Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching (19 September 1783 – 4 May 1829) was a German antiquary. His knowledge of subjects pertaining to Germany in the Middle Ages was notable.

Biography

He was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the son of

Anton Friedrich Büsching Anton Friedrich Büsching (27 September 172428 May 1793) was a German geographer, historian, educator and theologian. His ''Erdbeschreibung'' ("Earth description") was the first geographical work of any scientific merit. He also did significant w ...

, a geographer and educator. He studied at the universities of

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

and Halle, was appointed royal archivist at Breslau in 1811, and in 1817 an associate professor of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

.ADB:Büsching, Johann Gustav Gottlieb
In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(ADB). Band 3, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, S. 645 f. He collected oral folk stories from the

Uckermark The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, which straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau. ...

region, which he published in ''Volks-Sagen, Märchen und Legenden'' (1812).

Selected works

* () 1807 * () 3 parts, 1808–25 * () 1812 * () 1818–19

Translations

Several of the stories from Büsching's have been translated into English. "" was rewritten in English for ''

The Lady's Magazine image:Fashion Plate (London Fashionable Walking Dresses) LACMA M.86.266.104.jpg, 1795–1820 in Western fashion#Women's fashion, London Regency-fashionable Walking Dresseses, often referred to as Promenade Dresses, July 1812, including a Spencer ...

'' in 1821 as "The History of Kibitz, the Peasant". This was followed by another adaptation in ''

Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations ''Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations'' is an anthology of translated German stories in three volumes, published in 1823. Stories Publication The book was announced as being prepared for publication in January and February 1 ...

'' (1823) as "Kibitz", which was used as the basis of Jan M. Ziolkowski's more accurate translation in ''Fairy Tales from Before Fairy Tales'' (2007). Edgar Taylor translated this story for ''German Popular Stories'' (1826) as "Pee-Wit", which was slightly revised by Marian Edwardes and included in ''Grimm's Household Tales'' (1912). Taylor's ''German Popular Stories'' (1826) also included a translation of "" as "Cherry, or the Frog-Bride", which Edwardes revised as "Cherry the Frog-Bride" in ''Grimm's Household Tales'' (1912).

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

included a translation of this story as "Puddocky" in ''

The Green Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and Leonora Blanche Alleyne, a married couple. The best known books of the series are the 12 col ...

'' (1892).

Thomas Roscoe Thomas Roscoe (Liverpool 23 June 1791 – 24 September 1871 London) was an English author and translator. Life The fifth son of William Roscoe, he was born in Toxteth, Toxteth Park, Liverpool in 1791, and educated by Dr. W. Shepherd and by ...

translated "History of Count Walter and the Lady Helgunda" ("") and "Assassination of the Empress of Tartary at Neumarkt in the Year 1240" ("") in ''The German Novelists'' (1826). George Godfrey Cunningham translated "" as "Legends of the Kyffhauser", and two of the "" (, that Büsching had collected from Johannes Praetorius): "How Rubezahl Changed Himself into an Ass" (""), and "How Rubezahl Punished a Tyrannical Lord" (""), in ''Foreign Tales and Traditions'' (1829).

William Thoms William John Thoms (16 November 1803 – 15 August 1885) was a British writer credited with coining the term "folklore" in 1846. Thoms' investigation of folklore and myth led to a later career of debunking longevity myths, and he was a pioneer ...

' ''Lays and Legends of Various Nations: Germany'' (1834) included eight translations: "Legends of the Kyffhauser Mountain" (""), "The Sexton of Magdeburg" (""), "The Legend of Daniel's Cave" (""), "The Story of the Popanz" (""), "The Ancient Ballad of Sir Tannhauser" (""), "The Lady of Weissenburg" (""), "Legends of Rubezahl; or, Number-Nip" (""), and "The Juniper Tree" (""). It also included an untitled translation of "" and an extract from "".

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Busching, Johann Gustav Gottlieb 1783 births 1829 deaths Writers from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg 19th-century German historians German archivists Academic staff of the University of Breslau German male non-fiction writers Historians from the Kingdom of Prussia