folk heroes
Celebrated common heroes
Folk heroes are figures—real, legendary, or fictional—celebrated in popular tradition for embodying values a culture admires: courage, cunning, defiance of authority, or championing the common people.
Robin Hood, John Henry, and Davy Crockett are folk heroes.
The term extends to anyone who captures popular imagination through bold or unconventional acts: She became a folk hero after standing up to the corporation.
Long heroic narratives
- talesSpoken or written narratives
- sagasExtended heroic narratives
- balladsNarrative verse set to music
- chroniclesSequential historical accounts
legends · deeds · feats · adventures · quests · triumphs · exploits · bard
Seeking fundamental systemic change
- insurgentOne who revolts
- outlawFugitive from justice
- guerrillaIrregular armed fighter
- freedom fighterArmed rebel against tyranny
rebel · dissident · liberator · resistance · uprising · oppression · tyranny · peasant revolt
Fugitive from justice
- rebelAuthority defier
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
- liberatorOne who frees others
champion · defender · avenger · warrior · guardian · pioneer · renegade · freedom fighter
Legendary forest-dwelling archer
- King ArthurLegendary British sovereign
- Paul BunyanMythic giant woodcutter
- John HenryLegendary steel-driving laborer
- AnansiWest African spider deity
Väinämöinen · Maui · William Tell · Pecos Bill · Johnny Appleseed · Davy Crockett · Ned Kelly · Pancho Villa
Fortitude facing danger
- valorCourage in danger
- braveryBoldness before danger
- selflessnessPrioritizing others over oneself
- justiceFair treatment under law
honor · integrity · humility · compassion · sacrifice · loyalty · resourcefulness · cunning
Long-established customs passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- folktalesTraditional oral narratives
- balladsNarrative verse set to music
- oral historyRecorded interviews about the past
storytelling · customs · festivals · ceremonies · ancestry · lore · proverbs · artifacts
epics
Long heroic narratives
chronicles · legends · deeds · feats · adventures · quests · triumphs · exploits · bard · minstrel
revolutionary
Seeking fundamental systemic change
freedom fighter · rebel · dissident · liberator · resistance · uprising · oppression · tyranny · peasant revolt · class struggle
outlaw
Fugitive from justice
liberator · champion · defender · avenger · warrior · guardian · pioneer · renegade · freedom fighter · common man
Robin Hood
Legendary forest-dwelling archer
- King ArthurLegendary British sovereign
- Paul BunyanMythic giant woodcutter
- John HenryLegendary steel-driving laborer
Anansi · Väinämöinen · Maui · William Tell · Pecos Bill · Johnny Appleseed · Davy Crockett · Ned Kelly · Pancho Villa · Sinbad
courage
Fortitude facing danger
- valorCourage in danger
- braveryBoldness before danger
- selflessnessPrioritizing others over oneself
justice · honor · integrity · humility · compassion · sacrifice · loyalty · resourcefulness · cunning · strength
traditions
Long-established customs passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- folktalesTraditional oral narratives
- balladsNarrative verse set to music
oral history · storytelling · customs · festivals · ceremonies · ancestry · lore · proverbs · artifacts · handicrafts
- mythologyZeus, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon, Odin
- Balkan folkloresuperstitions, magical creatures, vampires, werewolves, witches
- frontier folkloretall tales, pioneer tales, frontier stories, local legends, campfire tales
- heroeshero, heroine, heroines, Superman, Batman
- American folklorePaul Bunyan, tall tales, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, fairy tale, folktale