Willehalm

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Willehalm manuscript from the first half of the 13th century (III, 161.20 to IV, 162.15)

The Willehalm is a story by Wolfram von Eschenbach , which is one of the most important epic works of Middle High German literature. There is a wide discourse in research about its time of origin; The only certain date for classification can be the year 1217, in which the client of the work, the Thuringian Landgrave Hermann , died. It must therefore have started before this point in time and continued later. The Willehalm, however, has remained fragmentary .

Because of Wolfram's language skills, which were particularly pronounced in the Willehalm, and the extraordinarily tolerant image that the poet painted of Islam at the time , the Willehalm is one of the most important German verses of the Middle Ages in terms of form and content.

Wolfram's template for the Willehalm

Wolfram von Eschenbach used the French “Chanson d'Aliscans” as an essential template for his verse epic, which tells the story of a war between pagans and Christians and was written around 1185. The leaders of the Christian party are Guillaume and Vivien, the latter being martyred in a first battle . After some confusion, Guillaume succeeds in getting troops from King Louis for a second campaign against the heathen, which can then be defeated in a second battle. In addition to Guillaume and Vivien, other figures are also mentioned in the “Chanson d'Aliscans”, whose names and functions were the direct role models for the “Willehalm”. The places and events have also been adopted by Wolfram as the basic structure of his “Willehalm” story.

The “Chanson d'Aliscans” is part of a cycle entitled “Chanson de Guilliaume”, which in turn can be assigned to the “Geste Monglane”. These are heroic epic verse narratives from the French tradition, which are generally referred to by the generic term chanson de geste . The “Chanson de Guilliaume” tells the story of his nephew Vivien, whose death plays a central role in the “Chanson d'Aliscans”, as well as the childhood and career of the title character.

Landgrave Hermann von Thuringia had brought Wolfram to his court, who at that time was considered a center of literary life in the German-speaking area due to the count's generous patronage . Research has shown that Hermann Wolfram provided the “Chanson d'Aliscsans” as a template for a comparable epic in German, whether in written form or by a reciter. The extent to which Wolfram also had knowledge of the “Chanson de Guillaume” or other central works of French heroic epics is controversial. Certain biographical details that make up Wolfram's Willehalm suggest that Wolfram was familiar with other texts in the cycle. On the other hand, the edition Wolfram had of “Aliscans” is controversial, as the story was one of the most popular of the 13th century and is available in 13 manuscripts with some considerable differences. The research therefore assumes, among other things, that Wolfram obtained information from some of the poets present at the Thuringian court who had further knowledge of the texts of the “Chanson de Guillaume” and incorporated the results fragmentarily into the “Willehalm”.

In accordance with the understanding of literary creation at the time, Wolfram took over the plot unchanged as the tradition handed down to him, but changed the details and the type of representation according to his ideas, in some cases considerably. One of the most striking examples of this is Willehalm's attack on the queen at the court in Mun acceler: while Guillaume, in the French model, openly justifies his rude attack by accusing the queen of being a whore and having slept with a pagan leader, Wolfram leaves his narrator in the Willehalm paraphrase this passage:

The minne veile hant, diu wip,
roemischer küneginne lip was
thick after in named

[The Roman queen was often named by the name of women who sell their love.] (WH, 153: 1ff.)

The importance of the “Willehalm” as a linguistically particularly sophisticated work in Wolfram von Eschenbach's work lies in the art of such detailed changes and skillful reformulations and interpretations according to the demands of the German court audience.

Historical background of the main characters

One source is the myths about Guillaume d'Orange , i. H. Count William of Toulouse, a grandson of Charles Martell . Under Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Guillaume fought against the Basques and Saracens , secured the Spanish mark , but then withdrew from secular life and died in 812 in the Gellone monastery, now Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert . He was canonized in 1066. His veneration continued into the 12th century.

The Chanson d'Aliscans refers to a battle of the Saracens, traces of which can still be found in the Roman-Christian cemetery in Arles ; the name Alischanz (from old French Aliscans to Latin elysium campii " Elyseian fields", cf. Champs-Élysées ) is evidence of this.

To classify the time of origin of the Willehalm

As with many medieval texts, exact dating is difficult. The general consensus of research places the beginning of Wolfram's work in the period between 1209 and 1217 and the time when the seal was broken off between 1217 and 1226. The only references to the time of origin are those text passages that allow a clear reference to a historical date. The focus is on four passages:

In the VIII. Book of Willehalm a contemporary comparison is made when describing the army campaign of a pagan king:

Do the Keizer Otte
to Rome trouc the crown,
so
come the nice gevaren according to his wishes

[When the emperor Otto [IV] came along just as splendidly at his coronation in Rome] (WH, 393,30ff.)

Wolfram alludes unequivocally to the coronation of the Welf Emperor Otto IV in Rome in 1209 . It is a biting irony , because massive protests by the Roman upper class against the coronation did not lead to a festive coronation procession. The VIII. Book of Willehalm must have been written after 1209.

In two places on the Willehalm there is talk of the siege engine “driboc” ( Tribok ), once in the III. Book (111,9) and once in V. (222,17). According to several chronicles, this military equipment was first used in 1212 during an attack by Otto IV on Weissensee Castle , which rules out the creation of these two books before 1212. The mention of a war machine that did not exist during the lifetime of the historical Willehalm was not perceived as a mistake by contemporaries, as the prevailing idea in the Middle Ages was that everything would always have looked or worked in the same way, or at least similarly, as in the present.

