The blacksmith from Großholzingen
Der Schmied von Großholzingen is the German title of the novella Smith of Wootton Major by the British writer and philologist J. RR Tolkien from 1967.
origin
In the course of 1964 the publisher "Pantheon Books" asked Tolkien to write a foreword to the children's fairy tale Golden Key ("The Golden Key") written by George MacDonald . Tolkien had previously mentioned this story with praise in his own work Tree and Leaf , since MacDonald had made an attempt to preserve the narrative form (fairytale, fairy tale) of such stories of power and beauty; in the meantime, however, after reading it again at an advanced age, he was rather critical of his judgment at the time, as he had never considered the story of the golden key a pure children's fairy tale. Despite the negative attitude, he agreed to write this foreword. This is how the first version of the Smith of Wootton Major came about . But soon this filled with a life of its own and became what Tolkien himself called "anti-GM tract" (GM - George MacDonald). Instead of an introductory foreword, it became a fairy tale for adults, in order to clearly contradict the idea that fairystories (fairy tales) are only stories for children. The story was translated into German by Karl A. Klewer and was published in 1975 in the volume Fabulous Stories .
action
The story takes place in the fictional town of Großholzingen ("Wootton Major") and tells of a boy whose piece of cake was baked in a fairy star.
In Großholzingen there was a big festival every 24 years, for which the local chef prepared a big cake for the good children. The incumbent cook had surprisingly left for a vacation trip and when he returned he brought a strange boy named Alf with him, who was to be his successor. Seven years before the next festival, which took place every 24 years, was due again, the head chef left the place and left the boy Alf as his successor. Contrary to the custom, however, the residents of the village chose the master chef himself to appoint his successor, the former kitchen helper Nokes, who had worked for the cook years ago, but whom he did not want to be his successor, as the new chef. The stranger Alf officially became Nokes' apprentice and helped him prepare the cake for the big festival (in fact, Nokes had all his work done by Alf and benefited from his knowledge and skills). Nokes searched for ingredients and found a star-shaped object made of tarnished silver in a box his predecessor had left behind. Alf told Nokes that this item came from Faery, the fairy land. Nokes wanted to bake the star in the cake with other small coins to please the children. His apprentice suggested it was a magical fairy star, but Nokes only mocked him because he himself did not believe in magic and the existence of fairies. He bought a small present for each of the 24 children and the cook told everyone that there was another little treasure, a little silver star that brought good luck. While eating, the children found their pieces of cake and small gifts, but the star did not appear.
The blacksmith's young son had swallowed it without even noticing it, and so there was great astonishment and disappointment that it had not been found. On his tenth birthday, when the dawn began, the boy heard the birds singing, rolling over him like a wave. It reminded him of fairyland tales and he began to sing. The fairy star fell out of his mouth. He caught it in his hand and, following an impulse, placed it in the middle of his forehead. There he soon became part of his face. The star gave him special powers, so he became a very good craftsman, got a melodious voice and a flawless appearance. All of the works he made in his forge were of the highest quality, useful, durable, and beautiful.
With this gift he was also able to visit the fairy land. One day he met Alf, the fairy king, and he asked him to return the star. Alf had become head chef after Nokes and had held this position for years, now he wanted to bake a second cake for the next party and put the star back in it so that he could go to another boy. Alf visited Nokes and told him that the star was now back in the box from which Nokes had once taken it. Over the years Nokes had wondered what had become of the star and now believed that Alf had stolen it before baking the cake. At the party, Alf distributed the cake and it was Tim, Nokes' nephew, who received the piece with the star in it. The blacksmith himself had chosen Tim beforehand in a conversation with Alf, whom he recognized as the king of the fairy land. As before, the magic of the Fairy King had ensured that the star came to the desired child. Alf finally left the place and returned to fairy land. Nokes was the only one who was happy about it because he had never liked Alf.
The Elven Star
The object named in the translation as "Elven Star" is referred to in the original version as "fay-star" (fairy star). It is a piece of jewelery made of silver with magical power that transforms the person who swallows it inside and out. It gives the person's eyes a special shine, enhances their good properties and expands their capabilities. One of them is that he can now enter the world of fairies ("fairyland"), which no mortal can do otherwise.
criticism
The fairy kingdom in history is a place of immeasurable beauty, where, in addition to fabulous beings, there are also unimaginable dangers, war and combat. The blacksmith, however, is not a fighter, as a skilled craftsman he does not make weapons, but utensils. According to Dieter Petzold, Tolkien tells in a kind of "autobiographical parable" a story about how a respected master ages and thereby gains the insight that he should pass on his knowledge and special powers to younger people in good time. This is the opinion of the master chef, who alone knows the right ingredients for the extraordinary cake, as does the blacksmith, who has gained experience in a foreign country. The protagonist of the story travels the fairy land, from which he always returns enriched. The Elfstern gave him this access, but in the end he senses that he has now seen all the secrets and will not return there. It is now time to leave it to the younger generation to see these miracles so that, after hesitating at first, he then voluntarily returns the star to the Fairy King. The star came from grandfather to grandson and the grandson will in turn pass it on to the next generation but one.
expenditure
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: Smith of Wootton Major. (with illustrations by Pauline Baynes ) Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1967, OCLC 469580 .
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: The blacksmith of Großholzingen. (translated by Karl A. Klewer) In: Fabulous stories. Hobbit-Presse in Klett-Verlag, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-12-908050-3 .
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: The blacksmith of Großholzingen. In: Tales from the Dangerous Kingdom. (Original title: Tales from the Perilous Realm. ) Klett-Cotta-Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-608-93826-5 .
- The blacksmith from Großholzingen. Extended edition (translated by Karl A. Klever and Lisa Kuppler) Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2016, ISBN 978-3-608-96093-8 .
- Audio book
- The Elbenstern the blacksmith of Großholzingen. (read by Joachim Höppner ) Der Hörverlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89940-204-9 ( Kurzinfo - Der Elbenstern. randomhouse.de ).
literature
- Dieter Petzold: Fantasy literature as wish fulfillment and interpretation of the world. Winter, Heidelberg 1980, ISBN 3-533-02850-X .
Web links
- Valentino Dunkenberger: The Elbenstern (review) on roterdorn.de
- The blacksmith from Großholzingen on ardapedia.herr-der-ringe-film.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jason Fisher: Reluctantly Inspired: George MacDonald and JRRTolkien. ( digitalcommons.snc.edu PDF, p. 4/5.)
- ^ John Garth: Review: Smith of Wootton Major (expanded edition) - JRR Tolkien. Edited by Verlyn Flieger. HarperCollins 2005. ( johngarth.co.uk ).
- ^ A b Smith of Wootton Major. ( tolkien.ro PDF).
- ↑ Horst Heidtmann: Review: Tolkien, JRR: Elbenstern. ( ifak-kindermedien.de ).