Got ir iemer guoten tac

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Got give ir iemer guoten tac (“God always give her a good day” in the sense of “God always give her good time”) is a song by Walther von der Vogelweide . It is classified in the literary genre of extended change . A man and a woman monologically express the desire to be with the other. However, due to the general joylessness in society, it is not possible for them to openly show their perceived happiness. This song has been examined in many ways for the correct sequence of stanzas and the correct assignment of male and female stanzas. However, there is still no generally accepted opinion on this.

Table of contents

The sequence of stanzas chosen by Günther Schweikle is used as a basis for the order of the stanzas and the assignment as male or female stanza.

Verse 1 (L 119.17 / C 422 / E 125)

In this stanza, the male ego expresses the wish that the woman he loves and cannot win over is always doing well (vv. 1–3). He complains of not knowing exactly how the woman feels about him. While on the one hand he hears her say how devoted she is to him, on the other hand he must hear things that cause him grief ( other maere ) (vv. 3–6). He then describes his feelings as sueze work and mustard indulgence (v. 6 f.).

Verse 2 (L 119,35 / C 423 / E 126)

Here the lady expresses herself and reports that she would like to be happy more often, but has no companion (v. 1 f.). She refers to the general joylessness in society and explains that, contrary to this, she cannot show her joy (v. 3 f.). If she did not renounce her joy, she would have to show ir vinger (v. 5 f.). But they secure the favor of society by only laughing where no one sees them (vv. 7–9).

Verse 3 (L 119.26 / C 424 / E 127)

Again, it is a woman's stanza. The feminine ego makes it clear that she should be worried (v. 2), and yet recognizes that God meant it well with her, because she took care of what everyone says something good about (vv. 1-4 ). She relates that she kissed and hugged him in a hurry (vv. 5-6) and that she would give herself to him as soon as she had the opportunity (vv. 7-9).

Verse 4 (L 120.7 / C 425 / E 128)

He says it pains him inside when he thinks back on how people used to act (vv. 1-3). He could not forget how happy the people were back then (v. 4 f.). At that time a happy man could have behaved like that (v. 6). He emphasizes that if this never happens again, he will be sad to have ever seen it.

Lore

The song has been handed down in identical stanzas and almost the same wording in the Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift ( Codex Manesse / manuscript C) and the Würzburg Liederhandschrift (manuscript E). The order was C 422-425 and E 125-128. There is no marking of female and male stanzas in the manuscripts. However, the sequence of stanzas has been discussed many times, so that it cannot be said without any doubt to what extent the traditional order is correct.

Analysis of the shape

Four "nine-line stollen stanzas from relatively free four-act acts and free opening arrangement" make up the form of this song. A corn rhyme ( sit: nit: lit: zit ) is present between each of the 7 verses of a stanza . In addition, there are Reimresponsionen in verse 1 and 4 ( see: jehen and done seen , and tac: mac and PFLAC: mac ) and verse 2 and 3 ( han: lan and done: han ). Furthermore, there are word repetitions in stanzas 1 and 3, both of which begin with got, and stanzas 1, 3 and 4, which have "the word heart " in the same metric position in the third from last line .

All four stanzas represent monologues, independent statements about love for the partner and the state of society. The song can accordingly be described as a traditional alternation in which the lovers reveal their feelings separately from one another.

The interpretation based on different stanzas

General

With regard to the content, there are many approaches to interpretation. This largely depends on which stanza order is considered correct. While both manuscripts have the same sequence of stanzas, Karl Lachmann had already questioned the correctness of this sequence of stanzas in 1853. He was followed by other researchers, such as Wilhelm Wilmanns and Victor Michels, Hennig Brinkmann, Friedrich Maurer , Carl von Kraus, Hans Günther Meyer, Horst Brunner and Jens Köhler, who dealt with the sequence of stanzas in this change. The assignment of the stanzas as male or female stanzas and the understanding of the four stanzas as one or two songs were often discussed.

The individual approaches to interpretation are presented in chronological order below. In order to create a connection between the individual positions, the content of the other maere , which varies in almost all researchers, is reproduced.