Wolfram's client, Landgrave Hermann von Thuringia, is named in two places. In the prologue of the Willehalm he is named in his function for the narrative:

lantgrave from Duringen Herman
tet me diz maere from im [Willehalm] bekant

[Landgrave Hermann von Thuringia introduced me to his [Willehalms] story] (WH, 3.8f.)

At another point it says:

lantgrave by Duringen Herman
het in ouch lihte an ors given.
daz kunder wol al sin live

[Landgrave Hermann von Thuringia would certainly have given them a horse, he was happy to do that all his life] (WH, 417,22ff.)

This site is for the dating of particular interest because it is spoken by Hermann in the past tense (he did it gladly), which suggests that Wolfram wrote these lines only after the death of his patron. The IX. The book must have been written after 1217.

Basically, some researchers (including Bumke ) assume that the action of Willehalm and in particular the relationship between Christianity and Islam, which is at the center, would fit less into Hermann's time than into that of his successor Ludwig . The subject of the Crusades, which was always explosive at that time, and at the same time the open-minded relationship of Emperor Friedrich II to the Islamic religion, agree very precisely with the statements and developments in Wolframs Willehalm. In addition, matches with real existing place names can be determined, for example Dannjata (WH, 74,16) and Alamansura (e.g. WH, 141,13) could be the Egyptian places Damiette and al-Mansura, the 1221 im The focus of events were. A possible assignment of the Willehalm to a later time (until 1226, the year Ludwig of Thuringia started the crusade ) cannot be dismissed out of hand.

action

prolog

The epic opens with an opening prayer to the Triune God. The poet shows right at the beginning that the listener is not expecting an Arthurian novel, but a religious work. This prayer is based on the Invocatio in the Roland's song by Pfaffen Konrad , there is a first indication that the Willehalm is linked to the older story.

The poet now asks for assistance in telling the story correctly; By rejecting book knowledge and placing his capacity for knowledge entirely in God's hands, he also formulates a work-related poetics . This not only resembles the “self-defense” at the end of the second Parzival book, it also represents the difference between worldly knowledge and the “meaning” received from God. The poet is a poeta illiteratus .

After the presentation of the hero - Willehalm is a battle-tested knight of high birth who remains in earthly life and as a saint model - Wolfram names the actual theme of the work: suffering in love and other things that loyal people have to endure. It means that many people like Willehalm and Gyburc had to suffer for the sake of their religious beliefs .

The 1st book

Count Heimrich von Narbon disinherited his seven sons and made a godson heir. The sons should acquire a fiefdom in the service of high lords like Charlemagne . Willehalm, the eldest of the brothers, is taken prisoner during the fight against King Tybalt and is abducted to Arabi . In prison he meets Arabel, Tybalt's wife. He escapes with her, convinces her to convert to Christianity and marries her. After her baptism she now bears the name Gyburg. Willehalm occupies Tybalt's land in Provence and founds his county in Oransche .

Tybalt's father-in-law, the pagan great king Terramer, sets in motion a huge army that lands on the coast of Provence. The battle in Alishanz takes place. It is true that the Provencal Christians repel the first attacks of the kings Halzebier and Noupatris; the latter is slain by Willehalm's nephew Vivianz. When Terramer and his brother Arofel join the army, disperse the Christian troops, whereby Vivianz is mortally wounded, the Christian army suffers a devastating defeat.

Willehalm managed to escape to Oransche with some men. He leaves Gyburg here, and when the rest of his people are killed by King Poufameiz, he has to flee alone.

The 2nd book

On the run, Willehalm sees Vivianz who is dying, from whom he takes confession and gives communion ; Vivianz dies a Christian martyr .

After the wake he rides on. He meets fifteen heathen kings, of whom he kills seven. The only thing he spared was marrying because, as Arabel-Gyburg's son, he was his stepson. He also kills Arofel and Tenebruns. As a ruse he puts on Arofel's armor and mounts his horse in order to be mistaken for an Arab and to be able to ride between enemy lines. The loyalty of his own horse Puzzat betrays him, because it trots alongside him. He is attacked by King Tesereiz and kills him in battle.

The armor was his undoing when he got to Oransche. Gyburg thinks he's a pagan. Willehalm must first free the imprisoned Christians who are being led by as evidence. When she doesn't believe him either, he finally takes off his helmet - Gyburg recognizes him by his nose, which was mutilated in battle.

During the night Willehalm sets out to meet the French King Loys, d. H. Louis the pious to ask for assistance. The armor and his knowledge of Arabic help him with this.

The 3rd book

The ring of siege around Oransche closes.

Gyburg hurts the suffering of Christians and pagans alike, but she is firmly on the Christian side. In her first conversation with Terramer (109,17-110,30) she answers his threat of threefold death with the twofold death of the soul and the body.

