Shalom!<P>Da bin ich wieder. Mein Letzter Beitrag ist verschwunden. GRMPF
<BR>Jedenfalls, wenn Euch WErwölfe interessieren, hier ist einer der bekanntesten: Buiclavret. Er stammt aus einer altfranzösischen Lais (SO was wie ein Bardengedicht) Leider hab ich nur ne englische (Aber sehr gute) Übersetzung gefunden, daß altfranzösische erspar ich euch!<P>Bisclavret<P>By Marie de France<P>Since I'm making lais, Bisclavret<BR>Is one I don't want to forget.<BR>In Breton, "Bisclavret"'s the name;<BR>"Garwolf" in Norman means the same.<BR>Long ago you heard the tale told--<BR>And it used to happen, in days of old--<BR>Quite a few men became garwolves,<BR>And set up housekeeping in the woods.<BR>A garwolf is a savage beast,<BR>While the fury's on it, at least:<BR>Eats men, wreaks evil, does no good,<BR>Living and roaming in the deep wood.<BR>Now I'll leave this topic set.<BR>I want to tell you about Bisclavret. <P>In Brittany there dwelt a lord;<BR>Wondrous praise of him I've heard:<BR>A handsome knight, an able man,<BR>He was, and acted like, a noble man.<BR>His lord the King held him dear,<BR>And so did his neighbors far and near. <P>He'd married a worthy woman, truly;<BR>Always she acted so beautifully. <P>He loved her, she him: they loved each other.<BR>But one thing was a bother:<BR>Every week he was lost to her<BR>For three whole days, she didn't know where,<BR>What became of him, what might befall<BR>Him; his people knew nothing at all.<BR>He came home to his house one day,<BR>So joyous he was, happy and gay;<BR>She began to ask him and inquire:<BR>"My lord," she said, "my friend, my dear,<BR>There's just one thing I might care<BR>To ask, if only I might dare--<BR>But I'm afraid that you'll get angry,<BR>And, more than anything, that scares me."<BR>He hugged her when he heard all this,<BR>Drew her close and gave her a kiss.<BR>"My lady," he said, "Ask me now!<BR>Anything you want to know,<BR>If I can, I'll tell you." "Sir,<BR>By my faith, you work my cure.<BR>My lord, I'm in terror every day,<BR>Those days when you've gone away,<BR>My heart is so full of fear,<BR>I'm so afraid I'll lose you, dear--<BR>If I don't get some help, some healing,<BR>I will die soon of what I'm feeling!<BR>Where do you go? Now you must say<BR>What life you live, where do you stay?<BR>You are in love--that's it, I know--<BR>And you do wrong if this is so!"<BR>"My lady," he said, "Please, God above!<BR>I'll suffer great harm if I tell you:<BR>I'll drive you off, right out of love,<BR>And lose my own self if I do." <P>The lady heard how he refused.<BR>She was not the least amused.<BR>She brought it up again, and often<BR>She would flatter him and cozen<BR>Him to tell her his adventure--<BR>Till, hiding nothing, he told her.<BR>"My lady, I turn bisclavret;<BR>I plunge into that great forest.<BR>In thick woods I like it best.<BR>I live on what prey I can get."<BR>When he'd told her all the story<BR>She asked, inquired one thing more: he<BR>Undressed? Or what did he wear?<BR>"My lady," he said, "I go all bare."<BR>"Where are your clothes? Tell, for God's sake."<BR>"My lady, I won't say this, no;<BR>For if I lost them by this mistake,<BR>From that moment on, I'd know<BR>I'd stay a bisclavret forever;<BR>Nothing could help me, I'd never<BR>Change back till I got them again.<BR>That's why I don't want it known."<BR>"My lord," the lady replied, "It's true<BR>More than all the world I love you.<BR>You should hide nothing from me, nor<BR>Ever doubt I'm loyal in any affair.<BR>That would not seem like true friendship.<BR>How have I ever sinned? What slip<BR>Makes me seem untrustworthy to you?<BR>Do what's right! Now tell me, do!"<BR>She nagged him thus, and thus harassed<BR>Him till he just had to tell, at last.<BR>"My lady," he said, "near that wood,<BR>Where I come home, along that road,<BR>Standing there is an old chapel,<BR>Which often serves me well.<BR>The stone is there, hollow and wide,<BR>Beneath a bush, dug out inside;<BR>I put my clothes there under the bush<BR>Until I can come back to the house." <P>The lady heard this marvel, this wonder.<BR>In terror she blushed all bright red,<BR>Filled with fear by this adventure.