French folklore
Encyclopedia
French folklore encompasses the fables, folklore
and fairy tales and legend
s of the Gaul
s, Franks
, Normans
, Breton
s, Occitans
, and other peoples living in France
.
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.
, 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":
, 1494–1553, wrote:
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.
(1628–1703) collected tales:
, 1650/1–1705, collected tales:
(1806–1854) collected tales:
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and fairy tales and legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s of the Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
s, Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
s, Occitans
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
, and other peoples living in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Folklore from 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 TroubadourTroubadourA troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
- The songs, poetry and narratives of the troubadourTroubadourA troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
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 chivalryChivalryChivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
and courtly loveCourtly loveCourtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
. Several established categories of poetry and song were:- Canto or cantoCanso (song)The canso is a song style used by the troubadours. It consists of three parts. The first stanza is the exordium, where the composer explains his purpose. The main body of the song occurs in the following stanzas, and usually draw out a variety of relationships with the exordium. The canso can end...
were songs concerning courtly love. - SirventesSirventesThe sirventes or serventes is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. In early Catalan it became a sirventesch and was imported into that language in the fourteenth century, where it developed into a unique didactic/moralistic type...
songs covered war, politics, morality, satire, humor,and topics outside of love. - TensoTensoA tenso is a style of Occitan song favoured by the troubadours. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position on a topic relating to love or ethics. Closely related genres include the partimen and the cobla exchange...
and Partiment is a dialog or debate between poets - PlanhPlanhThe planh or plaing is a funeral lament used by the troubadours, modeled on the medieval Latin planctus. It differed from the planctus in that it was intended for a secular audience...
is a lament on a death. - PastorelaPastorelaThe pastorela was an Occitan lyric genre used by the troubadours. It gave rise to the Old French pastourelle. The central topic was always meeting of a knight with a shepherdess, which may lead to any of a number of possible conclusions. They are usually humorous pieces...
is a song trying to win the affections and love of a shepherdess. - AlbaAlba (poetry)The alba is a subgenre of Occitan lyric poetry. It describes the longing of lovers who, having passed a night together, must separate for fear of being discovered by their respective spouses....
is complaint of lovers upon parting.
- Canto or canto
Songs of the Trouvère
Songs of the TrouvèreTrouvère
Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France...
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 poetryEpic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
, 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
Chanson de geste
The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...
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 gesteChanson de gesteThe chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères and...
: Matter of FranceMatter of FranceThe Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of...
was part history and part legendary heroic epic tales of CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
and the history and founding of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by the Franks. Some of the legendary and notable topics were:- CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, the mythological kingMythological kingA mythological king is an archetype in mythology. A king is considered a "mythological king" if he is included and described in the culture's mythology. Unlike a fictional king, aspects of their lives may have been real and legendary, or that the culture believed to be real... - Battle of Roncevaux PassBattle of Roncevaux PassThe Battle of Roncevaux Pass was a battle in 778 in which Roland, prefect of the Breton March and commander of the rear guard of Charlemagne's army, was defeated by the Basques...
- Bayard - a legendary horse
- Durandal - a magical sword
- Song of Roland (in French: Chanson de Roland)
- Describes RolandRolandRoland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
- the chief paladinPaladinThe paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. They first appear in the early chansons de geste such as The Song of Roland, where they represent Christian martial valor against the...
of Charlemagne
- Describes Roland
- Huon of BordeauxHuon of BordeauxHuon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th century French epic with romance elements. He is a knight who, after unwittingly killing Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne, is given a reprieve from death on condition that he fulfill a number of seemingly impossible tasks: he must travel to...
written circa 1215-1240- Includes very early descriptions of: Morgan le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
, and son Oberon
- Includes very early descriptions of: Morgan le Fay
- Renaud de MontaubanRenaud de MontaubanRenaud de Montauban, was a fictional hero who was introduced to literature in a 12th century Old French chanson de geste also known as Les Quatre Fils Aymon . His exploits form part of the Doon de Mayence cycle of chansons...
- epic heroHeroA hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
- Charlemagne
Animal fables, mock epics
Another folkloric medium in the Middle Ages were fables, mock epics and animal folk tales, notably:- Reynard Le Roman de RenartReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
(circa 1175) by Perrout de Saint Cloude, a mock epic, the first known appearance of the following animals: - Reynard the foxReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
in literature and folklore, an anthropomorphic fables of a fox, trickster- Bruin the Bear
- Baldwin the Ass
- Tibert (Tybalt) the Cat
- Hirsent the She-wolf
Satirical tales by Rabelais
François RabelaisFrançois Rabelais
François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...
, 1494–1553, wrote:
- Gargantua and PantagruelGargantua and PantagruelThe Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...
- 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 précieusesPrécieuses
The French literary style called préciosité arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses , the witty and educated intellectual ladies who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet; her Chambre bleue offered a...
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.
Fairy tales by Perrault
Charles PerraultCharles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
(1628–1703) collected tales:
- BluebeardBluebeard"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
- CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
(in 1697) - Diamonds and ToadsDiamonds and ToadsDiamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies." Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book....
