
''Ermenrichs Tod'' or ''Koninc Ermenrîkes Dôt'' () is an anonymous
Middle Low German
Middle Low German is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225–34 (). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Mid ...
heroic
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
from the middle of the sixteenth century. It is a late attestation of
Germanic heroic legend
Germanic heroic legend () is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic peoples, Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which others were ...
.
The ballad, which is printed in a highly garbled form, tells the story of how Ermenrich is killed by
Dietrich von Bern
Dietrich von Bern is the name of a character in Germanic heroic legend who originated as a legendary version of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name "Dietrich", meaning "Ruler of the People", is a form of the Germanic name "Theodor ...
and several other heroes. The poem shows numerous similarities to older stories about Ermenrich attested in early medieval and
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
sources.
Summary
According to the song, Dietrich wants to exile the King of the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
, ''van Armentriken'', because the latter wants to hang Dietrich. As one of his companions Dietrich receives the gigantic King Blödelinck, who is only twelve years old and is the son of a Frankish widow. Dietrich then sets off to ''Freysack'' where the enemy king lives, passing by a set of gallows. He and his companions disguise themselves as dancers and receive an audience with the king before revealing themselves and demanding to know why the king wants to hang Dietrich. When the king is silent, Dietrich cuts off his head and then the twelve proceed to kill everyone in the castle except for Reinholt von Meilan, who is spared due to his loyalty to the king. Blödelinck has disappeared in the fighting and Dietrich assumes he is dead, but the giant reappears.
Printing
The ballad was originally printed as a
broadside titled ''Van Dirick van dem Berne'' (concerning Dietrich von Bern) in 1535/45 or 1560 together with another ballad ''Juncker Baltzer'' in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
, and was printed again in a Low German songbook from 1590 or 1600. The broadside is heavily corrupted—possibly the work of a printer famous for his mistakes, Johannes Balhorn the Elder—and not always comprehensible. Victor Millet suggests that it was printed in honor of King
Christian II of Denmark
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, who returned from exile in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
at this time. Elisabeth Lienert finds this interpretation questionable, however notes that ''Juncker Baltzer'', the text printed alongside ''Ermenrichs Tod'', is clearly about Christian.
Metrical form
The ballad is printed in the so-called "Hildebrandston," a stanzaic metrical form named about another heroic ballad, the ''
Jüngeres Hildebrandslied''. No melody has been transmitted with the text, but it was likely meant to be sung. The stanza consists of four "Langzeilen," lines consisting of three metrical feet, a
caesura
300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation
A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase beg ...
, and three additional metrical feet. Unlike the similar stanza used in the ''
Nibelungenlied
The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...
'', in the "Hildebrandston" all four lines are of the same length. The lines rhyme in couplets, with occasional rhymes across lines at the caesura. An example is the first stanza of the poem as contained in the first printed edition:
: a
: a
: b
: b
Relation to the oral tradition
Although the text is very late and at times not clear, it nevertheless contains many references to events in the oral tradition about Ermenrich that are otherwise only found in allusions or Scandinavian sources. Lienert notes that it is possible that the ballad comes from a tradition in which Dietrich successfully returns from exile and avenges himself on his wicked uncle. Joachim Heinzle suspects that many of the mistakes come from the composer of the ballad only partially remembering the heroic tradition. ''Van Armentriken'' is clearly the legendary Ermenrich, with his name misunderstood as the name of his country. His misidentification as King of the Franks/France may be connected to a note by
Johannes Agricola in which a king ''Ermentfrid'' (that is, Ermenrich) of the Franks supposedly conquered Lombardy and there killed his nephews known as the Harlungen. Blödelinck is Blödel, i.e.
Bleda
Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes th ...
, Attila's brother, who also appears in the
Nibelungenlied
The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...
and the historical Dietrich poems. ''Freysack'' is probably
Breisach
Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...
, which was connected with the Harlungen from an early date. Lastly, Ermenrich's death is reminiscent of the
Svanhild episode recorded in the
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...
and other sources, as the sons of Jónakr also pass by a set of gallows on their way to confront Jörmunrekkr. Dietrich's involvement may be a variant of his return from exile – in a variant of the text, it is even said that Ermenrich wanted to drive Dietrich away, not the other way around. Despite the many apparent connections to the oral tradition, Millet believes that it is useless to use ''Ermenrichs Tod'' to reconstruct legends about Ermenrich.
Notes
Editions
*
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Facsimiles
"Twe lede volgen/ Dat Erste/ Van Dirick van dem Berne/ wo he sülff twölffte den Köninck van Armentriken/ mit veerde halff Hundert Man/ vp synem egen Slate/ vmmegebracht hefft. Dat ander/ Van Juncker Baltzer"(original printing)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ermenrichs Tod
Dietrich von Bern cycle
German heroic legends
German literature of the Late Middle Ages
Low German literature