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Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson wrote and created the index used today on folktale types. An
AT-number may cover a whole folktale, or a sequence (an episode) of a folktale. There is more
on the subject further down.
On Folktales
Descriptions FOLKTALES are arranged in international catalogues according to the motifs
(themes) in them. A motif is given a number, a title, and a description where main traits or
features of the tale are shown by way of a capsule. Example:
AT 211*. Grisen og levemDten hans (The hog who was so tired of his daily food)
The pig went to court to get a better way of life, but the fox fooled him on the way home so that
the pig was brainwashed and apparently forgot what the judge had said in the pig's favour. Hence
the pig's life stayed as before.
In case there is a chain of AT-numbers in an entry - for example AT 302+400+461+613 = AT
302 nr. 28 - it means the tale is classified as a variant of one or more tales. In this case the tale is
classified as a variant of AT 613, which is called The two travellers, and tells how one traveller
blinds the other, who in turn learns valuable secrets, and next becomes a mighty, rich man after
his sight is restored again.
Many AT-numbers connected with a tale shows that the classification system is much
cumbersome at times, and hardly neat enough today. Futher, both folktales and folktale variants
may be classified in this way, by more than one AT-number. It shows that the tale/variant is made
up of several motifs, one after another, in a "string of events" - the folktale plot or "chain of
action".
Common tales Cinderella AT 510; Snow White AT 709; Hansel and Gretal 327A; Big Per
and Little Per AT 1535
The AT Divisions of Tales
In the AT catalogue the tales (AT-number entries) are divided into these categories:
1. Animal Tales (Types 1-299),
2. Ordinary Folktales (Types 300-1199),
1. Tales of magic
2. Religious tales
3. Aitiological tales
4. Novelle (romantic tales)
5. Tales of the stupid ogre
3. Jokes and Anecdotes (Types 1200-1999),
1. Numskull stories
2. Stories about married couples
3. Stories about a woman (girl)
4. Stories about a clever/stupid lucky/unlucky man(boy)
5. Jokes about parsons and religious orders
6. Tales of lying
4. Formula Tales (Types 2000-2399),
1. Cumulative tales
2. Catch tales
Most folk tales or fairy tales are classified under "ordinary tales". They comprise about half of the
catalogue. The next section goes deeper into those catalogue numbers.
The A in 'AT' stands for Aarne, and the T for Thompson. More specifically: "The Finnish
folklorist Antti Aarne and the American folklorist Stith Thompson." AT-numbers are practical
tools of folklore: If you collect folktales they are of benefit. If you would like to have summaries
of folktales, the catalogue numbers can give great help too. They help greatly those who intend to
compare tales for different countries and cultures - mainly European ones, that is.
Aarne and Thompson devised a catalogue (classification system) of the types of international
folktales. The initial catalogue was developed and published in 1910 by Aarne under the title
"Index of Types of Folktale" in German. Aarne's system was devised to organize and index
Scandinavian collections. Aarne's system was translated and enlarged by the American folklorist
Stith Thompson in 1928, and revised in 1961.
The indexed AT motifs are limited mainly to European and European-derived tales that are
known to have been told by mouth at the time they were published. The AT index yields a single
classification system, and with its help different variants may be grouped or banded together
under the headings of AT-number, which serve as their common reference. AT-numbers may be
used to (1) identify tale types, (2) isolate motifs, (3) locate cultural variants.
If there are variants that include other motifs, (more AT-numbers), the motif numbers are
given too.
In the hog tale example given, there are two Norwegian variants of the folktale, and a
comprehensive catalogue will give the information needed to find them if necessary, and there
will be bibliographic information (not shown above).
