Laurin (poem)
Laurin or Der kleine Rosengarten (The Small Rose Garden) is an anonymous
The poem has five extant versions. In each, it concerns Dietrich's fight against the
The Laurin was one of the most popular legends about Dietrich. Beginning in the fifteenth century, it was printed both as part of the compendium of heroic poems known as the Heldenbuch and independently, and continued to be printed until around 1600. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a variant of the poem was reimagined as a folk saga and became part of South Tyrolean popular folklore.
Summary
The Laurin exists in several versions (see "Transmission, versions, and dating" below). The oldest version of the tale (the so-called elder Vulgate version (ältere Vulgatversion), which the "Dresdner version" follows closely, begins with a conversation between
Dietrich and Laurin are reconciled, and Laurin invites the heroes to his kingdom under the mountain. All are enthusiastic except Witige, who senses treachery. In the mountain they are well received, and Dietleib meets Künhilt. She tells him she is being treated well and that Laurin has only one fault: he is not Christian. She wants to leave. Meanwhile, Laurin, after a feast, confides to Dietleib's sister that he wishes to avenge himself on the heroes. She advises him to do so. He drugs Witige, Hildebrand, and Dietrich and throws them into a dungeon. He tries to commit Dietleib to join his side, but locks him in a chamber when the hero refuses. Künhilt steals the stones that light the mountain and releases Dietleib. They then deliver weapons to the other heroes, and they begin a slaughter of all the dwarves in the mountain. In the end Laurin is taken as a
In the "younger Vulgate version", the story of how Laurin kidnapped Dietleib's sister is told: he used a cloak of invisibility. Dietleib then goes to Hildebrand and reports the kidnapping. The two heroes set off, encountering a wild man who has been banished by Laurin. The wild man tells Hildebrand about Laurin and his rose garden, after which the heroes go to Bern. There follows the story as told in the older version. At the end, however, it is added that Dietrich accompanies Dietleib and his sister to Styria, where they stay with Dietleib's father Biterolf.[12]
In the so-called "Walberan" version, Laurin surrenders to Dietrich during their battle in the mountain. As Wolfhart and Witege prepare to slaughter all the inhabitants of the mountain, Laurin begs for mercy. Dietrich initially refuses, but Künhilt, Hildebrand, and Dietleib convince him to stop the killing. Laurin is taken as a prisoner to Bern, while the dwarf Sintram becomes Dietrich's vassal in command of the mountain. Once the heroes have returned to Bern, Künhilt begs Dietrich to treat Laurin well, as he has treated her well, and to convert him to Christianity. She is married to an unnamed noble and disappears from the story. Sintram, however, is disloyal, and sends for help from other dwarfs. Laurin's relative Walberan assembles a large army and declares war on Dietrich. Laurin tells Walberan's messengers that he is being treated well and begs Walberan not to damage Dietrich's lands. Walberan does as he is asked, but marches to Bern. Laurin attempts to negotiate with Walberan on Dietrich's behalf, and Walberan announces he and select warriors will fight Dietrich and his heroes in single combat. When Walberan fights Dietrich, Walberan is about to defeat Dietrich when Laurin and Laurin intervene—they reconcile Dietrich and the dwarf, and the poem ends with a courtly feast.[13]
The "Pressburg version" appears to parody Laurin: Hildebrand tells Dietrich about Laurin during a feast at carnival. Dietrich sets out with Hildebrand, Dietleib, Witege, Siegfried, and Wolfhart, before the text breaks off.[14]
Transmission, versions, and dating
The Laurin is transmitted in at least eighteen manuscripts, dating from the fourteenth century until the beginning of the sixteenth century, and in eleven printings dating from 1479 to 1590.
There are five overarching versions, but due to the immense variability of the fantastical Dietrich poems, each manuscript can also be considered a version within these overarching five.
