Farinata's daughter

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Andrea del Castagno : Farinata degli Uberti

Farinata's Daughter is a story by Gertrud von le Fort , which was published in 1940 partly in the Insel-Almanach and then in book form in 1950 by Insel-Verlag in Wiesbaden.

Easter in Florence in 1267: the patrician Bice degli Uberti saves her hometown from destruction by the advancing troops of Charles of Anjou .

shape

In this legend, the voice of the people announces itself at decisive turning points with "We". The narrator sometimes delves into Bice's psyche.

prehistory

"Grace to the enemy": In 1260 the Ghibellines, who were loyal to the Hohenstaufen, fight in the Battle of Montaperti against the supporters of the Pope - the Guelfs . After the victory of the Ghibellines, their military chief, the Florentine patrician Farinata , an Uberti, turns against his astonished men. Out of love for his beautiful hometown, he refrains from destroying the Guelph castles there. At the beginning of the action - towards the end of 1266 - Farinata has already died. The tide turned in the battle of Benevento . King Manfred has fallen and the Ghibellines are the losers this time.

The legend

Guido Novello still rules in Florence, succeeding Farinata, but only with the help of German knights. Guido Novello had been called to deathbed by Farinata, but had stayed away for good reason. Guido Novello had previously asked in vain for the hand of Farinata's daughter Bice.

The ruling Popolo in the Bargello , that is the Capitano of the 36 Caporali di popolo in Florence, wants to end the dispute between the Guelphs and Ghibellines through forced marriages. The young Bice is ordered to marry a child, the eleven-year-old Guidolino Cavalcanti from the Guelph Party. Other Florentine families are in similar distress. You need excuses. The wedding dresses are in the works.

At the hour of his death, Farinata, who denied God, had previously been banned by the Pope and had not entrusted himself to his defensive sons, but to Bice. Next to the crypt of the father condemned to go to hell in the church of Santa Reparata, the daughter ponders the outrageous act of the person who died under the spell of the church. Farinata had taken pity on the enemy .

The Uberti brothers no longer have an emperor and are waiting for the child king . It won't come. So they want to bring sister Bice to Guido Novello in order to secure the German army of knights for the protection of Ghibelline Florence. But the brothers don't dare to ask Bice about it. The girl, almost half a child, has the strong will of her father. When her brothers stone Guidolino Cavalcanti, she steps in fearlessly and kisses the boy's forehead. The brothers shrink back in horror from "the dangerous eyes" of their sister. The Uberti feels as if the deceased father was looking at her with those eyes. But when the troops of Charles approached from Anjou, they couldn't help it - they took action. Guido Novello just can't let the Ghibellines down. That man of the sword who still desires Bice is married. The brothers argue in front of Bice that if she is paired up with a child, then she can also be taken into Guido Novello's arms. To the astonishment of the brothers, Bice agrees without any ifs or buts. When Guido Novello comes and wants to take possession of Bice, she asks him to leave the city with his German army of knights on Easter night. It is just as the Uberti brothers suspected. Bice has power over Guido Novello. Even the tried and tested war hero feels as if his former warlord Farinata was looking at him through those girls' eyes. The will of the dead is accomplished for the second time through this gaze. Guido Novello obeys. So Bice saves Florence from destruction at Easter.

Bice is the only bride who obeys Popolo's orders. She marries Guidolino Cavalcanti.

Quotes

  • "Every place that love leaves, hatred wins."
  • "When a man becomes merciful, the world moves."

Self-testimony

Gertrud von le Fort says on the radio that she is not concerned with any "women's problem" at Bice, but rather with "trust in the veiled forces". What is meant is the belief in the forces that a woman can develop - in contrast to military violence.

reception

  • According to Ley, the author drew the material from studies by the German historian Robert Davidsohn (1853–1937) on Florentine history.
  • Ley discusses relations with Divine Comedy .
  • By virtue of her love, Bice overcomes hell.
  • Barner et al. Present the text as an example of "richly structured" language, which can only be enjoyed at high school.

Pleonasm

  • "tender tenderness"

literature

source
expenditure
Secondary literature
  • Nicholas J. Meyerhofer: Gertrud von le Fort . Morgenbuch Verlag Berlin 1993. Heads of the 20th Century, Volume 119. ISBN 3-371-00376-0
  • Wilfried Barner (ed.): History of German literature. Volume 12: History of German Literature from 1945 to the Present . CH Beck, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-406-38660-1
  • Klaus Ley: In dialogue with Dante: G. von Le Fort's story "The Daughter of Farinatas" (1939/41) , pp. 65–85 in: Petra Christina Hardt (ed.), Nicoletta Kiefer (ed.): Encounter with Dante . Investigations and interpretations of Dante's work and his readers . Wallstein Verlag Göttingen. October 2001. 160 pages, ISBN 978-3-89244-491-6 ; partly online from google books

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Meyerhofer, p. 89, 3. Zvo
  2. ↑ together with The Court of the Sea , The Consolata and Plus ultra (Meyerhofer, p. 103, entry anno 1950)
  3. ↑ Meyerhofer, p. 103, entry from 1950
  4. ↑ Bice is an Italian form of Beatrice
  5. ↑ Ley, p. 67, speaks of "vox populi".
  6. ↑ see for example Quelle, p. 59, 6. Zvu and p. 63, 16. Zvo
  7. ↑ Source, p. 27, 6th Zvu
  8. ↑ Source, p. 67, 15. Zvo
  9. ↑ quoted in Meyerhofer, p. 88 below
  10. ↑ Ley, p. 69
  11. ↑ Ley, p. 70
  12. ↑ see also Divine Comedy, 10th song of the Inferno in Italian
  13. ^ Ley, p. 78
  14. ↑ Barner, p. 38, 11. Zvo
  15. ↑ Source, p. 21, 13. Zvo