Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland
Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland is a popular literary ballad written by the German poet and novelist Theodor Fontane in 1889. Up to today, the poem is published in German anthologies and learned in schools.
Content[edit]
The poem tells of a member of the German lower Uradel nobility, named in the title (Squire von Ribbeck, his family name; auf Ribbeck, residing on Ribbeck manor (today part of Nauen); im Havelland, in the Havelland region). Von Ribbeck is described as gentle and generous; he often gives away pears from his pear trees to children passing by, addressing them in a friendly Brandenburgisch dialect. But he knows his son and heir to be a scrooge; so when von Ribbeck feels his end near, he asks that a pear be put into his grave. This pear quickly grows into a pear-tree, which now provides free pears to the children, thus preserving the heritage of the late von Ribbeck.
History[edit]
The Ribbeck family of Brandenburgian nobles has been attested since 1237; they were mentioned as owners of the Ribbeck estates in the 1375 register of Emperor Charles IV. The legend of kind-hearted Hans-Georg von Ribbeck (1689–1759) and his pear-tree first appeared in a collection of fairy tales published in 1887.[1] Fontane used this text as a base for his poem, which he wrote in summer 1889.[2] The legendary pear-tree on the grave of the von Ribbeck family, near the village church of Ribbeck, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of Berlin, did in fact exist at Fontane's time; it was destroyed in a storm in 1911.[2]
Popularity[edit]
More than 100 years after its initial publication, the poem is still very popular in Germany. It is available as a picture book in several editions,[3][4] and has been featured on children's TV series Die Sendung mit der Maus.[5] It is the subject of common classroom study in German schools. The poem has also been the subject of many scholarly reviews.[6]
In 2007, Fontane's original manuscript of the poem was sold for 130,000 Euros at an auction in Berlin.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Karl Eduard Haase: "Sagen aus der Grafschaft Ruppin und Umgegend“; Neu-Ruppin, Petrenz, 1887. ISBN 3-9804795-1-X.
- ^ a b c 130.000 Euro für Herrn Ribbeck auf Ribbeck, DIE WELT, June 26, 2007 (in German)
- ^ Bernd Streiter (illustrator): "Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland"; Aufbau-Verlag, 2002. ISBN 978-3-351-04022-2.
- ^ Karin Blume (illustrator): "Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland", Diogenes Verlag, 1987. ISBN 978-3-257-25098-5.
- ^ Herr von Ribbeck on Die Sendung mit der Maus official page
- ^ See the further reading section on Wikisource
External links[edit]
- Translations of the poem into English and other languages
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