#Dietrich von Hildebrand

[eternal-echoes]

[thesongthesoulsings]

[apesoformythoughts]

“He immunized and protected us from the philosophical waves that swept across Germany in those days. Heidegger's melodies no longer had the power to seduce us, for our ears had become more discerning. Whoever understood [Dietrich] von Hildebrand was saved. Despite the many factors at work, I think one can rightly say that history might have been quite different had there been more professors like him.”

— Paul Stöcklein, student of von Hildebrand at the University of Munich

[zmkccommonplace]

The liturgy has an objective beauty and truth that, when actively participated in, nurtures the personality towards what is inherently good and true.

Dietrich von Hildebrand, Liturgy & Personality

[castyourline]

"To be sure, every relationship has within it a mutual receptivity... To be met with trusting acceptance is already an incomprehensible gift. What a gift is the blossoming of the soul of a beloved person, the bearing fruit of all that the giver, by God's grace, can disclose and impart to him! Truly, this giving, in which what is bestowed is fully received and bears glorious fruits, is at the same time the receiving of a gift.

In addition, there is all that the receiver gives from his own personality, from the beauty of his unique individuality and, above all, from his love."

Dietrich von Hildebrand, Gratitude

[setrija-nibelungenfangirl]

Treffen sich ein Pazifist, ein Fatalist und ein Realist auf einer hunnischen Party...

Parodie der 39. Aventiure

English Translation (under the cut):

Panel 1

Dietrich: "Gunther, noble king! Yield you as my hostages, yourself and your man! Then I shall protect you and ensure your safe return to your homeland."

Panel 2

LIFE — DEATH

Dietrich (thinking): "Oh, noble King Gunther! I know that your courtly perfection will guide you to make the right choice."

Panel 3

DISHONOUR — HONOUR

Hagen (thinking): "That Dietrich would even dare to make such a proposal! My lord surely knows how a Burgundian ought to decide!"

Panel 4

DISHONOUR — DEATH

Gunther: "..."

[haljathefangirlcat]

Also is it me, or does Dietrich von Bern have no real friends aside from Hildebrand and Gudrun/Kriemhild, but just in the Norse sources. He has a bunch of frenemies, but nobody who really likes or remains loyal to him. I can't remember details off the top of my head, but Wudga and Heimir seemed to always be in a game of one-ups with him, and betrayed him a lot, only for him to keep on giving them that one last chance. I kinda feel sorry for him, but he's also a bit of a jerk, so you have to wonder if this is just the natural consequences of his life and choices.

Yeah, I always got the impression his retinue/court was just always full of drama. I do oscillate between "ouch, poor guy" and "well, MAYBE if you were a bit more SENSIBLE about things" with him. XD

He does seem to get along with Hagen in the Nibelungenlied, so I like to imagine a friendship there. (Admittedly, Stephan Grundy's novels kind of solidified that headcanon further for me, tho their relationship isn't quite as straightforward as a simple friendship there.) But ofc, that's bound not to end well, to put it midlly.

[daintyinsider]

Reading list:

Death by Living: Life Is Meant to Be Spent by N. D. Wilson

Joy At The End Of The Tether

Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot

The Art of Living by Dietrich von Hildebrand

[thegothicera]

Scene from the poem Virginal: Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons, Alsatian, ca. 1444-1448

I love how Dietrich is actually based on the real Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, yet here he is breathing fire on dragons!

[bernamegeh]

Hildebrandslied (Hildebrand Şarkısı)

**Hildebrandslied (Hildebrand Şarkısı)**, 9. yüzyılın başlarında yazılmış, Eski Yüksek Almanca dilinde bir destandır. Bu destan, Almanca edebiyatının bilinen en eski örneklerinden biri olarak kabul edilir. Şarkı, Germen halklarının kahramanlık ve aile trajedisini konu alır. Konu   Destan, iki ana karakter üzerine odaklanır: Hildebrand ve oğlu Hadubrand. Hildebrand, Dietrich von Bern’in (Tarihsel…

[gratefultothealmighty]

Dietrich von Hildebrand's chilling quote becomes a reality.

[wcatradio]

On this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss four giants of 20th century Catholic thought: Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II). Our welcome guest is Prof. Rick Spinello. He teaches at Boston College and St. John’s Seminary in Boston. The author of numerous scholarly articles on ethics, Spinello has written or edited many books including The Encyclicals of John Paul II: An Introduction and Commentary and The Splendor of Marriage: John Paul II’s Vision of Love, Marriage, Family, and the Culture of Life. Among the questions we’ll be asking him are the following.

Rick, how did you end up authoring a book on four Catholic philosophers?

Your book combines biography with hard philosophical questions. Why did you write it?

Would the average Catholic layperson, if there is such a person, want to read this book?

What’s it like to write a book about four saintly figures who were also intellectual giants?

Why did you pick these four? Why not other Catholic “giants” of the last century?

Is there such a thing as Catholic philosophy? Why has this been such a contested issue?

What does this diverse group, Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and Karol Wojtyla have in common?

Three of these philosophers are converts to Catholicism. How would you compare their conversion experiences?

Why are their philosophies important for the Church? What’s their message for us today?

Of the four, who was your favorite?

