The Ring (didactic poem)
The ring is a satirical didactic poem by Heinrich Wittenwiler , which was probably written around 1408/10 in the vicinity of Bishop Albrecht Blarer from Constance . It consists of 9699 rhyming verses and has the character of a textbook on the behavior of human life, such as the teaching about tournaments, the teaching of mines, the lay doctrinal, the student mirror or the teaching of virtues. These teachings are embedded in comical-satirical actions of foolish peasants, so-called gpauren (see also D Address ). It tells the story of Bertschi, a young man with haughty thoughts and dreams. In his passion for Mätzli, the “ tumbe tor ” unintentionally triggers grotesque, unsteady situations on the one hand, and a tragicomic chain of misfortunes on the other , which leads to war and the devastation of his home village and ends up as a hermit.
content
title
The title already indicates the ambiguity of the work. The ring set with a gemstone mentioned in the prologue symbolizes the “weltelauff” and, based on the Greek word kyklos, associates the encyclopedic character: “A puoch, daz the ring is called (with a noble stain bechlait) / Wan es ze ring umbait us / The world is running ”(vv. 8-11). In the second part, the ring appears as a sign of a marriage that is based on lies and causes disaster. Bertschi puts the “fingerli” (v. 5278) on her finger in a burlesque scene after Mätzli has said yes. It is made of tinned lead and has a glass sapphire melted in resin and glazed with nasal mucus, as well as two fish eyes as pearls:
There was something of plei and overzint,
With a stain, sam I vind it,
His name was a sapheir of glass;
Dar umb von Hartz a gsmeltze was,
With nasal water through laseurt;
Dar zuo whatever it is controlled
with two pearls from the eyes
From the visch: daz it makes you believe. (V. 5279-5286)
prolog
Heinrich Wittenwiler writes in the prologue that his threefold work teaches “what one can do and leave schol” (v. 12). The first part describes the "courting / stabbing and tournament" (v. 17f.). The second chapter teaches the man how to “keep himself schol / Ansel und body and towards the world” (v. 22f.) And the third section finally teaches how to behave in times of need and war. In order not to strain the reader's stamina, Wittenwiler mixes the teachings with stupid peasant scenes, the “gpauren gschrai” (v. 36), which corresponds to the principle of prodesse et delectare . He does not define the "gpauren" as the one who feeds "on wise gfert (insight) / oneself with trewer arbait", but as the one who "lepts unjustly and foolishly" (v. 44). To separate the “gpauren gschrei” from the teachings, the lines of verse are marked with red and green lines. The red should indicate the seriousness, the “use” (v. 50) (prodesse), the green the life of the boobies, the “dayalt” (v. 50), the entertainment (delectare). At the end of the prologue, the author names his name, modified by the rhyme on mär: "Hainreich Wittenweilär" (v. 52).
1st part: advertising
Lovers
Many "esle [n]" farmers live in the village of Lappenhausen, including Bertschi (Berchtold, v. 1656) Triefnas, a "sword neat and proud" and a man popular with women who can be addressed as junker . His love belongs to Mätzli Rüerenzumph, an ugly girl with black teeth and hands, with a humpback, fat feet, bad behavior and an obscene speaking name . In the manuscript, next to the prologue, the lovers are shown in sexual approach: Bertschi has a rough, rustic figure. Mätzli's face looks ugly. She looks at the lover, shows a pleasant smile and her lips draw closer to each other. Both of them embrace each other with one arm each, while he grips her neckline. Bertschi touches her shame with his right hand, while Mätzli's left hand is on his right forearm.
Peasant tournament
The first part of the novel, Bertschi's wooing for Mätzli's favor, begins with a big tournament on Sundays in a field in Lappenhausen (v. 105 ff.). The twelve journeymen, Chuontz vom stadel, junkher troll, Haintzo mit der gäss, Her eisengren , etc., are caricatures of court knights with donkeys, peasants, farm equipment and funny coats of arms and their battles turned out to be wild fights. Also the instructions of the "frömde [n] gsell [s]", Mr. Neitharts in real tournaments (v. 360 ff.) Are unsuccessful and just as much end in a flogging with injuries and losses of donkeys and devices. In addition, Jütze, Chuontzen's wife (v. 1215 f.), Falls from the wooden scaffolding laughing to her death, but reappears later at the wedding dance.
Advances
After the tournament, the lovesick Bertschi gets the minstrel Gunterfai out of bed in the middle of the night (v. 1303 ff.) And they move through the village to Mätzli's parents' house, playing with a sound of music, in order to serenade the beloved, which she shows however, his behind at the window and they are evicted from the neighbors for disturbing the peace. The next night (v. 1416 ff.) He wants to see Mätzli again and hides in the stable, but frightens her so much while milking the cows that she begins to scream loudly and Bertschi, trying to calm her down, “which is not rotten : / He closed his hand for daz maul ”(v. 1430 f.). Due to the scuffle, the cow becomes wild and he has to flee again, injured by its horns and followed by the cry "hie deup [thief]".
