Vaticinium Lehninense

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Theodor Fontane : Before the storm. Novel from the winter of 1812 on 13 (1878), Volume 3, Chapter 15, dialogue passage about Lehnin's prophecy. Fontane plays with the Vatican as a foil that creates meaning. He himself knew about its modern origin.

The Vaticinium Lehninense , Lehnin's prophecy , is a Latin poem in 100 Leonine hexameters that claims to predict the future fate of the Lehnin Monastery , the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its rulers by means of divine inspiration . The copies that became known in Berlin from 1700 onwards refer to it in a Latin Proömium as the prophecy of a Cistercian Hermann , who lived in Lehnin Monastery around 1300, written down in a manuscript volume of the monastery. This alleged original has never been found. The content and linguistic peculiarities show the text rather to be a work from the last decade of the 17th century. Its original is also no longer available. There can only be guesses as to the identity of the author.

Despite the early-recognized fictionality of anti-Protestant and anti- Hohenzollern poetry, it gained strong and long-lasting notoriety in Prussia and beyond, and the three centuries of publications that interpret and refute it fill shelves.

Character and content

The text is stylized as a dark oracle . It is also not uncommon for the close rhyme scheme of the Leonine verse to determine the content. Verses 8–75 can be related with some certainty to historical persons and events up to the end of the reign of the Great Elector († 1688), although here too there are statements that are difficult to explain. After that, the prophecies become more general and flowery. The introduction of the Lutheran Reformation in Brandenburg (verse 47) and the change to Calvinism (verse 63) are clearly rejected . Is Predicted apparently the end of the Hohenzollern rule with the eleventh Protestant ruler of the dynasty (verse 49; verse 93) and the return of Brandenburg and the whole of Germany for the Roman Catholic Church under a Catholic king , who is also ruler of Brandenburg, restorer Lehnins and Chorin be becomes (verses 95-100). The isolated verse 94 is puzzling both with regard to the meaning of “Israel” - Döpp translates the word following Guhrauer with “the Protestant ruler” - as with regard to the “scelus morte piandum”; In terms of reception history, the anti-Jewish , later the anti-Semitic interpretations predominate .

Döpp structures the poem with the following subheadings:

(up to when the Vatican was created :)
(according to the time of origin of the Vatican - speculative :)

The main purpose of the speculative assignments from verse 76 onwards is to show the deviations of the dark predictions from the actual events and to count on to the eleventh Protestant Hohenzollern ruler, with whom, according to verse 49, the Hohenzollern dynasty should end or become Catholic.

Possible authors

The author, probably from Berlin, must have been a good connoisseur and skilful writer of the Latin language, and also familiar with the history of the Mark Brandenburg. Must he be a Catholic convert ? - Or at least Calixtinians and dissatisfied with the Hohenzollern church policy, perhaps even personally injured. Whether he wanted to have a political effect with the text or just allowed himself an intelligent exercise in style must remain open. What is striking is the relationship in form and content of the text with the alleged medieval-Cistercian prophecy of the fall of France  , published and commented on in 1689 in the monthly discussions of some good friends - perhaps the direct inspiration for the Lehninense.

Based on these criteria, the following were named as possible authors: Martin Friedrich Seidel , Andreas Fromm , Christoph Heinrich Oelven , Nikolaus von Zitzewitz , Friedrich von Lüdinghausen Wolff and Johann Christian Seitz .

text

Latin text

translation

Vaticinium b. fratris Hermanni,
monachi quondam Lheninensis, Ordinis Cistertiensis,
qui circa annum Chr. 1300 floruit
et in dicto monasterio Lheninensi vixit,
ex libro Msto, ex quo constat,
hoc vaticinium iam ante annos 400 consignatum esse.

