, Vergil, Ovid, and Seneca.
Storyteller's Sourcebook: a subject, title, and motif index to folklore collections for children by Margaret Read MacDonald
Handbook of Japanese mythology by Michael Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi's engaging and informative guidebook begins with 100 pages of context. He emphasizes the historical, religious, and social ground for, and provides an overview of, both Shinto and Buddhist myths. This wonderfully vivid and compact introduction tells the core stories and provides key anthropological data explaining the role(s) of myths. The author's lucid, accessible, and even humorous style lightens the impressive scholarship. His account ranges widely over history and culture, without losing its coherence or relevance to mythology. Shinto stories are linked in a comprehensive narrative; Ashkenazi also includes Ryukyu and Ainu myths.
Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature by Jane Garry; Hasan M. El-Shamy
A presentation and discussion of the most basic thematic elements universally found in folklore and literature. The reference provides a detailed analysis of the most common archetypes or motifs found in the folklore of selected communities around the world.. Entries are keyed to the ''Motif-Index of Folk Literature'' by Stith Thompson.
Funk & Wagnalls standard dictionary of folklore, mythology, and legend by Jerome Fried
This one volume edition includes 8000 articles by specialists in the field.
Fairy lore: a handbook by D. L. Ashliman
Fairy lore concerns beliefs about elves, dwarfs, gnomes, trolls, mermaids, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, and many other beings found in world folklore. Written for students and general readers, this book is an introduction to fairy lore from around the world. The handbook defines and classifies types of fairies, provides numerous examples and texts, overviews scholarship, and discusses the role of fairies in art, film, and popular culture. It closes with a glossary and a bibliography of print and electronic resources.