Legends and customs from Unterwalden

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Legends and customs from Unterwalden is a collection of legends and customs from Unterwalden , i.e. from the two cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden .

Emergence

At the beginning of the 20th century, the doctor of law and attorney Franz Niderberger (* 1876, † 1931) collected legends and customs from the two cantons. In addition to a few sources , he mainly used collections of sagas that were either already printed or at least existed in a manuscript. In 1909 he published the first (pp. 1–172), in 1910 the second part (pp. 173–343) of his extensive collection of sagas. In 1914 he created the third part, Religious Morals and Legends (pp. 344–966), in which, however, there are hardly any legends to be found. In 1924 there was a complete edition of all three parts in one book for the first time. The Edition Olms , Zurich, put the work in 1978 after the original from 1924, but with a foreword by Max Lüthi supplemented scratch.

Content of the sagas

The sagas collected cover all areas of the types known from central Swiss saga research, both in terms of content and collection technology. Etiological legends in particular form the focus in the first part. The second part mainly deals with spooks and encounters with the supernatural . Some of the legends were already collected at the beginning of the 19th century, others only shortly before going to press. Since Niderberger's primary goal was to publish a people's book, he omitted to mention the sources in his work. Since the author and their social environment can only be reconstructed from a few legends, the work has lost a large part of its possible importance in science. Nevertheless, it is still Niderberger's great merit to have collected and published the scattered sagas.

Informants

Niderberger's informants are: Pastor Albert von Ah, Robert Durrer , Chaplain Josef Ignaz Imfeld, Bischöfl. Commissioner A. Berlinger, chaplain J. Röthlin, parish assistant Odermatt, Anton Stockmann, Karl Engelberger, Josef Küchler, Melchior Lussi, J. Berwert, Josef Durrer , Albert Hinter, Niklaus Kiser, J. Amschwand, Josef Schäli and Heinrich Niederberger.

expenditure

  • Franz Niderberger: Legends, fairy tales and customs from Unterwalden. Part 1. Self-published, Sarnen 1909, 172 pages.
  • Franz Niderberger: Legends, fairy tales and customs from Unterwalden. Part 2. Self-published, Sarnen 1910, 173 pages.
  • Franz Niderberger: Legends, fairy tales and customs from Unterwalden. Part 3: Religious Customs and Legends. Self-published, Sarnen 1914, 622 pages.
  • Franz Niderberger: Legends and customs from Unterwalden , with a foreword by Max Lüthi. Edition Olms, Zurich 1978, ISBN 3-283-00009-3 .