- Donkey Skin
- Little Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
(Le Petit Chaperon Rouge in 1697) - Mother Goose TalesMother GooseThe familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
(Contes de ma mère l'Oye in 1695) - Puss in Boots (in 1697)
Fairy tales by d'Aulnoy
Marie Catherine d'AulnoyMadame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy , also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French writer known for her fairy tales...
, 1650/1–1705, collected tales:
- From Fairy Tales (Les Contes des Fees) (1697)
- BabioleBabiole- Synopsis :A queen thought she was childless because of the ill wishes of the fairy, Fanferluche. One day, Fanferluche appeared to her to say that this was not true, that the queen would have a daughter who would bring her much woe, and that to avert this, Fanferluche would give her a branch of...
- Cunning CindersFinette CendronFinette Cendron is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A...
(Finette Cendron) - Graciosa and PercinetGraciosa and PercinetGraciosa and Percinet is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A king and queen had a beautiful daughter, Graciosa, and an ugly duchess hated her. One day, the queen died. The king grieved so much that his doctors ordered him to...
(Gracieuse et Percinet) - Princess MayblossomThe Princess MayblossomThe Princess Mayblossom is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy in 1697.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
(La Princesse Printaniere) - Princess RosettePrincess RosettePrincess Rosette is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.Italo Calvino included an orally collected tale, The King of the Peacocks, in his Italian Folktales, but observed in the notes that it was clearly a variant on Princess...
(La Princesse Rosette) - The Bee and the Orange TreeThe Bee and the Orange Tree-Synopsis:After many childless years, a king and queen had a daughter, whom they named Aimée. Unfortunately, a ship she was on, wrecked. As fate would have it, she drifted ashore in her cradle. There, an ogre couple found her, and the ogress resolved to raise Aimee, instead of eating her,...
(L'Oranger et l'Abeille) - The Benevolent FrogThe Benevolent FrogThe Benevolent Frog or The Frog and the Lion Fairy is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
or The Frog and the Lion Fairy (La Grenouille bienfaisante) - The Blue BirdThe Blue Bird (fairy tale)"The Blue Bird" is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy, published in 1697. An English translation was included in The Green Fairy Book, 1892, collected by Andrew Lang.The tale is Aarne-Thompson type 432, The Prince as Bird...
(L'Oiseau bleu) - The DolphinThe Dolphin (fairy tale)The Dolphin is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy.Another literary tale of this type is Giambattista Basile's older Peruonto. A folk variant is the French Half-Man.-Synopsis:...
- The Fortunate OneFortunéeFortunée or Felicia and the Pot of Pinks is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A poor labourer, dying, wished to divide his goods between his son and daughter...
or Felicia and the Pot of Pinks (Fortunée) - The Imp PrinceThe Imp PrinceThe Imp Prince is a French fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy and published in her book Fairy Tales in 1697....
(Le Prince Lutin) - The Little Good MouseThe Little Good MouseThe Little Good Mouse is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
(La bonne petite souris) - The Ram or The Wonderful Sheep (Le Mouton )
- The Story of Pretty GoldilocksThe Story of Pretty GoldilocksThe Story of Pretty Goldilocks or The Beauty with Golden Hair is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book....
or The Beauty with Golden Hair (La Belle aux cheveux d'or) - The Yellow DwarfThe Yellow DwarfThe Yellow Dwarf is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A widowed queen spoiled her only daughter , who was so beautiful that kings vied for the honor of her hand, not believing they could attain it. Uneasy that her daughter...
(Le Nain jaune) - The White DoeThe White DoeThe White Doe or The Doe in the Woods is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
or The Doe in the Woods (La Biche au bois)
- Babiole
- From 'New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion (Contes Nouveaux ou Les Fees a la Mode) (1698)
- Belle-BelleBelle-Belle ou Le Chevalier FortunéBelle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy.-Plot summary:A king, driven from his capital by an emperor, was forming an army and demanded that one person from every noble household become a soldier or, face a heavy fine. An impoverished nobleman,...
(Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné) - Green Serpent (Serpentin vert)
- PuddockyPuddocky"Puddocky" is a German fairy tale. A variant, "Cherry," was collected by the Brothers Grimm, and in French, Madame d'Aulnoy retold it in a literary fairy tale as "The White Cat", altering the tale's frog into a cat.-Synopsis:...
or The White Cat (La Chatte Blanche) - The Golden BranchThe Golden BranchThe Golden Branch is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A cruel king had a hideous but good-hearted son. The king wanted to arrange an alliance by marrying his son to a princess who was as ugly as he was. The prince,...
(Le Rameau d'Or) - The Pigeon and the DoveThe Pigeon and the Dove"The Pigeon and the Dove" is a French literary fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy and published in her book New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion written in 1698....
(Le Pigeon et la Colombe) - Prince MarcassinPrince MarcassinThe Pig King 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 Marcassin....
