Anders Sørensen Vedel

Anders Sørensen Vedel 1578

Anders Sørensen Vedel (born November 9, 1542 in Vejle , Jutland , † February 13, 1616 in Ribe , Jutland) was a Danish historian in the time of humanism and the Renaissance . A Danish Saxo translation (1575), an edition by Adam von Bremen (1579) and the Hundertliederbuch (1591) are his main printed works.

Life and historical works

Origin and education

Vedel came from an upper-class family from Vejle in Central Jutland. At the age of 14 he went to the prestigious Latin school in Ribe and lived there with the school's former headmaster; Among other things he got to know Saxo Grammaticus` Latin historical work Gesta Danorum , handwritten after 1185, and he was the first to translate this work completely into Danish; the print was published in 1575. His Saxo translation was widespread in Denmark and was also considered a stylistic model well into the 19th century.

The Bishop of Ribe, Hans Tausen , praised him and at the age of 19 he came to the University of Copenhagen. From 1562 to 1565 he went on trips as the (4 years) older companion with the young Danish aristocrat Tycho Brahe , including to Leipzig, and with Tycho Brahe he became close friends. On a second trip of his own he came to Wittenberg and graduated there in 1566 with a degree in theology. In Wittenberg Vedel was able to get to know the abundance of humanistic literature of his time; a direct model for his later Hundertliederbuch cannot (so far) be found among them.

Court chaplain, patriot and historiographer in Ribe

In 1568 Vedel received the post of court preacher in Copenhagen; He found recognition in the patriotic aristocratic circle around the Danish King Friedrich II. There he met the later Danish Chancellors Niels Kaas and Arild Huitfeldt , among others ; the incumbent Chancellor Johan Friis suggested the above-mentioned Saxo translation. Vedel's work and publications were in the service of patriotism . And also Vedel's Hundertliederbuch from 1591 is a striking book edition in this phase of the checkered history of Denmark under King Christian IV (ruled from 1588, when he was of legal age in 1596, died in 1648).

From 1574 Vedel was back in Ribe . In 1577 he married the daughter of the historian Hans Svaning (1503–1584) and subsequently took over Svaning's position as historian and thus his task of writing a Danish chronicle of history (in Latin , the language of science at the time). He also received Svaning's extensive collection of manuscripts. His wife died of the plague in 1578. 1581 sparked Vedel from his Hofpredigeramt, moved permanently to Ribe, got a job as Kannik ( canons ) in the cathedral chapter , and married the daughter of the Bishop Hans Laugesen, a granddaughter of Hans Tausen. He became a wealthy man and set up a library that was unusually large at the time (the Hundertliederbuch mentioned below appeared in his private printer).

After Svaning's death, Vedel had been Denmark's historiographer since 1584, still with the task of writing a Danish “chronicle” (unclear whether in Latin or in Danish). This was not completed by Svaning, but Vedel was also replaced by this work, which he could not complete, in 1595; others took over its corresponding collections and preparatory work. The successor was not successful either, and only Vedel's childhood friend Arild Huitfeldt completed her Danmarks Riges Krønike [Chronicle of the Danish Empire] in the years 1595 to 1603 - in Danish. Vedel played a major role in Danish becoming a language of science in his day.

Vedel applied in vain for the position of bishop in Ribe. But even as a canon he remained wealthy; he wrote many books (including the first edition of the church history of Adam of Bremen in 1579 , written around 1070, and a methodological treatise on the Danish chronicle in 1581). And he founded a large family (with descendants up to our time). - Large parts of his collection perished in the fire in Copenhagen in 1728, but important manuscripts for his Hundertliederbuch have been preserved.

The book of hundred songs (1591)

Title page, facsimile p. 25

Preliminary work and sources

On the basis of his collection of aristocratic manuscripts (which he partly took over from his father-in-law Svaning) Vedel published the Hundertliederbuch in 1591 (the title page has "MD IXC.", The preface is signed "Anno 1591"). This was one of the first printed song collections in Europe (texts only; interest in melodies was only added much later). Vedel tried to find a "best" text from his templates; z. In some cases he added stanzas to create a text suitable for him as a historian. In his time it was a highly innovative work, and posterity owes him many early sources on the history of the Danish narrative song (historical folk song ) and on the (Danish and thus early European) folk ballad .

