Misplaced Pages

#454545

29-636: The poem is named after Wessobrunn Abbey , a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria , where the sole manuscript containing the text was formerly kept. The abbey was dissolved in 1803 and its library incorporated into the Bavarian Royal Library in Munich , under the signature Clm 22053. The script of the Latin title is uncial , that of the text Caroline minuscule . Paleographic characteristics of

58-548: A Carolingian Empire Imperial abbey (i.e., independent of other terrorial lordships and answerable only to the monarchy) In about 900 it became a property of the Bishop of Augsburg . In 955 the abbey was destroyed by the Hungarians , on which occasion Abbot Thiente and six of his monks suffered martyrdom, while the remaining three fled to Andechs with the sacred relics. The site was then occupied by canons until 1065, when

87-491: A lmahtico cot, m anno m iltisto, enti m anake mit- m an, c ootlihhe g eista; enti c ot heilac, cot a lmahtico, du himil enti e rda chiuuorahtos, [10] enti du m annun so m anac c oot for ch ipi: for g ip mir in dino g anada rehta g alaupa, enti côtan uu illeon, uu istom enti spahida, [ t ugida] enti craft t iuflun [15] za uu idarstantanne enti arc za pi uu isanne, enti dinan uu illeon za chi u urchanne. The poem has been set to music many times in

116-429: Is a convolution of five parts, with a total of 98 folia (numbered to 99, fol. 8 missing). The poem is contained at the end of the second fascicle (foll. 22-66), on foll. 65v/66r, following a collection of Latin excerpts on theology, geography and metrology. The date of composition is put in the reign of Charlemagne , roughly in the 790s (estimates range from "shortly after 772" to "shortly after 800"). The manuscript itself

145-482: Is otherwise no evidence of the truth of the story. It is likely that the founders were a local noble family called Rott. The first monks came from Niederaltaich Abbey under Ilsung, the first abbot. The church was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul . During the rule of the second abbot, Adelmar (799–831), the monastery was transferred from the Diocese of Brixen to that of Augsburg . In 788 Wessobrunn became

174-656: Is the Old English io rune (ᛡ) and the Younger Futhark h rune (ᚼ). Perrett (1938) went as far as attempting the reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon original of the poem. The text was printed, without attempts at an interpretation, by Bernhard Pez in 1721, again in Monumenta Boica in 1767, under the title De Poeta * Kazungali , and again by Johann Wilhelm Petersen, Veränderungen und Epochen der deutschen Hauptsprache (1787). The first edition of

203-453: The 20th century. Arrangements include those by Heinrich Kaminski as part of the work Triptychon for voice and organ (1931), and by his pupil Carl Orff , published as part of the series Schulwerk (1950–54). Other settings include those by Hans Josef Wedig, op. 11, (Version 1) (1937), for male choir and organ, and a 1951 motet by Leopold Katt (1917–1965), Mir gestand der Sterblichen Staunen als der Wunder grösstes... (a free translation of

232-481: The accession of Ulrich Stocklin (1438–43), who had previously been a monk at Tegernsee Abbey and acquired considerable fame as a writer of sacred hymns. Abbot Heinrich Zach (1498–1508) installed a printing press at the monastery. In 1680 Abbot Leonard Weiss (1671–96) began the rebuilding of the church and monastery on a far more lavish scale in the Baroque style, using the abbey's own stuccoists. He

261-690: The edition of a large concordance of the Bible which was published in 1751. This famous piece of Christian literature was not produced at Wessobrunn itself but was preserved in the monastic library for centuries, until at the secularisation the library contents were transferred to the Bavarian State Library , where the manuscript is now located. 47°53′N 11°02′E  /  47.883°N 11.033°E  / 47.883; 11.033 Wilhelm Wackernagel Wilhelm Wackernagel (23 April 1806, Berlin – 21 December 1869, Basel )

