by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Es war ein König in Thule
Language: German (Deutsch)
Es war ein König in Thule Gar treu bis an [das]1 Grab, Dem sterbend seine Buhle Einen goldnen Becher gab. Es ging ihm nichts darüber, Er leert' ihn jeden Schmaus; Die Augen gingen ihm über, So oft er trank daraus. Und als er kam zu sterben, Zählt' er seine Städt' im Reich, [Gönnt']2 alles [seinem]3 Erben, Den Becher nicht zugleich. Er saß beim Königsmahle, Die Ritter um ihn her, [Auf hohem]4 Vätersaale, Dort auf dem Schloß am Meer. Dort stand der alte Zecher, Trank letzte Lebensgluth, Und warf den [heil'gen]5 Becher Hinunter in die Fluth. Er sah ihn stürzen, trinken, Und sinken tief ins Meer. Die Augen täten ihm sinken; Trank nie einen Tropfen mehr.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaschen Buchhandlung, 1827, pages 187-188; and with Faust. Ein Fragment. in Goethe's Schriften. Siebenter Band. Leipzig, bey Georg Joachim Göschen, 1790, pages 94-95.
First published in a different version in Volks- und andere Lieder, mit Begleitung des Forte piano, In Musik gesetzt von Siegmund Freyherrn von Seckendorff. Dritte Sammlung. Dessau, 1782, pages 6-9; see below.
See also "Het dartele water bruiselt", a poem by Pol de Mont written to be sung to Schumann's song "Der König von Thule".
1 Lenz, Liszt: "sein"2 Zelter: "Lies"
3 Fritze, Lenz, Liszt: "seinen"
3 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "seinen"
4 Zelter: "In hohen"
5 Goethe (Faust): "heiligen"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der König in Thule", written 1774, appears in Faust, in Der Tragödie erster Teil (Part I), Margarete's song, first published 1782 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hermann Behn (1857?9 - 1927), "Der König in Thule", op. 2 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1 (189-?), published 1896 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Simon Breu (1858 - 1933), "Der König in Thule", op. 65 (Zwei Lieder für Bass mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1901 [ bass and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alphons Diepenbrock (1862 - 1921), "Der König in Thule", op. 2 (Zwei Gesänge für Alt-Stimme (oder Mezzo-Sopran) mit Pianofortebleitung) no. 2 (1886), published 1889, orchestrated 1907 [ alto or mezzo-soprano and piano ], Frankfurt a/M., Steyl & Thomas [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Felix (August Bernhard) Draeseke (1835 - 1913), "Der König von Thule", op. 26 no. 6, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Vermischte Lieder. Sechs Gesänge, no. 6, Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Anton Florian Eckert (1820 - 1879), "Der König in Thule", 1828 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gottfried Wilhelm Fink (1783 - 1846), "Der König in Thule", op. 18 no. 6, published 1807 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wilhelm Fritze (1842 - 1881), "Der König in Thule", op. 17 no. 1, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder und Gesänge aus Goethe's 'Faust', no. 1, Breslau, Hientzsch [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Manfred Gurlitt (1890 - 1972), "Gretchen singt", copyright © 2005 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Vier dramatische Gesänge für Sopran und Orchester, no. 2, München, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christian Wilhelm Heydenreich , "Der König von Thule" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Der König in Thule", op. 205 (Vier Gesänge für zwei weibliche Stimmen mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1884 [ vocal duet and piano ], Leipzig: Schuberth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "Der König in Thule", op. 23 (Sechs Lieder mit deutsch und dänischen Texte) no. 6, published 1865 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Christoph Kienlen (1783 - 1829), "Lied von Gretchen", published 1819? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernhard (Joseph) Klein (1793 - 1832), "Der König in Thule", published c1823/4 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Klein (1802 - 1862), "Gretchen", op. 71 (Acht Lieder und Gesänge von Heine und Goethe) no. 5, published 1826 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Klemperer (1885 - 1973), "Der König in Thule", 1915 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Romanze: Es war ein König in Thule", 1820 [ voice and piano ], from Gesänge aus Goethe's Faust, no. 12, an edition from 1836 is mentioned by Hofmeister, published Wien, Trentsensky [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Friedrich Bonneval de La Trobe (1769 - 1845), "Der König in Thule", from Zwölf deutsche Lieder, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Lassen (1830 - 1904), "Es war ein König in Thule", op. 57 no. 59, published 1877 [ alto and piano ], from Aus der Musik zu Goethe's Faust, no. 59, Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Justus Amadeus Lecerf (1789 - 1868), "Gretchen", published 1835? [ voice and piano ], from Neun Gesänge zu Goethe's Faust, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leopold Lenz (1803 - 1862), "Romanze", op. 14, Heft 