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Research Guides

Folklore & Mythology: Bibliography

Folkloristics, the study of Folklore, is the study of human expressive culture, and includes myths, legends, folk- and fairy-tales, jokes, proverbs, jump-rope rhymes, material culture, and much more.

Bibliography Starting Points

Below is a selection of bibliographic compilations – that is, publications that have put together bibliographies of previously published works related to Folklore and Mythology.  They can be a useful place to start your research.

The most well-known of these is the Internationale Volkskundliche Bibliographie – the international folklore biography.  It is a continuation of Volkskundliche Literatur des Jahres 1911, and is strong for European ethnology and folklore, but international in scope.

  • International Commission on Folk Arts Folklore, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkskunde, & Universität Bremen. (1949). Internationale Volkskundliche Bibliographie = International Folklore Bibliography. (Call Number: Z5982 .I523)

Other Bibliography Resources

The following list of bibliographies is very selective out of necessity; the Libraries holds hundreds of bibliographies on folklore.  Below are just a few examples of general bibliographies--some works presented are global in scope, other titles are focused on one continent or country, and some are highly specific, narrowly defined bibliographies. 

Tom Thumb and the Giant

The History of Tom Thumb (first published in 1621) was the first fairy tale printed in English.