"Women of the Teutonic Nations" by Hermann Schoenfeld. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Оглавление
Hermann Schoenfeld. Women of the Teutonic Nations
Women of the Teutonic Nations
Table of Contents
PREFACE
CHAPTER I. THE WOMEN OF THE PAGAN TEUTONS
CHAPTER II. THE YEARS OF THE WANDERINGS
CHAPTER III. THE YEARS OF THE WANDERINGS, AS REFLECTED IN THE FIRST PERIOD OF BLOOM OF GERMAN LITERATURE (1100-1300)
CHAPTER IV. THE CENTURIES OF SUBMERGENCE AND OF NATIONALIZATION
CHAPTER V. THE DAYS OF THE MINNESINGERS
CHAPTER VI. THE COMING OF THE MASTERSINGERS
CHAPTER VII. WOMEN OF THE RENAISSANCE AND THE REFORMATION
CHAPTER VIII. AN ERA OF INTELLECTUAL DESOLATION
CHAPTER IX. WOMAN HELD IN TIGHTENING BONDS
CHAPTER X. THROUGH STORM AND STRESS TO CLASSICISM AND HUMANISM
CHAPTER XI. EMANCIPATION OF GERMAN WOMEN
CHAPTER XII. WOMEN OF RUSSIA
CHAPTER XIII. WOMEN OF POLAND
Отрывок из книги
Hermann Schoenfeld
Published by Good Press, 2021
.....
The number of the Valkyries varies; more than a dozen are named in the Elder Edda. The belief prevailed that heroic women of transcendent beauty could become Valkyries through Odin's choice and love. In the Norse sagas we find Valkyries in the suites of great kings. In the poems of the Edda, which deal with the Volsungs and the Hniflungs, with their wonderful power, there are accounts of love between Valkyries and earthly heroes, ending in the premature tragic death of the hero. Best known and of the highest poetic value is the Volsung-saga of Brunhild (Brynhildr), the daughter of Odin, immortalized again in Richard Wagner's music-drama, Die Walküre.
In defiance of the order of Odin, Brunhild chooses victory for her favorite, Siegmund the Volsung. At the last decisive moment of the battle the Father of the Universe appears. Siegmund's spear is broken to splinters by Odin's sword, and he himself sinks dead to the ground to expiate the crime against Hunding's marital honor. The disobedient Valkyrie tries to flee from the terrible wrath of Odin; but he overtakes her and decrees that she shall lie and sleep until a man discovers her and kisses her lips; to him shall she then belong. Moved by the sorrow of the proud maiden and mindful of his former love for her, Odin modifies his punishment by surrounding the sleeping beauty with a blazing fire, to frighten back every cowardly and unworthy man. Finally, after long, long years, Siegmund's son, the incomparable hero Siegfried (Sigurd), penetrates the fire and carries away the divine bride, kissed to life again, whose passionate outburst of delight is characteristic of the fallen Valkyrie:
