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Is there an ecclesiastic code of early folk song and folk ballad
collecting in Europe?
Vilmos Voigt, Eötvös Loránd University Folklore Tanszék, Budapest
It is an important but hitherto neglected topic to speak about the role of priests and
clergyman in early collecting of folklore. Old and new summaries of European folklore
research history (as e.g. Boberg, Cocchiara, Richard Dorson. more recently Peter Burke,
etc.)∗ insert in the biographies of the forerunners of folklore studies if they have been priests,
but they do not describe any “ecclesiastic” code or pattern, common among the “priests—
folklorists”. We might add that in describing 18th-19th century folklore research, some other
“codes” have been separately scrutinized: e.g. the “mythological” and comparative
(philological) schools etc. Further on the important spiritual movements or trends, as e.g.
Enlightenment, Romanticism, Nationalism etc. are easily traceable also in folklore research
histories of 18th and 19th centuries.
The first important representative of the “ecclesiastic code” in early European
folklore activity was the Anglican bishop, Thomas Percy (1729-1811). He studied at Christ
Church College (Oxford), thus he has gained excellent knowledge of ancient poetry. Having
been ordained as a priest, he was presented 1756 by his college to the vicarage of Easton
Maduit, Northamptonshire, which he held together with the rectory of Wilby. From about
1760 he started his literary and theological publications. His first intention toward compiling
the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs and Other Pieces of our
Earlier Poets, together with some few of later date we find in a letter dated by March 1, 1761. Percy
for finding old manuscripts and publications could mobilize a chain of helpers: librarians,
literary persons, museologists. Among his friends we find, of course, priests too. Percy
thanks them in the Advertisement to his collection. As it is well known, the composition of the
Reliques… goes according to the texts by their sources, and it is not representing any
∗
Because I mention well known folklorists, there is no need to give detailed biographical
references. Besides of the works on history of folklore research in Europe the entries in
Enzyklopädie des Märchens (see Ranke; Brednich 1977--, hitherto 13 volumes, to the entries
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“clerical” rendering. Percy does not mention any religious topic in his lengthy introductory
essay on Ancient minstrels in England. His intentions are of historical and philological character.
Perhaps the same attitude is typical to his contemporary, Bishop Robert Lowth (1710—
1787) too, a professor of poetry at Oxford University, who, in fact, was one of the very first
founders of comparative oral poetics. From its first edition (1765) Percy’s Reliques… has
served for generations as an orientation point both for poetry and folk poetry: first in Great
Britain, then in entire Europe. The reviewers have often mentioned the bishop's rank of
Percy, but an ecclesiastic code in studying folklore was not favorized in their remarks.
Johann Gottfried Herder (1744—1803) was a priest too. His influence on modern
European folklore is beyond any question. Besides of having important functions of a
clergyman, he was good theologian, a very learned historian, philosopher of the
Enlightenment and very careful as philologist. Looking forward to higher education first he
wanted to be a surgeon, however, at Konigsberg university he has studied philosophy. There
he came into contact with Immanuel Kant. In 1764 Herder became a teacher at the
(German) church school in Riga, and later he was an assistant clergyman there. In 1769 he
had left the Baltic, and after intensive travels in West Europe, he has returned to Germany.
From 1776 he was Lutheran superintendent, head clergyman of Weimar, which city at that
time doubtlessly was the cultural capital of Germany. Beside his ecclesiastic positions,
Herder was always better known as writer and as philosopher of history. By 1764 (i.e. before
the publication of Percy’s collection !) Herder already has started to write on folk songs. On
September 13, 1773 he has suggested to his publisher to compile a world anthology of folk
songs. This collection was finally published in 1778. Its original title was Volkslieder. The
second, enlarged edition, entitled as Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, came out in 1807. (On
more modern, theoretical treatment of Herder’s work see e.g. Schirmunski; Gulyga; Dietze.)
Herder’s systematization of the song texts is thematic and historical. He has grouped
the texts together – if it was possible – from the same language and culture. Church or
religion does not appear in any special chapter of the anthology. The introduction or the
comments do not raise such questions either. It is typical when Herder is quoting e.g.
Luther, he is paying him a hommage not to a priest, only to as a learned person, who spoke
“Ve....”) give usually exact references. On Hungarian “mythological” folklorists see my
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wisely on songs. At the opening page of the book there is a typical reference from Luther’s
Tischreden (No. 968, vol. II., p. 490, and No. 5603, vol. V., p.274 – in sligthly modernized
spelling by Herder).: “Die Musika ist eine schöne herrliche Gabe Gottes und nahe der
Theologie”. It is a nice sentence indeed – but it is not at all an ecclesiastic reference to the
folk songs.