<BR>Often and often passed through her head<BR>Plans to get right out, escape, for<BR>She didn't want ever to share his bed. <P>A knight in that country there<BR>Who long had loved the lady fair,<BR>Begging her so, praying hard,<BR>Giving generously to win her regard<BR>(She had never loved him before this,<BR>Nor let him think her love was his)--<BR>She sent a messenger to bring<BR>Him to her, and told him everything. <P>"My friend, my dear," she said, "be glad!<BR>You've been tormented, driven, sad<BR>Wanting what I'll give you today--<BR>No-one will ever say you nay--<BR>I grant you my love and my body, too:<BR>Take me, make me your lover, you!" <P>He thanks her very gratefully.<BR>He takes her pledge made solemnly--<BR>She swears an oath on the engagement.<BR>Then she told him how her lord went<BR>Away, and what he turned into.<BR>The path he'd always taken to<BR>Enter the forest--this she shows;<BR>She sent him to get his clothes.<BR>Thus was Bisclavret betrayed<BR>And by his own wife waylaid. <P>Having lost him so often, indeed,<BR>Everyone generally agreed<BR>That he had finally left for good.<BR>He was looked for, inquiries pursued,<BR>But they couldn't find a trace.<BR>Finally they closed the case.<BR>The lady's marriage was celebrated<BR>To the fellow who'd loved and waited. <P>So, a whole year, matters rest,<BR>Until the King went hunting one day.<BR>He went straight to the forest <BR>Where the bisclavret used to stay.<BR>When the hounds were loosed and let<BR>Run, they found the bisclavret.<BR>They chased him always that long day,<BR>The huntsmen and the coursing dogs,<BR>Till they had him--almost--at bay<BR>And they would have torn him to rags, <BR>But then he picked out the King<BR>And ran there for mercy. To beg,<BR>He seizes the King's stirrup-ring,<BR>And kisses his foot and leg.<BR>The King sees this, and feels great fear;<BR>He calls all his companions over.<BR>"My lords," he says, "come, come here!<BR>Behold this marvel, see this wonder.<BR>How this beast bows down to me!<BR>Its sense is human. It begs for mercy.<BR>Drive me those dogs away again,<BR>See that no-one strikes a blow!<BR>This beast understands, feels like a man.<BR>Let's get going! You're all too slow!<BR>To the beast my peace I'll grant.<BR>Now, no more today will I hunt." <P>With that, the King turns and goes.<BR>The bisclavret follows him close;<BR>It won't escape, it stays right near.<BR>Losing him is its only fear.<BR>The King leads it back to his castle keep;<BR>It pleases him, his delight is deep<BR>For he's never seen such a creature.<BR>He's decided it's a marvel of nature, <BR>And treats it as a great treasure.<BR>He tells his people it's his pleasure<BR>For them to take the best of care<BR>Of it; let no-one harm it, or dare<BR>To strike it, for love of the King.<BR>It must be fed well and given drink.<BR>They're all glad to care for and keep<BR>It; every day it goes to sleep<BR>Among the knights, close to the King.<BR>Every man thinks it a precious thing,<BR>For it's so gentle, well-bred, polite,<BR>It never would do what isn't right.<BR>Wherever the King might go<BR>It didn't want to be separated, so<BR>It went along with him constantly.<BR>That it loved him was easy to see. <P><BR>Now listen to what happened next.<BR>The King was holding court; he'd asked<BR>That all his barons attend him,<BR>Those who owed their land to him,<BR>To help him hold his high feast-day,<BR>And see him served in a royal way.<BR>That very knight came to the feast,<BR>Well equipped and richly dressed,<BR>Who had married Bisclavret's wife.<BR>He never thought nor reckoned<BR>To find him so close in his life.<BR>He came to the palace; the second<BR>That Bisclavret saw him standing around,<BR>He made for him with a single bound,<BR>Bit into him and dragged him off.<BR>He would have treated him very rough<BR>If the King hadn't called him back<BR>And threatened him with a stick.<BR>He tried to bite him twice before night.<BR>Many folks were amazed at the sight;<BR>For never had he acted this way<BR>To any man he'd seen, until this day.<BR>All those of the household insist<BR>There must be a reason he's doing this.<BR>He's hurt him, gave him some offense--<BR>For he'd be glad to take vengeance.