Robber Vieting
Robber Vieting or Viting is a legend from the Parchim area , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . It is about the robber captain Vieting, who robbed merchants and other travelers with his gang and usually also murdered them. One day, Vieting meets a young girl in the forest near his hiding place and takes her prisoner. According to legend, these events happened on the Sonnenberg near Parchim. There is a cave that is said to have served the robber as a hiding place. This cave has been known as the Vietingskeller ever since.
There are different versions of the legend. The first written record dates back to 1670.
Prehistory 1670
"Nor should I report here from a place in the Sonnenberg, called the Vitingskeller, of which the following is reported by old people; I do not know whether it is a poem or a story: A robber and murderer, by the name of Viting, stayed in a ravine in the place and robbed and murdered the traveling people. Among other things, he caught a woman whose death he wailed and whose figure he liked. He gives her life and takes her into marriage, after she has taken a strong oath not to betray his actions and nature to anyone, and as she goes out, she steps in front of the Zingel and says: 'Dear Zingel, I complain to you, what Viting does to so many people, and if you want to trace me, these laid out peas can get you there. ' This is said to have been heard by a number of bystanders and reported to the authorities, who visited the place because of this and drew the killer due punishment. If it were a true story, one could see from it how wonderfully God can bring something to light and bring wrongdoers to punishment. "
Summary of the newer versions of the saga
The main characters in both versions are Isalbe and Räuber Vieting. The young girl comes from the village of Slate or from its vicinity. The robber chief lives in a robber's cave, also called the Vitingskeller, on the Sonnenberg.
Robber Vieting's daily bread was (sometimes with, sometimes without a band of robbers) to rob and murder merchants and travelers. The travelers were on their way to the city of Parchim, for which they had to cross a forest area. In this forest was the Sonnenberg, where Vieting and his gang lived. Through the numerous raids he became notorious in the entire area of the city and beyond. The city lords from Parchim tried with all means to capture Vieting, but unfortunately without success.
The girl Isalbe once left her home village to do some errands for her mother at the miller's in Stolpe . In one of the traditions she went through the forest with a girl to get to the city of Parchim. When they got near the Sun Mountain, they met the robber Vieting, who captured Isalbe but killed the other girl. The young girl was taken to the Vietingskeller, where Viting introduced her as the new housekeeper. In other versions she is referred to as his wife, and still others write that the robber had many wives. The other robbers were happy that someone could mend, sew and cook.
Isalbe had to swear an oath (in some traditions even just an oath) that she would not tell anyone about Vieting and his deeds. She swore, but not out of complete conviction. Her greatest wish was to help the people who suffered Vieting so that everything should come to an end without having to break her oath.
A few months passed while running errands in town. Isalbe had meanwhile won the robbers' trust and made the impression that she was comfortable with them. During this time the lords of Parchim had expanded their search for the robbers, which is why Vieting and his people could not go to Parchim without further ado. In other versions, the merchants and travelers have changed their route and the robbers had to secure their survival in another way. So it came about that Isalbe got the order to go to Parchim and get some things there. She went into town early in the morning to buy the spices, which took her all morning to do. On the way back she stopped at the barrier at the Parchim city gate and lamented her suffering.
- Version 1
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Slagboom, ik klag di, |
|
- Version 2
“Slagboom, ick klag di,
Viting, de plagues me .
If you can help me,
follow me up de Arwten close
A nearby town soldier heard their complaint and alerted his colleagues. The soldiers followed the pea trail from Isalbe. This was how Vieting's hiding place was found. So Vieting and his robbers were stopped and Isalbe was able to return to her home village. In other traditions, Vieiting wanted to see his wife one last time before his execution. His wish was granted when she was led to him, he kissed her and bit her tongue off as punishment for breaking her vow.
Personal description of the main characters
In the three versions only "The saga of the robber Viting" gives more information about the main characters. In the other versions it is completely omitted.
- Robber Vieting
- is a robber captain by profession
- is described as the "secret, sinister master of the forest and the country road, master of all transports that rolled through Parchim from north to south and from south to north"
- Vieting has a "wild red beard" and small eyes
- he wears clothes that are described as “strange from rich and poor clothes stitched together”, as well as a floppy hat adorned with feathers
- girl
- she is between 14 and 15 years old
- is described as vigorous and strong
- hardworking and skillful
- her father died in the war, the mother was sickly
- she had 5 little siblings to look after
- her family lived on a farm
Differences in the different versions of the saga
The greatest differences in the traditions arose at the beginning of the legend:
| Traditional legends | "Sage of the robber Viting" (original version from 1670) | "From the robber Vieting" | "The legend of the robber Viting" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maiden name
described as: |
Female | girl | Isalbe |
| Origin: | is unknown | is unknown, it is assumed that she comes from Godems, Herzfeld, Slate or Stolpe or that she could be "the butter girl from Kiekindemark" |
comes from the village of Slate |
| Age of the girl: | unknown | unknown | 14 or 15 years |
| Number of members of the robber band + connection to other robber gangs |
is not mentioned | 3, 7 or 18 men | 1 dozen (12 men) or 2 dozen |
| Connection to other robber gangs: | not known | - Was in contact with robber Strunz, robber captain from Friedrichsruher Burgwall and the robber captain from Goldenbow - Robbers from the Vietingskeller in the Sonnenberg formed a robber society with those |
not known |
| Way of the girl: | not describe in detail | traveling in pairs, one is killed, the other took Vieting as his wife | traveling alone to buy flour in Stolpe |
| Wives of the robber Vieting: | took the girl as his wife | took the girl as his wife; the narrator says: "Others say that he had many wives ..." | a woman is not mentioned |
| children | no children | they had 5 children, the girl wanted 12 | no children |
| Length of imprisonment | no information | 7 years | about 1 year |
Robber Vieting today
The Sonnenberg still exists today. In the city of Parchim, city tours are offered that lead along the “pea path”. The legend probably originated from the fact that on warm days a light fog hangs over the Sonnenberg, so that it looked as if it was inhabited and someone was baking or cooking bread there. This fog phenomenon still exists today.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ City of Parchim: Raeuber Vieting ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 26, 2011
- ^ A b c Heinrich Alexander Stoll and Klaus Hallacz: From the robber Vieting. In: About the robber Vieting and other legends from Mecklenburg and the Spreewald. 1961, pp. 198-200.
- ↑ Burghard Keuthe: The legend of the robber Vieting. In: Parchimer Legends. 1995, p. 13.
- ↑ a b c Burghard Keuthe: The legend of the robber Vieting. In: Parchimer Legends. 1995, p. 7.