Manuscripts with the older Vulgate version:
- L3 (P, p): Graf von Schönbornsche Schlossbibliothek Pommersfelden, Cod. 54. Paper, middle of fourteenth century, from Erfurt(?). Contains various poems in rhyming couplets, including the Rosengarten zu Worms and Laurin.[23]
- L4 (H, h): Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Ms. germ. 8° 287, Fragment I. Fragment of a parchment manuscript, fourteenth century, Middle German.[24]
- L5 (f): Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main, Ms. germ. 4° 2. Paper, second half of the fourteenth century, Rhine Franconian dialect. Contains various texts in rhyming couplets, including the Rosengarten and Laurin.[24]
- L6 (b): Öffentliche Bibliothek der Stadt Basel, Cod. G2 II 73. Paper, first half of the fifteenth century, from Basel(?).[24]
- L7 (Dess.): Stadtbibliothek Dessau, Hs. Georg. 224 4°. Paper, 1422, from Trier. Contains various poems in rhyming couplets, including the Rosengarten and Laurin.[24]
- L8 (m): in two libraries: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich, Cgm. 811, and Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Ms. germ. 8° 287, Fragment II. Paper, second quarter of the fifteenth century, from Wemding. In poor condition with great loss of text.[25]
- L9 (v): Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Cod. 2959. Paper, middle of fifteenth century, Bavarian. Collection of didactic love poems, but also includes Laurin.[26]
- L10 (w): Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Cod. 3007. Paper, 1472, Silesian dialect. Contains various poetic, pragmatic, and didactic texts. Contains the ending of Laurin according to the younger vulgate version.[26]
- L13 (z): Domherrenbibliothek Zeitz, Cod. 83. Paper, fifteenth century, from Merseburg or Zeitz. Contains a Latin grammar and various German texts.[26]
- L15 (r): Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich, Cgm. 5919. Paper, beginning of sixteenth century, from Regensburg. Contains both pragmatic and poetic texts, including the Wunderer and Laurin.[26]
- L16: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Cod. 636. Parchment. Contains Latin text with a pen trial writing Laurin, probably written in the early fourteenth century.[26]
- L17: vanished, possibly Bavarian parchment manuscript, probably from the fourteenth century. Contained Laurin and the Nibelungenlied, possibly other texts.[27]
- L18: Biblioteka Jagiellońska, Krakow, Berol. ms. germ. 4° 1497. Paper, fifteenth century, in Upper German or Middle German. Contains spiritual texts and the Rosengarten and Laurin.[27]
Younger vulgate version:
- L12 (s): Heldenbuch of Diebolt von Hanowe. Formerly Strasbourg City/Seminary Library, destroyed 1870.[28][26]
It is also found in several printings. The Younger vulgate version b (a metrical and stylistic reworking) is found in various printings after 1555.[29]
The "Walberan" version:
- L1 (K): Arnamagnæanske Institut Copenhagen, AM 32 fol. Parchment, beginning of fifteenth century, from Venice in Bavarian dialect.[15]
- L2 (M): formerly Archive of the Historischer Verein von Oberbayern, Munich, Manuscript Cahier I von 4° Nr. 6. Lost.[15]
The Dresdner Laurin:
- L11 (ß): Dresdner Heldenbuch. Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden, Msc. M 201. Paper, 1472, from Nuremberg(?).[26][30][31]
The Pressburger Laurin:
- L14 (α): formerly Cathedral Chapter Library Bratislava, lost. Breviary manuscript, on four empty pages the beginning of Laurin by a hand of the fifteenth century, Bavarian.[26]
Genre and interpretation
The choice to compose the poem in rhyming couplets rather than the stanzaic form typical for German heroic poetry means that the Laurin is written in the form typical of
Metrical form
Except for the Dresdner Laurin, all versions of Laurin are composed in
Laurein der sweig stille; a || do sprach die kongein gemait: b
'vil edler konick, ich wille a || gewynen euch ein gelait, b
so komen wir hin ausse. c || sol wir gefangen sein? d
wir habent nimant dausse, c || weder zwerg noch zwergellein.' d
The stanza can also be understood to be made up of eight short verses, taking the caesuras as line endings.[40]
Relation to the oral tradition
A connection exists between this story and a Tyrolian
The first element of Laurin's name (Laur) may be derived from Middle High German lûren, meaning to deceive.
Laurin is also connected to a legend about Dietrich's death. In the continuation to the
Medieval reception and modern legacy in South Tyrol
Laurin was a very popular text in the Middle Ages. Liechtenstein Castle in South Tyrol was decorated with frescoes based on the poem around 1400. Laurin's influence also extended beyond the German-speaking area. The Walberan manuscript L1, for instance, was likely produced by the German colony of merchants at Venice. The poem was translated into Czech in 1472, Danish around 1500, and printed in Middle Low German in 1560. The parallels to Walberan in Zebulons Buch discussed above also show an earlier reception of the poem in the thirteenth century.[49] The Jüngere Vulgatfassung continued to be printed in the early modern period, both as part of the printed Heldenbuch and separately.[29]
Through the rediscovery of the Laurin in the nineteenth century, the story of Dietrich and the dwarf king came to have a special meaning in the then
Editions
- Holz, Georg, ed. (1897). Laurin und der kleine Rosengarten. Halle a.d. Saale: Niemeyer. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- Lienert, Elisabeth; Kerth, Sonja; Vollmer-Eicken, eds. (2011). Laurin (2 vols). Berlin, Boston: de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110258196. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
Translations
Into German:
- Tuczay, Christa (1999). Die Aventiurehafte Dietrichepik: Laurin und Walberan, der Jüngere Sigenot, das Eckenlied, der Wunderer. Göppingen: Kümmerle. ISBN 3874528413. (translates the Walberan version)
Into English:
- Weber, Henry William; Jamieson, Robert; Scott, Walter (1814). "Of the Little Garden of Roses, and of Laurin, King of the Dwarfs". Illustrations of Northern Antiquities from the earlier Teutonic and Scandinavian Romances; being an abstract of the Book of Heroes and Nibelungen Lay; with translations from the old German, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic languages; with notes and dissertations. Edinburgh: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. pp. 149-166. Retrieved 8 April 2018. (Translates the younger vulgate version)
- The Saga of Didrik of Bern, with The Dwarf King Laurin. Translated by Cumpstey, Ian. Skadi Press. 2017. ISBN 0-9576-1203-6. (translates the Danish adaptation of Laurin)
Explanatory notes
References
- Citations
- ^ Lienert 2015, pp. 130–131.
