Paul Delarue facts for kids

Paul Alfred Delarue was a French expert in folklore, which means he studied traditional stories, customs, and beliefs. He was born on April 20, 1889, in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, and passed away on July 25, 1956, in Autun, Saône-et-Loire.

Paul Delarue became famous around the world for his work on folktales. His most important project was a huge book called Le Conte populaire français (which means The French Folktale). This book was a detailed list of folktales found in France and other French-speaking places. He organized these stories using a special system called the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index. The first part of this big book came out in 1957, just a few months after he died. Another expert, Marie-Louise Tenèze, continued his work on the project.

Early Studies and Collecting Stories

Before focusing on folktales, Paul Delarue was interested in plants. He even published a study about the plants in the Nièvre region in 1930. After that, he started working with the folktales collected by another folklorist named Achille Millien. Paul Delarue carefully wrote down and organized these stories.

From 1933 to 1936, he started collecting his own stories directly from people in the Nièvre area. At the same time, he was a teacher in different towns like Saint-Léger-des-Vignes, Montsauche, and Vauzelles. Later, he moved to the Paris area and became the director of a school in Ivry-sur-Seine from 1939 to 1946.

Paul Delarue was very interested in where famous stories like those by Charles Perrault (who wrote Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) came from. He also studied how stories changed when they were told by people (oral stories) versus when they were written down in books.

In 1956, some of Paul Delarue's collected stories were published in English as The Borzoi Book of French Folk Tales.

Military Service and Leadership

Paul Delarue served bravely in the First World War and received the Legion of Honour, a very important award. During World War II, he was a major. He fought in battles in Saarland and Ardennes. He was captured in 1940 but was set free in 1941.

After the wars, Paul Delarue led the folklore committee at the Ligue de l'enseignement (a French educational group) from 1946 to 1953. He then led the folklore committee at the National Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions. He was also a vice-president of the French Ethnography Society starting in 1952.

Family Legacy

Paul Delarue's son, Georges Delarue (born in 1926), followed in his father's footsteps. Georges has published seven books of popular songs from the Nivernais and Morvan regions of France.

Works

Here are some of the books and collections Paul Delarue worked on:

• Recueil de chants populaires du Nivernais (Collection of Popular Songs from Nivernais), 1934-1947 (with Achille Milien).
• La « Promesse » de Jean-Pierre et de la Yeyette (The Promise of Jean-Pierre and Yeyette), 1936.
• Écoliers, chantez nos chansons folkloriques (Schoolchildren, Sing Our Folk Songs), 1938.
• L'Amour des trois oranges et autres contes folkloriques des Provinces de France (The Love for Three Oranges and Other Folk Tales from the Provinces of France), 1947.
• La Bête de la forêt (The Beast of the Forest), 1947.
• Vieux métiers du Nivernais. Les fendeurs (Old Trades of Nivernais. The Splitters), 1949.
• Le Conte populaire français : Catalogue raisonné des versions de France et des pays de langue française d'outre-mer : Canada, Louisiane, îlots français des États-Unis, Antilles Françaises, Haiti, Île Maurice, La Réunion (The French Folktale: Detailed Catalog of Versions from France and French-Speaking Overseas Countries), with Marie-Louise Ténèze, 1957.
• Le Conte populaire français (The French Folktale), with Marie-Louise Ténèze, 1993 (new edition). ISBN: 978-2706806230

See also

In Spanish: Paul Delarue para niños