Berthold von Herbolzheim

Berthold von Herbolzheim is the author of a medieval Alexander romance that has not survived and is said to have been written by Rudolf von Ems . It was probably commissioned by Berthold IV of Zähringen (around 1125–1186) or Berthold V. von Zähringen (around 1160–1218).

The only source

Since Berthold's von Herbolzheim text has not survived, and the text and author are only mentioned in one single source , it is difficult to make any reliable statements about him. The only mediaeval source is another literary text : In the Alexander von Ems novel written around 1240, Rudolf von Ems names a Berthold von Herbolzheim as one of his predecessors in this genre . The corresponding position at Rudolf von Ems (left) reads in Michael Bärmann's translation (right):

That’s why I’m daring, and there’s dumpy wan sô manec wîse in front of me one has taken to ze tihtenne diu mære. to the noble Zäringære tihtes through sîner hulde solt from Herbolzheim Berhtolt, who has spoken to it as a modest man and has spoken modestly because he recognizes in the written vant. but he had tihtet niht des diu histôrje from im giht, that the toe should read the essence of me from ime hân.

I have made up my mind to do so , even if it is foolish, since so numerous learned men before me have undertaken to tell history [sc. Alexander the Great]. For the noble Zähringer she wrote Mr. Berthold von Herbolzheim for the reward of his benevolence . Like a sensible man, he possessed artistry and reported in pleasant words and judged in a sensible way what he found of written sources. But he did not tell the tenth part of what, as far as I have read, has been reported about him.

From this text it can be seen that Rudolf von Ems knew about an author who had a poem from a complete Alexander manuscript or a fragment of it, from paraphrases of this text or other, not preserved literary or oral testimony (e.g. from hearsay) about Alexander the Great attributed (356-323. Chr.), and he knew by the name of Berthold of Herbolzheim. According to Rudolf's knowledge, this Berthold dedicated his Alexander poem to a male member of the ducal family of Zähringen, so presumably commissioned him to write the text. The Alexander text must therefore have been written before 1240 (the presumed date of origin of Rudolf's text). This work seems to Rudolf commendable with regard to the formal skills of Berthold. He also positively emphasizes the intelligent nature of the presentation. Critical Rudolf noted, however, that Berthold over a comparatively narrow fabric basis decreed: According to Rudolf's judgment that only a small part (the words "less than a tenth" is probably not to be taken literally) which tells what one might say about Alexander, or what seemed worth telling Rudolf.

The attached gentlemen's title ( her Berhtolt ), the authenticity of which has not been assured, could indicate a noble class , while the addition “von Herbolzheim” probably refers to Berthold's place of origin or residence. The remains of a castle recently discovered in Herbolzheim , as well as some documents between 1108/1122 and 1216, in which several people named after the place near Freiburg , suggest the existence of a Herbolzheim ministerial family . A Berthold is not among them, however. These people could, however, have been relatives of the Alexander poet.

Bärmann's reading is based on the two only text witnesses to Rudolf's Alexander novel, both of which date from the first half of the 15th century, i.e. are around two centuries apart from the author himself. The original wording of the text passage can therefore no longer be determined.

The client

The noble Zäringære mentioned by Rudolf is mostly equated in the research literature with Berthold V. von Zähringen (around 1160–1218), but this cannot be proven beyond doubt. Bärmann suggests his father, Berthold IV. Von Zähringen , (around 1125–1186) as a possible client with equally good arguments .

Both rulers come into question as candidates for the throne or as city founders and warlords as patrons of a poetry about Alexander, who was considered a ruler in the Middle Ages. According to Bärmann, Berthold V. was able to get to know French Alexander texts in Burgundy , where the Zähringers had possessions since 1090 (and rector's rights since 1127 ). Berthold IV. Could have got to know the Alexander novel Alberics von Besançon via the same connection , which served as a source for the Alexanderlied by Pfaffen Lamprecht , the earliest German Alexander poem . It is also possible that the extensive French Alexander novel by Alexander von Paris was the model of Berthold - this is unlikely, however, since, according to Rudolf, he only used a small part of the available materials. The shorter poems, such as the ten silver editorship or its continuation by Lambert de Tort from the seventies of the 12th century, come into question.

There is no doubt, however, that the figure of Alexander played an important role in medieval Freiburg: The figure also appears in a Romanesque relief in the oldest part of the Freiburg Cathedral and on the so-called coat of arms in the Freiburg Augustinian Museum .

Sources and literature

• Victor Junk : Rudolfs vom Ems Alexander. A courtly verse novel of the 13th century, published for the first time by Victor Junk . Part 1: Book 1–3, Leipzig 1928; Part 2: Books 4-6. Notes and registers, Leipzig 1929 (Reprint: Darmstadt 1970). Part 2, pp. 544f., V. 15767-15782.
• Michael Bärmann: Biterolf . An attempt at the reception of the "Alexander fabric" in the former Zähringian dominion . In: Eckart Conrad Lutz (ed.): Medieval literature in a life context. Results of the Troisième Cycle Romand 1994. Freiburg 1997.
• Michael Bärmann: "To the noble Zäringaere". Questions about Berthold von Herbolzheim and his Alexander poetry . In: The Ortenau . Volume 73, 1993.
• Michael Bärmann and Bertram Jenisch: Berthold von Herbolzheim and the medieval Alexander poetry. Looking for an Upper Rhine author of the high Middle Ages . In: Herbolzheimer Blätter . Volume 4, 2000.
• Xenia von Ertzdorf: Rudolf von Ems. Investigations into the courtly novel in the 13th century. Munich 1967.
• Bertram Jenisch: To the seat of the gentlemen from Herbolzheim . (Part by Bärmann and Jenisch in: Herbolzheimer Blätter 4, 2000).
• Volker Mertens: The literary patronage of the Zähringer . In: Karl Schmid (Ed.): Die Zähringer. A tradition and its exploration. Sigmaringen 1986.