Отфрид Вейсенбургский: Жизнь и творчество первого немецкого поэта

Otfrid of Weissenburg (Otfrid von Weißenburg; Otfridus; 800 after 870 AD) was a monk at the abbey of Weissenburg (modern day Wissembourg in Alsace) and the author of a gospel harmony in rhyming couplets now called the Evangelienbuch. It is written in the South Rhine Franconian dialect of Old High German. The poem is thought to have been completed between 863 and 871. Otfrid is the first German poet whose name we know from his work.

More is known about Otfrid's life and work than about that of almost any other medieval German poet. He was born around 800. Assuming he followed the normal progression of monastic life, he will have entered Weissenburg as a novice at the age of seven, become sub deacon by around 821, deacon around 826 and priest around 830. The Latin letter which prefaces the Evangelienbuch indicates that he was taught at Fulda by Hrabanus Maurus, and this was mostly likely in the period 832–842. There is evidence that before going to Fulda he was one of the two scribes who spent time at the court of Louis the German when Grimald (abbot of Weissenburg, c. 825–839 and 847–872) was Louis' chancellor. After his return from Fulda, Otfrid acted as magister scholae at Weissenburg, responsible for the teaching of the novices. His date of death is around 870. Haubrichs has drawn attention to the recorded death of a presbyter Otfridus on 23 January 867, who may be the author of the Evangelienbuch, but this identification is not universally accepted.

The Evangelienbuch was the work of an old man, and for most of his monastic life Otfrid was concerned with teaching and with the preparation of works in Latin, including biblical commentary, and glossaries to the gospels. Otfrid's own hand has been identified in the manuscripts of five bible commentaries, Priscian's Institutiones Grammaticae, an anthology of Priscian with Latin and OHG glosses, parts of Augustine's Treatises on the Gospel of John. Beyond this, his impetus is seen behind the expansion of the monastery's library holdings and the increased activity of its scriptorium in this period. The resulting collection of commentaries and other reference materials for almost all of the books of the Bible was exceptional in scope.

There is debate about the audience for Otfrid's work, whether it was primarily a clerical or lay audience, whether the work was meant for recitation or private reading, and even the possibility that it was sung. It is perhaps unlikely that the Weissenburg monks themselves would use the Evangelienbuch for private reading rather than the gospels and commentaries in the monastery library, but it could have proved a suitable text for lay brothers without the Latin to read the scriptures. McLintock suggests it "may have been read aloud in the refectory at meal times in place of the Latin sermons more commonly used" In any case, the dedications clearly imply an expected monastic audience of some sort. The dedication to Louis the German, however, also suggests an expectation of lay readership. There is ample evidence of an appetite for written literature among the Carolingian nobility, and for the borrowing by the literate laity of suitable religious texts from local monasteries, including Weissenburg itself. Any noble household would have had a house chaplain who might read to his hosts from such a work. The Heidelberg manuscript contains a marginal annotation Kicilo diu scona min filu las ("Fair Kicilo often read me") and Otfrid ascribes the impetus for his work to an unknown "venerable matron" Judith, both of which suggest the likelihood of a lay female readership.

There is a relief on the side wall of the 14th century La Grange aux Dîmes, a building in the Place du Saumon in Wissembourg, which depicts Otfrid at his desk (see above). Two schools are named after him: the Otfried von Weißenburg Gymnasium in Dahn (Germany) and the Collège Otfried in Wissembourg.