DKK 1,800 a year, allowing him to devote all his time to collecting folklore. Later life After Svend Grundtvig died, Tang Kristensen founded the Danish Folklore Society (Folkemindesamfundet) in 1883 and, until 1889, edited its journal Skattegraveren (Treasure Digger), bringing him into contact with those interested in folklore throughout the country. After living for a period in Hadsten (1888–97), he moved to Mølholm near Vejle where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1904, together with Axel Olrik and Henning Frederik Feilberg, Tang Kristensen founded the Danish folklore archives. In 1924, he donated all his published works and manuscripts to that institution while leaving most of his other possessions of folkloric interest to the museums at Herning and Vejle. Assessment Tang Kristensen's longstanding interest in folklore collection resulted in a wealth of data. Some 6,500 individuals communicated material to him. He himself recorded some 3,000 songs with 1,000 tunes, 2,700 fairy tales, 2,500 jokes, 25,000 legends, numerous sayings, poems and riddles as well as tens of thousands of descriptions of traditions and everyday life. In addition, he collected samples of handwriting, leaflets and music, not to mention all the material he received from others. The fieldnotes from his travels fill 24,000 pages of manuscript. His records maintain a high level of quality thanks to his consistent detailing of time, place and informants. His special qualities as a folklore collector were noted by his friend and colleague Hakon Grüner-Nielsen who emphasized his mastery of local dialects, his exceptional memory and his rigorous approach. Tang Kristensen contributed greatly to the method of collecting folklore by going directly to the sources of oral tales, often recording the narritive tone of his informants. In so doing, together with Kaarle Krohn and Antti Aarne in Finland, he paved the way for modern folklore research. Own works The published works (in Danish) of Tang Christensen include: Sagn fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1880 Æventyr fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1881 Sagn og Overtro fra Jylland. Jyske Folkeminder, 1883 Gamle viser i Folkemunde, 1891 Gamle folks fortællinger om det jyske almueliv, som det er blevet ført i mands minde, samt enkelte oplysende sidestykker fra øerne, 1891–94 Mosekonen brygger. Æventyr og Legender, 1891 Danske Sagn: Ellefolk, Nisser og adskillige Uhyrer, samt religiøse Sagn, Lys og Varsler, 1893 Æventyr fra Fyn, 2007 Danske Sagn: Kjæmper. Kirker. Andre Stedlige Sagn. Skatte, 1895 Danske Sagn: Personsagn, 1896 Danske Dyrefabler og Kjæderemser, 1896