Die Zwerge der Sage von Sigenot

Abstract

Mythical creatures appear in literary sources from the Middle Ages, among which dwarves stand out, and often play an essential role in the course of history. In Middle High German literature, three genres of dwarves can be distinguished, both in the heroic epic and in the courtly and chivalric novel: the first contains the image of an old man with a long beard, strong and ruthless, equipped with a helmet and armour (like Alberich in the Nibelungenlied ); the second corresponds to the portrait of a small child with a graceful appearance (like Alberich in Ortnit); finally, the third type is that of a knight of noble blood (or even a prince or king) but of small physical stature (like Laurin in the poem König Laurin und sein Rosengarten). In this article I would like to discuss the characters of two dwarves who appear in the Sigenot saga. These are Eggerich and Baldung, who cannot always be easily integrated into the typologies just described due to their characteristics and behavior.