by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Translation © by Margarida Moreno

Es war ein König in Thule
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG IRI ITA POR SPA
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.

1 Liszt: "sein"
2 Zelter: "Lies"
3 Fritze, Liszt, Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "seinen"
4 Zelter: "In hohen"
5 Goethe (Faust): "heiligen"

Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

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.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Léon Charles François Kreutzer.

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
  • 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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 115

O rei em Thule
Language: Portuguese (Português)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Havia um rei em Thule,
Fiel até ao túmulo.
A quem, ao morrer, a sua amada
Deu um cálice de ouro.

Nada havia de melhor para ele
Esvaziava-o em todos os festins;
Os olhos arregalavam-se-lhe,
De tantas vezes que dele bebia.

E quando ele veio a morrer,
Contou as suas cidades no reino,
Deixou tudo aos seus herdeiros,
Mas não o cálice.

Sentado no banquete real,
Os cavaleiros rodeando-o,
No alto salão dos antepassados,
Ali no palácio junto ao mar.

Ali estava o velho beberrão,
Bebeu o último calor da vida,
E atirou o cálice sagrado
Para a água lá em baixo.

Viu-o cair, enchendo-se
E afundando-se no fundo do mar.
Os olhos fecharam-se-lhe
Nunca mais bebeu uma gota.

Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to Portuguese (Português) copyright © 2011 by Margarida Moreno, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Margarida Moreno.  Contact: margaridabc (AT) mail (DOT) telepac (DOT) pt

    If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:

Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2011-07-16
Line count: 24
Word count: 119