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60-549: 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

120-579: A courtly manner toward women, something which, the poem notes, he is never said to have done. The poem thus appears to be turning away from the topic of heroic poetry to the subject matter of courtly romance. Joachim Heinzle suggests that Albrecht may have had the Dietrich poem Laurin in mind specifically, as it also concerns Dietrich's battle against a dwarf king and is characterized by extreme violence. Victor Millet argues that Albrecht, in deliberately turning away from traditional tales about Dietrich, shows that

180-450: A jester at Dietrich's court, in others the two are reconciled and become friends. 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

240-432: 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. A connection exists between this story and a Tyrolian Ladino folk-story in which

300-446: 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 jester back to Bern ( Verona ). In the " younger Vulgate version ", the story of how Laurin kidnapped Dietleib's sister

360-541: A mid-line caesura. Each line consists of three metrical feet, a caesura, then three additional feet. Due to the survival of late medieval melodies among the Meistersingers , it is possible to sing these stanzas in the traditional manner of German heroic poetry. This creates the following rhyme scheme: a||ba||bc||dc||d . Heinzle prints the following example from the Dresdner Laurin: Laurein der sweig stille;

420-405: A thousand years. Dietrich and Laurin then jump into a fiery mountain (i.e. volcano ) in order to reach Sinnels. The tale is reminiscent of a story told of the historical Theoderic the Great by Pope Gregory the Great : Gregory reports that the soul of Theoderic was dropped into Mount Etna for his sins. An unnamed dwarf is also responsible for taking Dietrich away after the final battle at Bern in

480-522: A version within these overarching five. The five overarching versions are: the so-called "older Vulgate version" ( ältere Vulgatversion ); the "younger Vulgate version" ( jüngere Vulgatversion ), which can be further split into versions a and b ; the "Walberan" version; the Dresdner Laurin; and the Pressburger Laurin. The poem was also translated into Czech and Danish . Manuscripts with

540-549: 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 likely originates from the region of South Tyrol , possibly as early as 1230, though all manuscripts are later. The poem has five extant versions. In each, it concerns Dietrich's fight against

600-674: Is attested both in Tyrol and in Thurgau , meaning the poet may come from either area. 19th century scholars attempted to ascribe the authorship of the Eckenlied , the Virginal , and the Sigenot to Albrecht due to the use of the same stanzaic form (the "Berner Ton") in all, as well as various supposed stylistic similarities, but this theory has been given up. The "Berner Ton" consists of thirteen lines rhyming in

660-415: 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

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720-542: Is possible that this is an authorial fiction, Albrecht is generally accepted as the genuine author of the poem. His being named, as opposed to the usual practice of anonymous heroic poems, likely marks Albrecht's ambition to write a poem more similar to a courtly romance. He is praised and mentioned as alive in Rudolf von Ems 's Alexander (c. 1230), but dead in Rudolf's Willehalm von Orlens (c. 1235/40). The family name "von Kemenaten"

780-457: Is possible to say when in the twelfth century and where the poem was composed. Like almost all German heroic poems, it is anonymous, but the "younger Vulgate version" claims the fictional poet Heinrich von Ofterdingen —who sings about Dietrich in a continuation to the poem Wartburgkrieg —as its author. There are five overarching versions, but due to the immense variability of the fantastical Dietrich poems, each manuscript can also be considered

840-600: Is the greatest hero of all time; Hildebrand objects that Dietrich has never experienced a twergenâventiure ( dwarf -adventure). At that point Dietrich walks in and is very angered by Hildebrand's private criticism. Hildebrand tells Dietrich where he can find such an adventure: the dwarf king Laurin has a rose-garden in the Tyrolian forest. He will fight any challenger who breaks the thread surrounding his rose garden . Dietrich and Witige immediately set off to challenge Laurin; Hildebrand and Dietleib follow secretly behind. Upon seeing