Various Catalogues Are at Hand
The Types of the Folktale constitutes the most important reference work and research tool for
comparative folktale analysis. The basic idea is still that in the AT catalogue tales are organized
according to type and assigned a title and number and/or letter. In the highlighted example above,
the tale "The hog who was so tired of his daily food" is given the index number AT 211*. But if
we look for that particular tale in in D. L. Ashliman's Guide to Folktales in the English Language:
Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System (1987), we will not find it [Agha]. This is
because that Guide is a much abbreviated catalogue. For all that, Ashliman has followed the
Aarne-Thompson classification system where he is not omitting entries or elements. Ashliman's
Guide is fairly useful, and easier to use than the larger set devised by Stith-Thompson.
A search in qrnulf Hodne's catalogue of Norwegian fairytale types [Tyno] for AT 211*
would yield the result that is highlighted above. His catalogue follows the model of Norsk
Eventyrbibliotek (below), and its folktales have been registered according to the international
type system of Aarne and Thompson.
Specifications
In the catalogue there is room for well known folktales, such as the ones collected, edited and
published by Asbjrrnsen and Moe, and the Household Mrchen of the Grimm brothers. Most of
these well-known folktales have been given one AT-number each, as a general rule. There are
other tales that incorporate some of the elements (parts, episodes, motifs) of such tales, and still
other tales that contain other elements. A comprehensive catalogue has to deal with these things.
Hodne deals very much according to this:
* Uncertain classification of types may be put in parenthesis.
AT Numbers Listed
Descriptions In the survey that follows, most AT-numbers and titles in English are given,
at least for the time being.
In this list some AT-numbers are left out, and many composite AT-numbers too, and
descriptions of AT-numbers and titles. Also, listings of variants and of biographical data
are omitted below.
AT 1 The theft of fish
A fox played dead by the side of the road, and a man with a load of fish picked him up,
praising his luck for the beautiful pelt. But the clever fox stole the fish and escaped.
(Ashliman)
AT 2 How the bear lost his tail. The tail-fisher
The bear was persuaded to fish with his tail through a hole in the ice and got it frozen
fast. He tried to get free, and lost his tail (cf. Hodne).
AT 5 Biting the foot
AT 7 The calling of three tree names
AT 9 The unjust partner
AT 9C In cooking dinner the fox's porridge is light
AT 10*** Over the edge
AT 15 The theft of butter (honey) by playing godfather
AT 20C The animals flee in fear of the end of the world
AT 21 Eating his own entrails
AT 31 The fox climbs from the pit on the wolf's back
AT 34B Wolf drinks water to get cheese
AT 37* The fox as shepherd
AT 38 Claw in split tree
AT 41 The wolf overeats in the cellar
AT 47A The fox (bear, etc) hangs by his teeth to the horse's tail, hare's lip
AT 48* The bear who went to the monkey for the gold chain
AT 49 The bear and the honey
AT 50 Curing a sick lion
The king of beasts lay ill. The fox delayed paying him a visit, but the wolf went to pay
his respect to this king. As a result of beastly intrigues, the lion had the wolf killed and
flayed.
AT 56A* Fox plays dead and catches bird
AT 57 Raven with cheese in his mouth
AT 60 Fox and crane invite each other
AT 61 The fox persuades the cock to crow with closed eyes
AT 62 Peace among the animals - the fox and the cook
AT 65 The she-fox's suitors
AT 70 More cowardly than the hare
AT 81 Too cold for hare to build house in winter
AT 96* When the hare was married
AT 105 The cat's only trick
AT 106 Animals' conversation
AT 111 The cat and the mouse converse
AT 112 Country mouse visits town mouse
AT 709 Snow-white
AT 710 Our Lady's child
AT 711 The beautiful and the ugly twins
AT 720 My mother slew me; my father ate me. The Juniper tree
AT 726 The oldest on the farm