1. Nunc tibi cum cura, Lhenin, cano fata futura,
2. Quae mihi monstravit Dominus, qui cuncta creavit.
3. Nam licet insigni veluti sol splendeas igni
4. Et vitam totam nunc degas summe devotam
5. Abundentque rite tranquillae commoda vitae,
6. Tempus erit tandem, quod te non cernit eandem,
7. Immo vix ullam, aut si bene dixero, nullam .
8. Quae te fundavit gens, haec te semper amavit:
9. Hac pereunte peris nec mater amabilis eris.
10. Et nunc absque mora propinquat flebilis hora,
11. Qua stirps Othonis, nostrae decus regionis,
12. Magno ruit fato nullo superstite nato.
13. Tuncque cadis primum, sed nondum venis ad imum.
14. Interea diris angetur Marchia miris,
15. Et domus Othonum fiet spelunca leonum
16. Ac erit exclusus vero de sanguine fusus,
17. Quando peregrini venient ad claustra Chorini.
18. Cerbereos fastus mox romps Caesaris astus.
19. Sed parum tuto gaudebit Marchia scuto;
20. Regalis rursum leo tendit ad altera cursum.
21. Nec dominos veros haec terra videbit et heros.
22. Omnia turbabunt rectores damnaque dabunt;
23. Nobilitas dives vexabit undique cives,
24. Raptabit clerum nullo discrimine rerum;
25. Et facient isti, quod factum tempore Christi:
26. Corpora multorum vendentur contra decorum.
27. Ne penitus desit tibi, qui, mea Marchia, praesit,
28. Ex humili surgis, binis nunc inclyte burgis,
29. Accendisque facem iactando nomine pacem.
30. Dumque lupos necas, ovibus praecordia secas.
31. Dico tibi verum: tua stirps longinqua dierum
32. Imperiis parvis patriis dominabitur arvis,
33. Donec prostrati fuerint, qui tunc honorati
34. Urbes vastabant, dominos regnare vetabant.
35. Succedens patri tollet privilegia fratri
36. Nec faciet bustum, non iustum credere iustum.
37. Defesso bellis variis sortisque procellis
38. Mox frater fortis succedit tempore mortis,
39. Fortis et illegal quidem, sed vir vanissimus idem.
40. Dum cogitat montem, poterit vix scandere pontem.
41. En acuit enses! Miseri vos o Lheninenses!
42. Quid curet fratres, qui vult exscindere patres!
43. Age from hoc Martem scit ludificare per artem!
44. Auspicium natis hic praebet felicitatis,
45. Quod dum servatur, ingens fortuna paratur.
46. ​​Huius erunted nati conformi sorte beati.
47. Inferet at tristem patriae nunc femina pestem,
48. Femina, serpentis tabe contacta recentis.
49. Hoc et ad undenum durabit stemma venenum.
50. Et nunc is prodit, qui te, Lhenin, nimis odit:
51. Dividit ut culter, atheus, scortator, adulter.
52. Ecclesiam vastat, bona religiosa subhastat.
53. Ito, meus populus! Protector adest tibi nullus,
54. Hora donec veniet, qua restitutio fiet.
55. Filius amentis probat instituta parentis;
56. Insipiens totus tamen audit vulgo devotus;
57. Nec sat severus, hinc dicitur optimus herus.
58. Huic datur ex genere, quinos qualis ipse, videre.
59. Anno funesto vitam loco linquit honesto.
60. Postulate hinc turbae praeponi natus in urbe.
61. Spe caeteri subolem, fovet hic formidine prolem;
62. Quod timetable obscurum, certo tamen ecce futurum.
63. Forma rerum nova mox fit patiente Iehova.
64. Mille scatet naevis, cuius duratio brevis
65. Multa per edictum, sed turbans plura per ictum.
66. Quae tamen in peius mutantur iussibus eius,
67. In melius fato converti posse putato.
68. Post patrem natus est princeps Marchionatus;
69. Ingenio multos qui vivere sinit inultos.
70. Dum nimium credit, miserum pecus lupus edit;
71. Et sequitur servus domini mox fata protervus.
72. Tunc veniunt, quibus de burgis nomina tribus,
73. Et crescit latus magno sub principe status.
74. Securitas gentis est fortitudo regentis,
75. Sed nil iuvabit, prudentia quando cubabit.
76. Qui successor erit, patris haud vestigia terit.
77. Orate, fratres, lacrymis nec parcite, matres!
78. Fallit in hoc nomen laeti regiminis omen.
79. Nile superest bonuses, veteres migrate coloni!
80. Et iacet exstinctus foris quassatus et intus.
81. Mox iuvenis Fremdit, dum magna puerpera gemit,
82. Sed quis turbatum poterit refingere statum?
83. Vexillum tanget, sed fata crudelia planget.
84. Flantibus hinc austris vitam vult credere claustris.
85. Qui sequitur, pravos imitatur pessimus avos:
86. Non robur menti, non adsunt numina genti,
87. Cuius opem petit, contrarius hic sibi stetsit.
88. Et perit in undis, dum miscet summa profundis.
89. Natus florebit, quod non sperasset, habebit.
90.Sed populus tristis flebit temporibus istis,
91. Nam sortis mirae videntur fata venire,
92. Ut princeps nescit, quod nova potentia crescit.
93. Tandem sceptra gerit, qui stemmatis ultimus erit.
94. Israel infandum scelus audet morte piandum.
95. Et pastor gregem recipit, Germania regem.
96. Marchia, cunctorum penitus oblita malorum,
97. Ipsa suos audet fovere nec advena gaudet:
98. Priscaque Lhenini surgunt et tecta Chorini
99. Et veteri more clerus splendescit honore
100. Nec lupus nobili plus insidiatur ovili.

