2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Comparative Cultural History of Popular Ballads in Early Modern North-Europe: in Particular Reference to Love Songs
| Project/Area Number |
17520161
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
ヨーロッパ語系文学
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
MAENO Michiko Nagoya University, Graduate School of Languages and Cultures, Graduate School of Nagoya University, Professor (40157152)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2007
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| Keywords | popular ballads / love songs / early modern Europe / commercial cities / Augsburg / Antwerp / Amsterdam / Nuremberg |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to investigate the cultural and social historical background of the 16-17th century popular ballads, particularly love songs in South Germany and Low Countries. In those days quite many ballads were shared in these two regions with differences of localized details. The main questions here are why they had quite a lot of topics and motifs of popular love songs in common especially in later Middle Ages and early Modern period in spite of the evident similarities of languages in origin between North Germany (Low German) and Low Countries (Dutch), and what kinds of interaction could be recognized between them.
Based upon historical documents, i. e. a great deal of songs printed in 16-17th century, 15th century representative manuscripts of songs, genre paintings, emblems and printings etc., moreover focused on several big cities in these regions that were all famous for the commerce and international trade, i. e. Augsburg, Nuremberg, Antwerp and Amsterdam, I tried to analyze and describe the passion for love, love songs and singing in general recognized in daily social life of the middle class people, while relating it to the newborn commercial mentalities and activities, so called upstart class consciousness in this era. In this context, I pointed out that the awareness of new period and the desire for commitment to this epoch are characteristic for the 16-17th century social life. These symptoms are also reflected and projected in love song texts of that time, which could be clearly recognized by contrast to the former ones.
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