Black Horse

Rapunzel

In short: Compare how visitors enter the tower and how the heroine escapes in Rapunzel and Petrosinella.

Rapunzel · A ladder of hair FAIRY TALE ATLAS · № 3 Rapunzel Compare how visitors enter the tower and how the heroine escapes in Rapunzel and Petrosinella. Origin Europe. Early Italian and later German versions. Atlas record 1634–1636 First appearance Exact date unknown SIGNATURE MOTIF A ladder of hair Reach¹ 3/10 Suggested age² 8+ Member rating No votes yet 4 records · 3 countries or regions blackhorsestories.com

¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question

Origin and tradition

Europe. Early Italian and later German versions.

In both Basile’s Petrosinella and the Grimms’ Rapunzel, hair offers a way up the wall. On the run, Petrosinella throws three gallnuts behind her, each placing an obstacle in her pursuer’s path. In the Grimms’ 1857 edition, the sorceress cuts the hair, the prince goes blind, and the separated couple eventually meet again. The tower sets up a shared problem and the tales find different ways out.

Dated records and sources

  1. 1634–1636 · Naples, present-day Italy
    Giambattista Basile · Petrosinella
  2. 1812 · Berlin, present-day Germany
    Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm · Rapunzel
  3. 1857 · Göttingen, present-day Germany
    Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm · Rapunzel · 7. Auflage
  4. 1884 · London, United Kingdom
    Margaret Hunt · Rapunzel

Country pages

Fairy Tale Glossary

Origin
Black Horse. Rapunzel. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-rapunzel/