Bergrichters Erdenwallen

Arthur AchleitnerProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 312K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Bergrichters Erdenwallen by Arthur AchleitnerAuthor: Achleitner, Arthur, 1858-1927,Language: German, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Dec 1, 2004

Editor's review

The novel's author, Arthur Achleitner, was a German-language writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose works are mostly set in Alpine life. The book revolves around the special office of the mountain judge (Bergrichter), telling of his struggles between worldly life and moral duty. The original is in German, belongs to the public domain, and is released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. For readers studying German literature, especially Austrian or Alpine regional literature, the book offers a literary window into the judiciary and folk customs of mountain society at the time. Reading it requires some grounding in German, and because it was written long ago, its narrative pace and language style are remote from the modern novel; it is better used as literary-historical material or language-learning material than as a popular read pursued for plot excitement.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with some German reading ability who want to approach public-domain German fiction
Readers studying late-nineteenth-century German regional literature and Alpine themes
History and literature enthusiasts interested in the judiciary and folk customs of mountain society
Literary readers who enjoy slow-paced classical narrative and are willing to read the original closely

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers with no German at all who only want a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer modern fast-paced plots and strong conflict-driven narrative
Academic researchers who need an authoritative, collated and annotated edition

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the story's outline, then read again to look up unfamiliar words and cultural-historical background.
Work through it chapter by chapter with a German dictionary or translation tool, writing a brief summary after each chapter.
Excerpt the descriptions of mountain judiciary and folk customs separately and accumulate them as material for regional-literature research.
If your German is weak, start with the same author's short stories or selected passages to get used to the style before tackling the whole book.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this book written in, and what level of German is needed?

The original is in German, written in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. At least intermediate German reading ability is recommended, enough to understand long sentences and old-fashioned expressions with a dictionary; beginners can start with selected passages or consult a translation alongside.

Does the Project Gutenberg edition include notes or an introduction?

Project Gutenberg provides public-domain electronic texts, usually consisting mainly of the original text and generally without modern scholarly notes or introductions. For background material, consult a history of German literature or related research literature separately.

What does Bergrichter in the title mean?

Bergrichter means mountain judge or mining judge in German, a historical office responsible for certain judicial matters in the Alpine region. The title can be understood as this judge's trials and life course in the earthly world.

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About the author

Arthur Achleitner Author · German · 1858–1927

Arthur Achleitner (1858–1927) was a German writer, born in 1858 in Straubing, Bavaria, and died in 1927 in Munich. His works are mostly set in the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, and also in the Mediterranean regions of Austria-Hungary, especially Croatia and Bosnia, where he depicted local customs and characters. He often wrote in the forms of fiction and sketch, with attention to local color and character portrayal. His representative works include Bergrichters Erdenwallen, Celsissimus: Salzburger Roman, Im grünen Tann, and the Croatian-themed Aus Kroatien: Skizzen und Erzählungen. Four of his works are held in the collection, while common classification information is currently unavailable. Public information on his life and literary influence is limited; this note summarizes only his thematic orientation and writing style based on the available facts.