Folk Narratives of “The Wandering Jew” (ATU 777) in Latvian Folklore

Authors

• Svetlana Pogodina, University of LatviaFollow

Abstract

This essay reports field-collected texts of “The Wandering Jew” (ATU 777) recorded in the twentieth century in Latvia to determine if they are distinctive within the global tradition of the folk narrative. The Archives of Latvian Folklore (Latviešu folkloras krātuve) collection contains versions of the narrative recorded in the 1920s and 1930s. These texts have not previously been published in English translation. An interpretation is made that the narratives borrow elements from Jewish stereotypes that exist in a local folklore tradition. Comparing the Latvian material to the European and Slavic versions of the story of the Eternal Jew, a major difference is discerned: The Jew in the Latvian versions often finds a long-awaited death. He is forgiven and eventually dies. Following a pattern evident in Slavic sources, he dies from a lightning strike during a thunderstorm in a tree hollow deep in the woods. The beliefs evident in the narratives point to antisemitic attitudes toward Jews as an othered, alien group that persisted into the twenty-first century.

Recommended Citation

Pogodina, Svetlana (2026) "Folk Narratives of “The Wandering Jew” (ATU 777) in Latvian Folklore," Jewish Folklore and Ethnology: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/jewishfolklore/vol5/iss1/2