Herder's conception of "das Volk"

I wish to express my sincere thanks to all my Professors, but especially to Professors Starr W. Cutting, Martin Schütze, and Francis A. Wood, under whom the major portion of my work in the Graduate School has been pursued.

This particular study, however, is the outcome of interest awakened by Professor Schütze while I was a member of his seminars.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to him, not only for his guidance in this endeavor, but for the inspiration and encouragement which has come to me from the very beginning of my work under him.

GEORGIANA R. SIMPSON

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. SEMASIOLOGY OF THE WORD, Volk—THE IDEA IN OTHER WORDS 1

II. CONCEPTIONS OF Volk AS SEEN IN HERDER’S USE OF THE TERM 4

III. CONCEPTIONS OF Volk AS GATHERED FROM HERDER’S COLLECTION OF Volkslieder 15

IV. CONCEPTIONS OF Volk IN HERDER’S DISCUSSION OF “OSSIAN’S PEOPLE” AND THE ANCIENT HEBREWS 22

V. FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUALITY AND PERSONALITY IN HERDER 31

VI. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY THOUGHT IN HERDER’S CONCEPTION OF Das Volk 36

VII. CONCLUSION 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY 58

CHAPTER I

SEMASIOLOGY OF VOLK—THE IDEA IN OTHER WORDS

Before going directly to the main discussion of our theme, a background is sought in a brief semasiological study of the word Volk. The word is widespread in the Germanic languages; Gothic, however, offers no examples. Among the earliest recorded Germanic forms are those in Old English and in Old High German. Old English folc meant people, common people, multitude, a people, tribe, family, army:

“He sloh folces Denigea fyftyne men”—Beowulf.

“Folces hyrde”—Beowulf.

It was particularly used originally of a crowd of people. Skeat’s Etymological Dictionary suggests the possibility of its being related to both flock and full.

Old High German folc meant people, body of warriors, servants, crowd, mass. The oldest meaning here suggests forces of war: dhazs himiliscâ folc.

The word occurs in Old Frisian as folk; in Old Saxon, folc; and in Old Norse, folk; with meanings equivalent to those found in Old High German and Old English.

Kluge’s Etymological Dictionary says that the meaning “division of an army” seems to be the fundamental meaning of the family group, from which Lithuanian pulkas, heap mass, Old Slavonic plŭkŭ, host of war, are borrowed forms.

In Middle English the word took on the additional meaning of an aggregation of people in relation to a superior; e.g., God, a king, or priest; further it began to mean also the vulgar or lower classes, this use easily rising out of the meaning “mass” or “the many.” Such expressions occur as beboden waes Godes folce, Folkes Mass Book.

In Middle High German the meaning was people, hosts of war, army, servants, subjects, multitude: er das Volk gewan (Gudrun, 1162, 2).

In Modern English the word is chiefly colloquial, being superseded in more formal use by “people.”

In numerous combinations (following German precedent) it has the sense of pertaining to, current among, or existing among the masses of the people or the common people. Such expressions as folk-belief, folk-custom, folk-literature, folk-name, folk-song, and folk-speech are prevalent.

Modern High German has retained the word with nearly all of its primitive meanings: die schottischen Völker empören sich und drohen abzuziehen;[1] Mein Volk zu mindern;[2] Was rennt das Volk?;[3] du weisst, wir alten fahren, und ihr junges Volk reitet;[4] den Teufel spürt das Völkchen nie.[5]