The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Produced by Paul Bonner, and Martin Ward
Produziert von Paul Bonner und Martin Ward
THE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE
DIE BALLADE VOM WEISSEN PFERD
By G.K. Chesterton
Von G.K. Chesterton
Prefatory Note:
Vorbemerkung:
This ballad needs no historical notes, for the simple reason that it does not profess to be historical.
Diese Ballade bedarf keiner historischen Anmerkungen, aus dem einfachen Grund, dass sie keinen Anspruch darauf erhebt, historisch zu sein.
All of it that is not frankly fictitious, as in any prose romance about the past, is meant to emphasize tradition rather than history.
Alles darin, was nicht offen fiktiv ist, wie in jedem Prosawerk über die Vergangenheit, soll eher die Tradition als die Geschichte betonen.
King Alfred is not a legend in the sense that King Arthur may be a legend; that is, in the sense that he may possibly be a lie.
König Alfred ist keine Legende in dem Sinne, dass König Artus eine Legende sein könnte; das heißt, in dem Sinne, dass er möglicherweise eine Erfindung sein könnte.
But King Alfred is a legend in this broader and more human sense, that the legends are the most important things about him.
Aber König Alfred ist in diesem weiteren und menschlicheren Sinne eine Legende, dass die Legenden über ihn das Bedeutsamste an ihm sind.
The cult of Alfred was a popular cult, from the darkness of the ninth century to the deepening twilight of the twentieth.
Der Kult um Alfred war ein volkstümlicher Kult, von der Dunkelheit des neunten Jahrhunderts bis zur sich vertiefenden Dämmerung des zwanzigsten.
It is wholly as a popular legend that I deal with him here.
Es ist ausschließlich als volkstümliche Legende, dass ich mich hier mit ihm befasse.
I write as one ignorant of everything, except that I have found the legend of a King of Wessex still alive in the land.
Ich schreibe als einer, der von allem unwissend ist, außer dass ich die Legende eines Königs von Wessex noch lebendig im Lande gefunden habe.
I will give three curt cases of what I mean.
Ich werde drei knappe Beispiele für das geben, was ich meine.
A tradition connects the ultimate victory of Alfred with the valley in Berkshire called the Vale of the White Horse.
Eine Überlieferung verbindet den endgültigen Sieg Alfreds mit dem Tal in Berkshire, das als das Tal des Weißen Pferdes bekannt ist.
I have seen doubts of the tradition, which may be valid doubts.
Ich habe Zweifel an der Überlieferung gesehen, die möglicherweise berechtigt sind.
I do not know when or where the story started; it is enough that it started somewhere and ended with me; for I only seek to write upon a hearsay, as the old balladists did.
Ich weiß nicht, wann oder wo die Geschichte begann; es genügt, dass sie irgendwo begann und bei mir endete; denn ich suche nur auf der Grundlage von Hörensagen zu schreiben, wie es die alten Balladendichter taten.
