Stith thompson motif index pdf documents

One important thing i learned from them, as a group. Motifindex of southeast asian folk literature pdf free. This search engine, called momfer, greatly enhances the searchability of the motifindex and provides exciting new ways to. Motifindex of folkliterature stith thompson a classification of. Stith thompson motif index of folk literature revised and enlarged version. He is the thompson of the aarnethompson classification system, which indexes certain folktales by their structure and assigns them at numbers. The motif index makes use of finnish folklorist antti aarnes 1910 numbering system according to type and motif. Read motifindex of folkliterature pdf a classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances. Another way to look up lion would be to use story search. Indiana university press, bloomington 71953 motifindex of folkliterature stith thompson 19551958. For example, you could use it to find folktales that have a lion in them.

We have entered most of the contents of the motif index into this section of the database. History and theory of folklore studies timeline preceden. The weight of love and the anglosaxon cold water ordeals. According to traditional christian belief about witchcraft, the pact is between a person and satan or a lesser demon. A breton version, which seems to be the oldest known version, was identified by jeanchristophe cassard. In the introduction to his seminal motifindex of folk literature tmi, stith thompson. Motifindex of folkliterature, volume 1 1955 by stith thompson. Folklorists call these details motifs, and in 1955 stith thompson compiled a five volume list of these narrative elements, and a one volume index, into the motif index. Reports are fully digitized in color every report featured in fullpage, highresolution pdf format for viewing and printing clarity reports are offered in multiple languages, where available access to u. More than fifty years after the first edition of thompsons seminal motif indexof folk literature, we present an online search engine tailored to fully disclose the index digitally. Thompsons motif index multi volume setis a classic in folklore scholarship. In 1966 he published a revised version of this index. J oshua b erman s wellwritten volume, created equal. Stith thompson 18851976 led a distinguished life as an american educator, folklorist, editor and author.

Motif classification keller, john esten, motif index of mediaeval spanish exempla 1949. Tangherlini communications of the acm, july 2012, vol. Motif numbers in this work are correlated with thompsons, and his citations will apply here, if the item has been excerpted from polynesian materials. We present ongoing work on the linguistic and semantic processing of the labels of the thompsons motifindex of folkliterature, which has been proposed by stith thompson for the classification of narrative elements in folkliterature. The book covers an enormous amount of ground in just under 250 pages. Between 1921 and 1955, he was a professor of folklore and english, and later dean of the. Examples of formulaity in narratives and scientific. For a notable exception in folk narrative research, the reader is advised to jasons important article 29. Universality of the folktale stith thompson editors note. Indiana, 19551958, in 2497 searchable and bookmarked pdf pages. Works indicated with an asterisk have been examined with some thoroughness for motifs. Motifs have a power to persist in tradition stith thompson, 1946. Home folk tale and folk motif indexes library guides.

Thompson motif index, atu tale type index, propp function. Stith thompsons motifindex of folkliterature 193236, the definitive reference work on worldwide motifs, largely misses most foundation myths. In this respect, the case of davids convincing impersonation of a madman in the court of the philistine king achish of gath comes to mind 1 sam 21. A classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jestbooks, and local legends bloomington. Thompson motif index listed alphabetically indice generale dei motivi a. The motifindex of folkliterature is a six volume catalogue of motifs, granular elements of folklore, composed by american folklorist stith thompson 1932 1936, revised and expanded 19551958. Often referred to as thompsons motif index, the catalogue has historically. It is currently exploited by literature nathaniel hawthorne, and the moving image aliens, xfiles. It discusses the political thought of the hebrew bible, which he brings into. Unless otherwise stated, all translations are my own and the references to folklore motifs are from stith thompsons motifindex of folkliterature thompson 19551958.

American anthropologist is the flagship journal of the american anthropological association. Explore the motifs, tale types, propp functions and mythemes of world folkliterature, with example motifs and tales. Thompson, stith, narrative motifanalysis as a folklore method, ffc, no. Pdf stith thompson motif index of folk literature revised and. Stith thompson march 7, 1885 january 10, 1976 was an american scholar of folklore. Curated and compiled from several sources by shawn. Thompson balys, motif and typeindex of the oral tales of india. Thompson, stith 193236 motifindex of folk literature. Motifindex of folkliteraturevolume 1 wikisource, the. Thompson, stith, motifindex of folkliterature, 2nd. This is the only book in english on motifs and themes that is completely folklore oriented, deals with motif numbers, and is tied to the thompson motifindex. It is an online database of motifs from the stith thompson motif index of folkliterature. Motifindex of folkliterature kristina lindell lund univ.

Thompson motifindex listed alphabetically indice generale dei motivi a. The weight of love and the anglosaxon cold water ordeals thomas d. Computational folkloristics july 2012 communications. In his definitive motif index of folkliterature, stith thompson documents a wide variety of transformation motifs, including transformation of man to animal, transformation of man into an insect, and even more specifically applicable. Motif index of folkliterature kristina lindell lund university. Thompson s motif index, atus tale type index, propps functions and levistrausss structural analysis for folk tales found around the world. Bibles break with ancient political thought to promote. Most of the oedipus elements are there, but in different arrangements. Every student of folklore studies necessarily needs to handle this reference sources which catalogues and categorizes folk tales, legends and other narratives in terms of motifs. The most useful volume at the hathitrust is volume six, the index. A classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jestbooks, and local legends bloomington, indiana, 19551958, in 2497 searchable and bookmarked pdf pages. Lowell edmunds december 10th, 1989 comparative approaches to greek mythology oedipus. How the bible broke with ancient political thought, places the discipline in his service by bringing the world of ancient israel and the ancient near east to much greater public availability. Motif index of southeast asian folkliterature according to the system of stith thompson.

The concept of a motif is often rather vaguely used. A deal with the devil also known as a compact or pact with the devil is a cultural motif in european folklore, best exemplified by the legend of faust and the figure of mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many christian traditions. Linguistic and semantic representation of the thompsons. Geographical distribution of motifs in thompson s motifindex of. The reference also includes an introductory essay on the concepts of archetypes and motifs and the scholarship associated with them. A search engine of thompsons motifindex of folk literature article pdf available in folklore 1261. Thompsonbalys, motif and typeindex of the oral tales of india. Trial by ordeal generally is a practice which most modem scholars find. He also developed an alphadecimal motifindex system az followed by numeral for cataloging individual motifs. A motifindex of traditional polynesian narratives on jstor.

Impersonating a madman is a wellknown motif in medieval european folklore. Motifindex of folkliteraturevolume 1 wikisource, the free online. While following this assumption, the author turns to vladimir propps morphology of the folktale and stith thompsons the motifindex of folkliterature. Thompsons motif index, atus tale type index, propps functions and levistrausss structural analysis for folk tales found. The nineteenthcentury valetudinarian thomas hood is little read today, but he made one significant contribution to the tradition of english letters. The journal advances the associations mission through publishing articles that add to, integrate, synthesize, and interpret anthropological knowledge. See stith thompson, motif index in folk literature, bloomington, ind. Keller, john esten, present status of motif classification, bulletin of the comediantes, v. Coming of age and the family in medieval england b. Warren roberts select bibliography indiana university. The present work analyzes and classifies traditional polynesian myths, tales, and legends according to a system developed by professor stith thompson in his.