Charles Perrault (12 January 12, 1628 – 16 May 16, 1703) is cited as the originator of the story of Puss in Boots. The story dates to 1697, a tale of a masterful cat, a cat who wears boots. It is durable.
Perhaps more durable than most realize. A very recent study reports that the stories told this way are "much older than previously thought." Like thousands of years. Which makes one wonder how people got confused. One thing---there were no artists til the early Renaissance. So no claims could be made for an individual and thus little history (actually "history" hadn't even been invented, but that's another tale". Another is that it was in Perrault's time, that the genre of contes de fee was first even named. So the example of a genre became the origin of a particular example of the genre.
Another thing that needs explaining is this--- there was a regular flood of cats helping men-- well at least two-- Dick Whittington's cat shares a lot with Puss in Boots. Both do the heavy lifting with life. But why, this similarity?
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