• The ATU System
• From the Introduction to the Latest Folktale Catalogue

The ATU System

The Types of International Folktales, the "ATU Catalogue", has Hans-Jörg Uther (2004) as its main editor. It is the most recent and detailed survey of folktale types. Today, ATU numbers follow up and replace AT numbers. The ATU system (from the surname initials of Aarne, Thompson, and Uther) allows "the type numbers that have been in use for nearly one hundred years [to] remain unchanged," writes Uther. Well, exceptions to that rule are found.

In the ATU system, the overall descriptions of various types of tales is changed in both minor ways and more comprehensively. Because the ATU description of a type of tale often includes more tales than AT description, the ATU description gets broader and at times has several multiple choices too. By these measures, many ATU descriptions for different types of tales are not as precise or descriptive for single tales as several of the the AT descriptions.

The ATU scheme below is used to survey and compare folk tales.

ANIMAL TALES   Wild Animals 1-99     The Clever Fox (Other Animal) 1-69     Other Wild Animals 70-99   Wild Animals and Domestic Animals 100-149   Wild Animals and Humans 150-199   Domestic Animals 200-219   Other Animals and Objects 220-299 TALES OF MAGIC   Supernatural Adversaries 300-399   Supernatural or Enchanted Wife (Husband) or Other Relative 400-459     Wife 400-424     Husband 425-449     Brother or Sister 450-459   Supernatural Tasks 460-499   Supernatural Helpers 500-559   Magic Objects 560-649   Supernatural Power or Knowledge 650-699   Other Tales of the Supernatural 700-749 RELIGIOUS TALES   God Rewards and Punishes 750-779   The Truth Comes to Light 780-799   Heaven 800-809   The Devil 810-826   Other Religious Tales 827-849 REALISTIC TALES (NOVELLE)   The Man Marries the Princess 850-869   The Woman Marries the Prince 870-879   Proofs of Fidelity and Innocence 880-899   The Obstinate Wife Learns to Obey 900-909   Good Precepts 910-919   Clever Acts and Words 920-929   Tales of Fate 930-949   Robbers and Murderers 950-969   Other Realistic Tales 970-999 TALES OF THE STUPID OGRE (GIANT, DEVIL)   Labor Contract 1000-1029   Partnership between Man and Ogre 1030-1059   Contest between Man and Ogre 1060-1114   Man Kills (Injures) Ogre 1115-1144   Ogre Frightened by Man 1145-1154   Man Outwits the Devil 1155-1169   Souls Saved from the Devil 1170-1199 ANECDOTES AND JOKES   Stories about a Fool 1200-1349   Stories about Married Couples 1350-1439     The Foolish Wife and Her Husband 1380-1404     The Foolish Husband and His Wife 1405-1429     The Foolish Couple 1430-1439   Stories about a Woman 1440-1524     Looking for a Wife 1450-1474     Jokes about Old Maids 1475-1499     Other Stories about Women 1500-1524   Stories about a Man 1525-1724     The Clever Man 1525-1639     Lucky Accidents 1640-1674     The Stupid Man 1675-1724   Jokes about Clergymen and Religious Figures 1725-1849     The Clergyman is Tricked 1725-1774     Clergyman and Sexton 1775-1799     Other Jokes about Religious Figures 1800-1849   Anecdotes about Other Groups of People 1850-1874   Tall Tales 1875-1999 FORMULA TALES   Cumulative Tales 2000-2100   Chains Based on Numbers, Objects, Animals, or Names 2000-2020   Chains Involving Death 2021-2024   Chains Involving Eating 2025-2028   Chains Involving Other Events 2029-2075   Catch Tales 2200-2299   Other Formula Tales 2300-2399

Source: Uther 2004, Vol 1: 5-6; Uther 2004, Vol 2: 5-6.

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From the Introduction to the Latest Folktale Catalogue

Hans-Jörg Uther (1944-) is Professor of German Literature at the University of Duisburg-Essen, a senior member of the editorial staff of the Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Göttingen, and the former editor of the series "Die Märchen der Weltliteratur". He is a prominent scholar in the area of traditions and folk literature with special interest in historical and comparative studies. He has edited over fifty books on folktales and legends, among them critical editions of the Brothers Grimm (1996, 2004), Wilhelm Hauff (1999), and Ludwig Bechstein (1998), and published numerous articles in German, English, and other languages.

