A literary cycle is a group of stories focused on common figures, often (though not necessarily) based on mythical figures or loosely on historical ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters. A fictional cycle is often referred to as a mythos.

Examples from folk and classical literature

* The Anansi tales, which center on the Ashanti of Ghana trickster spider-spirit Anansi, and its variations in the Americas as Ti Malice and Bouki in Haiti, Br'er Rabbit or John and Old Master in the Southern United States. * The tales of the

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

, brought together by the

frame story A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

of the tale of Scheherazade and Shahryār. * The four troubadours Bernart d'Auriac,

Pere Salvatge Pere Salvatge or Peire/Peyre Salvagge was a Catalan troubadour of the late thirteenth century ( fl. 1280–1287). He is most notable as a constant attendant at the court of Peter III and Alfonso III of Aragon. He may be the same person as the ...

, Roger Bernard III of Foix, and

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...

composed a cycle of four '' sirventes'' in the summer of 1285 concerning the

Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against King Peter III of Aragon in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, Martin declared ...

. * The Matter of Britain (or the "Arthurian cycle"), which centers on

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

and the

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

** The Vulgate cycle (also known as the Lancelot-Grail) ** The Post-Vulgate cycle * The

Matter of France The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French '' chan ...

(or the "Carolingian cycle"), which centers on Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers ** Chanson de Geste *** La Geste de Garin de Monglane *** Doon de Mayence *** Garin le Loherain ***

Crusade cycle The Crusade cycle is an Old French literary cycle of ''chansons de geste'' concerning the First Crusade and its aftermath. History The cycle contains a number of initially unrelated texts, collated into interconnected narratives by later redacto ...

* The Henriad, the four plays of Shakespeare centered on Henry V. * Two examples of Japanese cycles are: the

Matter of Japan In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic par ...

(''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'', '' Nihon Shoki'', etc.) and the Genji-Heike Cycle ('' The Tale of the Heike'', '' Gikeiki'' about Minamoto no Yoshitsune, etc.). Also popular are the Soga Brothers and Forty-Seven Ronin cycles. * The Matter of Rome (or the "cycle of Rome"), which centers on

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

and Alexander the Great * The Shahnameh (or “The Book of Kings” ) and the legend of

Arash the Archer Arash the Archer ( fa, آرش کمانگیر ''Āraš-e Kamāngīr'') is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his ow ...

as well as Avesta that make up most of the Persian Mythology, namely, tales of heroes like Rostam and Esfandyar * The Mythological Cycle, which centers on the

Celtic pantheon The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...

* The Fenian Cycle, which centers on Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna * The Cycle of the Kings, which centers on the

monarchy of Ireland A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...

* The Reynard cycle, which centers on the fabular fox Reynard * Der Ring des Nibelungen (or the "Ring cycle"), which centers on the Ring and the Norse pantheon * The voyages of Sinbad the sailor, the hero of a cycle of tales of monsters, magical places, and supernatural phenomena met on his successive voyages. * The

epic cycle The Epic Cycle ( grc, Ἐπικὸς Κύκλος, Epikòs Kýklos) was a collection of Ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter and related to the story of the Trojan War, including the ''Cypria'', the '' Aethiopis'', the so-cal ...

centering on the Trojan War * The Ulster Cycle, which centers on Cú Chulainn and the

Kingdom of Ulster The King of Ulster (Old Irish: ''Rí Ulad'', Modern Irish: ''Rí Uladh'') also known as the King of Ulaid and King of the Ulaid, was any of the kings of the Provinces of Ireland, Irish provincial over-kingdom of Ulaid. The title rí in Chóicid, ...

Cycles {{Lit-stub