How did Herder’s idea of Volksseele influence the study of folk literature?

Johann Gottfried von Herder’s concept of the Volksseele, or "ethnic soul," fundamentally transformed the study of folk literature by establishing it as a legitimate and essential field of inquiry.1

Herder proposed that every culture possesses a distinct collective identity—the Volksseele—which is most authentically expressed through the "naive but expressive" discourse of popular oral poetry, or Volksdichtung. By identifying this soul as the defining characteristic of a nation's spirit, Herder elevated folk traditions from being viewed as mere remnants of "backward" or uneducated lifestyles to being recognized as the primary repository of a people's national identity.12

His theory had several key influences on the study of literature:
* Legitimization: It provided a theoretical framework that privileged folk literature as a model for 18th-century poetry, arguing that such works contained the purest form of a nation's creative power.13
* Cultural Relativism: It encouraged scholars to study and judge folk expressions within their own historical and cultural contexts rather than against external standards.1
* Preservation: It motivated the systematic collection of folk songs, tales, and customs to prevent the loss of authentic national characteristics, particularly in regions like Germany that were seeking to define their identity.12