Willehalm has arrived in Orlens and is hiding in a small inn. Immediately he gets into an argument with a royal official who is unjustifiably demanding road tolls from him and kills him. His widow seeks help from a knight who challenges Willehalm to a fight. The defense attorney is also defeated and would almost have been slain had he not given his name - it is one of Willehalm's brothers who informs him that the whole family will be present at the court day in Mun acceler. Willehalm spends a night in the monastery and leaves Arofel's shield there. Then he rides to Mun acceler. Here Willehalm is completely disregarded, no one receives him with courtly honors. His sister, who is now queen, even orders that the gates should be closed right in front of him. The merchant Wimar finally takes him in. Willehalm declines a proper meal and a comfortable night's camp because he thinks of Gyburg's situation.

The next day he rides angrily to the royal court, where the other princes shrink from him. When Heimrich von Narbon moves in with his family, Willehalm steps in front of the king and informs him with a rude speech that he owes his rule to him. However, the king answered him measuredly. Willehalm's sister refuses to give him any help, which leads to a scandal: he tears the crown off her head and would have killed her if their mother, Irmenschart, had not taken her protection. Only when they find out that Vivianz is dead and that the whole army is lost do they promise to help. Willehalm's niece, the beautiful Princess Alyze, finally clears up the mood. She asks Loys for forgiveness because her mother behaved improperly.

The 4th book

Willehalm's sister has reconsidered her position and promises Willehalm every help, makes part of her fortune available and also encourages her husband. But Loys is initially offended because of Willehalm's insult and wants to bring the court festival to an end beforehand.

After the meal there is another uproar; Loys puts Willehalm off again, so that he jumps onto the banquet table and threatens to return his fiefs , which is a great shame for the king. This time the brothers intervene helpfully by finally getting a promise together with Count Heimrich. The fighters are mobilized and an army should be present within ten days.

Willehalm stays in Mun acceler. One evening he meets a gigantic and strong kitchen servant whom the noblemen ridicule. His name is Rennewart. He has to do base services because he refuses to accept baptism. Willehalm asks the king to equip him knightly for the upcoming fight - but Rennewart only demands a heavy pole instead of weapons.

Since after ten days the army has assembled, King Loys accompanies the fighters to Orlens, where he hands the imperial flag to Willehalm. This now has the supreme command. Rennewart kisses Princess Alyze goodbye. As they approach Oransche, they see the city in flames.

The 5th book

The siege of Oransche continues.

At the second, somewhat more understanding encounter with his daughter, the Religious Discussion (215.10-221.26), Terramer tried again in vain to persuade Gyburg to return to Islam. The indissolubility of the conflict becomes clear: your adherence to the faith is matched by his confession of his gods. Just as she disregards the pagan gods, so he does the Christian god. Gyburg's claim to absoluteness is opposed to the Terramers. Both justify their actions, accuse the interlocutor of being guilty of the cause of the conflict and call on each other to convert.

After a storm attack, the city goes up in flames, only Glorjet Castle is spared. The pagan army withdraws to get new supplies from the ships.

Gyburg thinks he sees a new pagan attack; but to their great joy it is Willehalm with the Christian army. The military leaders pitch their camps outside the city; Gyburg and Willehalm prepare the catering. The troops are approaching Oransche from different directions, including Willehalm's brothers and his father. They all come to the feast at Glorjet Castle. Gyburg mourns old Heimrich about the deaths of pagan and Christian fighters. Many of the knights from Willehalm's family are in Terramer's captivity. She tells of a miracle during the battle: many fallen Christian knights were laid in sarcophagi that were not made by human hands.

The 6th book

The feast is in full swing when Rennewart enters the hall. The company is visibly impressed by its size and strength. But he drinks too much of the sweetened wine. When two squires take his pole, he loses his temper and hits them. The squires flee, the meal ends in riot.

Willehalm leads the princes to their camp, then he goes to rest with Gyburg. Rennewart spends the night in Glorjet's kitchen. The cook sings the beard of the sleeper with a glowing log - he pays for this wicked prank with his life. Willehalm found out about it the next morning and asked Gyburg to take care of Rennewarts. She has an inkling that he could be her brother; but he refuses to answer questions about his family. Gyburg has King Synagun's armor brought back, which he was wearing when he captured Willehalm. She persuades him to put on the armor and also to carry a sword.

The princes meet for a council of war, which Gyburg also attends. Willehalm opens the council by describing the sufferings which the pagan warriors brought upon France. He calls for the defense of the land and for vengeance on the heathen and promises the fighters double wages, heaven and the favor of noble women. His brothers and father are determined to take up the fight in Alishanz, but the princes of the French imperial army refuse to obey Willehalm. With Oransche's relief, her mission is accomplished. Willehalm urges them not to sin against Christ and to leave the land to the Gentiles, whereupon the imperial princes also promise their participation. Gyburg was the last to speak and the council of war decided. She certainly sees the need to fight against her father's claims to power over the Christian West. But from her experience of suffering she warns of the cycle of revenge and asks to spare the opponent after the victory. She justifies this with the mercy of God and with the fact that the heathen like the Christians are creatures of God. She substantiates her appeal with statements from the Holy Scriptures. In addition, all young children are pagans before they are baptized.

The princes have one last meal, and Rennewart appears in Synagun's armor. Then the army breaks out.

The 7th book

The fighters had already traveled a day towards Alishanz when Rennewart noticed that he had forgotten his pole in Oransche. Willehalm has them brought to the next night's quarters by a messenger. Rennewart forgets his pole again - this time he runs back himself, ashamed of his forgetfulness and at the thought that his hurry could be misunderstood as an escape. He finds his rod, which is now hardened in the fire, and quickly returns.

