Karl May's Marian Calendar Stories

Karl May's Marienkalendergeschichten are a series of shorter travel stories , which are distinguished from Karl May's other works of this genre by a stronger religious coloring . These parable-like narratives appeared as calendar stories in Marian calendars . The majority was later included in Karl May's Collected Travel Stories and appeared mainly in the anthologies Oranges and Datteln and On Foreign Paths . Two of the stories belong to the late work . Although May was a Protestant , the veneration of Mary, which is more attributed to the Roman Catholic Church , can be found with him .

Cover image for the anthology oranges and dates by Fritz Bergen (1893)

Emergence

The first verifiable publications of May texts (1872) and many other early works can be found in folk calendars. These were popular, cheaply produced, and widely distributed. This was one of the reasons for the high level of awareness of May, even among the low-income strata of the population. The Marian calendars, which May later used, are a special branch of such folk calendars. They are dedicated to the veneration of the mother of Jesus and were very popular towards the end of the 19th century not only in German-speaking countries, but also among German emigrants in the USA .

May had published the majority of his travel stories in the publishing house of Friedrich Pustet , whose German house treasure in words and pictures had belonged to May's main publication organs since 1879. Around 1890, the publishing house asked its popular author to write for its Regensburg Marien-Kalender in order to liven it up. May, financially troubled at the time, agreed. As a result, the story Christ or Muhammad appeared in the calendar for 1891 . The publishing strategy worked: May's contributions to this calendar were so successful that May offered other Marienkalender publishers travel stories or was asked to do so. That is why many of the stories are to be regarded as commissioned work that represented an additional income. This also explains why May often used the same basic motifs in two stories. May tailored his writings to the respective readership (cf. e.g. conventional travel stories, youth stories and colportage novels ). Thus, the strong religious coloring that May gave these stories can be traced back to the overall level and intention of the Marian calendar.

Although Christ's Blood and Justice (1882) was not published as a calendar story (it was commissioned by Joseph Kürschner ), it was the first travel story to show the structure and subject matter of the Marian calendar stories and can therefore also be counted among them. As in the traditional travel stories, the later stories show the tendency towards pacifism of the late work. Two stories belong to the actual late work itself. Of this, Bei den Lepers (1907) did not originally appear as a calendar story, but the publishing house of the “Eichsfelder Marienkalender” had urged May for text until he let him reprint this story. The last story, Merhameh (1909), is also the last story that May completed before his death in 1912. Thus, May had published in popular calendars from the beginning to the end of his literary work.

content

Cover image for the anthology oranges and dates by Sascha Schneider (1904)

Of the 19 stories, three are set in the Wild West ( an American double duel , old cursing-dry , motherly love ), one in South America ( Christ has risen! ) And one in the fictional country of Ardistan ( Merhameh ); May mainly used the oriental setting . The first-person narrator either remains anonymous or is introduced as Kara Ben Nemsi or Old Shatterhand . While Hajji Halef Omar appears in most of the oriental stories, Winnetou appears in all three Wild West stories. In some of the stories, May also lets well-known minor characters appear: Amad el Ghandur, Dick Hammerdull & Pitt Holbers , Frick Turnerstick , Kara Ben Halef, Merhameh and Omar Ben Sadek.

The stories are intended to express the truth and superiority of Christianity (according to contemporary view). To this end, May made use of various opposites: love and hate, belief and unbelief, exemplary non-Christian and name -Christian . Also of Islam is explained in some stories to contrast, by May it as a symbol of a different faith or negative aspects such as (blood) revenge and fundamentalism used, against which he Christianity - highlight positive - especially from the point of a "religion of love" wanted to. Depending on the basic motif of the story or the function of the characters, Muslims are also represented positively or neutrally.

May wants to demonstrate that there is no such thing as chance, there is always divine providence . Often the bad guys are converted or punished out of an emergency. Some of them curse (e.g. I want to go blind and be crushed ) and as a result, God's punishment comes in the form of the pronounced curse. In the later stories, May resolves conflicts through reconciliation, in line with his tendency towards pacifism. At the center of the stories is often a family in which there is a religious dispute or in which a child is in need. The child's salvation then leads to conversion. Here the first-person narrator appears as a missionary and executor of the divine will.

