Help with interpreting Baroque poetry?
Hey people,
I recently came across an interesting source from 1631. The song it contains is extremely flowery (sometimes literally), which is why I don't understand much of it except for a few allusions.
Here's a bit of context: It's about the Magdeburg Wedding (Thirty Years' War), in which the Protestant stronghold was attacked by Catholic troops (under Tylli and Pappenheim) with the aim of conquering it.
In my opinion, two facts are important for understanding the song: In the course of the looting and murder by poorly paid soldiers, fires were also set, destroying the entire city. However, it remains unclear exactly how these fires started, and especially by whom. The Protestant and Catholic sides blamed each other at the time – supposedly, Colonel Falkenberg from Magdeburg didn't want to leave the city intact to the other side and therefore burned it down. I strongly suspect that the author of the song is alluding to this when he speaks of external enemies and internal friends, assigning even more blame to the latter.
The second fact is that Gustavus Adolphus's Protestant troops did not rush to the city's aid because they were already weakened. I have a feeling the author is alluding to this in the last two verses, but I'm not entirely sure.
Part of the nature symbolism is explained by the prose text that precedes the song in the same print: Here, too, the author (I assume it's the same one) emphasizes the city of Magdeburg's connection to nature. Essentially, he establishes old Magdeburg as a "force of nature" because even the city's ramparts are literally firmly rooted. This might explain some of the somewhat odd metaphors in this song.
But enough preamble, here's the text. Perhaps some of you can relate to it.
“ A lament follows the
City of Magdeburg
I.
(J)R Dryads/ oh, leave the little flowers alone
Which I would otherwise gladly do
see
Pick off roses before that/
And scatters for the last sake
At your sister's grave.
II.
Clear my myrtles of all green
Burst
And plant cypress trees in their place
In witness of my death
So that the wanderer may still speak:
God bless souls.
III.
You Pfeiffer just wait/ now I will be
deliver/
For the pleasure and comfort of the external enemy/
To mock the inner friend
Who has me rather than that
Brought into this distress.
III.
Listen when my wreath is gone/ and I now =
gone/
Do you think my misfortune is not directed at you?
Oh, don't imagine it/ (long/
Then don't be a common case
To be one with everyone.
V.
How that you then do not want what is discord
understand?
Do something to see how times are going
Then it will be recognized
That nothing then final ruin/
Causes misunderstanding.
VI.
Why do you stay behind/ shouldn't you stay with me?
jump
Now after my fall you must sing a little song
sing/
When I sang/
Therefore, you nymphs have been
Shouldn't rush off.
VII.
Since you are apart from that/ that you call me sister
calls/
My house so close/ should be saved because it is burning/
Then such a close Brandt
Can easily not without great danger
Plug in your wall/rc.
END."
(2 votes)
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I think you’ve already recognized everything.
I mean, the song only repeats what you’ve already given as information.
Yeah, it was all about a few nuances. For example, I couldn’t find anything about the meaning of myths and cypresses, and I didn’t quite understand the admonitions to the reader.
Okay, that was the first time I was dealing with this text, but I must say that it was really easy to understand the context you gave. Unless I may not take the text literally, because in that case I am completely lost.
I try to translate the individual passages into the modern one. At the end, I’m packing my interpretation as far as I can. To this end, it must be said that I have dealt NOCH NIE with ancient language or with this poem and the conflict, therefore apologise if this is somewhat dilettanic.
(J)R Dryaden/ ach let the blůmlein stand
The one I wol otherwise complained with pleasure to=
See
Brecht darvor Rosen ab/
Vnd Scatters for the last
Vff your sister’s grave.
Dryaden (also tree gods/nymphs), let the flowers stand, which I would like to see. Turn off the roses and scatter your sister on her grave as the last will.
Spaces my myths away from all gruͤnen
plaice
Vnd thut at the setting Cypressen Baͤume
To witness my death
Ask that the walking man speaks:
The soul’s grace God.
Raws the myths (the plant symbolizes the beauty and love and LEBEN) and plantes cypress trees (the tree that stands for the underworld, the TOD) in its place. To greet my death, so wanderers speak: “The Soul Grace God”
Jhr Pfeiffer is waiting / now I will be
Other
The necessitating to the lust vnd wellbehagen/
To the young friend mocking
The one who has
Broken into this noth.
Your Pfeiffer (player, musician) is waiting, you will take me out (so in the coffin from the city). The enemy will feel comfort, and the “internal friend” will find it funny as he brought me into this situation (the dead).
so now it’s getting a little harder:
Hoͤr when my scratches go/ vnd i now vn=
ings/
Do you think my Vnglu=ck is not getting to you?
O don’t picture you”
Then don’t care for a common case
One with one too seyn.
Listen, when my wreath goes (thus the wreath is put on the grave) and I now went down (under the earth buried). Do you think my misfortune will not happen to you? Oh, don’t imagine anything, then that commonness doesn’t happen to you either. (Quasi jinx it doesn’t, don’t say, “oh it could happen to me NIE” because it doesn’t hurt you, otherwise you’ll land where I landed (in the grave))
How you don’t know what Zwytracht sey
understand?
Do something to jerk the times laͤufft seen
Then invaded
That nothing was then miserable ruin/
Makes misunderstanding.
How can it be that you don’t understand the discord that was sewn, or want to understand? Look into the past, because you realize that the whole ruin, the whole catastrophe, originated from a misunderstanding.
Whyb stays jhr back/solt jhr me not bey=
jumping
Jetzund after my case muͤst jhr same song
singing/
I have sung
That’s why he was nymphs since
Don’t let him go.