290-1671: The emphasis of a creatio ex nihilo is genuinely Christian and not found in ancient cosmogonies. [65v] 5 10 [66r] 15 20       De poet a. D at ᛡ fregin ih mit firahim  firi uuizzo meiſta. Dat ero ni  uuaſ· noh ufhimil. noh paum  noh perecniuuaſ. ninohheinig  noh ſunna niſtein· noh mano  niliuhta. noh der maręoſeo. D o dar niuuiht niuuaſ enteo  ni uuenteo. ⁊ do uuaſ der eino  al mahtico cot manno miltiſto. ⁊ dar uuarun auh manake mit  inan: cootlihhe geiſta. ⁊ cot  heilac. C ot almahtico· du himil  ⁊ erda ᛡ uuorahtoſ.  ⁊ du mannun ſomanac coot  forᛡpi· for gipmir indina  ganada rehta galaupa:  ⁊ cotan uuilleon· uuiſtóm·  enti ſpahida. ⁊ craft· tiuflun  za uuidar ſtantanne. ⁊ arc  zapi uuiſanne. ⁊ dinan uuil  leon za ᛡ uurchanne: De poeta Dat ga f regin ih mit f irahim f iriuuizzô meista, Dat e ro ni uuas noh û fhimil noh p aum noh p ereg ni uuas ni [ s terro] nohheinîg noh s unna ni s cein noh m âno ni liuhta noh der m areo-sêo. Dô dar ni uu iht ni uu as enteô ni uu enteô, enti dô uuas der eino al m ahtîco cot, m anno m iltisto, enti (dar uuârun auh) m anakê m it inan cootlîhhê geistâ. Enti cot heilac, cot almahtîco, dû himil enti erda gauuorahtôs, enti dû mannun sô manac coot forgâpi, forgip mir in dînô ganâdâ rehta galaupa enti côtan uuilleon uuîstôm enti spâhida, [tugida] enti craft tiuflun za uuidar stantanne enti arc za piuuîsanne enti dînan uuilleon za gauurchanne.   This I found, from men, as

319-433: The famous Wessobrunn Prayer and also of a Baroque school of stucco workers and plasterers in the 18th century. The monastery was founded in 753. According to legend, it was founded after Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria , while hunting nearby, had a vision of three springs, which his servant Wezzo duly discovered the next day. (The name means Wesso or Wezzo's spring(s) ). The three springs are still to be seen, but there

SECTION 10

#1732765962455

348-617: The first section reflect the language and idiom of Germanic epic poetry, using alliteration and poetic formulae known from the Norse , Anglo-Saxon and Old Saxon traditions ( ero ... noh ufhimil , manno miltisto , dat gafregin ih ). The cosmological passages in the poem have frequently been compared to similar material in the Voluspa , and in the Rigvedic Nasadiya Sukta . Against this, Wackernagel (1827:17ff) holds that

377-568: The foremost wisdom, That neither earth there was, nor sky above; Nor tree, nor hill there was. Nor stars there were; nor shone the sun. Nor moon-light there was, nor the salty sea. Nothing there was: neither end, nor limit. And there was the One Almighty God, The mildest of men; and many were with them, Godly Ghosts: and God the Holy. God Almighty! Thou wroughtest Heaven and Earth; And to men Thou gavest so much good. Give me

406-738: The opening line based on the translation by Karl Wolfskehl ). One of the most unusual settings is by the German composer Helmut Lachenmann in his Consolation II (1968), in which component phonetic parts of the words of the prayer are vocalised separately by the 16 solo voices in a texture of vocal ' musique concrète '. More recent interpretations by composers in the classical tradition include those by Felix Werder in 1975 for voice and small orchestra, and by Michael Radulescu in two works: De Poëta in 1988 for four choirs and bells, and in another arrangement of 1991 re-worked in 1998 for soprano and organ. Canadian-born composer Joy Decoursey-Porter features

435-436: The poem's Latin header. The poem is in two sections: the first is a praise of creation in nine lines of alliterative verse. This is followed by a prayer in prose: Grimm (1812) and Massmann (1824) made attempts at the reconstruction of alliterating verses in the second part, but following Wilhelm Wackernagel (1827:9), the second part is now mostly thought to be intended as prose with occasional alliteration. Some features in

464-630: The provost Adalbero restored the Rule of St. Benedict and governed as abbot until his death in 1110. In the first year of his abbacy the monastic church was rebuilt and was dedicated by Bishop Embrico of Augsburg . Adalbero was succeeded by Sigihard (1110–28), during whose reign a separate church was built for the people of the surrounding area, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in 1128. Under Blessed Waltho (1129–57) Wessobrunn enjoyed its first era of great spiritual and temporal prosperity. He

493-563: The right belief in Thy grace; And a good will, wisdom, and also prudence; Virtue wherewith to withstand the Devils, to drive away Evil, and to work Thy will. Grimm (1812) and Massmann (1824) agree in the analysis of the first six verses, as shown above. They differ in their analysis of verses seven to nine, and they attempt to restitute an alliterative structure in the "prose" portion (for a total of 15 and 17 verses, respectively), as follows: enti do

522-496: The script support production in Bavaria, with some Swabian influence, consistent with an origin in southern Bavaria, likely in the Diocese of Augsburg . The manuscript was probably not written at Wessobrunn, however (the original monastery at Wessobrunn having been destroyed in a Magyar raid in 955). Suggestions for the origin of the manuscript include Regensburg , Benediktbeuern , Staffelsee and Augsburg itself. The manuscript

