Laurin or Der kleine Rosengarten is an anonymous Middle High German poem about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It is one of the so-called fantastical (aventiurehaft) Dietrich poems, so called because it more closely resembles a courtly romance than a heroic epic. It likely originates from the region of South Tyrol, possibly as early as 1230, though all manuscripts are later.
"Zwergenkönig Laurin am Hof des Dietrich von Bern." 1926 Painting by Ferdinand Leeke depicting Laurin at Dietrich's court at the end of the poem.
Laurin fights against Dietrich in the rose garden. SLUB Dresden M. Dresd. M. 201 fol. 276 v.
Fountain in Bolzano depicting Dietrich fighting Laurin
Dietrich von Bern is the name of a character in Germanic heroic legend who originated as a legendary version of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name "Dietrich", meaning "Ruler of the People", is a form of the Germanic name "Theodoric". In the legends, Dietrich is a king ruling from Verona (Bern) who was forced into exile with the Huns under Etzel by his evil uncle Ermenrich. The differences between the known life of Theodoric and the picture of Dietrich in the surviving legends are usually attributed to a long-standing oral tradition that continued into the sixteenth century. Most notably, Theodoric was an invader rather than the rightful king of Italy and was born shortly after the death of Attila and a hundred years after the death of the historical Gothic king Ermanaric. Differences between Dietrich and Theodoric were already noted in the Early Middle Ages and led to a long-standing criticism of the oral tradition as false.
Scene from the poem Virginal: Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons. Note that Dietrich is breathing fire. UBH Cod.Pal.germ. 324 fol. 43r
Theodoric's fight against Odoacer imagined as a joust, 1181 from Verona. Vatican Library Cpl 927
Carving in the church portal of San Zeno Maggiore in Verona that may depict Theodoric, marked as regem stultum (stupid king), being carried to Hell by an infernal horse (c. 1140).
The Rök stone, one of the earliest mentions of Theodoric in Germanic legend