Old German Genesis

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The Old German Genesis is an early Middle High German , poetic adaptation of the biblical Genesis from the second half of the 11th century (approx. 1060-1080). The work has survived in three versions, all of which are dated to the 12th century: in the Viennese and Millstätter manuscripts, which are based on a common model, and in the Vorau collective manuscript .

Origin and tradition

The author and the place of origin of the archetype, i.e. the original version of the Old German Genesis, are unknown. The time of origin and content speak for the spiritual status of the author, which, however, cannot be narrowed down. Based on the Bavarian-Austrian writing language of the three surviving versions, it is assumed that the archetype comes from the Bavarian-Austrian language area. The client is unknown. The group of addressees is also unclear: behind the address in the prologue with mîne liebe and the preaching request nû vernemet (...) a speech , lay people from peasant to nobility, secular clergy or religious clergy were suspected in research; the audience question could not yet be resolved convincingly.

Prologue of the Vienna Genesis
(humility formula, audience salutation and announcement of a speech )
NV fer nemet, mine liebe, ich wil iu aine rede fore tuon.
ube me the guote smelled ſenten zemuote
daz i chunne talk alſo i diu buoch hore zelen,
ſo diu zala became minnechlich: denne goteſ wuntere iſt nivetc. (V. 1-4)

Prologue to the Millstätter Genesis
(humility formula, audience address and announcement of a speech )
Nv uernemet mine love, I want to speak a speech:
if the guote geruochit show me
that I want to talk ao I would div buoch hore zelen,
ſo min speak praiseworthy: the goteſ if you are not g (eli) ch (V. 1-4)

Prologue of the 'Vorauer Bücher Mosis' in the Vorauer handwriting
(humility formula and announcement of a speech without
addressing the audience) I fisted uon mine ſunden, ſo I would like to chunden
frome mineme ſchaphâre a speech here. (V. 1f.)
The Vorauer Genesis replaces the prologue of the 'Old German Genesis' with the prologue of the more recent 'Vorauer Bücher Mosis'; this no longer contains any references to a possible audience.

The Vienna Genesis was probably intended for the lecture (cf. rede fore tuon in verse 1, in contrast to the Millstätter Genesis: uorbrieuen ), which can be imagined sung or chant-like in the manner of a lectio . The possible timing of the lecture during the church year is controversial; The emphasis on topics such as sin, repentance and penance (especially in the Viennese text version) as well as the Latin formula laus tibi domine (Wiener Genesis, v. 526 or Millstätter Genesis, p. 21 V. 2), which in the Lent reading of Gn 1-14 typically replaces the otherwise usual Hallelujah of the liturgy. What speaks against the assumption of the liturgical use of the Vienna Genesis for Lent and generally against a temporal classification in the church year, however, is that it cannot be divided into individual lessons; "One can hardly claim more than that the Wi (ener) G (enesis) was inspired by the liturgy of Lent and that the text has clear affinities to the liturgy."

Probably the Viennese and Millstatt Genesis do not go back directly to the original version. A common template * WM is accepted, which in turn was an editing of the Old German Genesis. The Vorau handwriting, however, is not due to the * WM. This handwriting stemma for the transmission of the 'Old German Genesis' was first formulated by Joseph Diemer and is largely undisputed.

content

The text basis for the Old German Genesis is the book Genesis of the Old Testament and ranges from the creation of the world to the death of Joseph . Most of the text follows the Vulgate, but there are also significant differences. Many areas were changed so that the acting person is the focus of salvation history. Central themes are sin, confession, repentance and penance.

The Millstätter and the Vienna Genesis hardly differ from one another in terms of content and text structure. The Millstätter Genesis is to be viewed more precisely as a more recent version of the Old German Genesis, as it strives for a more contemporary language and a smoothing of the rhymes. In terms of content, the Vorau manuscript differs greatly from the Millstätter and Wiener Genesis and only adopts the Joseph story, which, however, is based on a common template and was not directly transferred from the Viennese manuscript. In the Vorauer Genesis, the divine trinity is a leitmotif.

The cuts and omissions that were made in the Old German Genesis compared to the biblical model focus the narrative on main characters and events. The narrative intention is additionally emphasized by extensions. So z. B. placed man at the center of salvation history. In the Viennese and Millstätter manuscripts, in contrast to the Vorauer, the moral intention predominates.

Image equipment

Two of the manuscripts of the Old German Genesis are equipped with pen drawings.

The Millstatt manuscript contains a total of 87 illustrations in the parts of Genesis, in red, blue and brown colors. The images are simple outline drawings without artistic pretensions and are inserted into the text without a frame.

The Viennese manuscript only has seven illustrations, although space has been left out for further pictures, which were never executed. The recesses in the Viennese manuscript are in similar places as in the Millstätter, which is why research has assumed a closer relationship between the manuscripts.

The Vorauer Genesis has not been provided with images.