(Le Prince Marcassin) - Princess Belle-EtoilePrincess Belle-EtoilePrincess Belle-Etoile is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Her source for the tale was Ancilotto, King of Provino, by Giovanni Francesco Straparola....
(La Princesse Belle-Étoile)
- Belle-Belle
Fairy tales by Souvestre
Émile SouvestreÉmile Souvestre
Émile Souvestre was a French novelist who was a native of Morlaix, Finistère.He was the son of a civil engineer and was educated at the college of Pontivy, with the intention of following his father's career by entering the Polytechnic School...
(1806–1854) collected tales:
- The Groac'h of the Isle of LokThe Groac'h of the Isle of LokThe Groac'h of the Isle of Lok is a Breton fairy tale collected by Émile Souvestre in Le Foyer Breton. Andrew Lang included it in The Lilac Fairy Book.Ruth Manning-Sanders included it in A Book of Mermaids.-Synopsis:...
Other Fairy Tales
- Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
- first published version by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de VilleneuveGabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de VilleneuveGabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, French author , influenced by Madame d'Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, and various précieuse writers....
, 1740. - The Enchanted Apple Tree
- The Goblin Pony - translated in Grey Fairy Book by Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots 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 of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
, 1900. - QuacklingDrakestailDrakestail also known as Quackling is a French folk tale about a duck, where repetition forms most of the logic behind the plot. The story is also similar to other folk tales where the hero picks up several allies and uses them in the exact order found.The original version of Draksetail was told...
or Drakestail (Bout-d’-Canard) - original in Affenschwanz et Cetera, by Charles Marelle 1888, translated in Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, 1890.http://www.aaronshep.com/extras/Quackling_note.html - The Wizard KingThe Wizard KingThe Wizard King is a French fairy tale collected in Les fees illustres. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book. It is also a comic book trilogy by Wally Wood.-Synopsis:...
- original in Les Fees Illustres, translated in Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, 1894.
Legends of People
- Lancelot-GrailLancelot-GrailThe Lancelot–Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend written in French. It is a series of five prose volumes that tell the story of the quest for the Holy Grail and the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere...
(Prose Lancelot) - The Account of Nicolas Flamel
Legendary Creatures
- Beast of GévaudanBeast of GévaudanThe Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...
- Brownie of the Lake
- Dames Blanches, type of female spirit
- European dragonEuropean dragonEuropean dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων,...
- Fae - aka Fae, Fée, the origin of the word Fairy
- Gap of GoeblinMortainMortain is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the Cance, a tributary of the Sélune.-Administration:Mortain is the seat of a canton...
- is a "goblin hole", the legend that surrounds a hole and underground tunnel in MortainMortainMortain is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the Cance, a tributary of the Sélune.-Administration:Mortain is the seat of a canton...
, France. - GargouilleGargouilleThe gargouille was a dragon and a legendary creature originating from France.-The story:The gargouille , not to be confused with gargoyle, was allegedly a serpent-like water-spouting dragon that appeared in the Seine River in France. It was said to terrorize boats and flood the land...
- A legendary dragon - GargoyleGargoyleIn architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
- A beast - GoblinGoblinA goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
s - LutinLutinA lutin is a type of hobgoblin in French folklore and fairy tales. Female lutins are called lutines.A lutin plays a similar role in the folklore of Normandy to house-spirits in England, Germany and Scandinavia...
s - A type of hobgoblin - MatagotMatagotA Matagot or mandagot is, according to some oral traditions of southern France, a spirit under the form of an animal, mostly undetermined, frequently a black cat, but rat, fox, dog or cow types are said to exist too. Matagots are generally evil, but some may prove helpful, like the "magician cat"...
- A spirit in the form of an animal, usually a cat - MelusineMelusineMelusine is a figure of European legends and folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers.She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down...
- A feminine spirit of fresh waters - Morgan le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
(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 CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
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.
- ReynardReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
- A trickster fox. See also Animal fables, mock epics. - TarasqueTarasqueThe Tarasque is a fearsome legendary dragon from Provence, in southern France, tamed in a story about Saint Martha. On 25 November 2005 the UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity....
- A legendary dragon - WerewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
- WoodwoseWoodwoseThe wild man is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century...
(aka Homme Sauvage,, Wadwasa and Wild Man)
Other Folklore
- Bear gamesBear gamesBear games is a category of board games of which many have historical roots to the Roman empire. They are still played today especially in Italy. They were played in many parts of the Roman empire as far away as Turkey and France. All of the games are two-player abstract strategy board games. ...
- La Femme Aux Serpents
- Follet
- Feulates
- King UrsusUrsusUrsus is Latin for "bear". In this form it refers to a male bear or the species regardless of gender; the specifically female form is Ursa. The word may also refer to:* Ursus , praefectus urbi of Constantinople in 415-416...
- MarianneMarianneMarianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...
- a national emblem of France - Rayarcus
- Rogero
- Les Tribulations de l’Ours Martin
- Wild HuntWild HuntThe Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground,...