The goose

The Gänslein a Mare by an unknown author . It was created around 1320/30 and addresses the ignorance and inexperience of the monks about the world outside the monastery.

content

The story is about a young monk who, accompanied by his abbot , is allowed to leave the monastery for the first time in his life to take care of the monastery. On the way, the naive monk asks the name of any animal they encounter, and the abbot willingly gives them to him. But when they stop at a courtyard to spend the night there, the monk, who has never seen a woman before, asks the abbot what kind of animal the landlord's pretty daughter is. The abbot then claims that she is a 'goose'.

The girl takes a liking to the young monk and takes advantage of his ignorance to sleep in bed with him. She seduces him and sleeps with him while he has no idea what he's doing. The next morning she tells him not to tell anyone, otherwise they would be killed.

The monk sticks to it. However, when the monks discuss what to cook at Christmas, he insists that every monk should have a goose. The abbot then becomes suspicious and asks him what this is all about. After a brief urge, the monk tells what happened that night, and the abbot sadly explains what really happened. The abbot then orders the monk to repent.

literature

• Novellistics of the Middle Ages. Märendichtung (= Deutscher Klassiker-Verlag in the paperback. Volume 47). 2nd Edition. Edited, translated and commented by Klaus Grubmüller. Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-618-68047-5 , pp. 649–665 and pp. 1237–1250 (= commentary) (texts in German and Middle High German ).