Wolfdietrich

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Wolfdietrich is the title and main character of a medieval saga that was written in verse by an unknown author around 1250.

legend

The Wolfsdietrich saga tells how Wolfdietrich was born the son of Hugdietrich , King of Constantinople , how his inheritance was denied to him by his brothers because he is supposedly a bastard (Kebskind), and how he was after the siege of the castle the Duke Berchtung standing by him was the only one who managed to escape and, after many adventures, reached the Lampartenland ( Lombardy ). There he can win the crown by killing the dragon that King Ortnit succumbed to. With the support of the Knights of Lampartenland, he was able to free the sons of Berchtungs who remained loyal to him and regain control of Constantinople.

Important motifs in this story are, in addition to the dragon fight, the loyalty of Berchtung and his sons, in contrast to the evil counselor and intriguing courtier Sabene, and Wolfdietrich's promise not to take a wife until he has freed his followers, the ring Ortnits, which Wolfdietrich slides into the wine goblet and by which the Lamparten Queen recognizes him as Ortnit's avenger, who has defeated the dragon, and also the dragon tongues that Wolfdietrich cuts out of the dragon and his boy, so that the deceitful Duke Wildung, who has defeated the dragon cuts off the heads of already dead dragons in order to be able to present themselves as a hero and legitimate heir to the throne, can easily be exposed.

Historical basis

According to Hermann Schneider, the historical basis is the disputes between the sons of Clovis I the Great, the first Christian Merovingian king. His successor Theuderich I could have been a model for the Wolfdietrich figure. This is supported by the fact that Clovis was also called Huga by the chronicler Widukind von Corvey , from which the poets later made Hugdietrich. The name of the faithful Berchtung contains the Berht (shiny) which is often used by the Franks .

According to Nils Lukman, however, the figure of Wolfdietrich can be traced back directly to Theodorich or Dietrich von Bern . He thus ties in with the thesis of a Dietrich duplicate, which has been discussed since Wilhelm Grimm . In the prose form of the Dietrich saga , the Thidreksaga , parts of the Wolfdietrich saga are also integrated into the biography of Dietrich von Bern. The name of the treacherous advisor Sabene is also reminiscent of Sabinianus, Theodoric's Ostrogothic opponent.

Joachim Heinzle, who sees an “independent saga” in the Wolfdietrich tradition, “whose origins are not to be found in Gothic but in Franconian history”, on the other hand, regards the obvious similarities as similarities of the type, which are distinguished by the identity of the name in the Would have increased over time.

Frames

The Wolfdietrich saga is preserved in four versions (Wolfdietrich A, B, C and D) in Hildebrand's tone with different content and completeness.

In version A is found by Auguste Lechner processed scene to expose the boy Wolf Dietrich as hell shoot in Berchtung - but he must observe that even hungriest wolves leave him untouched, whereupon he the young Lord makes allegiance.

Version B is characterized primarily by the fact that it precedes the prelude between Wolfdietrich's parents, Hugdietrich and Hildburg to the actual epic. Here Hugdietrich dresses up in women's clothes. The parents have to abandon Wolfdietrich in an emergency, but he is later found by his grandfather in a wolf's nest, and he brings him back to his parents. In addition, Wolfdietrich and Ortnit meet personally in this version, so Ortnit's death is integrated into the story. The adventure with the Wild Woman, Rauhe Else is extended, the adventurous nature of the story increases.

Version C completely changes Wolfdietrich's youth story in that he is the son of King Tripel of Athens. At the end Wolfdietrich goes to the monastery, but there grabs the sword again to win a great victory over the heathen.

