In the realm of the silver lion I-II

In the kingdom of the silver lion I – II form the first two volumes of the In the kingdom of the silver lion tetralogy by Karl May . These are among the classic travel stories in contrast to the last two, volumes III and IV , which belong to the late work.

General information on text and text history

When it became clear in the early autumn of 1898 that the novel Am Jenseits, conceived as an "anniversary volume" XXV of the collected travel stories , would no longer be available in time for the profitable Christmas business , the travel story Im Reiche , which had just been published in the last two years of the German House Treasure , was supposed to be available of the silver lion fill the void. Fehsenfeld's suggestion to classify the two planned volumes in the consecutive numbering and thus to add volume XXV / XXVI to “Christmas!” (Vol. XXIV) was rejected by May.

On November 19, 1898, Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld published the first volume of Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen as volume 26 of Karl May's Gesammelte Reiseerzählungen . The second volume followed in mid-December 1898. Volume III was not published until August 9, 1902 (after the trip to the Orient). The first edition of Volume IV was published on October 1, 1903 . The silver lion cycle was thus complete.

The individual parts of the text in the first two volumes were written between 1893 and 1898 and represent different stages of May's writing. May took the first third of Volume I from his short story Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen , published in Deutsches Hausschatz . The title of the First Division was The Rose of Shiraz and described the experiences of Old Shatterhand immediately after Winnetou's death .

Soon after the beginning of the third chapter of Volume I, May interrupted the Hausschatz text and added a story for the book edition that had been written in 1895 and appeared in the Regensburg Marienkalender 1898 under the title Scheba et Thar . The translation of the title gave the chapter the title: The "Lion of Blood Vengeance" .

With the fourth chapter May again took over the Hausschatz text from the 24th year of the sheet (1897/98), which had appeared there under the title Im Reiche des Silber Löwen - Am Turm zu Babel . With this extensive text he was able to complete the first volume and fill the second up to page 452. The Fehsenfeld volumes, however, comprised more than 600 pages. So May reworked the story Die “Umm ed Dschamahl” , which he had in turn written for the Regensburg Marienkalender, and added the result as the sixth chapter A Riddle . This means that the second volume of the Silver Lion has the required number of pages.

Content and plot

In the realm of the silver lion I.

• First chapter: Jafar (pp. 1–99)
• Second chapter: Am Makik-Natun (pp. 100–266)
• Third Chapter: The "Lion of Blood Vengeance" (pp. 267–357)
• Fourth Chapter: On the Tigris (pp. 358–489)
• Chapter Five: In Baghdad (pp. 490–624)

The story begins immediately after Winnetou's death. Old Shatterhand - still very battered - meets the Snuffles on his way to the Apaches , a pair of Westerners who don't recognize him, don't believe him and even mock him. You meet a man riding a magnificent Persian bridled horse. The man admits that he escaped an attack in which the owner of the horse was captured by the Comanches, led by To-kei-chun.

Old Shatterhand finally manages to free Jafar Mirza, who recognizes Kara Ben Nemsi in him . In thanks for the rescue, he gives Old Shatterhand a precious dagger.

It continues in the Orient : Kara Ben Nemsi persuades Hajji Halef Omar to accompany him to Persia . Before that they go on an excursion to the Schammar Mountains, where they meet the Scherarat Bedouins who have a blood revenge with the Haddedihn. The enemy magician and his son are killed in the confrontation.

Halef and Kara Ben Nemsi are now leaving for Persia. You meet three men who apparently belong to a smugglers' association, the Sillan. The leader of the group calls himself Pädär-i-Baharat ("Father of Spices") and threatens Kara Ben Nemsi with revenge when he is able to thwart an attack on himself.

Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef live in Baghdad with the Turkish Pole Dozorca and his servant Kepek. Kara Ben Nemsi learns that the Pole has lost his entire family and that he was once on the trail of a gang of smugglers who were based at the Tower of Babel .

