Georg Wickram
Encyclopedia
Georg Wickram (c.1505 – before 1562) was a German
poet
and novelist.
Wickram was born at Colmar
in Alsace
; the exact date of his birth and death are unknown. He founded a Meistersinger
school in Colmar in 1549, and has left a number of Meistersingerlieder. He passed the latter part of his life until his death as town clerk of Burkheim on the Rhine, where he died.
Wickram was a many-sided writer. He edited Albrecht von Halberstadt's Middle High German
version of Ovid
's Metamorphoses (1545), and in 1555 he published Das Rollwagenbuchlein, one of the best of the many German collections of tales and anecdotes which appeared in the 16th century. The title of the book implies its object, namely, to supply reading for the traveller in the "Rollwagen" or diligences.
As a dramatist, Wickram wrote Fastnachtsspiele (Das Narrengiessen, 1537; Der treue Eckart, 1538) and two dramas on biblical subjects, Der verlorene Sohn (1540) and Tobias (1551). A moralizing poem, Der irrereitende Pilger (1556), is half-satiric, half-didactic.
It is, however, as a novelist that Wickram has left the deepest mark on his time, his chief romances being Ritter Galmy aus Schottland (1539), Gabriotto und Reinhard (1554), Der Knabenspiegel (1554), Von guten und bösen Nachbarn (1556) and Der Goldfaden (1557). These may be regarded as the earliest attempts in German literature to create that modern type of middle-class fiction which ultimately took the place of the decadent medieval romance of chivalry
.
Wickram's works have been edited by:
See A Stober, J Wickram (1866); Wilhelm Scherer
, Die Anfange des deutschen Prosaromans (1897).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and novelist.
Wickram was born at Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
; the exact date of his birth and death are unknown. He founded a Meistersinger
Meistersinger
A Meistersinger was a member of a German guild for lyric poetry, composition and unaccompanied art song of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The Meistersingers were drawn from middle class males for the most part.-Guilds:...
school in Colmar in 1549, and has left a number of Meistersingerlieder. He passed the latter part of his life until his death as town clerk of Burkheim on the Rhine, where he died.
Wickram was a many-sided writer. He edited Albrecht von Halberstadt's Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
version of Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses (1545), and in 1555 he published Das Rollwagenbuchlein, one of the best of the many German collections of tales and anecdotes which appeared in the 16th century. The title of the book implies its object, namely, to supply reading for the traveller in the "Rollwagen" or diligences.
As a dramatist, Wickram wrote Fastnachtsspiele (Das Narrengiessen, 1537; Der treue Eckart, 1538) and two dramas on biblical subjects, Der verlorene Sohn (1540) and Tobias (1551). A moralizing poem, Der irrereitende Pilger (1556), is half-satiric, half-didactic.
It is, however, as a novelist that Wickram has left the deepest mark on his time, his chief romances being Ritter Galmy aus Schottland (1539), Gabriotto und Reinhard (1554), Der Knabenspiegel (1554), Von guten und bösen Nachbarn (1556) and Der Goldfaden (1557). These may be regarded as the earliest attempts in German literature to create that modern type of middle-class fiction which ultimately took the place of the decadent medieval romance of chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
.
Wickram's works have been edited by:
- J Bolte and W Scheel for the Stuttgart Literarischer Verein (vols, 222, 223, 229, 230, 1900-1903)
- Der Ritter Galmy was republished by Friedrich de la Motte FouquéFriedrich de la Motte FouquéFriedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué was a German writer of the romantic style.-Biography:He was born at Brandenburg an der Havel, of a family of French Huguenot origin, as evidenced in his family name...
in 1806 - Der Goldfaden by Klemens Brentano in 1809
- the Rollwagenbuchlein was edited by Hermann KurzHermann KurzHermann Kurz was a German poet and novelist.He was born at Reutlingen. Having studied at the theological seminary at Maulbronn and at the University of Tübingen, he became assistant pastor at Ehningen...
in 1865, and there is also a reprint of it in Reclam's Universalbibliothek
See A Stober, J Wickram (1866); Wilhelm Scherer
Wilhelm Scherer
Wilhelm Scherer , German philologist and historian of literature.-Life:...
, Die Anfange des deutschen Prosaromans (1897).