Uther has edited The Types of International Folktales (ATU) based on the system of Aarne/Thompson. In ATU, the types of folktales have been reorganised and expanded.

Uther writes in the introduction to the set of three volumes that his catalogue of international tale types (ATU, for Aarne / Thompson / Uther) constitutes a fundamentally new edition with extensive additions and innovations. It attempts to meet the objections of previous critics of the Aarne/Thompson catalogue on several points, including these (7):

• There was no distinct genre in the AT numbering Novellas (Romantic Tales) (AT 850-99).
• The AT system encompassed only European narrative tradition, with relevant material from western Asia and European settlements in other regions. Even in Europe, the traditions were documented unevenly. Documentation varied considerably from place to place, and for such as Denmark and Russia no information was provided at all. Also, evidence from Portugal, and from eastern and southeastern Europe, was often missing. The narrative traditions of small ethnic groups (Basques, Ladini, Frisians, Sorbs, etc.) were not, or not enough, documented.
• Often only few variants were presented. What is more, references to variants were usually taken from older collections, not from new ones.
• References to relevant scholarly literature were often missing.
• The descriptions of the tale types were in many cases too brief, too often imprecise, and too often centered unjustly only on the male characters.
• The inclusion of so-called irregular types was dubious.
• Too much of the documentation for the existence ot many of the types lay in archive texts that were difficult to access. (Uther 2004, 7-8)

The ATU has eliminated or mitigated these faults, says the editor. It permits international tale types to be located quickly, thus providing a historical-comparative orientation toward folktale research for scholars in all disciplines that touch on popular traditions.

What is more, the descriptions of the tale types have been completely rewritten and made more precise based on all the results of research available up to approximately 2003, and sources are amplified.

More than two hundred and fifty new types have been added throughout the different sections.

Each "tale type" presented by ATU consists of a number, title, and a description of its contents, and must be understood to be flexible, adaptable, and part of a greater dynamic, where it can be integrated into new thematic compositions and media. (Uther 2004, 8)

Further, history has shown that folk narratives from outside Europe fit the older AT numbering of thematically-oriented sections only in part and often with difficulty. This is particularly true of myths, epics, legends, and etiological accounts, and also of lesser genres such as anecdotes, jokes, rumors, and genres such as life history, family history and refugee experiences. Some of them have been partly documented in the Motif-Index of Folk Literature (1955-58).

Up until the 1960's, folktale scholars generally believed that oral traditions had existed unchanged for centuries. This romantic valuation had a long-lasting influence and caused too little reference to and also undervaluing of important literary texts by such as Giovanni Boccaccio and Geoffrey Chaucer, to name a few of them. Old written texts, particularly of animal tales, were often dismissed as a subtype or an "irregular" form. But as we now know, many so-called oral narratives have a rich literary history. Some can be traced back to works of literature, in which the fantasy of homo narrans can be seen in new adaptations. (10)

This is so for fables associated with the name Aesop and similar narratives from oriental traditions. Other examples of literary genres important for oral tradition include medieval Arabic jests, European exempla and farce, and the fabliaux and novelle of the late Middle Ages. All these genres entered early modern literature.

Yet, although the definitions of a tale type as a self-sufficient narrative, and of a motif as the smallest unit within such a narrative, have often been criticised for their imprecision, "these are nevertheless useful terms to describe the relationships among a large number of narratives with different functional and formal attributes from a variety of ethnic groups, time periods, and genres," says Uther further.

