View source for Krabat

{{Short description|Sorbian folklore character}}
{{Expand German|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Weißwasser Krabat Jürgen Bergmann 1989.JPG|thumb|Krabat sculpture in [[Běła Woda]]]]
[[File:Krabat Rabe in Schwarzkollm.jpg|thumb|A figurine of Krabat as a raven in [[Schwarzkollm]].]]
'''Krabat''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkʁaːbat|lang|De-Krabat.ogg}}) is a character in  [[Sorbs|Sorbian]] [[folklore]], also dubbed the "[[Wends|Wendish]] [[Faust]]". First records of him were mentioned in  1839 minutes of the ''Akademischen Vereins für lausitzische Geschichte und Sprache'', but all writings of the association were lost.
The character developed from an evil sorcerer into a folk hero and beneficial trickster in the course of the 19th century.
==Analysis==
[[File:Pfarrkirche Wittichenau AB 2011 17.JPG|thumb]]
A thorough research of various historical documents established that Krabat was in fact Janko Šajatović (1624&ndash;1704), a [[Croats (military unit)|Croat (Crabat)]] cavalry commander from [[Žumberak]] who came to the north of Germany in 1658 to defend the borders of Christian Europe. After he became known for his military abilities the [[Saxon]] prince invited him to be in his personal guard. As a reward, as a man of trust, the prince gave him a property in Groß Särchen, where with his knowledge and skills, since he was one of the few literate people in the area which was already inhabited by [[Sorbs]], he helped people in various ways. He taught them to drain swamps, to build mills, he started farming in that area. A favorite among the nobility and the people, he quickly became a legend, so even after his death, stories about his heroism spread and supernatural powers were attributed to him, which resulted in sagas and legends about him that were an inspiration to many writers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tomasović Bock |first1=Nikolina |title=Krabat - tko je zapravo Hrvat kojemu se dive mali Nijemci? |url=https://www.dw.com/hr/krabat-tko-je-zapravo-hrvat-kojemu-se-dive-mali-nijemci/a-36907099 |website=dw.com |access-date=2 September 2021 |language=hr |date=26 December 2016 }}</ref>
The tale of Krabat's apprenticeship to an evil sorcerer with malefic powers can be classified, in folkloristic studies, as [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|Aarne–Thompson–Uther]] ATU 325, "[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Troshkova|first=A|year=2019|title=The tale type 'The Magician and His Pupil' in East Slavic and West Slavic traditions (based on Russian and Lusatian ATU 325 fairy tales)|journal=Indo-European Linguistics and Classical Philology|volume=XXIII|pages=1022–1037|doi=10.30842/ielcp230690152376|ref=none|doi-access=free}}</ref>
The folk tale is centered around the area of [[Lusatia]],<ref>"Сказание о Крабате (лужицкая сказка)" [The Story of Krabat (a Lusatian Tale)]. In: "Ни далеко, ни близко, ни высоко, ни низко. Сказки славян". Leningrad: Детская литература, 1976. pp. 203-216.</ref> most notably the settlement of Čorny Chołmc (Schwarzkollm), which today is a district of the city of [[Hoyerswerda]], where Krabat is said to have learned his sorcerous powers.<ref>{{cite book|others=Illustrated by Natalie Frank|title=The Sorcerer's Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales|editor=Zipes Jack|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4008-8563-3|ref=none}} pp. 323-348.</ref>
==Adaptations==
The Krabat story has been adapted into several novels, notably:
* ''[[Mišter Krabat]] (Master Krabat)'' (1954) by {{ill|Měrćin Nowak-Njechorński|hsb}}
* ''[[Čorny młyn]] (The Black Mill)'' (1968) by [[Jurij Brězan]], on which the film [[Die Schwarze Mühle (film)|Die Schwarze Mühle]] was based.
* ''[[Krabat (novel)|Krabat]]'' (1971) by [[Otfried Preußler]], which inspired the East German TV film ''Die schwarze Mühle''  ("The Black Mill") (1975), the Czech film [[Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice|Čarodějův učeň (1977)]] and the German film [[Krabat (film)|Krabat (2008)]]. The ''Krabat'' album by German [[Gothic music|Goth]] band [[ASP (band)|ASP]] is also inspired by this version of the legend.
==See also==
* [[Krabathor]]
* [[Faust]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*Jurij Pilk, Adolf Anders, "Der wendische Faust", ''Sächsischer Erzähler. Illustrierte Beilage, Nr. 14'' (1896), reprinted as "Die wendische Faust-Sage", '' Bunte Bilder aus dem Sachsenlande'' vol. 3 (1900), 191–201.
*{{cite book|others=Illustrated by Natalie Frank|title=The Sorcerer's Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales|editor=Zipes Jack|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4008-8563-3|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal|last=Troshkova|first=A|year=2019|title=The tale type 'The Magician and His Pupil' in East Slavic and West Slavic traditions (based on Russian and Lusatian ATU 325 fairy tales)|journal=Indo-European Linguistics and Classical Philology|volume=XXIII|pages=1022–1037|doi=10.30842/ielcp230690152376|ref=none|doi-access=free}}
==Further reading==
* Brězan, Jurij, and Gregory H. Wolf. "The Survival of a Culture: An Interview with the Sorbian Author Jurij Brězan." World Literature Today 75, no. 3/4 (2001): 42-52. doi:10.2307/40156748.
* Jurich, Marilyn. "Children Stranded "Among These Dark Satanic Mills": The Child's Response to Evil in Fantasies From Four Different Countries." Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 13, no. 3 (51) (2003): 271-81. www.jstor.org/stable/43308613.
* Kudela, Jean. "Jurij Brĕzan (1916-2006)". In: ''Revue des études slaves'', tome 77, fascicule 1-2, 2006. Le théâtre d'aujourd'hui en Bosnie-Herzégovine Croatie, Serbie et Monténégro, sous la direction de Sava Andjelković et Paul-Louis Thomas. pp.&nbsp;309–310. [www.persee.fr/doc/slave_0080-2557_2006_num_77_1_7013]
* Raede, H. "LA LITTÉRATURE LUSACIENNE AU XXe SIÈCLE." Études Slaves Et Est-Européennes / Slavic and East-European Studies 9, no. 1/2 (1964): 38-48. www.jstor.org/stable/41055929.
* Žura-Vrkić, Slavica. "Krabat - Lužičkosrpski čarobnjak hrvatskih korijena" [Krabat – Sorbian Wizard of Croatian Descent] In: ''Ethnologica Dalmatica'' br. 20 (2013): 69-80. https://hrcak.srce.hr/107478
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[[Category:Sorbian culture]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:ATU 300-399]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who have made pacts with devils]]
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