On the third night (v. 1479 ff.) Bertschi tries to window . He climbs the roof of Mätzli's house to watch her, but he breaks through the ceiling, falls into the fire in the room and is brutally punished by his father Fritzo. Thereupon he lets out his anger about the damage to his daughter and locks her in a memory (v. 1545 ff.). There she has a dispute with her vagina, first blames her for all her problems and curses the one who only thinks of her shame with the following words: "Dar zuo so he must die, / He who wants to perish after you!" V. 1582-83). But immediately afterwards Mätzli seems to have been transformed: “How almost the taiding became chrumb! / Mätzli chert himself against umb” (v. 1586–87). Shortly afterwards she reconciles herself with her vagina and with the young man who is interested in her: "Let the companion be so kind." In this way Bertschi succeeds in what he did not succeed in the stable without doing anything of his own: he immediately excites joy and bliss in her heart, she forgets all pain and instead of hatred feels the fire of love.
Love letter exchange
Next Bertschi wants to dictate a love letter to his uncle, the village clerk Henritze Nabelreiber. However, the latter rejects his nephew's too prosaic draft (v. 1680 ff), instructs him in the rules of love (v. 1665 ff.) And writes a letter to Mätzli based on the courtly model (v. 1878 ff.). He ties the letter to a stone and throws it through the addressee's memory window. Her head was so badly injured that she bleeds, passed out and had to be bandaged by the village doctor Crippenchra [Grappschkräh] (v. 1996 ff.). He reads Bertschi's advertisement to her and she asks him to answer it and to invite her lover to a nightly meeting (v. 2085 ff.). The doctor therefore rates her as “a hüerrel” and takes advantage of her sexual willingness (v. 2099 ff.). Afraid of the threat that he would inform her father about the love letter, she gives in to his wishes and then urges him, in a vacillating role change, to repeat until it becomes too much for the exhausted. When he noticed after three days that he had made her pregnant, he reminded her of Bertschi's advertisement and suggested that she write to him. When asked about the problem of the wedding night, he immediately knew what to do (v. 2211 ff.). She should behave inexperienced, shy and fake defloration with pigeon blood. In the long reply letter (v. 2261 ff.), The intrigue is hyperbolically ironic in a minneallegory, in that Mary gives the "false [n] minn" represented by Venus the heavenly blessing in the event of a marriage. Chrippenchra thus places the right and the wrong love and their symbolic counterparts next to each other and thus indirectly gives his fatherhood the higher literary consecration.
2nd part: wedding
Structurally speaking, the second part forms the fulcrum of the work, since on the one hand the advertising is brought to an end and on the other hand the occasion for the war is offered in the third part. As the feast begins, the main characters increasingly take a back seat. At the same time, the plot becomes more serious: The burlesque peasant games and fights are transformed into an act of war, but everyday village life already has the tendencies to cunning and cruelty. In the end, Bertschi draws his conclusions from the bitter experiences and withdraws from society.
Bertschi's family counseling
Immediately after Navelreiber has read him the letter, Bertschi wants to marry Mätzli (v. 2623 ff.), But first convenes the council of friends and family (v. 2629–3492), from which he asks for advice and help. The gathering of speaking names (including Niggel Fesafögili, Jüzuin Scheissindpluomen, Jänsel Snellagödili, fro Follipruoch, her Havenschlek, Engeldraude Erenfluoch, Nagenflek, Snattereina, Schlinddenspek, Töreleina, Ofenstech, Junchfraw Frawa, La Colichman, broad, discussed) about the pros and cons of marriage. The women, v. a. the old Laichdenman are in favor, the men, represented by old Cholman, warn of the disadvantages. The decision is transferred to the village clerk Henritze Nabelreiber (v. 3503 ff.), Who decides on Bertschi's wedding.
Interview with the bride's father and instruction of the groom
The scribe and Rüerenmost now present the advertisement in courtly form to Fritzo (v. 2536 ff.), Who accepts it on the same level of style and Bertschi to a questioning before the family council (Ochsenchropf, Lärenchoph, Fro Hilda Leugafruo, Füllenmagen, Junchfraw Hächel Schürenprand) the next morning (v. 3597 ff.). Bertschi is examined after an examination of his appearance and his person (v. 3650 ff.) And recites the pater noster (I.), Ave Maria (v. 10) and the Credo in deum (v. 15) one after the other , then his agricultural knowledge (v. 3831 ff.). Then the Christian and secular value system of the time is presented in detail: Lastersak instructs Bertschi in the fundamentals of Christian teaching: in the ten rules for achieving salvation (v. 3836 ff), the so-called student mirror (v. 3850–3925), the lay doctrinal (V. 3943–4187) with the doctrine of the Trinity, the ten commandments (v. 3984 ff.), The six works of mercy (v. 3996 ff.), The sacraments (v. 4005 ff.), The deadly sins (v. 4020 ff.), The commandments of love and the Church (v. 4026 ff.) As well as confession and penance (v. 1 ff. And v. 4082 ff.). Added to this, presented by Ms. Leugafruo and the pharmacist Straub, are the doctrine of health (v. 4188 ff.), By Richteinschand the doctrine of virtue (v. 4404 ff) and by evil doctrine the "court discipline", d. H. in contrast to the doctrine of virtue, the more pragmatic household theory (v. 4855 ff.).