Vocabulary
- Produziert
- Produced; created or manufactured something
- von
- Of, from, or by; common German preposition
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction in German
- DIE
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- BALLADE
- Ballad; a narrative poem or song telling a story
- VOM
- Of the; contraction of von and dem
- WEISSEN
- White; adjective in inflected form meaning white
- PFERD
- Horse; a large domesticated animal used for riding
- Von
- From, of, by; a common German preposition
- Vorbemerkung
- Preliminary note; introductory remark before main text
- Diese
- This or these; demonstrative pronoun in German
- Ballade
- Ballad; a narrative poem or song with a story
- bedarf
- Requires or needs; third person singular of bedürfen
- keiner
- No, none; negative pronoun in genitive form
- historischen
- Historical; adjective referring to history in inflected form
- Anmerkungen
- Notes or annotations; comments added to a text
- aus
- From, out of; preposition indicating origin or exit
- dem
- The; dative definite article for masculine or neuter
- einfachen
- Simple; adjective in inflected form meaning plain or easy
- Grund
- Reason or ground; basis or foundation for something
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- sie
- She, they, or you; personal pronoun in German
- keinen
- No, not any; negative article in accusative masculine form
- Anspruch
- Claim or entitlement; asserting a right to something
- darauf
- Thereon, on it; pronominal adverb referring to something mentioned
- erhebt
- Raises or asserts; third person singular of erheben
- historisch
- Historical; relating to or based on actual history
- zu
- To, too, at; versatile German preposition or infinitive marker
- sein
- To be; fundamental German infinitive or possessive pronoun
- Alles
- Everything, all; indefinite pronoun meaning the whole
- darin
- Therein, in it; pronominal adverb referring to something inside
- was
- What, that which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- nicht
- Not; basic German negation adverb
- offen
- Openly, overtly; adjective or adverb meaning clearly evident
- fiktiv
- Fictitious; invented or imaginary, not based on fact
- ist
- Is; third person singular present tense of sein
- wie
- How, as, like; comparative or interrogative adverb
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or direction
- jedem
- Every, each; indefinite pronoun in dative form
- Prosawerk
- Prose work; a literary work written in prose form
- über
- About, over, above; preposition indicating subject or position
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Vergangenheit
- The past; time that has already occurred or elapsed
- soll
- Shall, should; modal verb expressing obligation or intention
- eher
- Rather, sooner; adverb indicating preference or approximation
- Tradition
- Tradition; customs or beliefs passed down through generations
- als
- Than, as, when; conjunction used in comparisons or time clauses
- Geschichte
- History or story; account of past events or a narrative
- betonen
- To emphasize or stress; to highlight something as important
- König
- King; male monarch or ruler of a kingdom
- keine
- No, not any; negative article in feminine or plural form
- Legende
- Legend; a traditional story regarded as historical but unverified
- Sinne
- Sense, meaning; dative of Sinn, referring to meaning or spirit
- eine
- A, one; indefinite article in feminine nominative form
- könnte
- Could; subjunctive form of können expressing possibility
- das
- The, that; definite article or demonstrative pronoun neuter
- heißt
- Means, is called; third person singular of heißen
- er
- He; third person singular masculine personal pronoun
- möglicherweise
- Possibly, perhaps; adverb indicating something may be true
- Erfindung
- Invention or fabrication; something invented or made up
- Aber
- But, however; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
- diesem
- This; demonstrative pronoun in dative masculine or neuter form
- weiteren
- Further, additional; adjective in inflected comparative form
- menschlicheren
- More human; comparative adjective in inflected form
- Legenden
- Legends; plural of Legende, traditional unverified historical stories
- ihn
- Him; accusative form of the masculine personal pronoun er
- Bedeutsamste
- Most significant; superlative adjective meaning most meaningful
- an
- At, on, to; preposition indicating location or direction
- ihm
- Him, it; dative form of the masculine personal pronoun
- sind
- Are; third person plural present tense of sein
- Der
- The; definite article for masculine nominative singular nouns
- Kult
- Cult or worship; devoted following or veneration of something
- um
- Around, about, at; preposition indicating surrounding or purpose
- war
- Was; third person singular past tense of sein
- ein
- A, an, one; indefinite article or numeral in German
- volkstümlicher
- More popular, folk-like; adjective relating to folk tradition
- der
- The; definite article in various genitive or dative forms
- Dunkelheit
