German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

over a number of centuries. Partially it can be also found in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Characteristics

It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common

Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic lang ...

. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern peri ...

; magical characters (sometimes recognizably pre-Christian) associated with

Christian festivals The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...

, and various regional 'character' stories. As in Scandinavia, when belief in the old gods disappeared, remnants of the mythos persisted: Holda, a "supernatural" patron of spinning; the Lorelei, a dangerous

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

siren derived from 19th-century literature; the spirit Berchta (also known as Perchta); the Weiße Frauen, a water spirit said to protect children; the

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppel ...

, supernatural beings said to resemble the exactly similar appearance of determined person; the Wild Hunt (in German folklore preceded by an old man, Honest Eckart, who warns others of its approach); the giant

Rübezahl Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit (woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border be ...

;

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This in ...

legends; and many more generic entities such as the elf, dwarf, kobold and

erlking In European folklore and myth, the Erlking is a sinister elf who lingers in the woods. He stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them by a single touch. The name "Erlking" (german: Erlkönig, lit=alder-king) is a name us ...

. Popular folklore includes Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht, a rough companion to

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

; the Lutzelfrau, a Yule witch who must be appeased with small presents; the Osterhase (Easter Hare – the original Easter Bunny); and Walpurgisnacht, a spring festival derived from pagan customs. Character folklore includes the stories of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Godfather Death, the trickster hero Till Eulenspiegel, the Town Musicians of Bremen and Faust.

History

Documentation and preservation of folklore in the states that formally united as

in 1871 was initially fostered in the 18th and 19th centuries. As early as 1851, author Bernhard Baader published a collection of folklore research obtained by oral history, called ''Volkssagen aus dem Lande Baden und den angrenzenden Gegenden''. The

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

author Johann Karl August Musäus was another early collector. Study was further promoted by the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n poet and philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder. His belief in the role of folklore in ethnic nationalism – a folklore of Germany as a nation rather than of disunited German-speaking peoples – inspired the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

and others. For instance, folklore elements, such as the Rhine Maidens and the Grimms' '' The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear'', formed part of the source material for

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Some of the works of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories " Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Lege ...

– notably " Rip van Winkle" and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" – are based on German folktales. Within Germany, the nationalistic aspect was further emphasized during the National Socialist era. Folklore studies, ''Volkskunde'', were co-opted as a political tool, to seek out traditional customs to support the idea of historical continuity with a Germanic culture.

Anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

folklore such as the blood libel legend was also emphasized.

References

External links

Johann Karl August Musäus
Projekt Gutenberg DE (in German)
German Fairy Tales and Folklore
Collected by Fairytales (in English) {{Authority control

Characteristics

History

See also

References

External links