Adolf Schullerus – Transylvanian Folklorist
Monica NEGOESCU
« Universitatea Tehnică » din Cluj-Napoca
The aim of this paper is to evoke the personality of the folklorist Adolf Schullerus, not only as a
researcher interested in the civilization of his own people, but also in the other two civilizations,
Hungarian and Romanian. Through his vast work of research in the three directions, Saxon,
Romanian and Hungarian, he proved himself not only an enlighten scientist, but also a European
one.
During the tormented 19th century, Romanians had a reliable ally, the Saxons, for the
achievement of their joint objectives, i.e. obtaining or maintaining certain political, social and
cultural rights in Transylvania.
The cooperation strengthens during the liberal ruling, between 1860-1867, when the
representatives of the two nationalities fight together for Transylvania’s autonomy, the AustroHungarian Empire endangering not only Romanians’ national rights, but Transylvanian Saxons’
traditional institutions, their administrative autonomy. This cooperation’s results will materialize in
the laws that recognize the Romanian nation and its denominations as equal in rights with the other
ones, and Romanian is declared an official language together with Hungarian and German1.
From the educational and cultural points of view, we should remember not only the joint
opposition of Romanians and Saxons to the school laws passed by the Austro-Hungarian ruling, but
also the important contribution of the Saxon pressmen to the spread of the Romanian original
writings, as well as of the translations from European literature (the first papers in Romanian
language with Latin alphabet being printed in 1873 in Martin Hochmeister’s workshop2), the
cultural interests of many Saxon intellectuals, including a special one for the own nation’s folklore,
as well as for the Romanian and Hungarian ones.
In such an environment of spirituality and sympathy towards Romanians is born Adolf
Schullerus in 1864 in Făgăraş, as the first of the three children of Gustav Adolf Schullerus,
evangelic priest, and his wife’s, Josephine, born Friedsmann. After a year of grammar school, the
child will continue his education at home, with his father and mother until the fourth grade of
highschool:
Father was teacher and physician at the same time, in winter evenings reader and
storyteller. Mother, even if busy with the household during the day, in the evenings would teach
them piano and French... Father was just and severe. He would never punish but by word (tr.n.)
Der Vater war zugleich Lehrer und Arzt, an den Winterabenden Vorleser und
Märchenerzähler. Die Mutter, wenn auch tagsüber dem Praktischen zugewandt, erteilte am Abend
Unterricht in Klavier und Französisch... Vaters Art war ernst und streng. Anders als mit Worten
1
Retegan Simion, „Interferenţe politice româno-săseşti în perioada guvernării liberale (1860-1867)” în Studii de istorie
a naţionalităţilor conlocuitoare din România şi a înfrăţirii lor cu naţiunea română, vol. II, Bucureşti, Editura Politică,
1976
2
Nägler Doina, „Aportul tipografilor saşi din sec. XVII-XIX la aprofundarea relaţiilor culturale româno-săseşti” în
Studii de istorie a naţionalităţilor conlocuitoare din România şi a înfrăţirii lor cu naţiunea română, vol. II, Bucureşti,
Editura Politică, 1976
349
strafte er nie.3In 1882, after graduation and following the family tradition, he registers at Berna
University to study theology and German literature. Restless of nature, with an amazing work
capacity, he deepens himself not only in the study of church history, of canonical law, of Old
Northerners’mythology, but also attends medicine classes; through the systematic studies of literary
history, Schullerus hopes to „bring to light the treasures of our (German) people” 4 (tr. n.) and to
know better the „poetry of the folk spirit”5. During the following years we find him a student in
Leipzig and Budapest; the former city deeply impresses him because it is at this university that he
has the well-known psychologist and philosopher, W. Wundt and philologist Friedrich Zarncke as
teachers and it is here that he learns a rigorous and scrupulous research technique that can be seen in
all his later writings.
After the public presentation, in Leipzig, of his Ph.D. thesis Zur Kritik des altnordischen
Walhallglaubens (About the Criticism of Walhalla Belief of Old Northerners) he comes back home,
to Transylvania where he is firstly appointed headmaster of Crafts School in Agnita, then, until
1900, German teacher at the Evangelic Lutheran Seminary in Sibiu. His father’s death forces him to
return to Cincu, Brasov County, as he inherits the position of priest, according to tradition. Seven
years later is appointed priest of Sibiu, and in 1922, vicar of Sibiu Diocese. He dies on the 28th of
January 1928.
His science man calling proved in each and every domain he approached, regardless whether
it was theology, literature, research or pedagogies.
A researcher of the 20th century beginning, Adolf Schullerus does not swerve from the
scientific opinion according to which linguistics and ethnography are inseparable; they should be
studied together for the cultural identifying of a people, „only by referring to the real life, from
which it was born, does the word get a precise meaning ... language and thing are inseparable”
(Introduction to the first leaflet of the Dictionary of Transylvania Saxon Idioms, Dicţionarului
graiurilor săseşti din Transilvania, 1908). Therefore he will start a thorough research on two ways:
first, as an editor (1892-1927) of the scientific magazine The Paper of Transylvanian Knowledge
Union (Korespondezblatt des Vereins für Siebenbürgische Landeskunde), where he publishes
articles of folklore, ethnography, literary history and then as editor of the second publication of the
Union for Transylvanian Knowledge (Archiv des Vereins für Siebenbürgische Landeskunde) where
he publishes studies about beliefs, traditions, gathered in dialects, and these dialects will supply
material for his Dictionary of Saxon Idioms.
