Sir Orfeo

The Versnovelle Sir Orfeo was written in the early fourteenth century by an unknown author.

The Lais was due to a lost version of a Breton author.

Action

The King Orfeo lives with his queen Heurodis. My life has been free from interference. While the queen goes for a walk with her ​​ladies in the grove, she is suffering from a fatigue and falls asleep. In her sleep she is visited by a stranger who makes them look first his wonderful kingdom to her then to announce that he will kidnap the next day. If they try to escape their fate, they 'll dismembered limb by limb. When King Orfeo hears this news, he gathered his able-bodied men in the morning in the grove, but this can only helplessly watch as the Queen is kidnapped in front of her eyes, but unnoticed.

Then chooses the king, his kingdom over to an administrator and go into exile himself in the wild. He takes nothing with out his harp. From his game even the wild animals, the trees, the stones are delighted. He remained there for ten years, until he accidentally sees his queen.

As he pursues this, he is led to a magical castle, in whose vestibule different people as in a Musuem scenarios of death represent ( Headless, who died in childbirth, etc. ). Among them is his wife Heurodis who is petrified under a tree.

Orfeo asks before Feenkönig - to be allowed to audition - by type of wandering singers. This is his game is so charming that he zubilligt Orfeo the fulfillment of a wish. This requires to be able to take Heurodis. When the Feenkönig would refuse him this, Sir Orfeo has at the latter's promise.

Finally, he tested the loyalty of his court, by occurring in disguise, claiming the harp - to have found - which had been recognized as the Royal immediately. His people breaks in the belief that their king had died in lawsuits from. Orfeo shows himself and his kingdom will back over to him.

Expenditure

• Bliss, A. J. (Ed.): Sir Orfeo. OUP, Oxford 1954
• Tolkien, J.R.R., Sir Orfeo. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo. Translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. New York, Ballantine, 2003.

Translations

• Paul -Henri Campbell 2010