[castyourline]

"Gratitude can exist only in the realm of freedom. As soon as there is a "must" or a claim, gratitude loses its meaning. Gratitude can exist only with reverence. If there is no mutual respect, gratitude perishes and turns to resentment."

Dietrich von Hildebrand, Gratitude

[setrija-nibelungenfangirl]

Lili Vogel has also written an accompanying book to the KvB-trilogy called "Liebling des Unheils". It's solely focused on Hagen and takes place between volume 1 and 2.

Hagen and Gunther are also side characters with their own POV chapters in Lili Vogel's book "Dietrich von Bern. König ohne Reich und Krone", which focuses on the humorous adventures of Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand.

Day 15. Favorite adaptation

Finally! Writer's block, begone!

If asked before 2024, I would have definitely said that my favorite adaptation was the 1924 film by Fritz Lang. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, and I'm sure I'll watch it again. But you see... Gosh, I remember it so well. It was May 7th, 2024, I was browsing nibelungen-rezeption.de instead of going to bed and saw a line in the list of Nibelungen novels that said: 

Lili Vogel: „Der König von Burgund“. Bd. 1. „Der König von Burgund und die Geisel“. Roman

And I thought, omg, a whole series called "Der König von Burgund" and a vol. 1 that has "hostage" in the title??? I know what it's gonna be about! I need to check it out! So yeah, surprising to absolutely no one, I will talk about the König von Burgund series by Lili Vogel.

A couple of details in case this post will be seen by someone who's never heard of these books. First, you can buy Kindle or paper copies on Amazon. Second, it was initially planned as a four-part series, but only three books have been published so far. Nevertheless, they work as a trilogy in terms of plot and composition so you won't be left wondering about what happens next. (Just go and read them already! ;))

Honestly, I don't even know where to start. I understand that, technically, it would be fine to simply say that KvB is my favorite adaptation, period, and proceed to the next question. But I can't do that! I feel a burning need to elaborate and explain, even though the explanation might get quite incoherent ^^"

First things first... THE AUTHOR IS A FAN OF HAGEN AND GUNTHER AND THIS IS WHY I LOVE THESE BOOKS SO MUCH. Yes, I had to write that in all caps!

Ahem... So anyway. As the title suggests, this is a prequel to the Nibelungenlied focusing on Hagen, Gunther, and their relationship. This is exactly the story I once wanted to write—and exactly the one I've always wanted to read! I've been really intrigued by the events that were only briefly mentioned in the Waltharius—Gunther ascending the throne and Hagen coming back to Worms—and often wondered about how Hagen and Gunther became who they are in the NL (and who they are for each other, too). Well, Lili Vogel offers her version of their "origin story", and it's a really captivating one!

Speaking about versions, it should come as no surprise that KvB deviates from the Nibelungenlied in numerous ways, some of them very significant. At the same time, it was clearly the author’s intent to be very respectful towards the NL and stick to it in many, many aspects, but like… with a twist that adds a lot of dramatic tension. Isn’t this something we’re all looking for in a good adaptation—a careful but inventive exploration of the poem's interpretative potential? There is no doubt that Lili Vogel is thoroughly familiar with the NL, with other Middle Ages renditions of the Nibelungen material, with the key works derived from/based upon it, as well as with more obscure ones, and with the range of readers’ typical interpretations of the NL that took place over time. So the more allusions/references you can recognize, the more enjoyable your reading experience will be!

There are so many things that I love about these books... let me name just a couple. For example, it's fascinating to look at character development. Both Gunther and Hagen here have their iconic traits that we recognize from the NL or from other adaptations ("Gunther did what he did best: he hesitated"), but they still have a long way to go before they grow into the characters we meet in the NL. Another thing that I enjoy immensely is Gunther’s POV (yes please!!!), these are my favorite chapters, and I love Vogel's characterization of Gunther. And a special mention goes out to a beautiful and vibrant recreation of High Middle Ages mentality and material culture! It's so refreshing to see a story based on the Nibelungenlied set in the time when the poem was actually created!! We need more of those <3

Okay, I can talk about Lili Vogel's books for HOURS and literally to the point of losing my voice (yes, it has happened). They make me INSANELY happy, and there are days when I can't believe that someone wrote something like that about my favorite NL characters. If we ever get to see Book 4 come out, I'd be so happy I might die. XD

[dafodilllament1917]

I found a solace of Scripture being reaffirmed by the thoughts and words of one of my favorite men in history. Dietrich von Hildebrand 💔

Because we love someone, we can confidently say: You shall not die!

[haljathefangirlcat]

Modern AU Dietrich von Bern would have THOUGHTS about Disney's The Lion King.

... okay. Look. I understand this is obviously talking about how he'd react to watching Simba being technically driven into exile, relying on mentor figures who may not be perfect but clearly care about him, and finally coming back to defeat his evil uncle Scar, retake Pride Rock, and free his pride from tyranny. Really, I do. And it's so, so easy to picture him with his eyes glued to the screen, an intense expression on his face, while Hildebrand goes "er... are you okay?" while sitting next to him.

But! Unfortunately I can't help thinking about Dietrich literally having a lion on his helmet in Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen. And connecting the two things in my head and then going ASDFGHJKSDFGHJK about it.

(Sorry you can't see the helmet better in this pic, btw, it's hard to find better ones or even just ones that aren't promo images.)