Paper short abstract

This paper analyzes how Romanian folkloristics approached transnational themes in the 20th century, often neglecting von Sydow’s theoretical contributions to the field. It reveals how comparison became politicized, supporting claims of national aesthetic superiority.

Paper long abstract

My paper investigates how certain transnational themes have been addressed within Romanian folkloristics mostly throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Owing to either unfamiliarity with or possible resistance to Carl Wilhelm von Sydow’s concepts of tradition and oicotype, the principles of the Finnish School have maintained a prolonged influence within the Romanian discipline. When scholars such as Mircea Eliade, Gheorghe Vrabie, Adrian Fochi, or Dumitru Caracostea engage with international themes—such as The Craftsman Manole, The Dead Brother’s Journey, or The Undead Fiancée—they tend to treat these narratives as fixed or static entities, often relying on prose summaries they themselves (the folklorists) have constructed as “evidence”. This approach frequently gives rise to a discourse that proves the aesthetic superiority of Romanian versions and appropriations in contrast to those found in neighboring countries, thereby turning folkloristics into a political instrument.

The paper is structured in three parts. First, I offer a brief overview of von Sydow’s reception in the Romanian scholarly context. Second, I examine how folkloric evidence from other regions has been re-constructed to serve the argumentative purposes of Romanian scholars, particularly in light of von Sydow’s theoretical contributions. Third, I analyze how the notion of aesthetic superiority has been articulated within the framework of Romanian national folkloristics.

In addition to the highly questionable conclusions reached by these folklorists in the absence of sound theory, this analysis also seeks to illuminate the disciplinary mechanisms through which the comparative method becomes politicized.