Karl Lachmann

In 1853 Karl Lachmann made a change to the stanzas that had been handed down by exchanging the two middle stanzas. Its order was therefore C422-C424 and C423-C425. In doing so, he simultaneously combined the two social and love stanzas into two independent songs.

Lachmann does not explicitly go into what he understands as the content of the other maere , but since the songs are separate, it can be assumed that the content of the man's grief is represented by the second stanza and thus consists in the fact that she loves him, but has no opportunity to surrender to him.

However, Horst Brunner opposed such a separation of the stanzas by stating that, since all stanzas had the same form, they were probably also sung to the same melody. Furthermore, there is a close connection between the stanzas, both through the corn rhymes in the third to last verse of each stanza and through the word repetitions in stanzas 1 and 2 ( got ) and 1, 2 and 4 ( heart ) and through the rhyme responses in verses 1 and 4 as well 2 and 3.

Wilhelm Wilmanns and Victor Michels

Wilmanns / Michels are also convinced of the unity of the stanzas. They write: "Although the four stanzas [...] are not related by their content, the grains [...] and probably also the response rhymes [...] show that they were intended for the ongoing performance ..." They use the sequence C422-C424-C423-C425 as a basis and justify this with the fact that Walther's “poetry as social poetry” corresponds to the fact that he first deals with the loving situation of lovers and then “goes over to the consideration of the position in life” .

Assuming this sequence of stanzas, it becomes possible to interpret the song like Wilmanns / Michels. They assume that in the first stanza the “man was given an open declaration of love, but at the same time a customer who worries him” , but Wilmanns / Michels said that this customer, the other thing, was that she loved him, but not granted could. In the second stanza, according to Wilmanns / Michels, the woman confirms that she would give herself to him without resistance and that only external obstacles prevented her from doing so.

Hennig Brinkmann

Hennig Brinkmann also changed the traditional order of the stanzas in this Minne song, which he published under the name "Minne im Wandel der Zeit", and chose the order C424 C422 C423 C425. He is the only one who begins with the woman's love stanza. Furthermore, male and female stanzas alternate regularly, and the two love and social stanzas are combined. However, Brinkmann does not explain which interpretation led him to choose this sequence of stanzas.

Friedrich Maurer

The situation is similar with Friedrich Maurer, who published the song under the heading “Lament and Consolation” in the order C422 C423 C425 C424.

Brunner is of the opinion that, for Maurer, the content of the other maere must be the "complaint of the lady, she must not show her joy" and accordingly the order of the stanzas is appropriate for the heading he has chosen.

Carl von Kraus

Carl von Kraus also assumed the same sequence of stanzas as Willmanns / Michels. In his version, however, he tried to prove the unity of the song by dealing with what the content of the other maeres could be. In his opinion, this could only become clear if L 119.26 - L 119.34 (C 424) and L 119.35 - L 120.6 (C 423) were understood as a woman's strophe.

The content of what the man heard the woman , namely how to get him entriuwen , represent the first female stanza . This makes it clear that she feels that she has already kissed and hugged him and that she feels completely at him would give up if only she had the chance. The second woman stanza, however, "represents the contents of the other maeres is, because of that his herze inneclichen Kumber Lidet iemer sit : she had to fröide happy, but it does not join because they fear for the general unhappiness around would have their hulde to lose and be mocked. ”The content of the other maeres is thus according to v. Kraus is the woman's fear of social exclusion or ridicule if she reveals her joy or shares it with someone. Therefore, according to v. Kraus, she couldn't see him and couldn't share her joy with him either. That sees v. Kraus as the reason why he says Got in the first verse .... I have seen me that I love and not acquire mac and in her first verse I sit with worries and in her second verse I don't have to join , mention. In contrast to Lachmann and Willmanns / Michels, he understands the third and not the second stanza as the content of the other maeres . In the fourth stanza, according to v. Kraus Walther himself, the v. Kraus equates the male speaker with the word and contrasts the joyless present with the happy past.

