Chivalry in Twelfth Century Germany - The Works of Hartmann von Aue

FORUM FOR MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES Hartmann von Aue is a major figure in medieval German literature, and his works document key features of the history of chivalry in an important phase of transition and consolidation. This book is the first full-scale enquiry undertaken of the presentation of the role of knighthood across the full range of Hartmanns works, considering the social, ideological and literary dimensions of chivalry and fruitfully combining literary, linguistic and historical approaches. The opening chapters place Hartmanns works in the broader perspective of Arthurian literature and of kingship and chivalry in western Europe, and in the context of the changing historical reality of knighthood as a military and a social order in twelfth-century Germany. Further chapters are devoted to each of his works, Erec, Gregorius, the Klage and his lyrics, Der arme Heinrich and Dwein, which are interpreted both with a historical

List of contents

Part 1 King Arthur and the rise of knighthood: Arthur's kingship and the rise of knighthood in the 12th century; Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae"; the Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes; Hartmann's adaptations of "Erec" and "Yvain"; King Arthur and the social context of Hartmann's works. Part 2 Knighthood and social status in 12th-Century Germany and in Hartmann's "Erec": knighthood and military function; knights in lordly retinues - "ritter" and "knehte", "ritter" and "vrouwen ritters name"; knighthood and social differentiation in the 12th century; knighthood and nobility in historical sources; knighthood and nobility in Hartmann's "Erec". Part 3 Knighthood and the ethics of force in "Erec": peace movements, the court and the development of knightly ethics; the role of combats in the composition of "Erec"; Iders - combat and the restoration of order; the tournament and honour; Erec's "verligen" and the world of adventure; the robbers and the giants - robbery, captivity and ethical progress; Galoain and Oringles - lordship and violence; Guivreiz - "aventiure", "triuwe" and the proper grounds for combat; Mabonagrin - knighthood and the joy of the court; chivalric values, aesthetic form and the historical situation of Hartmann's "Erec". Part 4 "Gregorius" - knighthood in perspective: "Gregorius" and the three estates; the view of knighthood in the debate between Gregorius and the abbot; the moral evaluation of chivalry in "Gregorius"; penance, contrition and the inner life. Part 5 Knighthood, love service and the crusade in Hartmann's "Klage" and his lyrics: the figure of the knight in the 12th-century "minnesang"; lessons in love - the "Klage"; the ethics of service and reward in Hartmann's lyrics; knighthood and conversion - Hartmann's crusading songs. Part 6 "Der Arme Heinrich" - lord, peasant and lay literacy: Hartmann and lay literacy; knighthood and moral insight; aristocracy and peasantry. Part 7 Knighthood in "Iwein" - voices of the characters: introduction - knighthood and narrative voice; Iwein's awakening - the basis of a chivalric identity; Gawein's advice - knighthood, marriage and lordship over lands; Lunete's accusation - knighthood and "triuwe". Part 8 Knighthood in "Iwein" - social, legal and ethical dimensions of the action: Arthur's realm - Laudine's realm; the opening cycle - honour and self-assertion; the main cycle - justice and moral reflection; "aventiure", trial by combat and the role of courtliness; chivalric values, aesthetic form and the historical situation of Hartmann's "Iwein". Part 9 Conclusions.

Product details

• Authors: W. H. Jackson
• Publisher: D. S. Brewer
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.01.1995
• No. of pages: 336
• Dimensions: 15 mm x 23 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 692 g
• Series: Exeter Maritime Studies
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries