The Function of gi-Present Verbs in the Old High German and Early Middle High German Physiologus

INTRODUCTION

Although the prefix ge- is known in modern German as a grammatical marker of past participles, in earlier Germanic dialects it fulfilled a variety of functions, such as indicating communal or collective meaning (similarly to the Latin prefix con-), lending future meaning to a verb, or indicating perfective or complexive aspect.¹ In Old High German (OHG) as well as in other Germanic dialects, the gi- prefix is typically found as an aspect marker for preterites and past participles. The prefix is often attached to infinitives accompanying modal verbs, as exemplified in the Old Saxon Heliand, perhaps still indicating perfective aspect.² However, the prefix is also appended to present-tense verb forms, a use the purpose of which is less clear. In his analysis of OHG translations of the Benedictine Rule, Richard H. Lawson claims that the translators of Latin texts did not use the prefix in any systematic way.³ Still, I propose that an analysis of gi-prefixed present-tense verb forms can shed new light on the use of the prefix in OHG. The OHG and early Middle High German (MHG) prose versions of the Physiologus contain a large number of present-tense verbs with the gi- prefix, and the texts therefore serve as a useful starting point for analysis of these forms.

The Physiologus is a collection of nature stories from various sources, including Aristotle, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch, Indian fables, and ancient Egyptian animal stories, which are narrated and then endowed, allegorically, with spiritual significance.⁴ The OHG Physiologus, or older Physiologus, is an eleventh-century text in the Alemannic dialect, likely produced in Hirsau. The early MHG, or younger Physiologus, consists of a prose version and a version in verse. The prose version, referred to as the “Wiener Prosa,” was written in the twelfth century in a Bavarian region. The rhymed version is found in the Millstatt Manuscript, produced around 1200 in the Bavarian or Austrian dialect area.⁵ The older and the younger Physiologus have a common Latin source, yet the two versions arose independently of each other.⁶

The intention behind the text was to read the “book of nature” symbolically, as in the process of Bible exegesis, and to unlock the secrets of salvation history through a symbolic interpretation of God’s creation.⁷ Nicknamed “zoology book[s] of the Middle Ages” because of the seemingly scientific information about animals that they include,⁸ the early German Physiologus texts are most often a narration of animal behavior, in particular. The texts possess a predictable narrative structure and present formulaic narrations of animals’ actions, thus yielding an adequate sample size of gi-present verb forms to allow for the detection of patterns in the use of the prefix.

Writing about the older and younger prose Physiologus texts, Alfred R. Wedel sees a systematic application of the prefix. He agrees with the scholarly consensus that the gi- prefix indicates complexive aspect, and he goes on to state that the prefix marks the most significant event in a narrative series.⁹ The first section of this paper will test the validity of Wedel’s statements against textual examples from both German prose Physiologus texts. The next section will show that the marked present-tense forms occur only in certain clause types, an observation that is absent from earlier analyses. Finally, I will examine the influence of the gi- prefix upon a verb’s actional type. My conclusion will explore the implications of these semantic and syntactic factors within the Physiologus, which have until now remained unexplored, and I will offer an explanation for the function of gi-present verb forms in the Physiologus texts.

GI-PRESENTS IN OLD HIGH GERMAN AND EARLY MIDDLE HIGH GERMAN

Much of the work on Germanic has focused on the equivalent Gothic ga-prefixes. In 1891, Streitberg examined Gothic verbs and maintained that the prefix ga- indicated what he called perfektive Aktionsart. His analysis was concerned with whether an action was complete or not and with the result of the given...