The Lord God Carver
Due to its criticism of the clergy , the story of the Lord God Carver , which originated in the 13th century, has only survived in fragments, because the manuscripts that handed it down were destroyed.
Lore
The Märe has come down to us in three manuscripts: The Heidelberg cpg 341 (H), the Karlsruhe manuscript 408 (K) and the Weimar manuscript O I45), but these were partially mutilated and destroyed: In the Heidelberg manuscript the text is erased and has been included pious poems rewritten. In addition, a sheet was cut out. In the Karlsruhe manuscript the text breaks off and the subsequent leaves have been torn out; In the Weimar manuscript there is only a shortened and paraphrasing form of the fairy tale. The complete story in its exact wording is not known. The assumption is that the fair was 'shaved' because of its blasphemous content. Arend Mihm cites the reason that the fair “was probably felt to be too blasphemous even in the 14th century.” Klaus Grubmüller also writes that shaving “works like a censorship measure”.
content
The story is about a carver whose wife is being courted by a monk. In order to give the intrusive applicant a lesson and to enrich themselves, the wife and the carver forge a plan and seemingly accept the advances: After a sum of money has been handed over at the alleged rendezvous, the husband knocks on the door. To hide, the frightened monk is painted by the woman and disguised as 'Jesus on the cross'. The husband first praises the stature's faithfulness to nature and then pretends to have to make corrections with the carving knife to whatever “celestial hang”. The monk then flees in fear, leaving all his possessions behind. The sculptor complains that his statue ran away.
literature
- The Lord God Carver. In: New overall adventure. This is Ms. H. von der Ha-gen's complete adventure in a new selection. The collection of Middle High German tales from the 13th and 14th centuries. Vol. 1. 2. Ed. by Werner Simon. Dublin / Zurich 1967. pp. 229-233.