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AXEL OLRIK (1864¿1917) was Professor of Folklore at the University of Copenhagen and founder of the Danish Folklore Archives. He specialized in medieval Scandinavian folklore, ballads, legends, and comparative religion. Three of his books have appeared in English: The Heroic Legends of Denmark, Viking Civilization, and A Book of Danish Ballads.
List of contents
Foreword by Dan Ben-Amos
Translators' Preface by Kirsten Wolf and Jody Jensen
Introduction by Bengt Holbek
1. Introduction: The Narrative as Folklore
2. Individual Recordings of Folklore: An Evaluation of Narrative Sources
A. Narrative and Recording
B. The Inner Character of the Tradition
C. Traditions of a Literary Origin
3. The Structure of the Narrative: The Epic Laws
4. The Life of the Narrative
A. The Life and Transformation of the Narrative
B. Horizon and Localization
C. Survival
5. The Original Form and Development of the Narrative
Introduction
A. The Relationship between Narrateive Traditions
B. Variant and Doublet
C. Views on the Structure and Transmission of the Narrative
D. Views on Narrative Material
6. Concerning the Individual Genres of Folklore
A. Tales
B. Heroic Poetry
C. Folk Legends
D. Oral Narrative and History
Appendix: From the Domain of the Epic Laws
A. The Patriarchal History of Israel
B. Conclusion: A Defense of the Finnish-Danish Method
Information and References
A. About This Edition, by Hans Ellekilde
B. The Origin of the Work, by Hans Ellekilde
C. Notes to the Individual Chapters, by Axel Olrik/Hans Ellekilde
D. Bibliography, by Kirsten Wolf and Jody Jensen
Index
About the author
AXEL OLRIK (1864-1917) was Professor of Folklore at the University of Copenhagen and founder of the Danish Folklore Archives. He specialized in medieval Scandinavian folklore, ballads, legends, and comparative religion. Three of his books have appeared in English: The Heroic Legends of Denmark, Viking Civilization, and A Book of Danish Ballads.
Summary
Presents a number of the basic principles for the study of folklore. This translation offers English readers the 'rules' which became the foundation of not only every folklore program in Scandinavia but also most of the programs in the rest of the Western world. It aims to develop a methodology for the study of folk narrative.
