Papers by Anna Szakál
Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
In the first half of the present article, I review collections of folk literature which include 1... more In the first half of the present article, I review collections of folk literature which include 19th-century folktales, placing a special emphasis on trying to establish the extent to which these texts and the associated collectors have been studied, explored, and published. 1 Next, I demonstrate which of the texts in question may be considered as part of the canon 2 of folk literature that emerged in the latter third of the 19th century, which works and authors defined the approaches that were considered relevant, and what the selection criteria for canonisation were. Alongside the interpretative canon, I shall also attempt to record the textual canon and its changes – to capture the act by which certain texts were clearly excluded from the canon while others were included by the individuals who wished to create or modify the canon. I would also like to show how the image of 19th-century collectors and collections created in the second half of the century became gradually transform...
In this present study (which is the second part of a longer case study), the author investigates ... more In this present study (which is the second part of a longer case study), the author investigates the life path of Sándor Ürmösi – 19th-century Unitarian priest – from being a promising folk poetry collector, teacher and priest, to a person who increasingly generated conflicts within his parishes, and ultimately had to step down as priest. The author presents this part of Sándor Ürmösi’s life (as an insider within the Unitarian circles) primarily through the set of sources called the Documents of the Unitarian Bishop, using complementary sources such as different parish documents, minutes of parish elders, economic texts and school inspection minutes. Apart from presenting Sándor Ürmösi’s life across eight parishes, the study also attempts to find an answer (within the possibilities given by the sources) to what role he might have played in the history of 19th-century Transylvanian folklore collection. At the same time, the study serves as an initial point to unearthing the everyday life of Transylvanian Unitarian priests in the 19th
century.
The lengthy case study seeks to explore from a micro-historical perspective the life of a lesser-... more The lengthy case study seeks to explore from a micro-historical perspective the life of a lesser-known collector involved in the most canonic 19th century Transylvanian folk-poetry collecting. The goal of this study is to present the most accurate picture possible of the social background underlying the collector network of the ‘Wild Roses’ (Vadrózsák) – published in 1863 – and through this the small world of the 19th century Unitarian pastors and teachers. This first part of the study reveals the early life of Sándor Ürmösi – his family, relatives who became intellectuals, scholastic progress, possible influences in college, promising beginnings, committed collecting of folklore, and publication of a contradictory nevertheless successful book. The author strove for applying all available sources – printed or handwritten – to introduce the life of the 19th century Unitarian pastor Sándor Ürmösi as accurately as possible. Alongside folkloristic sources church history documents (e.g. visitation logs, Episcopal and decanal correspondence, registers of births, marriages and deaths) and school history documents (e.g. parish registers, reading society logs, handwritten sheets) were applied. Most primary handwritten sources were unearthed in Transylvanian parochial and national archives. The research was made difficult due to the fact that documents were only arranged by year, or not at all.
The author of this study – a researcher of the 19th century folklore collecting and of the networ... more The author of this study – a researcher of the 19th century folklore collecting and of the network of János Kriza – presents the idea that the folklore collecting movement was started due to the lecture societies of the Protestant schools, founded first in the cities, than in the villages of Transylvania starting with the 1830s. The study focuses on the most representative societies of this kind, based on various and sporadic sources of that period, found and collected by the author.
Fragments of the first great collections of folklore carried out by the Unitarian priest János Kr... more Fragments of the first great collections of folklore carried out by the Unitarian priest János Kriza with the help of an entire network of collectors, priests and teachers, was published in 1863. The canonization of the entire Transylvanian folklore and folk collections was based on this selective anthology. Due to later research within different academic and ecclesiastic archives, the texts which had not been published in the 1863 volume were identified. The author of this study follows the track of the manuscripts of the leader of this group of collectors.
In her study Anna Szakál reviews the 19th century’s folk-poetry collections (which also included ... more In her study Anna Szakál reviews the 19th century’s folk-poetry collections (which also included fairy tales). First of all she seeks to answer the questions, wether these collections were subject to research? were they properly examined? or are they comparable? In the second part of the study the author demonstrates how the canon formed in the second half of the 19th century and grew stiff later on. She also explains how the canonization infl uenced the examination of these historical folklor texts.
The article deals with the oeuvre of István Tiboldi (1793–1880), who, as a poet and a teacher of ... more The article deals with the oeuvre of István Tiboldi (1793–1880), who, as a poet and a teacher of elementary schools in villages, was a member of the network of folklore collectors in Transylvania (Romania) in the second half of the 19th century. The result of this folklore collection, initiated and led by a bishop of the Unitarian church, János Kriza, was a volume entitled Vadrózsák, published in 1863, which soon reached a distinguished position in the canon of folklore studies, evaluated as one of the most authentic and comprehensive collection of Hungarian folklore. Yet, the folklore texts István Tiboldi sent via correspondence to Kriza have been evaluated was inauthentic ones, and it has been claimed that Tiboldi was unable to understand the ways and aims of folklore collection.
The author of the article gives a report on her research about the re-evaluation of István Tiboldi: first, she summarises the data about his manuscript legacy, then relying on the revealed and thoroughly investigated sources, she questions the way Tiboldi has traditionally identified with the role of the inadequate/inauthentic folklore collector. The clarification of philological problems of Tiboldi’s texts is a first step towards such an interpretation of historical folklore collection which does not wish to judge who is to be declared as ’adequate’ or 'inadequate’ folklore collector retrospectively, but, rather, promotes getting closer to a deeper understanding of the various ways in which folklore collectors interpreted tales, folklore texts and folklore in general for themselves in a given period of time.
János Kriza (1811-1875), a bishop of the Unitarian Church in Kolozsvár/Cluj, has a topmost positi... more János Kriza (1811-1875), a bishop of the Unitarian Church in Kolozsvár/Cluj, has a topmost position in the canon of Hungarian folklore studies due to his extended Transylvanian folklore collection. Despite this esteem and acknowledgement we have only superficial knowledge about the methodology of his collection, the composition of his network, the collectors themselves and their motivation, the background of collection and edition. This paper was delivered at an academic session organised to present the publication of the correspondence of Kriza and his fellows and the second volume of their folklore collection. The author points out that due to the lack of basic research and a thorough identification and investigation of archival sources, the history of 19th century Hungarian folklore studies can be regarded as almost completely unknown, and a considerable part of the so far accomplished research projects did not take into consideration relevant manuscripts. Therefore the validity of statements of such researches should not be taken for granted as long as the necessary scrutiny of manuscript sources is performed. To meet this scholarly requirement, the investigation of sources with primary importance for folklore studies should be coupled with the study of other (historical, ecclesiastical, pedagogical) sources as well.
In her study the author sums up the results of her researches conducted in the past years, concer... more In her study the author sums up the results of her researches conducted in the past years, concerning the search for Kriza’s sources and uncovering them. First and foremost she attempts to answer the question, from which approach it is worth researching the legacy of this 19th-century person, canonized as folklore collector, bishop and poet. The author’s argument is that after careful consideration, this seemingly explored network of collectors holds numerous sources that are latent (but can be unearthed). In her study the author presents the current state of the ongoing investigations, allowing the reader to grasp the idea of the multitude of places that the legacy of Kriza can be researched.
In my paper I discuss the philological oeuvre of Faragó József, the most prominent Transylvanian ... more In my paper I discuss the philological oeuvre of Faragó József, the most prominent Transylvanian folklorist of the mid 20th century. I explore the emerging problems with his works from a philological point of view, and introduce those who criticized him or his works during his life and after. I primarily deal with the Faragó papers concerning Kriza János and his network of folk-poetry collectors.
Books by Anna Szakál
The present book attempts to collect and make accessible the scattered correspondence material an... more The present book attempts to collect and make accessible the scattered correspondence material and documents connected to the network of János Kriza’s folk poetry collectors and the Vadrózsák [ Wild Roses] volume (1863). The volume contains those letters of János Kriza and his collectors in which there is any reference to the network of folk poetry collectors or that are connected to the afterlife of the Vadrózsák. The list of János Kriza’s correspondence processed so far can be found in the appendix of the volume. The collection of correspondence material and documents is accompanied by photos of the collectors’ autographic manuscripts, intended to ease future research and analysis. János Kriza, unitarian priest, bishop, and college professor from Kolozsvár (Cluj), had been planning to publish his folk poetry collection since 1842. He finally published the first volume in 1863 [Vadrózsák. Székely Népköltési Gyűjtemény (Wild Roses. Szekler Folk Poetry Collection)], however, the second volume was never published. Part of his legacy was transferred to Budapest after his death, another part remained in Kolozsvár (Cluj), and a sizeable part has been lost or its location is unknown. Since neither János Kriza, nor the majority of the collectors have a legacy in the traditional sense, the letters and documents now presented have emerged from various archives, public collections, and from individuals from the area of Romania and Hungary.
