P. 273, No. St. 6. Dem Ohm, &c. This allusion can only refer to Charles X., who was the Duke's 'grandfather,' but the poet probably chose the word Ohm, 'uncle,' because it fits easily into the metre. P. 274, No. CXIII. This historical ballad, written in the tone of a Volkslied, describes the tragic fate of Agnes Bernauer (popularly called Die Bernauerin), said to have been the daughter of a bath-keeper at Augsburg, and to have excelled both in virtue and beauty. Having been secretly married to Duke Albrecht, son of Duke Ernst of BavariaMunich, the latter had her kidnapped during her husband's absence, and being accused of having bewitched the young Duke, she was, after a speedy trial, condemned to be drowned unless she admitted that she was not the Duke's lawful wife. Agnes refused to comply, and so was dragged, on October 12th, 1435, to the bridge across the Danube at Augsburg, and publicly thrown into the river. The current having carried her to the shore, one of the executioners seized her with a long pole by her hair, and forced her under the water until she was drowned. The sad fate of Agnes Bernauer forms the subject of several dramas, the best of which is that of Hebbel. P. 277, No. CXIV. The subject of this historical ballad is well known from the History of the Thirty Years' War, and from Schiller's trilogy Wallenstein. Tertschka (' Terzka) and Kinsky were natives of Bohemia. Illo ('Illow') was born in the Margravate of Brandenburg, and married to a Bohemian countess. P. 278, No. St. 2. Wallenstein's adherents considered him superior in authority to the Emperor, because it was he who maintained the latter's power. That Wallenstein aspired to the crown of Bohemia was generally assumed. P. 279, No.- St. 4. Schau'nicht, &c. Wallenstein, who was a staunch believer in astrology, is said to have delayed the execution of his ambitious plans whilst waiting for a favourable constellation. He was assassinated on the same night as his generals, viz., February 24th, 1634. P. 280, No. CXV. The present humorous ballad is based on one of the 'sneezing legends,' if we may use this expression, current in Hesse. Prosit, Lat. for 'much good may it do you,' formerly often addressed to people when sneezing, like the salutation Zur Gesundheit, in English 'God bless you.' P. 282, No. CXVI. The subject of this ballad belongs to that widely-spread cycle of legends referring to water-sprites. Cp. above, Nos. XLIX., p. 145; LXXXIV., p. 207, and LXXXIX., p. 213. P. No. - St. 2. Legendary folk-lore relates that the souls of those who, from disappointment in love, sought a watery grave, dwell as spirits in the water, and allure men into the deep. P. 284, No. CXVII. In this poem Hermann Lingg has done full justice to the famous Thracian leader of the revolted Roman slaves, so much maligned by Roman writers in prose and verse. Spartacus fought his first battle against the Romans near Vesuvius in 73 B.C., and was finally defeated near Brundusium in 71. The rauchende Vesuv is here an anachronism. P. 285, No. — St. 2. Es grüszen euch, &c. A reminiscence of the well-known exclamation of the gladiators before the beginning of the games, viz, morituri te salutant. P. 286, No. CXVIII. The present ballad has been suggested to the poet by a passage in Guttenstein's Geschichte des Spanischen Volkes (I., 196, &c.). In giving an account of the warlike expedition of the Saracens (in the second decade of the 8th century) to that part of the Gothic empire which was then called Septimania, the historian relates their arrival at a beautiful spot north of the Pyrénées, in the vicinity of Mount Espingo (the present Mnts. de l'Espinous' to the south of St. Gervais), and describes the impression made on them by the aspect of the scenery, which reminded them of their native country. The incident of the surprise of the Moors by the Basques whilst the former indulged in pleasant repose, has been invented by Paul Heyse.* P. 287, No.- - St. 2. Hauran is a table-land in Syria. Engadi, also spelt Engedi, is an ancient town in S. Palestine. P. 288, No. CXIX. Kriemhilde, the heroine of the greatest German epic, Das Nibelungenlied, had married Etzel (Attila), King of the Heunen (Huns), in order to be able to wreak her vengeance on her brothers but more especially on Hagen, on account of his having, with the consent of the former, treacherously murdered her valiant husband Siegfried. She invited the 'Burgundians' as guests to her residence in Hungary, and the present ballad, which has probably been inspired to the poet by the opening stanzas of the 28th Abenteuer, describes Kriemhilden's feelings towards her intended victims on their arrival near her residence.t P. 289, No. St. 5. According to a popular superstition horses Start at places which are to be the scenes of bloodshed. P. 290, No.-St. 3 and 4. Giselher, the youngest of Kriemhilden's three brothers (hence his attribute, 'the Child'), was her favourite, and the only one who was averse from the murder of Siegfried; hence her grief on seeing him at the scene of slaughter. P. 292, No. CXX. This patriotic ballad is based on the legend attributing the origin of the town of Goslar, in the Harz Mountains, and of the ancient edifice there, called Kaiserwort, to Henry the Fowler. (Cp. above, p. 189, No. LXXV., Notes.) The expression wort denotes in Low German both a plot of ground' and 'word,' and so popular etymology has interpreted the term Kaiserwort, i.e. 'imperial ground,' to mean 'imperial word.' P. No. -St. 3. The River Gose flows past the town, hence its name Goslar. P. No. St. 4. The historical building, Kaiserwort, has in modern times been converted into an hotel. * I am indebted to the distinguished poet himself for the information respecting the passage which suggested to him the above exquisite ballad.-ED. †The second stanza of the above-mentioned Abenteuer runs thus in Simrock's translation: Da stieg zu den Zinnen Frau Kriemhild hinan, |