Spectral, Dancing Hosts of War”

German-language Research on Sword Dancing before World War I

Bibliographic Data

ID8934694
AuthorsStephen D Corrsin (corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume119
Issue3
Pages274-294
Publication date2008-10-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFolklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00155870802352210
OpenAlexW1983193743
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This article focuses on four major German and Austrian figures, from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in the study of the history of sword dancing, and their key approaches to the field: Karl Müllenhoff, Wilhelm Mannhardt, Heinrich Schurtz, and Leopold von Schroeder. Their work drew on classical studies (Tacitus's the Germania has an apparent reference), comparative ethnography, the ideas of secret men's societies and their initiation rituals, and, underlying everything, the concept of Germanic continuity from prehistory to the present. Acknowledgements My thanks go to the editors and reviewers of Folklore, and to Elaine Bradtke, Eddie Cass, James R. Dow, and John Forrest, who commented on this research at various stages. I would also like to dedicate the article to the memory of Jennifer Westwood Chandler, with whom I discussed my projects frequently, and who died as I was finishing it. Notes [1] “Genus spectaculorum unum atque in omni coetu idem: nudi iuvenes, quibus id ludicrum est, inter gladios se atque infestas frameas saltu iaciunt, exercitatio artem paravit, ars decorem, non in quaestum tamen aut mercedem: quamvis audacis lasciviae pretium est voluptas spectantium” (Benario Citation1999, 36). Framea represents a German term for a type of light spear, as Tacitus explains in his chapter 6; see also O'Gorman (Citation1993, 142). [2] All translations throughout are my own, unless otherwise specified. [3] The first survey of the history of sword dancing was actually compiled by a Munich Germanist, H. F. Massmann (Citation1831). Massmann was more a nationalist and “Teutomane” than a scholar, and his work was essentially forgotten. [4] Mannhardt dedicated Der Baumkultus to his friend Karl Müllenhoff, who was publishing articles on sword dance at the same time. His references to sword dances (Mannhardt Citation1963a, 546 and 558) are taken from Müllenhoff (Citation1871). [5] A standard critical essay on Mannhardt in English remains von Sydow (Citation1948)—originally published in Folklore. [6] For a summary of the idea of Männerbund as it was applied in German-language ethnology, see Dow and Bockhorn (Citation2004, 57–60). On the political overtones of Männerbund in Germany from Wilhelminian times, see von See (Citation1990) and Sombart (1988). [7] Greve (Citation1990) and Mogge (Citation1990). [8] General comments on Schroeder's role in ethnology appear in Dow and Bockhorn (Citation2004, 9–12). A curious connection is that Schroeder's work was also an important source for the English Arthurian scholar Jessie L. Weston, who acknowledges her debt to him at the start of her classic essay, From Ritual to Romance—and since T. S. Eliot said that his poem The Wasteland was influenced by Weston, it can, perhaps, be argued that Schroeder influenced modern English and American poetry. [9] The chapter on the Papa Stour dance in Corrsin (Citation1997, 237–47) summarises the available evidence up to the mid-1990s. For the most recent investigation, see Smith (Citation2003). [10] An older piece from which Schroeder drew directly is Kuhn (Citation1845). Adalbert Kuhn (1812–81), a professor in Berlin, specialised in comparative mythology and was one of the leading mythologists of the day. He links both German sword dances and English morris dances with ancient Germanic deities, in this case, the god Wodan (Wotan, Odin). A key element in his analysis is an etymological comparison of the name Wodan with that of Robin Hood, and English hobby horses—because in some cases, this type of mock horse is sometimes referred to as a “hooden” horse. To Kuhn, Wodan equals “hooden” equals (Robin) Hood. Robin Hood, an avatar of Wodan and purportedly connected with hobby or “hooden” horses, is then interpreted by Kuhn as a rider on a white steed, known in Norse myth. It was Kuhn who suggested that the English word “morris” is cognate with Maruts, and, as supporting evidence, he points out that the Maruts, like Robin Hood, are bowmen

Archaeology · Art · Art history · Ethnography · Folklore · German · Humanities · Literature · Mythology · Prehistory · SWORD · Classics · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Linguistic and Cultural Studies · Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education

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