551-548: The text in her piece for SSAATTBB a capella voices, There Was the One . Medieval folk groups have adapted the text, including Estampie in their album Fin Amor (2002), and In Extremo in Mein rasend Herz (2005). Wessobrunn Abbey Wessobrunn Abbey ( Kloster Wessobrunn ) was a Benedictine monastery near Weilheim in Bavaria , Germany . It is celebrated as the home of

580-489: The text with philological commentary and translation is due to F. D. Gräter (1797). Gräter also included a facsimile of a copy by Wessobrunn librarian Anselm Ellinger (1758–1816). Gräter's edition was improved upon by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. The word Kazungali printed in the 1767 transcription was interpreted as the name of the poem's author, but this was recognized as mistaken by Docen (1809). Rather,

609-442: The theologians Thomas Ringmayr (d. 1652), Thomas Erhard (d. 1743), Veremund Eisvogl (d. 1761), Alphonse Campi (d. 1769), Ulrich Mittermayr (d. 1770), Virgil Sedlmayr (d. 1772), Sympert Schwarzhuber (d. 1795); the canonists Gregor Zallwein (d. 1766) and Johann Kleinmayern (the last abbot of Wessobrunn; d. 1810); and the librarian and scientist Anselm Ellinger (d. 1816). Among these Leutner, Campi, Eisvogl, and Mittermayr collaborated in

SECTION 20

#1732765962455

638-496: The word enti "and" (with one exception) by Tironian et (⁊), and by the use of a "star-rune" 🞵 (a bindrune combining g and i ) to represent the syllable ga- shared by only one other manuscript, also Bavarian, viz., Arundel MS 393 in the British Library . This rune is analogous to the gilch rune in the so-called " Marcomannic runes " of Hrabanus Maurus ( De Inventione Litterarum ); also comparable in shape

667-470: The word kazungali (equivalent to modern German Gezüngel ) is a gloss for "poetry". It is not found on the page of the poem, but four pages earlier (fol. 63r ), where [ars] poetica is glossed with " x kazungali " (with an "asterisk" symbol reminiscent of the "star-rune" but with horizontal bar). The editors of Mon. Boi. were thus inspired to transfer the Old High German gloss for "poetry" to

696-676: Was a German-Swiss philologist specializing in Germanic studies . He was the father of Indo-Europeanist Jacob Wackernagel . Wackernagel studied Classical and Germanic literature at the University of Berlin as a pupil of August Boeckh and Karl Lachmann . In 1833, he moved to Basel, where from 1835 to 1869, he was a professor of German language and literature at the university . While at Basel, he turned down offers for professorships in Berlin, Munich , Tübingen , and Vienna . He

725-537: Was also instrumental in the formation of the Bavarian Congregation in 1684 and joined his abbey to it. The abbey was dissolved in 1803 in the course of the secularisation of Bavaria, when it came into the possession of a certain De Montot. From 1810 the site was extensively exploited for building materials to rebuild the nearby town of Weilheim, which had been damaged in a fire. What remained in 1861

754-473: Was der ei no a lmahtico cot, m anno m iltisto, enti m anake mit imo, c ootlihhe g eista, enti c ot heilac. cot a lmahtico, du himil enti e rda chiworahtos, [10] enti du m annun so m anac coot forchipi, for g ip mir in dinero g anada rehta g alaupa enti cotan w illeon, w istom enti spahida, [ t ugida] enti craft t iuflun za widar stantanne, enti arc za pi w isanne, enti dînan w illeon za chi w urchanne. [15] e nti do uuas der ei no

783-428: Was responsible for a number of unusually fine buildings. Also under Waltho the nunnery attached to the abbey between about 1100 and 1220 was of note as the home of Blessed Wulfhildis and Diemoth . In or around 1220 the church burnt down, and the monastery complex was extensively rebuilt at this time. In 1401 the abbots of Wessobrunn were granted the right of pontifical insignia. A new era of great prosperity began with

812-501: Was saved by Professor Johann Nepomuk Sepp , who bought the site and preserved it. In 1900 it was acquired by Baron von Cramer-Klett. From the 16th century to the secularisation of Wessobrunn in 1803, its monks displayed a continuous rare literary activity and some of them acquired fame as authors and teachers in various schools of Germany. Among the best known are: the historians Stephan Leopolder (d. 1532) and Cölestin Leutner (d. 1759);

841-401: Was written in the early 800s, most likely the years just predating 814. The language has some Bavarian characteristics ( cootlîh, paum, pereg ) besides traces of Low German or Anglo-Saxon influence, specifically in the first line ( dat is Low German; gafregin ih parallels OS gifragn ik and AS ȝefraeȝn ic ). Anglo-Saxon influence is further suggested by the scribe's representation of

#454545