The army is at the pagan camp, from a hill, Willehalm and his followers overlook Terramer's enormous army. Willehalm encourages the princes: not one is allowed to flee. But he achieves the opposite, the French princes withdraw with their troops, they prefer to acquire fame and honor in the tournament . Willehalm lets them feel his resentment, he assures the remaining knights that God will reward them that day.

The retreating princes only make it to the Petit Punt gorge, where they meet Rennewart, who does not wait for an exchange of words, but hits the renegade with his pole. He kills 45 of them until they see and understand that it is the hand of God that strikes them. One of the fighters who wants to appear wise - while in truth he is the stupidest of all and can only speak well - tries to persuade Rennewart to repent; he could lie in the tavern all day instead of going into battle. This only kindles Rennewart's anger, he slays more fugitive knights and only obeys when they swear him to return to Alishanz with him under his command.

There Willehalm has meanwhile caught up with the Reich flag and hoisted his own banner. Together with his brother Arnalt he leads the first of the five army groups; she gets her pay from his mother and sister. The second is headed by old Heimrich, the third by the brothers Buov and Bernart, the fourth by Gybert and Bertram, and the last by the younger Heimrich and his friend King Schilbert. Rennewart arrives with the other knights and becomes the sixth division, the imperial flag is again unveiled with the return of the French princes.

Terramer sees the royal banner and says that Loys himself is attacking him. He redefines his war goal: revenge for the deaths of the many pagan kings in the first battle of Alishanz. This would eradicate the shame that had been inflicted on his faith - the younger warriors should understand the fight as service of love , the older ones as jihad . Terramer now also reveals his actual motives for war: the defeat of his uncle Baligan against Charlemagne should be avenged. In addition, he is a descendant of Pompey , who therefore also deserves rule over the empire . He wanted to destroy Oransche and Paris , in order to then occupy the throne in Aachen and destroy Christianity.

Terramer divides his army into ten units and names each of the leaders with a praising speech. He lets the fighters bring statues of the pagan deities into battle; these are so heavy that they have to be attached to posts and transported on cattle carts. Terramer's eldest son Kanliun is supposed to protect the wagons - but he lets them down during the fight. Finally, Terramer is armored by the kings in a solemn ceremony. Here he mentions the sarcophagi that "the magician Jesus " must have distributed over the battlefield.

The 8th book

Halzebier's attack opens the battle and encounters the fifth division. Each of the ten groups of the pagan army gradually invade. After all, all Gentiles and Christians are in battle. The overwhelming force of Terramer's troops shattered Willehalm's entire order of battle, and finally the heathen overrun the whole field with their last attack. The Reichsheer finds itself hopeless and already facing defeat.

The 9th book

The order of battle dissolves. Old Heimrich fends off an attack by King Cernubile, whom he kills with a single blow of the sword. Princes of the Imperial Army fall, but Rennewart intervenes and kills five military leaders from Terramer's entourage. Halzebier backs away to draw strength. Rennewart follows him, reaches the ship with the prisoners of war and alone overwhelms the pagan warriors who go into battle in the armor of their opponents and on their horses. Together they kill Halzebier.

The old King Oukin mourns the death of his son Poydwiz; he attacks Willehalm and is struck down by him. Rennewart is resting from the fight. Meanwhile, Purrel and his 14 sons attack the Imperial Army. Rennewart rushes into battle with his pole and knocks him down; in the process his rod breaks. Purrel survived with serious injuries, and henchmen carried him to the ships. At first Rennewart continues to fight with his fists, but then he recalls Gyburg's advice and draws his sword. He puts Tybalt and his troops to flight.

Ektor von Salenie, the standard-bearer of the pagan army, is killed by Bernart; this initiates defeat. The whole army of heathen flees, the warriors escape to the ships or flee into the surrounding mountains. Many are overtaken by the pursuers and killed, the rest hastily cast off from the bank. In the last duel, the leaders Terramer and Willehalm finally meet. The pagan great king is badly wounded, his companions save him on the ship. Rennewart is still fighting, at last he kills his half-brother Kanliun and attacks King Poydjus, then his trail is lost in the fray.

The Christian imperial army has won the victory, but it laments heavy losses. The warriors search the battlefield for their relatives and seize the precious armor of their opponents. In the evening they attack the enemy camp and hold a great victory celebration.

The following day the dead from the battle are gathered. The common men are buried, the nobles are embalmed. In a lament, Willehalm mourns the loss of Rennewart, whom he praises as "his right hand"; Bernart accuses him of disregarding his duties as a military leader and suggests exchanging the only kidnapped Rennewart for 25 captured heathen kings. Willehalm agrees and lets the other princes hand over the captured kings to him. He instructs King Matribleiz to bring the bodies of those who died in both battles back to their homeland so that they can be buried according to the Muslim rite. - Here the narration breaks off.

Classification in literary history

In Willehalm, Wolfram combines two sources and two topics with two intentions to form a homogeneous whole; therein lies the actual literary achievement.

Source texts

One source is the myths about Guillaume d'Orange , i. H. Count William of Toulouse, a grandson of Charles Martell . Under Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Guillaume fought against the Basques and Saracens , secured the Spanish mark , but then withdrew from secular life and died in 812 in the Gellone monastery, now Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert . He was canonized in 1066. His veneration continued into the 12th century. The Chançun de Willame , which twined around this material and grew into a cycle of heroic epics, became Wolfram's starting point. Here he also found the historically guaranteed figure of Gyburg .

