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Heldenbuch
''Heldenbücher'' (singular ''Heldenbuch'' "book of heroes") is the conventional title under which a group of German manuscripts and prints of the 15th and 16th centuries has come down to us. Each ''Heldenbuch'' contains a collection of primarily epic poetry, typically including material from the Theodoric cycle, and the cycle of Hugdietrich, Wolfdietrich and Ortnit. The ''Heldenbuch'' texts are thus based on medieval German literature, but adapted to the tastes of the Renaissance. Manuscripts The earliest surviving Heldenbuch is a parchment manuscript dating from the first half of the 14th century, which survived only in five fragments (two are now missing). It is variously referred to as the Rheinfränkisches Heldenbuch ("Rhine Franconian Heldenbuch") from its dialect or the ''Berlin-Wolfenbüttel Heldenbuch'' from the location of two of the fragments, and preserves parts of the Eckenlied (E3), Virginal (V3), Ortnit (C) and Wolfdietrich (C), though the fragments do not give any ...
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Heldenbuch
''Heldenbücher'' (singular ''Heldenbuch'' "book of heroes") is the conventional title under which a group of German manuscripts and prints of the 15th and 16th centuries has come down to us. Each ''Heldenbuch'' contains a collection of primarily epic poetry, typically including material from the Theodoric cycle, and the cycle of Hugdietrich, Wolfdietrich and Ortnit. The ''Heldenbuch'' texts are thus based on medieval German literature, but adapted to the tastes of the Renaissance. Manuscripts The earliest surviving Heldenbuch is a parchment manuscript dating from the first half of the 14th century, which survived only in five fragments (two are now missing). It is variously referred to as the Rheinfränkisches Heldenbuch ("Rhine Franconian Heldenbuch") from its dialect or the ''Berlin-Wolfenbüttel Heldenbuch'' from the location of two of the fragments, and preserves parts of the Eckenlied (E3), Virginal (V3), Ortnit (C) and Wolfdietrich (C), though the fragments do not give any ...
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Wolfdietrich
Wolfdietrich is the eponymous protagonist of the Middle High German heroic epic ''Wolfdietrich''. First written down in strophic form in around 1230 by an anonymous author, it survives in four main versions, widely differing in scope and content, and largely independent of each other. ''Wolfdietrich'' is closely associated with another heroic epic poem of the same period, ''Ortnit''. The two stories have distinct (if disputed) origins but they were combined at an early stage, possibly by a single author, and appear together in most sources. In the earliest surviving version of the first story, Ortnit is killed by two dragons sent by his father-in-law after he abducts and marries his daughter; in the second, Wolfdietrich, deprived of his inheritance by two brothers and an evil counsellor, sets out to seek Ortnit's help but, finding he has been killed, avenges him by killing the dragons, he then defeats his brothers and the counsellor, and marries Ortnit's widow. While the earlies ...
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Theodoric Cycle
Dietrich von Bern is the name of a character in Germanic heroic legend who originated as a legendary version of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name "Dietrich", meaning "Ruler of the People", is a form of the Germanic name "Theodoric". In the legends, Dietrich is a king ruling from Verona (Bern) who was forced into exile with the Huns under Etzel by his evil uncle Ermenrich. The differences between the known life of Theodoric and the picture of Dietrich in the surviving legends are usually attributed to a long-standing oral tradition that continued into the sixteenth century. Most notably, Theodoric was an invader rather than the rightful king of Italy and was born shortly after the death of Attila and a hundred years after the death of the historical Gothic king Ermanaric. Differences between Dietrich and Theodoric were already noted in the Early Middle Ages and led to a long-standing criticism of the oral tradition as false. Legends about Theodoric may have exis ...
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Ortnit
Ortnit is the eponymous protagonist of the Middle High German heroic epic ''Ortnit''. First written down in strophic form in around 1230 by an anonymous author, it circulated in a number of distinct versions. In the earliest version, King Ortnit sets out on an expedition to make the daughter of the heathen King Machorel his bride. He is greatly assisted by the cunning of the dwarf Alberich, who can only be seen by the wearer of a magic ring, and by the martial prowess of the Russian king Ilyas, Ortnit's uncle. In the second part of the story, Machorel, enraged by Ortnit's abduction of his daughter, sends him, in a feigned gesture of reconciliation, two dragon eggs. When these hatch, the dragons terrorise the land. After a year's delay, Ortnit sets out to kill the dragons, but falls asleep and is killed by them. In most of the surviving versions, this is followed by the story of Wolfdietrich, who avenges Ortnit's death and marries his widow. Though the two stories have distinct or ...
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Rosengarten Zu Worms
Dietrich and Siegfried from a 15th-century manuscript of the ''Rosengarten zu Worms'' ''Der Rosengarten zu Worms'' (the rose garden at Worms), sometimes called ''Der große Rosengarten'' (the big rose garden) to differentiate it from ''Der kleine Rosengarten'' ( ''Laurin''), and often simply called the ''Rosengarten'', is an anonymous thirteenth-century Middle High German heroic poem in the cycle of Dietrich von Bern. The ''Rosengarten'' may have been written as early as before 1250, but is securely attested by around 1300. It is unclear where it was written. While it combines characters from the traditions of the ''Nibelungenlied'', Walter of Aquitaine, and the Dietrich cycle, the ''Rosengarten'' is usually considered one of the so-called fantastical (''aventiurehaft'') poems about Dietrich: these poems more closely resembles a courtly romance than traditional heroic epic. Occasionally, because it features Dietrich fighting against human opponents rather than giants or dwarfs, i ...
