Comparative Studies and Literary History in the Correspondence Between Two Slavic Philologists (Matija Murko and Frank Wollman)

Abstract

This article explores the correspondence between Matija Murko (1861–1952) and Frank Wollman (1888–1969), two philologists who, despite belonging to different generations and applying different methods, shared a long-standing interest in folklore, comparative studies, and the history of Slavic literatures. All 156 letters written by Wollman to Murko between 1922 and 1951 together with twenty-six letters addressed to Wollman by Murko that are filed in the Literary Archives of the Museum of Czech Literature in Prague offer an interesting view on the common research and organizing activities of both scholars, reflecting the history of Slavic studies in the first half of the twentieth century (namely, Wollman’s appointment to the position of senior lecturer, his failed succession to Murko’s post at the Department of South Slavic Languages and Literatures at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, Prague, the discussions between the Linguistic Circle of Prague and German Slavic scholars in Prague, etc.). It was Murko, his close contact with positivist methodology notwithstanding, who helped to establish the concept of “eidology” as structuralist comparative studies. Moreover, he influenced Wollman’s ideas of the structural unity of Slavic languages as well as the younger scholar’s attitude to the existence of the common cultural heritage of the Slavic peoples. Reading correspondence between the two men thus helps us gain better insight into the life and works of great Slavic scholars that saw their field of study not only as a “pure” science but as a tool that cultural politics can use to meet current social needs.