Walther

The legend of Walther of Aquitaine and his bride, Hildegund, survives best in the medieval Latin poem Waltharius, yet there is also a sizable collection of texts in Middle High German that deal with the Walther legend. Walther appears as a character in epic poems such as Biterolf und Dietleib, Dietrichs Flucht, Alpharts Tod, the Rosengarten, and theRabenschlacht. Significant allusions to his legend appear in the Nibelungenlied. There are, moreover, two tantalizing fragments (from Graz and Vienna) of a medieval German epic of Walther and Hildegund, which depicts the lovers’ escape from the court of Attila the Hun and their felicitous homecoming.

This book is the first and only book of its kind, as it offers facing-page texts and translations of every medieval German reference to the Walther legend. Many of the passages contained in this book have never previously been translated into English.

“The legend of Walther of Aquitaine rivaled those of Siegfried, Roland, and Beowulf during the Middle Ages, yet it remains far less studied today—largely because its preserved passages, scattered across numerous literary works, have never been assembled in a single accessible volume. Murdoch and Neidorf’s collection helps to fill this long-standing gap, and their introduction alone makes a compelling case for rethinking Walther’s legend as bridal-quest narrative rather than heroic tragedy. An essential resource for anyone interested in medieval epic and romance.” - Will Hasty, University of Florida

“From Attila the Hun to Charlemagne’s Roland, and in battle from Ravenna to Roncevalles, wherever the noble Walther can be found in writing, this volume faithfully brings the reader. An excellent and beguiling guide to a literary journey in the German Middle Ages.” - G. Ronald Murphy, Georgetown University

“Anyone interested in the Old English Waldere or the Latin Waltharius will want to read this fascinating anthology of medieval German texts featuring the same hero. Making much of this material available in English translation for the first time, this invaluable collection promises to revolutionize the study of many monuments of medieval literature.” - R. D. Fulk, Indiana University

BRIAN MURDOCH received his PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is Professor Emeritus of German at Stirling University in Scotland, where he taught for most of his career. He has held Visiting Fellowships at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, at Magdalen College, Oxford, and Oriel College, Oxford. He has published numerous articles and books on medieval German and Latin literatures. His monographs include Old High German Literature (Twayne, 1983), The Germanic Hero (Hambledon, 1996), and Gregorius (Oxford University Press, 2012). As a literary translator, Murdoch’s works include Kudrun (Dent, 1987), All Quiet on the Western Front (Bodley Head, 1993), The Poems of Gaius Valerius Catullus (Choir Press, 2023) and Three Political Tales from Medieval Germany (Boydell & Brewer, 2024).

LEONARD NEIDORF received his PhD from Harvard University. He is Distinguished Professor of English at Shenzhen University, having previously taught at Nanjing University and Harvard University. He is the author of two monographs: The Transmission of Beowulf (2017) and The Art and Thought of the Beowulf Poet (2022), both of which were published by Cornell University Press. In collaboration with Tom Shippey, Neidorf edited Beowulf: Translation and Commentary (Uppsala Books, 2023). Neidorf has published more than 100 papers on medieval literature, which have appeared in a wide range of prominent journals, including ELH, Folklore, Traditio, and Journal of Germanic Linguistics. He is an Associate Editor of English Studies and the Editor-in-Chief of The Explicator.

The Legend of Walther of Aquitaine: Medieval German Texts and Translations