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Folklore: Reference Resources

Encyclopedias

Peek, African Folklore: An Encyclopedia.  New York: Rougledge, 2004.

Brunvand, American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub., 1996.

Encyclopedia Mythica -- Online access to over 17,000 articles about myths of many countries.

Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1998.

Brunvand, Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2001. This has over 500 entries summarizing many legends.

Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1997. Signed articles by experts on the topic. Included bibliographies.

The Folklore of American Holidays. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. 140 holidays celebrated in the United States.

The Folklore of World Holidays. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.

Clements, Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife.  Westport: Greenwood, 2006.  

Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC).  Zürich: Artemis, 1981-2009.  Iconography of Greek, Etruscan and Roman mythology from the post-Mycenaean period to the early Christian period.

Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2000. 300 signed entries on European folklore of 500-1500 CE, including Berkeley’s internationally known expert, John Lindow.

Mercatante, Facts on File Encyclopedia Of World Mythology And Legend. 2nd ed. New York : Facts on File, 2004. Over 3000 myths and legends from around the world, mostly Europe.

New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology.  New York: Putnam, 1968.

Ó hÓgáin, Lore of Ireland.  Rochester: Boydell & Brewer, 2006.   Doe Reference GR153.5.O156 2006. 350 entries ranging in length from a short paragraph to several pages, all older.

Prahlad, Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore.  Westport: Greenwood, 2006.

Slatta, The Mythical West. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2001. The West as mythologised in literature, art, Hollywood, television, and on the Internet.

Seal, Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO , 2001. Heroes from Europe, North America, China, Japan, parts of Africa and Australia.

Thompson, Holiday Symbols and Customs. 4th ed. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2009.

South Asian Folklore. New York: Routledge, 2003.

Walker, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.  San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983.

Wörterbuch der Mythologie.   Stuttgart: E. Klett, 1955-

Handbooks

Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature, 2005. Search for ebook. Articles written by experts on the basic thematic elements universally found in folklore and literature.

Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology.  New York: Crowell, 1970.

Emergence of Folklore in Everyday Life. Bloomington, Ind.: Trickster Press, 1990. Created by graduate students in the Folklore Institute at Indiana University for use by undergraduates.

Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1977-

Ashliman, Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Steinfirst, Folklore and Folklife. New York: Garland Pub., 1992. Over 2500 entries, annotated list of many books and articles, most published before 1987.

Van Keuren, Guide to Research in Classical Art and Mythology.  Chicago: ALA, 1991.

Dorson, Handbook of American Folklore,. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

Mintz, Humor in America. New York: Greenwood, 1988.

Algarin, Japanese Folk Literature.  New York: Bowker, 1982.

South, Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide.  New York: Greenwood, 1987.

Lindow, Norse Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Search for ebook.

Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale.  Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.

Companions

Companion to Literary Myths, Heroes and Archetypes.   Edited by Pierre Brunel. London; New York : Routledge, 1992.

 Mythologies. Compiled by Yves Bonnefoy. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1991.

The Oxford Companion to Australian folklore. Melbourne; New York : Oxford University Press, 1993.

The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales.  Edited by Jack Zipes. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press, 2000. We have an ebook.

Dictionaries

Aldhouse-Green, Miranda J.  Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992.

Bell, Robrt E.  Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary.  Santa Barbara: AB-CLIO, 1991.

Briggs, Katharine M. A Dictionary of British Folk-tales in the English Language Incorporating the F.J. Norton Collection. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970-71.

Craig, Robert D.  Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology.  New York: Greenwood, 1989.

Dictionary of Superstitions, edited by Iona Opie and Moira Tatem. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Mostly from England and Eire, 18th-19th centuries.

Ellis, Peter Berresford.  A Dictionary of Irish Mythology.  Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1989.

Dictionnaire des Mythes Féminins, sous la direction de Pierre Brunel avec la collaboration de Frédéric Mancier.  Monaco: Rocher, 2002.

Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, 1972.

Gerlach, Walter. Das neue Lexikon des Aberglaubens. Frankfurt am Main: Eichborn, c1998.

