Rumänische und siebenbürgisch-sächsische Volksepik
Romanian and Transylvanian-Saxon Folk Epics

Attempt at a Comparison

Summary/Abstract: Following the path indicated by V.M. Jirmunski in his comparative study of folk epics, two types of ballads are analysed. The first includes the widespread theme of the "wicked mother-in-law". This ballad, very common among the Romanian people, appears only once among the Saxons. By analysing the epic elements and insisting on the similarities and influences of ballads in Romanian literature and that of the German minority, as well as analysing some elements of its historical development, the author seeks to prove the close kinship of the Saxon ballad with the Romanian ones, even its takeover. This opinion is based on the basic, matriarchal conception of the ballad, which belongs to a stage of development long surpassed by the Saxons before their arrival in the country, where its remnants still lingered for a long time, as in all of south-eastern Europe. The second theme is that of "unhappy fiancés", a very frequent theme. An analysis of the epic elements shows that the same theme was treated differently; there is still no question of a common origin or takeover. The common epic elements are due to the identical theme and the natural sequence of the action, and the differences to the national specificity and social development of the Romanian people and the German national minority.

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