He inherited the interest and love for Transylvanian traditions from his mother, expert in
Romanian language and fairy tales, who would deal „scrupulously”6 with folklore and who would
later help Schullerus with the translation of certain fairy tales from the anthology Siebenbürgisches
Märchenbuch (The Book of Transylvanian Fairy Tales), published posthumous in 1930 in Sibiu.
The volume comprises Romanian, Saxon and Hungarian fairy tales, emphasizing the specific
character of the three types of narrative.
A. Schullerus also remains in the history of Romanian folklore through his first attempt to
systematize the themes of the Romanian fairy tales in The Catalogue of Romanian Fairy Tales.
According to the Fairy Tales’ Typology System of Antti Aarne (Verzeichnis der rumänischen
Märchen und Märchenvarianten. Nach dem System der Märchentypen Antti Aarnes) in which he
inserts not only the fairy tales with animals or the usual ones, but also the legend and anecdote,
reaching the conclusion that many of the Romanian types of fairy tale are not included in the
international catalogue of Aarne’s.
Always thoroughly informed about any novelty or detail from his domains of interest, Adolf
Schullerus is thrilled by the ethnography books published at the end of the 19th century. Thus, in
3
Göllner Carl, Adolf Schullerus, Bukarest, Kriterion Verlag, 1986, pp. 12
„tiefverborgene Schätze unseres Volkes“, Göllner Carl, Adolf Schullerus, Bukarest, Kriterion Verlag, 1986, pp. 13
5
Ibid.
6
„în chip metodic”, Papadima Ovidiu, Literatură populară română, Editura pentru Literatură, 1968
4
350
1885 the volume of J. Haltrich writings’ appears, „a first edition of a quarter of a century of German
ethnography in Transylvania”7, in the same year Fr. Fronius publishes the book entitled „Bilder aus
dem Bauernleben in Siebenbürgen“ (Images from the Life of Transylvanian Peasants) and several
years later Elard Hugo Meyer publishes at Strasbourg the volume Deutsche Volkskunde, which will
bring about “a serious moment of thinking”8, writing a review of it. And yet, there is a long time
until the publishing of his monograph of ethnography, Siebenbürgische Volkskunde im Umriß
(Short Etnography Monograph of Transylvanian Saxons), which Schullerus wanted as a volume of
bigger proportions, a real „opus magnus”9 that would present all sections of traditional civilization
of Transylvanian Saxons, but which he unfortunately couldn’t write anymore. It remains yet an
“outline” (Umriß) not only of the most important moments in the Saxons’ life, but also an attempt
to clarify certain history matters through linguistics (the old folk terms of galo-romanic origin: rom
for arac, from the Latin ramus).
Influenced by the psychological orientation of M. Lazarus and H. Steinthal, A. Schullerus
structures its work according to it, i.e.:
a. The Exterior: Villages and Towns, House and Yard, Stature and Health, Clothing, Life in
the House, Food, Language, Life within the Community, Birth and Baptism, Engagement and
Marriage, Death and Burial, Life within Society, The Year, Brotherhoods and Neighborhoods
b. Spiritual life: Popular Literature, Sense and Spirit
The reason for which the author emphasizes the ethnography more than the spiritual life is
that he wanted to illustrate the Transylvanian Saxons’ traditional life in comparison with what they
had brought from their native country. Therefore, he will quite often use the terms “here” and
“there” in an attempt to present the manifestations of customs, work, and language from “here” and
“there”, taking into consideration at the same time the influences of the two co-inhabiting
nationalities from Ardeal.
...it is this comparison of ways of living, from here and there, of labors, of traditions and
customs that makes the object of ethnographical studies, which have to bring forward not
only the features inherited from the native country, but also the changes in the new one
under the influence of the surrounding nations.(tr. n.)
„...tocmai compararea felurilor de trai, de aici şi de dincolo, a muncilor desfăşurate, a
tradiţiilor şi a obiceiurilor, este obiectul studiilor etnografice, care trebuie să scoată la
iveală atât trăsăturile moştenite din patria de origine, cât şi schimbările petrecute în noua
patrie sub influenţa neamurilor înconjurătoare.”(Adolf Schullerus, Scurt tratat de
etnografie a saşilor din Transilvania, Bucureşti, ed. Meronia, 2003)
And the mutual influences that can be identified in the book are quite many, so that
sometimes the reader is under the impression that, actually, the main character of the book is not the
Transylvanian Saxon, but the Transylvanian in general, regardless of his/her nationality. Saxons’
beliefs regarding certain aspects of life, such as the evil eye, replacing the new born baby, the
lamentations, or certain places in the house, such as the threshold, are very interesting and
comparable to those of Romanians. Thus, Schullerus tells us, the Saxons cast out the spirits under
the threshold, where the healing herbs are also tied up and where the sign that guards against
witches is cut. But, as it is well-known, Romanians from Transylvania also put garlic and three
needles vertically on the same threshold to protect the house against evil.10 As for the evil eye, the
Saxons believe that praising or looking at a child too long brings bad luck, since one can cast the
evil eye on him/her; but the Romanians have the same belief. 11 Unlike Romanians though, the
„o primă ediţie a unui sfert de veac de etnografie germană în Transilvania”, Ibid.
