Karelian folk fairy tale “King David”: exploring conventionality and identity of the genre

This paper presents the first-of-its-kind analysis of the Karelian folk fairy tale “King David”, which was first recorded in 1939 in the Segezha district of the Republic of Karelia in the Karelian language. The study explores the Russian version of the tale, focusing on its structure, which is a complex blending of three different plots (300A, 301A, and 551), the roles and functions of the main characters, traditional storytelling formulas, the triplet structure of the narrative, and objects specific to Karelian everyday culture. This research sheds light on a unique fairy tale from northern Karelia that blends traditional elements with contemporary realias processed and added by the narrator. By comparing the tale with Russian fairy tales, the study identifies ethnic characteristics and cultural influences, highlighting both the migration of motifs and the distinctiveness of the folk tale “King David”. The analysis draws on archival materials from the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Employing such methods as holistic interpretation, structural analysis, component analysis, and comparative analysis, the study concludes that the narrator exhibits a profound understanding of folklore traditions.