So connect this stanza, according to v. Kraus, clearly to the first, in that the inner kumber liden from the end of the first stanza with the Ez tout mir inner we are taken up again in the fourth stanza. Also recognizes v. Kraus establishes a connection between his and her stanzas, since both speakers begin with got . Furthermore, for v. Kraus the corn rhymes and the response rhymes are a clear sign that the four stanzas belong together and represent a song. With regard to Lachmann, v. Kraus therefore a designation of the 3rd stanza as a woman's stanza and the "connection of all four stanzas into a whole".

Brunner, however, assumes v. Kraus says that the content that he ascribes to the other maere , namely that "... she cannot hear it, indeed is not even allowed to see it due to the general joylessness in the area," is based on a dubious translation. While v. Kraus reproduces the beginning of the first stanza with "God let you see me again - at least - that I [...] am not able - due to external circumstances - to win", Brunner prefers to translate this passage with: " God always give her good days and let her see me (often) - or even today - [...]. ”Correspondingly, Brunner points out that the text does not necessarily mean that the man cannot see the lady but that he just wished to see her. The next passage in the text, I sit with worries , the v. Kraus cited as evidence that the lady complained about her situation, Brunner simply describes as a statement by the lady that she secretly drives love and is glad that God has given her a generally respected lover. And also the third passage, the v. Kraus cited, namely that I am not a companion , Brunner does not translate as “I would like to be happy, but I have no boyfriend”, but rather with “I would like to be often happy, unfortunately I have no one around me who can keep up” Brunner that according to v. Kraus the content of the other maere should be the general joylessness in the environment and as a result a situation is constructed in which the two could not come together. According to Brunner, this is not the case, since the lady clearly says that she would like to give herself to the man, but they lacked the place, the place, the opportunity to do so.

With this, Brunner doubts v. Kraus, but not the unity of the song he claimed.

Hans Günther Meyer

Hans Günther Meyer also dealt with the sequence of stanzas of this change and made the following proposal: C423-C422-C424-C425, which is based on the sequence Lachmanns, Willmanns / Michels and v. Kraus deviates. This enables him to take a completely different approach to interpretation than those mentioned so far.

In the first stanza, according to Meyer, the woman's will to enjoy is juxtaposed with the prevailing dreams of society. Here, however, both the reason why she can only be secretly happy and what the cause of the joy are hidden from view. In the second stanza the man paraphrases the longing for his beloved. According to Meyer, the man understands the lady's words from the first stanza as a “secret message of love to him”. It hurts him that she can only show him her feelings in such a way that he feels "as the paradox of his love situation". B. use the term mustard indifference . According to Meyer, the third stanza reveals the reasons for the happiness from the first stanza. These are "the thoughts of the friend's generally recognized worth, the memory of her token of favor for him and her growing readiness for full love happiness." The last stanza explains the pain the man addressed in stanza 2, that is, the other maere . This results from the fact that "there used to be joy in society and personal happiness was in harmony with the general." Looking at the stanzas as a whole, for Meyer there is a clear connection between all parts, for example due to coordinated opening verses.

In his order, Meyer speaks of a layered system in which there is an “outer, enclosing content layer, next to an inner, enclosed one”. The social stanzas in Meyer's stanza sequence enclose the love stanzas. According to Meyer, this would make sense insofar as society creates the external framework for the love of the two. In these stanzas the different ways of dealing with the general social joylessness become clear. While she adapts to the social conditions on the outside and inwardly can still feel subjective, only conscious joy, for the man only the "objective joy recognized by society and realized in it is decisive". Since this is not present in the present, however, in contrast to the woman, he is not in a position to console himself over it with the love that is returned. Meyer draws attention to the fact that in the internal stanzas the social issue is completely left out and the two only deal with their relationship. Here, too, the lovers dealt with difficulties and joy in minne in a similar way to the general verses. While the man emphasizes the paradox of their relationship that they cannot achieve each other despite mutual love, the woman looks forward with anticipation to the situation in which they will have the opportunity to fulfill their love. According to Meyer, there is the same difference between the behavior of both in the frame and in the interior. While the woman can fit into society and still feel joy, the man is “more attuned to the outside world” and makes it clear that he is resisting society.

Meyer is of the opinion that Walther is about to protest against a society characterized by high love, in which mutual love has been pushed completely from the public into the private. He used this juxtaposition of love and society and in particular the laudatio temporis acti (stanza 4) to protest against the handling of love in courtly society and to refer to better, earlier times.