Overview of the illustrations

In the Viennese handwriting

Pen drawings / miniatures

  1. fol. Ir God in the mandorla between the archangels Gabriel and Michael and the nine choirs of angels .
  2. fol. Iv Lucifer on the throne of God and the three archangels.
  3. fol. For the fall of the angel: the archangel Michael hurls Lucifer, depicted as the devil, into hell, represented by flames and smoke.
    fol. IIv empty
  4. fol. 4r Christ blessing between a man and a woman (donor figures).
  5. fol. 4v Holy Bishop between two (noble?) Orderers. One attribute of the saint is missing.
  6. fol. 5r saint between two old men, perhaps the transfiguration of Christ (Christ between Moses and Elias).
  7. fol. 5v God and male figure.

In the Millstatt handwriting

Pen drawings / miniatures

  • fol. 3r decision to create man
  • fol. 3v creation of Adam
  • fol. 6r animation of Adam
  • fol. 8r Adam between the tree of life and that of knowledge
  • fol. 9r Adam gives names to animals
  • fol. 9v creation of Eve
  • fol. 10r temptation of Eve
  • fol. 11r Fall of Man
  • fol. 12r discovery
  • fol. 14v expulsion from paradise
  • fol. 16v angels as guardians at the gate of paradise
  • fol. 17r supplement of Adam and Eve
  • fol. 18r birth of Cain
  • fol. 19r sacrifice of Cain and Abel
  • fol. 19v fratricide
  • fol. 21r order to Noah to build arches
  • fol. 21r entry into the ark
  • fol. 22r leaving the ark
  • fol. 22r Noah's thanksgiving offering
  • fol. 23r Noah's nakedness and Ham's mockery
  • fol. 23r Noah's curse on Ham
  • fol. 24r Tower of Babel
  • fol. 24v election of Abraham
  • fol. 25v promise to Abraham
  • fol. 26r Sarah puts Hagar with her husband
  • fol. 26v birth of Ishmael
  • fol. 27r commandment to circumcise
  • fol. 27r visit of the three angels to Abraham
  • fol. 28r Birth and Circumcision of Isaac
  • fol. 28v Hagar in the desert
  • fol. 29v Sacrifice of Isaac
  • fol. 29v recessed image space (Sara's death)
  • fol. 30r Abraham sends his servant out to court
  • fol. 31v return with Rebekah
  • fol. 32r Abraham's death
  • fol. 32v Isaac's prayer and the birth of Esau and Jacob
  • fol. 33r Jacob under the tent
  • fol. 33v Esau sells his firstborn
  • fol. 34r Isaac and Rebekah before Abimelech
  • fol. 34v Isaac sends Esau to hunt
  • fol. 35r blessing of Jacob
  • fol. 36r Esau's return
  • fol. 37v Jacob's farewell
  • fol. 37v Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven
  • fol. 38r Jacob's vow at Bethel
  • fol. 38v Meeting of Jacob and Rachel at the well
  • fol. 40v Rachel leaves Jacob to Leah for candy apples
  • fol. 42v Jacob moved out of Laban's house
  • fol. 43v Laban seeks his idols
  • fol. 45r Jacob's fight with the angel
  • fol. 46r meeting of Jacob and Esau
  • fol. 47r massacre in Shechem
  • fol. 49r Benjamin's birth and Rachel's death
  • fol. 49v Isaac's death
  • fol. 50r reconciliation between Esau and Jacob
  • fol. 51r Joseph's first dream story
  • fol. 51v Joseph's second dream story
  • fol. 52r Sale of Joseph to the Egyptians
  • fol. 53v Sale of Joseph to Potiphar
  • fol. 55r Joseph flees from Potiphar's wife
  • fol. 55v baker and tavern thrown into dungeon
  • fol. 57r Joseph as interpreter of dreams between the baker and the cupbearer
  • fol. 57v The king's dream and reference to Joseph in dungeon
  • fol. 58v Joseph before the king
  • fol. 59v Joseph is given the governorship of Egypt
  • fol. 60v Joseph's marriage
  • fol. 61r Joseph and his family
  • fol. 61v Jacob sends his sons to Egypt without Benjamin
  • fol. 62v Incarceration of Joseph's brothers
  • fol. 63r Release of the brothers from prison
  • fol. 63v Sent home, Simeon held hostage
  • fol. 65v Second arrival of the brothers with Benjamin at Joseph
  • fol. 66v Joseph sees Benjamin and turns away
  • fol. 68r Joseph reveals himself to the brothers
  • fol. 69v Return with the gold cup
  • fol. 70v Joseph with his brothers before the king
  • fol. 71v Judas gives Joseph's gifts to his father
  • fol. 72r Departure of Jacob and his family to Egypt
  • fol. 72v God appears to Jacob in a dream
  • fol. 74r Jacob and his sons before the king
  • fol. 74v selling grain in the famine (unrecognizable)
  • fol. 75v Joseph with his sons and brothers at Jacob's deathbed
  • fol. 76r Jacob's blessing on Ephraim and Manasseh
  • fol. 76v Jacob blesses his sons
  • fol. 83r the soul of the three patriarchs
  • fol. 83v mourning for Jacob
  • fol. 84r funeral procession to Canaan
  • fol. 84v Joseph's death

