From the Interdisciplinary Study by the Brothers Grimm to Johannes Bolte's and Jiri Polivka's Annotations: Some Analysis of Their Text Revisions

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K18009
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: European literature; Literature in general
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Yokomichi Makoto 京都府立大学, 文学部, 准教授 (60516144)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 独文学 / 伝承文学 / 学問史 / 比較文学 / 思想史 / 世界文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Brothers Grimm's annotations on their fairy tales were investigated and their broad interests (Folk Narrative Research, Comparative Linguistics, Comparative Religion, Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, Legal History) sorted out. With reference to the current international Folk Narrative Research, the details of the revisions by Johannes Bolte and Jiri Polivka of the Brothers Grimm's annotations were revealed. Focusing on the views of the Brothers Grimm on the punishment of "Nageltonne" and the "Three Snake-Leaves", the differences of the opinion between the both brothers and between the brothers and Bolte/Polivka were analyzed. The main works of the Brothers Grimm were summarized, and it was criticized that their study, in which fairy tales were regarded as derivatives of the old myth, resulted in the significant cause of the trouble in the history of the research.

Free Research Field

ヨーロッパ文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

『グリム童話』の編纂者であるグリム兄弟が人文学の学者であったこと、『グリム童話』も彼らの学者としての仕事の一環として生まれたという事実は（国内外を問わず）一般読者にはほぼ知られていない。のみならず、ドイツ文学者や伝承文学研究者の間でも、グリム兄弟の仕事の全体像を理解した上で「グリム研究」がおこなわれることは稀だ。研究代表者は「学者としてのグリム兄弟」の研究活動の学際性を明らかにすることで、ドイツ文学研究や伝承文学研究はもちろん、広く人文学全体、さらには一般読者の間での「グリム兄弟」や『グリム童話』への理解を、これまでよりも広く深いものへと更新することを図った。