Wolfdietrich D (The Great Wolfdietrich) summarizes the first 500 stanzas of Wolfdietrich B and almost the entire manuscript C and probably another lost - B-like - manuscript. However, the youth story is missing here, and sea woman adventures like Ortnitsage are presented comparatively hastily. But Wolfdietrich D is the version that became so popular through the printed book of heroes that it even became a stage version.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Schneider: Deutsche Heldensage , (= Göschen Collection; Volume 32), arr. by Roswitha Wisniewski, 2nd edition Berlin 1964, pages 134-145
  2. ↑ Nils Lukman: The historical Wolfdietrich (Theodorich der Große) , in: Classica et Mediaevalia 3/1940, pages 253-284 and 4/1941, pages 1-61
  3. ^ Joachim Heinzle: Introduction to the Middle High German Dietrichepik. Walter de Gruyter 1999. See p. 43.

literature

expenditure
  • Arthur Amelung / Oskar Jänicke: Ortnit and the wolf picks after Müllenhoff's preliminary work . Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1871–1873 (= Deutsches Heldenbuch, parts 3–4), digitized version of the Heidelberg University Library: Vol. I , Vol. II
  • Adolf Holtzmann: The big wolf pick . Mohr, Heidelberg 1865 ( Google Books [accessed March 6, 2018]).
  • Arthur Amelung, Oskar Jänicke: German book of heroes, third part: Ortnit and the Wolfdietriche . Weidmann, Berlin 1871 ( Google Books [accessed March 5, 2018]). (Edition of all versions, with detailed introduction)
  • Adelbert von Keller: Das deutsche Heldenbuch According to the supposedly oldest print . Literarischer Verein in Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1867 ( online [accessed March 9, 2018]).
  • Justus Lunzer Edler von Lindhausen: Ortneit and Wolfdietrich based on the Viennese Piarist manuscript . Laupp, Tübingen 1906 ( online [accessed March 5, 2018]).
  • Hermann Schneider: Wolfdietrich . the real part of the Wolfdietrich of the Ambraser manuscript (Wolfdietrich A) (=  Old German text library . Volume 1 , no. 28 ). Niemeyer, Tübingen 1931.
  • Edward AH Fuchs: Studies in the Dresdener Heldenbuch . An Edition of Wolfdietrich K ,. University of Chicago, Chicago 1935.
  • Walter Kofler: The Strasbourg book of heroes . Reconstruction of the text version of Diebolt von Hanowe. Kümmerle, Göppingen 1999, ISBN 3-87452-913-4 .
  • Walter Kofler: Ortnit and Wolf Dietrich D . Critical text after Ms. Carm. 2 of the City and University Library Frankfurt am Main. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 978-3-7776-1129-7 .
  • Walter Kofler: The Dresden book of heroes and the fragments of the Berlin-Wolfenbüttel book of heroes . Edition and digital facsimile. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-7776-1435-9 .
  • Walter Kofler: Wolf Dietrich B . Parallel edition by the editorial offices B / K and H. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-7776-1623-0 .
  • Walter Kofler: Ortnit and Wolf Dietrich A . Hirzel, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-7776-1643-8 .
  • Stephan Fuchs-Jolie, Victor Millet, Dietmar Peschel: Otnit. Wolf Dietrich. Early New High German / New High German . Reclam, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-15-019139-2 .
Secondary literature
  • Ortnit and Wolfdietrich , in: Deutsche Heldensagen , retold by Gretel and Wolfgang Hecht. Frankfurt am Main: Insel taschenbuch 345, 1980, pages 7–95 and pages 383–387 (edition with the same text as the book with the same title from Insel-Verlag Anton Kippenberg, Leipzig 1969.)
  • Kurt Abels : Germanic tradition and contemporary history in Ambraser Wolf Dietrich. Phil. Diss. Freiburg im Breisgau 1965.
  • Nils Lukman: The historical Wolfdietrich (Theodoric the Great) , in: Classica et Mediaevalia 3/1940, pages 253-284 and 4/1941, pages 1-61
  • Hermann Schneider: Deutsche Heldensage , (= Göschen Collection; Volume 32), arr. by Roswitha Wisniewski, 2nd edition Berlin 1964, pages 134-145
  • Roswitha Wisniewski: Medieval Dietrichdichtung , (= Metzler Collection; Volume 205), Stuttgart 1986 ISBN 3-476-10205-X

Web links

Wikisource: Wolfdieterich's penance in Burkheim  - sources and full texts