All these strictly ordered creeds and teachings, which go far beyond a village marriage test, are presented in technical language by lay people with caricaturing names in blocks separated from the burlesque , by the "gpauren", who treat each other roughly and violently in everyday life and whose interest is in the Family or the village is limited. Despite the detailed instructions, Bertschi does not put these commandments into practice. So he promises Fritzo after the instruction: "With his aid, / Ze allen dingen seine berait, / Die a pious, wise servant / Laisten scholt and do right" and thinks only of "his dear Mätzlein shot" (v. 5211 -5214, 5208). On the other hand, Mätzli misunderstood the rule of the fake modesty of a bride and, defending against advertising, flailed around wildly.
Wedding ceremony, wedding feast and dances
As a result, the wedding guests presented individually by name from the entire area, from Nissingen, Seurrenstorff and Rützingen, are invited (V. 5305 ff.). After the ceremony in the church (v. 5397 ff.) With further Schwank deposits, e.g. B. raises an old woman's marriage claim to Bertschi, everyone walks to the groom's house, where the guests hand over the gifts, mostly household items and clothing (v. 5464 ff.) And the feast takes place. (V. 5534 ff.). The wedding feast is a grotesque eating and drinking orgy, in which everyone, contrary to the previously proclaimed health teachings and table manners, lets their greed run free in competition with the others. So Mrs. Els (v. 5629 ff.) Devours a whole loaf of cheese including the rind. She tastes the wine so good that she pours the full pitcher into herself, watering her eyes and drooping her ears. The roast donkey, Bertschi had to slaughter his mount, is not cut up, but torn and stuffed into his mouth. With both hands you shovel the vegetables out of the bowls into the throat, whereby the dishes break. The floor is covered with broken glass and leftover food. In envy of food, Varindwand suffocates on a fish bone. (V. 5901 ff.) Bertschi admonishes in vain, in memory of the doctrine of health, to moderate (V. 5949 ff.), Because the supplies are running out. But the angry guests threaten and beat up the groom, so that he has to get everything drinkable from his cellar (5810 ff.). After everything has been eaten, Gunterfai plays to the exuberant dance on the meadow (v. 6147 ff.). As interludes, Bertschi, the scribe and troll perform funny alternating songs for the guests who surround them in the ring dance (v. 6262 ff., 6329 ff., 6429 ff.).
3rd part: war
occasion
The rough and happy festival suddenly turns into cruel violence for a small reason. The guests become enemies after the Lappenhausener Eisengrein secretly scratches the hand of the Nissing maid Gredul Unapproach to show her his love and it begins to bleed (v. 6448 ff.). Her uncle Gerwig Schinddennak sees it as a violation of family and village honor and insults the perpetrator for the shame he suffered. This strikes back with insults. Both receive support from their comrades, and a fight develops with the injured and the dead (v. 6458 ff.). Bertschi rings the storm bell, the Lappenhauseners arm themselves, drive away the Nissingers and follow them to their gate. When they return to their village, they capture, abuse and rape the defenseless girls left behind by the enemy.
War council and negotiations
The Nissingers hold a council of war with their mayor Strudel (v. 6680 ff.) On how they want to proceed. Egghart laments his son Arnolt, who was slain by the Twerg, Snegg his father Harnstain. Both demand vengeance and repentance. Pütreich, on the other hand, thinks of his daughter Kützeldarm, who is being held captive with four other girls (Anne, Gredul, Gnepferin, the laundress) and whom he first wants to free through negotiation before starting a campaign. Strudel’s appeal prevailed in the discussion: “Man’s great overmuot / Vil often does harm while solving, / There’s a sigil, / How’s he sweetened the right thing; / That’s why we’re shoving things up / Güetleich heven with gmach./ In gantzer diemuot we wave / Daz end see after begir ”(v. 6842–6849). They send the young Schilawingg, who is in love with the beautiful Gnepferin, as a messenger (v. 6892 ff.). He meets the Lappenhausen people dancing and brings the message with the terms of peace, but they mock him and chase him out of the village. The Nissingers mobilize their allies across the country to prepare for war (6958 ff.). In the meantime the celebration in Lappenhausen is over and Mätzli plays the defloration for Bertschi according to the doctor's instructions (v. 6973 ff.).
Preparations
The next morning the people of Lappenhausen heard of the Nissingers' preparations for war and called for a council of war (v. 7139 ff.). While the boys, u. a. Eisengrein and Lechspiess, blaming the enemy alone, therefore wanting to take the initiative in the fight and are convinced of their strength, warn the ancients of the consequences and put forward various arguments. Riffian thinks that only the princes are allowed to wage wars, so Lienhart denies the privileges of the class and appoints Rüefel Lechdenspiess as emperor and the others as dukes, counts, knights and free lords. Ruoprecht prefers to negotiate with the Nüssing people: "Nevertheless, we do not argue / With Nissingen these times, / We waves a lot right here / See what the argument is". Then he gives a lecture on the classification of wars according to spiritual and secular, according to causes and legality and warns of the damage to “sel and body and to the guot” (v. 7296 ff.). Old Pilian enumerates the large number of crews and equipment needed for a successful war. Junker Haintz angrily replies that a strong peppercorn is stronger than a large pile of dung. Mrs. Laichdenman appears as a seer (v. 7445 ff.) And warns: In the sky she sees “an evil face”. The Nissingers are Martian children and would burn down and devastate the Venus Lappenhausen. Niggel laughs at the magician and the young team decides: "We are arguing umb da zain, / that we are the old heretic tant / Mügin pringen zeiner shame." After Colman's advice, the Messner is sent to the enemy with a declaration of war (v. 7562 ff.). The Nissingers reply, about which the Lappenhausen people dance for joy (v. 7585 ff.).