The other source is the Chanson d'Aliscans , an old French heroic epic about a battle between Christians and Muslims in Provence, which is one of several historical narrative texts about the count. The memory of the Saracen Battle can still be found in the Roman-Christian cemetery in Arles ; the name Alischanz (from old French Aliscans to Latin elysium campii " Elyseian fields", cf. Champs-Élysées ) is evidence of this. The content of both sources is largely preserved in Wolfram, similar to Parzival, the poet reshaped the material through comments and reinterpreted it.

Origin and source interpretation

Wolfram re-accentuated the chanson material in his adaptation. This is illustrated by a look at the contemporary interpretation of the doctrine of the bellum iustum (just war) and ecclesiastical crusade propaganda as well as a comparison with the Middle High German Roland song transmission by Pfaffen Konrad (approx. 1170).

The crusades were justified on the basis of the Augustinian model of the just war theory. Divine love and mercy, the restoration of order and the authority of the Pope thereby legitimized acts of war. The Crusades met these criteria; the sin of waging war was founded on the pagan threat. At the same time, the crusades served the knightly caste as a connection between religious motives and the justification of violence during the expansion of power.

A comparison with the Roland song by Pfaffen Konrad shows the evaluation of the bellum iustum in connection with the presentation of the miles christi or milites christi in Wolframs Willehalm . The Roland song tells the fight of Charlemagne against the Saracens . On the advice of Roland's stepfather Genelun, who was sent as Charles's ambassador but pursues his own interests in power, the defeated Saracens only pretend to be concerned with peace and baptism. After the withdrawal of Karl's troops, they attack his governor Roland and defeat him. The Christian warriors die as martyrs after heroic resistance. But the returned main army of Charles defeats the heathen. The convicted by a divine judgment Genelun is punished with death. In a clear antithetic, the pagans are demonized as followers of the devil, who find the just punishment in defeat, while the Christians are endowed with all the attributes of deep piety and their struggle is justified as bellum iustum .

The Willehalm is also about a defensive war against the absolute claim to rule of the pagan Terramer, but Wolfram stands out in the evaluation of the fight and the knights from the Roland song as well as other crusade poetry . Although the narrator portrays the cruel war events and the suffering of the knights just as realistically and ascribes noble motifs to the Christian warriors, he treats the opponents and the issue of religious conflict in a more differentiated manner. This is demonstrated above all in Gyburg's conflict situation.

On the one hand, Wolfram portrays the Muslims and the Christian knights equally, just as he emphasizes Saladin in the Parzival as a model of wisdom. He approves of them the courtly ideals of virtue hôhiu'llkeit (social dignity), riterlîhen prîs (fame as a knight), milte (generosity), clarity (righteousness), tugent (moral conduct), êre ( honesty ), manlîchiu güete (all signs of a man of honor) , zuht (good courtly education) and triuwe (sincerity) to. In this way he effectively equates them with the ideal Christian knights. He sees them as believing people.

On the other hand, Wolfram's portrayal of human suffering is not limited to the crusaders, it also includes Gyburg's personal view, who laments her dead relatives. In her speech before the second battle, the author lets her convey the idea of ​​mercy towards the defeated enemy. It calls for sparing the opposing warriors after the fight, since the heathen also act , are creatures of God, and thus to break the cycle of suffering and vengeance. As evidence of this, she cites Adam , Elijah , Enoch and the Magi , who were pagans, like all children before baptism. Gyburg also uses a formulation, the interpretation of which the researchers are of different opinion: "The hall-like tuot vil we, whether the father siniu kint is denominated in disgust: he has pity on her, the deer pity truoc ie." (307 , 26-30) Whether Gyburg considers all people to be redeemable by God or only the baptized, as she expresses in her conversations with her father, everyone has the right to protection after the battle. The Muslim opponents, like the Christians, must not be killed “like cattle”. At the same time, Wolfram draws parallels between faith and love , in Gyburg the two are inextricably linked, like the theological terms guilt and grace .

Willehalm undergoes a change in the course of the plot. In the first battle he kills the heathen king Arofel, Gyburg's uncle, although the latter, seriously injured and defenseless, begs him for protection. It is an act of revenge for the sake of truiwe to his sex, since Arofel is responsible for the death of his nephew Vivianz ( he was dead at Vivianzens as he would be smelled ; 79: 28-29). Willehalm appears here as a realistic counter-image to the idealized knight figures of Arthurian epic . This act is reminiscent of the episode from the Iliad in which Achilles kills Hector in a similar situation in revenge for his friend Patroclus. After winning the second battle with great losses and a lot of suffering, Willehalm, on the other hand, adheres to his wife's command to be careful. He exchanges the prisoners and releases the corpses of the heathen for burial. A reconciliation between Gyburg and her relatives did not take place until the action was broken off. The ending remains open and with it the fate of the side hero Rennewart. He is not baptized , but fights as a pagan on the Christian side. A conclusion based on the sources suggests that as Gyburg's brother, analogous to the Parzival story, he comes to the Christian faith and marries Princess Alize. The story continues in Ulrichs von Türheim Rennewart .

