Bengt af Klintberg
Encyclopedia
Bengt Knut Erik af Klintberg (b. 25 December 1938 in Stockholm
) is a Swedish
ethnologist
who has become known for his work on modern urban legend
s and reached a large audience with his books Råttan i pizzan ("The Rat in the Pizza", first edition published in 1986) and Den stulna njuren ("The Stolen Kidney", first published in 1994).
Klintberg was also co-host (with Christina Mattsson, head of the Nordic Museum
) of "Folkminnen" ("Popular memories" or "Oral tradition
s") a long-running radio
show, which encouraged listeners to write letters describing or asking questions about the origin or significance of local legends, games, customs or other folklore
. After 750 weekly installations on Swedish national public radio
channel P1
, the last in the series was broadcast in January 2005.
A now common Swedish word for urban legend, klintbergare ("klintberger"), has been coined after him.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
) is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
ethnologist
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
who has become known for his work on modern urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s and reached a large audience with his books Råttan i pizzan ("The Rat in the Pizza", first edition published in 1986) and Den stulna njuren ("The Stolen Kidney", first published in 1994).
Klintberg was also co-host (with Christina Mattsson, head of the Nordic Museum
Nordic Museum
The Nordic Museum is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the Early Modern age until the contemporary period...
) of "Folkminnen" ("Popular memories" or "Oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
s") a long-running radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show, which encouraged listeners to write letters describing or asking questions about the origin or significance of local legends, games, customs or other folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. After 750 weekly installations on Swedish national public radio
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
channel P1
P1 (Swedish radio station)
P1 is a national radio channel produced by the Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio.P1, which subtitles itself "The spoken channel" , is the principal radio channel in Sweden for:* news...
, the last in the series was broadcast in January 2005.
A now common Swedish word for urban legend, klintbergare ("klintberger"), has been coined after him.
Selected publications
- Ormkungens krona (1961)
- Svenska trollformler (1965)
- Svenska folksägner (1972)
- Harens klagan (1978)
- Råttan i pizzan (1986)
- Den stulna njuren (1994)
- Kuttrasju (1998)
- Glitterspray (2005)