Fable of the lion's share

Illustration by Francis Barlow in his edition of Aesop's Fables, 1687

The fable of the lion's share , known under the titles of the lion's share , the lion, the fox and the donkey, and the lion with other animals on the hunt , is an animal fable by the ancient Greek poet Aesop that has been handed down in variations .

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There are two different narratives about the lion's share. The first is: lion, donkey and fox go hunting together. When the lion at the end asks the donkey to share the prey among them, he does so very precisely. Then the lion tears it up in anger and orders the fox to share the prey. The fox then gives the lion his share, except for a few, whereupon the lion asks him with a smile who taught him to share so beautifully. “The donkey's misfortune,” replies the fox. According to their morals, the fable was also called the docile fox .

Another processing of the motif reads: lion and donkey go hunting. The donkey uses its speed, the lion its strength. After a successful hunt, the lion says: “The first of the three piles that I have divided up is mine because I am your king. I get the second as your hunting companion and as far as the third is concerned, it will cause you great suffering if you do not leave immediately. ”At the end of the fable, a warning is given against the company of the mighty. The ancient Roman fable poet Phaedrus received this version under the title Die Jagdgesellschaft in verse form (Fables, 1, 5).

Entry into parlance

From this fable comes the German phrase "get the lion's share". “Lion's share” is used as a synonym for the main part of something (profit, goods, etc.). In addition, the term Societas leonina , which is used in private law, is to be associated with this fable. The name for a society in which everyone bears the risk, but only one can claim the profit, goes back to the Roman judge Gaius Cassius Longinus from the 1st century AD.

The tradition of the fable in the Middle Ages

The Latin versions are always important for the medieval vernacular. This also applies to the fable The Lion's Share in its High German versions. Up to the 13th century, the first version of the fable (the hunting party) has only been handed down in Middle Latin. The Viennese Codex 2705 then contains the first version in Middle High German, and indeed in German-language tradition at all. Up to 1500 there are 15 German-language versions of this fable in the first version under No. 402. Among these are 6 Middle High German arrangements: One version is available in the Vienna Codex 2705 and in Ulrich Boner's gemstone ; also the arrangements by Heinrich von Mügeln , in the Nuremberg prose Aesop , in the Karlsruhe Codex 408 and in Heinrich Steinhöwel's Esopus . The Middle Latin versions of the Romulus tradition, the Recensio gallicana and Recensio vetus and the version by Anonymus Neveleti are the originals of the authors of these texts.

The narrative did not change significantly compared to the ancient Greek version of Aesops. The number of animals that go hunting with the lion is different in the Latin versions and thus in the later versions of the Middle Ages: There are 3 animals. According to the four fellow hunters, there are four parts of the prey when the lion begins to speak. He always finds 4 arguments why he should be entitled to the entire booty. There is always the argument of the class, the argument of his physical strength, the argument of the effort / the effort / struggle and the threat, ie the allusion to the dangers of a fight with him. Sometimes the lion also argues with his speed or alludes to his increased need for food.

Examples of the lion's direct speech: The lion's speech in the Romulus version of the Recensio gallicana:

" Ego primus tollo ut leo, secunda pars mea est, eo quod sum fortior vobis. tertiam vero mihi defendo, quia plus vobis cucurri. quartam autem qui tetigerit, inimicum me habebit. "(Sentence 3–5, lines 10–15)

“I lay claim to the first part because I am the lion, the second part is mine because I am stronger than you. I truly defend the third because I have run more than you. Whoever attacks the fourth will have me as an enemy. "

The lion's speech in the oldest Middle High German version, in the Vienna Codex:

He said: “The first part should be min, I want to make the fastest sin. the other part i want to han, wan i wan in wol zer chan. the third part should be min when i am iwr all chvnic. swer the four part wil han, who should be rete des enstan: he must always have mine var. " (v . 13-21 )

he [the lion] said: “The first part [of the prey] shall be mine: I am the quickest (of all of you). I want the other part because my appetite is big. The third part should be mine, since I am King of all of you. Whoever wants the fourth part should be very fond of it: There is danger from me (fight and damage). "

