The judge and the devil
The judge and the devil is a fairy tale ( AaTh 1186) from Ludwig Bechstein's German book of fairy tales , which can be found both in the first edition from 1845 (with the number 23) and in the last edition from 1857 (with the number 18) and which is based on a text from the 13th century in Joseph von Laßberg's Liedersaal .
content
The fairy tale tells of the rich judge of a city who is ruthless, unjust and stingy. On the morning of a market day, he was riding out to visit his favorite vineyard when he met a sumptuously dressed, elegant-looking man. The judge asked very rudely who the stranger was and where he came from. When he replies that it is better for him not to know, the judge threatens him with death. The stranger then reveals himself to be the devil. The judge also wants to know what the devil intends to do in the city. He makes him understand that on this day he has been given the power to take everything with him that is given to him in all seriousness. The judge tells the devil to let him go so he can see what is being given to the devil in the city. The devil tries to talk him out of it, but the judge forces the devil, invoking God, so that the devil can't help but take the judge with him. When a woman arrives at the market, the first thing they want is a pig, then a beef and the third a child. The judge asks the devil to take action every time; but the devil refuses because it is not meant seriously. Finally they meet an old, sick, worried woman. When she saw the judge, she began to complain: In his injustice, the judge had stolen her only cow, which was all she had left to live. In the end, she wishes him the hell. The devil replies that this is serious, grabs the judge by the hair and flies away with him through the air.
The fairy tale ends with the moral:
"It is unwise advice
Who looks at the devil.
Who likes to drive around with him,
He gets a bad reward. "
origin
Bechstein names " Laßbergs Lieder-Saal I" as the source , where it is under the same name as No. 132. The fairy tale is the translation of a short Middle High German story into New High German. The text is originally a saying by a poet whose real name is unknown to researchers, but who is called " The Stricker " in literature . He probably comes from Franconia and worked in Austria in the first half of the 13th century, from around 1230 to 1250. His short stories are considered his most important literary achievement. The judge and the devil of the knitter is handed down in several manuscripts.
Trivia
The fairy tale was selected in 1994 by the band Corvus Corax for their children's CD Corvus Corax Telling Fairy Tales from Old Times . There the story is moved to the Hanseatic city of Wismar. In 1989 the literary material was implemented in a 16 mm sound film by the Berlin director Holger Mandel .
literature
- Hans Fischer (ed.): The knitter. Verserzählungen II. (Altdeutsche Texbibliothek 68), Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen 1997, pp. 31–41.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.hekaya.de/txt.hx/der-richter-und-der-teufel--maerchen--bechstein_22
- ^ Hans-Jörg Uther (Ed.): Ludwig Bechstein. Storybook. After the edition of 1857, text-critically revised and indexed. Diederichs, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-424-01372-2 , p. 384.
- ↑ http://www.corvuscorax.de/index.php?select=diskografie
- ↑ cf. http://www.mandelfilm.de/?page_id=253 accessed January 30, 2013