The Grundtvig Archive as a Genre

Talking with the Voices in the Archive

Abstract

This article explores N.F.S. Grundtvig’s literary archive as a genre, arguing that access to the archive is significantly shaped by its organization and descriptive structure. Drawing on Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) and especially Heather MacNeil’s Archival Theory, the article examines the formation and function of the archive as discursive practices. It traces the history of the archive from Grundtvig’s death in 1872 through early disputes over ownership and the initial arrangement to the compilation of the Registrant (1957-1964), which is a comprehensive register of the manuscripts. By interpreting archival metadata as rhetorical utterances, the
analysis highlights the social actions embedded in the archive’s composition and description. The genre of the archive is shown to be evolving in response to its uses and technological contextualization, with digitization in particular offering new opportunities to reorganize the material – chronologically or thematically. The article concludes that the meaning and function of the Grundtvig Archive can be understood only through its historical and social context and the many voices that have contributed to its creation and maintenance.