Blandt gengangere og godtfolk - en analyse af fortællinger indsamlet i Salling i 1888

Abstract

In this thesis I analyse stories collected by schoolteacher and folklorist Evald Tang Kristensen in the northern part of Salling in the spring of 1888. On this trip he visited 15 informants, distributed among both genders and almost all social classes present in a rural society as this time. The rst part of the thesis is concerned with handling the problems that arise when using unusual sources as these. To deal with these problems I examine Evald Tang Kristensens methods as a collector of folklore and his changing interests in both folklore and the informants, who told him the stories. The study shows that Tang Kristensen was an unusually accomplished collector who in time broke with some of the traditional biases of the eld, particularly in his interest in the informants. As an e ect of this he always noted name and place of the collecting, allowing us to nd his informants in other o cial sources. My analysis shows how the stories highlight aspects of the conditions of life especially of the poor people, which are a majority of the informants especially when you compare the stories with the available information of their material lives. The stories underline how frail a foundation many based their lives upon. Another conclusion is that the stories reveal a moral where the rich and powerful have a responsibility towards the poor and helpless; making violations on the part of the powerful against the weak a larger crime than if the acts are the other way around. In this way I demonstrate the potential of using stories as sources in historical research.