ABSTRACT
To understand properly Evald Tang Kristensen’s collection, it is essential to understand the social and historical contexts in which it arose. Kristensen’s collection philosophy, his motivation and his goals are not the only essential elements of this context.1 The social, economic and historical forces affecting the informants are also critical aspects of the context. This section presents an evaluation of the reliability of Kristensen’s published and unpublished materials as sources, examines the community structure of the groups which Kristensen collected from, and details the range of informants contributing legends to the collection.
