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Revision as of 04:08, 24 December 2024 editMichael Bednarek (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users84,952 edits -circular and wrong interlanguage link; try to formulate complete sentences; italics for Des Knaben Wunderhorn; use authors' full names; -source text random line breaks; correct publisher and year for Rieser (1908) and replace Google Books URL with Internet Archive; German "konfessionell" ≠ "confessional"; replace (or omit) archaic "inwit", "wont"; mark parts of the translation as dubious.Tag: content sourced to vanity press← Previous edit Latest revision as of 17:04, 27 December 2024 edit undoTamtam90 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers927 edits Undid revision 1265579230 by SarekOfVulcan (talk): wait the decision on WP:ANITag: Undo 
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Wer ist's, der das gelehret? Wer ist's, der das gelehret?
Gott ist's, der hat's bescheret.</poem> Gott ist's, der hat's bescheret.</poem>
|<poem style="margin-left:2em; float:left;">'''Poetic translation'''
|<poem>
Drive out Winter with her{{dubious|date=December 2024|reason=Winter is female?}} hate, Drive out Winter with her hate,
Drive out from the town gate, Drive out from the town gate,
With all her wiles and twisters, With all her wiles and twisters,
Line 59: Line 59:
And now Summer spreads the wings, And now Summer spreads the wings,
While dreaming of the blossom While dreaming of the blossom
In May, still mud and earthen.{{dubious|date=December 2024|reason=Where in the German text is 'mud and earthen'?}} In May, still mud and earthen.


By th'word of God, the summer bloom By th'word of God, the summer bloom
Could climb a stone in the gloom. Could climb a stone in the gloom.
Who has that sprout risen? Who has that sprout risen?
The Lord, the Earth to brighten.{{dubious|date=December 2024|reason=This stanza has almost no relation to the German text.}}<ref>{{Cite Wikisource|author=S. Pavlov|title=Das Todaustreiben}}</ref></poem>{{clear|left}} The Lord, the Earth to brighten.<ref>{{Cite Wikisource|author=S. Pavlov|title=Das Todaustreiben}}</ref></poem>{{clear|left}}
|} |}


Latest revision as of 17:04, 27 December 2024

German folksong
"Das Todaustreiben"
"Des Knaben Wunderhorn" (1806, I) with the text of the song
Song
LanguageGerman
English titleDriving out Death
Publishednot later than 1570
GenreFolk
Songwriter(s)Traditional

"Das Todaustreiben" (Driving out Death) is an old German song named after a folk custom of Todaustragen [de] from the Middle Ages.

History

The first time the song had been mentioned in the sources is not later than 1570. It was included in volume 1 of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (DKW), an 1806 German folklore collection. An older Protestant song underlies the version published by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano.

As wrote a researcher of DKW, its authors cleaned their text from any denomational features. The poets left all original verses save the last one which contains a Protestant prayer.

Christian and pagan traditions

The folk custom of Driving out Death in Moravia.

The song is based on an old pagan custom of Driving out Death. The Christians considered death as Antichrist, who was to be banished, to free the way for the Saviour.

That holiday has been held in many lands (such as Silesia, Thuringia, Franconia) for ages. The custom of Driving out Death (also known as Driving out Winter) meant the struggle against Winter and the following awakening of Earth in Spring.

Words

So treiben wir den Winter aus,
Durch unsre Stadt zum Tor hinaus,
Mit sein' Betrug und Listen,
Den rechten Antichristen.

Wir stürzen ihn von Berg und Tal,
Damit er sich zu Tode fall',
Und uns nicht mehr betrüge
Durch seine späten Züge.

Und nun der Tod das Feld geräumt,
So weit und breit der Sommer träumt,
Er träumet in dem Maien
Von Blümlein mancherleien.

Die Blume sproßt aus göttlich Wort
Und deutet auf viel schönern Ort,
Wer ist's, der das gelehret?
Gott ist's, der hat's bescheret.

Poetic translation
Drive out Winter with her hate,
Drive out from the town gate,
With all her wiles and twisters,
True Antichrist and trickster.

We hunted her by hill and dale,
To make the robber breathe away:
Thou canst no longer swindle
With all thy frosts and windfalls!

And now Death has left the fields,
And now Summer spreads the wings,
While dreaming of the blossom
In May, still mud and earthen.

By th'word of God, the summer bloom
Could climb a stone in the gloom.
Who has that sprout risen?
The Lord, the Earth to brighten.

References

  1. ^ Rieser, Ferdinand (1908). "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" und seine Quellen (in German). Dortmund: Friedrich Wilhelm Ruhfus [de]. p. 125 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Russell, Peter (2002). The Themes of the German Lied from Mozart to Strauss. Studies in the history and interpretation of music, vol. 84. Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 208, 223. ISBN 978-0-88946-426-1. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  3. Schem, Alexander Jacob (1874). Deutsch-amerikanisches Conversations-Lexikon: Mit specieller Rücksicht auf das Bedürfniß der in Amerika lebenden Deutschen ... (in German). New York: E. Steiger. p. 356. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  4. Frazer, James George (2012). The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion. Cambridge Library Collection – Classics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 271–276. ISBN 978-1-108-04752-4. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  5. S. Pavlov. Das Todaustreiben  – via Wikisource.

External links

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