János Kriza was 25 years the junior of the Grimm brothers, embarking on the task of collecting – processing – publishing in quite different circumstances than them. By the juxtaposition of the letters and documents, it becomes visible how the collecting network sustained by correspondence was built up in relation to Kriza’s duties as a priest, then bishop in Kolozsvár (Cluj), how the publishing of the first volume was achieved, and how the preparations for a second volume were executed. At the same time, one can also discover to a certain extent what kind of text creating issues have arisen in the course of the work, and in what ways János Kriza and his network of collectors (predominantly made up of rural unitarian priests and teachers) have disagreed on several points regarding the method of collecting and the development of folk texts intended for publishing.
Book Reviews by Anna Szakál
It' a review about a folk poetry collection published by Katalin Olosz.
It's a critical review about a folk tale collection published by Erzsébet Zakariás.
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Papers by Anna Szakál
century.
The author of the article gives a report on her research about the re-evaluation of István Tiboldi: first, she summarises the data about his manuscript legacy, then relying on the revealed and thoroughly investigated sources, she questions the way Tiboldi has traditionally identified with the role of the inadequate/inauthentic folklore collector. The clarification of philological problems of Tiboldi’s texts is a first step towards such an interpretation of historical folklore collection which does not wish to judge who is to be declared as ’adequate’ or 'inadequate’ folklore collector retrospectively, but, rather, promotes getting closer to a deeper understanding of the various ways in which folklore collectors interpreted tales, folklore texts and folklore in general for themselves in a given period of time.
Books by Anna Szakál
János Kriza was 25 years the junior of the Grimm brothers, embarking on the task of collecting – processing – publishing in quite different circumstances than them. By the juxtaposition of the letters and documents, it becomes visible how the collecting network sustained by correspondence was built up in relation to Kriza’s duties as a priest, then bishop in Kolozsvár (Cluj), how the publishing of the first volume was achieved, and how the preparations for a second volume were executed. At the same time, one can also discover to a certain extent what kind of text creating issues have arisen in the course of the work, and in what ways János Kriza and his network of collectors (predominantly made up of rural unitarian priests and teachers) have disagreed on several points regarding the method of collecting and the development of folk texts intended for publishing.
Book Reviews by Anna Szakál
century.
The author of the article gives a report on her research about the re-evaluation of István Tiboldi: first, she summarises the data about his manuscript legacy, then relying on the revealed and thoroughly investigated sources, she questions the way Tiboldi has traditionally identified with the role of the inadequate/inauthentic folklore collector. The clarification of philological problems of Tiboldi’s texts is a first step towards such an interpretation of historical folklore collection which does not wish to judge who is to be declared as ’adequate’ or 'inadequate’ folklore collector retrospectively, but, rather, promotes getting closer to a deeper understanding of the various ways in which folklore collectors interpreted tales, folklore texts and folklore in general for themselves in a given period of time.
János Kriza was 25 years the junior of the Grimm brothers, embarking on the task of collecting – processing – publishing in quite different circumstances than them. By the juxtaposition of the letters and documents, it becomes visible how the collecting network sustained by correspondence was built up in relation to Kriza’s duties as a priest, then bishop in Kolozsvár (Cluj), how the publishing of the first volume was achieved, and how the preparations for a second volume were executed. At the same time, one can also discover to a certain extent what kind of text creating issues have arisen in the course of the work, and in what ways János Kriza and his network of collectors (predominantly made up of rural unitarian priests and teachers) have disagreed on several points regarding the method of collecting and the development of folk texts intended for publishing.