AT 727* Invisible voices
AT The princess with the golden ball
AT "Marsi"
AT The princess who played the game of the golden dice
AT The three brothers
AT The wolf and the girl
AT The boy and the ball of bread
AT The golden billy-goat
AT The young Alv
AT The animals and the prince
AT Alexander
AT The boy and the raven
AT The magic hazel stick
AT The three riders who wanted to go to Paris
AT The shepherd boy and the bear
AT The saving blood
AT The white-bear that dug up the boy
AT "Lill Lill Lye"
AT "The turnip ram"
AT The princess in the forest with wild animals
AT 750A The wishes. Hospitality rewarded
AT 750B The wishes: Hospitality rewarded
AT 751A The peasant woman is changed into a woodpecker
AT 753 Christ and the smith
AT 755 Sin and grace
AT 756B The devil's contract
AT 758 The various children of Eve
AT 759B+826 Holy man has his own mass
AT 762 Woman with three hundred and sixty-five children
AT 766 The seven sleepers
AT 768 St Christopher and the Christ child
AT 774C The legend of the horseshoe
AT 777 The wandering Jew
AT 779) Miscellaneous divine rewards and punishments
AT 791 The Saviour and Peter in night-lodgings
AT 800 The tailor in heaven
AT 810 The snares of the evil one
AT 811 The man promised to the devil becomes a priest
AT 812 The devil's riddle
AT 821A The thief rescued by the devil
AT 822 The lazy boy and the industrious girl
AT 853 The hero catches the princess with her own words
AT 854 The golden ram
AT 870 The princess confined in the mound
AT 870A The little goose-girl
AT 872* Brother and sister
AT 875 The clever peasant girl
AT 882 The wager on the wife's chastity
AT 883 B The seducer punished
AT 887 Griselda
AT 890 A pound of flesh
AT 892 The children of the king
AT 900 King Thrushbird
AT 901 Taming of the shrew
AT 910 A Wise through experience
AT 910 B The servant's good counsels
AT 922 The shepherd substituting for the priest answers the king's questions) (The king
and the abbot
AT 923 A Like wind in the hot sun
AT 924 Dicussion by sign language
AT 927 Out-riddling the judge
AT 934 E The magic ball of thread
AT 950 Rhampsinitus
AT 952 The king and the soldier
AT 955 The robber bridegroom
AT 962** The girl who played with the bread
AT The boastful king
AT (The half-wit'
AT The blood that testified to the truth
AT The big girl
AT The wonderful player
AT The cottar and the thief
AT The miser
AT The boy who killed 'Misfortune'
AT The small bailiff
AT The man who wants to hang himself on Wednesday evening
AT The partition of an inheritance
AT The innkeeper murderer
AT The maiden many men would like to marry
E. Tales of
AT 1000-AT 1160 Tales of the stupid ogre
AT Good fellows
AT Getting room for the eggs
AT Staying with a friend in rainy weather
AT Driving in the nail's head first
AT The shoes in the furnace
AT Carrying the sail
AT The woman and the north wind
AT His beard or his lif e
AT The land-lubbers who are 'reefing sails'
AT The wandering mountain
AT How wide the world is
AT The closed strait
AT Measuring the height of the flag-staff
AT The girl who patched her apron
AT The bear's tail
AT The cod
AT Binding the boat
B. Stories ab.
AT 1350 The loving wife
AT 1351 The silence wager
AT 1353 The old woman as troublemakar
AT 1360B Flight of the woman and her lover from the stable
AT 1360 C Old Hildebrand
AT 1362 The snow-child
AT 1365 AB The obstinate wife
AT 1365C The wife insults the husband as a lousy-head)
AT 1380 The faithless wife
AT 1381 The talkative wife and the discovered treasure
AT 1383 The woman does not know herself
AT 1384 The husband hunts for three persons as stupid as his wife
AT 1386 Meat as food for cabbage
AT 1391 Every hole to tell the truth
AT 1406 The merry wives wager . . .
AT 1408 The man who does his wife's work
AT 1415 Lucky Hans
AT 1416 The mouse in the silver jug. The new Eve
AT 1431 The contagious yawns
AT The man who wanted to get rid of his wife
AT The thunderstorm
AT The tailor with the beautiful wife
AT The bet
AT The lame couple
AT The three wives
AT The queen and the calf
C. Stories
AT 1440 The tenant promises his daughter to his master against her will