This book presents rich information on Romanian mythology and folklore, previously under-explored in Western scholarship, placing the source material within its historical context and drawing comparisons with European and Indo-European culture and mythological tradition. The author presents a detailed comparative study and argues that Romanian mythical motifs have roots in Indo-European heritage, by analyzing and comparing mythical motifs from the archaic cultures, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Sanskrit, and Persian, with written material and folkloric data that reflects the Indo-European culture. The book begins by outlining the history of the Getae-Dacians, beginning with Herodotus' description of their customs and beliefs in the supreme god Zamolxis, then moves to the Roman wars and the Romanization process, before turning to recent debates in linguistics and genetics regarding the provenance of a shared language, religion, and culture in Europe. The author then analyzes myth creation, its relation to rites, and its functions in society, before examining specific examples of motifs and themes from Romanian folk tales and songs. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of folklore studies, comparative mythology, linguistic anthropology, and European culture.

This volume explores a selection of significant and topical elements from the vast amount of Romanian folkloric and mythological material. It sheds light on the mythical-ritualistic aspects of three complex calendar holydays (specifically The Lads of Brașov, Călușarii, and Sânzienele), whose ritualistic sequences, laden with mythical-symbolical reminiscences, were lost during the Communist period and are known today thanks to their spectacular features. Such aspects include demonic mythical beings (such as Iele, Rusalii, Știma Apei, The Woodwoman, and Strigoi) that define the collective imaginary; significant myths that have found their artistic expression in fairytales and legends; and the role of women in traditional Romanian society.

Four spellbinding fairy tales from 19th century Romania, translated into English and adapted for a contemporary audience. A baby refuses to come into the world until he is promised youth everlasting. But as the boy grows older and his father cannot keep his promise, the young man sets off on the quest of a lifetime… Follow the quest for Youth Everlasting in this thought-provoking fairy tale from 19th century Romania. Three additional Romanian fairy tales introduce you to a whole range of magical characters and exhilarating adventures. Petre Ispirescu was born in 1830 in Bucharest and grew up around Romanian fairy tales. He trained at a publishing house and later used his position to publish several collections of fairy tales. A few of these tales are still part of the literature curriculum in Romania to this day, and they are slowly but surely making their way into the rest of the world.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This collection of 18 Romanian folk and fairy tales contains translations of tales from Romanian which, however, comprise but a small portion of the inexhaustible treasure that exists in the nation. While the originals are scattered throughout Romanian literature this volume is an excellent companion to “Roumanian Fairy Tales and Legends” ISBN: 978-8-827544-00-6 which contains a further 15 children’s tales from Romania. Given Romania’s long and diverse cultural history, it is no surprise that the country has such a rich heritage of folk tales, fairy tales, and legends. It is also fortunate that so many of these stories survived the country’s turbulent history and were passed down throughout the ages to countless Romanian children and are now retold here. The exquisite stories in this volume are: Stan Bolovan The Wonderful Bird The Twins With the Golden Star. Youth Without Age and Life Without Death The Little Purse with two Half-pennies Mogarzea and His Son Cunning Ileane The Princess and the Fisherman Little Wild-Rose The Voice of Death The Old Woman and the Old Man The Pea Emperor The Morning Star and The Evening Star The Two Step-Sisters The Poor Boy Mother's Darling Jack Tellerchen The Fairy Aurora In approximately 82 BC, the rule of the Dacian kings was replaced by the Romans, who, in turn, were forced out by the Goths, layer supplanted by the Huns a;; by the 4th C. BC. After this, a sequence of nomadic rulers, including the Gepids, the Avars, the Bulgars, the Pechenegs, and the Cumans, ruled the area. By the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in three distinct principalities: Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania, which were later ruled by the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. In 1859, Moldavia and Wallachia united under Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, but it was not until the end of WWI, in 1918, that Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania proclaimed unions with the Kingdom of Romania and the modern state of Romania was born. 10% of the publisher’s profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Relief Fund for Romania. =============== TAGS: Romanian, Roumanian, Folklore, Fairy tales, myths, legends, children’s stories, bedtime, fables, traditions, Stan Bolovan, Wonderful Bird, Twins, Golden Star, Youth Without Age, Life Without Death, Little Purse, two Half-pennies, Mogarzea, Son, Cunning Ileane, Princess, Fisherman, Little Wild-Rose, Voice, Death, Old Woman, Old Man, Pea Emperor, Morning Star, Evening Star, Two, Step-Sisters, Poor Boy, Mother, Darling, Jack, Tellerchen, Fairy, Aurora

"Romanian linguist and archaeomythologist Adrian Poruciuc investigates ancient motifs contained in traditional Romanian songs - The colinde - By means of linguistic, folkloric, and archaeological evidence. Many of the colinde are ritual songs containing mythic elements surviving from antiquity. Similar motifs are also found in the broader region of Southeast Europe"--Provided by publisher.