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The Myth of the Wandering Jew in European Literature and Thought (Dr Arthur Chimkovitch

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The Myth of the Wandering Jew in European Literature and Thought (Dr Arthur Chimkovitch The myth of the Wandering Jew in European literature and thought (dr Arthur Chimkovitch. Lille, ESPOL 27.11.2013 : 15h40--17h30) • Introduction • First part. The presence of the Wandering Jew topic in Europe * The Wandering Jew : the story * The presence of the Wandering Jew in European literary writings (7 points) • Second part. How to explain the success of the Wandering Jew myth ? First part. The presence of the Wandering Jew topic in Europe * The Wandering Jew . The story : According to a medieval legend, a Jew refused to give some water to the suffering Jesus when he was on the way to the Golgotha, the terrible place where he had to be crucified. Therefore this Jew was condemned by Jesus Christ to eternal and restless wandering. 1. 30 translations of « Wandering Jew » 2. List of literary writings published in Europe 3. List of translated texts 4. Bibliography of studies linked with the topic of the Wandering Jew 5. Paintings and illustrations 6. Movies 7. Music 1. 30 translations of « Wandering Jew » Langues romanes/romanic languages Français (French) (France/Suisse/ Le Juif errant Belgique) Italien (Italian) L'Ebreo errante Espagnol (Spanish) El Judío errante Portugais (Portuguese) O Judeu errante Catalan (Catalan) El Jueu errant Roumain (Rumanian) Jidovul rătăcitor /evreul rătăcitor Langues germaniques/ Germanic languages Allemand (German) Der Ewige Jude/ Der wandernder Jude (Allemagne/Autriche/ Suisse/ Suède/ Tchécoslovaquie/ etc.) Anglais (English) (Grande-Bretagne) The wandering Jew Néerlandais (Dutch) (Hollande/ De wandelende Jood/De dolende Jood Belgique) Suédois (Swedish) (Suède / Finlande) Den evige juden / Den vandrande juden Danois (Danish) Den Evige Jøde /Den Vandrende Jøde Norvégien (Norwegian) Den Evige Jøde /Den Vandrende Jøde Langues slaves / Slavonic languages Russe (Russian) Polonais (Polish) Żyd Wieczny Tułacz [l’éternel juif errant] Ukrainien (Ukrainian) і /Vichnyi zhyd / Belarus/Biélorusse (Belarus) (=Viečny žyd) Tchèque (Czech) V čn (=éternel) žid Slovaque (Slovak) Putovaní Žid Bulgare (Bulgarian) Ск т кът в (= itni t evrein) Slovène (Slovene) Večni Žid / večni ud Croate (Croatian) Lutajući Židov Vječni Židov Bosniaque Lutajući Židov Serbe (Serbian) Ј в ј (=Večni evrejin) Langues finno-ougriennes Finnois (Finnish) Jerusalemin suutari / vaeltava juutalainen Estonien (Estonian) Ekslemine juut Hongrois (Hungarian) A bolygó zsidó Langues baltes Letton (Latvian) Mūžīgo Žīdu Lithuanien (Lithuanian) Amžinasis udėjas (pas d‘absolue certitude) Autres familles Grec (Greek) Ο περιπλανώμενος Ιουδαίος Irlandais (Irish) An Giúdach fáin Différents noms donnés au Juif errant : -Ahasverus, Ahaswerus, Aasvero, Asvero, Ahsuerus, Ahasver, Ashver, Agasfer, …. -Joseph Cartaphilus, Buttadeus, Isaac Laquedem, Larry el Caminante, Juan Espera en Dios, Michob-Ader, Samuel Belibeth, …. -Cordonnier = shoemaker (anglais), Schuhmacher (allemand), skomager (danois), skomaker (norvégien), skomakare (suédois), schoenmaker (néerlandais), zapatero (espagnol), calzolaio (italien), cizmar (roumain), sabater (catalan), sapateiro (portugais), по к (russe ; =sapozhni ), …… 2. List of literary writings published in Europe 3. List of translated texts + Résumé des points 2 et 3 4. Bibliography of studies linked with the topic of the Wandering Jew 5. Paintings and illustrations Gustave Doré (1832-1883) Dessinateur tchèque (vers 1900) Pelissier (dessinateur français) Gaston Mélingue (peintre français : 1840-1914) Ferdinand Hodler (peintre suisse : 1853-1918) -Walter Steinecke (dessinateur allemand : 1888-1975) Marc Chagall Illustrations Nicolas Pellerin (1e moitié XIXe siècle) Affiche, 1893 Propagande nazie 6. Movies Georges Méliès, Le Juif errant, 1904 Extrait d’un film tchèque 1915 Fritz Hippler, Der ewige Jude, 1940 Goffredo Alessandrini, L’Ebreo errante, 1949. 7. Music Halévy, Le Juif errant (1852). Livret d’Eugène cribe et de aint Georges d'après l'œuvre d'Eugène Sue Second part. How to explain the success of the Wandering Jew myth ? • a. Religious aspects • b. Socio-historical aspects • c. Literary aspects a. Religious aspects • The people who killed God • Redemption b. Socio-historical aspects - The story of the Jewish people in Europe. There is a lot to read about it ! -Antisemitism -Der Judenfrage = The jewish question. Die Endlösung = the Final Solution c. Literary aspects • The myth of the Wandering Jew is a springboard for multiple reflections : -The death is refused until the Christ’s return on earth. -A restless wandering is synonym of daily life problems and existential questions. - It is a very strange penalty because we can’t associate it with the image we have about Christ : the forgiving Christ. -The meeting with history, with historical events. -The meeting with the changes trough the ages. -A burning sense of injustice (cf. Cain’s penalty; the devil’s eternal penalty) Lectures d’un ou deux extraits : - Pär Lagerkvist, La mort du Juif errant, 1960. -Emmanuel Lévinas [1906-1995], Difficile liberté, 1963. (Cf. Une nouvelle version de Jésus raconté par le Juif errant d’Edmond Fleg). .
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