Prophecy of the blessed brother Hermann,
once a monk in Lehnin, from the Cistercian order,
which flourished around the year 1300
and lived in the aforementioned Lehnin monastery,
from a handwritten book, from which it is clear
that this prophecy was recorded 400 years ago.

1. Now I sing to you, Lehnin, your future destinies with care,
2. which the Lord showed me, who created all things.
3. For even if you shine with excellent fire like the sun
4. and now lead
your whole life in a most pious manner 5. and the comforts of a life full of necessity overflow you as you see fit,
6. a time will come that will no longer be the same for you recognizes,
7. but hardly as anyone, or to put it correctly, as nothing.
8. The sex that founded you has always loved you:
9. When it goes down, you too will go down and will no longer be a lovable mother.
10. And now the lamentable hour is approaching without delay,
11. when the tribe of Otto, the ornament of our country,
12. falls apart by a powerful fate, because no son is left.
13. You will fall for the first time, but you will not get to the end.
14. In the meantime the march will be terrified by terrible miraculous signs,
15. and the house of the Ottonians will become the den of the lions
16. and those conceived from real blood will be excluded,
17. when strangers come to the monastery of Chorin.
18. Infernal arrogance will quickly put an end to the emperor's cunning.
19. But the march will not enjoy the safe shield defense;
20. the royal lion turns the course back to other things.
21. And this country will not see true rulers and masters.
22. Governors will mess up and cause damage.
23. The rich nobility will torment the citizens everywhere,
24. They will rob the clergy without distinction of objects;
25. And they will do what happened in the time of Christ:
26. The bodies of many will be sold against decency.
27. So that you do not
miss someone to rule you, my march , 28. you rise, now through two famous castles, from your humility
29. and light the torch of war, although you spread peace in name.
30. And while you kill wolves, you cut the innards of the sheep.
31. I tell you the truth: Your descendants, far away on days,
32. will rule with little power over their father's fields,
33. until those are thrown to the ground who, at that time,
34. ravaged cities and rulers prevented them from ruling.
35. He who follows the father deprives the brother of privilege,
36. but not even the grave will make the wrong person think the right one.
37. He, who is exhausted from various wars and storms of fate,
38. is soon followed by a powerful brother at the time of death,
39. He too is powerful, but also a most vain man.
40. While he thinks he is conquering a mountain, he will hardly be able to cross a bridge.
41. See, he's sharpening the swords! Woe to you, people of Lehnin!
42. What do the brethren care for those who want to destroy the fathers!
43. The next one after him knows how to artfully deceive Mars.
44. He gives his sons a foresight of happiness.
45. As long as this is maintained, immense wealth will be created.
46. ​​His sons will be happy by a like lot.
47. But now a woman will bring an ominous plague into the fatherland,
48. a woman infected by the decay of a new snake.
49. And this poison will continue until the eleventh bearer of the coat of arms.
50. And now he appears who hates you, Lehnin, excessively.
51. He cuts like a knife, the wicked, the fornicator, the adulterer.
52. He devastated the church and auctioned off the monastery property.
53. Go away, my people! There is no protector for you
until the hour 54 comes when the restoration occurs.
55. The madman's son approves of the father's measures;
56. quite unreasonable, but he is still considered pious by the people;
57. and not strict enough, he is called the best man for that.
58. He is allowed to see five of his sex equals.
59. In an unfortunate year, he leaves his life in an honorable place.
60. His son, who was born in the city, now demands to be set over the crowd.
61. Others look after their offspring with hope, this his offspring with shyness.
62. See the dark that he fears, it is certain to come.
63. Soon, with Jehovah's tolerance, a new form of things will arise.
64. A thousand eyesore open on him whose life is short,
65. He who causes much disorder by an edict, but still more by a blow.
66. What is changed for the worse by his commands,
67. Be certain that it can be turned for the better by fate.
68. After the father, the son is ruler of the march;
69. According to his character, he lets many live with impunity.
70. While trusting too much, the wolf eats the poor cattle.
71. And the brazen servant soon follows the fate of the Lord.
72. Then come those who bear the names of three castles,
73. and the state is growing rapidly under a great prince.
74. The security of the population is the ruler's strength,
75. But it will be of no use if prudence sleeps.
76. He who will be his successor hardly smooths the footsteps of his father.
77. Pray, brothers, and do not spare your tears, mothers!
78. His name does not keep the promise of a happy government.
79. Nothing good is left. Emigrate, you old settlers!
80. And it lies obliterated, shattered outside and inside.
81. Soon a young man is making a noise while the great woman who gives birth sighs.
82. But who will be able to put the confused state back in order?
83. He will take up the flag, but lament cruel fates.
84. Then, while the south winds blow, he will entrust his life to monasteries.
85. He who follows him imitates the evil ancestors as the worst:
86. The disposition is powerless, the people are not supported by divine helpers.
87. He whose help he asks has opposed him.
88. And it goes under in floods, mixing the highest with the lowest.
89. His son will bloom and get what he did not hope for.
90. But the people will be sad and weep in those times.
91. Now, however, the fortunes of an astonishing lot are obviously coming,
92. since the prince does not know that a new power is growing up.
93. Finally, he who will be the last of the coat of arms wields the scepter.
94. Israel dares an unspeakable crime that must be atoned for in death.
95. And a shepherd accepts the flock, Germany her king.
96. The Mark, completely forgetting all evils,
97. dares to look after its own, and the stranger is not happy.
98. And the earlier buildings of Lehnin and Chorin are rising again,
99. and the clergy shines again in honor of the former custom,
100. and the wolf no longer lies in wait for the noble sheepfold.

