Evald Tang Kristensen
Encyclopedia
Evald Tang Kristensen was a Danish
folklore collector and author. Working first as a schoolteacher and later solely as a collector, he assembled and published a huge amount of detailed information on all aspects of folklore as he visited country people throughout his native Jutland
.
, Tang Kristensen had a difficult childhood. After the death of his father when he was still young, he was brought up on the moors near Viborg
by an unsympathetic step-father and a mother who suffered from excessive housework. He was charged with looking after the family's two cows and was also expected to care for his younger siblings. Bright for his age, he studied Danish with the local pastor. He wanted to be a doctor but it was beyond the means available. In 1958, he was sent to the seminary in Grenå where he graduated as a school teacher in 1861, soon obtaining posts of assistant teacher at Husby near Nissum Fjord, then in Helstrup near Randers
(1863–66). To offset his lonely life there, he prepared to take an additional examination as a cantor
. As a result, he became interested in folk music. As a boy he had taken an interest in collecting riddles but it was only when he was teaching in Gellerup
in 1866 that he realized he had a vocation to become a folklore collector.
, published as Jyske Folkeminder I-II (1871–76). He went on to gather folk tales and legends, published as Jyske Folkeminder III-IV (1876–80), and fairy tales, Jyske Folkeminder V (1881). For the rest of his life, he continued to collect, record and publish all kinds of folklore. His investigations led him to travel throughout Jutland
although he only occasionally worked in eastern Denmark as he felt less at ease with the inhabitants. While teaching in Fårup near Viborg and Brandstrup (1876–84), he received support for his travels from the State. In 1888, the State granted him a fixed amount of DKK 1,800 a year, allowing him to devote all his time to collecting folklore.
(1888–97), he moved to Mølholm near Vejle
where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1904, together with Axel Olrik
and Henning Frederik Feilberg
, Tang Kristensen founded the Danish folklore archives. In 1924, he donated all his published works and manuscipts to that institution while leaving most of his other possessions of folkloric interest to the museums at Herning
and Vejle
.
and Antii Aarne in Finland, he paved the way for modern folklore research.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
folklore collector and author. Working first as a schoolteacher and later solely as a collector, he assembled and published a huge amount of detailed information on all aspects of folklore as he visited country people throughout his native Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
.
Early life
Born in Nørre Bjert near KoldingKolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
, Tang Kristensen had a difficult childhood. After the death of his father when he was still young, he was brought up on the moors near Viborg
Viborg
Viborg may refer to:*Viborg, Denmark, a city in Jutland, Denmark**Viborg Municipality, a Danish municipality named for the city**Viborg County, a former county of Denmark**Diocese of Viborg**Viborg FF, a professional football team based in Viborg...
by an unsympathetic step-father and a mother who suffered from excessive housework. He was charged with looking after the family's two cows and was also expected to care for his younger siblings. Bright for his age, he studied Danish with the local pastor. He wanted to be a doctor but it was beyond the means available. In 1958, he was sent to the seminary in Grenå where he graduated as a school teacher in 1861, soon obtaining posts of assistant teacher at Husby near Nissum Fjord, then in Helstrup near Randers
Randers
Randers is a city in Randers municipality on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 60,656 . Randers city is the main town of the municipality and the site of its municipal council.-Overview:Randers municipality has 94,750 inhabitants...
(1863–66). To offset his lonely life there, he prepared to take an additional examination as a cantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
. As a result, he became interested in folk music. As a boy he had taken an interest in collecting riddles but it was only when he was teaching in Gellerup
Gellerup
Gellerup is a district of Brabrand and western suburb to the city of Aarhus, Denmark. The name Gellerup is also commonly used to refer to a large housing project called Gellerupparken located in the suburb. The housing project was built in 1968-72 and contains in total 1776 apartments...
in 1866 that he realized he had a vocation to become a folklore collector.
Folklore collection
The first time he copied down the words of a local song was in 1867 while he was spending Christmas with his mother in Brandstrup. In the area where he was teaching, he soon discovered a wealth of songs and ballads, some dating back to the Middle Ages, which he recorded and, thanks to financial support from fellow collector Svend GrundtvigSvend Grundtvig
Svend Hersleb Grundtvig was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested in Danish folk songs. He began the large project of editing Danish ballads. He also co-edited Icelandic ballads. He...
, published as Jyske Folkeminder I-II (1871–76). He went on to gather folk tales and legends, published as Jyske Folkeminder III-IV (1876–80), and fairy tales, Jyske Folkeminder V (1881). For the rest of his life, he continued to collect, record and publish all kinds of folklore. His investigations led him to travel throughout Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
although he only occasionally worked in eastern Denmark as he felt less at ease with the inhabitants. While teaching in Fårup near Viborg and Brandstrup (1876–84), he received support for his travels from the State. In 1888, the State granted him a fixed amount of DKK 1,800 a year, allowing him to devote all his time to collecting folklore.
