French folklore encompasses the

fables Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

, fairy tales and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s of the

French people The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the ...

In the Middle Ages

Occitan literature - were songs, poetry and literature in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France that originated in the poetry of the 11th and 12th centuries, and inspired vernacular literature throughout medieval Europe. These early recorded songs, poetry and their highest development in the 12th century and includes the well known ''Songs of the Troubadours'':

Songs of the Troubadours

* Songs of the Troubadour - The songs, poetry and narratives of the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

s, who were composers and performers during the High Middle Ages, flourished during the 11th century and spread throughout Europe from Southern France. Their songs dealt mainly with themes of

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...

and courtly love. Several established categories of poetry and song were: ** Canso or canson were songs concerning courtly love. ** Sirventes songs covered war, politics, morality, satire, humor, and topics outside of love. ** Tenso and

Partiment The ''partimen'' (; ca, partiment ; also known as ''partia'' or ''joc partit'') is a cognate form of the French jeu-parti (plural ''jeux-partis''). It is a genre of Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania ...

is a dialog or debate between poets ** Planh is a lament on a death. ** Pastorela is a song trying to win the affections and love of a shepherdess. ** Alba is complaint of lovers upon parting.

Songs of the Trouvère

Songs of the Trouvère are songs and poetry that stemmed from poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France.

Epic narratives

A second form of legend in France during the Middle Ages was

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, partly historical and partly legend with themes covering the formation of France, war, kingship, and important battles. This genre was known as chansons de geste which is Old French for "songs of heroic deeds." It is also called the epics of the "Matter of France":

Matter of France

* Chanson de geste: Matter of France was part history and part legendary heroic epic tales of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

and the history and founding of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

by the Franks. Some of the legendary and notable topics were: **

, the mythological king **

Battle of Roncevaux Pass The Battle of Roncevaux Pass (French and English spelling, '' Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees o ...

** Bayard - the legendary horse ** Durandal - a magical sword ** '' Song of Roland'' (in French: ''Chanson de Roland'') ***Describes Roland - the chief paladin of Charlemagne ** ''

Huon of Bordeaux Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements. ''Huon of Bordeaux'' The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from ...

'' written circa 1215-1240 ***Includes very early descriptions of:

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

, and son Oberon ** Renaud de Montauban - epic

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Animal fables, mock epics

Another folkloric medium in the Middle Ages were fables, mock epics and animal folk tales, notably: * Reynard Le Roman de Renart (circa 1175) by Perrout de Saint Cloude, a mock epic, the first known appearance of the following animals: * Reynard the fox in literature and folklore, an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

of a fox, trickster ** Bruin the Bear ** Baldwin the Ass ** Tibert (Tybalt) the Cat ** Hirsent the She-wolf

Satirical tales by Rabelais

François Rabelais, 1494–1553, wrote: * Gargantua and Pantagruel - the story of two giants

Fairy tales

French fairy tales are particularly known by their literary rather than their folk, oral variants. Perrault derived almost all his tales from folk sources, but rewrote them for the upper-class audience, removing rustic elements. The précieuses rewrote them even more extensively for their own interests. Collection of folk tales as such only began about 1860, but was fruitful for the next decades.Paul Delarue, ''The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales'', p xi-xii, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York 1956

Fairy tales by Perrault

Charles Perrault (1628–1703) collected tales: *

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in '' Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the ...

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

(in 1697) * Diamonds and Toads * Donkey Skin * Little Red Riding Hood (''Le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' in 1697) * Mother Goose Tales (''Contes de ma mère l'Oye'' in 1695) * Puss in Boots (in 1697)

Fairy tales by d'Aulnoy

Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, 1650/1–1705, collected tales: *From
Fairy Tales
' (''Les Contes des Fees'') (1697) ** Babiole ** Cunning Cinders (''Finette Cendron'') ** Graciosa and Percinet (''Gracieuse et Percinet'') ** Princess Mayblossom (''La Princesse Printaniere'') ** Princess Rosette (''La Princesse Rosette'') ** The Bee and the Orange Tree (''L'Oranger et l'Abeille'') **

The Benevolent Frog The Benevolent Frog or The Frog and the Lion Fairy is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included the tale in ''The Orange Fairy Book'' with the title ''The Frog and the Lion Fairy''. Synopsis A king's capital w ...