900-818: Is the opening strophe of the Nibelungenlied ( c.  1204 ). Middle High German Uns ist in alten mæren    wunders vil geseit von helden lobebæren,    von grôzer arebeit, von freuden, hôchgezîten,    von weinen und von klagen, von küener recken strîten    muget ir nu wunder hœren sagen. Modern German translation In alten Erzählungen wird uns viel Wunderbares berichtet von ruhmreichen Helden, von hartem Streit, von glücklichen Tagen und Festen, von Schmerz und Klage: vom Kampf tapferer Recken: Davon könnt auch Ihr nun Wunderbares berichten hören. Laurin (poem) Laurin or Der kleine Rosengarten ( The Small Rose Garden )

960-489: 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. In

1020-738: The Heldenbuch-Prosa , telling him "his kingdom is no longer in this world." 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 L 1 , for instance, was likely produced by the German colony of merchants at Venice . The poem

1080-587: The Laurin in the nineteenth century, the story of Dietrich and the dwarf king came to have a special meaning in the then Austrian region of South Tyrol , especially due to the works of travel journalist and saga-researcher Karl Felix Wolff . In 1907, a Laurin fountain was erected in Bozen , showing Dietrich wrestling Laurin to the ground. After South Tyrol became part of Italy, the fountain survived in its original form until 1934, when unidentified persons likely acting under

1140-517: The Laurin is written in the form typical of courtly romance . The manner in which Dietrich sets out to fight Laurin is also very reminiscent of that genre, while the destruction of the garden has parallels to Chrétien de Troyes 's Yvain and Hartmann von Aue 's Iwein . In this context, Dietrich's near refusal to spare Laurin must appear very negative, as must Dietrich and his heroes' newfound respect for Laurin once they discover he has kidnapped Künhilt. Laurin himself indicates that he considers

1200-746: The Rosengarten zu Worms , which may have been inspired by Laurin . The first element of Laurin's name ( Laur ) may be derived from Middle High German lûren , meaning to deceive. Alternatively, it may derive from a root *lawa- or *lauwa- meaning stone, also found in the name Loreley . Laurin is also connected to a legend about Dietrich's death. In the continuation to the Wartburgkrieg known as "Zebulons Buch," Wolfram von Eschenbach sings that Laurin told Dietrich that he only had fifty years to live. Laurin's cousin Sinnels, however, could allow Dietrich to live

1260-478: The dwarf King Laurin , which takes place when Dietrich and Witege destroy Laurin's magical rose garden. The heroes are subsequently invited into Laurin's kingdom inside a mountain when it is discovered that Laurin has kidnapped and married the sister of Dietleib, one of Dietrich's heroes. Laurin betrays the heroes and imprisons them, but they are able to defeat him and save Dietleib's sister. The different versions depict Laurin's fate differently: in some, he becomes

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1320-631: The 11th century, and all the East Central German dialects are a result of this expansion. "Judeo-German", the precursor of the Yiddish language, is attested in the 12th–13th centuries, as a variety of Middle High German written in Hebrew characters. The Middle High German period is generally dated from 1050 to 1350. An older view puts the boundary with (Early) New High German around 1500. There are several phonological criteria which separate MHG from

1380-647: The Goldemar, medical recipes, a Latin-German glossary of the names of herbs, and a second Dietrich poem, the Virginal are found. The manuscript is found today in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg (Hs. 80). The poem itself probably dates to sometime around 1230, as this the time when its author is attested. Goldemar is the only German heroic poem with a named author, Albrecht von Kemenaten. Though it

1440-533: The MHG period is characterised by a massive rise in population, terminated by the demographic catastrophe of the Black Death (1348). Along with the rise in population comes a territorial expansion eastwards ( Ostsiedlung ), which saw German-speaking settlers colonise land previously under Slavic control. Linguistically, the transition to Early New High German is marked by four vowel changes which together produce