Later life
After Svend Grundtvig died, Tang Kristensen founded the Danish Folklore Society (Folkemindesamfundet) in 1883 and, until 1889, edited its journal Skattegraveren (Treasure Digger), bringing him into contact with those interested in folklore throughout the country. After living for a period in HadstenHadsten
Hadsten, is a town in central Denmark with a population of 7,901 , located in Favrskov municipality, Region Midtjylland in Jutland...
(1888–97), he moved to Mølholm near Vejle
Vejle
Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...
where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1904, together with Axel Olrik
Axel Olrik
Axel Olrik was a Danish folklorist, and a pioneer in the methodical study of oral narrative.His Principles for Oral Narrative Research, recently translated by K. Wolf and J. Jensen, Bloomington, Ind., 1992, was first published in 1921, after Olrik's early death...
and Henning Frederik Feilberg
Henning Frederik Feilberg
Henning Frederik Feilberg , was a Danish pastor, author and folklorist. His research and publications represent significant contributions to the field of Danish folklore.-Biography:...
, Tang Kristensen founded the Danish folklore archives. In 1924, he donated all his published works and manuscipts to that institution while leaving most of his other possessions of folkloric interest to the museums at Herning
Herning
Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...
and Vejle
Vejle
Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...
.
Assessment
Tang Kristensen's longstanding interest in folklore collection resulted in a wealth of data. Some 6,500 individuals communicated material to him. He himself recorded some 3,000 songs with 1,000 tunes, 2,700 fairy tales, 2,500 jokes, 25,000 legends, numerous sayings, poems and riddles as well as tens of thousands of descriptions of traditions and everyday life. In addition, he collected samples of handwriting, leaflets and music, not to mention all the material he received from others. The fieldnotes from his travels fill 24,000 pages of manuscript. His records maintain a high level of quality thanks to his consistent detailing of time, place and informants. His special qualities as a folklore collector were noted by his friend and colleague Hakon Grüner-Nielsen who emphasized his mastery of local dialects, his exceptional memory and his rigorous approach. Tang Kristensen contributed greatly to the method of collecting folklore by going directly to the sources of oral tales, often recording the narritive tone of his informants. In so doing, together with Kaarle KrohnKaarle Krohn
Kaarle Krohn was a Finnish folklorist, professor and developer of the geographic-historic method of folklore research. He was born in Helsinki. He was the son of journalist and poet Julius Krohn, and his sister was Aino Kallas, a Finnish author. Krohn is best known outside of Finland for his...
and Antii Aarne in Finland, he paved the way for modern folklore research.
Own works
The published works (in Danish) of Tang Christensen include:- Sagn fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1880
- Æventyr fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1881
- Sagn og Overtro fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1883
- Gamle viser i Folkemunde, 1891
- Gamle folks fortællinger om det jyske almueliv, som det er blevet ført i mands minde, samt enkelte oplysende sidestykker fra øerne, 1891-94
- Mosekonen brygger. Æventyr og Legender, 1891
- Danske Sagn: Ellefolk, Nisser og adskillige Uhyrer, samt religiøse Sagn, Lys og Varsler, 1893
- Æventyr fra Fyn, 2007
- Danske Sagn: Kjæmper. Kirker. Andre Stedlige Sagn. Skatte, 1895
- Danske Sagn: Personsagn, 1896
- Danske Dyrefabler og Kjæderemser, 1896
- spanske Børnerim, Remser og Lege, 1896
- Danske Sagn: Spøgeri og Gjenfærd, 1897
- Danske Sagn: Djævlekunster, Kloge Mænd og Koner, 1900
- Gamle folks fortællinger om det jyske almueliv, Tillægsbind, 1900-02
- Gamle Kildevæld, 1927
- Minder og Oplevelser, 4 bind, 1923-27
Literature
- Bay, Jens Christian (translator): Danish Fairy Tales: A Collection of Popular Stories and Fairy Tales from the Danish of Svend Grundtvig, E. T. Kristensen, Ingvor Bondesen, and L. Budde, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1899, 293 p.
- Holbek, Bengt: Interpretation of fairy tales: Danish folklore in a European perspective, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsink, 1987, 660 p. ISBN 9789514105487
- Rockwell, Joan: Evald Tang Kristensen : a lifelong adventure in folklore, Aalborg University Press, Danish Folklore Society, 1982. ISBN 87-7307-043-2.