a less whimsical illustration that encapsulates the fun of searching an archive of over 15

The Archive...

Have a wander through the Fireside folktale archive below, and see what you stumble into. Use the filters to narrow the world down, or fling the doors wide and browse by country, region, theme, collector, or whatever takes your fancy, then let the table do the rest. A few clicks can carry you from storm-tossed coasts to mountain villages, from clever tricksters to quiet miracles, and you will often find that the story you meant to read is not the one that chooses you.

Archive under construction...

Structured Filters

Use these drop down lists to choose one or more filters to select groups of tales to investigate in more detail

Other than my own versions of tales (as indicated), the stories in this archive are in the public domain

Stories in this view:

3988

Title	Book	Author / Collector	Country	Subject	Year
St Keyne	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	St Keyne: sacred well, marriage, mastery, blessing, folklore	1865
The Well Of St Constantine	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Well Of St Constantine: holy well, healing, pilgrimage, faith, cure	1865
The Dead Hand (2)	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Dead Hand: corpse-charm, superstition, healing belief, death-magic	1865
The Phantom Ship	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Phantom Ship: spectral vessel, omen, sea-fear, apparition, doom	1865
The Pirate-Wrecker And The Death Ship	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Pirate-Wrecker And The Death Ship: wrecking, greed, retribution, ghost ship, doom	1865
The Well Of St Ludgvan	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Well Of St Ludgvan: sacred spring, healing, blessing, local devotion	1865
The Witch Of Treva	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Witch Of Treva: village witch, fear, reputation, dark folklore	1865
St Neot The Pigmy	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	St Neot The Pigmy: holiness, humility, smallness, wonder, devotion	1865
St Sennen And St Just	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	St Sennen And St Just: saints, companionship, mission, local holiness, foundation	1865
The Black Dogs	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Black Dogs: mining omens, spectral animals, danger, dread	1865
The Discovery Of Tin	Popular Romances of the West of England	Robert Hunt	England	The Discovery Of Tin: divine guidance, mining origins, Cornwall, providence	1865
The Pardon Of Asisi	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Pardon Of Asisi: mercy, forgiveness, pilgrimage, indulgence, Franciscan devotion, repentance, salvation, holy place, grace, religious legend	1877
Pret Olivo	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Pret Olivo: priestly anecdote, wit, local legend, humour, popular religion, village memory, clerical character, moral twist, Roman folklore, social observation	1877
Cècingùlo	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Cècingùlo: trickster, peasant cunning, appetite, comic deceit, social inversion, luck, mockery, resourcefulness, rustic life, folly	1877
Santa Verdana	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Santa Verdana: sanctity, suffering, miraculous endurance, female holiness, penance, patience, wonder, devotion, legend, spiritual victory	1877
Nina	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Nina: love, innocence, suffering, fidelity, family conflict, female endurance, pathos, virtue, separation, reunion	1877
St Margaret Of Cortona	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	St Margaret Of Cortona: repentance, sanctity, former worldliness, penance, compassion, miracle, female holiness, devotion, transformation, mercy	1877
Saint Anthony And The Holy Child	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Saint Anthony And The Holy Child: vision, devotion, sanctity, tenderness, miracle, Christ child, contemplative love, blessing, Franciscan piety, holy encounter	1877
The White Serpent	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The White Serpent: magical creature, hidden knowledge, transformation, purity, wonder, danger, secret power, enchantment, marvel, symbolic animal	1877
San Sidoro	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	San Sidoro: saintly labour, rural faith, miracle, simplicity, work, divine favour, piety, agricultural life, humility, blessing	1877
The Dark King (Il Rè Moro)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Dark King (Il Rè Moro): otherworldly king, enchanted marriage, forbidden chamber, loss and recovery, marvels, royal quest, fear, wonder, identity, redemption	1877
Monsu Mostro	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Monsu Mostro: monstrous bridegroom, fear, transformation, hidden identity, marriage trial, enchantment, courage, redemption, wonder, appearance versus reality	1877
The King Who Goes Out To Dinner	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The King Who Goes Out To Dinner: disguise, ruler among commoners, social observation, hospitality, recognition, justice, comic reversal, appetite, royal curiosity, class encounter	1877
The Marriage Of Signor Cajusse	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Marriage Of Signor Cajusse: comic wedding, social ambition, trickery, courtship, misunderstanding, family negotiation, humour, fortune, rustic satire, marriage	1877
The Satyrs (1)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Satyrs: woodland spirits, pagan survivals, fear of wild places, uncanny encounter, multiplicity of beings, rustic belief, desire, danger, ancient Rome lingering, folklore	1877
The Little Bird	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Little Bird: transformation, song, fragile innocence, message, wonder, escape, delicate magic, nature, tenderness, metamorphosis	1877
