Five hundred new fairytales discovered in Germany

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sufi
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07 Mar 2012, 8:04 pm

I find this very exciting. I can't wait to get my hands on the books as soon as there is an English translation.

gaurdian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/ma ... ed-germany

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While sifting through Von Schönwerth's work, Eichenseer found 500 fairytales, many of which do not appear in other European fairytale collections. For example, there is the tale of a maiden who escapes a witch by transforming herself into a pond. The witch then lies on her stomach and drinks all the water, swallowing the young girl, who uses a knife to cut her way out of the witch. However, the collection also includes local versions of the tales children all over the world have grown up with including Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin, and which appear in many different versions across Europe.

Von Schönwerth was a historian and recorded what he heard faithfully, making no attempt to put a literary gloss on it, which is where he differs from the Grimm brothers. However, says Eichenseer, this factual recording adds to the charm and authenticity of the material. What delights her most about the tales is that they are unpolished. "There is no romanticising or attempt by Schönwerth to interpret or develop his own style,"

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TheHouseholdCat
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07 Mar 2012, 8:08 pm

Oh, nice. 500 is a lot.

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Titangeek
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07 Mar 2012, 10:44 pm

Would this make those story's Mother Goose's egg?

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justalouise
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08 Mar 2012, 12:09 am

very cool

Sigbold
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08 Mar 2012, 12:49 am

Well, wonder if they already have published them online so that those who can read German can study them. And of course when the book(s) come out.

Kraichgauer
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08 Mar 2012, 4:48 am

Oooh, I bet that witch sure regretted drinking from the pond the second she felt the knife blade cutting the inside her stomach!
But yes, this sounds like a major literary and even anthropological find.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

sufi
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08 Mar 2012, 8:58 pm

Don't know if there are some in German online.

ya a witch drinking a pond thing is pretty whacked, but that is also the cool part. The tales were not touched up for literary purpose. The were written down just as they were told, they were not for children. I guess when you live in a time before everyone being able to read and there was a lot of raping and pillaging going on and no politically correct people, you get some really raw stuff.

Kraichgauer
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08 Mar 2012, 9:21 pm

sufi wrote:

Absolutely. Our ancestors were pretty hard cases.

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