Herder’s anthology, with its not-systematizing the folk songs according to genres,
was a general editorial method in that time. I must confess that I do not know, who was the
very first folklorist in Europe, who has arranged the published folk song texts according to
genres and sub-genres of the folk poetry. From the second half of the 19th century a new,
“generic” arrangement became the most popular. The famous Des Knaben Wunderhorn – alte
deutsche Lieder (by Achim von Arnim and Bettina Bretano, in three volumes, 1806-1808) has
singled out only one generic group (“Kinderlieder” at the end of the whole publication), i.e.
the German “children’s songs. We could find folk songs by ritual or religious background in
the publications, but never in a specially separated chapter, and nor with ecclesiastic
commentaries.
We can continue to list the clergymen involved in early European folklore research. I
will just briefly mention one particular case: Hungary.
The first significant publication of Hungarian folk songs -- Népdalok és mondák (Folk
Songs and Tales) in three volumes, 1846-1848 -- was edited by a literary man, János Erdélyi
(1814—1868), who was later working as professor of literature and philosophy at the
Sárospatak Calvinist seminar. The collection contains several hundred song texts (and a few
folk narrative texts too). The material is grouped into a dozen of “books”’ presenting
different genres of folk poetry. In the first volume we find 476 songs in 13 “books”. Here
the seventh “book” (“sacred songs”) contains 10 texts, which are old church songs and
calendar custom’s songs. The second volume does not contain similar songs. We do not find
religious songs in the third volume either. Erdélyi wrote extensive commentary to the
publication, but there he is not dealing with the problems of the ecclesiastic code. And, if
from about 1400 Hungarian folk songs he labeled only 10 as “sacred”, it was indeed a
neglectable quantity. Today, after one-and-half century of folk song research in Hungary, we
summarizing paper (Voigt 1997—1998), with further references.
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might say that the amount of Hungarian folk songs related to church or to religion may be at
least 10 %, i.e. much higher, as it was represented in the collection by Erdélyi. Those songs
existed already in the mid of the 19th century without any doubt among the Hungarian folk,
but they were not considered as folk songs, and they were not printed in folk song
collections.
Another classic edition of Hungarian folk poetry was the Vadrózsák (Wild Roses –
1863), compiled by the Unitarian (Antitrinitarian) bishop, János Kriza (1811—1875). His
collection contains more than 500 songs, and the collecting was started by the 1840s. Among
Kriza’s collaborators we find his fellow priests too. The grouping of the songs was made
according to linguistic dialects (!) of the Székelys (Hungarians) in Transylvania, and we do
not find any special “religious” chapter in the book. Of course, in the anthology there are
quite a few songs, ballads, legends and tales with religious background. The proportion is the
same for the unpublished part of Kriza’s collection, which is available in his heritage at the
archives of the Hungarian Academy in Budapest.
If we sum up the achievements of early folk song collections in Europe, we do not
find there a specific interest towards religious folklore traditions. On the other hand, it is
understandable that priests as collectors and publishers did not pay much attention to
blasphemic, dirty or anticlerical folklore. If we knew more thoroughly the background of the
manuscripts and collections behind the publications, perhaps we could find traces of
preventive censorship as regards of several genres of folk poetry. With this statement I do
not insist that Erdélyi or Kriza in fact had seen such texts and then, deliberately they have
purge or exclude them. But it is still a curious fact that in an early collection (1813) of
commonly known Hungarian songs Ötödfélszáz énekek (450 songs) by Ádám Pálóczi Horváth
(1760—1820), among the songs we find about one third of erotic, sarcastic, anticlerical,
revolutionary etc. texts. A few of those were written, paraphrased or translated by Pálóczi
Horváth himself, but a majority of those were well known lore in Hungary. A recent
publication from Hungarian “common poetry” manuscripts from the 18th century
(Közköltészet part 1. Mulattatók by Küllıs 2001, part 2. Társasági és lakodalmi költészet, by Küllıs
2006) contains about 150 + 322 song texts (with many further variants), from which about
the half (!) can be labeled as erotic, “bad” or “naughty”. The collection published by Küllıs
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follows textual and generic principles, and it is presenting the “merry” and “entertaining”
songs, including ironic and mocking texts. The “truly lyrical” songs of Hungarian “common
poetry” will be published in the coming volumes. But even if we find a great difference
between the genres presented by Küllıs and by Erdélyi or Kriza, we still think that the 19th
century folklorists in Hungary in principle wanted to publish only the “noble” texts and not
the “low taste” folk songs.