Although May repeatedly used the elements mentioned above, the stories are very different in form and content. Some stories lack a predominant religious theme or the religious is treated unobtrusively. Even encrypted criticism of superimposed Christianity can be seen.

criticism

Cover image for the anthology On Foreign Paths by Sascha Schneider (1904)

For a long time May's Marian calendar stories were condemned by interpreters such as Adolf Droop , Volker Klotz , Hans Wollschläger and Otto Forst-Battaglia . The justified criticism of some stories was generalized for everyone without going into the differences (e.g. lack of a predominant religious theme or belonging to a later work). For example, the criminal court scenes were mentioned, although most of such scenes - reflecting May's anxiety at the height of his success, according to Claus Roxin - actually appeared in May's traditional travel stories of the time. Allegations that May catholize in his Marienkalendergeschichten were among others. a. refuted or refuted by Ernst Seybold . There are even passages that show Protestant ideas.

The “drastic black and white painting” and the feeling of “grafted morals” in some of the stories are criticized. In fact, according to Hermann Wohlgschaft Mays, well-intentioned moral statements are repeatedly "too clumsy", "very crude and schoolmasterly penetrative". From today's perspective it is particularly negative that Islam is devalued in some of the stories in order to emphasize Christianity. Basically May is not opposed to Islam, but emphasizes the similarities (e.g. Allah is God), and provides information about Islam "predominantly based on respect, humanity and tolerance". But he does criticize a few aspects: Blood revenge, holy war , absence of the message of God's love, absence of the commandment to love one's enemy. Therefore, for May "the Christian religion is the right one [...], since it is" winner on points "over Islam".

According to Eckehard Koch, the stories are "partly interesting and altogether exciting, also written with humor". In addition, Martin Lowsky and Ekkehard Bartsch emphasize the narrative technique of some and Koch refers to the effort to present the historical background correctly. Although some of the stories are rather negative, May wrote "some excellent [Marian] calendar stories," according to Roxin.

bibliography

Almost all of the stories appeared - mostly illustrated - initially in the "Regensburger Marien-Kalender" (from 1890), in "Benziger's Marien-Kalender" and in the "Eichsfelder Marien-Kalender" (both from 1892) as well as in the "Einsiedler Marien-Kalender" ( from 1896). May later included the majority in the volumes Oranges and Datteln (1893), On Stranger Paths (1897) and Im Reiche des Silber Löwen I-II (both 1898).

The following tables contain the current numbers of the volume and the story from Karl May's Gesammelte Werken (titles may differ here), the title of the corresponding reprint of the Karl May Society and the department and volume number of the historical-critical edition of Karl May's works (if already published).

Oranges and dates

Oranges and Datteln is the tenth volume in the series Carl May's collected travel novels (later Karl May's Gesammelte Reiseerzählungen ) and appeared in parallel from 1909 in Karl May's illustrated travel stories with pictures by Willy Planck . It is the first anthology in the series. The band opens with a narrative that plays in front of the others. The other stories are arranged geographically and begin in Europe and with the crossing to Algiers and lead via the North Sahara , Sudan , Mesopotamia and Kurdistan to Turkey.

title	year	Remarks	Karl May’s Collected Works	Reprints of the Karl May Society	Historical-critical edition
traditional travel narrative: The Gum	1879	= Under strangulation , revision of Die Gum (1877) and Die Rose von Sokna (1878)	10 , 01	Small treasure trove stories	IV.24
Christ or Muhammad	1890		10.02	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24
traditional travel narrative: The Krumir	1882		10.03	The Krumir	IV.24
A ghasuah	1892		10.05	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24
Nûr es Semâ - heavenly light	1892		48 , 11	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24
Christ's blood and righteousness	1882	did not appear as a calendar story	48.08	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24
Mater dolorosa	1891		48.07	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24
The cursed one	1892		48.12	Christ or Muhammad	IV.24

The band opens with the traditional travel story Die Gum , which was originally called Unter Würgern and is a compilation and revision of two older stories called Die Gum and The Rose of Sokna . It is the only Orient story in the series that was written before the Orient Cycle (1881–1888) and thus belongs to the early work. Thus the first-person hero does not yet have the name Kara Ben Nemsi and is not accompanied by Hajji Halef Omar; however, the name Old Shatterhand was first mentioned here. Accordingly, the narrative takes place before the Orient Cycle - afterwards between the events of the first and second half of Winnetou II (1893) - and Emery Bothwell appears as a well-known minor character . In the second conventional story, the first-person hero is also not accompanied by Halef, but by Krüger Bei . The Krumir is considered the most important story in this anthology.

