A brief history of the fairy tale

Emphasis on the word brief -- Fairy tales are serious business.  And folks devote their entire lives and careers researching and classifying them.  So - here we go!

Many theories exist concerning the origin of the fairy tale, but none have provided conclusive proof about the original development of the literary fairy tale.  It is known, however, that the literary fairy tale found its origins in the oral telling and retelling of stories.  While one cannot say with historical precision exactly when the literary fairy tale arose, certain motifs and elements of the fairy tale can be traced to numerous types of storytelling and stories of antiquity that contributed to its formation. During the time period between 1550 and 1815, writers began transcribing fairy tales borrowed from other literary and oral tales. These narratives can be regarded as retellings that adapted the motifs, themes, and characters to fit their own taste and the expectations of the audiences for which they were writing. 

In an attempt to classify folktales, Antti Aarne produced “Types of the Folktale” in 1910. It was designed to assist in identifying recurring plot patterns in the narrative structures of traditional folktales so they could be organized, classified, and analyzed. Stith Thompson translated and expanded Aarne’s work in 1928 and again in 1961. In 2004, Hans-Jörg Uther further expanded the classification system with the publication of “The Types of International Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography.” The Aarne–Thompson-Uther (ATU) system classifies folktales into broad categories like Animal Tales, Fairy Tales, Religious Tales, etc. Within each category, folktale types are further subdivided by motif patterns until individual types are listed. Each tale is assigned a number which designates its “type” of tale.  “The Tale of the Kind and Unkind Girls” is designated ATU - 480.

Note that much of this information leans toward the West.  There is a huge treasure trove of fairy tales to be found in the East also which is reflected in the retelling of our tale.  

So do any of you have a favorite fairy tale?  

Also - a brief nod to one of my main sources -- 

If you enjoy fairy tales, be sure to check out this website - 

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/