Reception history

Lehninense manuscripts were in circulation in Berlin from around 1692. Johann Christoph Bekmann published the first text print with a verse translation before 1717. With that began the flood of publications on the Lehninense. The main arguments for the inauthenticity had been gathered before the middle of the 18th century; Nevertheless, there were publications up to the 20th century that treated the text as prophecy to be taken seriously against the background of current political developments. What is striking is the high proportion of anonymous and pseudonymous comments, which are probably related to the “majesty-critical” content, but also to the obscure character of the Vatican. His quasi-mystical fascination also had an impact on people who had no doubts about his actual origin, and made him so well known among the people at times that King Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1840–1861) is said to have said he did not believe in this prophecy but he feared them.

literature

  • Siegmar Döpp : Vaticinium Lehninense - The Lehninsche prophecy. On the reception of a powerful Latin poetry from the 18th to the 20th century . Hildesheim / Zurich / New York ( Olms ) 2015 ISBN 978-3-487-15239-4

Web links

Commons : Vaticinium Lehninense  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Wanderings through the Mark Brandenburg (1873), Die Lehninsche Weissagung
  2. ↑ Insofar as individual evidence is required in addition to the substantive evidence, the use of the name of God in the form Jehovah (verse 63) is an irrefutable indication of its origin in the 17th century (Döpp p. 37).
  3. ↑ p. 16f.
  4. ↑ pp. 8-15
  5. ↑ At the time, the edict decreed tolerance between Lutherans and Reformed people was particularly controversial , cf. Verse 65.
  6. ↑ Döpp p. 26
  7. ↑ In addition in detail Wilhelm von Giesebrecht : The prophecy of Lehnin and Christoph Heinrich Oelven . In: Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Geschichte , Berlin 1846, pp. 433–478
  8. ↑ after Döpp, pp. 5–7
  9. ↑ This should mean Adam von Schwarzenberg .
  10. ↑ The list alone includes pages 89–128 at Döpp.
  11. ↑ Döpp p. 1