The people of Lappenhausen now send messengers to all known large cities in Europe (v. 7605 ff.) In order to recruit allies. Their representatives immediately meet for a consultation, discuss the legal and diplomatic situation in detail (v. 7690 ff.) And unanimously come to the decision to be neutral in the dispute between friends (v. 7717 ff.), Since in In this case, it is not about protecting someone who is weaker: “Be so right, / So we leave them behind, / Until you get tired!” The farmers are asked to “Schüllen güetleich [...] / Irish argue whole virtue ”, otherwise they would have to“ Vechtens become overflowing ”alone. After this negative decision, the wise Höseller said goodbye to the villagers. The other Lappenhausen residents are now looking for fools and legendary figures as allies (v. 7879 ff.): In the hamlets of Narrenhäm, Rupfengeiler, Torenhofen and under the Höperg among witches, dwarfs and dragons. However, these are enemies with each other and therefore fight on different sides. The warriors of the medieval heroic epic , such as Dietrich von Bern , Hildebrand , Dietleib and Wolfdietrich, opt for the Nüssinger. As the narrator remarks ironically, the court knights Gawan , Lanzelot , Tristan and Astolf would also have come to the rescue if they had not been occupied with the defense of their goods against the cities: “Do you have to save castles / And andreu güeter before the permanent ones . ”(V. 8029-30).
The deployment of the troops is described in detail (v. 7899 ff). Before the battle begins, Strudel (v. 8104 ff.) Informs the Nissingers about the course of the preparations and introduces the captains of the troops, and others. a. Dietrich and as leader of the Nissinger his nephew Fülizan. Then he talks about the order of battle: most of the Christian army, the dwarves and warriors are distributed in the field to fight the enemy witches, giants and pagans. He then goes into the practical questions of warfare: how to sneak up on the enemy, for example, which position is best suited for which terrain or how to deal with the prisoners. Meanwhile, Meier speaks to the Lappenhausen residents (v. 8570 ff) and Gunterfai drums to set off. Bertschi follows belatedly after saying goodbye to his wife (v. 8611-12). This is his last appearance before his escape at the end of the battle, in which Bertschi, as before in the wedding feast, plays no role.
battle
The peasants are knighted by Emperor Lechpiess, and the battle can begin. First, Mrs. Hächel on a wolf and her witch daughters fight with their brushes against King Laurin and his dwarfs (v. 8650 ff.). After a hard struggle, the witches are caught in a net and are beaten. Lechspiess now calls the giants for help (v. 8855 ff.) The dwarfs attack them successfully with slingshots, following David's example. But then the greater power dominates over the skill, which is why the warriors Roland, Hildebrand and Dietrich intervene. The Bernese finally slaughters the giant Harrow with the sword (v. 9002 ff.). Now Mageron and his army of heathen are deployed (v. 9074 ff.) And the warriors receive support from the Swiss and decide the battle, so that the heroes, like the dwarves before, can retreat. Now the war is focused on the villagers. First the Lappenhausen residents (v. 9176 ff.), Then the Nissingers (v. 9190 ff.) March and fight hard. The wheel of fortune changes direction several times. The troops of Narrenhaimer, Mätzendorffer and Torenhofner, who join one another, prolong the loss-making battle until dusk. Then the opponents agree to a ceasefire until the next morning.
Mrs. Laichdenman uses the break in the war to avenge her abuse in the Lappenhausen council (v. 9418 ff.). She sneaks up to the enemies and offers them to set fires in four corners of her village and to open the gate for the Nissingers. They then discuss the proposal and plan, especially since they have sensed the superiority of the enemy and fear defeat, a double ruse. They withdraw some of their troops and hide them in a forest. The others remain on the battlefield, fleeing the attack the next morning and luring the enemy into an ambush. Then they ride to Lappenhausen, kill everyone and loot the houses.
hermit
Only Bertschi survived from the Lappenhausen family because he fled the fight. He hides in a fortified haystack, is besieged in vain for a few days, feeds on hay like an animal (v. 9541 ff.) And then returns to Lappenhausen when the Nissingers give up (v. 9661 ff.). On the way across the battlefield and in the devastated village, he sees the many corpses and, among them, Mätzli, whereupon he collapses, recognizes the transience of the earthly and retires as a hermit in the Black Forest .
Notes on understanding
author
The ring has only survived in a single manuscript, which apart from this contains no other texts. Since this was in the Meiningen State Archives until 2001, it was also referred to as the “Meiningen Manuscript”. Today it is kept under the signature cgm 9300 in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. It is dated to around 1410/20. In the 15th century the work remained largely unknown and was only rediscovered in the 19th century. On the prologue side, a half-length portrait of the author and his coat of arms can be seen in the initial, and at the end of the prologue a picture of the main characters Bertschi Triefnas and Mätzli Rüerenzumph.
