Grazer Marienleben
The Grazer Marienleben (also Seckauer Marienleben ) originated between 1280 and the beginning of the 14th century in what was then the Augustinian Canons of Seckau . The author is unknown. The life of the Virgin Mary in Graz is unique as a fragment in manuscript 781. The manuscript is now in the University of Graz . It tells of Mary's parents, the miraculous conception of Mary, her childhood, the conception of Jesus, Jesus' birth and a discussion on theological topics between Jesus and Mary in the form of a soliloquium . The Middle High German Marienleben Graz was written in the Bavarian dialect. The text probably served the edifying instruction of the Seckau choir women.
content
It begins with the story of Maria's parents Joachim and Anna , Maria's miraculous conception , her birth and her childhood. Their exemplary lives at home and among the temple virgins are shown. Mary is portrayed as a child prodigy with special abilities and with special piety and virtue. She is considered a role model for all women. When she was thirteen, an angel announced that she would give birth to the Savior. This is followed by the very shortened Christmas story and again an appeal to all women to take Mary as a role model. Then comes the first part of the soliloquium: Jesus instructs Mary about his divine sonship and incarnation and announces what is to come: death on the cross , descensus , resurrection , ascension , her assumptio . Then the virtue and piety of Mary are praised again and a new story of Annen is told. Anna has two daughters here, one the mother of Christ, one the mother of Johannes and Jacob. This is followed by the continuation of the instructive soliloquium which suddenly stops.
Verses 916–958 from the Schönbach edition with translation
di süeze said, 'that word had |
Love said, "The Word has brought back |
Sources and Influences
In the 13th century, Marian devotion gained strength again. This is also reflected in the literature. z. B. in the Marian legends and in the depictions of the life of Mary in the fine arts. These mostly go back to the same Latin model, the Vita beate Marie virginis et Salvatoris metrica , written around 1200 . The life of the Virgin Mary in Graz is one of the earliest German forms. The life of the Virgin Mary of Philipp von Seitz is also based on the Vita metrica . But the life of the Virgin Mary in Graz follows the source more closely. This proves the independence of the life of the Virgin in Graz compared to that of brother Phillip. In Graz Marienleben also is späthöfischer influence recognizable. The people seem “courtly”. Maria is described in activities that can be assigned to the courtly context (e.g. embroidery, weaving) and has servants. The description of their appearance also corresponds to the courtly ideal of beauty. In addition, the text is based on apocryphal sources.
Lore
The Grazer Marienleben is handed down as a fragment in 958 verses in the manuscript 781 on the upper margins of the sheets 110 v to 172 v. The manuscript contains a Latin psaltery written in the first half of the 13th century . It was created in the then Augustinian Canons' Monastery of Seckau and is now kept in the special collection of the Graz University Library. Most of the upper margins of the manuscript are written on. In addition to the life of the Virgin Mary in Graz , Konrad von Heimesfurt's pages 1r to 70 v Unser vrouven hinvart (The Assumption of Mary) and the prose legend Margaret of Antioch by an also unknown author were entered on pages 71 v to 110 r . The German entries in the manuscript are to be assigned to the Bavarian dialect.
literature
Edition / primary text
- Anton Schönbach: Grazer Marienleben . In: Journal for German Antiquity and German Literature. 17. 1874. pp. 519-560.
Secondary literature
- Werner Fechter : Grazer Marienleben . In: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon. 2., completely reworked. Edition. Ed. By Kurt Ruh [et al.] Vol. 3. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter 1981, col. 229f.
- Alfred Kracher: Medieval literature and poetry in Styria . State exhibition 1976. Graz 1976. (Works from the Styrian State Library. 15.) P. 9–42.
- Otto Janda: Outline of the Styrian poetry of the Middle Ages . In. Works from the Styrian regional library at the Joanneum Graz. Issue 6. Graz 1943.
- Alfred Ebenbauer [u. a.]: Medieval literature in Styria. Files of the International Symposium Seggauberg Castle near Leibnitz 1984. Bern a. a.:1988. (Yearbook for International German Studies. Series A. Congress reports. 23.)
Web links
- Manuscript census , as of December 8, 2014
- Wernfried Hofmeister: Styrian literature of the Middle Ages. As of December 8, 2014
- Manuscript catalog of the University Library Graz. As of December 8, 2014
- Facsimiles of the manuscript as of December 8, 2014
Individual evidence
- ^ Alfred Kracher: Medieval literature and poetry in Styria. State exhibition 1976. (Works from the Styrian State Library. 15.) P. 17.
- ^ Werner Fechter: Grazer Marienleben. In: The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon. 2., completely reworked. Edition. Edited by Kurt Ruh [u. a.] Vol. 3. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter 1981, Col. 229f.
- ^ Anton Schönbach: Grazer Marienleben . In: ZfdA 17 (1874), p. 559 f.
- ^ Ernst Hellgardt: Seckauer manuscripts as a carrier of early Middle High German texts. In: The medieval literature in Styria. Edited by Alfred Ebenbauer [among others]. Bern: Lang 1988, p. 104.
- ↑ Wernfried Hofmeister: Styrian literature of the Middle Ages. Retrieved December 8, 2014 .