On foreign paths

On foreign paths is the 23rd volume in the series Karl May's Collected Travel Stories . The later parallel edition was also illustrated by Willy Planck, but appeared in 1910 as the 18th volume. It is the third and final anthology in the series. After the two geographically themed volumes Orangen und Datteln and Am Stillen Ocean , this volume contains stories that take place on four continents.

title	year	Remarks	Karl May’s Collected Works	Reprints of the Karl May Society	Historical-critical edition
traditional travel narrative: Saiwa tjalem	1883		23 , 01	The Krumir	IV.26
traditional travel story: The Boer van het Roer	1897	Modification of the historical narrative of the same name (1879)	23.02	(Magazine version from 1879: Smaller House Treasure Tales )	IV.26
He Raml el Helahk	1895		10.04	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
Blood revenge	1894		23.03	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
The Kutb	1894		23.04	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
The Kys-Kapchiji	1895/96		23.05	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
Maria or Fatima	1893		23.06	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
God can not be fooled	1896	= Old Cursing-Dry	23.07	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26
A blizzard	1896	= An American double duel	23.08	Christ or Muhammad	IV.26

In this volume, the two conventional travel stories also lead the reader to regions outside of the Orient and the Wild West. Saiwa tjalem , another commissioned work for Joseph Kürschner , is the only story that takes place in Lapland , while Der Boer van het Roer is about events in South Africa . The latter story was originally an early travel story from 1879, which itself is a revised and expanded version of Der Africander (1878). Since the text takes place in 1840, but the publication in the anthology meant that the first-person narrator was equated with that of the other travel stories, May had to make changes again to clean up the historical references. So historical personalities were replaced by descendants or later personalities like Sikukini . Quimbo appears as a well-known figure. The Boer van het Roer deserves special mention among the texts in the anthology; contrary to the prejudices of his time, May lets a white hero marry a black African .

More Marian calendar stories

title	year	Remarks	Karl May’s Collected Works	Reprint of the Karl May Society	Historical-critical edition
Christ is risen!	1893		48.14	Christ or Muhammad
Sheba and Thar	1897	later integrated into Im Reiche des Silber Löwen I (1898)	26 , chapters 7-9	Christ or Muhammad
Motherly love	1897/98		48.06	Christ or Muhammad	IV.27
The "Umm ed Jamahl"	1898	later heavily reworked and integrated into In the Realm of the Silver Lion II (1898)	48.13	Christ or Muhammad
With the lepers	1907	only a reprint appeared in 1908 as a calendar story	81 , 04	Christ or Muhammad
Merhameh	1909	Title illustration incorrectly reads Marhameh	81.02	Christ or Muhammad

In order to bring the "Hausschatz" text of the conventional travel story Im Reiche des Silber Löwen I-II to the required number of pages for the book edition, May integrated two of his Marian calendar stories . These are often perceived as foreign bodies that damage the overall concept.

First audio book - or radio play - adaptations of some of the stories are.

Karl May's devotion to Mary

Karl May was baptized , confirmed and married as an Evangelical Lutheran and formally remained a Lutheran. During May's third imprisonment (1870–1874) he was given the job of organist for Catholic worship due to his abilities . Active participation in this service influenced him. Since May published in the Catholic "Deutscher Hausschatz" and the Marienkalender, it was assumed that he was Catholic. Information from the Pustet publishing house and information in literary calendars confirmed this assumption, which May did not contradict. Although his works are all more or less Christian, they are not specifically Catholic. In fact, May thought ecumenically and represented non-denominational Christianity. His contemporaries later accused him of fraudulent labeling and syncretism .

Windows donated by Karl and Klara May for the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Ossiach

Marian devotion is also found outside the Catholic Church, even on Protestant soil. May was “dogmatically correct and sober” in his devotion to Mary. It is an expression of his longing for the maternal love he lacked and not a business tactic. During the controversies about his denomination, he wrote his own creed ; the second stanza says:

I believe in the heavenly love that came down to us to give birth to the thought of God for mortals. In doing this, she became Mother of God to us. It lives and works, regardless of whether we adore it or not. She is the pure, the immaculate, the virgin, the Madonna!
- Karl May: My Creed (1906)

As expected, the Marian calendar stories contain a portion of Marian veneration. But May also dealt with the mother of Jesus in other places:

