French Legends, Tales, and Fairy Stories by Barbara Leonie Picard
"French Legends, Tales, and Fairy Stories" by Barbara Leonie Picard is a curated collection of twenty-three traditional French narratives, organized into four distinct categories: tales of epic heroes, courtly tales from the Middle Ages, legends from various French provinces, and fairy stories. The first two sections draw from medieval written sources, including notable tales like "Roland and Oliver" and "Aucassin and Nicolette," which reflect the cultural and literary heritage of France during Charlemagne's era. The subsequent categories focus on oral traditions, showcasing folklore that remains integral to social gatherings in French villages, particularly in the winter months.
These tales, often brief enough for young readers to engage with in a single sitting, highlight universal themes of love, bravery, and moral lessons while staying true to their cultural roots. Picard is known for her faithful adaptations, maintaining the essence and context of the original stories. Her work not only entertains but also serves as a window into the historical and social nuances of French life, making this collection a valuable resource for those interested in French folklore and literary traditions.
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French Legends, Tales, and Fairy Stories by Barbara Leonie Picard
First published: 1955
Subjects: Friendship, love and romance, religion, the supernatural, and war
Type of work: Short fiction
Recommended Ages: 10-15
Form and Content
French Legends, Tales, and Fairy Stories is a collection of twenty-three traditional French narratives, grouped under four categories: “Tales of the French Epic Heroes,” “French Courtly Tales of the Middle Ages,” “Legends from the French Provinces,” and “French Fairy Stories.” The first two categories consist of tales retold from written sources in medieval France; the latter two are derived from oral traditions that are still current. Several of the stories in the first three groups prove useful in understanding French literature and culture, among them “Roland and Oliver” and “The Battle of Roncevalles,” both stemming from the Old French La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland); and such tales as “Aucassin and Nicolette,” a widely read love story, and the legend of “Mélusine,” whose title character is credited, in folklore, with many landmarks in the neighborhood of Poitou, including the castle of Lusignan. The final section of the book presents several French fairy tales that are interesting partially because of their resemblance to (and differences from) other familiar tales, such as “Ripopet-Barabas,” whose plot and central characters recall those of “Rumpelstiltskin.”
The tales are short enough to be read in one sitting by young readers, averaging approximately ten pages. (The longest is “The Miller and the Ogre,” at fifteen pages.) The tales in the first section all come from the “Matter of France,” the cycle of legends and tales concerning Charlemagne and his immediate successors, once important in helping to form a distinct French national consciousness. For example, “Roland and Oliver” and “The Battle of Roncevalles,” both suggest that later generations perceived the age of Charlemagne as a golden age of passion, pride, and derring-do, a heritage that helped define what it meant to be French. The section devoted to courtly tales presents some of the best-known stories of love and chivalry from the Middle Ages. The final two sections deal more properly with folklore than with a literary heritage. They contain tales that are still told both to children and to adults as part of social gatherings in French villages, particularly on long winter evenings.
Critical Context
Barbara Leonie Picard is well known and respected for her adaptations of the literature and folktales of many cultures, including works from Celtic, British, German, and Persian sources. Although the writing of such tales necessitates many editorial decisions, Picard does not take the liberties in which recounters of traditional material sometimes indulged; she maintains the plots of the originals so that a reader of her versions knows the story line and understands something of its social context. In addition to the religious, historical, and geographical allusions in her stories, Picard also mentions relevant details of daily life, such as washing laundry in a stream in “The Hobgoblin and the Washergirl.” Even the names remain French, with one exception: “Olivier” has become the more familiar “Oliver.” Generally, Picard’s accuracy with details matches her ability to make the tales interesting, as is the case with other examples of her work. For example, in the preface to Tales of Ancient Persia, Retold from the “Shah-Nama” of Firdausi (1972), Picard discusses the identity of the Turanians (Turani), the traditional enemies of the ancient Persians, the Zoroastrian religion, and the traditions concerning the life and death of the poet who composed the Shah-Nama.
Such careful accuracy is not always found in adaptations of foreign literature and folklore; the attempt to be precise often hinders the effort to present a readable, enjoyable narrative. This is especially true in works for younger readers, for whom adapters wish overwhelmingly to write a good story, rather than to fret over details of background. Picard’s success at doing both is noteworthy.