Welcome to the European folktales page!

Europe is the second smallest continent on Earth. The birthplace of western culture, Europe is a land with tremendous cultural and ethnic diversity.

The European folktales on this page are sorted based on the ethnolinguistic similarities of the peoples of Europe. This beautiful map shows the geographical spread of European languages. There are currently four language groups: the Celtic, the Germanic, the Romanic and the Slavic.

1.The nightingale

2.The two brothers and the white-bearded old man

3.Prince Kindhearted

4.The tale of the pointer tray

5.The toy-goose

6.The tale of the snow and the steeple

7."It is quite true!"

8.Brabo and the giant

Celtic folktales

Celtic Fairy Tales

Notes: Contains 26 folktales of the Celtic people.

Author: Joseph Jacobs
Published: 1892
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, London

Irish Fairy Tales

Notes: Contains 7 folktales of the Irish people.

Author: Edmond Leamy
Published: 1906
Publisher: M.A. Gill & Son. Ltd, Dublin

Folk-Lore and Legends: Scotland

Notes: Contains 33 Scottish folktales.

Author: Charles John Tibbitts
Published: 1889
Publisher: W. W. Gibbings, London

See all Celtic folktale books (9)

Germanic folktales

Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks

Notes: Contains 21 Dutch folktales.

Author: William Elliot Griffis
Published: 1918
Publisher: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York

English Fairy Tales

Notes: Contains 43 English folktales.
Author: Joseph Jacobs
Published: 1892
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, London

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Notes: Contains 15 Norwegian folktales.

Author: Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe
Published: Unknown
Publisher: George H Doran Company, New York

See all Germanic folktale books (9)

Romanic folktales

Tales from the Lands of Nuts and Grapes
Spanish and Portuguese Folklore

Notes: The book contains 21 folktales from Spain and Portugal.

Author: Charles Sellers
Published: 1888
Publisher: Field & Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, E.C.
Simpkin, Marshall & Co.; Hamilton, Adams & Co., London

Old French fairy tales

Notes: The book contains 5 long French folktales. Each story has several chapters.

Author: Comtesse de Ségur
Published: 1920
Publisher: The Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia

Stories from Pentamerone

Notes: The book contains 32 Italian folktales. The collection "Il Pentamerone" was first published at Naples by Giambattista Basile, who is believed to have collected them chiefly in Crete and Venice.

Author: Giambattista Basile
Published: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown

See all Romanic folktale books (5)

Slavic folktales