Lichtenstein (novel)

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Lichtenstein (book cover)
Today's Lichtenstein Castle , built in 1842 near the remains of the late medieval castle - inspired by Hauff's novel Lichtenstein
A monument has been erected to the piper in Hardt .

Lichtenstein is a novel by Wilhelm Hauff from 1826. Alongside his fairy tales, it is considered to be his greatest literary success. This means that Hauff, along with the largely forgotten Benedict Naubert, is one of the founders of the historical novel in Germany.

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Like Benedict Naubert and after her Walter Scott , Hauff chose an invented historical minor figure, Georg Sturmfeder, who bears the name of the Lords of Sturmfeder , to convey the story of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg and his fight against the Swabian Confederation under Georg Truchsess von Waldburg-Zeil - who gives the negative foil for the very positively depicted Georg von Frundsberg - to represent. Hauff idealized the historical Duke Ulrich as a displaced person, who in his need is helped back to his rights by the people, symbolized by the Pfeifer von Hardt , while the historical Duke caused the peasant uprising Poor Konrad through his consumption taxes on meat, wine and fruit of 1514 provoked and had struck down by the truchess of Waldburg-Zeil, who was now fighting him.

The Duke's positive view is achieved by portraying the novel from the perspective of Georg Sturmfeder, who changes from the Swabian Federation to the Duke's supporters because of his love for Marie von Lichtenstein, who is loyal to the Duke. In spite of all the romantic transfiguration, Hauff also hinted at the questionable nature of Ulrich's rule. Because the loyal Pfeifer von Hardt falls at the end of the book while trying to secure the Duke's escape. And the piper's wife already marked his attitude beforehand: “... if there is war, he will definitely stay away; you can do more; but in Frieda? Noi, he thinks, with gray Herra it's et guet Kirscha fressa. "

Quotes

From the preface

“The legend, with which the following sheets deal, belongs to that part of southern Germany, which spreads between the mountains of the Alb and the Black Forest. The first of these mountains, expanding from northeast to south in various widths, encloses this country in a long mountain range, but the Black Forest stretches from the sources of the Danube over to the Rhine and with its blackish fir forests forms a dark background for the beautiful, fertile, wine-rich landscape, which, flowing through the Neckar, spreads out at its foot and is called Württemberg. "

From chapter 13

“From the ridge where Georg had made the decision to follow his mysterious guide, there were two paths to the Reutlingen area, where Maria's mountain castle, the Lichtenstein, was located. One was the open military road that leads from Ulm to Tübingen. It leads through the beautiful Blautal until you come back to the foot of the Alb near Blaubeuren, from there across this mountain range, past the Hohen-Urach Fortress, towards St. Johann and Pfullingen. This route was otherwise the more comfortable for travelers who brought horses, litters, or wagons with them. But in those days when Georg went over the mountains with the Pfeifer von Hardt, it was not advisable to choose him. The federal troops had already occupied Blaubeuren, their posts stretched all the way to Urach and dealt with anyone who did not belong to the army or who confessed to them with great severity and bitterness. Georg had his reasons for not choosing this road, and his guide was too concerned about his own safety to advise the young man against this decision.

The other path, actually a footpath, and only known exactly to the inhabitants of the country, touched only a few isolated farms over a stretch of almost twelve hours, ran through dense forests and mountain gorges and, even if it was here and there, had around them Avoiding country roads, making a curve, and being tiresome and often almost inaccessible for horses, but the great advantage of safety. "

interpretation

In order to distinguish his patriotic idealization of the Duke from a historical representation, Hauff speaks of a legend. In the second quote it becomes clear how important it is to him to establish local connections. In addition, a misleading epic foreknowledge can be recognized, because on this path of security Sturmfeder will soon be attacked and seriously injured - confused with the duke - which offers the opportunity to talk to the common people with verbatim speeches with the wife and daughter of the Pfeifers von Hardt to introduce Swabian dialect.

Expenses (selection)

  • Lichtenstein. Romantic legend from the Württemberg [sic!] History. 3 Vols. Franckh, Stuttgart 1826. [Digital copies: Vol. 1 , Vol. 2 , Vol. 3. ]
  • Works [in four volumes]. Edited by Max Mendheim . Critically reviewed and explained edition. Vol. 1 (=  Meyer's classic editions ). Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna [1891], pp. 37–434 (text), 443 (readings; digitized ; full text ).
  • Works [in two volumes]. Edited by Bernhard Zeller . Vol. 1: Lichtenstein, Fantasies, Novellas. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1969 [16. – 18. Th. 1989, licensed edition Osiander, Tübingen approx. 2001, ISBN 978-3-926326-16-4 ], pp. 5–345 (text), 647–657 (notes).
  • All works in three volumes. [Based on the original prints and manuscripts. Text editing and comments by Sibylle von Steinsdorff. With an afterword and a timetable by Helmut Koopmann .] Vol. I: Novels. Winkler, Munich 1970, ISBN 3-538-05101-1 , pp. 5–347 (text), 829–837 (notes).
  • Lichtenstein. Romantic legend from the history of Württemberg. Comments by Margarete Berg. Afterword by Paul Michael Lützeler (=  Reclams Universal-Bibliothek . No. 85). Reclam, Stuttgart 2002 [bibliographically supplemented edition, first 1988], ISBN 978-3-15-000085-4 .

Illustrated editions (selection)

  • Lichtenstein. Romantic legend from the history of Württemberg. With 60 illustrations based on nature photographs from the Honau Festival by Fritz Bergen . Thienemann, Stuttgart [approx. 1906].
  • Lichtenstein. Romantic saga. Illustrations by Jan Wiegman . Meulenhoff , Leipzig / Amsterdam [1923].

Web links

Wikisource: Lichtenstein  - sources and full texts