Heinrich der Glïchezäre (i.e. the hypocrite, in the sense of one who adopts a strange name or pseudonym; also called Heinrich der Gleißner) was a

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

poet from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, author of a narrative poem, ''Reinhart Fuchs'' (

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, a ...

), the oldest German

beast epic An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. They may exhibit other anthropomorphic qualities as well, such as living in a human-like society. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing. An ...

that we possess. The date of its composition is about 1180. It is based on a French poem, part of an extensive ''Roman de Renart'', but older than any of the branches of this romance that have come down to us. Of the German poem in its original form entitled ''Isengrînes nôt'' (Isengrin's trouble), only a few fragments are preserved in a mutilated manuscript discovered in 1839 in the Hessian town of

Melsungen Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The str ...

. We possess, however, a complete version made by an unknown hand in the thirteenth century and preserved in two manuscripts, one at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and one belonging to the archiepiscopal library of

Kalocsa Kalocsa (; hr, Kaloča or ''Kalača''; sr, Kaloča or Калоча; german: Kollotschau) is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the ...

. This version is very faithful, the changes made therein pertaining apparently only to form and versification. Its title is ''Reinhart Fuchs''. In the beginning of this poem the fox is anything but a successful impostor, being generally outwitted by far weaker animals. But later on this changes. Reynard plays outrageous pranks on most of the animals, especially on Isengrin, the wolf, but escapes punishment by healing the sick lion. This the fox accomplishes at the expense of his adversaries. In the end he poisons the lion, his benefactor, and the poem closes with a reflection on the success attending craft and falsehood while honesty goes unrewarded. The story is told in a plain, straightforward manner; compared with the French model the German poem shows abbreviations as well as additions, so that it is not a mere translation. The order in which the different incidents are related has also been changed, and occasional touches of satire are not wanting. The poem of der Glichezare is the only beast-epic of Middle High German literature. The famous later versions of this material are Low German. It is on one of these latter that

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

based his ''Reineke Fuchs''. The complete poem (from the Heidelberg manuscript) was edited by Jacob Grimm under the title ''Reinhart Fuchs'' (Berlin, 1834), and together with the older fragments by K. Reissenberger in ''Paul's Altdeutsche Textbibliothek'', VII (Halle, 1886). The Kalocsa manuscript was published by Mailáth and Köffinger (Budapest, 1817). Selections are found in P. Piper's ''Die Spielmannsdichtung'' (in Kurschner, ''Deutsche National literatur'', II), pt. I, 287-315.

References

* cites: **BÜTTNER, ''Der Reinhart Fuchs und seine franzosische Quelle'' (Strasbourg, 1891).

External links

by David Blamires in ''The Modern Language Review'', Vol. 78, No. 4 (Oct., 1983), pp. 961–963 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich Der Glichezare Fabulists Alsatian-German people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Reynard cycle German male poets Middle High German literature 12th-century German poets