1500-435: The approximate values of /ei/ , /iə/ , /ou/ , /øy/ , /eu/ , /yə/ , /uə/ , respectively. Middle High German pronouns of the first person refer to the speaker; those of the second person refer to an addressed person; and those of the third person refer to a person or thing of which one speaks. The pronouns of the third person may be used to replace nominal phrases . These have the same genders , numbers and cases as

1560-476: The beautiful rose-garden, Dietrich relents and decides that he does not want to harm anything so lovely. Witige, however, says that Laurin's pride must be punished, and not only breaks the thread, but tramples the entire rose garden. Almost immediately the dwarf Laurin, armed so wonderfully that Witige mistakes him for Michael the Archangel , appears, and demands the left foot and right hand of Witige as punishment for

1620-575: The beginning; in the Walberan version, the humanity and dignity of the dwarf is instead placed in the foreground, causing Dietrich to spare him and suggesting that Dietrich was wrong to attack the rose garden. Except for the Dresdner Laurin, all versions of Laurin are composed in rhyming couplets . The "Dresdner Laurin" is composed in a variation of the "Hildebrandston" known as the "Heunenweise" or "Hunnenweise" (the Hunnish melody), in which there are rhymes at

1680-493: The destruction of his rose garden a breech of law, by which Witege especially is placed in a bad light. The poem can be seen to deal with the senselessness of such knightly adventure. Nevertheless, Laurin's characterization becomes increasingly negative as the poem progresses, although he is never shown to be entirely evil. The various reworkings try to solve some of these ambiguities: in the Dresdner version, Laurin appears evil from

1740-419: The destruction of the garden. He fights and defeats Witige, but Dietrich then decides that he cannot allow his vassal to lose his limbs, and fights Laurin himself. Initially, Dietrich is losing, but Hildebrand arrives and tells Dietrich to steal the dwarf's cloak of invisibility ( helkeplein ) and strength-granting belt then fight him on foot (the dwarf had been riding a deer-sized horse) wrestling him to

1800-552: 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. 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

1860-405: The dwarf, and the poem ends with a courtly feast. 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. The Laurin is transmitted in at least eighteen manuscripts, dating from the fourteenth century until the beginning of

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1920-496: The dwarfs have a girl with them, and immediately falls in love. The dwarfs attempt to hide the girl, and their king, Goldemar, responds when Dietrich asks them about her. The text breaks off in the middle of his speech. From the Heldenbuch-Prosa we know that the girl's name is Herlin, a princess from Portugal. King Goldemar had abducted her after her father was slain by heathens, but the girl had resisted Goldemar's attempts to sleep with her. Dietrich then rescued and married her. From

1980-688: The example of Good King Arthur who with knightly spirit knew how to strive for praise. In his day He lived so well That he wore the crown of honour And his name still does so. The truth of this is known To his countrymen: They affirm that he still lives today: He won such fame that Although his body died His name lives on. Of sinful shame He will forever be free Who follows his example. Commentary: This text shows many typical features of Middle High German poetic language. Most Middle High German words survive into modern German in some form or other: this passage contains only one word ( jehen 'say' 14) which has since disappeared from

2040-651: The exception of Thuringian, the East Central German dialects are new dialects resulting from the Ostsiedlung and arise towards the end of the period. Middle High German texts are written in the Latin alphabet . There was no standardised spelling, but modern editions generally standardise according to a set of conventions established by Karl Lachmann in the 19th century. There are several important features in this standardised orthography which are not characteristics of

2100-548: The figure in the poem as questionable. Middle High German While there is no standard MHG, the prestige of the Hohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language ( mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache ) based on Swabian , an Alemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to use normalised spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make

2160-456: The following consonant spellings: The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of classical MHG. The spellings indicated are the standard spellings used in modern editions; there is much more variation in the manuscripts. Notes: MHG diphthongs are indicated by the spellings ⟨ei⟩ , ⟨ie⟩ , ⟨ou⟩ , ⟨öu⟩ and ⟨eu⟩ , ⟨üe⟩ , ⟨uo⟩ , and they have

