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FOLKLORE

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 602 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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FOLKLORE , a See also:

term invented in 1846 by Mr W. J. Thorns as a designation for the traditional learning of the uncultured classes of civilized nations. The word has been adopted in this sense into many See also:foreign See also:languages; it is sometimes regarded as the See also:equivalent of the Ger. Volkskunde. But folklore is, properly speaking, the " See also:lore of the folk," while Volkskunde is lore or learning about the folk, and includes not only the See also:mental See also:life of a See also:people, but also their arts and crafts. The term folklore is also used to designate the See also:science which deals with folklore; the study of survivals involves the investigation of the similar customs, beliefs, &c., of races on See also:lower planes of culture; consequently folklore, as interpreted by the See also:English and See also:American See also:societies, concerns itself as much or more with See also:savage races as with the popular superstitions of the See also:white races. See also:History.—The scientific study of folklore See also:dates back to the first See also:quarter of the loth See also:century, but folklore was collected See also:long before that date. The organized study of folklore is a thing of See also:recent growth. The first Folklore Society was founded in See also:London in 1878; similar bodies now exist in the See also:United States, See also:France, See also:Italy, See also:Switzerland and especially in See also:Germany and See also:Austria. The folk-See also:tale makes its See also:appearance in literature at a very See also:early See also:period; See also:Egyptian examples have come down to us from the 28th century B.C. In See also:Greece the Homeric poems contain many folk-tale incidents; for See also:India we have the Jatakas and Panchatantra; and for the See also:Arabs the See also:great collection of the Thousand and One Nights.

Another type of folk-narrative is represented by See also:

Aesop's Fables. Not unnaturally beliefs and customs received less See also:attention; our knowledge of them among the ancients is as a See also:rule pieced together. Among the See also:oldest professed collections are J. B. See also:Thiers (1606–1703), Traite See also:des superstitions (1679), See also:Aubrey's Miscellanies (1686) and H. See also:Bourne's (1696–1733) Antiquilates vulgares (1725); but they belong to the antiquarian, non-scientific period. The pioneers of the See also:modern scientific treatment of folklore were the See also:brothers See also:Grimm, by the publication of their Kinder-und Hausmarchen (1812–1815) and Deutsche Mythologic (1835). They were the first to See also:present the folk-tale in its genuine unadulterated See also:form. They differed from their predecessors in regarding the myth, not as the result of conscious See also:speculation, but of a mythopoeic impulse. They were, however, disposed to See also:press modern linguistic See also:evidence too far and make the figures of the folk-tale the lineal representatives of See also:ancient gods, as the folk-tales themselves were of the myths. This tendency was exaggerated by their successors, J. W.

See also:

Wolf, W. Rochholz and others. At the outset of his career, W. Mannhardt (1831-188o), the forerunner of the anthropological school of folklore, shared in this See also:mistake. Breaking away eventually from the philological See also:schools, which interpreted myths and their supposed descendants, the folk-tales, as See also:relating to the See also:storm, the See also:sun, the See also:dawn, &c. (see See also:MYTHOLOGY), Mannhardt made folk-See also:custom and belief his basis. To this end he set. himself to collect and compare the superstitions of the peasantry; but his See also:health was always feeble and he never completed his See also:scheme. For a See also:time Mannhardt's researches See also:bore See also:fruit neither in his own See also:country nor abroad. In 1878 the See also:foundation of the Folklore Society markeda new era in See also:England, where the philological school had had few adherents; and the anthropological school soon produced evidence of its vitality in the See also:works of Mr See also:Andrew See also:Lang, Dr J. G. Frazer and See also:Professor See also:Robertson See also:Smith. With the growth of our knowledge of See also:European folk-custom and belief on the one See also:hand, and of See also:rites and religions of people in the lower stages of culture on the other hand, it has become abundantly clear that there is no See also:line of demarcation between the two.

Each throws See also:

light upon the other, and the superstitions of See also:Europe are the lineal descendants of savage See also:creeds which have their See also:parallels all over the See also:world in the culture of See also:primitive peoples. Subdivisions.—The folklore of civilized peoples may be conveniently classified under three See also:main heads: (I) belief and custom; (2) narratives and sayings; (3) See also:art. These again may be subdivided. The first See also:division, Belief and Custom, includes (A) Superstitious beliefs and practices, including (a) those connected with natural phenomena or inanimate nature, (b) See also:tree and plant superstitions, (c) See also:animal superstitions, (d) ghosts and goblins, (e) See also:witchcraft, (f) leechcraft, (g) magic in See also:general and See also:divination, (h) See also:eschatology, and (i) See also:miscellaneous superstitions and practices; and (B) Traditional customs, including (a) festival customs for which are set aside certain days and seasons, (b) ceremonial customs on the occasion of events such as See also:birth, See also:death or See also:marriage, (c) See also:games, (d) miscellaneous See also:local customs, such as agricultural rites connected with the See also:corn-spirit (see See also:DEMONOLOGY), and (e) dances. The second See also:head of Narratives and Sayings may be subdivided (A) into (a) sagas or tales told as true, (b) Marchen or nursery tales, (c) fables, (d) drolls, apologues, cumulative tales, &c., (e) myths (see MYTHOLOGY), and (f) See also:place legends; (B) into See also:ballads and songs (in so far as they do not come under art); and (C) into nursery rhymes, See also:riddles, jingles, See also:proverbs, nicknames, place rhymes, &c. The third head, Art, subdivides into (a) folk See also:music with ballads and songs, (b) folk See also:drama. Any See also:classification, however, labours under the disadvantage of separating items which properly belong together. Thus, myths are obviously the form in which some superstitions are expressed. They may also be aetiological in their nature and form an elaborate See also:record of a custom. Eschatological beliefs naturally take the form of myths. Traditional narratives can also be classified under art, and so on. Literature.—The literature of the subject falls into two sharply defined classes—synthetic works and collections of folklore—of which the latter are immensely more numerous.