Both the date of origin of the work and the identity of the author Heinrich Wittenwiler are not clearly established. All we know is that he was an educated man and, according to language characteristics and location information, lived in the Lake Constance area around 1400. On the basis of some documents and testimonials, the author was probably a curia advocate at the Bishop's court in Constance. He could have studied law in Bologna and thus came into contact with early Italian humanism. The author was probably influenced by his rise as a cleric to a lawyer in a senior position at the court of Constance. Apparently his orientation towards Austria and its landed gentry as well as the everyday experience of the steadily declining influence of the Constance patriciate and finally “[t] he dramatic escalation of the situation in the course of the first decade of the new century, the enormous losses of the (still) rulers in power, in land and people, in income, political influence and prestige, the threatened complete collapse of the long-fragile order “influence on the work.
The language in the ring fits these assumptions : an early New High German High Alemannic dialect interspersed with Toggenburg sounds as well as Bavarian and Swabian forms. High Alemannic was the dialect of the southern Lake Constance area. The other forms can be explained by the geographical proximity to the county of Toggenburg and the Swabian and South Bavarian language areas. The action of the ring also takes place in the southern Lake Constance area , St. Gallen and Konstanz, because the place names can be determined: e.g. B. Nissingen as Nassen in Neckertal (Canton St. Gallen) or the village of Mogelsberg in Neckertal as a model for Lappenhausen.
The dating of the work is difficult because there are no passages in the ring that indicate historical events, e.g. B. on the Council of Constance (1414–1418) or the Appenzell Peasant Wars in the “ Bund ob dem See ”. The figures in research vary between 1360 and 1410/20. Puchta-Mähl (1986) dates the ring to 1370/71. Birkhan (1971) refers to the time of the Constance Council 1414/18, although he notes in a later work that the ring can not be understood from a single historical event alone, and he also the battle of Sempach in 1386 and a phase of the Believes the Appenzell Wars as possible connecting points. In his author's encyclopedia entry 1408/10, Brunner names the most plausible period of origin, as he places the author in the vicinity of Bishop Albrecht Blarer from Constance. According to Riha, the novel probably dates from the last four decades of the fourteenth century. If one summarizes the various aspects, only the year 1360 can be regarded as certain as a date post quem.
swell
The literary models of the ring were examined in detail in research and proven by Wießner, v. a. the peasant wedding fluctuates "The peasant wedding" from the 14th century, which is contained in Metzen hochzit . The scaffolding of courtship, marriage ceremony, wedding dinner, wedding night, going to church, dancing and fighting among the peasants can already be found in this vacillation, which Wittenwiler expands on the one hand with the grotesque and on the other hand with teachings. The author received further suggestions from Carnival Games and Neidhard's peasant parodies, whereby Wittenwiler includes Neidhart himself as a peasant enemy and, based on his fluctuation in confession, as the confessor of the deceived peasants in his plot. In the third part, characters from medieval heroic poetry or the courtly epic such as Gawan, Lanzelot, Tristan, Astolf, Dietrich von Bern, Hildebrand, Dietleib or Wolfdietrich as well as witches, giants and dwarfs appear. The witches as well as the unreal plot can be derived from the Alemannic Carnival .
For the didactic parts, Wittenwiler mainly used Latin sources. These include the Minnelehre of Johann von Konstanz , which was used for the love letter of the doctor Chippengras , the Bible, the Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragine , the Facetus moribus ac vita for Naveldriver's Minnelehre, the Didaskalion of Hugo von St. Viktor for the student mirror as well as for household theory is the Epistola de cura rei familiaris
Interpretations
Wittenwiler's heterogeneous work, oscillating between didactic poem and foul sway, has a varied history of interpretation. From the first print edition by Ludwig Bechstein (1851) until the 20th century, the ring was more or less devalued as a mob-like poetry. With Edmund Wießner's edition and research into the literary sources, a differentiated assessment prevailed. But the "wondrous [-] mixture" of the "two so contradicting elements" still eludes a coherent interpretation because of its breaks, especially since nothing is known about contemporary receptions, the biography or the intellectual or political position of the author, who refrains from commenting in his work and puts the theological teachings and social rules of conduct in the mouths of individual, not always honest figures with “Schwank” names like Crippenchra (Grappschkräh).
Wittenwiler's message can therefore only be determined through text analysis and chains of circumstantial evidence. How difficult this is because of the many ambiguities, you can see from the fact that the research results cover a broad spectrum: Didax (i.e. rules about ideal behavior and corresponding rituals), allegory e.g. As to the transience of the world , literary satire , stands satire Dörpergeschichte , Fastnachts- or farce . The didactic interpretation is based on v. a. on the prologue and the very extensive lectures on the value and teaching system integrated into the text in all phases of the action. In contrast, the interpretation of a grotesque world is mainly based on the Bertschi plot.