The attention to historical sources in song form, e.g. T. in the oral tradition of the folk song and the folk ballad is a typical product of the Renaissance ; as a printed collection of such texts (the first in Scandinavia, one of the first ever) it also attracted the general public. It became fashionable in Danish aristocratic circles to create collections of songs that were also used as guest books or poetry books and as family books (with entries that also arouse interest in genealogy; see family book (friendship album) ). The oldest Danish manuscripts date from the 1550s; extensive with about two hundred song texts is z. B. "Karen Brahes Folio", dated around 1580. These sources resulted in a rich production of printed song pamphlets (see pamphlet ), which became the dominant medium of song transmission in the 17th century. The Hundertliederbuch is a striking source in the ranking of this development ; the collection contains no less than 333 items of folk ballad types (of a total of 539 folk ballad types of medieval origin known from Danish tradition; compare in literature: Danmarks gamle Folkeviser ). Only at the end of the 19th century was this tradition supplemented with new recordings (with melodies, also from oral tradition (compare oral tradition )); there can be no question of that at Vedel, although his handwritten templates may come close, and this is confirmed in individual cases.

Vedel's direct sources for the Hundertliederbuch were collective manuscripts; Of the four extensive ones, three have been preserved (including Svaning I and II; today in the holdings of the Royal Library in Copenhagen). The editor supplemented the sources with learned introductions and z. T. Latin quotations; it is [by today's standards an uncritical] historiography ( historical science ) in the broader sense, but groundbreaking for the time. The heroes of Danish (or perceived as Danish) history are glorified, including Dietrich von Bern , but also historical personalities of the 13th and 14th centuries and their circle such as B. Marsk Stig and King Waldemar the winner .

Preface and Chronicle of the Kings

Vedel's work begins with a preface to the Danish Queen Sophia , widow after King Frederick II, who encouraged him to do this work. In it, Vedel recalls a meeting with the Queen on the island of Hven near Tycho Brahe in 1586, Vedel's "old friend", and of the common interest in "old poems and songs" and "such historical antiques". A longer preface for the reader follows. Vedel refers to biblical singing by King David , to Greek and Roman antiquity, to Charlemagne and to texts on Danish or "Gothic" history, including the "Song of Kriemhild" mentioned in "Herr Sachse" ( Saxo Grammaticus ) (with the dating around 1185 a reference to a very early short version from the material of the Nibelung saga ). In addition to Latin (which he cites several times, also in detail, e.g. a quote from Johannes Reuchlin ), Vedel's opinion is that these sources in Danish are of great relevance for knowledge about the "ancient historical deeds", for expertise and for that Understanding of the language of that time.

The three parts of the work contain song texts by “old heroes and giants”, by Danish kings and queens (these texts “rhyme with the truth”) and, thirdly, by persons of the Danish nobility and the nobles of the empire. At the beginning there is a poetic chronicle series (probably composed by Vedel himself) from the first, legendary King "Dan" to, among others, "Rolf Krak" [Kraki, Rolf Krake , documented in Eddic poetry], "Gorm the Old" ( Gorm ) and his son " Harald Blauzahn " (the historical founder of the empire around 950 to 970) to King Christian IV , who has ruled since 1588, here the "number 100" in this line of ancestors,.

Lyrics of fabulous content

This is followed by the lyrics (there are 102 lyrics in total). Sometimes legendary or actual historical sources (Vedel tries to identify the people and the place names, and this distinguishes him as a modern-oriented historian) in a valuable way supplement and comment: The legendary exodus of the Lombards from Denmark "in the year 568 AD »(Part 1, No. 2, second text; with reference to Paulus Diaconus ); Dietrich von Bern (Part 1, No. 4); Woman Grimild , and her brothers (Part 1, No 7 to 9;. References to Saxo Grammaticus , 13th book, "Book of Heroes", compare hero books , known among other things, a German pressure of 1560]], and the handwritten " Hvenische Chronicle "(A manuscript from 1603 is preserved; compare to Ven (island) );" A song about Master Hildebrand "(Part 1, No. 10; reference to Latin scripts. It is a translation of the German-Low German-Dutch younger Hildebrand song with the beginning of the song "I want to ride out on land, said Master Hildebrand ...", which has been handed down in many sources since the 15th / 16th century.); Dietrich's (Dietrich von Bern) fight with the lindworm, the dragon (part 1, No. 12) etc. The wealth of sources that Vedel cites and obviously uses intensively is interesting. In this respect, not only the texts, but also Vedel's comments and explanations that precede them are remarkable. Various texts follow with the legendary Danish Na tional heroes "Olger Danske" ( Holger Danske , Ogier le Danois), with "Sivard Snarensvend" (Sigfrid, the Siegfried or Nordic Sigurd des Nibelungenstoffes), with "Tord af Havsgaard" (the Eddic god Thor by "Asgard", which Vedel could not yet recognize).

