Dr. Wolfgang Maaz, Lecturer: Historical and Comparative Storytelling Research

A Cooperative Project with the Göttingen-based Academic Firm “Encyclopedia of Fairytales”: Dr. R. W. Brednich, Professor; Dr. H.-J. Uther, Professor; Dr. F. Wagner, Professor (Berlin)

The goal of this cooperative project is to explore and compare the rich collections of oral tales and medieval materials passed down in writing, which have thus far hardly been plumbed. In addition, the ways in which subjects and motifs are transmitted will be examined using literary sources (books of examples, legends, sermons, and histories) along with poetry associated with oral traditions. The project will explore monographs on important storytelling types and motifs, along with biographies of storytellers and authors of important reference works as well as considering questions of the biology of the material passed along through storytelling. The reception of these materials and perception of these authors will be traced into the 20^th century.