Saxon baptismal vow

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Handwriting facsimile

The Old Saxon baptismal vow from the end of the 8th century belongs to the genre of religious texts in use as the oldest text in the Old Saxon language. The baptismal vow required the person to be baptized to submit to the Christian God. The questions and answers that a Saxon had to pass before baptism were probably translated from Latin into Old Saxon by an Anglo-Saxon missionary and belong to the context of the Saxon Wars (772-804) of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne (768-814 ). The success of the Christianization and missionary work that went hand in hand with the Saxon Wars also depended on the transmission of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, as conveyed by the baptismal vows. The baptized had to turn against the devil ( unholdun ) and the traditional pagan Germanic deities Donar , Wodan , Saxnot and to express his faith in God the Father , Christ and the Holy Spirit .

Lore

The baptismal vow is handed down in a single manuscript. This is kept in the Vatican Library in Rome in an anthology of mixed content, in the Codex Palatinus Latinus 577 , which was probably made in Fulda and from there to Mainz , where it was in 1479, later to the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg and lastly in 1623 came to Rome with this. Directly below it is the Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum , this assignment was also retained in the edition of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica .

The full text:

Forsachistû diabolae?

et respondet: ec forsacho diabolae.

end allum diobolgeldae?

respondet: end ec forsacho allum diobolgeldae.

end allum dioboles wercum?

respondet: end ec forsacho allum dioboles wercum and wordum, Thunaer ende Wôden ende Saxnôte ende allum thêm unholdum, thê hira genôtas sint.

Gelôbistû in got alamehtigan fadaer?

ec gelôbo in got alamehtigan fadaer.

Gelôbistû in Crist, godes suno?

ec gelôbo in Crist, gotes suno.

Gelôbistû in hâlogan gâst?

ec gelôbo in hâlogan guest.

New High German translation:

Are you telling the devil?

and he should answer: I swear off the devil.

and all devil service?

he should answer: and I renounce all service to the devil.

and all the devil's works?

he should answer: and I swear from all devil works and words, Thunaer and Wôden and Saxnôte and all demons who are their companions.

Do you believe in God the Almighty Father?

I believe in God the Almighty Father.

Do you believe in Christ, Son of God?

I believe in Christ, Son of God.

Do you believe in (the) Holy Spirit?

I believe in (the) Holy Spirit.

literature

  • Georg Heinrich Pertz: Capitularia regum Francorum. MGH , Leges Vol. 1) 1835, pp. 19-20 ( digitized version )
  • Brunner Horst: History of German Medieval Literature at a Glance (= RUB 9485) , Stuttgart 2003, p. 47f

Web links

Wikisource: Saxon Baptism Vow  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Saxon Baptism Vow  - Collection of images, videos and audio files