The importance of the prologue for interpretation is judged differently: as a guide for understanding the work or rather as a literary game. At first glance, the author's statement about his didactic poem seems clear. The work is about a “gpaur […] / The wrong lept and läppisch tuot” (vv. 43–44) and serves to instruct. It “can tell us / how one should keep oneself schol” (vv. 21-22). The “gpauren gschrai” (v. 36) mixed “under diseu ler” served to cheer up the audience and to make the dry matter palatable to them. In order to better distinguish between “the seriously common” and the “body life” (vv. 40–41), there are underlines in red and green.
But at second glance, there are many inconsistencies between teaching and peasant history and the lines announced as an aid to interpretation sometimes cause more confusion than they help to clarify, because they are not carried out consistently: The red passages not only include instructions, practical lectures and “Farmer-savvy behavior”, but also teachings packed in parodies such as “table breeding”, while the green color not only indicates the “gpauren gschrei”, but also teaches you to see “body life” correctly. The prayers recited by Bertschi between verse 3817 and 3818 excluding the first line are marked in green, the grotesque description of Mätzli is marked in red. In addition, the author does not seem to take his reading aids seriously: he writes in lines 49–51 that if you see something in history that brings neither useful instruction nor a joke, you could consider it “a mar”. For this reason, research suggests that the author and his audience are playing with a puzzle behind the interchanges . Even if one accepts the author's teaching intent and the peasant history as a negative example, when assessing the entire work, the question remains whether the desired appeal effect can be achieved with the audience or whether, conversely, the human inability to implement the theory into everyday life and thus the world of fools comes to the fore. However, if one assumes, like Lutz, that the prologue in the Meiningen manuscript, which is not the original, was added later, the prologue would lose its meaning as a guideline for interpretation and would be part of the reception.
The core of the interpretation is left with the staff, their history and the lessons put into their mouths. In the case of the protagonists, the different interpretations continue, including the drawing of the couple. While Bertschi's inappropriate clothing and his exaggeratedly proud demeanor refer to superbia , arrogance, according to Lutz , Mätzli is the embodiment of Luxuria . In the warehouse scene, she is transformed into a meretrix , a prostitute. Accordingly, Lutz sees the actual theme of the ring as the choice between “false minn” (v. 2381) and the “hailigen e” (v. 2388) and at the same time the decision “against got” (v. 2382) or for “got selb ”(v. 2387) in the middle of an allegorical conception. Tourney puts this interpretation into perspective: Mätzli lacks the beautiful seductive front of a woman's world . Wittenwiler may this picture z. B. occasionally evoke in her name that she cannot generally be understood as an allegory of the great world whore. Mätzli is rather passive and insubstantial in her portrayal of persons and of "ghostly unreal quality".
| Description Mätzlis | Translation according to Wießner |
|
Be something of adel lam und krumpf, - (V. 76-96) |
She was perfect - that is, completely lame - and she limped, |
The dkörper story of the Lappenhausen family, presented in an ironic narrative style and with the typical characteristics, is consistently related to clearly identifiable literary sources in research. The unsuccessful tournament of peasants caricatured with funny or coarse names draws its humor from the contrast with the models of court literature and their schemes. On the other hand, Wittenwilers also changed his literary appropriations, as Roth shows in his investigation of the marriage debate, thus opening up a new perspective. The old dilemma “Should a man marry or not” is created in the ring by crossing two topics: “Why a clergyman should not marry” and “Why marriage is natural and sacred for everyone else”. In doing so, the author confronts the valuation of clerical ethics with the pragmatic ethics of the laity and relativizes them. With different ways of thinking and acting, Röcke sets this dialog apart from the typical monological and completely unambiguous didactic speaking, which does not permit discussion, but clear decisions between good and bad, right and wrong and does not tolerate contradiction.
A research problem is the question of what the author intends with the contrast in content and the break in style between mostly serious teaching and the burlesque. In the farmer's shop, the concept of honor, just like beauty or wisdom, cannot be traced back to an ideal that can be positively influenced. Theory and practice are two separate areas. From the mouths of the protagonists, the concepts of virtue seem to be just empty words, while their lives are shaped by the pragmatics of work and, in struggle, by the vices of cunning and violence. The irony of the narrator, Laichdenman's lust for contradiction and the delusion of Bertschi's falling into love again and again make the difference between signs and what they signify seem arbitrary. The question of the author's message cannot be answered clearly. Does he have a pessimistic worldview and wants to show that people, being driven by emotions, are incapable of learning and destroy their world and only like Bertschi, the innocent guilty party, can find their peace by withdrawing from society, or are the negative examples in the enlightenment sense a warning of delusion and a wake-up call to the audience?
