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The Term “Fairy Tale” Was Coined By What Author?

On February 26 have a happily ever after kind of day. It’s National Tell A Fairy Tale Day.

What were once oral histories, myths and legends retold around the fire or by traveling storytellers, have been written down and become known the world over as fairy tales.

  • 3000 – 1200 BC – During the Bronze Age, stories are passed down orally through Eastern and Western Indo-European languages. This includes stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Beauty and the Beast, as well as many others
  • 1000 BC – The oldest known fairy tale, “The Smith and The Devil” is written.
  • 16th Century – Many of the stories have some basis in truth. For example, some believe the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is inspired by the real life of Margarete von Waldeck, the daughter of the 16th-century Count of Waldeck.
    • Margarete’s beauty is well documented, and she had a stepmother who sent her away. She fell in love with a prince but mysteriously died before she could have her happily ever after.
  • 17th Century – The term “fairy tale” was coined in the 17th century by French author Madame d’Aulnoy. It refers to a fictional story involving magical creatures and enchanting settings.
  • 1697 – French literary fiction writer, Madame d’Aulnoy publishes her own book of Fairy Tales and is the first to use the term which, in French, is conte de fées. She is one of many female fairy tale writers during this era.
  • 1697 – This French author publishes a story collection that not only includes Little Red Riding Hood, but the grouping is subtitled as “Tales of Mother Goose”.
  • 1740 – The classic fairytale of “Beauty and the Beast” is written by French novelist Gabrielle Suzanne.
  • 1812 – The brothers Grimm collected and published some of the more well-known tales we are familiar with today. Jakob and his brother Wilhelm together set out on a quest to preserve these tales at a time in history when a tradition of oral storytelling was fading. In 1812, they published their first volume of stories titled Household Tales. Their stories had a darker quality and were clearly meant for an adult audience.
    • Rumpelstiltskin is one of the tales they collected. There were several versions, and the little man went by many names in different parts of Europe. From Trit-a-trot in Ireland to Whuppity Stoorie in Scotland, Rumplestiltskin was one difficult man to identify.
  • 1820 – Hans Christian Anderson writes his well-known fairy tale “The Tallow Candle.”
  • 1829 – Hans Christian Andersen first published in 1829 and brought to us written versions of the Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid and many more. Where Grimm’s tales could take on a darker cast and were unmistakably written with adults in mind, Andersen’s stories are sweet and warm.
  • 1837 – Included in the first collection of Fairy Tales Told for Children, which is published in Copenhagen, The Little Mermaid is probably one of the most popular of Anderson’s tales
  • 1900 – Tell A Fairy Tale Day is created to give recognition to these magical stories.
  • While some storytellers have a long and sometimes ancient history such as Aesop (The Fox and the Goose, The Ant and the Grasshopper), other storytellers are more recent like the Grimm brothers.
  • What is a fairy tale? Also called wonder tales, magic tales or fairy stories, Fairy Tales are a genre of fiction originating in European folklore. These tales often feature mythical creatures such as elves, dwarves, giants, fairies, gnomes, mermaids and more.
  • A favorite part of many childhoods, some of the most popular stories of all time include Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Jack and the Beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty.
  • Fairy tales, which have been transported through time and generations via word of mouth or written transcripts, were sometimes based on true historical events.
  • Hans Christian has been credited as the most famous and creative fairy tale author.
  • “Cinderella” still yields as the top result for the most famous fairy tale, along with “Beauty and the Beast,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
  • Not all fairy tales have happy endings. Some have roots in folklore and mythology, where dark themes and gruesome events were prevalent.
  • In the original version of “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen, the mermaid does not get to marry the prince and instead turns into sea foam. It wasn’t until later adaptations that a happier ending was introduced.
  • Fairy tales have ancient origins and can be traced back to different cultures around the world. Some of the earliest known fairy tales come from ancient Egypt and ancient Greece.
  • Many Evil Stepmothers in Fairy Tales Used to Be Actual Mothers

Fairy Tale Real Endings

  • Sleeping Beauty: In the Italian version of Sleeping Beauty, Sun, Moon, and Talia, Sleeping Beauty’s parents lay her comatose body in a beautiful house in the woods. A king stumbles across her while hunting, and when he can’t wake the beautiful sleeping girl, he rapes her and then heads out on his merry way. Ick. In this same story, it isn’t a kiss that breaks the sleeping curse but Beauty’s newborn twins suckling on her fingers.
  • Little Raed Riding Hood:  The modern story of Little Red Riding Hood that we all know is actually the tale of Little Red Cap from Germany. The Grimms included a dashing woodsman who cuts open the wolf’s stomach to rescue Red and Grandma. But the original French fairy tale has no such rescue. Little Red just gets eaten and dies.
  • Frog Prince: It’s well known that true love’s kiss can break any spell, but this original fairy tale begs to differ. In the original Frog Prince story, it isn’t a sweet kiss that transforms the little frog. It’s the princess flinging his body against the wall of her bedroom in a fit of rage.
  • Beauty and the Beast Was Originally about Arranged Marriage: the real version of Beauty and the Beast is nothing like this. Instead it was written as a French morality tale.

Sources:

National Today

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

Facts.net

Snow White Writes