A song about Master Hildebrand, facsimile, p. 77

Lyrics about "historical" people

In the second part (in the facsimile, p. 121 ff.) Also classic Danish folk ballads (see Volksballade ) (and their adaptations) with material about legendary people and events such as “Germand Gladensvend” (part 2, no. 2), about the “Elfenhügel” (part 2, no. 9; Substance of the “Erlkönig”, which is common in German, cf. Erlkönig ), about “Oluf den Heiligen”, Olav II. Haraldsson , King in Norway (Part 2, No. 14 and 15), about Knud the Holy, Knut IV. (Denmark ) , King in Denmark (Part 2, No. 16; “slain in Odense on July 10, 1078” [1086 is correct]), about Waldemar the Great, “Waldemar Sieger”, Waldemar II (Denmark) , and his wife , Queen Dagmar ( Dagmar von Böhmen ; in addition several texts, including Part 2, No. 25 the famous song of Dagmar's death in Ribe 1213 [correct is 1212]), several texts about Marsk Stig ( Stig Andersen Hvide the Elder ) and his time (part 2, nos. 29 to 36; events up to 1294), about Queen Margrethe I ( Margarethe I ) and the historical series to King Christian IV.

The third part (in facsimile, p. 248 ff.) Is relatively short and reports, among other things, on “Spain and Myklegaard” ( Miklagard ; part 3, no. 1; it is the myth of origin from Byzantium, Constantinople; “... whether there is something historical about it is, one cannot say »), of homicide and vengeance in the Danish nobility, of proud and energetic women, of« Oluf Strangesøn », who atone for a homicide with a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (part 3, no. 12), of the uprising against the nobility and events up to 1516, thus again up to the present Vedels, who closes with his own Latin poem about "Hafnia" ( Copenhagen ), Lund [southern Sweden, then Danish], Ribe and Viborg to Odense , Aarhus and Schleswig . - An allegorical poem on the battle of Hemmingstedt in 1500 deals with a historical theme .

Notes and modern editions

The extensive notes section (facsimile, pp. 285 to 389) offers, in a most meritorious way, above all word explanations; for an actual commentary one must (and can) resort to other standard works ( Svend Grundtvig - Axel Olrik - Hakon Grüner Nielsen et al.: Danmarks gamle Folkeviser [Denmark's old folk songs, ie folk ballads], Volumes I to XII. Copenhagen 1853 to 1976 [in the Editions identified as DgF with song number], and Hakon Grüner Nielsen - Marius Kristensen: Danske Viser fra Adelsvisebøger og Flyveblade 1530 - 1630 [Danish songs from aristocratic song books and pamphlets 1530 to 1630]. Copenhagen 1912 to 1931. Supplementary reprint, 1978 to 1979 [recognizable in the editions as DV with song number]).

Meaning and possible German-language parallels

The importance of the Hundertliederbuch arises for Denmark and Scandinavia as an early and first source of its kind, in view of German-language parallels in comparison with, among others, the group of so-called Frankfurter song books (prints from Frankfurt / Main 1578 [lost] and 1580, Cologne 1580, Frankfurt / Main 1584, Frankfurt / Main 1599, Erfurt around 1618, among others), of which the Ambras songbook (printed in 1582; ​​compare Library of the Litterarian Association in Stuttgart , Volume 12) is the best known (and was considered a possible model for Vedel's print). With regard to the aristocratic manuscripts (see above), Danish sources are generally to be set somewhat earlier than their German parallels, if one takes into account the wide latitude for the dating of the Darfeld song manuscript (see Darfeld ), namely between 1546 and 1565 [the second date is preferable], whereby In this case, as in Denmark, a poetry and guest book or family book (see on family book (friendship album) ) of the nobility on the Lower Rhine was used as a song collection as an exception. With the abundance of tradition on the genre folk ballad, there is no parallel to the early Danish printing. Older German, handwritten sources such as B. the Lochamer-Liederbuch (Munich around 1452/1460), the songbook of Hartmann Schedel (Munich 1461/1467), that of Clara Hätzlerin (1470/1471); the Königsteiner songbook (around 1470/1473) and the Glogau songbook (1470/80) each have a different context.

