The untold subgenre

Abstract The history of international folklore research has seen several attempts to systematise the folklore texts. The (fairy) tale research has been the most productive, with nearly one hundred national tale catalogues available as well as the international tale catalogue at its fourth, improved edition. In contrast to tale and other epic genre (ballad, exemplum), the last 110 years of legend research have resulted in only a handful of books that systematised the folk heritage of the genre. Apart from a dozen of catalogues of aetiological and belief legends, until the publication of the Hungarian book series TheCatalogue of Hungarian Historical Legends I‒XI, 2018, no comprehensive type- or motif index of national legends was available. This study is a review of the international pursuits in the European folklore research directed to systematise historical legends, which, to date, due to various reasons, have been only partially successful.