2220-515: The following scheme: aabccbdedefxf . The following stanza from Lienert's edition of Goldemar can serve as a typical example: Helmut de Boor argues that, even if Albrecht was not the author of all four poems in the "Berner Ton", he was clearly the inventor of such a complicated metrical form, an opinion shared by Werner Hoffmann. This would make Albrecht the "inventor" of the fantastical poems about Dietrich. Joachim Heinzle, however, has argued that Albrecht's metrical form actually shows him to be using

2280-458: The following vowel spellings: Grammars (as opposed to textual editions) often distinguish between ⟨ë⟩ and ⟨e⟩ , the former indicating the mid-open /ɛ/ which derived from Germanic /e/ , the latter (often with a dot beneath it) indicating the mid-close /e/ which results from primary umlaut of short /a/ . No such orthographic distinction is made in MHG manuscripts. The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses

2340-484: The form of the "Berner Ton" given above, rather than that found in the earliest attested example, the single Eckenlied stanza transmitted in the Codex Buranus . Heinzle concludes from this fact that Albrecht adapted an already existing form. The poem begins with a sharp critique of existing heroic poetry as a glorification of brutality. Albrecht will instead tell a tale of how Dietrich came to fall in love and behave in

2400-419: The ground. Laurin, now defeated, pleads for mercy, but Dietrich has become enraged and vows to kill the dwarf. Finally, Laurin turns to Dietleib, informing him he had kidnapped and married the hero's sister Künhilt, so that he was now Dietleib's brother-in-law. Dietleib hides the dwarf and prepares to fight Dietrich, but Hildebrand makes peace between them. Dietrich and Laurin are reconciled, and Laurin invites

2460-489: 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

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2520-416: The heroic material could now be invented freely rather than told and retold. Notwithstanding Millet's opinion, some aspects of the Goldemar may still be connected to an oral tradition. Goldemar, for instance, shares his name with a spirit said to haunt houses. He is attested in the work of fifteenth-century historian Person Gobelinus as Rex Goldemer . Heinzle sees this a connection between this spirit and

2580-1113: The impetus for this set of social changes came largely from France, many of the new words were either loans from French or influenced by French terms. The French loans mainly cover the areas of chivalry, warfare and equipment, entertainment, and luxury goods: Two highly productive suffixes were borrowed from French in this period: The text is the opening of Hartmann von Aue 's Iwein ( c.  1200 ) Swer an rehte güete wendet sîn gemüete, dem volget sælde und êre. des gît gewisse lêre künec Artûs der guote, der mit rîters muote nâch lobe kunde strîten. er hât bî sînen zîten gelebet alsô schône daz er der êren krône dô truoc und noch sîn name treit. des habent die wârheit sîne lantliute: sî jehent er lebe noch hiute: er hât den lop erworben, ist im der lîp erstorben, sô lebet doch iemer sîn name. er ist lasterlîcher schame iemer vil gar erwert, der noch nâch sînem site vert. [1] [5] [10] [15] [20] Whoever to true goodness Turns his mind He will meet with fortune and honour. We are taught this by

2640-401: The language. But many words have changed their meaning substantially. Muot (6) means 'state of mind' (cognates with mood ), where modern German Mut means courage. Êre (3) can be translated with 'honour', but is quite a different concept of honour from modern German Ehre ; the medieval term focuses on reputation and the respect accorded to status in society. The text

2700-412: The late medieval romance Reinfrid von Braunschweig we also know that Dietrich had to defeat various giants who were at Goldemar's command. In the process, Dietrich and his companions destroyed the Trutmunt forest and the dwarfs' mountain. The Goldemar is transmitted in a single paper manuscript dating from the middle of the fourteenth-century (c. 1355-1357). Only eight leaves survive, on which, besides