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Virginal (poem)
''Virginal'', also known as ''Dietrichs erste Ausfahrt'' (Dietrich's first quest), or ''Dietrich und seine Gesellen'' (Dietrich and his companions) is an anonymous Middle High German poem about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It is one of the so-called fantastical (''aventiurehaft'') Dietrich poems, so called because it more closely resembles a courtly romance than a heroic epic. The poem was composed by 1300 at the latest, and may have been composed as early as the second quarter of the thirteenth century. There are three principle versions of the ''Virginal''. The poem concerns the still young and inexperienced Dietrich's quest to save the dwarf queen Virginal in Tyrol from a force of attacking heathens. After defeating the heathens, Dietrich encounters a series of further adventures while trying to reach Virginal's court, including, depending on version, his capture by giants ...
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Germanic Heroic Legend
Germanic heroic legend (german: germanische Heldensage) is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which others were added later, were transmitted orally, traveled widely among the Germanic speaking peoples, and were known in many variants. These legends typically reworked historical events or personages in the manner of oral poetry, forming a heroic age. Heroes in these legends often display a heroic ethos emphasizing honor, glory, and loyalty above other concerns. Like Germanic mythology, heroic legend is a genre of Germanic folklore. Heroic legends are attested in Anglo-Saxon England, medieval Scandinavia, and medieval Germany. Many take the form of Germanic heroic poetry (german: germanische Heldendichtung): shorter pieces are known as heroic lays, whereas longer pieces are called Germanic heroic epic (). The early Middle Ages preser ...
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Eckenlied
''Das Eckenlied'' or ''Ecken Ausfahrt'' (The Song of Ecke or Ecke's Quest) is an anonymous 13th-century Middle High German poem about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It is one of the so-called fantastical (''aventiurehaft'') Dietrich poems, so called because it more closely resembles a courtly romance than a heroic epic. The ''Eckenlied'' tells the story of Dietrich's fight against the giant Ecke, who has been sent out by three queens to fetch Dietrich. Dietrich is forced to kill Ecke, after which he must fight Ecke's family, particularly Ecke's treacherous and vengeful brother Fasold. The poem exists in at least three separate but closely related versions, which offer different endings to the tale. A fragmentary text known as ''Dietrich und Fasold'' may represent another version of the ''Eckenlied'', but differences in meter and content make this uncertain. Fasold and the three ...
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Goldemar
''Goldemar'' is a fragmentary thirteenth-century Middle High German poem by Albrecht von Kemenaten about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It is one of the so-called fantastical (''aventiurehaft'') Dietrich poems, so called because it more closely resembles a courtly romance than a heroic epic. The poem concerns Dietrich's fight with the dwarf king Goldemar after he sees the dwarf absconding with a princess. It is the only poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic poetry with a named author that is accepted as genuine. Summary Only the first nine stanzas of the ''Goldemar'' have survived. They tell that Dietrich once set off into the forest to defeat the giants who live in Trutmunt forest. While on this quest, he comes across a mountain where dwarfs make their home. He notices that the dwarfs have a girl with them, and immediately falls in love. The dwarfs attempt to hide the gi ...
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Sigenot
''Sigenot'' is an anonymous Middle High German poem about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It is one of the so-called fantastical (''aventiurehaft'') Dietrich poems, so called because it more closely resembles a courtly romance than a heroic epic. It was likely written in the Alemannic dialect area, no later than 1300. The poem concerns Dietrich's fight with the eponymous giant Sigenot, who defeats Dietrich and takes him prisoner. Dietrich must be rescued by his mentor Hildebrand, who himself is defeated by the giant but manages to escape with the help of the dwarf Eggerich and kill the giant. The ''Sigenot'' exists in two principle versions. It was by far the most popular of all Dietrich poems, being transmitted in eight extant manuscripts and twenty-one printings until 1661. It inspired various artistic depictions as well. It is nevertheless not regarded very highly as a work o ...
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Nibelungenlied
The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic heroic legend that has some of its origin in historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries and that spread throughout almost all of Germanic languages, Germanic-speaking Europe. Scandinavian parallels to the German poem are found especially in the heroic lays of the ''Poetic Edda'' and in the ''Völsunga saga''. The poem is split into two parts. In the first part, the prince Sigurd, Siegfried comes to Worms, Germany, Worms to acquire the hand of the Burgundians, Burgundian princess Kriemhild from her brother King Gunther. Gunther agrees to let Siegfried marry Kriemhild if Siegfried helps Gunther acquire the warrior-queen Brünhild as his wife. Siegfried does this and marries Kriemhild; however, Brünhild and Krie ...
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Jüngeres Hildebrandslied
The ''Jüngeres Hildebrandslied'' (the younger lay of Hildebrand) or ''Das Lied von dem alten Hildebrand'' (the song of old Hildebrand) is an anonymous Early New High German heroic ballad, first attested in the fifteenth century. A late attestation of Germanic heroic legend, the ballad features the same basic story as the much older ''Hildebrandslied'', but was composed without knowledge of that text. Rather, it reworks the oral legend of the warrior Hildebrand and his fight against his son (here Alebrand) in accordance with late medieval and early modern taste. It is highly sentimentalized and focuses on Hildebrand's return home rather than the tragic conflict of the older tradition. The ''Jüngeres Hildebrandslied'' was an extremely popular ballad in the age of print, and continued to be reprinted into the eighteenth century. Its melody was well known and the poem has given its name to its metrical form, the so-called "Hildebrandston". The ''Jüngeres Hildebrandslied'' was trans ...
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