Dialogues of judgement and dream interpretation in folk tales by Péter Bálint

“…In the tale narratives, they are further represented as scholars/wisemen, fortune-tellers, the ‘foresighted’, ancient old men, old women, wizards, taltoses (in the words of folklorist Ilona Nagy “mysterious people of fate”), doubles/doppelgangers, or animals with extraordinary abilities (the ability to speak human languages, or to transfigure themselves), prestigious kings from another country, ministers, advisors, witches who deceive the king (not uncommonly Gypsy women), depending on whether the intention is to link the giver of advice and the meaning of what he says to the sacred (biblical) or the profane (sometimes mythical), as it illuminates his/her existential character. …”
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