Gill, Sam D. and Irene F. Sullivan. Dictionary of Native American Mythology. Denver, Colo.: ABC-CLIO, 1992. 1,300 stories, characters, ceremonies, and symbols from Native American mythology and ritual.

Grimal, Pierre.  The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Oxford: Blackwell, 1987.

Laurioz, Hubert. Dictionnaire des superstitions. Paris : Albin Michel, 1998.

Leeming, David Adams. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2001. Search for ebook.

Liungman, Carl G.  Dictionary of Symbols.  ABC-CLIO, 1992.  Main BL603.L5413 1991. 1500 Western symbols (ideograms). 

MacKillop, James,  Dictionary of Celtic Mythology.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Search for ebook.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970.

Sax, Boria. The Mythical Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend, and Literature. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO , 2001. Real and imaginary animals from world myth and legend. Comprehensive index.

Scheub, Harold. A Dictionary of African Mythology: The Mythmaker as Storyteller. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000 Search for ebook. 400 myths arranged by name of principle character.

Simpson, Jacqueline and Steve Roud. A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Search for ebook. 1250 entries on English customs, music, games, gestures, life-cycle etc including modern.

Smyth, Daragh.  A Guide to Irish Mythology.  Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1988.

Sykes, Egerton.  Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology.  Rev. by Alan Kendall.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Bibliographies

Baer, Folklore and Literature of the British Isles: An Annotated Bibliography. Florence E Baer. New York, N.Y.: Garland Pub., 1986. Originated as Berkeley dissertation.

Bennett, Contemporary Legend: A Folklore Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1993.

Bernardo, A Critical and Annotated Bibliography of Philippine, Indonesian and Other Malayan Folk-Lore.  Cagauam de Prp Cotu. Xavoer Imoversotu. 1972.

Carnes, Fable Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1985.

Clements, Native American Folklore, 1879-1979: An Annotated Bibliography.  Athens, Ohio: Swallow Press, 1984.

Danandjaja, An Annotated Bibliography of Javanese Folklore.  Berkeley: Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, 1972.

Falassi, Italian Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography.   New York: Garland, 1985.

Flanagan, American Folklore: A Bibliography 1950-1974. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1977.

Fowke, A Bibliography of Canadian Folklore in English.  Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981. 

Georges, American and Canadian Immigrant and Ethnic Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography.  New York: Garland, 1982. 

Görög, Bibliographie annotée litterature orale d'Afrique noire. Paris: Conseil international de la langue francaise, 1992.

Görög. Litterature orale d'Afrique noire: bibliographie analytique. Paris: B.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1981.

Handoo, A Bibliography of Indian Folk Literature.  Mysore : Central Institute of Indian Languages, 1977.

Haywood,. A Bibliography of North American Folklore and Folksong. New York: Dover Publications, 1961.

Jones, An Annotated Bibliography of Studies of Folklore in American Literature. New York: Garland, 1984.

Kirkland, A Bibliography of South Asian Folklore. Bloomington, Indiana University. 1966

Kulikowski.  A Bibliography of Slavic Mythology.  Columbus: Slavica, 1989.                                

Melts, M. IA. Russkii folklor. Bibliograficheskii ukazatel'. Leningrad: Akademiia, 1961.    

Mieder, Wolfgang. International Proverb Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1982.

Mood, American Regional Folklore. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2004. US as a whole and by region. Overview essay about that region, and selected bibliography.

Niles, South American Indian Narrative, Theoretical and Analytical Approaches.  New York: Garland, 1981.

Richmond, Ballad Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1989.

Russkii Fol'klor.  Moskva: Institut russkoi literatury, 1956-

Schuursma, Ethnomusicology Research: A Select Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1992. Descriptive annotations of nearly 500 publications appearing since 1960.

Steinfirst.  Folklore and Folklife: A Guide to English-Language Reference Sources. New York: Garland, 1992.

Szwed. Afro-American Folk Culture: An Annotated Bibliography of Materials from North, Central, and South America, and the West Indies. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues, 1978. Dated but still valuable because of its broad coverage.

Yassif.  Jewish Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography.   New York: Garland, 1986.