German folklore shares many characteristics with Scandinavian folklore due to origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters (sometimes recognisably pre-Christian) associated with Christian festivals, and various regional 'character' stories. Scandinavian folklore, i. ... Germanic mythology is a comprehensive term for Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples. ... Pantheon (Greek: παν, pan, all + θεόν, theon, of the gods), in one sense, is the set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Greek mythology, Norse mythology. ... Norse mythology, Viking mythology or Scandinavian mythology refer to the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. ...

As in Scandinavia, when belief in the old gods disappeared, remnants of the mythos persisted: Holda, a supernatural patron of spinning; the Lorelei, a dangerous Rhine siren derived from the Nibelung myth; the fairy Berchta; the Weisse Frau, a water fairy said to protect children; the Wild Hunt (in German folklore preceded by an old man, Honest Eckart, who warns others of its approach); the giant Rubezahl; changeling legends; and many more generic entities such as the elf, dwarf, kobold and erlking. In Germanic folklore Holda is the supernatural patron of the mystery of spinning with its links to the other world (See weaving (mythology)). She is well known throughout northern Europe (see Huld in Scandinavian mythology). ... Lorelei The Lorelei (originally written as Loreley) is a rock in the Rhine near St. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... In Greek mythology, the Sirens or Seirenes (Greek Σειρῆνας) were sea nymphs who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli which was surrounded by cliffs and rocks. ... German Nibelung and the corresponding Old Norse form Niflung (Niflungr) refers in most of the German texts and in all the Old Norse texts to the royal family or lineage of the Burgundians who settled at Worms. ... Berchta (English Bertha), a fairy in South German mythology. ... The wild hunt, by Peter Nicolai Arbo The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern Europe and Britain. ... Trolls with the changeling they have raised, John Bauer, 1913 A changeling, in various European legends, is the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other creature, left secretly in exchange for a human child. ... The term elf may refer to: Elf, a mythical creature, or a subtype, the dark elf Elves, a form of upper atmospheric lightning TotalFinaElf, a French oil company Elf (band), a rock group founded by Ronnie James Dio Elf (movie), a 2003 film starring Will Ferrell ELF (company), a Japanese... DWARF (short for Debug With Arbitrary Record Format although rarely seen that way) is a widely used, standardized debugging data format. ... Kobolds are ugly spirits that originate from German folklore. ... In German and Scandanavian myth, an erlking is a mischievous or malevolent sprite which often targets children. ...

Christian folklore includes Knecht Ruprecht, a rough companion to Santa Claus; the Lutzelfrau, a Yuletide witch who must be appeased with small presents; the Osterhase (Easter Hare - the original Easter Bunny); and Walpurgisnacht, a spring festival derived from pagan customs. The Dutch version, called Zwarte Piet Knecht Ruprecht, companion of Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas, is also known as Servant Ruprecht, Farmhand Ruprecht, Pelzebock, Pelznickel (Nicholas in furs), Zwarte Piet or Zwarte Peter in the Netherlands and Flanders, Black Peter, and Schmutzli Samichlaus in Switzerland, sometimes associated with Saint Rupert. ... A common portrayal of Santa Claus. ... Yule is the winter solstice Blót (celebration) in Asatru, the pagan practices of the Germanic peoples prior to the arrival of Christianity. ... The Easter Bunny is a symbolic rabbit or hare, usually in depictions, used in the celebrations of Easter -- especially in Western European cultures. ... Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö in Estonian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, Walpurgisnacht in German) is a holiday celebrated on April 30, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Germany. ...

Character folklore includes the stories of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the trickster hero Till Eulenspiegel, the Town Musicians of Bremen and Faust. The oldest picture of Pied Piper copied from the glass window of Marktkirche in Goslar The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a folk tale, among others written down by the Brothers Grimm. ... In the study of mythology, folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit or human hero who breaks the rules of the gods or nature, sometimes maliciously (for example, Loki) but usually with ultimately positive effects. ... Till Eulenspiegel (Low German Dyl Ulenspegel) is a character of medieval Low German literature. ... The Town Musicians of Bremen, erected in 1951. ... Faust is the protagonist of a popular German tale that has been used as the basis for many different fictional works. ...

Documentation and preservation of German folklore was particularly fostered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Saxon author Johann Karl August Musäus was an early collector, and study was further promoted by Johann Gottfried von Herder. His belief in the role of folklore in ethnic nationalism - a folklore of Germany as a nation rather than of disunited German-speaking peoples - inspired the Brothers Grimm, Goethe and others. For instance, folklore elements, such as the Rhine Maidens and the Grimms' The Tale of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear, formed part of the source material for Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... -1... Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder (August 25, 1744 - December 18, 1803), German poet, critic, theologian, and philosopher, is best known for his concept of the Volk and is generally considered the father of ethnic nationalism. ... Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm The Brothers Grimm (Brüder Grimm) are Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was an influential German composer, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs: themes associated... Der Ring des Nibelungen or, in the translated English, The Ring of the Nibelung, is a series of four epic operas. ...

Some of the works of Washington Irving - notably Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - are based on German folktales. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Joseph Jefferson as Rip van Winkle, 1869 Rip van Winkle is a short story by Washington Irving, as well as the name of the storys fictional protagonist. ... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. ...

Within Germany, the nationalistic aspect was further emphasised during the Nazi era, when folklore studies (Volkskunde) were co-opted as a political tool. Anti-Semitic folklore such as the blood libel legend was also emphasised. The work of James Dow has particularly added to knowledge of this era: for instance, via the book The Nazification of an Academic Discipline: Folklore in the Third Reich (James R Dow and Hannjost Lixfeld, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-253-31821-1). The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ... Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ...

External links

• Free eBook of Grimm's Fairy Tales (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2591) at Project Gutenberg
• Free eBook of Grimm's household tales with the author's notes (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5314) at Project Gutenberg.
• Johann Karl August Musäus (http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/autoren/musaeus.htm) Projekt Gutenberg DE (in German)
• Anti-Semitic folklore (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/antisemitic.html) DL Ashliman's folktexts
• German changeling legends (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/gerchange.html) ditto
• The Disappearance of Little People Explained in German Legends (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/gone.html) ditto
• Washington Irving biography (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wirving.htm) at Books and Writers
• James Dow (http://www.iastate.edu/~ceah/01-02-dist.html) Iowa State University page