author
János Berze Nagy
1879–1946
A pioneering Hungarian folklorist, he began collecting folk traditions as a teenager and went on to become an important researcher of folktales, legends, and popular belief. His work helped preserve a rich body of oral storytelling from rural Hungary.
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About the author
Born in Besenyőtelek in 1879 and raised in a peasant family, János Berze Nagy developed an interest in folk culture early and was already gathering ethnographic material at about age fourteen. He later studied at the University of Budapest, where he was a student of the folklorist Lajos Katona, and earned his doctorate in 1905.
Alongside a long career in educational administration, he continued collecting and studying oral tradition, often working with village teachers to assemble valuable folkloric material. His research focused especially on folktales, legends, folk belief, and the links between oral tradition and literature.
He is remembered as one of the notable Hungarian folklorists of the early 20th century. Among the works associated with him is Népmesék Heves- és Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok-megyéből (folk tales from Heves and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties), and his scholarship is noted for helping advance the study and classification of Hungarian folktales.