in Rudolf's
Weltchronik Of his surviving works, the tale
Der gute Gerhard (
Gerhard the Good) is the oldest and also the best regarded, a depiction of
Christian humility, probably based on a
Latin source. This was followed by a German version of
Barlaam and Josaphat, dating from approximately 1225 to 1230, taken from a Latin translation of a
Greek version of the story of the conversion of an
Indian prince to
Christianity (a story which is believed in fact to be that of the
Buddha, at many removes); and by
Willehalm von Orlens, the story of the childhood love of Willehalm and Amelie, who are among the most famous lovers of the
Middle Ages. The latter was commissioned by
Conrad of Winterstetten. His
Alexanderroman (a version of the
Romance of Alexander), written about 1240, is a fragment. In 21,000 verses the upbringing and battles of
Alexander are depicted, in which the hero is a model of knightly virtue. Rudolf's sources for this work were principally the
Historia de preliis of
Leo of Naples and the
Historiae Alexandri Magni of
Curtius Rufus. The
Chronicle of the World (
Weltchronik) is Rudolf's last work, dedicated to King Conrad IV. It narrates, as an addition to the
Bible, the
Historia scholastica of
Petrus Comestor and the
Pantheon of
Godfrey of Viterbo, the history of the world from the
creation up to the death of
King Solomon, with the added motive of legitimizing the rule of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty. As early as the 13th century this work was combined in many manuscripts with the
Christherre-Chronik. A further work,
Eustachius, is lost. ==Editions of works==