Advance novella

The Vorauer Novelle is a Middle High German couple poem in 649 verses. The text is a fragment and breaks off after about halfway through the narrative. The Vorauer Novelle was written in the high court era around 1200 and was recorded in the first half of the 13th century. The poet of the text, who is in the Theophilus tradition and can be seen as an early adaptation of the Faust material , is unknown. The text is unique in the Vorau Abbey (Styria).

Facsimile of the first page of the Vorau novella (digitized from the homepage of Wernfried Hofmeister, see web links)

To name the Vorauer Novelle

The title “Vorauer Novelle” was chosen by the Germanist Anton Emanuel Schönbach , who first edited the text in 1899. He justified his decision by stating that the novella "belongs to the genre of stories in which the edifying and entertaining, miracles and history, church and world meet [...] and I called it the" Vorauer Novelle "because it corresponds to the idea that was associated with it when this name came up. ”This idea of the novella that Schönbach quotes is based on the French Nouvelles, which Blankenburg defined for the first time in 1796 as“ real, little novels ”.

content

Two monastery pupils flee their monastery because their teacher overwhelmed them with too much learning material and often punishes them with the rod. They come to a city (not described in detail), where they enter a magic school whose master is already waiting for them. There they ask for an introduction to Nikromantie , the black magic that they should learn from a book of magic. At the beginning of this book, however, is the price that has to be paid for it:

Hie rises from the sêle tôt,
which is
bound with êweclîcher nôt vil grimme host
and vicious vunden
in des tiuvels kewen
from êwen unz hin z'êwen.
(Vorauer novella, ed. Schönbach 1899, V. 205-210)

Here begins the ruin of the soul,
which
is cruelly tied up with infinite agony
and then finds itself laden with sin
between the devil's teeth
for ever and ever.
(Translation: Andrea Hofmeister 2012)

Little impressed by this warning, the boys ask the master to teach them magic. They then live a sinful life: they cultivate unchaste love, call the hellhound for their purposes, become greedy, haughty and are susceptible to drunkenness and gluttony. As a result of this behavior, one of the two young men loads God's curse on him and becomes seriously ill, whereupon both quickly give up the magic. This is followed by a detailed conversation between the two pupils, in which the healthy person tries to persuade the sick to sincerely repent and confess . The patient, however, is convinced that the gravity of his offense cannot be atoned for. But only then does he commit the most serious sin: He no longer trusts the infinite grace of God, he falls into despair ( desperatio ). Before he dies, the sick person promises the healthy one that 30 days after his death - if he can - he will appear again to his friend to tell him how things have fared in the afterlife. Then the patient dies, which is described in one of the most detailed death scenes in German-language literature. The dying man's bones crack and shift, he cramps all over his body, grinds his teeth and howls until the devil snatches his soul from him and he dies. The healthy person draws a lesson from what he has experienced and, full of repentance, seeks a priest who will confess and give him absolution . At this point the fragment breaks off.

To continue the plot

The content of the “Vorauer Novelle” is closely related to the so-called “ Reuner Relationen ”, a Latin story that is unique to the Rein Abbey (Styria). The exact relationship between “Vorauer Novelle” and “Reuner Relationen” cannot be determined due to the uncertain dating of the two texts. It is even conceivable that both seals could have originated from the same fabric tradition independently of one another. In the Latin treatment of the material, the patient actually appears to the healthy after thirty days in a kind of Walpurgis night and describes the horrors of hell in a drastic way . Strongly impressed by this, the healthy man reinforces his remorse by not only confessing but also deciding to re-enter a monastery.

The poet of the "Vorauer Novelle"

The text has been handed down without any attribution. Schönbach assigned the text to the Alemannic area on the basis of a detailed examination of the phonetic level ; he only suggests a more detailed specification of an Alsatian poet because the resources are insufficient for a clear assignment. In any case, the poet is educated and speaks Latin, and in the prologue he writes that he has already translated Latin texts into German several times. The great artistry of the poet is emphasized again and again, Schönbach refers to the outstandingly high level of metrics, rhyme and stylistic devices used. The poet cannot be clearly assigned to a social class. Schönbach suspects a cleric or a layman educated by clerics, which is supported by the popular theological arguments in the text, the familiarity with court life and the way in which the propagandistic intent of the Latin model is omitted. Even if the poet cannot be identified by name, he stands for Schönbach in the tradition of Gottfried von Strasbourg , Helmut de Boor places him at the side of Konrad von Würzburg , "not as his 'student' or imitator, but as an equal."

Transmission of the text

The text is exclusively (unique) in the Vorauer Codex 412, a Latin-German mixed manuscript. The codex consists of 189 parchment sheets , with very different parts, which were only combined into a volume in the 15th century. The “Vorauer Novelle” is the only German-language text in this codex , handed down together with Latin sermons , the tone of which suggests a lay audience as the addressee. The text handed down in the "Vorauer Novelle" is almost certainly not the first written version, but a copy, as can be seen from spelling mistakes and corrections. The transmission of this material in an Augustinian canon could also be related to the person of St. Augustine . Augustine led a dissolute life in his youth and only found his way to God in later years through sincere repentance. The thought of being able to turn a sinful life into good through repentance and repentance may therefore possibly be closer to the Augustinian Canons than to other orders.

Aspects of interpretation

There are only a few scientific contributions to the “Vorauer Novelle”, which may be due to the fact that the text is a fragment. Not least because of this, Hans Gröchenig states that “the fragment [would] deserve the interest that would undoubtedly be present if the entire poem were available”. A few aspects of interpretation should now be briefly presented:

To the fabric tradition

The "Vorauer Novelle" stands on the one hand in the tradition of the miracle legend "Of the two clerics", which goes back to the 7th century. On the other hand, it is also clearly part of the tradition of the Theophilus legend , which was translated from Greek into Latin by the deacon Paul of Naples in the 9th century. Since the end of the 9th century This Latin version enjoyed great popularity and provided the material for numerous new versions and arrangements in prose and verse , in Latin and various vernacular languages . An essential element of this legend is the pact with the devil , which Theophilus enters into in return for earthly success. In the end, however, he is saved by the Blessed Virgin Mary . The legend is used twice as a narrative example: The original interpretation emphasizes the embodiment of the idea of penance by Theophilus, the later interpretation, which appears more strongly from the 11th century, focuses on the strength of Mary as an intercessor with God. The first interpretation with emphasis on the idea of penance can also be found in the “Vorauer Novelle”.

Anton Schönbach, who published the “Vorauer Novelle” for the first time, already points out that with the text “the Faust problem appears for the first time in the literature of the Middle Ages and on the soil of Germany [nb: the German-speaking area]”. The question of similarities to the fist material is of course subject to a certain scope for interpretation, but one can name some arguments for this point of view:

Both texts stand in the field of tension between education and knowledge: The monastery pupils are part of an educational institution and flee to the magic school, from which they hope to gain more exciting (forbidden) knowledge. Faust strives for the all-encompassing knowledge and wants to know "what holds the world / inside together".

Eugène Delacroix: Faust

Such knowledge is reserved for God and can only be reached on earth through a pact with the evil powers. Not only Goethe's Faust , but also our convent pupils enter into a pact of souls as a price for their knowledge: while Faust signs a piece of paper for Mephisto with his blood, reading the magic book represents the pact of the pupils despite the urgent warning from the master.
The result of the pact is a form of power, an anti-divine license for earthly pleasures. In Goethe's Faust the merrymaking appears personified in the person of Gretchen, in the “Vorauer Novelle” there is an account of “unchaste love”, with which the young men would have removed the chaste disposition of some women (vv. 255–261).
Goethe's Faust expresses his conflict when he complains about two souls that are united in his chest. In the “Vorauer Novelle” the entire event is divided between two pupils, so the two souls are physically separated.
The Walpurgis Night occupies a central place in Goethe's Faust. It is only through the eerie activity of the witches that Faust becomes rejuvenated and can face Gretchen as a radiant seducer. In the “Vorauer Novelle” a Walpurgis Night is announced, but due to the fragmentary tradition it is no longer carried out. In the related “ Reuner Relationen ”, however, the deceased pupil appears to his friend after thirty days in a gruesome setting that is reminiscent of the ideas of Walpurgis Night.

The question of how far one wants to see the “Vorauer Novelle” as an early adaptation of the Faust material is of course subject to a certain scope for interpretation. Nevertheless, the text is inevitably in the tradition of the Teufelsbündler sagas, which starts from the Theophilus legend and continues through the history book of Dr. Faustus ranges from English puppet theater versions and Goethe's Faust dramas to arrangements in the 20th century.

