Priest Wernher, Driu liet von der maget (Three Poems on the Virgin)

Priest Wernher wrote this "Life of the Virgin" based on apocryphal reports, i.e. that do not belong to the biblical canon (pseudo Matthew), in 1172 on behalf of the priest Manegold. The author and patron are assumed to be Augsburg's secular clergy in the circle of the provost and later abbot of the Benedictine St. Ulrich and Afra monastery.

The text, which comprises a total of about 5,900 verses, is divided into three parts, which refer to the feasts of the Nativity, Annunciation and Christmas. The first "liet" (poem or book) accordingly tells the story of the Mary's parents and her birth, the second of her marriage at God's command and the third of the birth of Christ, the infanticide of Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt and various episodes from Jesus' childhood. In the first epic German Mary poem, the hymnal "Praise of the Virgin May, invocation of the Virgin Mary and Queen of Heaven as a helper in need and a mediator of salvation and an edifying narrative unite until the independent appearance of Jesus as the beginning of his work of salvation" (Dieter Kartschoke).

This record, two complete manuscripts and five fragments, testifies to the broad impact of the work, which existed in several versions from the very beginning. This manuscript is a fragment from the late 13th century.

To the digitised copy