Regarding Meyer, Brunner says that this sequence of stanzas and the proposed course are conceivable. However, speak against the fact that the two social stanzas are torn apart.

Horst Brunner

As already shown, Brunner referred to the scientists presented so far and tried to analyze the sequence of stanzas they proposed and the resulting interpretation. In his own interpretation he starts from the sequence of stanzas Lachmann and v. Kraus out.

In the first stanza, Brunner primarily refers to the Oxymora süeze work and mustard indulgence , which refer to the pain of the man and "the bitterness of sweet love". In the second stanza, according to Brunner, the lady formulates that she has the desire to fulfill love, but that they have no “suitable place, [no] opportunity” to do so. With regard to the first male stanza and the content of the other maere , Brunner says that by it he means the “compulsion to postpone the granting of love”. This leads to the fact that "the waiting person feels kumber , sueze work and mustard smugness ". The third stanza can be interpreted as both a female and a male stanza. If it were interpreted as a woman's stanza, the joyful tone from the first woman's stanza would be continued. The joy of one's own love then contrasts with the joylessness of society, and secret laughter is particularly strong as a result. If you continue this, the man takes up the theme again in the fourth stanza and carries it on by referring to more beautiful, past times. So "the happy man has a say who thinks it bad that he is not allowed to say anything about his love happiness - this would contradict the generally prevailing mood of mourning, which is probably brought about by the widespread fashion of Hohen Minne ". However, Brunner also takes the view that the third stanza could well be a male stanza. The man would then be the one who would be afraid to show his joy publicly because one would point at him with fingers, which would lead to him secretly being happy. According to Brunner, there would have been a development in the context of the poem, the fulfillment of love, which would have caused the unhappy man to speak from verse one in verse three of a joy that he had to hide from society. The form of change enables such a development, because "male and female stanzas [...] are not directly related".

Brunner is also of the opinion that Walther used the song type of change in order to be able to choose a concept of love that was atypical for his time, that of mutual love and not of high love. He used this to "criticize the joylessness of the present in contrast to joy as it has ruled in the past [...]."

Jens Koehler

Jens Köhler retains the traditional order of the stanzas. He criticizes all attempts to justify a different sequence of stanzas, since he assumes that "Behind these interventions [...] the unspoken premise [is] that the stanzas depict a story of Minne." According to Köhler, this premise is based "on a modern understanding of poetry ... [that] ... misses the peculiarity of many minne songs. "

When assigning the stanzas, Köhler also recognizes that stanzas 1 and 3 are clearly recognizable as male and female stanzas due to the pronominal mention. Such a clear allocation is not possible with the two social stanzas. He points out, however, that "the fear of social sanctions in the event of a norm violation tends to indicate a woman's role". The laudatio temporis acti, on the other hand, according to Köhler, can be reconciled with the male role.

When interpreting the stanzas, Köhler is of the opinion that the man in stanza 1 is irritated and feels paradoxical feelings due to the contradictory behavior of the woman. Verse 2, on the other hand, explains their behavior by making it clear that the woman must behave in this way due to social norms, which shows that the "contradictions that irritate the man [...] are not due to the usual reluctance or insincerity []. , but rather on a social condition ... ”The content of the other maere would therefore be the social condition that does not allow the two to show their love in public. In the third stanza, too, the constant presence of society appears as a “controlling and obstructive authority”, because even when the woman kisses and hugs the man, she does so in a hurry. In the fourth stanza, Jens Köhler recognizes that there is no separation into private and public joy on the man's part, as is the case with women, "but it is generally said that only where people are happy, the individual can behave accordingly. "

Köhler recognizes that the first and third stanzas as well as the second and fourth stanzas are connected with each other, in that each speaker is given a stanza that relates to the love relationship and one that relates to the social issue. Despite the mutual love that is made possible by the form of change, according to Köhler there is still a specific role behavior. While the woman can secretly keep her joy, the man gets confused because of the paradoxical behavior of the woman.