Important aspects

Kinship problem

The relationship aspect is discussed in the Willehalm on different levels and in diverse constellations. Kinship is ambivalent in the Willehalm: often a negative image is created, but in some places a positive image is also taken.

Positive relatives

There are a few points for the positive draft: Giburg and her brother Rennewart are both isolated, but she feels - although she knows nothing of his origin - a close bond with him: cognitively and rationally she does not know about the relationship, but emotionally she does the kinship bond (290.1-295.28). The whole scene reaches its climax when Gyburc Madonna puts her coat around Rennewart and offers him protection and refuge. Willehalm's family is also partly positive. This shows that kinship has a great power to form identity. When Willehalm and Arnalt recognize each other in a duel (118: 21-26), the fight is ended immediately, as both want to prevent a brother fight: the brother is identified with himself. It is the same when Heimrich - Willehalm's father - declares that his son's suffering is his own (150.1-29, especially 23f .: min sun is not suochet: I am that of vice ). In addition, the positive kinship relationships are visible in other figure constellations, for example between Irmschart and Willehalm, Willehalm and Vivianz, Giburg and Vivianz, Giburg and Alyze. Here you can see that kinship had a wide meaning in the Middle Ages; not only the direct blood relationship , but also persons by marriage or connected by a baptismal sponsorship are counted as kinship, to them there is just as deep connection.

Relatives with negative connotations

In addition, especially problematic family relationships are discussed:

Father son relationship

The father-son relationship turns out to be disrupted: Willehalm and his brothers are disinherited by their father Heimrich in favor of a godson, his sons are supposed to fight for their rule, power and land for themselves (5.16-6.18 and 7.18- 22). However, this relationship proves to be relatively stable, as Heimrich is ready to help immediately (150.1-29) and thus rejects his doubts about the support (149.17-28). He even calls on his remaining sons for support (150: 21f.) And prays for him before King Loys (182: 11-15). The relationship between Terramer and Rennewart, however, is permanently and severely disrupted. Rennewart lives in hatred of his relatives (285: 1-10; 388: 18f.), It is he who brings victory to Christians in the end. However, Rennewart does not take into account that his relatives did not know where he had been kidnapped. Both times, the father-son relationship is massively disrupted, one time because of disinheritance, the other time because of the kidnapping.

Father daughter relationship

Wolfram describes the relationship between father and daughter, i.e. between Terramer and Gyburc, in the religious conversation between the two (215: 1-22, 26). Both try to convince the other of their own belief by arguments. However, this remains unsuccessful. Terramer threatens his daughter with death (217,24f.), But loves his daughter (217,26f.).

Relatives in law

The relatives by marriage and how to deal with them is one of the central themes of Willehalms. Since Arabel is Tybalt's wife, but was kidnapped by Willehalm, converted to Christianity, and when Gyburc became Willehalm's wife, everyone - pagans and Christians - are ultimately related.

Step relationship

Willehalm and Gyburc's son Ehmereiz face each other in a fight. Ehmereiz is referred to twice as Willehalm's stepson (73.5 and 206.26). This challenges him because he blames him for his mother's conversion (75: 3-20). Willehalm spares him, however ( the marcgrave doesn’t do anything ; he didn’t talk about anything but didn’t speak 75: 27f.). Vivianz is Willehalm's nephew on the Christian side, who was raised by Gyburc (62.26-28; 167.23-26). Between the stepson and the stepparents there is not only a strong blood relationship, but also a strong emotional bond, which is evident in Willehalm's lament at the dying Vivianz (59.12-65.1).

Baptism sponsorship

Heimrich had disinherited his sons in favor of an unspecified and later no longer mentioned godson. Apparently this only serves to motivate action.

Religious Kinship

In general, in the Willehalm one can differentiate between secular (blood relationship, step relationship and baptismal sponsorship) and religious relationship. Here Wolfram's broad-based work shows a thematic variety and depth that is hardly the case in the Germanic heroic epic .

Rituals

The plot of the 3rd book is determined by a sequence of courtly welcoming rituals and their disregard. A wide range of forms of interaction is shown: the greeting of strangers, of people of different classes, of vassals, relatives and entire clan associations. However, these rituals do not succeed at first, they are disrupted or mutually denied. One reason for this is the multiple misinterpretation of ritual communication, which is actually supposed to ensure a peaceful and status-oriented encounter. Willehalms armor z. B. is initially interpreted by the court as a sign of aggression; however, when he actually turns aggressively against the court, they happily rush to meet him. Failure or disruption of the ritual - so the bottom line - always lead to violence. Only after many misunderstandings does the ritual begin to take hold. With her intervention, Alyze finally meets the requirements of both the kinship system and the system of rule and thus restores the pacification function of the ritual.

Medieval text witnesses

Wolframs Willehalm has come down to us in a total of 78 medieval manuscripts . In addition to 14 complete copies, 64 fragments have been preserved.

