The Origin of Fairytales
malevolent supernatural being
like the Devil, death or a genie.
The blacksmith exchanges his
soul for the power to weld any
materials together. He then uses
this power to stick the villain to
an immovable object like a tree
to renege on his part of the
bargain.’ This basic plot is found
from India to Scandinavia.
A
s we approach the panto-
mime season, spare a thought
for the origin of these familiar
stories. Centuries ago, it is
thought that stories were a way
of people passing on tips for
survival to future generations.
A folk tale called ‘The Smith and
the Devil’ – about a blacksmith
selling his soul to the devil in order
to gain supernatural abilities - is
estimated to date back to the
Bronze Age. The basic story is: ‘A
blacksmith strikes a deal with a
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ is part of
a group of stories classified as ‘The
Boy Who Stole the Ogre’s Treasure’
and can be traced to when Eastern
and Western Indo-European
languages split more than 5000
years ago. Stories like ‘Beauty and
the Beast’ and ‘Rumpelstiltskin’
were believed by researchers to
be at least 4000 years old.
There are said to be more than
forty versions of ‘Little Red Riding
Hood’ from around the world.
Whilst the European version tells
of a little girl who is tricked by a
wolf masquerading as her grand-
mother, in the Chinese version a
tiger replaces the wolf. In Iran
where it would be considered odd
for a young girl to roam alone,
the story features a little boy. It is
thought that stories were
exchanged along the trade routes.
Frenchman Charles Perrault, born
in 1628, wrote down many of the
stories. His ‘Tales of Mother Goose’
features versions of ‘Little Red
Riding Hood’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’
and ‘Puss in Boots.’ Another French
writer, Madam D’Aulnay, born in
1650, wrote stories for adults that
were presented in the newly-
fashionable literary salons. She was
the first person to use the term
‘fairy-tales’ (‘conte de fees’).Many
of these were heavily disguised
criticisms of the current political
situation. In early 19th century
Germany, the Brothers Grimm,
worried that industrialisation
would erase the old stories from
memory set about collecting
them. The first edition of Grimm’s
Fairy-tales was published in 1812.
Take a look at some of these
stories. Are there messages for
today’s society? Share one with a
friend.
Sue Johnson
Poet & Novelist
Creative Writing Workshops
Critique Service & Talks
Tel: 01386 446477 • www.writers-toolkit.co.uk
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