Günther Schweikle

Günther Schweikle, like Köhler, retains the traditional order as it was presented in the entrance. According to his interpretation, the man in verse 1 complains about the restriction in society, as a result of which he hardly gets to see the woman and only learns contradicting rumors, for Schweikle the other maere , about her. The woman describes her situation in verse 2. She is lonely in society because she has to hide her happiness. In the third stanza the reason for happiness is revealed, namely that she loves a "noble knight" so much that she would give herself to him if only she had the opportunity. Schweikle also sees the fourth stanza including the laudatio temporis acti, similar to Brunner, as a juxtaposition of the present and the past conception of love.

Schweikle also recognizes that the stanzas belong together by referring to the corn rhymes and the interrelated choice of words. According to Schweikle, there is also a thematic connection when both speakers take up the social issue.

Sonja Kerth

In her essay, Sonja Kerth also recognizes that Walther has refrained from “exaggerating or reversing the roles in terms of gender.” She also says: “He lays down the complaints about the restrictions of society and the lack of opportunity for love between the two selves in the mouth. ”This also confirms the earlier research that there can be different interpretations of the assignment of stanzas.

In summary

All in all, it can be clearly seen that in older research, from Lachmann to Willmanns / Michels and v. Kraus to Brunner, the sequence C422-C424-C423-C425 was chosen. The more recent scholars such as Köhler and Schweikle, on the other hand, are reverting to the traditional order and, as in the case of Köhler, even criticize any attempt to adapt this Minnelong to today's understanding of poetry by changing the sequence of stanzas. What they all have in common, however, is that they recognize that a mutual love becomes evident here, which due to social norms must not be lived out. Meyer and Brunner, among others, also point out that it was Walther's aim to point out a disproportion between society, which is shaped by Hohen Minne, and love fulfillment.

Position in the work of the author and the genre

According to Maurer, this change can be assigned to Walther's early songs up to 1198. These also include Sumer and winter both sint (L 99.6), Frouwe, vernemt through got von mir diz mære (L 112.35), Frouwe, lânt iuch niht verdriezen (L 85.34). Günther Schweikle, on the other hand, makes it clear that the form of change and the topoi of lamenting society and knowing about others based on rumors belong to the early minstrel, but the fact that the man has paradoxical feelings ( mustard insensitivity ) does the Hohe Minne notes.

Regarding the meaning of this song, Horst Brunner said that it had no special features, because Walther took over both the means of representation and the form of the change from other poets. Only the problematization of the concept of the Hohen Minne and the recourse to the laudatio temporis acti are characteristic of this song and are parallels to Walther's later Minne songs.

literature

  • Brinkmann, Hennig (1952): Love poetry of the German early days in chronological order. Düsseldorf: Schwann, pp. 291-292.
  • Brunner, Horst (2008): Approaches. Studies on German literature of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Berlin: E. Schmidt, pp. 103-112.
  • Köhler, Jens (1997): The change. Text structure and function of a Middle High German song genre. Heidelberg: Winter, pp. 208-211.
  • Kraus, Carl von; Walther; 1170–1230, Walther von (1966): Walther von der Vogelweide. Investigations. 2., unchanged. Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 434–445.
  • Meyer, Hans Günther (1981): The sequence of stanzas and their regularities in the Minnelied Walthers von der Vogelweide. A contribution to the "inner form" of high medieval poetry. Königstein / Ts .: Hain, pp. 84–90.
  • Sonja Kerth: "Jo enwas I niht a boar wild". Gender concepts in "alternation". In: Journal for German Antiquity and German Literature 136 (2007), pp. 143–161.
  • Walther; 1170-1230; Haupt, Moriz; Lachmann, Karl (1853): The poems of Walther von der Vogelweide. 3rd edition /. Berlin: Reimer, pp. 119-120.
  • Walter; 1170-1230; Michels, Victor; Wilmanns, Wilhelm (1924): Songs and sayings of Walthers von der Vogelweide. With explanatory notes. 4th, completely redesigned. Ed. /. Halle (Saale): Verlag der Buchh. des orphanage, pp. 399–402.
  • Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, pp. 192-195, pp. 625-627.
  • Walther; 1170-1230, Walther von der; Maurer, Friedrich (1956): The love songs. Tübingen: Niemeyer, pp. 40–41.

