Comparative & computational folkloristics

The Folklore Database

A research resource for the comparative study of world folklore. Search the corpus by keyword or meaning, filter by mytheme, and see how any narrative is distributed across cultures.

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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.

Try:
248,993
myths, legends & folktales
187,405
distinct narratives
1,209
cultures & traditions
3,494
motifs

Every search draws its own map

Distribution

Search 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· 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, J. (2026). The Folklore Database. https://folkloredatabase.com ORCID iD 0009-0006-1672-4451
Where applicable, users should also cite the relevant original sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including Berezkin, ATU, Thompson, and other cited authorities, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed.

Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
All rights are reserved in the database structure, selection, arrangement, metadata, classifications, software, interface design, and original editorial content.

Important: The Folklore Database expressly reserves all rights in relation to text and data mining, automated extraction, scraping, machine learning, dataset creation, and the training, development, validation, or improvement of artificial intelligence technologies or systems. No part of this website or database may be scraped, copied, reproduced, harvested, downloaded in bulk, or otherwise used for AI training or commercial data extraction without prior written permission.

Designed and Developed by Jon Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. All rights reserved.