Uther explains that now a motif can be a combination of statements about an actor, an object, or an incident - all three of these elements. He says,

"Motif" thus has a broad definition that enables it to be used as a basis for literary and ethnological research. It is a narrative unit, and as such is subject to a dynamic that determines with which other motifs it can be combined. Thus motifs constitute the basic building blocks of narratives. On pragmatic grounds, a clear distinction between motif and type is not possible because the boundaries are not distinct. (10)

Narratives must be analyzed not arbitrarily but according to structural considerations. A precise analysis guarantees that variations in narrative tradition will not be reduced to a simple multicultural homogeneity. The ATU type catalogue is a bibliographic tool. It has a description of each type followed by references to catalogues, texts, and published research. (10)

In the past, European tradition unjustly dominated the international tale type catalogue. Where this imbalance continues into the ATU, it is due not to any ethnocentric ideology, but merely reflects the present state of knowledge. For many countries and regions, the systematic classification of narrative tradition has only recently begun.

The Construction of the ATU Type Catalog

Because of the need for compatibility with the many old and new regional and international folktale catalogues, the type numbers that have been in use for nearly one hundred years remain unchanged. However, in the Aarne/Thompson catalogue, some types were noted in more than one place, creating unnecessary duplication. Only in a few places was it necessary to move a type number from its original place to an entirely new one (for example, AaTh 1587 has become ATU 927D).

Every type important enough to be listed in ATU is considered a "regular" type. Nevertheless, for some of the existing type numbers, their continued presence is a result of compromises. (11)

To document narratives that were especially difficult to classify, the designation "miscellaneous type" has been used. Such miscellaneous or heterogeneous types can be described only by their theme, which is expressed through a common structure. Sometimes the best solution has been to provide a summary of a single text as an example. (11-122)

In ATU the letters or asterisks following many numbers are not necessarily intended to represent either a separate type or a dependent subtype. Each description represents an independent tale type that has been documented among at least three ethnic groups or over a long time period. By this grasp it was possible to incorporate new tale types with a significant traditional basis, without destroying the old numbering system.

In ATU the titles of the tale types have been partly revised, and the descriptions of the plots have been wholly rewritten and expanded. For reference, the former titles are also listed. There were many reasons for enlarging the summaries. Most importantly, it was necessary to correct gender biases in the characterisation of the main actors, and to be explicit about sexual elements and themes (in contrast to the general AaTh description, "obscene"). In many cases, small mistakes or serious errors had to be corrected.

The new type descriptions have been written with the following principles in mind:

The main characters, both active and passive, and their opponents, must be named, and the tale's actions and objects and especially its situation must be recognisable.

The description of each tale type is based on monographic studies and on the texts that have been classified for the archive of the office of the Enzyklopädie des Märchens (EM) in Göttingen. In addition, the extensive concordance which this office has developed, and which includes most of the national tale type and motif catalogues, has been utilised: The EM archive contains numerous international collections and also translations of tales from hard-to-read languages.

The description of each type offers a basic summary, a minimal framework that includes the tale's central structure and contents along with its most important characters. Evidence of the tale's significant variation is also noted. Some AT terms have been standardised, while others have been changed because of a shift of meaning (eg. ass has become donkey), and unclear language has been made more precise.

Motif numbers, which provide additional orientation, have been listed in the appropriate places. For reasons of space they have not been repeated in a separate section. Only the most important motifs from Thompson's Motif-Index have been noted, although many more motif numbers with few references might be pertinent, Uther says. (13)

Under the rubric Combinations are listed tales that belong to narrative cycles, or form combinations and so on.

Uther has used the rubric Remarks to indicate important literary sources, and to convey information about the tale's age, place of origin, the extent of its tradition, or other distinctive features such as its occurrence in a cycle. When they have been published in many different editions which have had a continuous effect on the tale's history and development, the tale's well-known sources are cited only in general terms here and in the bibliography.

Under the rubric Literature/Variants come the most important bibliographical sources in chronological order and international surveys of variants. However, not every such reference is provided.

Then Uther brings the evidence for the geographic spread of the tale type: published type and motif catalogues for the various regions and ethnic and language groups. References to additional texts are to be found in the cited literature. One criterion for listing catalogues is that only the most recent one for a given region is listed when it refers to earlier ones. (14)

The numbers of variants in each of the regions have not been reported because the compilers of different catalogues have used different criteria for inclusion.

Uther's index attempts to document only a limited range of the tales' contents: their most important subjects, plots, and motifs, including their actors and settings.