<BR>This time he lets it drop<BR>Until the feast has broken up<BR>And the lords take leave; each baron<BR>Returns to his home, one by one.<BR>The knight has left, I happen to know,<BR>Among the very first to go,<BR>He whom Bisclavret attacked;<BR>He hates him--not a surprising fact. <P>Some time later (not very long,<BR>I think, unless I heard it wrong),<BR>The King went riding in the wood,<BR>That courteous King, so wise and good,<BR>That wood where they'd found Bisclavret,<BR>And he came along with him. At<BR>Night, time to retire for the day,<BR>In a country lodging he lay.<BR>Bisclavret's wife knew it; she dressed<BR>Herself in her attractive best,<BR>Next day, to go speak to the King--<BR>Sent him a gift, some costly thing.<BR>When Bisclavret saw her entrance,<BR>No man could have held him back;<BR>He ran like mad to the attack--<BR>Listen now to his fine vengeance:<BR>He tore her nose right off her face.<BR>Could anything be worse than this is?<BR>Now they surround him in that place,<BR>They're ready to cut him in pieces,<BR>When a wise fellow tells the King,<BR>"My Lord," he says, "Hear what I say:<BR>It's with you this beast's been living<BR>And every one of us here today<BR>Has watched him a long time; beside<BR>Him we've travelled far and wide.<BR>He's never before hurt anyone,<BR>Or shown a criminal disposition,<BR>Except to this lady you see here.<BR>By the faith I owe you, it's clear<BR>He holds some grudge or other<BR>Against her and her lord together.<BR>This is the wife of that knight who<BR>Used to be so dear to you,<BR>Who was lost such a long time ago;<BR>What happened to him, we don't know.<BR>Now try this lady with some torture,<BR>And see if she doesn't have more to<BR>Tell you why the beast hates her!<BR>If she knows, make her say it!<BR>Many strange things we see occur<BR>In Brittany, early and late." <P>With this advice the King agrees.<BR>On the one hand, the knight they seize;<BR>The lady's taken, on the other,<BR>And seriously made to suffer.<BR>From pain just as much as from fear,<BR>She told him her lord's whole affair:<BR>How she'd betrayed him, she said,<BR>And taken away the clothes that he shed,<BR>The adventure he'd told, so she'd know,<BR>What he became and where he'd go.<BR>Since she'd stolen all his linen,<BR>In his lands he'd not been seen;<BR>But she believed--her mind was set--<BR>The beast was indeed Bisclavret.<BR>The King wants the clothes on the spot;<BR>Whether the lady wants to or not<BR>She has them brought back out<BR>And given to the Bisclavret.<BR>They set them down in front of his nose,<BR>But Bisclavret ignores the clothes.<BR>That wise fellow speaks to the King,<BR>Who'd given the other advice, too:<BR>"Sire, you're doing the wrong thing.<BR>He will never make the least<BR>Move to get dressed in front of you<BR>And change from the form of a beast.<BR>This is terrible--you don't know--<BR>Something he's far too ashamed to show.<BR>Have him taken to your own room,<BR>And his lost clothes brought with him;<BR>A good long time, leave him alone;<BR>Then we'll see if he becomes a man." <P>The King himself took Bisclavret<BR>Inside, and closed all the doors tight;<BR>He returned when the time was done.<BR>He brought along two barons, not one.<BR>They entered the chamber, all three.<BR>On the king's royal bed, they see<BR>Lying fast asleep, the knight.<BR>The king ran to hug him tight;<BR>He kissed him a hundred times that day.<BR>When he catches his breath, he hands<BR>Him back all his fiefs and lands,<BR>And more presents than I will say. <P>The lady, now, they expell<BR>From that realm, from that time forward.<BR>He goes with her, as well, <BR>For whom she betrayed her lord.<BR>She had plenty of children; grown,<BR>They were, all of them, quite well-known,<BR>By their looks, their facial assembly:<BR>More than one woman of that family<BR>Was born without a nose to blow,<BR>And lived denosed. It's true! It's so! <P>The adventure you have heard<BR>Is true--don't doubt a single word.<BR>Of Bisclavret they made the lay,<BR>To remember, forever and a day.<P><P>------------------<BR> [Userbild:Szandor] <BR>HpWoD<BR>PAX ALTA by Szandor