In connection with these questions, the causes leading to warfare and the characters' reactions are examined in depth in research. There is widespread agreement that the real reason for war lies in the latent readiness to aggression of the gpauren , which overrides any possible taming through external circumstances and internal disposition. This aspect is reinforced by the fact that Wittenwiler thematizes war on the theoretical level in addition to the action-bearing one, by including a discussion of just and unjust war, bellum iustum et iniustum , in the deliberations. At this point, too, the characters are unable to put the teachings into practice, which is why the war ends in bloody slaughter. They do not fight for a just cause out of conviction, but out of big man's addiction, self-arrogance and the sheer desire to strike and underestimate their opponent. This representation of the gpauren is exaggerated into the mythical by the appearance of the legendary figures . The line between man and demon falls and the inevitability of catastrophe in the face of the unleashed forces is shown. This fits in with the fact that, in comparison with other descriptions of war, the ring lacks outstanding individual heroes and the mourning of the bereaved. The death of Mätzli is an exception. Bertschi is so shocked by this that he becomes aware of the transience of the earthly and, full of desperation, withdraws as a hermit in the Black Forest. Lutz points out that Wittenwiler closes his poem, as started earlier in the prologue, with four verses relating to God, the first of which is also the last of the plot, and thus emphasizes “that the joint request of the author and readers for Eternal life is consequently derived from the spiritual awakening of Christians presented to Bertschi ”. According to Tobler, Bertschi's hermit life is not to be interpreted as an inner reversal. Instead of knowledge, there is a half-day powerlessness and awareness of the transience of the world. "Bertschi's fate lies in his unwillingness to repent, that is, in his inability to confess."
Struggle and war are not glorified in this work, it is rather a rejection of the heroization and glorification of struggle and war, which is why the work cannot have a happy ending. To achieve the ideal of the noble knight was in the medieval courtly epic, v. a. in the Arthurian novel , goal of the ethics program, but Wittenwiler refuses to accept this tradition by letting the heroes refuse to participate in the war.
literature
expenditure
- Edmund Wießner (Ed.): Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring' after the Meininger manuscript. Unchanged reprint of the Leipzig 1931 edition. Darmstadt 1964 (= German literature in development series . Realistic series of the late Middle Ages. 3).
- Heinrich Wittenwiler. The ring. Early New High German / New High German. Edited and translated by Horst Brunner. Reclam, Stuttgart 1991, 2007, ISBN 978-3-15-008749-7 (= Reclams Universal Library . Volume 8749).
- Heinrich Wittenwiler: The ring. Edited, translated and commented by Werner Röcke . Berlin / Boston 2012.
Secondary literature
- Helmut Birkhan : The historical in the "Ring" of Heinrich Wittenweiler. In: Austrian Academy of Sciences, philosophical-historical class, meeting reports. 287th volume, 2nd treatise. Vienna 1973, publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, ISBN 3-7001-0039-6 .
- Rolf Bräuer and Margit: You came here for adventure, you got to see adventurous things (Heinrich Wittenwiler: Der Ring V.403f.). On the sense, nonsense and consequences of the European adventure myth. In: Wernfried Hofmeister, Bernd Steinbauer (Hrsg.): Through adventure you must dare vil. Festschrift for Anton Schwob on his 60th birthday. Inst. Für Germanistik, Innsbruck 1997. (= Innsbruck contributions to cultural studies: Germanistische series. 57).
- Horst Brunner: An overview of the history of German literature in the Middle Ages. Reclam, Stuttgart 2003. (= Universal Library. 9485).
- Horst Brunner (ed.): Heinrich Wittenwiler in Konstanz and Der Ring (1993 conference in Konstanz). In: Yearbook of the Oswald von Wolkenstein Society. 8, 1994/95.
- Horst Brunner: Wittenwiler, Heinrich. In: Burghart Wachinger u. a. (Ed.): The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . 2., completely reworked. Edition. Volume 10. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter 1999, Sp. 1281-1289.
- Eckart Conrad Lutz : Spiritualis Fornicatio. Heinrich Wittenwiler, his world and his "ring" (= Konstanz historical and legal sources. Volume 32). Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1990, ISBN 3-7995-6832-8 .
- Wernfried Hofmeister: Synopsis as a literary historical challenge presented using the example of Heinrich Wittenwiler's verse epic “The Ring”. In: Yearbook for International German Studies. 35, No. 2, 2003 (special print), pp. 169–203.
- Thomas Neukirchen: At the zero point of literature. Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring' and the tradition of contempt for literature. In: Euphorion. Volume 104, 2010, pp. 247-266.
- Bernward Plate: Heinrich Wittenwiler (= income from research. Volume 76). Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1977.
- Christa Maria Puchta-Mähl: “We want to be around us”. Studies on fool terminology, the problem of the genre and the target group in Heinrich Wittenwiler's "Ring". Carl Winter University Press, Heidelberg 1986.
- Ortrun Riha : Research on Heinrich Wittenwiler's "Ring" 1851–1988. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann 1990. (= Würzburg contributions to German philology. 4). [Zugl. Würzburg, Univ., Diss. 1988] ISBN 3-88479-487-6 .
- Christoph Tourney: The allergy crisis in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. Berlin 1998.
Web links
- The Ring , E-Text (Bibliotheca Augustana)
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Wittenwiler: The ring. Early New High German / New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam 1991 (= Reclams Universal Library. 8749)
- ^ Ortrun Riha: Research on Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring' 1851–1988. Würzburg 1990 (= Würzburg Contributions to German Philology. 4), p. 93.
- ↑ lappenhausen. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 197 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ lap. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 12 : L, M - (VI). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1885, Sp. 192–194 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ In her self-talk in the barn, the first name “Mätze” is associated with mutze (vulva, vagina) or metze , which means a peasant whore and a lover or prostitute of lower class. Bachorski translates the family name Rüerenschwanz as "tail grapple". (Jürgen Bachorski: The system of negations in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. In: Monthly books for German teaching, German language and literature. Volume 80, 1988, p. 471).
