German Romance VI: Wigamur

Wigamur is an anonymously-authored, thirteenth-century Middle High German romance about a king’s son who is lost to his parents in infancy. The eponymous hero, after being carried off in childhood by a mermaid, rescues an eagle which becomes his constant companion; in subsequent adventures he also rescues a maiden, becomes a Knight of the Round Table, and finally confronts a knight who of course proves to be his father, from whom he inherits a kingdom. The romance is perhaps the most most fully realized example of the Fair Unknown, or Bel Inconnu, motif in both the German and larger European Arthurian traditions.
Owng in part to the lack of an English translation, unlike other contemporary German romances, Wigamur has been comparatively little studied. This volume aims to fill this need. It presents an edition of the text ( based on the only complete manuscript, Wolffenbuttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 51.2. Aug. 4 Degrees (W), dating from the last half of the fifteenth century), accompanied by facing translation, notes, and introduction.

Joseph M. Sullivan is an Associate Professor of German at the University of Oklahoma.