Comparative & computational folkloristics
The Folklore Database
A research resource for the comparative study of world folklore. Search the corpus of myths, legends, and folktales by keyword or meaning, explore the geographical distribution of matching narratives, and browse classification systems including the Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) Index, Stith Thompson's Motif-Index, the Berezkin-Duvakin Motif Catalogue, Katharine Briggs's legend classifications, and the Fielder-White Mytheme Catalogue.
Searches by meaning, not only keywords. Every search plots its own distribution map from the matching traditions. A free account is required — register or log in.
Searches the apparatus around the narratives, not the texts. Bibliography, the ATU index, motif catalogues and Thompson's Motif-Index. A free account is required — register or log in.
Unique narratives count distinct narrative texts. Occurrence records link those texts to motifs, traditions and sources; one text can have several records. Mythemes count the distinct labels in the current Fielder-White Mytheme Catalogue; identical labels across motifs are grouped together, with definitions specific to each motif.
Every search draws its own map
DistributionSearch results aren't just a list. Each query returns the geography of a story — where a narrative or motif has been recorded — so you can see dispersal at a glance and compare traditions.
Illustrative. A real search generates the map live from the traditions that match your query.
Prefer to browse? Open the ATU tale-type index· Berezkin and Duvakin's motif catalogue· Fielder-White Mytheme Catalogue· World map of traditions.
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. Citation version 1.261103.1 (3 November 2026). https://folkloredatabase.com.
0009-0006-1672-4451
The citation version records the access date and does not identify an archived database snapshot.
Please cite the relevant sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including the Folklore Database, Berezkin-Duvakin Catalogue, ATU, Thompson, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed. Please respect copyright and licences.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-Duvakin derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
Rights in original software, interface design and other protected material not expressly licensed for reuse are reserved to their respective rights holders.
Text and data mining: For protected material not offered under a Creative Commons or other reuse licence, the Folklore Database reserves the rights it holds in automated extraction, dataset creation and AI training, to the extent permitted by law. This reservation does not restrict uses permitted by the applicable Creative Commons or other licence, public-domain status, or statutory exceptions and limitations. Third-party material retains its own terms. Please contact us for help identifying the applicable sources, licences and attribution for bulk research access.
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