In the realm of the silver lion II

• Chapter One: At the Tower of Babel (pp. 1–117)
• Chapter Two: In Court (pp. 118–218)
• Third chapter: Osman Pasha (pp. 219–302)
• Fourth Chapter: Back in the Tower (pp. 303–369)
• Chapter Five: Happy Homecoming (pp. 370–452)
• Chapter Six: A Riddle (pp. 453–628)

Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef are on their way to Babylon. In an inn they discover two men wearing the Sillan's rings. Kara Ben Nemsi lights one of the rings that he took from the teacher and his companions in the previous volume and speaks to the people who actually think he is the expected Pedär-i-Baharat and tells him that the caravan of a Persian Chamberlain is to be ambushed.

When their horses Assil Ben Rih and Barkh are about to be stolen in Hilleh, they fight back and the thieves are seriously injured. The innkeeper wants to hold Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef, but the two just ride away.

At the Tower of Babel they actually come across the smugglers who use the death caravans for smuggling. Suddenly a troop of soldiers arrives whom the landlord has sent after them. With the help of his letter of protection, Kara Ben Nemsi is able to avoid arrest, but he agrees to face an ordinary court. The trial is a farce. The leader of the smugglers, the Säfir, is the prosecutor - and Kara Ben Nemsi prefers to leave the place without further ado. When the chamberlain who is about to be attacked refuses to be warned, Kara Ben Nemsi and Halef turn their backs on him and return to the tower. There they are captured by a mishap and locked up together with the robbed chamberlain.

Kara Ben Nemsi is able to free himself and the chamberlain and rides with him back to Hilleh, where, with the help of Osman Pasha, he has the corrupt judge and the pedagogue arrested. Thereupon he returns to the tower, sneaks back into his prison cell, where - since his escape has not been discovered - he is apparently still a prisoner waiting for the Säfir. When this appears, the tables are turned; caught the Säfir and inspected all treasures. In a hiding place Kara Ben Nemsi finds a double portrait that shows on one side a beautiful woman, the Gul-i-Schiras, and on the other his old friend Jafar Mirza. Kara Ben Nemsi takes the medallion. Old Bimbaschi Dozorca, who first discovered the smugglers' hideout, receives a rich reward; the Säfir hangs himself.

The last chapter starts all over again: Halef absolutely wants to acquire the famous ointment of beauty for Hanneh. For this they have to go to Kurdistan, to Kirmanschah. There they get caught between disputes between different Kurdish tribes and learn that a prisoner is in a tower. With the help of Ingdscha and Madana, whom they unexpectedly meet there, they manage to free the prisoners. It is Marah Durimeh who gives Kara Ben Nemsi another amulet.

expenditure

precursor

Hausschatz version :

• In the realm of the silver lion. First division. The rose of Shiraz. Introduction. (No. 22, February 1897 - No. 40, July 1897)
• In the kingdom of the silver lion (travel story by Karl May) (No. 7, November 1897 - No. 52, September 1898)

Single stories :

• Sheba and Thar
• A riddle (closely related to The "Umm ed Jamahl" )

Later editions

After Karl May's death in 1912, the Silberlöwe volumes were initially further edited by the newly founded Karl May Verlag (KMV). From 1922 a shortened version of the first volume was published with a new chapter structure, the other volumes were spared from editing, except for the spelling adjustment. However, a comprehensive editing concept was already in place in the 1920s, but was not implemented until after the Second World War: The first two volumes were titled Der Löwe der Bluttache (in the Austrian licensed edition “Im Banne der Rache” with partly different text) and By the ruins of Babylon . In the Babylon volume, the KMV combined the main plot, which had previously been divided between both volumes, while the individual stories interspersed by May were combined in the blood revenge volume . Volumes III and IV were given the titles In the Realm of the Silver Lion and The Petrified Prayer and the series title The Shadows of Ahriman . This processing has meanwhile been largely traced back to the original concept.

Film adaptations

The film The Lion of Babylon tells the smuggling story of the Säfir and the story of the Dozorcas family.

