Alphart's death
The epic of Alphart's death , written around 1250, is part of the Dietrichepik and the legends of Dietrich von Bern that have been handed down in verse . In the prose traditions of the Middle Ages (see Thidrekssaga ) it is not passed down. It deals with the death of the young Alphart, nephew of Hildebrand , in an unfair fight with Witege (= Wittich ) and homes , who can only defeat him with united strength.
content
The following table of contents follows the retelling in Hecht's "Deutsche Heldensagen". Alphart, nephew of Dietrich's armorer Hildebrand , moves out despite the contradictions and concerns of his older brother Wolfhart and King Dietrich himself to spy out the order of battle of Ermanarich's army. Ermanarich, Dietrich's uncle, wants to rule Dietrich's empire himself and wants to drive Dietrich out. Hildebrand rides after Alphart in strange armor and tries to defeat him in order to dissuade him from his plan. But Alphart wins the fight and only because Hildebrand reveals himself can he save his life and return home without having achieved anything. Alphart rides on and comes across a 40-man mounted scout troop of Ermanarichs under the direction of Duke Wülfing. After an argument in which he does not reveal himself, he defeats Wülfing and then almost all of the rest of his band in a single fight; when only 8 are left, they flee back to Ermanarich. When no one else dares to move against Alphart, Ermanarich offers Witege. He rides off, followed secretly by his competitor Heime. Witege finds the battlefield with the slain warriors, the Alphart remaining there does not reveal himself and challenges him to fight. Alphart knocks Witege off his horse in a spear fight and stuns him with sword blows on his helmet. Alphart does not kill the defenseless Witege, but waits for him to wake up. Heime comes up to help Witege. His attempt at arbitration fails. Witege wakes up from a swoon and calls on homes to join him in fighting Alphart. The latter refuses at first, but spurred on by Witege, he begins the fight with Alphart, Witege penetrates Alphart at the same time, who finally receives a deep head wound from Heime and sinks, whereupon Witege thrusts the sword into his body.
The article on Alphart gives the content and time (raven battle) somewhat differently (see discussion).
Motifs
- The fight between relatives: as in the Hildebrandslied , an older (here uncle instead of father) fights against his younger relative. In contrast to the Hildebrandslied, the boy wins.
- Chivalry: the riders of the scouting party who meet Alphart first only fight Alphart individually. The fact that Wittich and Heime later fight together against Alphart is portrayed as dishonest and shameful.
literature
- Elisabeth Lienert u. Viola Meyer (Ed.): Alphart's death. Dietrich and Wenezlan , Textgeschichtliche Ausgabe ( hardcover ), 1st edition Tübingen: Niemeyer 2007 ISBN 3-484-64503-2
- Alphart's death , pp. 62–73 from: German heroic sagas , retold by Gretel and Wolfgang Hecht. Frankfurt am Main: Insel taschenbuch 345, 1980, pages 7–95 and pages 383–387, (edition with the same text as the book with the same title from Insel-Verlag Anton Kippenberg, Leipzig 1969)