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Evangelienbuch. Auswahl. Althochdeutsch/ Neuhochdeutsch.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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March 13, 2021
Oh wow, but I really and truly do wish that I had had a copy of this compact and handy dual language Old High German / Modern Standard German edition of selections of Otfrid von Weißenburg's famous Evangelienbuch (which basically presents a reimagining, a retelling of the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament in Old High German) in 1996 when I was frantically reading and studying for my First Comprehensive Exam (which was part of my PhD requirement). The First Comprehensive Exam covered German linguistics and German literature until the end of the 15th Century, and we had to thus also peruse a goodly number of Old High German literature pieces (all or at least the vast majority of which were unfortunately presented, were appearing in at times rather halting, old-fashioned and even somewhat frustrating standard German translations).
And for me personally, it would indeed have been both much more enjoyable and enlightening (as well as a real language learning experience so to speak) if a dual language version of Otfrid's Evangelienbuch had been available for purchase (or as a loan from the University of Waterloo Library), but alas, this here personal copy of the book was only published in 2010, and thus more than two decades too late for me. And yes, I do well realise that Evangelienbuch was actually originally published in 1987, but when I was looking for dual language Old High German / Modern Standard German literature selections for my Comprehensive Exam preparations in the late 90s, the 1987 edition was definitely NOT in current print or in any way even remotely available for me, this also being a time before my discovery of both Amazon USA and Amazon Germany (a time when if I required a German language book that was above and beyond what could be borrowed from the university library or bought at the campus bookstore, I would generally have had to purchase such a tome in Germany itself).
Now the main textual body (which has been translated into Modern Standard German by Gisela Vollmann-Profe, who also acts as general editor) features a good and general selection from each of Otfrid von Weißenburg's five gospel-harmony books (enough to give a more than adequate overview of the latter's work, how he saw and approached the New Testament and the synoptic Gospels, what was important to and for him in his adaptations of the same, but fortunately also not presenting so much detail, so much narrative information so as to become overwhelming and distracting to and for potential readers, but especially students). Followed by both an extensive and intensive commentary, bibliographical information and a concluding afterword, the only minor drawback to and for Evangelienbuch is that (and like with most Reclam paperbacks) in order to adequate fit both main text and supplemental information into basically a miniature sized volume, the printed words must by mere necessity appear in a dense and rather small and spatially reduced font size (not so much an issue with the primary narrative, however, the commentaries do, at times, become somewhat of a chore to easily and comfortably peruse). Still most highly recommended and not all that expensive either (and for me, rereading the Evangelienbuch has actually proven to be very much fun and academically entertaining, both comparing the Old High German to the New High German texts and also trying to concurrently compare Ofrid von Weissenburg's gospel adaptations to the original biblical narratives, although I have to admit that I am not at all sure exactly which versions of the Bible the author actually used and adapted, except that it was of course definitely NOT the King James version of the Bible).
And for me personally, it would indeed have been both much more enjoyable and enlightening (as well as a real language learning experience so to speak) if a dual language version of Otfrid's Evangelienbuch had been available for purchase (or as a loan from the University of Waterloo Library), but alas, this here personal copy of the book was only published in 2010, and thus more than two decades too late for me. And yes, I do well realise that Evangelienbuch was actually originally published in 1987, but when I was looking for dual language Old High German / Modern Standard German literature selections for my Comprehensive Exam preparations in the late 90s, the 1987 edition was definitely NOT in current print or in any way even remotely available for me, this also being a time before my discovery of both Amazon USA and Amazon Germany (a time when if I required a German language book that was above and beyond what could be borrowed from the university library or bought at the campus bookstore, I would generally have had to purchase such a tome in Germany itself).
Now the main textual body (which has been translated into Modern Standard German by Gisela Vollmann-Profe, who also acts as general editor) features a good and general selection from each of Otfrid von Weißenburg's five gospel-harmony books (enough to give a more than adequate overview of the latter's work, how he saw and approached the New Testament and the synoptic Gospels, what was important to and for him in his adaptations of the same, but fortunately also not presenting so much detail, so much narrative information so as to become overwhelming and distracting to and for potential readers, but especially students). Followed by both an extensive and intensive commentary, bibliographical information and a concluding afterword, the only minor drawback to and for Evangelienbuch is that (and like with most Reclam paperbacks) in order to adequate fit both main text and supplemental information into basically a miniature sized volume, the printed words must by mere necessity appear in a dense and rather small and spatially reduced font size (not so much an issue with the primary narrative, however, the commentaries do, at times, become somewhat of a chore to easily and comfortably peruse). Still most highly recommended and not all that expensive either (and for me, rereading the Evangelienbuch has actually proven to be very much fun and academically entertaining, both comparing the Old High German to the New High German texts and also trying to concurrently compare Ofrid von Weissenburg's gospel adaptations to the original biblical narratives, although I have to admit that I am not at all sure exactly which versions of the Bible the author actually used and adapted, except that it was of course definitely NOT the King James version of the Bible).
Displaying 1 of 1 review