Paper Short Abstract:

This paper aims to illustrate the close connection between folklore studies and ethnography in Hungary during the early years of institutionalization, focusing on a key publication from 1890, and its author, Lajos Katona.

Paper Abstract:

Ethnography and folklore studies can be seen as distinct fields of study, but also as two closely related parts of one discipline. This paper examines a case study from Hungarian scholarship, focusing on the early years of its institutionalization. The Hungarian Ethnographic Society was founded in 1889 and Ethnographia, the society's official journal was launched in 1890. Despite the use of the word ’ethnography’, folklore studies were equally included.

Lajos Katona (1862–1910) played a key role in the processes leading to the establishment of the society and the launch of the journal. He was in contact with and maintained an extensive correspondence with leading scholars of his time (e.g. Hugo Schuchardt, Giuseppe Pitré, Friedrich S. Krauss, Kaarle Krohn). His seminal article "Ethnographia. Ethnologia. Folklore" [Ethnography. Ethnology. Folkore] was published as the opening piece in the second issue of Ethnographia, laying down the theoretical and terminological foundations of the new discipline, which remained influential for a considerable time.

The aim of my paper is to present the main arguments of Katona's study and the system he outlines, in which ethnography and folklore studies are integral parts of a single discipline. I will also provide some examples from Lajos Katona's scholarly correspondence in the preceding years to illustrate the evolution of his views.