{"work":{"slug":"rilke","title":{"source":"Neue Gedichte","translated":"New Poems"},"author":"Rainer Maria Rilke","language":"German","languageCode":"de","url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke"},"unit":{"kind":"poem","number":null,"id":"gott-im-mittelalter","title":{"source":"Gott im Mittelalter","translated":"God in the Middle Ages"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/das-kapitael","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/morgue","license":"Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.","audioBase":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/","lines":[{"number":1,"label":"1","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l1","source":"Und sie hatten ihn in sich erspart,","translation":"And they had saved him up inside themselves,","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"erspart","title":"To save up or hoard","body":"ersparen means 'to save up, to lay by', as one saves money. erspart is its past participle and depends on hatten, forming the compound past tense. in sich is a prepositional phrase with the reflexive sich in the dative, meaning 'inside themselves'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on hatten","gloss":"And"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on hatten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"hatten","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"had"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"ihn","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on erspart","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on erspart","gloss":"inside"},{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, dative, plural, reflexive","role":"depends on in","gloss":"themselves"},{"surface":"erspart","lemma":"ersparen","morphology":"verb, participle, past","role":"depends on hatten","gloss":"saved up"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l2","source":"und sie wollten, daß er sei und richte,","translation":"and they wanted him to be, and to judge,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"daß er sei und richte","title":"Subjunctive I reports a wish","body":"sei and richte are subjunctive I forms of sein and richten, used because the daß clause reports what people wanted: 'that he should be and should judge'. The subordinating conjunction daß sends both verbs to the end of the clause. Daß is an older spelling of the modern dass."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on wollten","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on wollten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"wollten","lemma":"wollen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"wanted"},{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on sei","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on sei","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"sei","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"depends on wollten","gloss":"be"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on sei","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"richte","lemma":"richten","morphology":"verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"judge"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l3","source":"und sie hängten schließlich wie Gewichte","translation":"and at last they hung, like weights,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"hängten","title":"The transitive form of hängen","body":"German has two verbs spelled hängen. One is intransitive: hängen, hing, gehangen, 'to hang, be suspended'. The other is transitive: hängen, hängte, gehängt, 'to hang something up'. hängten is the weak past of the transitive verb, so sie hängten means 'they hung something', with the object named later in the poem."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"hängten","lemma":"hängen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"hung"},{"surface":"schließlich","lemma":"schließlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"at last"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Gewichte","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"Gewichte","lemma":"Gewicht","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"weights"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l4","source":"(zu verhindern seine Himmelfahrt)","translation":"(to prevent his ascension to heaven)","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Himmelfahrt","title":"The word for ascension","body":"die Himmelfahrt, literally 'heaven-journey', is the standard German word for an ascension into heaven, as in Christi Himmelfahrt, 'Christ's Ascension'. zu verhindern is an infinitive of purpose, meaning 'in order to prevent'. Together the phrase means 'to prevent his ascension'."}],"words":[{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on verhindern","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"verhindern","lemma":"verhindern","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"prevent"},{"surface":"seine","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Himmelfahrt","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Himmelfahrt","lemma":"Himmelfahrt","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on verhindern","gloss":"ascension"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l1","source":"an ihn ihrer großen Kathedralen","translation":"upon him their great cathedrals'","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"an ihn","title":"Accusative preposition and a delayed noun","body":"an takes the accusative here to mark direction, so an ihn means 'onto him' and depends on the verb hängten. ihrer großen Kathedralen is genitive, 'of their great cathedrals', and depends on a noun that appears only in the following line. The genitive phrase stands before the noun it modifies."}],"words":[{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"upon"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"ihn","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on an","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"ihrer","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Kathedralen","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"großen","lemma":"groß","morphology":"adjective, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Kathedralen","gloss":"great"},{"surface":"Kathedralen","lemma":"Kathedrale","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Last","gloss":"cathedrals'"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l2","source":"Last und Masse. Und er sollte nur","translation":"burden and mass. And he was only to","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"er sollte nur","title":"A modal verb meaning was to","body":"sollte is the past tense of sollen, 'to be supposed to, be meant to'. Er sollte nur means 'he was only to', with the main verb it governs placed later, at the end of the clause. Nur, 'only', limits what he was meant to do."}],"words":[{"surface":"Last","lemma":"Last","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on hängten","gloss":"burden"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Last","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"Masse","lemma":"Masse","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"mass"},{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on sollte","gloss":"And"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on sollte","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"sollte","lemma":"sollen","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was to"},{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on sollte","gloss":"only"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l3","source":"über seine grenzenlosen Zahlen","translation":"over his boundless numbers","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"grenzenlosen Zahlen","title":"An adjective built with -los","body":"grenzenlos means 'boundless, limitless', formed from Grenze, 'border, limit', plus the ending -los, 'without'. It takes accusative feminine plural endings here to agree with Zahlen, 'numbers'. seine grenzenlosen Zahlen means 'his boundless numbers'."}],"words":[{"surface":"über","lemma":"über","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on kreisen","gloss":"over"},{"surface":"seine","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Zahlen","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"grenzenlosen","lemma":"grenzenlos","morphology":"adjective, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Zahlen","gloss":"boundless"},{"surface":"Zahlen","lemma":"Zahl","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on über","gloss":"numbers"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l4","source":"zeigend kreisen und wie eine Uhr","translation":"circle, pointing, and like a clock","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zeigend kreisen","title":"Present participle used adverbially","body":"zeigend is the present participle of zeigen, 'to show, to point', formed by adding -end to the stem. It is used here adverbially to describe how the subject circles, 'circling while pointing'. wie eine Uhr means 'like a clock', comparing the motion to a clock hand."}],"words":[{"surface":"zeigend","lemma":"zeigend","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kreisen","gloss":"pointing"},{"surface":"kreisen","lemma":"kreisen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on sollte","gloss":"circle"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on kreisen","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Uhr","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Uhr","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Uhr","lemma":"Uhr","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on kreisen","gloss":"clock"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l1","source":"Zeichen geben ihrem Tun und Tagwerk.","translation":"give signs to their doing and day's-work.","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Tun und Tagwerk","title":"Two nouns from verbs","body":"das Tun, 'doing', is the infinitive tun made into a noun; das Tagwerk means 'a day's work'. Both stand in the dative, depending on the verb geben through the phrase Zeichen geben, 'to give signs', which takes a dative object. und joins the two nouns into one phrase."}],"words":[{"surface":"Zeichen","lemma":"Zeichen","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on geben","gloss":"signs"},{"surface":"geben","lemma":"geben","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on sollte","gloss":"give"},{"surface":"ihrem","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Tun","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Tun","lemma":"tun","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on geben","gloss":"doing"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Tun","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"Tagwerk","lemma":"Tagwerk","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"day's-work"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l2","source":"Aber plötzlich kam er ganz in Gang,","translation":"But suddenly he got fully into motion,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"kam … in Gang","title":"A fixed idiom for starting","body":"in Gang kommen is a fixed idiom meaning 'to get going, start up', literally 'to come into motion'. Ganz, 'fully', intensifies it to 'got fully under way'. Plötzlich, 'suddenly', marks that this happened without warning."}],"words":[{"surface":"Aber","lemma":"aber","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on kam","gloss":"But"},{"surface":"plötzlich","lemma":"plötzlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kam","gloss":"suddenly"},{"surface":"kam","lemma":"kommen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"came"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on kam","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"ganz","lemma":"ganz","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on in","gloss":"fully"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on kam","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"Gang","lemma":"Gang","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"motion"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l3","source":"und die Leute der entsetzten Stadt","translation":"and the people of the horrified town","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"entsetzten","title":"An adjective from a reflexive verb","body":"entsetzt means 'horrified, aghast, terror-struck', and comes from the reflexive verb sich entsetzen, 'to be appalled'. As an adjective before a noun it takes case endings, here genitive feminine singular to agree with Stadt. der entsetzten Stadt means 'of the horrified town'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ließen","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, plural","role":"depends on Leute","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Leute","lemma":"Leute","morphology":"noun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of ließen","gloss":"people"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Stadt","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"entsetzten","lemma":"entsetzt","morphology":"adjective, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Stadt","gloss":"horrified"},{"surface":"Stadt","lemma":"Stadt","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Leute","gloss":"town"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l1","source":"ließen ihn, vor seiner Stimme bang,","translation":"let him, afraid before his voice,","stanza":4,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"vor seiner Stimme bang","title":"Adjective meaning afraid","body":"bang means 'anxious, fearful, afraid'. The phrase bang vor etwas means 'afraid of something', and vor takes the dative here, giving seiner Stimme, 'of his voice'. So vor seiner Stimme bang means 'afraid before his voice'."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"ließen ihn … weitergehn","title":"Lassen with a bare infinitive","body":"lassen, 'to let, allow', takes a bare infinitive without zu, so ließen ihn weitergehn means 'let him go on'. ihn is the object of ließen and also the subject of the infinitive weitergehn. The phrase vor seiner Stimme bang is inserted between the object and the infinitive."}],"words":[{"surface":"ließen","lemma":"lassen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"let"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"ihn","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of weitergehn","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"vor","lemma":"vor","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on bang","gloss":"before"},{"surface":"seiner","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Stimme","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Stimme","lemma":"Stimme","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on vor","gloss":"voice"},{"surface":"bang","lemma":"bang","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on ihn","gloss":"afraid"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l2","source":"weitergehn mit ausgehängtem Schlagwerk","translation":"go on with its striking-works unhung,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ausgehängtem Schlagwerk","title":"A clock's striking mechanism","body":"Schlagwerk names the striking mechanism of a clock, the part that sounds the hours. Aushängen means 'to unhook, disengage', so ausgehängtem Schlagwerk, dative after mit, means 'with the striking works disengaged'. The clock in weitergehn, 'go on', still runs but can no longer strike."}],"words":[{"surface":"weitergehn","lemma":"weitergehen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on ließen","gloss":"go on"},{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on weitergehn","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"ausgehängtem","lemma":"ausgehängt","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Schlagwerk","gloss":"unhung"},{"surface":"Schlagwerk","lemma":"Schlagwerk","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"striking-work"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l3","source":"und entflohn vor seinem Zifferblatt.","translation":"and fled from before his clock-face.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter-s4-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"entflohn vor","title":"A contracted past tense verb","body":"entflohn is a contracted simple past form of entfliehen, 'to flee, escape', third person plural. entfliehen vor takes the dative, so vor seinem Zifferblatt means 'from before his clock-face'. Zifferblatt is literally 'numeral-leaf', the numbered face of a clock or watch."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ließen","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"entflohn","lemma":"entfliehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"fled"},{"surface":"vor","lemma":"vor","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on entflohn","gloss":"before"},{"surface":"seinem","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Zifferblatt","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Zifferblatt","lemma":"Zifferblatt","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on vor","gloss":"clock-face"}]}]}