Motif Index of German Secular Narratives                 
Published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna
 Introduction   Matière de Bretagne   Chansons de Geste   Miscellaneous Romances   Oriental Romances   Heroic Epic   Maere and Novellas   Romances of Antiquity   Index 

Rüdiger der Hinkehofer, Der Schlegel (>1286)
RdHSc-179
RdHSc-495
RdHSc-538
  

Maere and Novellas

Rüdiger der Hinkehofer, Der Schlegel (>1286)
von der Hagen, H.H.: Gesammtabenteuer. Hundert altdeutsche Erzählungen, 3 vols. Stuttgart/Tübingen 1850. Reprint Darmstadt 1961. Vol 2, Nr. 49, p. 407–451

RdHSc-179:   Promythion: Rüdeger der Hinkehofer tells a true story. He says that children should all honor their parents, and that parents should beware of the ungrateful children. After the death of his wife, a rich merchant gives all his entire possessions to his three sons and two daughters, after the death of his wife expecting a quiet retirement at their place. In the beginning, he is received amiably and with great care. When he starts the second round of visiting, his children complain about his repeated appearances and try to get rid of the molesting old.
Motif References:

P 236.1 Folly of father’s giving all property to children before his death

RdHSc-495:   An old friend takes him into his house and gives him advice on how to be honored by his children again. He has him make a big iron cast trunk with five keys. The old man wears one of the keys around his neck. At the next round, the children notice the key and think that their father still has a bigger larger treasure in his possession.
Motif References:

P 236.2 Supposed chest of gold induces children to care for their aged father.
N 825.2 Old man helper

RdHSc-538:   Now they compete with each other to prove their love, and he leads a good life until his death. When he is near dying, he gives the five keys to the minister and four citizens and ask s them that they be given to his children after the funeral. After the funeral, the children open the trunk and find a mallet and a piece of paper which says: he who is stupid enough to give his children all his possessions and suffer plight, shall be beaten to death with this mallet. Epimythion: Often you learn more good news from friends than from blood relatives. Who sticks to a risky game often has a disadvantage.
Motif References:

J 100 Wisdom (knowledge) taught by necessity
Q 281.1 Ungrateful children punished.