- Darkness; the state of being dark or without light
- des
- Of the; definite article in genitive masculine or neuter form
- neunten
- Ninth; ordinal number adjective in inflected form
- Jahrhunderts
- Century; genitive form of Jahrhundert meaning a hundred years
- bis
- Until, to, up to; preposition indicating a limit or endpoint
- zur
- To the; contraction of zu and der for feminine dative
- sich
- Oneself, itself; reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- vertiefenden
- Deepening; present participle adjective meaning growing deeper
- Dämmerung
- Twilight or dusk; the dim light of dawn or evening
- zwanzigsten
- Twentieth; ordinal number adjective in inflected form
- Es
- It; third person singular neuter personal pronoun
- ausschließlich
- Exclusively, solely; only this and nothing else
- volkstümliche
- Folk, popular; adjective relating to folk or popular tradition
- ich
- I; first person singular personal pronoun in German
- mich
- Me, myself; accusative or reflexive form of ich
- hier
- Here; adverb indicating this location or place
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- befasse
- Deal with, occupy myself; first person singular of befassen
- Ich
- I; first person singular nominative pronoun in German
- schreibe
- I write; first person singular present tense of schreiben
- einer
- A, one, of a; indefinite article in dative or genitive form
- allem
- All, everything; dative form of alles used in phrases
- unwissend
- Ignorant, unknowing; adjective describing a lack of knowledge
- außer
- Except, besides, outside of; preposition indicating exception
- eines
- A, one, of a; indefinite article in genitive form
- Königs
- King's; genitive form of König indicating possession
- noch
- Still, yet, even; adverb indicating continuation or addition
- lebendig
- Alive, lively; adjective meaning full of life or living
- im
- In the; contraction of in and dem for dative case
- Lande
- Land, country; dative form of Land referring to a territory
- gefunden
- Found; past participle of finden meaning to discover something
- habe
- Have; first person singular present tense of haben
- werde
- Will, shall; first person singular future auxiliary verb werden
- drei
- Three; the cardinal number 3 in German
- knappe
- Brief, concise; adjective meaning short or scanty in form
- Beispiele
- Examples; plural of Beispiel meaning illustrative instances
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose, benefit, or duration
- geben
- To give; infinitive of the verb meaning to provide or offer
- meine
- My; possessive pronoun in feminine or plural nominative form
- Eine
- A, one; indefinite article in feminine nominative form
- Überlieferung
- Tradition, handed-down account; oral or written transmission of knowledge
- verbindet
- Connects, links; third person singular present of verbinden
- den
- The; definite article in accusative masculine or dative plural
- endgültigen
- Final, definitive; adjective in inflected form meaning conclusive
- Sieg
- Victory; a successful outcome in battle or competition
- Tal
- Valley; a low area of land between hills or mountains
- Weißen
- White; inflected form of weiß used as an adjective
- Pferdes
- Horse's; genitive form of Pferd indicating possession
- bekannt
- Known, familiar; past participle adjective meaning well-known
- Zweifel
- Doubt; uncertainty or lack of conviction about something
- gesehen
- Seen; past participle of sehen meaning to have observed
- berechtigt
- Justified, entitled; adjective meaning having the right to something
- weiß
- Know or white; first person singular of wissen or color adjective
- wann
- When; interrogative or subordinating conjunction indicating time
- oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction presenting an alternative choice
- wo
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb indicating a place
- begann
- Began; third person singular simple past of beginnen
- es
- It; third person singular neuter personal pronoun
- genügt
- Suffices, is enough; third person singular of genügen
- irgendwo
- Somewhere; indefinite adverb indicating an unspecified place
- bei
- Near, at, by, with; preposition indicating proximity or context
- mir
- Me, to me; dative form of the first person pronoun ich
- endete
- Ended; third person singular simple past of enden
- denn
- Because, for; causal conjunction or intensifying particle
- suche
- Seek, search; first person singular present of suchen
- nur
- Only, just; adverb restricting or limiting a statement
- auf
- On, upon, onto; preposition indicating surface or basis
- Grundlage
- Basis, foundation; the underlying ground or basis for something
- Hörensagen
- Hearsay; information received from others, not firsthand knowledge
- schreiben
- To write; infinitive of the verb meaning to compose text
- alten
- Old; adjective in inflected form referring to age or antiquity
- Balladendichter
- Ballad poet; a person who composes ballads or narrative songs
- taten
- Did; third person plural simple past of tun meaning to do
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