Waltharius

Waltharius

▪ Latin poem
      a Latin heroic poem of the 9th or 10th century dealing with Germanic hero legend. Its author was once thought to be the Swiss monk Ekkehard I the Elder (d. 973), but research since 1941 has determined that the author was probably a Bavarian, one Geraldus, or Gerald, who was certainly the author of the metrical prologue.

      The action of the 1,456-line poem is set in the time of the migrations of the peoples. Threatened by the Huns under Attila, the kings of the Franks, of the Burgundians, and of Aquitaine decide to pay tribute and give hostages: Gibicho gives his noble follower Hagano; Heriricus, his daughter Hiltgunt; and Alphere, his son Waltharius—i.e., Walter of Aquitaine. The three children are educated by the Huns in a manner suited to their station.

      Hagano escapes when it is learned that Gibicho has died and his son Guntharius does not intend to continue the tribute. In order to bind Waltharius to him, Attila proposes that he should marry a princess of the Hun realm; but he and Hiltgunt have been betrothed as children, and they plan an escape. Their presence in his realm is revealed to Guntharius as they cross the Rhine River. Hagano recognizes from their description who they are, but Guntharius insists on pursuing them to take their treasure. The rest, and by far the larger part, of the poem is devoted to his attempts to do so.

      When Waltharius sees the danger, he takes up his position in a narrow ravine in the Vosges, where only one adversary can approach at a time, and there follows a series of single combats (skillfully varied by the poet) of Waltharius with the 11 warriors of Guntharius, all of whom Waltharius kills. After resting for the night, he and Hiltgunt continue their journey and are attacked in open country by Guntharius and Hagano, who has hitherto refrained from taking arms against his friend but is finally persuaded by his master that his duty to him now requires it. Guntharius, Hagano, and Waltharius are all seriously wounded, but none is killed; and Waltharius and Hiltgunt continue on their way.

      The story became well known in Germany, and there is an account, albeit with considerable differences, in the Norse Thidriks saga. Two short fragments of Waldere in Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse are clearly related, in spite of differences; they are not believed to predate Waltharius. It is possible that both Waldere and Waltharius are derived from a lost Germanic heroic lay; three of the principal characters, Attila, Gunther, and Hagen, are known from other poems of the heroic age. However, the part of the poem containing the single combats draws heavily on Latin literature.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Waltharius — Waltharius, a Latin poem founded on German popular tradition, relates the exploits of the west Gothic hero Walter of Aquitaine.HistoryOur knowledge of the author, Ekkehard, a monk of St. Gall, is due to a later Ekkehard, known as Ekkehard IV (d.… …   Wikipedia

  • Waltharius — Waltharius,   Waltharilied, mittellateinisches Epos des 9. oder 10. Jahrhunderts (1 455 Hexameter); es schildert in Anlehnung an Vorbilder wie Vergil, Statius und Prudentius die Flucht der Königskinder Walther von Aquitanien und seiner… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Waltharius — Waltharius, so v. w. Walther von Aquitanien …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Waltharius — Waltharĭus, Walter von Aquitanien, s. Eckehart …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Waltharius — Ekkehard compone el poema Waltharius, en Illustrierte Literaturgeschichte (Historia de la literatura ilustrada) de Otto von Leixner, Leipzig 1880. Waltharius es un poema latino que se basa en una tradición popular alemana, relacionada con las… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Waltharius — Vorstellungen des Historismus vom Mittelalter: „Ekkehard dichtet das Walthariuslied“ Der Waltharius (= Walthari Lied) ist eine lateinische Heldendichtung wohl des 10. Jahrhunderts. Der Dichter gestaltet in 1455 Hexametern die germanische Walther… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Waldere — Der so genannte Waldere ist die fragmentarische Überlieferung einer angelsächsischen Dichtung über den germanischen Helden Walther. Die 63 Zeilen des Waldere sind die einzige Spur der Walther Sage in der altenglischen Literatur.[1] Die Geschichte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Waldere — (ninth or 10th century)    The Waldere is a fragmentary OLD ENGLISH poem preserved on two pages today kept in the Royal Library of Copenhagen (Ny Kgl. s. ms. 167b), comprising 63 verses in which two, perhaps three, speeches are given; the first… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Waltharilied — Vorstellungen des Historismus vom Mittelalter: „Ekkehard dichtet das Walthariuslied“ Der Waltharius (= Walthari Lied) ist eine lateinische Heldendichtung wohl des 10. Jahrhunderts. Der Dichter gestaltet in 1455 Hexametern die germanische Walther… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hagen von Tronje — Hagen. Aus dem Nibelungenzyklus am Marmorpalais in Potsdam Hagen ist eine Figur in verschiedenen Werken der Nibelungensage und mit ihr verwandter Sagen. Im Nibelungenlied trägt er den Beinamen „von Tronje“, in der Thidrekssaga „von Troia“.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”