Elfriede Moser-Rath
Encyclopedia
Elfriede Moser-Rath was an Austrian ethnologist
specializing in folk tales (folklorist
), and early modern literature.
Moser-Rath received her doctorate in 1949 from the University of Vienna
with the publication of her thesis: Studien zur Quellenkunde und Motivik obersteirischer Volksmärchen aus der Sammlung Pramberger, which was an analysis of the narratives in Irish fairytales. She took her first job at the Austrian Folkculture Museum (Österreichischen Museum für Volkskunde).
In 1955 she married Hans Moser, who was the Director of the Bavarian Folk Museum (Bayerischen Landesstelle für Volkskunde) in Munich
, but who was also an Austrian native. In 1969 she went to the University of Göttingen as an assistant professor to work under Professor Rolf Wilhelm Brednich
on the Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales
(Enzyklopädie des Märchens). In 1982 she became a full professor there.
She is know primarily for the quality of her work on the Encyclopedia of Fairytales, and her analysis of literature from early modern times, and especially of Catholic sermons from the baroque period.
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...
specializing in folk tales (folklorist
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
), and early modern literature.
Moser-Rath received her doctorate in 1949 from the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
with the publication of her thesis: Studien zur Quellenkunde und Motivik obersteirischer Volksmärchen aus der Sammlung Pramberger, which was an analysis of the narratives in Irish fairytales. She took her first job at the Austrian Folkculture Museum (Österreichischen Museum für Volkskunde).
In 1955 she married Hans Moser, who was the Director of the Bavarian Folk Museum (Bayerischen Landesstelle für Volkskunde) in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, but who was also an Austrian native. In 1969 she went to the University of Göttingen as an assistant professor to work under Professor Rolf Wilhelm Brednich
Rolf Wilhelm Brednich
Rolf Wilhelm Brednich is a German Europeanist ethnologist and ethnographer [Volkskundler] and folklorist.- Biography :...
on the Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales
Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales
The Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales is a German reference work on international Folkloristics, which is anticipated to run to 14 volumes. It examines over two centuries of research into the folk narrative tradition...
(Enzyklopädie des Märchens). In 1982 she became a full professor there.
She is know primarily for the quality of her work on the Encyclopedia of Fairytales, and her analysis of literature from early modern times, and especially of Catholic sermons from the baroque period.
Works (selection)
- Predigtmärlein der Barockzeit. Exempel, Sage, Schwank und Fabel in geistlichen Quellen des oberdeutschen Raumes. Hrsg von Elfriede Moser-Rath. Berlin 1964.
- Die Fabel als rhetorisches Element in der katholischen Predigt der Barockzeit. pp. 59–75 in: Hasubek, Peter (ed.); Die Fabel: Theorie, Geschichte und Rezeption einer Gattung. Berlin: Schmidt; 1982. 291 pp.
- "Lustige Gesellschaft" : Schwank und Witz des 17. u. 18. Jahrhundert in kultur- u. sozialgeschichtlichem Kontext. Stuttgart 1984 ISBN 3-476-00553-4
- Dem Kirchenvolk die Leviten gelesen : Alltag im Spiegel süddeutscher Barockpredigten. Stuttgart 1991 ISBN 3-476-00740-5
- Kleine SchriftenKleine Schriftenis a German phrase often used as a title for a collection of articles and essays written by a single scholar over the course of a career. "Collected Papers" is an English equivalent. These shorter works were usually published previously in various periodicals or in collections of papers written...
zur populären Literatur des Barock. Hrsg. von Ulrich Marzolph u.a. Göttingen 1994 ISBN 3-509-01651-3
See also
- Bengt HolbekBengt HolbekBengt Holbek was a Danish folklorist who wrote one of the definitive works of fairy tale scholarship entitled Interpretation of Fairy Tales...
- Brothers GrimmBrothers GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
- Comparative mythologyComparative mythologyComparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes...
- EthnologyEthnologyEthnology 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...
- FolkloristicsFolkloristicsFolkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
- MythographyMythographyA mythographer, or a mythologist is a compiler of myths. The word derives from the Greek "μυθογραφία" , "writing of fables", from "μῦθος" , "speech, word, fact, story, narrative" + "γράφω" , "to write, to inscribe". Mythography is then the rendering of myths in the arts...