Why don’t you stay back and don’t you want to help me? Now and after my death you have to sing a song as I have sung (???????) so you are nymphs, so that no dissatisfaction arises (now is not only haste, but also generate hatred and dissatisfaction, that is to say the nymphs are to sing again their song with joy, so that no more dissatisfaction arises, I think)
And thou shalt make me cry
nennet
My ostrich so in the naͤh/ is supposed to save because it burns/
Then a so close brand
Cannot easily be
Attach your wall/ rc.
As you call me sister, you should save my burning house, because such a close fire can easily light your own wall (house).
So now my interpretation.
It is a lamentation that speaks clearly of the fire of the city. The Nymphs and Myrths and Cypresses are for the city that has been very strongly associated with nature. I’m now sticking to the fact that the author chose a “woman” as a protagonist, simply because there is often “sister” and I’m tired to interpret something further. Let’s do that. So the imaginary woman died at the fires. Your mind (we pretend to be, doesn’t matter) hurts and speaks to the reader. She wants the flowers that have blossomed in the city to be scattered on her tomb, but roses, so that no more is destroyed. Therefore, instead of the flowers and myths that, according to the mythology, stand for “life” and “beauty”, they are supposed to plan “cypress” so that hikers can also get to the city in the future and remember this catastrophe. So basically, the future flowers of the city (or trees) should always be the living witness of this disaster. The musicians are ready and the woman is carried from the city to the grave. The enemies are happy because of course they have defeated another enemy, but the “internal friend” who has laid the fire (VIELLEICHT, one assumes it, but does not know it 100%) is happy inner because it means that the enemy does not get it (or is happy because he is a traitor). The people standing at the tomb after being buried, but are being slain by the spirit of the woman: only because they have survived does not mean that this could not happen again. Someone dies and some of us are happy that we didn’t get caught, but the others. But this is a mistake because something like this can happen at any time and you land yourself in the grave, as well as the woman. Furthermore, the mind appeals to the minds of the people (which also brought 400 years later nix, people are still stupid and make the same mistake, so gg) That people who stand there should not just look into the future and live on, but also have to take a look into the past. Because there is the reason for the misfortune, a very simple misunderstanding. As you wrote, the soldiers felt misunderstandings and want to take the city for too little money. That’s why you set everything on fire. And even if they weren’t, it doesn’t matter because the prince, or whoever, instead of learning from it, and making up the mistakes in the VERGANGENHEIT, sent out his people to put the fire. Both might have happened, but it doesn’t matter because both sides are guilty. That’s what’s going on. And it is so that the fewest people understand this and prefer to blame themselves. A single look into the past is enough to make you realize why the terrible has happened.
In the end, the mind says, Why are you still standing at this grave? Sings as I have sung (so lives in joy) and continues to spread joy so that nothing happens again. There is also a morale of history: People should save each other (or delete the fire), because the fire can simply skip to the next house.
If you don’t care about each other, it’s bad for everyone at some point.
END
Joa that was all, was fun! Thanks for the question 😀
Achja and quite generally the title of the poem “Klagelied” is quite appropriate. Basically, it’s just being defeated because of the terrible situation and that people are stupid and better to respect each other. Moreover, this tragedy must never be forgotten. I don’t think there’s any more to interpret.
Oh, so, and I wanted to have said that your understanding of early New High German is quite good for someone who has never really come into contact with it. I regularly deal with such sources and still have to check many words.
Thank you for the detailed answer! Just the verse with the reference to the song and the warnings to the reader (or listener, it’s a song) I didn’t quite understand yesterday, but what you wrote makes sense.
One thing that has come to me now at the song-strophe: The city of Magdeburg was a Protestant castle, the scene of events of the Reformation age, the location of leaflets, etc. The reminder of singing the song that I have sung before is not necessarily a call to be happy, but perhaps rather the call to the rest of the HRR, now to be the Protestant “voices” that was previously Magdeburg – to sing anti-Catholic songs and to compete for the concerns of the Protestant side.
Interesting (although absolutely typical of the baroque) I find that the author does not speak of Protestants and Catholics here and does not use (Christian) religious metaphors, but takes back into Greek mythology. This is perhaps also a testament to the fact that at this time of war confessions and religious unanimity have long gone into the background and political power struggles for it. Accordingly, my name of the parties as Protestant and Catholic is probably far too undifferentiated.
1631 is also a decisive turning point in the ongoing war: After that, everything dissolves essentially in chaos, plague, fire damage, murder, abuse, etc. The Magdeburg wedding (20,000 dead) was the most cruel individual event of this time. The prose text in the linked source reads quite interesting (in case of interest) though cruel. For example, there is a speech that among the collapsed buildings one has heard the dying people scream and cry.
However, I would like to correct one thing: I would not say that the soldiers felt misunderstood. They knew what to do in their job. The usual “payment” of the country’s squad was the stolen goods from the areas that they devastated between the battles. The poor rural population was generally unprotected – and even though the soldiers were forbidden immediate murders of unparticipants, there was no functioning legal response that could prevent it. The probably traumatized soldiers had no inhibitions at all – Magdeburg is an example.
But in the interpretation of this stanza (the one with the misunderstanding), the article in the early-New High German dictionary, in which there are two definitions for “misunderstood”: once the misunderstanding, once “the discord, malice, disgrace, dispute, inunity with regard to a social, economic, political, religious question,” tends to ‹enrapy, fight (of the different thinker)‹. This definition is wonderful because it fits 100% on the situation of the 30-year war. The author does not necessarily assume that a misunderstanding has led to the destruction of Magdeburg, but rather war in general. From this you can read a clear pacifist tendency! Essentially, the whole song says: When the war goes on, Magdeburg does not remain the only city with this fate – so watch out, people.
But apart from that, I found your interpretation quite striking and very helpful, thank you again!