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The epic laws of folk narrative were a series of principles identified by Axel Olrik for understanding the structure and form of folktales, and have a foundational significance in European folklore studies.
Olrik's formulation of his 'epic laws' was inspired by an idea of Moltke Moe, but whereas Moe sought to derive rules for the historical development of narratives, Olrik's approach focuses on the structure of oral narrative. The principles were articulated in various publications, the first prominent one appearing in Danish in 1908. In the same year, Olrik presented the principles in German at an interdisciplinary congress in Berlin.
Olrik's thought on 'epic laws' was part of a wider project, developed with Kristian Erslev, for understanding oral narrative , also including principles for the study of sources and a theory of transmission. Although Olrik drew on non-European material, his focus was explicitly on European folk narrative.