Palästinalied
The Palästinalied (Palestine Song) is a song written in the early 13th century by Walther von der Vogelweide, the most celebrated German medieval lyric poet. The poem is written in Middle High German. It is one of the few songs by Walter for which a melody has survived.[1] The oldest source for the melody is the Münster fragment, which is dated to the early 14th century.
Text
Manuscript A (the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift) is the oldest source of the text (dated to the late 13th century), giving seven stanzas. Other manuscripts have up to eleven stanzas, for a total of thirteen distinct stanzas. Of these, one (the third stanza) is clearly younger than the original composition. On the other five stanzas not in manuscript A, there is no expert consensus as to whether they should be regarded as Walter's.
The Palästinalied was written at the time of the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221).[2] Its subject is the Christian gospel told from the perspective of a pilgrim setting foot in the Holy Land. The song's conclusion refers to the crusades themselves, asserting that, in view of the claim of all three Abrahamic religions to the land of Palestine, the Christian claim is just (Al diu werlt diu strîtet her / Wir sîn an der rehten ger / Reht ist, daz er uns gewer "All the world is warring here [in the Holy Land] / Our claim is the just one / It is right that He [God] grant it").
Original Middle High German |
Modern German translation
2. Schöne Länder, reich und herrlich,
|
Modern English translation
2. Lands, the greatest, goodliest, fairest,
|
The third stanza of the song was not a part of Walther's original composition, but appears in nearly all modern versions of it.
3. Hie liez er sich reine toufen, |
3. Hier ließ er, der Reine sich taufen,
|
3. Here He was baptized with water,
|
After this insertion, the song continues:
4. Dô ér sich wolte über úns erbarmen, |
4. Als er sich unser erbarmen wollte,
5. Von hier fuhr der Sohn zur Hölle,
6. Nachdem er dort den Teufel besiegte,
7. Danach verweilte er in dem Land
8. In diesem Land hat er
9. Nicht wie unsere Landrichter täten
10. Ihr laßt euch dessen nicht verdrießen,
11. Christen, Juden und Heiden
|
4. At the most compass'nate hour
5. Down to hell the Son descended
6. When He quelled the fiend and ended
7. Forty days again he wandered
8. Here a day of dreadful summons
9. Verdicts of all earthly trial
10. Now do not ignore,
11. That this land they do inherit
|
12. Mê dann hundert tûsent wunder |
12. Nun lasst euch davon nicht verdrießen,
13. Meine Dame, durch eure Güte
|
Melody
The complete melody is preserved in in the Münster fragment (MS Z)
Modern reception
With the increased popularity of Medieval rock, Neofolk and related musical styles in the late 1980s and 1990s, the Palästinalied became a sort of staple song for such genres and is now well known to modern audiences due to performances by mainly German bands, including (among others):
- Ougenweide (album All die Weil Ich Mag, 1974)
- Corvus Corax (album Congregatio, 1991)
- Radio Tarifa (album Rumba Argelina, 1993)
- Qntal (album Qntal II, 1995)
- Estampie (album Crusaders, 1996)
- In Extremo (album Weckt die Toten!, 1998)
- Djembe (album Хиты Средневековья, 1999)
- Mediaeval Baebes (album Undrentide, 2000)
- Datura Medieval Music (album Alpha et Omega, 2001)
- Finisterra (album Kein Evoë - Kein Requiem, 2002)
- Unto Ashes (EP I Cover You With Blood, 2003)
- Heimataerde (instrumental), album Gotteskrieger (2005)
- Eisenfunk (Dance/electronic), album Schmerzfrequenz (2005)
- Omnia (in "Teutates," album PaganFolk, 2006)
- Luc Arbogast (album Hortus Dei, 2006)
- Folkstone (album Sgangogatt, 2011)
- In Extremo (album Quid Pro Quo, 2016)
- The Early Music Consort of London (album Music of the Crusades)
Palästinalied-Projekt is a compilation of 20 performances of the song (2002; Palästinalied at Discogs).
The Austrian Ensemble for Early Music Dulamans Vröudenton recorded a reconstructionist performance of "Palästinalied".[16]
Lou Harrison's String Quartet Set's 1st movement takes much of its melody from this song.
See also
References
- ↑ Konzett, Matthias (2000). "Walther von der Vogelweide". Encyclopedia of German Literature (first ed.). London, England: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 977. ISBN 1-57958-138-2. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ↑ Walther's presence in Vienna is recorded for 1217, and again for 1219, after the return of Duke Leopold VI from the crusade. It is not known whether Walther himself participated in Leopold's crusade.
- ↑ Frank Carr Nicholson, "Walther Von Der Vogelweide," in Old German Love Songs: Translated from the Minnesingers of the 12th to 14th Centuries (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 71-73. (text was published in 1907, making it part of the public domain in the United States of America)
- ↑ "Walther von der Vogelweide: Palästinalied". TURBA DELIRANTIUM. Turba Delirantium. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ↑ Frank Carr Nicholson, "Walther Von Der Vogelweide," in Old German Love Songs: Translated from the Minnesingers of the 12th to 14th Centuries (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 71-73. (text was published in 1907, making it part of the public domain in the United States of America)
- ↑ "Walther von der Vogelweide: Palästinalied". TURBA DELIRANTIUM. Turba Delirantium. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ↑ "Walther von der Vogelweide: Palästinalied". TURBA DELIRANTIUM. Turba Delirantium. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ↑ "Palästinalied". lyricstranslate.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ↑ Frank Carr Nicholson, "Walther Von Der Vogelweide," in Old German Love Songs: Translated from the Minnesingers of the 12th to 14th Centuries (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 71-73. (text was published in 1907, making it part of the public domain in the United States of America)
- ↑ "Palästinalied". lyricstranslate.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ↑ Frank Carr Nicholson, "Walther Von Der Vogelweide," in Old German Love Songs: Translated from the Minnesingers of the 12th to 14th Centuries (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 71-73. (text was published in 1907, making it part of the public domain in the United States of America)
- ↑ "Palästinalied". lyricstranslate.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ↑ "Palästinalied". lyricstranslate.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ↑ Frank Carr Nicholson, "Walther Von Der Vogelweide," in Old German Love Songs: Translated from the Minnesingers of the 12th to 14th Centuries (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 71-73. (text was published in 1907, making it part of the public domain in the United States of America)
- ↑ "Walther von der Vogelweide: Palästinalied". TURBA DELIRANTIUM. Turba Delirantium. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ↑ Listen/Anhören altemusik.net
- Meinolf Schumacher: "Die Konstituierung des „Heiligen Landes“ durch die Literatur. Walthers „Palästinalied“ und die Funktion der europäischen Kreuzzugsdichtung." In Orientdiskurse in der deutschen Literatur, edited by Klaus Michael Bogdal, Bielefeld: Aisthesis Verlag, 2007, pp. 11–30 ISBN 978-3-89528-555-4