1 (Gesänge Gretchens) no. 1, published 1833 [ voice and piano ], from Gesänge und Lieder aus der Tragödie Faust von Goethe, no. 1, Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Es war ein König in Thule", S. 278, published 1843 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Der König von Thule", op. 160 (4 Gesänge für Bariton) no. 1 (1852), published 1852 [ baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Hofmeister; confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Gottlob Quandt , "Der König in Thule" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Der König von Thule", published 1805-6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julius Röntgen (1855 - 1932), "Es war ein König in Thule", 1931 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ ], from Aus Goethes Faust, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Schlottmann (1826 - 1905), "Der König in Thule", op. 44 (10 Goethe'sche Dichtungen) no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernhard Ernst Scholz (1835 - 1916), "Der König in Thule", op. 7 (Acht deutsche Lieder mit Clavier-Begleitung) no. 5, published 1857 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: C. F. Peters [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der König in Thule", op. 5 (Fünf Lieder) no. 5, D 367 (1816), published 1821 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der König von Thule", op. 67 (Romanzen und Balladen für Chor (Heft 1)) no. 1 (1849), published 1849 [ SATB chorus ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Artur Seemann (1861 - 1925), "Der König in Thule ", op. 13 no. 4, published [1919], from Suleika. Sieben Lieder für eine hohe Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung, no. 4, Leipzig: C. F. Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789 - 1860), "Der König von Thule" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Der König von Thule", c1921 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Karl Gottfried) Wilhelm Taubert (1811 - 1891), "Der König in Thule", op. 151 (6 Gesänge für tiefe Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1866 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek (1774 - 1850), "Der König in Thule", op. 59 (Gedichte von Goethe: VII) no. 2 (1815?) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wenzel Heinrich Veit (1806 - 1864), "Der König in Thule", op. 37 (Sechs vierstimmige Gesänge für Männerstimmen) no. 4, published 1854 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Es war ein König in Thule", published 1878; 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Album of German Songs (later published as Sixteen German Songs), no. 7, London: Stanley Lucas, Weber & Col.; also reprinted by Recital Publications (Texas) in 1995 , also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Peter) Nicolai von Wilm (1834 - 1911), "Der König in Thule", op. 96 (Drei Lieder für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1891 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, O. Forberg [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexander Winterberger (1834 - 1914), "Es war ein König in Thule", op. 40 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 tiefere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1875 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Der König von Thule", 1811, published 1812 [sung text checked 1 time]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Antoni Henryk Radziwill, Fürst (1775 - 1833), "Melodram und Lied. Faust.", published 1835, from Compositionen zu Göthe's Faust, no. 16, Berlin: Zum ausschliesslichen Debit in Commission bei T. Trautwein, Buch-und Musikhandlung
Set in a modified version by Karl Sigmund Freiherr von Seckendorff.
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (1779 - 1850) ; composed by Christopher Ernst Friedrich Weyse.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Maude Valérie White.
- Also set in English, a translation by Stephen Phillips (1868 - 1915) , "Song" and by Joseph Comyns Carr (1849 - 1916) , "Song" ; composed by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Gérard Labrunie (1808 - 1855) , "Le roi de Thulé", appears in Le Faust de Goethe ; composed by Hector Berlioz.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Emmanuel Bondeville.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Léon Charles François Kreutzer.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jan Evangelista Nečas) , "Král v Thule"
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Otokar Fischer) , "Král v Thule"
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De koning van Thule", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "There was a King of Thule", copyright ©
- ENG English [singable] (Arthur Westbrook) , "The King of Thule"
- IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , "Bhí rí ann fadó in Thule", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Il re in Tule", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Margarida Moreno) , "O rei em Thule", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Diego Gonzales) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 115