New Fairy Tales Discovered!

What does a turnip have to do with a princess? Only that “The Turnip Princess” is one of over 500 fairy tales recently discovered in Germany. It’s a new (old) fairy tale that we’re getting the chance to read for the first time because of this discovery.

Earlier this week it was reported in The Guardian that a collection of over 500 fairy tales has been found in Germany. This collection has been hidden for over 150 years. They were collected by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth around the same time fairy tales were being collected by the Brothers Grimm. Some of the fairy tales are ones we are already familiar with, like Rumpelstiltskin and Cinderella, but many have not been seen before. Scholars are working on translating these newly-discovered tales into English.

This kind of discovery is fascinating to me. Even though the events of history are “over”, there are always new discoveries to be made about the past. Each piece of writing that is found helps us form a better picture about the people who lived in the past and what they thought. European fairy tales, like the ones in this discovery, tell us more about the culture of Western Civilization. According cultural curator Erika Eichenseer, who discovered these new tales, fairy tales were used “to help young adults on their path to adulthood, showing them that dangers and challenges can be overcome through virtue, prudence and courage.”

To read the article about the discovery, click here.

You can also read The Turnip Princess online (click the title).

If you get the chance to read The Turnip Princess, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box.

Ms. L.