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Serbian Folk-lore. Anonymous
Читать онлайн.Название Serbian Folk-lore
Год выпуска 0
isbn 4064066234652
Автор произведения Anonymous
Жанр Языкознание
Издательство Bookwire
[3] ‘Northern Mythology,’ 3 vols. Back
[4] ‘Popular Tales from the Norse.’ Back
[5] ‘Popular Tales of the West Highlands,’ 4 vols. Edinb. 1860–62. Back
[6] ‘Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, &c.’ Back
[7] ‘Indo-European Traditions.’ Back
[9] ‘Manual of Buddhism’ and ‘Legends and Theories of the Buddhists.’ London. 1866. Back
[10] ‘Reynard, the Fox, in South Africa.’ Back
[11] ‘Polynesian Mythology and Traditions of New Zealand.’ Back
[12] ‘Folk-Lore of Northamptonshire.’ Back
[14] ‘Table Book’ and ‘Year Book.’ Back
[15] ‘Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders.’ Back
[16] ‘Drolls of Old Cornwall.’ 2 vols. Back
By means of these and similar collections, we are enabled to trace and compare the folk-tale in the various stages of its growth, and note its modifications, according to the religion of the people who have received it, and the climate of the countries in which it has been naturalised. In the pages of Professor Max Müller, of Mr. Baring Gould, and of Mr. Cox, we have attempts, more or less successful, to treat these stories scientifically, and to trace and explain the origin and motive of the various popular tales and legends which are comprehended under the name of folk-lore.
An examination of these collections leads to the conclusion that—apart at least from the legends of history—the number of strictly original folk-tales is but small; and that people, settled for ages in countries separated geographically, have yet possessed from remote antiquity a popular literature, which must have been the common property of the race before it branched into nations; but that the natural accretions, the growth of time, together with local colouring, fragments of historical facts, the influence of popular religious belief, and, above all, the exigencies and ingenuity of professional story-tellers, have so modified these primitive tales and legends, that an appearance of originality has been imparted to current popular tales, which, however, a larger acquaintance with folk-lore, and a more extended investigation, are now gradually dispelling. It is at length evident that various primitive legendary and traditionary elements have been combined in most of these tales; and that the only originality consists in such combination. They resemble a piece of tesselated work made up of cubes of coloured stone, the tints of which are really few in number, though they admit of being arranged into a variety of figures after the fancy of the artist.
In the appendix to Mr. Henderson’s ‘Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England,’ under the appropriate name of ‘Story-radicals,’ the reader will find a useful and suggestive classification of the elements which enter into the composition of various popular tales borrowed from Von Hahn’s introduction to his collection of Greek and Albanian folk-tales; and although this classification is rendered imperfect by the recent large increase of such stories, yet it suffices to explain the manner in which fragments selected from other popular fictions have