The Legend of Walther of Aquitaine: Medieval German Texts and Translations

“An essential resource for anyone interested in medieval epic and romance.” - Will Hasty, University of Florida “From Attila the Hun to Charlemagne’s Roland, wherever the noble Walther can be found in writing, this volume faithfully brings the reader. An excellent and beguiling guide to a literary journey in the German Middle Ages.” - G. Ronald Murphy, Georgetown University “Anyone interested in the Old English Waldere or the Latin Waltharius will want to read this fascinating and accessible anthology of medieval German texts featuring the same hero.” - R. D. Fulk, Indiana University The legend of Walther of Aquitaine and his bride, Hildegund, survives best in the medieval Latin poem Waltharius, yet there is also a sizable collection of texts in Middle High German that deal with the Walther legend. Walther appears as a character in epic poems such as Biterolf und Dietleib, Dietrichs Flucht, Alpharts Tod, the Rosengarten, and the Rabenschlacht. Significant allusions to his legend appear in the Nibelungenlied. There are, moreover, two tantalizing fragments (from Graz and Vienna) of a medieval German epic of Walther and Hildegund, which depicts the lovers’ escape from the court of Attila the Hun and their felicitous homecoming. This book is the first and only book of its kind, as it offers facing-page texts and translations of every medieval German reference to the Walther legend. Many of the passages contained in this book have never previously been translated into English. BRIAN MURDOCH is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Stirling. He has published numerous books, the most recent of which is Old High German Poetry: An Anthology. LEONARD NEIDORF is Distinguished Professor of English at Shenzhen University. He is the editor of Beowulf: Translation and Commentary and Waltharius: The Latin Epic of Walther of Aquitaine.