Repentance as a way to God

Charlemagne confesses to St. Deocar. Detail from the Deocar Altar, 1437, St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg

In the Latin material processing, the " Reuner Relations ", it is already said in the introduction that one of the two youngsters will be saved, while the other has been condemned by God. The German-speaking poet seems to reject this image of the terrible God because he not only omits the passages, but also emphasizes the free will of the boys. He even notes that the Holy Spirit was present with the children, who is portrayed in the New Testament as man's helper on the path to salvation. The poet places particular emphasis on repentance , the sincere atonement for wrong deeds, which is ultimately the only possible way back to God. In this sense, the healthy youth also argues when he wants to persuade his sick comrade to repent, which culminates in a courageous exclamation:

no one sins never so much,
he wounds god's hulde,
whether he umbe sîne owes
enphienge rehte riuwe.
(Vorauer novella, ed. Schönbach 1899, V. 378-381)

No man ever sins so much
that he cannot obtain God's grace
when he
feels sincere repentance for his guilt .
(Translation: Andrea Hofmeister 2012)

The German-language processing of the material strongly emphasizes the sincere repentance that should arise from the pupils' free will and ultimately represents the only way to return to the bosom of the Church. In the “ Reuner Relationen ” this path is blocked from the start, because God's providence has designated one youth for salvation and the other for setting an example. On the other hand, the German-speaking poet gives the pupils several options to freely choose: the (self-inflicted) illness of the one ultimately becomes the decisive hint for the healthy to go to confession of free will and to receive absolution there with tears .

Number symbolism

The dialogue between the two friends, in which the healthy person tries to persuade the sick to confess , occupies a large space in the poetry. With all due caution against speculation with numbers, there is a possibility of perceiving the dialogue as symbolically constructed, which Klaus Zatloukal has worked out: The number 17, which is formed from 10 (commandments) + 7 (gifts of the Holy Spirit), is of particular importance becomes. The dialogue consists of 17 parts of speech, which are written in 170 verses (= 17 × 10). Of these 170 verses, 105 verses fall on the saved and 65 on the sick. If you add the digits of these numbers, this results in the number 6 for the rescued and the number 11 for the dying. The number 6 has been a perfect number in medieval number symbols since Augustine, and in the medieval division of history it breaks with birth in the sixth world age Christ's time of grace. However, the number 11 is interpreted as a sinful number because it exceeds the perfect number of the 10 commandments. The interpretation of 11 as a sinful number is also the reason for the start of Mardi Gras on November 11th. at 11:11 a.m. If you add the two sums of digits, you get the number 17 again, which suggests the view that we are facing a consciously constructed dialogue. However, it is unclear what happens when the digit sums are added to the zero in 105. Because even if this number has no corresponding numerical value, it is still included in 105 and is ignored in the calculation. In spite of all the amazement at the structure of the dialogue, one must bear in mind that dimensions are being carried into the text that cannot be proven. A different look at the text may lead to a different reading with different results, so that one should view this form of numerical symbolic interpretation as one possible interpretation among others.

