oa The bear in European folktales - with a special focus on Scandinavian variants

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Bears can be minor characters in European folktales as well as main ones. In animal tales they are always characterised as simple-minded. In other types of folktales they can be opponents as well as helpers. In regions where the coexistence of humans and bears is commonplace, bears appear more often in functions that are occupied by other animals in similar European versions of the type. The bear is a main character in the folktale type The Three Stolen Princesses (ATU 301), The Animal as Bridegroom / Beauty and the Beast (ATU 425A and C) and Bear-Skin (ATU 361). For the latter, however, the findings are disillusioning - traces of the berserker for example can hardly be found in Scandinavian folktales.