The film In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion has only the title in common with the novel.

Settings

Both Europa and Maritim have set parts of the Silver Lion to music, but both only the first chapter of the first volume (Jafar episode).

• all radio plays based on the novel

Others

• The 449 manuscript-page introduction (Jafar or To-kei-chun episode) in Im Reiche des Silber Löwen I ( First part: The Rose of Shiraz. Introduction ) was written in 1893 and was in Karl May's drawer or drawer for four years . in that of Heinrich Keiter , the editor of the German House Treasure . Originally intended by Karl May as the final chapter of Winnetou III (therefore playing in the Wild West despite the oriental title), the author had decided differently and completely rewrote the last chapter for the Winnetou trilogy.
• After May's divorce from his first wife Emma (1903), the author made corrections to volumes I and II of the Silver Lion book edition. May changed the name of the narrator's wife, which was previously Emmeh , to Dschanneh (on page 40 of Volume II, Emmeh accidentally paused four times).
• Heinz Grill wrote a continuation of the Silver Lions volumes I and II under the title The Shadows of the Shah-in-Shah .

Remarks

1. ↑ Major
2. ↑ Roland Schmid: Appendix to the reprint “Am Jenseits”, p. N26.
3. ↑ Karl May Chronicle I, p. 460.
4. ↑ Conclusion by Roland Schmid: Appendix to the reprint “Am Jenseits”, pp. N27 ff.

literature

• Roland Schmid: Appendix to the reprint "Am Jenseits"
• Ulrich Schmid : The work of Karl May 1895–1905. Narrative structures and editorial findings . Materials for Karl May Research Volume 12. KMG-Presse Ubstadt, 1989. ( online version )
• Dieter Sudhoff / Hartmut Vollmer: Karl May's “In the realm of the silver lion”. Karl May Studies 2, 1993.
  • Adolf Droop: Karl May. An analysis of his travel stories
  • Arno Schmidt : From the new grand mystic
  • Hans Wollschläger : First approach to the 'Silver Lion'. On the symbolism and creation
  • Walther Ilmer: Unsuccessful trip to Persia. Thoughts on the 'great upheaval' in Karl May's work
  • Ulrich Melk: From the classic travel novel to the mythical-allegorical late work. Continuity and change of narrative structures in Karl May's 'Silberlöwen' tetralogy
  • Wolfram Ellwanger: encounter with the symbol. Thoughts on Karl Mays 'In the Realm of the Silver Lion IV'
  • Ulrich Schmid: The hidden writing. Karl May's variants of the 'Silver Lion III / IV'
  • Jürgen Hahn: Language as content. On the phenomenology of the 'alabaster style' in Karl May's novel 'Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen'. A blueprint
  • Volker Krischel: “We don't want to be masters of your faith, but helpers for your joy”. Comments on Karl May's criticism of religion in 'Silberlöwen III / IV'
  • Christoph F. Lorenz: "That is the El Dscharanil tree". Parables, fairy tales and dreams in Karl Mays 'In the kingdom of the silver lion III and IV'
  • Dieter Sudhoff : Karl May's great dream. Another approach to the 'Silver Lion'
  • Hansotto Hatzig: The women in the realm of the silver lion. Reading notes and impressions
  • Franz Hofmann: Fall into Hell and Transfiguration. The conclusion of the action in the 'Silver Lion' as a paradigm for Karl May's old works
• Joachim Kalka: In the realm of the silver lion. In: Gert Ueding (Ed.): Karl-May-Handbuch. Verlag Königshausen & Neumann Würzburg 2001 , pp. 236–249. ISBN 3-8260-1813-3
• Rolf Dernen: From the workshop of a successful writer , parts VI and VII.

Web links

Commons : In the Realm of the Silver Lion I  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : In the Realm of the Silver Lion II  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The text of the magazine version online on the website of the Karl May Society.
• The text of the book version online on the website of the Karl May Society.
• Entry in the Karl May Wiki for Volume I.
• Entry in the Karl May Wiki for Volume II