2760-418: 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

2820-726: The neuter singular, is used only with prepositions : von diu , ze diu , etc. In all the other genders and in the plural it is substituted with the dative: von dëm , von dër , von dën . Middle High German nouns were declined according to four cases ( nominative , genitive , dative , accusative ), two numbers (singular and plural ) and three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), much like Modern High German, though there are several important differences. Verbs were conjugated according to three moods ( indicative , subjunctive (conjunctive) and imperative ), three persons, two numbers (singular and plural ) and two tenses ( present tense and preterite ) There

2880-415: The older Vulgate version : Younger vulgate version : It is also found in several printings. The Younger vulgate version b (a metrical and stylistic reworking) is found in various printings after 1555. The "Walberan" version : The Dresdner Laurin : The Pressburger Laurin : The choice to compose the poem in rhyming couplets rather than the stanzaic form typical for German heroic poetry means that

2940-485: The original manuscripts : A particular problem is that many manuscripts are of much later date than the works they contain; as a result, they bear the signs of later scribes having modified the spellings, with greater or lesser consistency, in accord with conventions of their time. In addition, there is considerable regional variation in the spellings that appear in the original texts, which modern editions largely conceal. The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses

3000-435: The original nominal phrase. The possessive pronouns mîn, dîn, sîn, ir, unser, iuwer are used like adjectives and hence take on adjective endings following the normal rules. The inflected forms of the article depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. The definite article has the same plural forms for all three genders. Definite article (strong) The instrumental case , only existing in

3060-584: The phonemic system of modern German, though not all dialects participated equally in these changes: The centres of culture in the ENHG period are no longer the courts but the towns. The dialect map of Germany by the end of the Middle High German period was much the same as that at the start of the 20th century, though the boundary with Low German was further south than it now is: Central German ( Mitteldeutsch ) Upper German ( Oberdeutsch ) With

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3120-414: The poem was reimagined as a folk saga and became part of South Tyrolean popular folklore. 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 Witige and Hildebrand . Witige says that Dietrich

3180-550: The preceding Old High German period: Culturally, the two periods are distinguished by the transition from a predominantly clerical written culture, in which the dominant language was Latin , to one centred on the courts of the great nobles, with German gradually expanding its range of use. The rise of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in Swabia makes the South West the dominant region in both political and cultural terms. Demographically,

3240-548: The rose garden is the source of the morning-glow on the Alps, localized at the Rosengarten group . Heinzle, however, while not dismissing this theory entirely, believes that, since this story is only attested from the 17th century onward, it is more likely to have been influenced by the text than the other way around. Others have attempted to connect the rose garden to a cult of the dead , which Heinzle dismisses entirely. A rose garden also plays an important role in another Dietrich poem,

3300-400: The sixteenth century, and in eleven printings dating from 1479 to 1590. The text was first composed some time before 1300; Heinzle suggests it may have been composed before 1230, as it appears that Albrecht von Kemenaten may have known it when he composed his own poem about Dietrich and a dwarf king, Goldemar. The poem may have been composed in Tyrol . Victor Millet does not believe that it

3360-409: 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

3420-407: The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech. The preterite conjugation went as follows: The present tense conjugation went as follows: The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech. The preterite conjugation went as follows: In the Middle High German period, the rise of a courtly culture and the changing nature of knighthood was reflected in changes to the vocabulary. Since

3480-514: The written language appear more consistent than it actually is in the manuscripts. Scholars are uncertain as to whether the literary language reflected a supra-regional spoken language of the courts. An important development in this period was the Ostsiedlung , the eastward expansion of German settlement beyond the Elbe - Saale line which marked the limit of Old High German . This process started in

3540-427: Was a present participle, a past participle and a verbal noun that somewhat resembles the Latin gerund , but that only existed in the genitive and dative cases. An important distinction is made between strong verbs (that exhibited ablaut ) and weak verbs (that didn't). Furthermore, there were also some irregular verbs. The present tense conjugation went as follows: The bold vowels demonstrate umlaut ;

3600-517: 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. The Jüngere Vulgatfassung continued to be printed in the early modern period, both as part of the printed Heldenbuch and separately. Through the rediscovery of

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