The ‘Seven Sages’ in Comparative Folk Narrative Research

Abstract

The present contribution considers the ‘Seven Sages’ from the perspective of comparative folk narrative research. It surveys the history of how the tales embedded in versions of the ‘Seven Sages’ were assessed in Victor Chauvin’s ‘Bibliographie’, Stith Thompson’s ‘Motif-Index’, and in the international tale-type index compiled by Antti Aarne as revised by Thompson and Hans-Jörg Uther. Whereas the Latin denominations for the tales embedded in versions of the ‘Seven Sages’ that are often employed in research derive from and mainly relate to European tradition, the concept of tale types widens the discussion to assess the tales in international tradition, thus documenting their long-lasting impact, whether as part of the ‘Seven Sages’ or as independently performed narratives.

Keywords Folk Narrative Research; Motifs; Tale Types; Terminology