Even the earliest illustrated Willehalm Codex has only survived in fragments. The work, created around 1270, is one of the 15 oldest illustrated German manuscripts with literary content. The fragments of this "Large Illuminated Manuscript" are kept in the Bavarian State Library in Munich and the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg.

facsimile

  • Ulrich Montag (Hrsg.): Wolfram von Eschenbach: Willehalm - The fragments of the "large picture manuscript ". Stuttgart 1985

Text output

  • Joachim Heinzle (Ed.): Willehalm . Based on manuscript 857 in the St. Gallen Abbey Library. Tübingen 1994 / Frankfurt am Main 1991
  • Werner Schröder: Willehalm. Text and translation . Berlin / New York, 3rd edition, 2003

literature

General representations

  • Samuel Singer : Wolframs Willehalm . Bern 1918
  • John Greenfield, Lydia Miklautsch: The "Willehalm" Wolframs von Eschenbach. An introduction . Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-11-014479-4 .
  • Gillian Mary Humphreys: Wolfram von Eschenbach's Willehalm . Göppingen 1999, ISBN 3-87452-903-7 .
  • Martin H. Jones: Wolfram's "Willehalm". Fifteen essays . Columbia 2002, ISBN 1-57113-211-2 .
  • Barbara Sabel: Thinking about tolerance in Middle High German literature . Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-89500-272-0 .
  • Ulrich Engelen: The precious stones in German poetry of the 12th and 13th centuries. Munich 1978 (Münstersche Medieval Writings, Volume 27).

Individual aspects

  • Christiane Ackermann; Klaus Ridder: grief - trauma - melancholy. To the Willehalm Wolframs von Eschenbach. In: Wolfram Mauser u. Joachim Pfeiffer (Ed.): Mourning. Würzburg 2003 (Freiburg Literature Psychological Conversations, Yearbook for Literature and Psychoanalysis, Volume 22), pp. 83-108.
  • Verena Barthel: empathy, pity, sympathy. Reception-directing structures of medieval texts based on the Willehalm material. Berlin 2008.
  • Valentin Blaas: Considerations for a coding of the emotion “anger” in the Willehalm Wolframs von Eschenbach. In: Das Mittelalter 14 (2009), pp. 50–66.
  • Joachim Bumke: Emotion and body signs. Observations on the Willehalm Wolframs von Eschenbach. In: Das Mittelalter 8 (2003), pp. 13–32.
  • Joachim Bumke: Wolfram's “Willehalm”. Studies on the structure of epics and the concept of holiness of the late blooming period . Heidelberg 1959
  • James Frederick Conger: avenge and have mercy in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Willehalm . Iowa City 1976.
  • Peter Czerwinski: Struggle as material communication. On the logic of noble bodies in the Middle Ages (The flow of forces and things II). In: Mediaevistik 9 (1966), pp. 33-76.
  • Christoph Fasbender: the Rehten script dôn and word . Another suggestion for the Willehalm 2.16f. In: Journal for German Philology 121 (2002), pp. 21–33.
  • Hubertus Fischer: Death among pagans. Gahmuret and Vivianz. In: Susanne Knaeble (ed.): God and death. Dying in the courtly culture of the Middle Ages. Berlin. Münster 2011, pp. 135–148.
  • Saskia Gall: Telling 'unmâze': Narratological aspects of the loss of control in Wolframs von Eschenbach's 'Willehalm' . Heidelberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-8253-6823-4 .
  • Karin Genser: The Orient and the Gentiles in Wolframs von Eschenbach “Parzival” and “Willehalm”. Salzburg 2001.
  • Annette Gerok-Reiter: Hell on earth. Reflections on the relationship between the worldly and the spiritual in Wolframs Willehalm. In: Christoph Huber u. a. (Ed.): Spiritual in secular and secular in spiritual literature of the Middle Ages. Tübingen 2000, pp. 172-194.
  • John Greenfield: ir sît durh triuwe in dirre nôt . The Role of triuwe in Wolfram's Willehalm. In: Martin Jones et al. Timothy McFarland (Ed.): Wolframs Willehalm . Fifteen essays. Rochester, New York 2002, pp. 62-76.
  • John Greenfield: Vivianz. An Analysis of the Martyr Figure in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Willehalm and in his Old French Source Material. Erlangen 1991.
  • Claudia Grill: The image of women and the image of heathen in Wolframs and Ulrich's “Willehalm” . (Dissertation) Vienna 1988.
  • Heiko Hartmann: Heraldic motifs and their narrative function in the works of Wolfram von Eschenbach. In: Wolfram-Studien 17 (2002), pp. 157–181.
  • Dieter Kartschoke: Signum Tau (on Wolframs Willehalm 406, 17ff.). In: Euphorion 61 (1967), pp. 245-266.
  • Rabea Kohnen: how do you know that? To motivate the antagonist in Wolframs Willehalm. In: Anne-Katrin Federow, Kay Malcher u. Marina Münkler (Ed.): Brittle heroes - brittle narration. Middle High German heroic epic from a narratological point of view. Berlin 2017, pp. 57–75.
  • Herbert Kolb: A cross with three ends. To Wolframs Willehalm 406.1-407.7. In: Journal for German Antiquity and German Literature 116 (1987), pp. 268–279.
  • Hartmut Kugler: Old knights, young knights. Wolfram's Willehalm. In: Sonja Glauch (ed.): Great texts of the Middle Ages. Erlangen lecture series 2003. Erlangen, Jena 2005, pp. 127–143.
  • Wolfgang Kuehnemann: Soldier expressions and soldier sarcasms in the Middle High German epics with special consideration of Wolfram's "Willehalm" . (Dissertation) Tübingen 1970.
  • Ursula Liebertz-Grün: The grieving sex. Martial masculinity and femininity in Wolframs von Eschenbach's Willehalm . In: Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift 46 (1996), pp. 383–405.
  • Carl Lofmark: Rennewart in Wolfram's "Willehalm". A study of Wolfram von Eschenbach and his sources . Cambridge 1972
  • Marie-Noël Marly: Traduction et paraphrase dans Willehalm de Wolfram d'Eschenbach . Goeppingen 1982
  • Marie-Noël Marly: From despicable weakling to exemplary king. To identify Wolfram's processing method in the Willehalm. In: Journal for German Philology 100 (1981), pp. 104–118.
  • Sophie Marshall: Mirrored Heroes. Vivianz and Lanzelet from a psychoanalytic perspective. In: Contributions to the history of German language and literature 135 (2013), pp. 206–243.
  • Patrizia Mazzadi: After the fight. Warrior between oblivion and heroism in the Willehalm , in the Aeneid and in Orlando furioso. In: Michael Dallapiazza, Federicia Anichini u. Francesca Bravi (Ed.): War. Heroes and Antiheroes in Medieval Literature. Contributions of the II. International Giornata di Studio sul Medioevo in Urbino. Göppingen 2007, pp. 26-28.
  • Timothy McFarland: Giburc's Dilemma: Parents and Children, Baptism and Salvation. In: Martin Jones et al. Timothy McFarland (Ed.): Wolframs Willehalm . Fifteen essays. Rochester, New York 2002, pp. 121-142.
  • Lydia Miklautsch: Minne -flust. On the role of minster knighthood in Wolframs Willehalm. In: Contributions to the history of German language and literature 117 (1995), pp. 218–234.
  • Thomas Neukirchen: The entry of the Army Willehalms. the fear of Giburg and Wolfram's German. To 'Willehalm' 237,3-14 and 'Aliscans' LXXXI-LXXXVI. In: Amsterdam Contributions to Older German Studies 76 (2016), pp. 15–30.
  • Dietmar Peschel: Swallow and burst. Excessiveness in the Willehalm. Or: joke and poetological psychology with Wolfram. In the S. (Ed.): Relationship Knot. Seven essays on childhood and love and domination in medieval literature. Gain. Jena 2007, pp. 110–157.
  • Werner Röcke: The burst drake and the cook as a roll roast. Laughter and violence in Wolframs Willehalm. In: Journal for German Studies. New episode 11 (2001), pp. 274-291.
  • James Rushing: Arofel's Death and the Question of Willehalm's Guilt. In: The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 94 (1995), pp. 469-482.
  • Werner Schröder: The execution of Arofels. In: Wolfram-Studien 2 (1974), pp. 219-240.
  • Werner Schröder: mort and ritual at Wolfram. To Willehalm 10: 18-20. In the S. (Ed.): Wolfram von Eschenbach. Traces and works. Smaller fonts. 1956-1987. Stuttgart 1989, pp. 486-493.
  • Jürgen Vorderstemann: The foreign words in Wolframs von Eschenbach's "Willehalm" . Göppingen 1974, ISBN 3-87452-241-5 .
  • Christopher Young: Narrative Perspectives in Wolfram's “Willehalm”. Figures, narrators, meaning process . Tübingen 2000, ISBN 3-484-32104-0 .

relationship

  • Przybilski, Martin: Giburg's requests. Politics and kinship. In: ZfdA 133 (2004), pp. 49-60.
  • Przybilski, Martin: Relationship as Wolframs key to the narrated world. In: Journal for German Studies NF 15. 2005. 122-137.
  • Joachim Bumke: Wolfram von Eschenbach. 8th edition. Stuttgart 2004, pp. 343-351. You can also find a good overview of the literature here.

The relationship to the Aliscans epic

  • Susan Almira Bacon: The source of Wolfram's Willehalm. Tübingen 1910.
  • Bernd Bastert: Heroes as saints. Chanson de geste reception in German-speaking countries. Tübingen 2010 (Bibliotheca Germanica, Volume 54).
  • Danielle Buschinger (ed.): Guillaume et Willehalm, les épopées françaises et l'oeuvre de Wolfram von Eschenbach. Actes du colloque des 12 and 13 janvier 1985. Göppingen 1985.
  • John Greenfield: The structure of dialogue in Aliscans and Wolframs Willehalm . Observations on the Aérofle / Arofel scene. In: Monika Unzeit u. a. (Ed.): Speech scenes in the medieval grand epic. Comparative Perspectives. Berlin 2011, pp. 105–115.
  • John Greenfield: Vivien and Vivianz. In: Wolfram-Studien 11 (1989), pp. 47-64.
  • Thordis Hennings: French heroic epic in the German-speaking area. The reception of the Chansons de geste in the 12th and 13th centuries. Overview and case studies. Heidelberg 2009.
  • Bodo Mergell: Wolfram von Eschenbach and his French sources. Part 1, Wolframs Willehalm. Münster 1936 (Research on the German Language and Poetry, Volume 6).
  • Florian Nieser: The legibility of heroes. Ambiguous characters in the Bataille d'Aliscans and in Wolframs von Eschenbach's Willehalm. Berlin 2018.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm von Orlens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On interpretation: Corinna Dörrich, Poetik des Rituals , Series Symbolische Kommunikation in der Vormoderne, Darmstadt 2002, pp. 79-109.