Little Briar Rose

Sleeping Beauty is a classic fairy tale centered around a princess who falls under a curse cast by a wicked fairy, causing her to sleep for a hundred years. She is eventually awakened by the kiss of a prince. To ease her awakening, a kind fairy uses her magic to ensure that everyone in the palace and surrounding forest falls into the same enchanted sleep, so the princess will not wake alone.

The story has deep historical roots. One of the earliest known versions appears in the French romance Perceforest, written between 1330 and 1344. In that version, a princess named Zellandine falls into a magical sleep after a flax splinter lodges in her finger. While she sleeps, she is visited by her lover, Troylus, who leaves behind a ring. Zellandine awakens when their newborn child draws the flax from her finger, and she later marries Troylus when he returns. A similar tale appears in the Catalan poem Fraire de Joy e Sor de Plaser, dating from around the same period.

Italian author Giambattista Basile included a version titled Sun, Moon, and Talia in his Pentamerone, published posthumously between 1634 and 1636. In this version, the sleeping princess gives birth while still unconscious, and her children unknowingly awaken her. This darker retelling was later adapted by French author Charles Perrault in 1697 as part of his Histoires ou contes du temps passé. Perrault’s version laid the foundation for many modern renditions. The Brothers Grimm later collected a version called Little Briar Rose, which retained many elements from Perrault’s tale but added their own touches, such as the thorn-covered castle.

"Sleeping Beauty" is classified as type 410 in the Aarne–Thompson system, which covers tales involving magical sleep and eventual awakening. Its motifs have long been linked to older stories, including the Norse Volsunga saga where the Valkyrie Brynhild sleeps until awakened by a hero, and the lives of Christian female saints who suffered and endured until deliverance.

The second half of the tale, involving the near-death of the princess and her children before being hidden or saved, may trace its origins to the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. Over centuries, the story has been reshaped and retold in countless forms, across cultures and media, making it one of the most enduring and influential fairy tales in Western tradition.