Es war ein König in Thule: Das Hausbuch der Sagen und Balladen
Illustrator: Renate Seelig
A friend recommended and lent this book to me.
An beautiful illustration book that contain the most famous German ballads. Ballad is a song or poem that tells a story (Cambridge Dictionary). Traditionally, ballad is folk song/ story, later, great author like Johann Wolfgang Goethe also had written literary ballad. Thanks to composer Franz Schubert that make Goethe’s Erlkönig among the most well known ballad worldwide.
However, the book choose the earlier version of “Erlkönig” that translated to German from Danish folks ballad by Johann Gottfried Herder. I appreciate this because it shows the relationship between folks and literary ballad.
Have a look inside the book, which one is your favourite?
This book is designed for a family reading session. For all ages 0-99 who love stories and songs, I can imagine parents read this magical world to the children. I like the quantity of the illustration, just enough and not too much to limit imagination.
Any ballad that you want to introduce to me?
More reading? I have written a cross cultural poetry and ballad blogpost last year:
The King of Thule
English Translation © Richard Wigmore
There was a king in Thule
faithful unto the grave,
whose dying mistress
gave him a golden goblet.
Nothing was more precious to him;
he drained it at every feast.
His eyes filled with tears
whenever he drank from it.
And when he came to die
he counted the towns in his realm,
bequeathed all to his heirs,
except for that goblet.
He sat at the royal banquet,
his knights around him
in the lofty ancestral hall
in his castle by the sea.
The old toper stood there,
drank life’s last glowing draught,
and hurled the sacred goblet
into the waves below.
He watched it fall and drink
and sink deep into the sea.
His eyes, too, sank;
he drank not one drop more.
Text and translation provided courtesy of Oxford Lieder (www.oxfordlieder.co.uk)