Josef Blaus Erzählung ,Der Honigbaum‘. Eine sich ereignete unerhörte Begebenheit aus dem Böhmerwald

Abstract

In his story Der Honigbaum about the settlement of Šumava in the 16th century, Blau narrates the story of a Bavarian, Wolf Weiß, who moves with his wife from the Bavarian village Loifling (near Cham) under Mount Ostrý. The adaptation is difficult for Wolf, but Wolf eventually becomes fond of his new homeland. The nub of the story is an astonishing encounter between Wolf and a bear in the hollow of a tree full of honey. This event can be understood as an unheard event that has occurred; the text can thus be assigned to the genre of the novella in Goethe’s sense. The novella and its typical unheard event that has occurred seem to be a suitable genre for Blau in more than one case to portray life in ancient Šumava