Ruler, Lover, Sage and Sceptic: Receptions of King Solomon

The proposed research focuses on the image of King Solomon: the biblical portrait and its reception in literature and music. The project will show how the biblical narration in 1 Kings 111 unfolds as an ongoing process of reading and rewriting. This development already starts in the books of Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Chronicles. There, they adapt the image of Salomon for their own dis-courses, using him as a well known example, and thus take advantage of the communicative potential this figure yields. Simultaneously, the figure of Solomon offers a possibility to view current issues or problems through the eyes of a well established, authoritative figure. This interpretative process does not end with the completion of the biblical canon but is continued in the religious communities, their studies and teaching, but also in the arts. The portrait of Solomon is constantly in progress, it is an ongoing relecture. This project will select three text corpora for a detailed study of the images of Solomon: the biblical texts (1 Kings 111 and its inner-biblical re-interpretations) and the reception of Salomon in the Baroque (16th17th century) and in modern times (late 19th21st century). Beginning with the biblical texts, the (re)creation of Solomon`s image in literature and music (especially the libretti and lyrics) of the Baroque and modern era will be demonstrated. The methodology applied to the comparison of the texts will make use of narratological approaches and studies of intertextuality. The starting point for a portrait of Solomon is a detailed narratological analysis of 1 Kings 111. The modification of this image in other biblical books will be described as an intertextual relationship. Although the later receptions of Solomon continue this inner-biblical process, the biblical texts are considered a unity for later receptions. In this way, a text in combination with its receptions becomes the starting point for another reception and so forth. Accordingly, the intertextual analysis of the texts and their relations has to consider this intricate process. The interpretation of these comparisons will be regarded from a double perspective: firstly, as a recep-tion of Solomon`s image and thus an adaption and reinterpretation of this figure, and secondly, as a way to present a current situation from a specific point of view, namely Solomon`s perspective. The image of the biblical king acts as a lens through which the respective present is shown. Thereby the authority of interpretation this biblical figure is granted respectively denied will also become obvious. In this project, the biblical King Solomon will thus be taken as a case study focusing on the relation between reception history of biblical texts and the cultural history they shaped.

The project Ruler, Lover, Sage and Sceptic: Receptions of King Solomon focused on the image of the biblical king and its reception in literature and music in German speaking areas in the eras of Baroque (1600-1750) and modern times (1900-2015). Together with our recently started follow-up project that looks at the years 1490-1600 and 1750-1900, this project is - for the first time - able to give a detailed insight into the reception history of Solomon in literature and music from the 16th to the 21st century. Whereas David and his reception got much attention within the field of biblical studies, a comprehensive image of Solomon throughout the Bible has been a desideratum so far. This research gap was closed by the project at least in part.This project selected texts from three eras for a detailed study of Solomons images: the biblical texts (1 Kings 1-11 and its inner-biblical re-interpretations) and the reception of Solomon in the Baroque (1600-1750) and in (post)modern times (1900-2015). Besides literature, the musical reception of Solomon was an essential aspect of our project: texts as part of music, like librettos and lyrics, have hardly come into the focus of biblical reception up to now. The emerging images of Solomon were interpreted from a twofold perspective: Firstly, from the perspective of the Bible, secondly, from the perspective of the respective time. The former focuses on the reception of the biblical Solomon in different times and depicts the changes and reinterpretations the image of Solomon experiences; the latter is interested in how the figure of Solomon helps the people of the respective times to understand and interpret themselves. It becomes obvious which questions, problems or subjects were discussed using the figure of the biblical king. Thus, the twofold investigation of the reception of King Solomon in literature and music highlighted two areas. While demonstrating how Solomon is created and recreated in literature and music, we were able to show that this creative process has two sides: It is not only the reception, adaptation and reinterpretation of a biblical figure but at the same time a way to present a current situation from a specific perspective, namely Solomons. The image of the biblical king acts as a lens through which the respective present is shown. The biblical King Solomon, taken as a case study, helped us to shed light on the relation between the reception history of biblical texts and the cultural history they shaped.The results of this project will be of interest not only to the field of biblical studies, but also to related disciplines as German studies, comparative literature, librettology, musicology, theatre studies and performing arts.