Folktron och framtiden

Sammendrag

The article examines how the work of folklore archives was shaped by both nostalgia and faith in the future – how early twentieth-century collecting was permeated by notions of an idealized peasant society, yet also by a belief in societal progress. Based on the activities of 35 folklore collectors, it discusses how these two views of the past influenced the collectors and their collecting practices, and thus also what is found today in the collections of the folklore archives. The study is limited to one aspect of folklore, namely folk belief. The examples are drawn primarily from the West Swedish Folklore Archives in Gothenburg.