The tailor in heaven

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Illustration by Heinrich Vogeler

The tailor in heaven is a Schwank ( ATU 800). From the 2nd edition of 1819 onwards, it is in place 35 (KHM 35) in the children's and house tales by the Brothers Grimm . Wilhelm Grimm first published it in 1818 after Justus Möser in the magazine Wünschelruthe as The fairy tale of the tailor who went to heaven .

content

God goes for a walk. Only Peter remains. He is not allowed to let anyone in, but a tailor begs to sit behind the door. When Peter is gone, he looks around and sits on God's chair. He sees the world and angrily throws the footstool at a thieving laundress. Then he hides again. When God notices the loss, he calls the tailor to tell him. God rebukes his presumption and sends him away. The tailor went to Warteinweil ​​to see the pious soldiers.

origin

Illustration by Otto Ubbelohde , 1909
Illustration by Otto Ubbelohde , 1909

The 2nd and 3rd edition of the Schwank is based on Frey's Garden Society No. 61 and Kirchhof's Wendunmuth 1, No. 230, and from the 4th edition more on Wickram's Rollwagenbüchlein (Chapter 110). The end with “moved to Warteinweil” comes from Brentano's fairy tale Bärenhäuter (in the newspaper for hermits of June 15, 1808, column 173). Grimm's comment mentions variants in Hans Sachs The Tailor with the Panier , Wolf's German Legends and Fairy Tales No. 16 Jan in Heaven , Ernst Heinrich Meier No. 35 and a mention by Möser “in his mixed writings 2, 332 and. 2.235. " Fish species in the flea treasure (Dornavius ​​390) understands Petrus' irascibility:

"As one says of Sanct Peter,
who when he was Lord God one day
and yarn saw a maid steal,
if he threw her a chair at once,
so proved his Peterskopf;
if he had long pursued such a figure,
there would be no chair left in heaven "

Altmeistergesangbuch 3 in Wolf's magazine for German mythology 2.2 shows the tailor as an enemy:

“The nû den himel has irkorn
who hosted us with ours,
I fear sêre and am angry,
he throws the flail at us. "

Compare from Grimm's fairy tales

Grimm's comment on De Spielhansl also explains the place “Warteinweil”, which Peter had to give to the soldiers because they are neither recorded in heaven nor in hell (p. 143 in the notes).

interpretation

According to Rudolf Meyer , the tailor is the overly wise mind. He cannot help but presume, and means justice as a direct chain of guilt and atonement. Edzard Storck speaks of an illusionary spirituality that detaches everything that is half-finished and prevents the thread of fate from working in the earthly. For Eugen Drewermann the fairy tale parodies our attitude of moralizing and know-it-all and thus shows the practical sense of dealing with fairy tales: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged" ( Sermon on the Mount , Mt 7.1  EU ).

literature

Primary literature

  • Brothers Grimm: Children's and Household Tales. With 184 illustrations by contemporary artists and an afterword by Heinz Rölleke . Complete edition, 19th edition. Artemis and Winkler, Düsseldorf et al. 2002, ISBN 3-538-06943-3 , pp. 213-215.
  • Brothers Grimm: Children's and Household Tales. With the original notes of the Brothers Grimm. Volume 3: Original notes, guarantees of origin, epilogue (= Universal Library 3193). With an appendix of all fairy tales and certificates of origin, not published in all editions, published by Heinz Rölleke. Reprint, revised and bibliographically supplemented edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-15-003193-1 , pp. 76-77, 457.
  • Heinz Rölleke: Grimm's fairy tales and their sources. The literary models of Grimm's fairy tales are presented synoptically and commented (= literature series literary studies. Vol. 35). 2nd, improved edition. WVT, Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, Trier 2004, ISBN 3-88476-717-8 , pp. 62-67, 555.

Secondary literature

Interpretations

  • Rudolf Meyer: The wisdom of German folk tales. Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1963, pp. 32–37.
  • Edzard Storck: Old and new creation in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Turm Verlag, Bietigheim 1977, ISBN 3-7999-0177-9 , pp. 141, 179, 299, 376.
  • Eugen Drewermann: Dear little sister, let me in. Grimm's fairy tales interpreted in terms of depth psychology. 11th edition. dtv, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-35050-4 , p. 13.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Meyer: The wisdom of German folk tales. Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1963, pp. 32–37.
  2. ↑ Edzard Storck: Old and new creation in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Turm Verlag, Bietigheim 1977, ISBN 3-7999-0177-9 , p. 141.
  3. ↑ Eugen Drewermann: Dear little sister, let me in. Grimm's fairy tales interpreted in terms of depth psychology. 11th edition. dtv, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-35050-4 , p. 13.

Web links

Wikisource: The Tailor in Heaven  - Sources and full texts