Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer

Jack the Giant-killer

"Jack the Giant Killer" is a British fairy tale about a plucky lad who slays a number of giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterized by violence, gore, and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore and Welsh Bardic lore, but the source of "Jack the Giant Killer" is...

. It is known under a number of versions. Benjamin Tabart

Benjamin Tabart

Benjamin Tabart was an English publisher and bookseller of the Juvenile Library in New Bond Street, London. Many of the books in his list were written by himself. In an age of strictly moralizing children's literature, he broke ground with his fairy tales and light-hearted nursery stories and...

's moralized version of 1807 is the first appearance in print, but "Felix Summerly" (Henry Cole)

Henry Cole

Sir Henry Cole was an English civil servant and inventor who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in 19th century Britain...

 popularized it in The Home Treasury (1842), and
Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...

 rewrote it in English Fairy Tales (1890).