„un serios prilej de meditaţie” Ibid., pp.256
9
Goţia Anca, Cuvânt înainte la Scurt tratat de etnografie a saşilor din Transilvania, Bucureşti, editura Meronia, 2003
10
Murgoci Agnes, Beveridge Murgoci Helen, Pagini engleze despre folclorul românesc, Cluj-Napoca, editura Viitorul
românesc, 2005
11
Ibid.
7
8
351
Saxons protect their children by putting a small piece of linen cloth drawn with an adder head
around their neck, as it is mentioned in the book.
Schullerus himself admits the Romanian influences, like the old shepherd games inspired by
the Romanian shepherds, the death watch, „coada” (the third day after the wedding), the custom of
putting down the coffin during the burial procession etc.
Brotherhoods and Women Associations are also interestingly depicted, they were actually:
„unions that respect the moral and religious ideas, set up to practice the vivid Christianity and
country dedication...”, to which the Saxon used to belong as young bachelor, later as married man,
and which Schullerus describes in detail due to his experience as a priest in Cincu.
The folklorist renders certain aspects of everyday life through vivid and sometimes funny
images without for a moment leaving the tone of the informed researcher. Here it is, for example
the praises for a well-dressed child:”well, well; you are so proud now you stink! You wouldn’t even
say hello to manure! ” ( „măi, măi; eşti aşa de mândru acuma, de puţi!”; „nu mai dai bună ziua nici
măcar la o balegă!”) etc.
Faithful to the idea that linguistics cannot be separated from ethnography, Schullerus looks
shortly into the study of German language in Transylvania in his Monograph, noticing that in the
case of Transylvanian Saxons the literary language was written and the dialect only spoken, both
suffering mutual influences in time. Therefore, it is the dialect that should be researched first, and
the author tries to reconstruct its evolution starting with the 13th century.
One of the most important books in the ethnography domain, Scurt tratat de etnografie a
saşilor din Transilvania (Short Ethnography Monograph of Transylvanian Saxons) represents the
first synthesis of the Transylvanian Saxons’ civilization in the history of Romanian folklore, with
important observations on Romanian and Hungarian popular cultures.
An international recognition of his value as a researcher was his ethnography and mythology
section in the annual magazine of the Berlin Society for German Philology, section through which,
starting with 1892, Schullerus would make known the progress within this domain. „The man of
encyclopedic knowledge”12 Adolf Schullerus remains thus an important figure not only in the
history of Romanian folklore but also in the European culture.
Bibliography:
1. Bârlea Ovidiu, Istoria folcloristicii româneşti, Bucureşti, Editura Minerva, 1974
2. Göllner Carl, Adolf Schullerus, Bukarest, Kriterion Verlag, 1986
3. Markel Hanni, Prima generaţie de folclorişti saşi în Anuarul de folclor III-IV, Cluj, 1983
4. Murgoci Agnes, Beveridge Murgoci Helen, Pagini engleze despre folclorul românesc, Cluj,
Editura Viitorul românesc, 2005
5. Nägler Doina, Aportul tipografilor saşi din sec. XVII-XIX la aprofundarea relaţiilor culturale
româno-săseşti în Studii de istorie a naţionalităţilor conlocuitoare din România şi a înfrăţirii lor cu
naţiunea română, vol. II, Bucureşti, Editura Politică, 1976
6. Papadima Ovidiu, Literatură populară română, Bucureşti, Editura pentru literatură, 1968
7. Retegan Simion Interferenţe politice româno-săseşti în perioada guvernării liberale (1860-1867)
în Studii de istorie a naţionalităţilor conlocuitoare din România şi a înfrăţirii lor cu naţiunea
română, vol. II, Bucureşti, Editura Politică, 1976
8. Schullerus Adolf, Scurt tratat de etnografie a saşilor din Transilvania, Bucureşti, Editura
Meronia, 2003
12
Goţia Anca, Cuvânt înainte la Scurt tratat de etnografie a saşilor din Transilvania, Bucureşti, editura Meronia, 2003
352
9. Wittstock Joachim, Relaţii culturale dintre românii şi saşii transilvăneni în anii 1800-1918 în
Studii de istorie a naţionalităţilor conlocuitoare din România şi a înfrăţirii lor cu naţiunea română,
vol. II, Editura Politică, Bucureşti, 1976
353