Perhaps you have heard whispers of a dwarf king named Goldemar. His story is intertwined with heroes and princesses. Let’s delve into the tale linked to this very sculpture. The Goldemar sculpture reminds us of a fragment of a 13th-century Middle High German poem.
Albrecht von Kemenaten penned this poem. It tells of Dietrich von Bern, a legendary hero. Dietrich is the Germanic counterpart to the historical Ostrogothic king, Theodoric the Great. The poem “Goldemar” is one of the fantastical Dietrich poems. It reads more like a courtly romance than a heroic epic.
The poem recounts Dietrich’s fight against the dwarf king, Goldemar. Dietrich sees Goldemar absconding with a princess. Only the first nine stanzas of “Goldemar” have survived. Dietrich journeys into the forest to defeat giants in Trutmunt forest. He discovers a mountain where dwarfs reside. Dietrich notices the dwarfs have a girl. He immediately falls in love with her. The dwarfs try to conceal the girl. Their king, Goldemar, responds to Dietrich’s inquiries about her. The text breaks off mid-speech.
The Heldenbuch-Prosa reveals the girl’s name: Herlin. She is a princess from Portugal. King Goldemar had abducted her. Her father was slain by heathens. But Herlin resisted Goldemar’s advances. Dietrich then rescued her. He later married her. The late medieval romance “Reinfrid von Braunschweig” adds another layer. Dietrich had to defeat giants under Goldemar’s command. Dietrich and his companions destroyed the Trutmunt forest. They also destroyed the dwarfs’ mountain.
The Goldemar poem exists in a single paper manuscript. It dates from the mid-14th century around 1355-1357. Only eight leaves survive. Besides “Goldemar”, the manuscript contains medical recipes. A Latin-German glossary of herbs and a second Dietrich poem “Virginal” are also found. Today, the manuscript resides in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg as Hs 80.
The poem itself likely dates to around 1230. This is when its author is believed to have lived. “Goldemar” stands out. It is the only German heroic poem with a named author. That author is Albrecht von Kemenaten. Though some debate exists, Albrecht is generally accepted as the poem’s genuine author. Naming the author, unusual for heroic poems, suggests Albrecht’s ambition. He wanted to create a poem resembling a courtly romance.
Albrecht is praised in Rudolf von Ems’s “Alexander”, around 1230. But he is mentioned as deceased in Rudolf’s “Willehalm von Orlens” around 1235/40. The family name “von Kemenaten” appears in both Tyrol and Thurgau. This suggests the poet’s origins in either area.
The poem “Goldemar” begins with a critique. It criticizes heroic poetry’s glorification of brutality. Instead, Albrecht tells a tale of Dietrich. A tale of how Dietrich fell in love. A tale of how he behaved in a courtly manner toward women. This behavior is something he is never said to have done otherwise. The poem seems to shift away from heroic poetry. It leans towards the subject matter of courtly romance.
Some aspects of “Goldemar” may connect to oral tradition. Goldemar shares his name with a spirit. That spirit is said to haunt houses. The 15th-century historian Person Gobelinus mentions this spirit as Rex Goldemer. However, the connection between this spirit and the poem’s figure is questionable.
So, the next time you gaze upon the Goldemar sculpture, remember this story. Remember the heroic poem. Remember the dwarf king and the rescued princess. Remember the author Albrecht von Kemenaten. His work offers a glimpse into a world of dwarfs, heroes, and courtly love.