Another interesting phenomenon of the 19th century folklore scholarship is the fact
that we find priests even among the representatives of the “mythological” school, who have
stressed the survival of pagan, heathen traditions in European folklore. In Hungary a Roman
Catholic bishop, Arnold Ipolyi (1823—1886) has published (until now the best!) handbook
of mythological folklore: Magyar Mythologia (1854). Ipolyi has studied theology in Vienna, and
his collection of Hungarian folk beliefs, legends, tales, etc. dates back to that time, i.e. as
early as 1844-1846. When his “Hungarian Mythology” monograph was finally published, a
vivid debate arose. Besides of other critical remarks, also the question was posed: whether it
is the task of a Roman Catholic priest to study “heathen folklore”? Ipolyi had anticipated the
criticism, and in his defense he said that the early, quasi-monotheistic worldview of the
ancient Hungarians was the first step towards the quick success of the conversion of the
Hungarians into the Christian religion (by about 1000 A.D.). (On Ipolyi see Voigt 1999.) It is
still surprising that the within the very wide research interest of Ipolyi we find relatively
seldom the collecting activity of religious folklore. On the other hand, he was the founder of
ecclesiastic archaeology and applied art history studies in Hungary. Thus the limits in his
interest toward religious folk poetry can be called as symptomatic.
Priests working on “heathen” mythology (or later working on folk beliefs and
legends) have continuously published similar studies in Hungary. One of them was a Roman
Catholic chaplain, Kabos Kandra (1843—1905). His Magyar mythologia (as late as by 1897)
was placing the Finnish epic Kalevala as the base for the Hungarian mythology. This ideology
was criticized by his contemporaries, among them by his own principal, Archbishop of Eger,
who has rejected Kandra’s “useless activity concerning the errors of the pagans”.
At the same time the scholarly correct trend of collecting of living folk traditions in
Hungary was in full speed. One of the most prolific folklorists, Lajos Kálmány (1852-1919),
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was a controversial Roman Catholic priest. His first folklore publications (from 1877 on)
represent an intimate and extensive knowledge of peasant lore. Kálmány succeeded not only
in collecting splendid folk poetry texts, but also superstitions, non-Biblical aetiological
legends, anticlerical jokes and unmistakable expressions of the social protest. His career
inside the Roman Catholic Church was definitely not successful. Today we consider him as
one of the most significant folklore collectors in Hungary. In analysis of folklore texts he
shared the views of the “mythological” school too, but he remained within the boundaries of
common sense philology. Still it is worthy to mention that his collections of folk songs and
ballads have only a very few specimens of “religious lore” (ecclesiastic songs, folk prayers,
saint’s legends etc.). From other sources we have to admit that at his time the religious
folklore of the Hungarians was ten times more popular than we find it in his collections.
How and why his aversion or neglect of religious folklore arose – we could only guess.
A very talented philologist, Lajos Katona (1862—1910), was the founder of modern
comparative folklore research in Hungary. As a young man, he studied at the Roman
Catholic priest’s seminar in Esztergom, and was the adherent of the “mythological” school.
He has turned his views soon, and later he has openly questioned the “mythologists”. But, at
the same time he was the “supervisor” of Kálmány’s folklore philological publications. Thus
we can divide Katona’s methods in folklore research into several phases: from romantic
mythologism to a strict (and sceptical) comparative philology. He was working on exempla,
the Gesta Romanorum and on Shakespeare’s “folkloristic” motifs, and was a first rank expert
of medieval European religious traditions. Still we can not name him as a representative of
an ecclesiastic code in folklore research.
In order to show that the study of such the phenomena of the ecclesiastic code
should not be restricted to Hungary, I refer to another example: to the important life work
of a Lithuanian priest-poet, Jonas Maironis (1862-1932). Coming from a typical peasant
family, the exceptionally talented young person has conducted his studies in Kaunas and
Kiev. From 1883 he was a student of the Kaunas Roman Catholic priest’s seminar, than he
continued his education at the Theological academy in Saint Petersburg. Returning home he
became a most influential writer in Lithuania. He was rector of the Kaunas priest’s seminar
(1909-1932), and at the same time he was teaching literary history and moral theology at the
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university. His aim was to immortalize in his literary works the glorious past of the
Lithuanian people. In his lyrical and epic songs, dramatic works he is imitating and the same
time influencing the Lithuanian folklore. He was creating the new Lithuanian ballad as a
literary genre, where even the eroticism can be found.