- ↑ picture of the lovers
- ↑ Lutz shows in his study the parallels to the stable scene in Metzen hochzit . This scene also illustrates the contradiction between Bertschi's beautiful words and his everlasting intention to own Mätzli. So his behavior suddenly changes from gentle speech to tangible action. (Eckhart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio )
- ↑ According to Riha, this is "a [] scene which, in its combination of didactics and comedy, is one of the most glamorous of the work" (Ortrun Riha: Dieforschung zu Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring' 1851–1988. P. 127.).
- ↑ In Bertschi's examination by Mätzli's relatives, the problem of colored lines reappears. The first verses of the prayers are marked in red, the rest in green. Some researchers explain this difference as follows: the red lines in the emphasis on the prayers marked the foundation of Christian teaching, while the green lines indicated an action-related lecture that is part of body life . (Ortrun Riha: Research on Heinrich Wittenwiler's “Ring” 1851–1988. P. 138.) At the same time, the color variation is a signal for the reader to read the following passage not in terms of its meaning, but in terms of its function. There is a discrepancy between the texts and the moral state of the character presenting. (Eva Tobler: Quotes from scripture and teaching in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. P. 126.)
- ↑ Christoph Tourney: The crisis of the allergy in Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring'. Berlin 1998, p. 9 ff.
- ↑ Eckart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio, Heinrich Wittenwiler, his world and his "ring". Sigmaringen 1990 (= Konstanzer Geschichts- und Rechtsquellen. 32), pp. 81–89.
- ^ Eckart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio. Heinrich Wittenwiler, his world and his "ring". P. 215.
- ^ Birkhan: The historical in the "Ring" of Heinrich Wittenweiler. P. 64.
- ↑ Horst Brunner: Wittenwiler, Heinrich. In: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . 2., completely reworked. Edition. Edited by Burghart Wachinger [u. a.] Volume 10. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter 1999, Sp. 1283; Heinrich Wittenwiler: The ring. Viewed and bibliograf. supplemented edition 2003. Stuttgart: Reclam 2003, p. 653ff.
- ^ Riha: Research on Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring' 1851–1988. Pp. 9-54.
- ↑ Introduction. In: Edmund Wießner (Hrsg.): Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring' after the Meiningen manuscript. Unchanged reprint of the Leipzig 1931 edition. Darmstadt 1964, pp. 5–16. (= German literature in development series . Realistic series of the late Middle Ages. 3).
- ↑ Edmund Wießner (Ed.): The peasant wedding fluctuation. Meier Betz and metzen hochzit. Tübingen 1956 (= ATB. 48).
- ^ Adelbert Keller (Ed.): Carnival games from the 15th century. Volume 1–3 and gleanings. Unchanged reprographic reprint of the edition Stuttgart 1853 and 1858. Darmstadt 1965.
- ↑ Birgit Knühl: The comedy in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring' compared to the carnival games of the 15th century. Göppingen 1981 (= GAG. 332).
- ↑ Ulrich Gaier: Satire. Studies on Neidhart, Wittenwiler, Brant and on satirical writing. Tübingen 1967.
- ↑ On the afterlife of the heroic saga in Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. In: Deutsche Heldenepik in Tirol King Laurin and Dietrich von Bern in the poetry of the Middle Ages. Contributions from the 1977 Neustift Conference of the South Tyrolean Cultural Institute. Edited by Egon Kühebacher. Bozen undated (= series of publications by the South Tyrolean Cultural Institute. 7), pp. 329–354.
- ^ Walter Haug: From the ideality of the Arthurian Festival to the apocalyptic orgy in Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. In: The festival. Edited by HG and Rainer Warning. Munich 1989, pp. 157-179.
- ↑ Edmund Wießner: (Ed.): Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring'. Leipzig 1931, introduction.
- ↑ Christoph Gruchot: Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring'. Concept and construction of a textbook. Goeppingen 1988.
- ↑ Christoph Tourney: The crisis of the allergy in Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring'.
- ^ Eckhart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio…. P. 344.
- ↑ Christa Maria Puchta-Mähl: We want to get hold of buns. P. 212.
- ^ Eckhart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio…. Pp. 297-301.
- ↑ Christoph Tourney: The crisis of the allergy in Heinrich Wittenwilers 'Ring'. P. 58.
- ↑ Detlef Roth: From the Dissuasio to the quaestio. The transformation of the topos An vir sapiens ducat uxorem in Wittenwiler's 'Marriage Debate'. In: Euphorion. Volume 91, 1997, pp. 377-396, here: pp. 389 f. u, p. 396.
- ↑ Werner Röcke: Laughter, writing and violence. For the literaryization of didactic writing in Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. In: Yearbook of the Oswald von Wolkenstein Society. Volume 8, 1994/95, pp. 259-282, here: p. 270.
- ^ Barbara Könneker: Dulce bellum inexpertis. Fight and war in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'ring'. P. 72.
- ^ Eckhart Conrad Lutz: Spiritualis Fornicatio…. P. 340.
- ^ Eva Tobler: Quotes from scripture and teaching in Heinrich Wittenwiler's 'Ring'. P. 135.