Of the former class the most important is Dr J. G. Frazer's See also:

Golden Bough, which sets out from the study of a survival in See also:Roman See also:religion and covers a wide See also:field of savage and civilized beliefs and customs. Especially important are the chapters on agricultural rites, in which are set forth the results of Mannhardt's researches. Other important lines of folklore See also:research in the Golden Bough are those dealing with See also:spring ceremonies, with the primitive view of the soul, with animal cults, and with sun and See also:rain charms. Mr E. S. Hartland's See also:Legend of See also:Perseus is primarily concerned with the origin of a folk-tale, and this problem in the end is dismissed as insoluble. A large See also:part of the See also:book is taken up with a discussion of sympathetic magic, and especially with the " life See also:index," an See also:object so See also:bound up with the life of a human being that it acts as an indication of his well-being or otherwise. The importance of See also:children's games in the study of folklore has been recognized of recent years. An admirable collection of the games of England has been published by Mrs G. L.

Gomme. With the more See also:

minute study of uncivilized peoples the problem of the See also:diffusion of games has also come to the fore. In particular it is found that the See also:string-See also:game called " See also:cat's See also:cradle " in various forms is of very wide diffusion, being found even in See also:Australia. The question of folk-music has recently received much attention (see See also:SoNG). General works: J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough; E. S. Hartland, The Legend of Perseus; A. Lang, Custcm and Myth, Myth, See also:Ritual and Religion; See also:Tylor, Primitive Culture; Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde. See also:British Isles. England: Burne, See also:Shropshire Folklore; See also:Denham Tracts (F.

L. S.); See also:

Harland and See also:Wilkinson, See also:Lancashire Folklore; See also:Henderson, Folklore of See also:Northern Counties; See also:County Folklore See also:Series (Printed Extracts) of the F.L.S. See also:Wales: See also:Elias See also:Owen, Welsh Folklore; Rhys, See also:Celtic Folklore. See also:Scotland: See also:Dalyell, Darker Superstitions; Gregor, Folklore of N.E. of Scotland; the works of J. G. See also:Campbell, &c. Germany: Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, English See also:translation by Stallybrass; See also:Wuttke, Der deutsche Volksaberglaube; See also:Meyer, Deutsche Volkskunde; Tetzner, See also:Die Slaven in Deutschland; Mogk in See also:Paul's Grundriss der germanischen Philologie, and the works cited by Kaindl (see above). France: Sebillot's works; See also:Rolland, Faune populaire; Laisnel de la Salle, Croyances et legendes. On the Slays see the works of Krauss and v. Wlislochi; for Bohemia, Grohmann, Aberglaube; for Greece, See also:Abbott, Macedonian Folklore, and See also:Rennell Rodd, Folklore of Greece; for Italy, Pitre's bibliography; for India, Crooke's works, and the See also:Indian See also:Antiquary. For questionnaires see Handbook of Folklore (Folklore See also:Soc.) ; Sebillot, See also:Essay de questionnaires; See also:Journal of American Folklore (189o, &c.); and Kaindl's Volkskunde. For a bibliography of folk-tales see Hartland, Mythology and Folk-tales; to his See also:list may be added See also:Petitot's Legendes indiennes; See also:Rand, Legends of the Micmacs; Lummis, The See also:Man who Married the See also:Moon; and the publications of the American Folklore Society.

For other works see See also:

bibliographies in Folklore and other See also:periodicals. On See also:special points may be mentioned See also:Miss See also:Cox's See also:Cinderella (Folklore Society); Kohler's works, &c. (see also bibliography to the See also:article TALE). For games see Gomme, English Games; Culin, Korean Games; Rochholz, Alemannisches Kinderlied; Bohme, Deutsches Kinderlied; Handelmann, Volks- and Kinderspiele; Jayne, String Figures, &c.; and the bibliography to See also:DoLL. See also Sonnenschein's Best Books. The following is a list of the more important Societies and publications : England: Folklore Society; Folksong Society; Gipsy-lore Society. U.S.A.: American Folklore Society. France: Societe des traditions populaires. Germany: Verein See also:fur Volkskunde; Hessische Vereinigung fur Volkskunde; and See also:minor societies in See also:Saxony, See also:Silesia and other provinces. Austria: Verein fiir osterreichische Volkskunde. Switzerland: Schweizerische Gesellschaft fiir Volkskunde. Italy: Society per lo studio delle tradizioni popolari.

In addition to these, the anthropological societies devote more or less attention to folklore. Besides the publications of the societies mentioned above, minor societies or individuals are responsible for the following among others: See also:

Belgium, Wallonia; See also:Poland, Wisla; France, Melusine (1878, 1883-1901); Bohemia, Cesky Lid; Den-See also:mark, Dania, &c.; Germany, Zcitschrift fur Volkerpsychologie (1859-1890) ; Am Urguell (189o-1898). (N. W.

End of Article: FOLKLORE

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