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 2721, Manuscript Census ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cgi-host.uni-marburg.de
  2. ↑ Klagenfurt, Landesarchiv, Cod. GV 6/19
  3. ↑ Vorau, Stiftsbibl., Cod. 276
  4. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987, pp. 61–69 (with a current research overview of all questions relating to authorship).
  5. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987 (GAG 455), pp. 67-69 (research overview).
  6. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987 (GAG 455), pp. 47-69 (research overview) and pp. 79-86. Eßer's statements refer to the Viennese Genesis, but can also be transferred to the Millstatt Genesis.
  7. ^ Text edition of the Vienna Genesis: The early Middle High German Viennese Genesis. Critical edition with an introductory commentary on the tradition. Edited by Kathryn Smits. Berlin 1972 (PhStQu 59).
  8. ↑ Text edition of the Millstatt manuscript: Genesis and Exodus according to the Milstätter manuscript. Edited by Joseph Diemer. Vol. 1: Introduction and text. Vienna 1862; available online at Google Books .
  9. ^ Text edition of the 'Vorauer Bücher Mosis': Deutsche Gedichte des XI. and XII. Century. Edited by Joseph Diemer. Vienna 1849 (reprint Darmstadt 1968), pp. 1-90; available online at Google Books . Text copy of the Vorauer Joseph story from the 'Altdeutsche Genesis': Contributions to the older German language and literature. XX. History of Joseph in Egypt according to the Vorau manuscript. Edited by Joseph Diemer. In: Meeting reports of the phil.-hist. Class of emperors. Academy of Sciences 47. Vienna 1864, pp. 636-687; available online at Google Books .
  10. ↑ See Kurt Gärtner: Vorauer Handschrift 276, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 10 (1999), Sp. 516-521, here Sp. 514; on the transmission of the 'Vorauer Bücher Mosis' cf. the entry in the manuscript census .
  11. ↑ certify according to Mhd. Dictionary by M. Lexer : "confirm by a certificate, by signature and seal"
  12. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987, pp. 79-86 (with current research overview).
  13. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987, p. 86.
  14. ↑ Joseph Diemer (ed.), Genesis and Exodus according to the Milstäter manuscript, Vol. 1: Introduction and text, Vienna 1862, p. IV; available online at Google Books .
  15. ↑ Josef Eßer: The story of creation in the "Old German Genesis" (Wiener Genesis V. 1 - 231). Commentary and Interpretation. Göppingen 1987, p. 20; Research overview on the subject ibid., Pp. 20–26.
  16. ↑ Ursula Hennig: Altdeutsche Genesis, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1978), 279-284, here col. 280.
  17. ↑ Theresa Sünger: studies on the structure of the Wiener and Millstaetter Genesis, in: Carinthian Museum fonts 36, Klagenfurt 1964, p 109th
  18. ↑ Theresa Sünger: studies on the structure of the Wiener and Millstaetter Genesis, in: Carinthian Museum fonts 36, Klagenfurt 1964, p 26th
  19. ↑ a b Ursula Hennig: Vorauer books Mosis, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1999), col. 513-516, here col. 514.
  20. ↑ Ursula Hennig: Altdeutsche Genesis, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1978), Col. 279-284, here Col. 281.
  21. ↑ Ursula Hennig: Altdeutsche Genesis, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1978), Col. 279-284, here Col. 282.
  22. ↑ Fidel Rädle: Millstätter Handschrift, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1987), Sp. 531-534, here Sp. 532.
  23. ↑ Theresa Sünger: studies on the structure of the Wiener and Millstaetter Genesis, in: Carinthian Museum fonts 36, Klagenfurt 1964, p. 25
  24. ↑ Theresa Sünger: studies on the structure of the Wiener and Millstaetter Genesis, in: Carinthian Museum fonts 36, Klagenfurt 1964, p. 25
  25. ↑ Ursula Hennig: Altdeutsche Genesis, in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1978), Col. 279-284, here Col. 280.
  26. ↑ Quoted from: Codex Vindobonensis 2721. Early Middle High German composite manuscript of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. 'Genesis' - 'Physiologus' - 'Exodus'. Edgar Papp. Göppingen 1980 (Litterae 79), p. 14f.
  27. ↑ Quoted (but slightly modified) from: Hella Voss: Studies on the illustrated Millstätter Genesis. Munich 1962 (MTU 4), ​​pp. 197-210.

literature

  • Dieter Hensing: On the design of the Vienna Genesis. With references to Otfrid and the early sequence . In: Cola Minis (editor): Amsterdam publications on language and literature . Amsterdam, Rodopi 1972.
  • Kathryn Smits: The early Middle High German Viennese Genesis: critical edition with an introductory commentary on the tradition of Kathryn Smits . Schmidt, Berlin 1972.
  • Ursula Hennig: Old German Genesis , in: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon 1 (1978), Col. 279-284 + Vol. 11 (2004), Col. 80.
  • Oswald Zingerle : The paradise garden in the old German Genesis. In: Meeting reports of the kaiserl. Academy of Sciences [Vienna], philosophy-historical class. Volume 112, 1886, pp. 785-805.