A secular doctrine can be found in all High German versions of the "Jagdgesellschaft" up to 1500. With two exceptions, it warns against the society of the mighty. In the version in the Vienna Codex it reads:

ditze sol remember div armiv diet vnt sol gnozen niet den rich alze verre: daz gvt nimt ie the gentleman vnt let the poor speak up. he flees, who nimt he was chleinen. (Vv. 23-28)

This should be remembered by the powerless people and should avoid the society of the mighty. The Lord always takes the goods and then lets the subjects talk (lament) Escape, then he [the mighty] does not notice it at all.

In the version of Boner, on the other hand, a warning is given about the powerful per se and in the version in the Karlsruhe Codex, conversely, the powerful are warned of the threat of retribution by their subjects if they should lose their power.

Regarding the 2nd version: The fable of the docile fox is not in the verses of Phaedrus, consequently not in Romulus manuscripts and does not come from ancient Latin tradition. According to DICKE and GRUBMÜLLER, an episode in Ysengrimus can be regarded as the oldest surviving version of this fable . This famous animal pose in the Middle Latin language was probably made in the middle of the 12th century. composed. The work in elegiac distiches is attributed to a Magister Nivardus. A cleric from Ghent, in Belgium, is believed to be behind this name. As a template for the oldest surviving version of the fable of the docile fox come “karol. Animal poems, "Ecbasis captivi" [before 1039?], "Fecunda ratis" Egberts v. Liège (around 1023), "De lupo" [around 1100], oral. Narrative ”in question.

References and footnotes

1. ↑ These are the two variants of The lion's share and The lion, the fox and the donkey
2. ↑ The Fables of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times. A catalog of the German versions and their Latin equivalents. Edited by G. Dicke, K. Grubmüller et al. Munich 1987 (= Münstersche Mittelalter-Schriften Vol. 60). No. 402, 2nd version. Pp. 475-478.
3. ^ Title in variation with a sheep and other animals: The lion with other animals on the hunt
4. ↑ Fables of Antiquity. Greek-Latin-German. Edited and translated by Harry C. Schnur . 2nd Edition. Munich - Zurich 1985, p. 168
5. ↑ Górski, Konstanty: The fable of the lion share in its historical development. Diss. Rostock 1888. S. 1. Röhrich, Lutz: The large lexicon of the proverbial sayings. Vol. 2. Freiburg; Basel; Vienna 1992. p. 976
6. ↑ cf. ibid. p. 977.
7. ↑ Raffetzeder, Natalie: "The fable of the lion's share in its High German versions of the Middle Ages" diploma thesis. Univ. Vienna 2010. p. 90.
8. ↑ cf. Raffetzeder, p. 87 f.
9. ↑ The Latin Aesop of Romulus and the prose versions of Phaedrus. Critical text with commentary and introductory studies by Georg Thiele, Heidelberg 1910. pp. 24, 26.
10. ↑ The Reimpaarfabel in the late Middle Ages. Edited by Bernhard Kosak, Göppingen 1977 (= Göppinger works on German studies, vol. 223). P. 499.
11. ↑ ibid., Pp. 74, 88 f.
12. ↑ Ysengrimus. Text with Translation, Commentary And Introduction by Jill Mann. Suffer; New York et al. 1987 (= Middle Latin Studies and Texts. Vol. 12). Liber VI. V. 133-348. The booty sharing. Pp. 494-505. A summary of the episode is given in ibid. P. XIV. A translation into German is also available: Isengrimus. The Flemish animal poem from Latin translated by Albert Schönfelder. Muenster; Cologne 1955 (= Low German Studies. Vol. 3). Fable XII: Sharing the Loot. Pp. 126-130.
13. ↑ Cf. Knapp, FP: Isengrimus. In: LM 5 (1991), col. 674-675.
14. ↑ For the dating: Maaz, W .: Egbert, 5. E. v. Liege. In: LM 3 (1986), col. 1602-1603.
15. ↑ Close. Ibid.