Tales, Magic, and Fairy Tales

Abstract

This book focuses on the narrative aspects of magic in magic tales from ancient Egypt to the Renaissance and the early modern period in Europe. In these tales magic often operates from a parallel world and affirms existing earthly and supernatural hierarchies. In the process, both magic and supernatural beings frequently pose dangers to ordinary mortals in the tales. An important component of this study is its interest in what characters in magic tales perceive to be magic and what they accept as normal manifestations, even when they appear uncanny to modern eyes. The variations in magic tale characters’ perception and experience of magic suggests a new and different prehistory for fairy tales.