Among French folk tales, animal tales occupy a relatively important place. In M.-L. Teneze's catalog, they are classified into 54 different standard tales, which are further divided into subgroups. The total number of versions of animal tales collected to date in France and the French-speaking overseas countries amounts to a thousand. Of the 54 attested standard tales, 36 feature either the wolf and the fox, or one or the other, as protagonists, but fewer than twenty share common motifs with the Roman de Renart (RdR). The oral tradition is therefore rich in tales featuring the fox and/or the wolf that exist independently of the RdR. The 54 standard tales in question can be classified according to different principles. If we apply the geographical criterion to them, we notice that most French animal tales are known in European folklore in general, but that some standard tales have been better attested in France than elsewhere. ... There are, of course, also standard tales for which there is no attestation in France; Northern Europe in particular has a whole group of animal tales that are not found elsewhere.

Language: French

DOI: 10.1075/rein.1.18suo