AN UNKNOWN FOLKLORIST AND TRANSLATOR - ROBERT PREXL
AN UNKNOWN FOLKLORIST AND TRANSLATOR - ROBERT PREXL

Summary/Abstract: The beginning of the 19th century marked an increased interest for the folk culture in general and for the Romanian one in Transylvania. Interestingly enough, the ones attracted by the Romanian folk culture were not only the Romanian intellectuals but also scholars belonging to the other two ethnic groups living in Transylvania, the Hungarians and the Saxons. Educated abroad, especially in Germany (Leipzig) the Saxon scholars could separate their prejudices against the Romanians (who at the time were considered negligible) from the folk songs and culture of this ethnic Transylvanian group who were the majority in this area. Thus, one of the Saxon scholars, Robert Prexl, not very thoroughly researched until now since very little was (and still is) known about his work as well as himself, proved to be an interesting collector as well as a talented translator of the Romanian folk songs and traditions, as the new articles recently found by the author of the present paper will try to demonstrate.

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