Tundalusfragmente niederrheinisch 1 (ca. 1200)
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Maere and Novellas
Tundalusfragmente niederrheinisch 1 (ca. 1200)
Niederrheinische Tundalusfragmente. In: Albrecht Wagner (ed.), Visio Tnugdali, lateinisch u. altdeutsch. Erlangen 1882, p. 111–118.
TundFr1-1:
(=I) God’s creation has many wonders. He does not want any sinner to perish, but to obtain salvation by doing penance. The author tells a story written in Latin about a man by the name of Tundalus, who was a great sinner, but became a pious and righteous man after he had seen hell and paradise while lying apparently dead for three days. This happened in the year 1149 after Christ’s birth in the land of Yberne, a mountainous island, abundant in milk and honey, fruits and wine, fish and game. There are plenty of snakes, toads and spiders, but its trees produce powerful cures against poison and banish vermin. Good people live there, who have fine weapons and clothes. The island is located near England, closer to Scotland than to the British. The land has 34 cities; one of them is the rich town of Archamacha. The town of Crocagensis is located nearby, the home of a proud knight.
Motif References:
Z 71.1 Formulistic number: three
V 522 Sinner reformed after visit to heaven and hell
E 721.2 Body in trance while soul is absent
F 733 Fruitful island
F 811 Extraordinary tree
D 1515.1 Remedies for poison
TundFr1-90:
(=II) On their way through hell the angel reassures Tundalus that he will not have to suffer the punishment he just watched but another one. The soul then inquires about the pains of the souls suffering in the deep valley and the angel tells him that such is the punishment of the proud, deceitful and selfish. The angel leads the soul a bad and narrow path until they catch sight of a huge animal, larger than any mountain, with fiery eyes and a dreadful face. Its extremely broad mouth is wide open so as to swallow ten thousand armed men at once. Two giants placed between the upper and the lower teeth guard the entrance like two pillars. The animal’s fiery breath passing from three gates burns the damned souls.
Motif References:
B 15.4.2 Beasts with fiery eyes
F 81 Descent to lower world of dead [hell]
V 232.5 Angel as guide
Q 260 Deceptions punished
Q 277 Covetousness punished.
G 363.1 Ogre with flaming mouth
V 511.2 Visions of hell
F 531 Giant
F 541.1.1 Eyes flash fire
Q 566 Punishments by heat in hell
A 671.2 Horrible sights in hell
A 671.2.5 Dragons [monsters] in hell
B 742 Animal breathes fire
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