- ISBN 9783643151544.
- ^ Lienert, Kerth & Vollmer-Eicken 2011, p. 226.
- ^ Dresdner Laurin Str. 126, 3. helkepllein[3]
- ^ a b Johnson (1990), p. 216.
- ^ Schönfelder, Kniebe & Müller (1920), p. 208.
- ^ Lienert, Kerth & Vollmer-Eicken (2011), p. 114.
- ^ Laurin (ältere Vulgatversion) v. 1089, gurthel, var. gurtelein.[7]
- ^ Schönfelder, Kniebe & Müller (1920), p. 209.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 156.
- ^ Heinzle (1985), col 627.
- ^ a b Heinzle 1999, p. 157.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 157–158.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 158–159.
- ^ a b c Heinzle 1999, p. 145.
- ^ a b Heinzle 1999, p. 159.
- ^ a b Millet 2008, p. 354.
- ^ Hoffmann 1974, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 161–162.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 159–160.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 152–153.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 155.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 145–146.
- ^ a b c d Heinzle 1999, p. 146.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 146–147.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Heinzle 1999, p. 147.
- ^ a b Heinzle 1999, p. 148.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 129.
- ^ a b Heinzle 1999, pp. 148–152.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 44.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 111.
- ^ Millet 2008, pp. 358–359.
- ^ Millet 2008, p. 359.
- ^ Hoffmann 1974, pp. 212–213.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 168–169.
- ^ Lienert 2015, p. 133.
- ^ Millet 2008, pp. 359–360.
- ^ a b Heinzle 1999, p. 154.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 153.
- ^ Hoffmann 1974, p. 209.
- ^ Hoffmann 1974, pp. 210–211.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 163–165.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 165.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 183.
- ^ a b Gillespie 1973, p. 89.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 161.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 8.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Lienert 2015, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 162.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, pp. 162–163.
- ^ Heinzle 1999, p. 163.
- Bibliography
- Gillespie, George T. (1973). Catalogue of Persons Named in German Heroic Literature, 700–1600: Including Named Animals and Objects and Ethnic Names. Oxford: Oxford University. ISBN 9780198157182.
- Handschriftencensus (2001). "Gesamtverzeichnis Autoren/Werke: 'Laurin'". Handschriftencensus. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- Heinzle J (1985) [1977]. "Laurin". In Ruh K, Keil G, Schröder W (eds.). Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. Vol. 5. Berlin, New York: Walter De Gruyter. cols 625–630. ISBN 978-3-11-022248-7.
- Heinzle, Joachim (1999). Einführung in die mittelhochdeutsche Dietrichepik. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter. pp. 58–82. ISBN 3-11-015094-8.
- Hoffmann, Werner (1974). Mittelhochdeutsche Heldendichtung. Berlin: Erich Schmidt. pp. 202–209. ISBN 3-503-00772-5.
- Johnson, Sidney M. (1990), "Medieval German Dwarfs: A Footnote to Gottfried's Melot", Gottfried Von Strassburg and the Medieval Tristan Legend: Papers from an Anglo-North American Symposium, Arthurian studies 2 3, D.S. Brewer, pp. 209–222, ISBN 9780854571468
- Lienert, Elisabeth (2015). Mittelhochdeutsche Heldenepik. Berlin: Erich Schmidt. pp. 130–134. ISBN 978-3-503-15573-6.
- Millet, Victor (2008). Germanische Heldendichtung im Mittelalter. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. pp. 332–370. ISBN 978-3-11-020102-4.
- Schönfelder, Emil; Kniebe, Rudolf; Müller, Peter, eds. (1920), "24. Aus dem Laurin", Lesebuch zur Einführung in die Ältere deutsche Dichtung, vol. 1, Frankfurt-am-Main: Diesterweg, pp. 206–209
External links
Facsimiles
- Dresden, State Library, Mscr. M 201, The Dresden Heldenbuch (MS L11)
- Das büechlin saget von dem rosengarten künig Laurin (1500 printing, Strasbourg)