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Anton E. Schönbach: Studies on the narrative literature of the Middle Ages II: The Vorauer Novelle. Vienna: Carl Gerold's Sohn 1899. (= meeting reports of the phil.-hist. Class of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna. 140, IV. Treatise), p. 92.
^ Bernhard Seuffert: Goethe's 'Novelle'. In: Goethe yearbook. Edited by Ludwig Geiger. Vol. 19. Frankfurt / Main: Rütten & Loening 1898, p. 133. This contribution is cited by Schönbach for the definition of the novella.
↑ See Klaus Zatloukal: Vorauer Novelle. In: ²VL 10, col. 524.
↑ See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 69, 89.
↑ See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 87–89.
↑ See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 89 f.
↑ See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 90.
↑ Helmut de Boor: The German literature in the late Middle Ages 1250-1350. First part: epics, poetry, didactics, sacred and historical poetry. Revised by Johannes Janota. 5., rework. Aufl. Munich: Beck 1997. (= History of German Literature from the Beginnings to the Present. 3.), p. 485.
^ Cf. Marburg Repertory of German-Language Manuscripts of the 13th and 14th Centuries | Vorau, Stiftsbibl., Cod. 412 (formerly CCCXXX) (October 14, 2014).
↑ See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 2–5.
↑ See the comments in Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 42–68.
↑ The Vorauer Novelle and The Reuner Relations. Edited and transcribed in illustration by Hans Gröchenig. Göppingen: Kümmerle 1981. (= Litterae. Göppinger contributions to text history. 81.), p. IV.
↑ See Leopold Kretzenbacher: Teufelsbündner and Faustgestalten in the Occident. Klagenfurt: Verlag des Geschichtsverein für Kärnten 1968. (= book series of the Landesmuseum für Kärnten. 23.), p. 62.
↑ Cf. Paolo Chiesa: Theophilus legend, I. Middle Latin literature. In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages. Vol. 8, Col. 667f.
↑ Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 92.
^ Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Faust. The first part of the tragedy. Stuttgart: Reclam 1986, (= RUB. 1.), p. 13, V. 382f.
↑ See JW Goethe: Faust (see note 16), p. 33, v. 1112.
↑ Cf. Friedrich Ohly: The cursed and the chosen one. From living with guilt. Opladen: Westdt. Verlag 1976. (= Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Humanities. Lectures. G207.), Pp. 61–63.
↑ See Klaus Zatloukal: The Vorauer Novelle. Observations on the poetic transformation of the first 'Reuner Relations'. In: Euphorion 72 (1978), H. 2-3, esp. Pp. 243f., 248, 253.
↑ Cf. Zatloukal, Vorauer Novelle (see note 19), pp. 245, 256f.

[1] Anton E. Schönbach: Studies on the narrative literature of the Middle Ages II: The Vorauer Novelle. Vienna: Carl Gerold's Sohn 1899. (= meeting reports of the phil.-hist. Class of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna. 140, IV. Treatise), p. 92.

[2] Bernhard Seuffert: Goethe's 'Novelle'. In: Goethe yearbook. Edited by Ludwig Geiger. Vol. 19. Frankfurt / Main: Rütten & Loening 1898, p. 133. This contribution is cited by Schönbach for the definition of the novella.

[3] See Klaus Zatloukal: Vorauer Novelle. In: ²VL 10, col. 524.

[4] See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 69, 89.

[5] See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 87–89.

[6] See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 89 f.

[7] See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 90.

[8] Helmut de Boor: The German literature in the late Middle Ages 1250-1350. First part: epics, poetry, didactics, sacred and historical poetry. Revised by Johannes Janota. 5., rework. Aufl. Munich: Beck 1997. (= History of German Literature from the Beginnings to the Present. 3.), p. 485.

[9] Cf. Marburg Repertory of German-Language Manuscripts of the 13th and 14th Centuries | Vorau, Stiftsbibl., Cod. 412 (formerly CCCXXX) (October 14, 2014).

[10] See Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 2–5.

[11] See the comments in Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), pp. 42–68.

[12] The Vorauer Novelle and The Reuner Relations. Edited and transcribed in illustration by Hans Gröchenig. Göppingen: Kümmerle 1981. (= Litterae. Göppinger contributions to text history. 81.), p. IV.

[13] See Leopold Kretzenbacher: Teufelsbündner and Faustgestalten in the Occident. Klagenfurt: Verlag des Geschichtsverein für Kärnten 1968. (= book series of the Landesmuseum für Kärnten. 23.), p. 62.

[14] Cf. Paolo Chiesa: Theophilus legend, I. Middle Latin literature. In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages. Vol. 8, Col. 667f.

[15] Schönbach, Vorauer Novelle (see note 1), p. 92.

[16] Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Faust. The first part of the tragedy. Stuttgart: Reclam 1986, (= RUB. 1.), p. 13, V. 382f.

[17] See JW Goethe: Faust (see note 16), p. 33, v. 1112.

[18] Cf. Friedrich Ohly: The cursed and the chosen one. From living with guilt. Opladen: Westdt. Verlag 1976. (= Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Humanities. Lectures. G207.), Pp. 61–63.

[19] See Klaus Zatloukal: The Vorauer Novelle. Observations on the poetic transformation of the first 'Reuner Relations'. In: Euphorion 72 (1978), H. 2-3, esp. Pp. 243f., 248, 253.

[20] Cf. Zatloukal, Vorauer Novelle (see note 19), pp. 245, 256f.