The history of fairy tales can and has filled dozens of books – academics, writers and dedicated hobbyists have been researching the origins and evolutions of fairy tales for centuries. Below is a very minimalist overview of the broad trends and significant highlights of fairy tale history. For more detailed historical studies, see the suggested reading list below.
Although from ancient times until early modern history fairy tales were predominantly oral tales – people told these tales to each other and their families and friends - they have also had a place in written literature as it has developed - Chinese philosophers referred to them and writers like Shakespeare and Spenser had fairy tale elements in their works.
Fairy tales were not originally specifically for children, but with the advent of the Age of Reason followed by the development of the Victorian sensibility, the more vulgar content they contained began to be thought improper and the fantasy content childlike; as childhood simultaneously began to be viewed as a time of innocence to be protected and the audience with the power to purchase was the increasingly proper middle-class, many of the original fairy tales were 'bowderlised' - material considered improper or offensive was removed.
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