• Ave Maria der Gondolieri at the Traghetto del Salute is a poem by Ida von Düringsfeld , which May set to music around 1864 for his choir "Lyra".
• In the story In the "Wild West" of North America (1882/83), Old Shatterhand wrote a three-verse poem with the title Ave Maria . German settlers sing it for the dying Winnetou. In a slightly different print, this story is also called Ave Maria (1890, text basis for Winnetou III (1893)).
• The historical story Pandur and Grenadier (1883) begins with a poem to Mary, although it is irrelevant for the following plot.
• May initially only published the first and third verses of Old Shatterhand's Ave Maria . The second stanza also followed in 1896. May's settings for male and mixed choirs appeared in Ernste Klänge (1898). Numerous other people also set this Ave Maria to music.
• May composed a second Ave Maria for a friend's daughter for her first communion in 1898.
• In 1905 May and his second wife Klara donated two windows to the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Ossiach . One of them bears the inscription: Salve Regina Protectrix Ossiacensum ( Greetings, Queen, Protector of the Ossiachers ).

literature

• Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz : Karl May in the calendar , in: this: Karl May Yearbook 1935 , Bamberg / Radebeul: Karl May Verlag 2011, pp. 423–441.
• Josef Jaser: editorial report . In: Karl May: Oranges and Dates. Karl May's works. Historical-critical edition for the Karl May Foundation , Volume IV.24. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg / Radebeul 2017, ISBN 978-3-7802-2080-6 , pp. 561-703.
• Christoph F. Lorenz: From hatred to love. Karl May's "Marienkalender-Stories" as documents of the inner development of their author. In: Claus Roxin, Heinz Stolte, Hans Wollschläger (eds.): Yearbook of the Karl May Society 1980. Hansa Verlag, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-920421-37-X , pp. 97–124. ( Online version )
• Herbert Meier: Foreword. In: Christ or Muhammed. Marienkalender stories by Karl May. Reprint of the Karl May Society. Hamburg 1979, pp. 7-24. ( Online version , PDF; 35.6 MB)
• Hainer Plaul: Illustrated Karl May Bibliography . With the participation of Gerhard Klußmeier . Saur, Munich / London / New York / Paris 1989, ISBN 3-598-07258-9 .
• Roland Schmid: Appendix to the reprint edition. In: Karl May: On foreign paths . Reprint of the first book edition from 1897 (Freiburg first editions). Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg 1984. pp. A1-A18.
• Gert Ueding (Ed.): Karl May Handbook . 2nd, expanded and revised edition. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2001, ISBN 3-8260-1813-3 .

