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Lutz Röhrich (9 October 1922 – 29 December 2006) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
and scholar studying topics relating to
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
, oral stories, and similar types of media. He enjoyed a long and prestigious career, starting as a professor at the Philipp University of Marburg in 1967 and experiencing his stature growing decade by decade. His peers as well as those that he taught referred to him as "ein lebendiges lexikon", "the living encyclopedia", due to his deep knowledge and friendliness in discussing many different aspects of his work. Röhrich is perhaps best known internationally for writing the book ''Märchen und Wirklichkeit'' ( English: ''Folktales and Reality''), a work first published in 1956, and thereby introducing many students to studying fantastical tales in a
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
setting. Shorter works such as his habitual essays number in the hundreds. His travels as a visiting professor took him to engagements not just in Europe but across the Atlantic, expressing his ideas in both
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. One of the founding members of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research, his influence has affected much research since the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The shadow of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, and political extremism more generally, provided the backdrop for his efforts to look at folktales through a more analytical lens, emphasizing the sense of time and space, rather than the traditional
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
, race-based lenses. Besides the aforementioned Society, he also served as a member of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...
and the
Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy () in Uppsala is one of 18 Swedish royal academies and dedicated to the study of Swedish folklore. Its name is often expanded to ("...for Swedish Folk Culture"). The Academy was founded on 6 November 1932, on ...
(in
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
).


Background and personal life

Immediately following his graduation from Gymnasium in 1941, Röhrich was drafted into the German army. In 1944 he was discharged after sustaining serious injuries. For the following years 1945 through 1950 Röhrich studied German, History, Musicology and Latin at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
. His doctoral thesis, "Demonic Figures in the Folk Narratives of Swabia", involved an investigation of approximately 2000 traditional images drawn primarily from archive sources. Following his studies, Röhrich worked for four years as Assistant in the ''Deutsches Institut'' at the
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...
. He completed further studies to qualify for a professorship in the department of German Philology and
Folklore studies Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
with the thesis "Fairy tales and Reality" in 1959. He continued in a teaching position in Mainz until he was called to the
University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
as first professor for the chair of
Folkloristics Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
in 1967. Two years later he was appointed director of the ''German Folksong Archive'', also housed in Freiburg. Röhrich became professor emeritus in 1990. From its inception, Röhrich worked on the editing team of the German Enzyklopädie des Märchens; he was editor from 1973 to 2006. He was also editor of the journals ''Motive. Freiburger folkloristische Forschung'' (1971–1977) and ''Artes Populares'' (1976–1992). Röhrich was a founding member of the ''International Society for Folk Narrative Research'' and served as its vice-president from 1979 to 1989. He participated in the Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, the Gustav-Adolf-Akademie für Volksforschung Uppsala and the Finnischen Literaturgesellschaft as corresponding member. He was also member of the Folklore Society London and honorary member of the Folklore Fellows Helsinki. Röhrich–s work became known to a wider audience through publication of the ''Lexikon der sprichwörtlichen Redensarten'' in 1991.


Awards and prizes

* 1974: Chicago Folklore Prize * 1984: Oberrheinischen Kulturpreis (Upper Rhine Cultural Prize) * 1985: Brüder Grimm Medaille - Philipps-Universität Marburg ( Brothers Grimm Prize of the University of Marburg) * 1985: Giuseppe Pitrè Folklore Preis (Giuseppe Pitrè Folklore Prize)


Books


''Folktales and Reality'', translated by Peter Tokofsky
(Indiana University Press)


See also

* ''
Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales The ''Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales'' (''Enzyklopädie des Märchens'') is a German language, German reference work on international folkloristics, which runs to fifteen volumes and is acknowledged as the most comprehensive work in its field. It ex ...
'' *
Folkloristics Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrich, Lutz 1922 births 2006 deaths 20th-century German historians German folklorists German scholars German male non-fiction writers Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz