"Erlkönig" (also called "Der Erlkönig") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
By wiki I know that the word könig means 'king', but what's the meaning of erl? Is it devil, elf, or genie?
-
2wrong translation from danish ellerkonge = Elfenkönig; board.battleknight.de/board119-archive/…– bummiMay 29, 2013 at 9:50
-
@bummi Honestly, I'm not familiar with German, what's the major content in that post?– PopopoMay 29, 2013 at 10:02
-
same with my english ;-( The substance of the ballad comes from the danish, there is the Erlkönig Ellerkonge, so elf king.– bummiMay 29, 2013 at 10:06
-
4As far as I see the this answer to Erklärung der Beugung des Wortes „Erlenkönig“ im Gedicht Goethes does also answer your question.– Em1May 29, 2013 at 10:28
-
@Em1,@bummi, I see, thank you.– PopopoMay 29, 2013 at 12:46
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The ballad Erlkönig is originally Danish and named there "Ellerkonge"... meaning elf-king. Eller was falsely translated with "Erle" which is a German tree. So the short form of "Erle" is "Erl".
Hope that could answer it :)