Web links

• Full texts on the Karl May Society website
• Entry in the Karl May Wiki

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dieter Sudhoff, Hans-Dieter Steinmetz (Ed.): Karl-May-Chronik (5 volumes + accompanying book). Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg / Radebeul 2005-2006, ISBN 3-7802-0170-4 , p. 182.
2. ^ Plaul, Karl May Bibliography .
3. ↑ Michael Petzel, Jürgen Wehnert: The new lexicon around Karl May . Lexikon Imprint Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89602-509-0 , p. 213.
4. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 11.
5. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 17.
6. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 23.
7. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. P. 112 f.
8. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. P. 98 f.
9. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 23.
10. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. P. 121 f.
11. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 20 f.
12. ↑ Ekkehard Bartsch: [article on] Merhameh. In: Ueding, manual. P. 432.
13. ^ Petzel & Wehnert, Lexicon. P. 213.
14. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. P. 105 f.
15. ↑ Eckehard Koch: [article about] On foreign paths. In: Ueding, manual. P. 226.
16. ↑ Karl May: God cannot be scoffed at. In: On foreign paths. Published by Friedrich E. Fehsenfeld, Freiburg i. Br., 1897, p. 564. ( Online version , PDF; 13.7 MB)
17. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. Pp. 116-122.
18. ^ Hermann Wohlgschaft: Karl May - Life and Work. 3 volumes . Book store , Bargfeld, 2005, ISBN 3-930713-93-4 , p. 890.
19. ↑ Lorenz: From hatred to love. P. 115.
20. ↑ Koch: On foreign paths. P. 226.
21. ↑ Claus Roxin: »Dr. Karl May, called Old Shatterhand «On the picture of Karl May in the epoch of his late travel stories. In: Claus Roxin, Heinz Stolte (ed.): Yearbook of the Karl May Society 1974. Hansa Verlag, Hamburg 1973, ISBN 3-920421-22-1 , pp. 15-73 (60). ( Online version)
22. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 7.
23. ^ Roxin: Dr. Karl May.p. 60.
24. ↑ Ernst Seybold: How Catholic is May in his Marienkalender stories? In: Communications from the Karl May Society. (M-KMG) No. 44/1980, pp. 26-30, No. 45/1980, pp. 38-42 and No. 46/1980, pp. 40-46. (Online version: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 )
25. ↑ Seybold: How Catholic is May in his Marian calendar stories? M-KMG No. 46/1980, p. 41.
26. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 7.
27. ^ Benefit: Karl May. P. 895.
28. ^ Benefit: Karl May. P. 897.
29. ↑ Eckehard Koch: Between Manitou, Allah and Buddha. The non-Christian religions in Karl May. In: Dieter Sudhoff (Hrsg.): Between heaven and hell. Karl May and religion. Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul, 2003, p. 162.
30. ^ Walter Schönthal: Christian religion and world religions in Karl May's life and work. Special issue of the Karl May Society No. 5/1976, pp. 31–33. ( Online version )
31. ↑ Koch: On foreign paths. P. 226.
32. ↑ Martin Lowsky: [article on] oranges and dates. In: Ueding, manual. P. 186.
33. ↑ Bartsch: Merhameh. P. 432.
34. ↑ Koch: On Foreign Paths , p. 227.
35. ^ Roxin: Dr. Karl May.p. 60.
36. ↑ Plaul: Karl May Bibliography .
37. ↑ Hartmut Kühne: Renald and Rahel "Unter Würgern" In: Mitteilungen der Karl-May-Gesellschaft No. 51/1982, pp. 29–32. ( Online version ).
38. ↑ Dieter Sudhoff , Hans-Dieter Steinmetz: Karl May Chronicle I . Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg / Radebeul 2005, ISBN 3-7802-0171-2 . P. 265.
39. ↑ Lowsky: Oranges and Dates. P. 187.
40. ↑ Ekkehard Koch: The way to the "Kafferngrab". On the historical and contemporary background of Karl May's South Africa stories. In: Claus Roxin, Heinz Stolte, Hans Wollschläger (eds.): Yearbook of the Karl May Society 1981 . Hansa-Verlag, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-920421-38-8 , pp. 136-165 (151 f.). ( Online version )
41. ^ Schmid: Appendix , p. A11 f.
42. ^ Anton Haider: From the "German House Treasure" to the book edition - comparative readings. Special issue of the Karl May Society No. 50/1984, pp. 20–24. ( Online version )
43. ↑ Koch: On foreign paths. P. 225 f.
44. ^ Benefit: Karl May. P. 1070 f.
45. ↑ Audio play database , accessed on January 28, 2017.
46. ^ Petzel & Wehnert, Lexicon. P. 360 f.
47. ^ Benefit: Karl May. P. 745.
48. ↑ Karl May: My life and striving. Volume I. Verlag by Friedrich E. Fehsenfeld, Freiburg i. Br., 1910, pp. 170-175. ( Online version )
49. ↑ Wohlgschaft: Karl May. Pp. 742–752.
50. ^ Benefit: Karl May. P. 747.
51. ↑ May: My life and pursuit. P. 174.
52. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 8.
53. ↑ Seybold: How Catholic is May in his Marian calendar stories? M-KMG No. 45/1980, p. 40.
54. ↑ Schönthal: Christian religion. Pp. 14-16.
55. ↑ Seybold: How Catholic is May in his Marian calendar stories? M-KMG No. 45/1980, p. 40.
56. ^ Karl May: My Creed. In: Ders., Abdahn Effendi . Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul, 2000, ISBN 3-7802-0081-3 , pp. 445-447.
57. ^ Petzel & Wehnert, Lexicon. P. 213.
58. ↑ Hartmut Kühne, Christoph F. Lorenz (Ed.): Karl May and the music . Karl-May-Verlag, Bamberg, Radebeul, 1999, ISBN 3-7802-0154-2 , pp. 76-90 and 181-184.
59. ^ Meier: Foreword. P. 11.
60. ↑ http://www.karl-may-gesellschaft.de/kmg/primlit/musik/eklaenge/index.htm Status: November 1, 2007.
61. ↑ Hartmut Kühne: Settings. In: Ueding: Karl May Handbook. P. 532.
62. ↑ Amand von Ozoroczy: The second Ave Maria. Contribution to the “late harvest in Deidesheim”. Part II. In: Communications from the Karl May Society. No. 26/1975, pp. 3-10. ( Online version )
63. ↑ Rudolf K. Unbescheid: The Marien-Fenster zu Ossiach. Karl May's Carinthian traces. In: Communications from the Karl May Society. No. 148/2006, pp. 4-8. ( Online version )