When we compare the Reliques… (1765) with the poems in Maironis’ collection (the
most important one among them is Pavasario balsai (The Voices of the Spring – 1895) we find
there the very same intention: representing the national traditions by the songs. Religiosity is
traceable at the background, but it is not the major concern for the compiler. (On the role of
Roman Catholic priests in national awakening in Lithuania see Bojtár 154.)
In some cases the ecclesiastic code was working indirectly. It is well known that
Svend Grundtvig (1824—1883) was the founding father of Danish folk ballad and folk tale
research (see Piø). His education was concentrated on German philology, and he was
working as university professor – i.e. he was not working as a clergyman. But his father, N.
F. S. Grundtvig was a famous theologian, and the founder of the Danish “folk school”
movement, the most important cultural activity in the country, directed by the Lutheran
church.
Even by this short overview we find both Catholic and Protestant clergymen, who
engaged themselves also in folklore research. But, despite of the wide acknowledgement of
the ecclesiastic code in European folk poetry scholarship, we would still need a detailed
description of the phenomena, in which further historical and geographic dimensions would
be carefully investigated.
Even before such a thorough analysis, we could draw some conclusions. Early
folklorist-priests have usually very good education, with philological background, and often
including a “grand European tour”. Furthermore they were adepts in literature, being usually
poets. E.g. Erdélyi and Kriza wrote also some poems, and Herder or Maironis were writers.
Their “antiquarian” interest connected the past of the nation with the folk poetry. In West
Europe the trend of idealizing of the ancient times was not directly combined with the
nationalism, but in East Europe that was the final perspective of the folklore researches.
Priests as folklorists were not imprisoned into their own confession – they were generally
tolerant, even towards the “non-Christian” folklore. In this respect we do not find a
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difference between Catholics and Protestants, It is a pity that none of them was writing an
outline of the religious folklore studies.
This attitude goes well beyond the Christian religion. It is not at all surprising that the
forerunners of Jewish folklore research have been Rabbies. Perhaps the most splendid figure
among them was Moser Gaster (1856—1939). He was born in Bucharest, and first he
studied philology (Leipzig 1877), then he obtained a rabbi’s diplom (Breslau 1881).
Returning home, he was teaching at Bucharest university Romanian language (!) with a
special regard to old traditions. Having been exiled from his homeland, from 1886 he taught
in London Slavic and Byzantine literature. Later he became a respected professor in Oxford,
being also the Chief Rabbi of the Spanish--Portuguese Jewish community in London, and at
the same time he was working as the supervisor of the Rabbinic college in Ramsgate. He was
one of the very first Zionists, who has envisaged the folklore being the good way both to the
“old” and to the “new” Jewish identity. Gaster published several hundred studies,
concerning not only the Rumanian and Jewish, but also e.g. on the Gypsy folklore too. For
the Jewish communities he compiled “applied folklore” material too: books on festivals,
calendars, children’s books etc. For a while he was elected president of the English Folklore
Society.
The ecclesiastic roads of early folklore research reach quite significant distances and
directions. In my short paper I could not refer to the “ecclesiastic code” of folklore studies
in the Mediterranean area, or within the East Christian Churches∗.
A justified question arises: what was the benefit and which were the limits of this
“ecclesiastic” trend in folklore studies? As we have seen, excellent, talented and successful
priests had shown a keen interest in collecting and publishing of folklore. But the specialized
study of “religious folklore” or the “ethnography of (European) folk religion” arose later,
practically only by about 1930 in Germany. In 19th century “ecclesiastic trend” in folklore
research was often connected with national and political ideology. This connection should
deserve also further attention in coming researches on the history of European folklore
studies.
∗
I thank Professor Nicolae Constantinescu (Bucureşti) for his remarks in the discussion of my
paper.
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Religion provided the folklore with a powerful symbolic value. It is a well known case that
on the frontispiece of the Irish journal of folklore Béaloideas (as well as on the seal of the Irish
Folklore Commission) there is a quotation from the Gospel, interpreted as a call for the
collecting of folklore: Collegite quae superaverunt fragmenta ne pereant. Originally, in the first issues
of the journal, there was also printed the correct reference: Ioan VI, 12.
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