Veit Warbeck (1490–1534) was a German scientist and diplomat, born in

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...

. He is best known as the translator into German of the French ''Magelone'', a narrative text itself derived from the '' One Thousand and One Nights'' material. In turn,

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...

adapted Warbeck's translation for his '' Liebesgeschichte der schönen Magelone und des Grafen Peter von Provence''. Warbeck worked as a diplomat at the court of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, when he translated the ''Magelone'' in 1527; his work on that text was occasioned by John Frederick's marriage to

Sibylle of Cleves Sibylle of Cleves (17 January 1512 – 21 February 1554) was electress consort of Saxony. Born in Düsseldorf,At the time, the area was in the Duchy of Berg. she was the eldest daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich ...

. The book was printed by Heinrich Steyner in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

in 1535, and was reprinted more than twenty times that same century, evidence of its popularity. The most recent adaptation of the same subject matter was by

Peter Bichsel Peter Bichsel (born 24 March 1935) is a popular Swiss writer and journalist representing modern German literature. He was a member of the Gruppe Olten. Bichsel was born 1935 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the son of manual labourers. Shortly after ...

(''Der Busant. Von Trinkern, Polizisten und der schoenen Magelone'', Darmstadt und Neuwied 1985). He was befriended with

George Spalatin Georg(e) Spalatin () was the pseudonym taken by Georg Burkhardt (; 17 January 1484 – 16 January 1545), a German humanist, theologian, reformer, secretary of the Saxon Elector Frederick the Wise, as well as an important figure in the histo ...

and other important Protestant reformers, and his translation of the ''Magelone'' shows the influence of Protestantism in the suppression of Catholic elements. Warbeck was honored with an exposition in his hometown in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warbeck, Veit 1490 births 1534 deaths German diplomats Scientists from Baden-Württemberg German translators People from Schwäbisch Gmünd 16th-century German scientists