Georges Dumézil

Theories, Critiques and Theoretical Extensions

Bibliographic Data

ID4372133
AuthorsDean A Miller (World Health Organization - Pakistan, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume30
Issue1
Pages27-40
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1006/reli.1999.0239
OpenAlexW2010594681
LanguageDE
Citations received2
References cited17

Georges Dumézil, best known as the deviser of the theory of a tripartite patterning impulse in the cultures making up the Indo-European (I-E) linguistic group, spent sixty years refining this concept, and adding other themes such as the bifurcation of his fonctions and the concept of Interfunctional War. Before his death, his ideas were used to explain I-E patterns in cultural areas such as the Celtic, the Norse-Scandinavian and the Western medieval; since his death, his theorised structures have served as a base for such extensions as a ‘fourth’ function, a feminine potency to the formula and age-set-divisions as a part of the patterning impulse. Critics have concentrated on philological points, though some have denied the existence of the I-E tripartite division tout court. Just before Dumézil's death a variation on the ‘revisionist’ line began to accuse him of suspect personal–political opinions, and these accusations continue. The ultimate usefulness of Dumézil is the flexibility of his system and the extraordinary range of materials one can draw into his theories; his value is as a ‘medium’ for further research and theoretical structuring

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