Tomb slab Vedels in Ribe Cathedral

German leaflets (single prints, leaflets ) and song pamphlets ( pamphlets , folded prints with several song texts) have been in use since the 1520s (e.g. Heinrich Stayner's Augsburg prints from 1522), but they only play a larger role later as a carrier and mediator of tradition Role. The early prints of the religious song tradition, e.g. B. the Czech hymn book of the Bohemian Brothers ( Böhmische Brüder ) from 1501, the eight-song book with texts by Martin Luther from 1524, as well as the 1524 Walter ( Johann Walter ) hymn book and the Erfurt Enchiridion, etc. as early evidence, belong to other areas.

Printed Spanish "Cancioneros" (compare Canción ) have existed since the 1550s, but they are not evidence of popular tradition that can be compared to Danish printing. - Perhaps it is also wrong to ask that you absolutely want to find a role model for Vedel. In comparison with the literature, which he probably knew, he was also able to develop his own concept.

Depending on the point of view from which you look at the Hundertliederbuch , it is with the collective manuscripts (around 1580) that were used as a template for the texts and with regard to the oral tradition of the folk ballad of European importance as the first (printed) collection. The material thus fits in with the tradition of (late) medieval literature. In terms of the intention of the print (1591), AS Vedel is a typical representative of (Danish) Renaissance literature, and with it his literary texts, which are sometimes considerably edited by the historian who knows the source. From this perspective, too, the Hundertliederbuch shows the high quality of a scientist who was modern in his day.

Reprints and successors

The Hundertliederbuch was reprinted several times and in different places until 1671. It had a successor in the anonymous collection Tragica from 1657, and Vedel's signature ASV also appears there in several places. It is possible that Vedel did the preparatory work for this supplement with mostly tragic love songs; the Danish noblewoman Mette Gøje (1599 - 1664) is believed to be the editor. There is also a collection that was printed about 200 years later, the two hundred songs book by Peder Syv ( Peter Syv , 1631 - 1702), published in 1695, succeeding Vedel.

literature

• Paul V. Rubow (editor): Anders Sørensen Vedels Folkevisebog [AS Vedels Volkslieder- / Volksballadenbuch]. Volume 1-2. Copenhagen 1926–1927 [reprint].
• Anders Sørensen Vedels Hundredvisebog [AS Vedels Hundredliederbuch]. Facsimile edition with an introduction and notes by Karen Thuesen. Publication series by Universitets-Jubilæets danske Samfund [UJDS], Volume 515. CA Reitzel, Copenhagen 1993, ISBN 87-7421-740-2 .
• Tragica (1657) . Edited by Ebba Hjorth - Marita Akhøj Nielsen. Publication series by Universitets-Jubilæets danske Samfund [UJDS], Volume 521. CA Reitzel, Copenhagen 1994, ISBN 87-7421-873-5 . [Reprint with introduction]
• Flemming Lundgreen-Nielsen - Hanne Ruus (editor): Svøbt i mår. Dansk Folkevisekultur 1550-1700 [Dressed in fur. Danish folk ballad culture 1550 to 1700]. Volume 1-4. CA Reitzel, Copenhagen 1999–2002, ISBN 87-7876-129-8 [the extensive work deals in detail with time, manuscript transmission and the cultural environment. Vedel and his Hundertliederbuch are dealt with in detail by Flemming Lundgreen-Nielsen in Volume 4, p. 167 to p. 249; on “Tragica” and “Peder Syv” also there p. 252 ff. and p. 272 ​​ff .; there also numerous other references].
• Otto Holzapfel : List of songs. The older German-language popular song tradition . Volume 1-2. Georg Olms, Hildesheim 2006. ISBN 3-487-13100-5 = Otto Holzapfel: Song index: The older German-language popular song tradition . Online version since January 2018 on the homepage of the Folk Music Archive of the District of Upper Bavaria (in PDF format; further updates planned), see lexicon file “Anders Sørensen Vedel”.