A Yard Of Nose (Mezza Canna Di Naso)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	A Yard Of Nose (Mezza Canna Di Naso): magical punishment, grotesque transformation, poverty, cunning, enchanted fruit, humiliation, reversal, trickery, bodily excess, fortune	1877
The Cats Who Made Their Master Rich	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Generic	The Cats Who Made Their Master Rich: animal helpers, gratitude, trickery, social rise, wealth, loyal creatures, deception, fortune, clever animals, success	1877
Sant' Antonio E Sore Castitre	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Sant’ Antonio E Sore Castitre: saintly intervention, domestic or bodily affliction, miracle, popular devotion, comic piety, healing, household folklore, intercession, Roman speech, legend	1877
The Root	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Root: magical plant, healing or harm, folk medicine, hidden power, rustic knowledge, transformation, wonder, necessity, nature, remedy	1877
St Anthony	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	St Anthony: temptation, holiness, miracle, desert saint, animals, asceticism, demonic struggle, devotion, protection, Christian legend	1877
The Munificence Of Prince Borghese	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Munificence Of Prince Borghese: generosity, noble patronage, charity, Roman aristocracy, public reputation, benevolence, wealth, social memory, largesse, honour	1877
La Cenorientola	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	La Cenorientola: persecuted heroine, stepfamily cruelty, magical aid, recognition, marriage, transformation, virtue rewarded, disguise, feast, Cinderella pattern	1877
When Jesus Christ Wandered On Earth (Eight Tales)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	When Jesus Christ Wandered On Earth (Eight Tales): divine disguise, charity tested, mercy, miraculous justice, humility, everyday holiness, reward and punishment, popular Christianity, travel, moral exempla	1877
The Lenten Preacher	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Lenten Preacher: religion, hypocrisy or zeal, fasting season, sermon, popular piety, satire, moral instruction, appetite, public devotion, Roman custom	1877
Domine Quo Vadis	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Domine Quo Vadis: apostolic legend, St Peter, Rome, martyrdom, divine encounter, vocation, return to suffering, faith, Christian memory, sacred place	1877
The Daughter Of Count Lattanzio	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Daughter Of Count Lattanzio: noble daughter, courtship trial, family control, beauty, marriage, wit, female agency, status, challenge, romance	1877
The Good Grace Of The Hunchback (La Buona Grazia Del Gobbo)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Good Grace Of The Hunchback (La Buona Grazia Del Gobbo): deformity and luck, blessing, social mockery, kindness, transformation, fortune, popular justice, humility, comic reversal, grace	1877
S Giuseppe Labre (Three Tales)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	S Giuseppe Labre (Three Tales): holy poverty, pilgrimage, humility, endurance, sanctity, charity, suffering, ascetic life, urban holiness, devotion	1877
Why Cats And Dogs Always Quarrel	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Why Cats And Dogs Always Quarrel: origin tale, animal rivalry, domestic disorder, comic explanation, blame, mistrust, household folklore, etiological tale, animals, perpetual conflict	1877
The Seven Clodhoppers	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Seven Clodhoppers: foolish brothers, rustic comedy, simpletons, journey, collective blunder, luck, social mockery, peasant life, repetition, comic tale	1877
Don Giovanni	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Don Giovanni: seduction, sin, punishment, libertinism, pride, moral reckoning, supernatural justice, reputation, desire, downfall	1877
How Cajusse Was Married	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	How Cajusse Was Married: comic courtship, marriage, trickery, rustic life, matchmaking, social embarrassment, cunning, village humour, reversal, domestic comedy	1877
Sciarra Colonna	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Sciarra Colonna: feud, noble pride, violence, Roman history, faction, honour, revenge, political power, legend, notoriety	1877
Giacinta Marescotti	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Giacinta Marescotti: sanctity, repentance, noblewoman, spiritual conversion, asceticism, humility, devotion, suffering, charity, saintly legend	1877
The Booby (Il Tonto)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Booby (Il Tonto): fool hero, innocence, comic misunderstanding, accidental success, peasant life, luck, mockery, simplicity, reversal, marriage	1877
Doctor Grillo	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	Doctor Grillo: cleverness, humble hero, wit over status, riddling intelligence, social ascent, comic learning, trickery, survival, ingenuity, reputation	1877
The Value Of Salt	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Value Of Salt: filial love, misunderstood speech, exile, recognition, reconciliation, truth proved, royal family, testing affection, wisdom, classic folktale motif	1877
The Queen And The Tripe-Seller	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Queen And The Tripe-Seller: class reversal, market life, royal encounter, appetite, wit, humble wisdom, disguise or recognition, humour, social contrast, fortune	1877
The Three Love-Oranges (I Tre Merangoli Di Amore)	Roman Legends: A Collection Of The Fables And Folk-Lore Of Rome	Rachel Harriette Busk	Italy	The Three Love-Oranges (I Tre Merangoli Di Amore): quest, magical fruit, hidden brides, transformation, false bride, hero’s journey, wonder, jealousy, recognition, enchanted romance	1877

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