The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: Originally published in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910), the index was translated into English, revised, and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1928, 1961), and later further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004). The ATU index is an essential tool for folklorists, used along with the Thompson (1932) Motif-Index of Folk-Literature.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Motif-Index of Folk-Literature
The Motif-Index of Folk-Literature is a six volume catalogue of motifs, granular elements of folklore, composed by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1932–1936, revised and expanded 1955–1958). Often referred to as Thompson's motif-index, the catalogue has been extensively used in folklore studies, where folklorists commonly use it in tandem with the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU), an index used for folktale type analysis.
The motif-index and the ATU indices are regarded as standard tools in the study of folklore. For example, folklorist Mary Beth Stein said that, "Together with Thompson's six-volume Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, with which it is cross-indexed, The Types of Folktale constitutes the most important reference work and research tool for comparative folk-tale analysis.” Alan Dundes, who was an outspoken critic, also said substantially the same thing, without confining the application to comparative studies: "[the indices] constitute two of the most valuable tools in the professional folklorist's arsenal of aids for analysis".
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index
- 👉 Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Motif-Index of Folk-Literature
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Stith Thompson
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of This Is the House That Jack Built
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Snow-White and Rose-Red
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of The Brave Little Tailor
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Three Billy Goats Gruff
- Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of The Princess and the Pea
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist".
He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the author of the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, a resource for folklorists that indexes motifs, granular elements of folklore.
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of This Is the House That Jack Built
"This Is the House That Jack Built" is a popular English nursery rhyme and cumulative tale. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20854. It is Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index type 2035.
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Snow-White and Rose-Red
"Snow-White and Rose-Red" (German: Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) is a German fairy tale. The best-known version is the one collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1837 in the third edition of their collection Grimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 161). It was first published by Wilhelm Grimm in 1827 in Wilhelm Hauff's Märchen-Almanach. An older, somewhat shorter version, "The Ungrateful Dwarf", was written by Caroline Stahl (1776–1837). Indeed, that appears to be the oldest variant; no previous oral version is known, although several have been collected since its publication in 1818. Oral versions are very limited regionally. The tale is of Aarne–Thompson type 426 ("The Two Girls, the Bear, and the Dwarf").
Despite having a character with the same name, this story is not related to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White" that provided the basis for the 1937 Walt Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The modern German name of that heroine is Schneewittchen rather than Schneeweißchen. This story has little in common but the similar name of its fair-skinned girl.
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of The Brave Little Tailor
"The Brave Little Tailor" or "The Valiant Little Tailor" or "The Gallant Tailor" (German: Das tapfere Schneiderlein) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 20). "The Brave Little Tailor" is a story of Aarne–Thompson Type 1640, with individual episodes classified in other story types.
Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book. The tale was translated as Seven at One Blow. Another of many versions of the tale appears in A Book of Giants by Ruth Manning-Sanders.
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of Three Billy Goats Gruff
"The Three Billy Goats Gruff" (Norwegian: De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr, first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 122E. The first version of the story in English appeared in George Webbe Dasent's translation of some of the Norske Folkeeventyr, published as Popular Tales from the Norse in 1859. The heroes of the tale are three male goats who need to outsmart a ravenous troll to cross the bridge to their feeding ground.
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index in the context of The Princess and the Pea
"The Princess and the Pea" (Danish: Prinsessen på Ærten, lit. 'The Princess on the Pea') is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who is tested to become the wife to a lonely prince. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in a cheap booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C. A. Reitzel.
The tale is classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as ATU 704, "The Princess and the Pea".