Pan-Hispanic Ballad Project

Index of Folklore Motifs in the Romancero

Harriet Goldberg's Motif-Index of Folk Narratives in the Pan-Hispanic Romancero
(modified and enhanced to optimize its implementation and functionality on the Web)

Click on any major category A-Z to jump to that location. Ballad titles and publication data appear in blue. Both the unique IGR number in parentheses (e.g. 0141) and the abbreviated designation I use to identify each of the 23 publications Professor Goldberg consulted (e.g. RT-Galicia 1998) coincide with ballad ID numbers and with the abbreviated designation used to identify these publications throughout my online romancero project. Position the mouse over any asterisk (*) at the end of a line to see the standardized title, also used throughout this online Pan-Hispanic Ballad Project. To retrieve the actual texts cited, use the parallel search on the Additional Searches page.   To access all or selected versions of a particular ballad, go to the ballad archive search page.


A. MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIFS
B. ANIMALS
C. TABU
D. MAGIC
E. THE DEAD
F. MARVELS
G. OGRES
H. TESTS
J. THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH
K. DECEPTIONS
L. REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
M. ORDAINING THE FUTURE
N. CHANCE AND FATE
P. SOCIETY
Q. REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS
R. CAPTIVES AND FUGITIVES
S. UNNATURAL CRUELTY
T. SEX
U. THE NATURE OF LIFE
V. RELIGION
W. TRAITS OF CHARACTER
X. HUMOR
Z. MISCELLANEOUS GROUPS OF MOTIFS