Web links

Commons : Anders Sørensen Vedel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ This document was in itself a request, a project description of how this chronicle was to be written. Vedel formulated them in Latin in 1578 and in Danish in 1581.
2. ↑ Likewise the last page of the volume, in the facsimile p. 284.
3. ↑ The title page in the typical manner of the time: “One hundred selected Danish songs about all kinds of strange war events and other strange adventures that have taken place here in the empire with old giants, well-known kings and other distinguished people from the time of Arild to this day. Printed in Ribe on the Lilienberg by Hans Brun, Anno [1591], with [royal] grace and privilege. ”Vedel's house and his private printing press were on the“ Lilienberg ”in Ribe, near the cathedral. 'Since the time of Arild' is (with a first name of Old Norse origin) proverbial in Danish and means: since the beginning of time, since pagan times and so on. Ä.
4. ↑ Vedel's introduction to the songbook and his preface to the reader are considered early and important contributions to Danish literary criticism. Compare the collection of Jørgen Elbek: Dansk litterær Critique from Anders Sørensen Vedel til Sophus Clausen. En Antologi [Danish literary criticism from AS Vedel to S. Clausen. An anthology]. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1964, pp. 13-24.
5. ↑ The song text itself is in the collective manuscript Svaning II used by Vedel , which was written around 1580 and contains two variants of the song, namely DgF No. 5 Aa and No. 5 Ba. See Otto Holzapfel: The Danish Nibelung Ballads. Texts and comments . Alfred Kümmerle, Göppingen 1974, pp. 111–166. ISBN 3-87452-237-7 . Compare also Otto Holzapfel: Balladesque reshaping of the Nibelung material and compositional formulas in the Nibelungenlied . In: Hohenemser studies on the Nibelungenlied , edited by I. Albrecht and A. Masser, Dornbirn 1981, pp. 138–147 [also Montfort magazine , year 1980, pp. 312–321].
6. ↑ Saxo Grammaticus began his chronicle with this legendary "Dan" as the name giver for "Denmark", namely as a contemporary of the biblical King David , written in the years after 1185, while Vedel argues in his above-mentioned work from 1581 that the ranking of the Danish rulers rather in historical times, namely to start around 700 AD (compare. the Danish Wikipedia.dk on AS Vedel with this reference; October 2014). Vedel's critical approach in this regard is most remarkable in the mythical age of the sixteenth century (and after).
7. ↑ The song count is a bit mixed up in the original. Vedel's Hundertliederbuch comprises double pages 25 to 284 in the facsimile: a respectable volume; in the original with printed sheet counting according to the ABC.
8. ^ Otto Holzapfel: Folkevise and Volksballade. The neighborhood of German and Scandinavian texts. Wilhelm Fink, Munich 1976, p. 19 f. ISBN 3-7705-1301-0 . - Compare the illustration in the facsimile p. 77: [left column:] “A song about Master Hildebrand. It can be assumed that this master Hildebrand has been on many campaigns and has wandered everywhere since his young years and now wants to move home in the days of his old age ... he meets his own son Mr. Allebrand ... a tough fight between father and Son ... the son surrenders and is recognized by the father with great joy ... “(in contrast to the old Hildebrand's song with a tragic ending, here a happy ending). Explanations and a. via Bern = Verona, "should be here [according to the following lyrics] in Greece". Vedel explains this with the ancient “Greater Greece” in [Southern] Italy] and the term “master”, which is used “in France and in Holland to this day” for “captains and clever men”. This is followed by the first stanza (of a total of 20 stanzas) of the song: “I want to ride out on land, that's what Master Hildebrand said: Whoever wants to show me the way to Bern in Greece. This one became ignorant to me in so many good days: in three and thirty years I did not see Mrs. Judte. "
9. ↑ Compare with this Pil Dahlerup: Dansk literature. Middelalder. Volume 2. Verdslig litteratur [Danish literature. Middle Ages. / Secular literature]. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1998, p. 157. ISBN 87-01-74600-6 .