Web links

Wikisource: Got give ir iemer gv̊ten tag  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, p. 193.
  2. Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, p. 625.
  3. Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, p. 625.
  4. ^ Brunner, Horst (2008): Approaches. Studies on German literature of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Berlin: E. Schmidt, p. 106.
  5. ^ Köhler, Jens (1997): The change. Text structure and function of a Middle High German song genre. Heidelberg: Winter, p. 211.
  6. Walther; 1170-1230; Haupt, Moriz; Lachmann, Karl (1853): The poems of Walther von der Vogelweide. 3rd edition Reimer, Berlin, pp. 119-120.
  7. Walter; 1170-1230; Michels, Victor; Wilmanns, Wilhelm (1924): Songs and sayings of Walthers von der Vogelweide. With explanatory notes. 4th, completely redesigned. Ed. /. Halle (Saale): Verlag der Buchh. of the orphanage, p. 400.
  8. Walter; 1170-1230; Michels, Victor; Wilmanns, Wilhelm (1924): Songs and sayings of Walthers von der Vogelweide. Publ. Of Buchh. of the orphanage, p. 400.
  9. Walter; 1170-1230; Michels, Victor; Wilmanns, Wilhelm (1924): Songs and sayings of Walthers von der Vogelweide. Publ. Of Buchh. of the orphanage, p. 400.
  10. Brinkmann, Hennig (1952): Love lyric of the German early in chronological order. Düsseldorf: Schwann, pp. 291-292.
  11. Walther; 1170-1230, Walther von der; Maurer, Friedrich (1956): The love songs. Tübingen: Niemeyer, pp. 40–41.
  12. ^ Brunner, Horst (2008): Approaches. Studies on German literature of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Berlin: E. Schmidt, p. 109.
  13. Kraus, Carl von; Walther; 1170-1230, Walther von (1966): Walther von der Vogelweide. Investigations. 2., unchanged. Berlin: de Gruyter, p. 435.
  14. Kraus, Carl von; Walther; 1170-1230, Walther von (1966): Walther von der Vogelweide. Investigations. 2., unchanged. Berlin: de Gruyter, p. 435.
  15. Kraus 1966. p. 436.
  16. Brunner 2008. p. 108.
  17. Brunner 2008 p. 108.
  18. Brunner 2008. p. 108.
  19. Brunner 2008. p. 108.
  20. Brunner 2008. p. 108.
  21. Meyer 1981. p. 85.
  22. Meyer 1981. p. 85.
  23. Meyer, Hans Günther (1981): The sequence of stanzas and their regularities in the Minnelied Walthers von der Vogelweide. A contribution to the "inner form" of high medieval poetry. Königstein / Ts .: Hain, p. 85.
  24. Meyer 1981 p. 85.
  25. Meyer 1981. p. 87.
  26. Meyer 1981. p. 87.
  27. Meyer 1981. p. 88.
  28. Meyer 1981. pp. 88-89.
  29. Brunner p. 110.
  30. Brunner 2008. p. 110.
  31. Brunner 2008. p. 111.
  32. Brunner 2008. p. 111.
  33. Brunner 2008. p. 111.
  34. Brunner 2008. p. 111.
  35. Brunner 2008. p. 111.
  36. Brunner 2008. p. 112.
  37. ^ Köhler, Jens (1997): The change. Text structure and function of a Middle High German song genre. Heidelberg: Winter, p. 208.
  38. Köhler 1997. p. 208.
  39. Köhler 1997. p. 209.
  40. Köhler 1997. p. 210.
  41. Köhler 1997. p. 210.
  42. Köhler 1997. p. 210.
  43. Köhler 1997. p. 211
  44. Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, p. 626.
  45. Walther; 1170-1230; Schweikle, Günther (1998): Lied lyric. Middle High German, New High German. Stuttgart: Reclam, p. 626.
  46. Sonja Kerth: "Jo enwas ich niht ein boar wild". Gender concepts in "alternation". In: Journal for German Antiquity and German Literature 136 (2007), p. 152
  47. Kerth 2007. p. 152