Walter of Aquitaine

Walter of Aquitaine is a legendary king of the Visigoths. He figures in several epic poems and narratives in medieval languages:

• Waldere, an Old English fragment
• Waltharius, a Latin epic written by the monk Ekkehard I of St Gall
• Chronicon Novaliciense ("Chronicle of Novalesa"), a Latin prose chronicle composed c.1060, at Novalesa Abbey: Waltarius figures in chapters 7-13
• Nibelungenlied, an Old High German epic in which Walter is mentioned briefly
• Walther, a lost Middle High German epic of which several short fragments from different redactions are known. In these the hero is sometimes called "Walther von Kärlingen"
• Þiðrekssaga, which tells the stories of Walter briefly in chapters 241-244
• Chronicon Poloniae ("Chronicle of Poland") by Boguchwał, which outlines the story of Walter as a Polish count, Wdaly Walczerz, under the year 1135.

The most complete of these is the second, the 9th century Latin epic poem Waltharius, in which Walter fights single-handedly against the Burgundian king Gunther and his retinue, killing all attackers except for Gunther and Hagen. In later literature, Walter figures in Scheffel's novel Ekkehard (1887).

Walter is not a historical king, but the historical nucleus of the events lies in the 5th century (the reign of the Balti dynasty), after king Wallia established a Visigothic kingdom in Aquitaine in 417, clashing with the Vandals under king Gunderic....
Read More