OBERON (Fr. Alberon, Auberon, Ger. Alberich, i.e. rich, Goth. reiks, " ruler "cf. Lat. rexand O.H. and M.H. Ger. pl. elbi, elbe, " elves," pl. alp)

This article appears in Volume V19, Page 947 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: NUM-ORC

OBERON (Fr. Alberon, Auberon, Ger. Alberich, i.e. rich, Goth. reiks, " ruler "cf. Lat. rexand O.H. and M.H. Ger. pl. elbi, elbe, " elves," pl. alp) , king of the elves. In the legendary history 2 of the Merovingian dynasty he figures as a magician, apd is the brother of Merowech (Merovee). He wins for his eldest son Walbert the hand of a princess of

Constantinople

CONSTANTINOPLE
CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF

. In the Nibelungenlied he guarded the treasure of the Nibelungen, but was overcome by Sigfrid. In the German medieval poem of

Ortnit

ORTNIT, or OTNIT

, the hero is aided in his wooing by his father Alberich, the king of the dwarfs. As Oberon, king of the fairies, he fills a similar role in Huon of Bordeaux (q.v.). The fairy

element

ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

in the romance provided Shakespeare with the fairy scenes of the Midsummer Night's Dream, and Wieland with the subject of his epic Oberon (1780). Ben Jenson wrote a masque of Oberon, or the Fairy Prince (Works, 1616). Weber's opera, Oberon, to the words of J. R. Planche, was first produced at Covent

Garden

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

on the 12th of April 1826. In the Wagner dramas Alberich is the Nibelung who steals the magic gold from the Rhine maidens. He is there the father of

Hagen

HAGEN
HAGEN,
FRIEDRICH
- FRIEDRICH, JOHANN (1836— )
HEINRICH VON DER (178o-1856)

, and has throughout the Ring a darker character than that assigned to him in the

original

ORIGINAL

legend. There have been attempts to find the

original

ORIGINAL

Oberon in the Celtic Gwyn Aron, but there is no doubt of his Germanic origin, although his history, as given by the poet of Huon of Bordeaux, contains elements derived from Celtic traditionthe magic cup which remains full for the virtuous, and his parentage (he is the son of

Morgan

la fay and

Julius

JULIUS

Caesar). With Oberon in the character of guardian of the treasure should be compared Andvari, the dwarf of Scandinavian legend, who, in the shape of a pike, was seized by Loki and made to give up his treasure and the magic ring by which he could create more gold. This ring, the Andvaranautr, with the curse of Andvari upon it, caused the misfortunes of the Volsungs and the Burgundian Nibelungs, and is known in German romance as the Ring of the Nibelungen.
See also C. Voretzsch, Epische Studien. Die Kompositionen des Huon von Bordeaux (

Halle

, 1900) ; J. Seemuller, " Die Zwergensage von

Ortnit

ORTNIT, or OTNIT

," in Zeitschr. fur dent. Altert. vol. xvi. (1882).

End of Article: OBERON (Fr. Alberon, Auberon, Ger. Alberich, i.e. rich, Goth. reiks, " ruler "cf. Lat. rexand O.H. and M.H. Ger. pl. elbi, elbe, " elves," pl. alp)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/NUM_ORC/OBERON_Fr_Alberon_Auberon_Ger_.html">
OBERON (Fr. Alberon, Auberon, Ger. Alberich, i....
</a>

(Previous)
OBERLIN, JEREMIE JACQUES (1735-1806)

(Next)
OBERSTEIN

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email