Llegendàrium Returns: A New Chapter Begins
Phoenix consuming itself in flames. Aberdeen Bestiary, twelfth century, folio 56r.
University of Aberdeen. Public domain.
After a period of silence, Llegendàrium returns with a website that I have completely rebuilt over the past few months, text by text and image by image, along with new publications and a profound transformation of the project. Throughout this process, however, I have preserved the purpose for which it was founded: to study, preserve and share the folktales, legends and traditions that form part of our collective memory.
Llegendàrium began in 2017 as a space devoted primarily to Catalan folklore. During its first phase, between 2017 and 2024, I published around five hundred articles in a variety of formats and was fortunate enough to bring together a broad community of readers interested in traditional narratives. Over time, part of that research also took shape in several books, including the trilogy of essays comprising Rondalles de Sang, Rondalles de Difunts and Rondalles del Diable, published by Hermenaute.
After approximately two years devoted primarily to writing and research, Llegendàrium is returning to publication and beginning a new chapter.
You can learn more about what Llegendàrium is and trace its history from 2017 to the present through these two links:
A broader outlook: both local and international
Catalan folklore will continue to occupy a central place in Llegendàrium, since it is the origin of the project and a fundamental part of its identity. This new chapter, however, will adopt a broader, comparative and international perspective.
Traditional narratives do not exist in isolation. Their motifs, characters and structures have circulated for centuries among widely differing languages, territories and cultures. The same story may appear in transformed form in a Catalan folktale, a Scandinavian ballad, a Slavic legend or a traditional Asian tale.
Llegendàrium will explore these relationships: the connections between traditions, the international circulation of stories, the persistence of archetypes over time, the diffusion and transformation of traditional narrative types and motifs, and the ways in which folklore continues to manifest itself in literature, cinema, art and contemporary culture.
To bring this perspective to a wider audience, every article will be published in Catalan, Spanish and English. Just as Catalan readers may be interested in discovering international folklore, an international audience may also take an interest in Catalan folklore and discover the connections that unite human communities through folktales.
A community open to its readers
This return also entails a radical change in access to the content. During Llegendàrium’s first phase, most articles were reserved for patrons. I have now decided to reverse that model: the great majority of publications will be openly available for anyone to read.
I believe that folklore is a shared heritage that must circulate, be passed on and remain alive, rather than being confined to specialised circles or reaching the public in a simplified and decontextualised form. Making the articles freely available allows them to reach new readers, introduce distant traditions and turn Llegendàrium into an accessible space for reading, consultation and learning.
This does not mean, however, that the Patreon community no longer has a purpose. On the contrary, its support will help make this new open-access model possible. Researching, documenting, writing, translating and maintaining an independent publication require many hours of work and considerable resources. Patrons’ contributions allow the project to continue without placing most of its articles behind a paywall.
You can learn about the different ways of joining the community and supporting Llegendàrium through this link:
The new spirit of Llegendàrium: why rebuild the website from scratch?
Those of you who have known Llegendàrium for years may wonder why I decided to start again from scratch and withdraw all the old articles.
First, the former Llegendàrium had accumulated an enormous number of publications. There were so many, in such varied formats, that the site as a whole had become a vast miscellany without a clear structure, difficult to navigate and of limited use as a reference resource. The editorial direction had become blurred, and it was difficult to know what had been published and how each piece related to the rest.
A second important factor is that, throughout these years of study and research, I have continually revised my approach to folklore, incorporating new sources and perspectives that have opened up new avenues and brought earlier mistakes to light. Many of the old articles had become too limited or outdated, and some relied on sources, interpretations or methodological criteria that require serious revision. Moreover, much of the former Llegendàrium had been produced using highly heterogeneous documentation, with a heavy reliance on materials available online.
In this new phase, I will publish only original articles based on my own research and writing, supported by verifiable, cross-checked bibliographies, primary sources and contemporary academic research. My intention is to bring to the website the rigour and experience acquired through the essays I have published, the most recent of which is Rondalles del Diable, released this year.
None of the old articles will be restored or republished. Whenever I return to a subject addressed in the past, the article will be researched, documented and written anew according to the standards of this new phase. If, for example, I revisit the legend of the young Count Guifré and the murder of his father, I will begin again from scratch.
You can learn more about my work and my approach to the study of folklore through this link:
Where is this new Llegendàrium heading?
On an Internet where recycled and hastily produced content is commonplace, I want Llegendàrium to offer original, carefully researched and accessible articles, written with time and care and supported by reliable sources. I believe there are readers who want to explore folklore in depth and discover the stories of people who lived in other times and places. This new chapter is for those readers.
But my interest in folklore is not purely academic. Local legends, ballads once sung together and old fairy tales can also awaken curiosity and change how we see a landscape, a custom or a story we thought we knew. Many of these tales are little known today, despite how much they still have to tell us.
That capacity to inspire wonder is an important part of what I hope to achieve with Llegendàrium: to study traditional narratives rigorously without losing the pleasure of reading and sharing them. I want to understand how they have been passed down and what they meant to the people who told them, while also exploring what they can tell us today.
The first publications of this new chapter
The new website is now open, and you can find the first articles of this new chapter there:
- What Are Tales in the Oral Tradition? — Basics I
- The Wild Huntsman in Bernat Metge’s Lo somni
- What Is the Difference Between a Folktale, a Fable and a Legend? — Basics II
- Blancaflor and the Magic Flight (ATU 313) — Fairy Tales I
- The Two Kings’ Children (ATU 313) — Fairy Tales II
- Count Guifré and the Return of Honour — Origins I
You can discover all the publications on:
You can also follow Llegendàrium for free on Patreon to receive new articles and project updates. If you would like to help make this new chapter possible, you can also explore the new membership tiers.
Whether you decide to support the project financially or simply read and share its articles, thank you for being part of Llegendàrium and for helping to keep the memory of oral tradition alive.
Welcome back to Llegendàrium. As the project approaches its tenth anniversary, a new chapter begins.
© Arnau Folch / Llegendàrium. This article may be shared by linking to the original publication. Reproduction, translation, adaptation or distribution in full is not permitted without prior authorisation.
