Chivalry in Twelfth Century Germany

A richly informative study which consistently shows the benefits to be derived from a treatment of the subject in relation to Hartmann's works in their entirety, from a thorough knowledge of the most recent scholarship on Hartmann and on the historical, legal, and cultural background, from detailed comparisons of Hartmann's texts with their known sources, and from a superbly integrated assessment of the linguistic, literary, and external evidence. The view of Hartmann's `literary self-interpretation of knighthood' which emerges is convincing through ist meticulous demonstration of an author at pains to criticise, but not reject, his profession in a period of transition. YEAR'S WORK IN MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIESThe first book in English to cover the whole production of Hartmann von Aue (fl.1180-1203), a figure of paramount importance in the history of medieval German literature... His book is refreshing...and full of stimulating ideas. MEDIUM AEVUM This extremely perceptive analysis of the works of Hartmann von Aue in relation to the social, legal and political realities of the later twelfth century in Germany constitutes a formidable...(contd short)

• 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.