Robert Eder (folklorist)

Robert Eder (born June 13, 1848 in Vienna , † March 18, 1918 in Mödling ) was an Austrian local historian , ornithologist and folklorist .

Eder worked for ten years as a merchant in Vienna, then for 25 years as an authorized signatory in a large industrial factory in Neustadt an der Tafelfichte (Bohemia). In 1900 he and his family retired to Mödling into private life. At a young age he made an international name for himself as an ornithologist. He remained true to this inclination throughout his life. In Mödling he headed the Friends of Nature Association and was also the curator of the Francisco-Josephinum agricultural college .

His main interests in his time in Mödling were mainly history and folklore. He published a series of studies on the history of the town of Mödling from prehistoric times, wrote about mysticism and superstition , researched customs and traditions , collected sagas and dealt with bird life and bird saga .

From 1890 Eder was an honorary member of the ornithological association for northern Bohemia in Reichenberg. In 1905 he was elected to the supervisory board of the Association for Austrian Folklore. In 1914 the kk Central Commission for Art and Historical Monuments appointed him a correspondent and from 1916 he was a corresponding member of the Association for Regional Studies of Lower Austria.

In addition to his publications, Eder also left behind an extensive folklore collection (mainly on the subject of superstition).

Works (selection)

• Healing Johanneshäupter , Journal for Austrian Folklore 10, 1904, p. 107.
• Neun Heutt des Weib , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 10, 1904, p. 155.
• Medieval vessels from Mödling , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 11, 1905, p. 35.
• Folk traditions from Northern Bohemia , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 12, 1906, p. 208.
• Folk traditions from Northern Bohemia II , Journal for Austrian Folklore 13, 1907, 130ff.
• The birds of Lower Austria, Mödling 1908, self-published, 108 pp
• The buck as the discoverer of the grape, the Weinberbock and the Weinbergoas , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 15, 1909, p. 180ff.
• Ruthenische Gebräuche , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 18, 1912, p. 46ff.
• The baking trough as a means of defense against the risk of fire , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 19, 1913, p. 35f.
• Religious defense against disease from Maria-Enzersdorf , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 20, 1914, pp. 141f.
• Folklore traditions from Northern Bohemia , Zeitschrift für Österreichische Volkskunde 21–22, 1915–1916, p. 91f.
• From yesterday and married yesterday. Collected essays from Mödling's past and present , Mödling 1919.

literature

• Eder Robert. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 217.
• Autobiographical sketch , The Researcher V / 5-7, June 1914 (contains an extensive list of writings).
• Joseph Longo, foreword , in Von Gestern und Ehegestern, Mödling 1919, pp. II-IV.