Open AccessA Rare Find: a 19th Century Song about Cholera in Slovenia and Its Interpretation
Author(s) -
Mojca Ramšak
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fasciculi archaeologiae historicae
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2719-7069
pISSN - 0860-0007
DOI - 10.23858/fah34.2021.006
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , cholera , history , accidental , literature , geography , linguistics , art , philosophy , medicine , acoustics , physics , virology
The accidental discovery of an 1847 manuscript in the Local History and Special Collections Department at Maribor University Library in Slovenia (shelfmark: Kreps, 1847; UKM Ms 563), which contains, among other things, a song about cholera, was the basis for its contextual interpretation and comparison with related recorded songs. This new discovery is important because the song refers to the first wave of cholera on Slovene territory in 1836, whereas other songs describing the disease were written later. The text of the song resembles a collection of frightening news about the disease circulating among the people. The questions of whether the information in the song is real or fictional, genuine or exaggerated are discussed in light of the memory of cholera outbreaks found in other songs of the same genre and historical data.