John Meier (folklorist)
Encyclopedia
John Meier was a German
folklorist and philologist. He founded both The German Archive of Folk Song (Deutsches Volksliedarchiv, DVA) and also the Swiss Volksliedarchiv.
Meier was born in Vahr, part of Bremen
, and died in Freiburg
.
Meier studied German, Romance and English philology, history and anthropology at the Universities in Freiburg im Breisgau and Tübingen
. In 1888 he obtained his doctorate at Freiburg with the Dissertation Researches concerning the poet and the language of the 'Iolande' . In 1891 there followed his formal faculty admission to the University of Halle with the work Studies in the Linguistic and Literary History of the Rhineland
s in the Middle Ages
.
In the years which followed this, he busied himself intensively with folk-song investigations, and put forward his thesis of Sunken Cultural Patrimony. In 1899 he became professor in ordinary for German philology at the Basel University and concerned himself principally with a systematic collection of folk-songs. Between 1905 and 1912 he was Overseer for the Swiss Society for Folk-studies. In 1906 he founded the Swiss Folk-song archive. From 1911 he became president of the Council of the German Congress for Folk-studies. In 1912 he became professor in ordinary for folk-studies at Freiburg. In 1914 he founded there the German Folk-song Archive. In the 1920s he was working with Max Friedlaender
and Johann Bolte on the German song archive.
From 1935 he published a collection of German folk-songs with critical commentaries: the annual Journal for Folk-Song Publication. With hindsight the subject, insofar as it from 1933 to 1945 reflected the interests of National-socialist
ideology, is governed by no absolute Science. One can say that Meier began the work towards scientific standards in Folk-studies. It was for this that, at the Fifth German Folk-Studies Congress in 1938, he appealed to the intelligence and collective understanding of the delegates. In his role as Chairman of the convention, he found himself - especially in view of the threats of the Rosenberg
party - forced to cooperate with the Ahnenerbe
of the SS. In 1948 he abdicated from the role of congress leader. He retained the directorship of the German Folk-song Archive for the Baden-Württemberg
region.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
folklorist and philologist. He founded both The German Archive of Folk Song (Deutsches Volksliedarchiv, DVA) and also the Swiss Volksliedarchiv.
Meier was born in Vahr, part of Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, and died in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
.
Career
This text is a translation from German WikipediaMeier studied German, Romance and English philology, history and anthropology at the Universities in Freiburg im Breisgau and Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
. In 1888 he obtained his doctorate at Freiburg with the Dissertation Researches concerning the poet and the language of the 'Iolande' . In 1891 there followed his formal faculty admission to the University of Halle with the work Studies in the Linguistic and Literary History of the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
s in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
In the years which followed this, he busied himself intensively with folk-song investigations, and put forward his thesis of Sunken Cultural Patrimony. In 1899 he became professor in ordinary for German philology at the Basel University and concerned himself principally with a systematic collection of folk-songs. Between 1905 and 1912 he was Overseer for the Swiss Society for Folk-studies. In 1906 he founded the Swiss Folk-song archive. From 1911 he became president of the Council of the German Congress for Folk-studies. In 1912 he became professor in ordinary for folk-studies at Freiburg. In 1914 he founded there the German Folk-song Archive. In the 1920s he was working with Max Friedlaender
Max Friedlaender (musicologist)
Max Friedlaender was a German bass singer, music editor, and musicologist. He specialized in German Lieder.- Life :...
and Johann Bolte on the German song archive.
From 1935 he published a collection of German folk-songs with critical commentaries: the annual Journal for Folk-Song Publication. With hindsight the subject, insofar as it from 1933 to 1945 reflected the interests of National-socialist
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology, is governed by no absolute Science. One can say that Meier began the work towards scientific standards in Folk-studies. It was for this that, at the Fifth German Folk-Studies Congress in 1938, he appealed to the intelligence and collective understanding of the delegates. In his role as Chairman of the convention, he found himself - especially in view of the threats of the Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
party - forced to cooperate with the Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
of the SS. In 1948 he abdicated from the role of congress leader. He retained the directorship of the German Folk-song Archive for the Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
region.
Prizes and Honours
- 1934 Goethe-Medal for Art and Science
- 1952 National Prize of the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
- 1952 Bundes Service Cross
Works
- The German soldier-songs in the field. Straßburg 1916 (Trübners Library Vol. 4)
- Folk-song studies. Straßburg 1917 (Trübners Library Vol. 8)
- German soldier-speech. (Karlsruhe 1917)
- Goethe, Freiherr vom Stein and German folk-study. Past, present and future. (1926)