Theophilus game
The Theophilus play is a Middle Low German sacred song and drama that was performed in public spaces such as marketplaces and in front of churches. It tells the story of a Theophilus who makes a pact with the devil in order to be more successful and popular. However, Theophilus soon repents of his iniquity and turns to Our Lady , who descends to negotiate with the devil about the soul .
The game has come down to us in three manuscripts , which are kept in Trier , Wolfenbüttel and Stockholm and which date from the period between 1430 and 1460. The original form of the material comes from the 7th century, it was probably a Greek legend.
The Trier manuscript (signature Hs. 1120/128 4 ° ), a twelve-page fragment in the high format 29 × 10 cm, contains, in addition to the text, instructions for the performance and sheet music for chants. In 1806 it came from the library holdings of the Manderscheid-Blankenheim aristocratic family in the Trier City Library . The Wolfenbütteler manuscript (signature Cod. 1203 Helmst. ), A collective font in the format 14 × 10 cm, is a read edition. The Stockholm manuscript (signature Cod. Vu 73 ) is a collective font.
literature
- Robert Petsch (ed.): Theophilus. Middle Low German drama in three versions. (= Germanische Bibliothek II, 2) Heidelberg 1908
- Andre Schnyder: The Middle Low German Theophilus game: text - translation - job comment. (= Sources and research on literary and cultural history 58) Berlin: de Gruyter 2009 ISBN 978-3-11-022148-0
- Rolf Bergmann: performance text and reading text. On the function of the transmission of medieval sacred German drama in The theater in the middle ages , Leuven 1985
Web links
- Entry in the manuscript census
- Weberbach City Library / City Archives - Trier's Theophilus Game (Hs 1120/128 4 °) can be seen in the treasury. Retrieved April 5, 2018 .
- Stefanie Braun: The eternal bestseller. Retrieved April 5, 2018 .
- Manuscript census | 'Theophilus' game. Retrieved April 5, 2018 .