or ''The Frog and the Lion Fairy'' (''La Grenouille bienfaisante'') ** The Blue Bird (''L'Oiseau bleu'') ** The Dolphin ** The Fortunate One or ''Felicia and the Pot of Pinks'' (''Fortunée'') ** The Imp Prince (''Le Prince Lutin'') ** The Little Good Mouse (''La bonne petite souris'') ** The Ram or ''The Wonderful Sheep'' (''Le Mouton'' ) ** The Story of Pretty Goldilocks or ''The Beauty with Golden Hair'' (''La Belle aux cheveux d'or'') ** The Yellow Dwarf (''Le Nain jaune'') ** The White Doe or ''The Doe in the Woods'' (''La Biche au bois'') *From 'New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion'' (''Contes Nouveaux ou Les Fees a la Mode'') (1698) ** Belle-Belle (''Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné'') ** Green Serpent (''Serpentin vert'') ** Puddocky or '' The White Cat'' (''La Chatte Blanche'') ** The Golden Branch (''Le Rameau d'Or'') ** The Pigeon and the Dove (''Le Pigeon et la Colombe'') **

Prince Marcassin "The Pig King" or "King Pig" (''Il re porco'') is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in his ''The Facetious Nights of Straparola''. Madame d'Aulnoy wrote a French, also literary, variant, titled Prince Marcassi ...

(''Le Prince Marcassin'') ** Princess Belle-Etoile (''La Princesse Belle-Étoile'')

Fairy tales by Souvestre

Émile Souvestre (1806–1854) collected tales: * The Groac'h of the Isle of Lok

Other fairy tales

* Beauty and the Beast - first published version by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, 1740. * The Enchanted Apple Tree * The Goblin Pony - translated in ''Grey Fairy Book'' by

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

, 1900. * Quackling or ''Drakestail'' (''Bout-d’-Canard'') - original in ''Affenschwanz et Cetera'', by Charles Marelle 1888, translated in ''Red Fairy Book'' by Andrew Lang, 189

*

The Wizard King The Wizard King (''Le Roi Magicien'') is a French fairy tale published in ''Les fees illustres'' by the Chevalier de Mailly. Andrew Lang included it in '' The Yellow Fairy Book''. Synopsis A king was lord over many lands and had mastered mag ...

- original in ''Les Fees Illustres'', translated in ''Yellow Fairy Book'' by Andrew Lang, 1894.

Legends of people

* Lancelot-Grail (''Prose Lancelot'') * The Account of Nicolas Flamel

Legendary creatures

* Beast of Gévaudan * Brownie of the Lake * Cheval Gauvin (horse) *

Cheval Mallet The Cheval Mallet (or Malet, meaning Mallet Horse) describes a fabulous and evil horse mentioned in folklore around the French Vendée, Édouard Brasey, ''La petite encyclopédie du merveilleux'', Le pré aux clercs, Paris, 2008, p.254-255 Poit ...

- A fabulous and evil horse that appears at night and tempts exhausted travelers into riding it, only to take off with the rider never to be seen again. *

Dahu The dahu is a legendary creature that resembles a mountain goat and is well known in France and francophone regions of Switzerland and Italy, including the Aosta Valley. The dahu, a quadrupedal mammal, may have been inspired by the chamois, a sm ...

* Dames Blanches, type of female spirit * European dragon * Fae - aka Fae, Fée, the origin of the word ''Fairy'' * Gap of Goeblin - is a "goblin hole", the legend that surrounds a hole and tunnel in Mortain, France. *

Gargouille In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

- A legendary dragon * Gargoyle - A beast * Goblins * Lutins - A type of hobgoblin * Matagot - A spirit in the form of an animal, usually a cat * Melusine - A feminine spirit of fresh waters *

(''Morgue le Faye'') - In the early ''Legends of Charlemagne'', she is most famous for her association with Ogier the Dane, whom she takes to her mystical island palace to be her lover. In Huon de Bordeaux, Morgan le Fay and Julius Caesar are the parents of Oberon. * Oberon - King of the Fairies. In the early ''Legends of Charlemagne'', Huon de Bordeaux he is the son of Morgan le Faye and Julius Caesar. * Reynard - A trickster fox. See also Animal fables, mock epics. * Tarasque - A legendary dragon *

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposel ...

* Woodwose (aka ''Homme Sauvage,'', ''Wadwasa'' and ''Wild Man'')

Other folklore

Bear games Bear games is a category of board games of which many have historical roots in the Roman Empire. They were played in parts of the Empire as far away as Turkey and France and are still played today, especially in Italy. All of the games are two-pl ...

* La Femme Aux Serpents * Follet * Feulates *

King Ursus King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

* Marianne - a national emblem of France * Rayarcus * Rogero * Les Tribulations de l’Ours Martin * Wild Hunt

References

Bibliography

* Bonner, Anthony, ed. ''Songs of the Troubadours.'' New York: Schocken Books, 1972.
''Legends and Romances of Brittany'' by Lewis Spence 1917French Folk Tales
_(en) {{Europe topic, Folklore of Folklore