Blondelsage
The Blondelsage is a medieval legend that tells of the troubadour Blondel's search for his captive master and friend, the English King Richard the Lionheart , and his liberation.
Historical background
King Richard the Lionheart is said to have allowed the flag of an ally, the Austrian Duke Leopold V , to be dishonored when conquering Acre during the Third Crusade in 1191 . Thereupon he was captured by Leopold's troops on the return journey near Vienna on December 21, 1192 and imprisoned for the duration of the winter at the Lower Austrian castle Dürnstein . On March 28, 1193 he was in Speyer to Heinrich VI. , the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire . Richard was then held at the Reichsburg Trifels , which is near Annweiler in the southern Palatinate Forest , the German part of the Wasgau , until February 4, 1194 . Eventually Richard was released for a large ransom . See the article on Richard the Lionheart for details of what actually happened.
legend
The saga, which exists in different versions, mainly changes the historical background of the king's release:
It is reported that the singer Blondel went from castle to castle in search of Lionheart in the Holy Roman Empire and sang his song in front of every castle at night. At Dürnstein Castle or on the Trifels, Lionheart answered him singing from the dungeon, so that Blondel now knew the place of the king's captivity. The singer then arranged for the king to be freed.
In some versions of the saga, a ransom is paid for the release; in others, Blondel, with the support of a group of like-minded people, freed the king by force.
Johann Gabriel Seidl treated the subject in a ballad:
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The local historian Friedrich Wilhelm Hebel described the event in his literary adaptations of legends in 1912, in a time of historicism , as follows:
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The story, which only emerged in the 13th century, has been embellished over the course of time and has become increasingly distant from the actual events. Above all, the episode of militant liberation is unhistorical; contemporary chroniclers report nothing about it.
In its earliest form, the legend was told around 1260 in the so-called Récits d'un Ménestrel de Reims , a legendary crusade chronicle.
In Austria there is a similar legend about Dürnstein Castle, where Richard the Lionheart was held before his imprisonment on the Trifels. There is, however, no question of a violent liberation.
Interpretations
It was mainly English chroniclers who reported that Richard languished in the dark dungeon. Other chroniclers, however, report honorable treatment.
The description of the strict conditions of detention is very exaggerated; for King Richard was too valuable for the German Kaiser to treat him badly. For Henry VI. The imprisoned Richard was not only a source of money, but also a bargaining chip against the Welf prince opposition under the leadership of Heinrich the Lion , the brother-in-law of Richard the Lionheart. Heinrich the Lion had already been active against Heinrich VI. supported. In order not to be extradited to King Philip II of France , who was hostile to him , Richard even acted as a diplomat and worked on the reconciliation between Henry VI. and the rebellious princes.
In 1867 , the historian Theodor Toeche (1837–1919) put together the following picture from Richard's letters and from reports by neutral contemporary witnesses :
“He was allowed to move freely, followed by German knights. Intercourse with his friends and compatriots who came over from England to pay homage to him or to advise him was not hindered. He only had to be alone at night. Here, too, happiness did not leave the King; whoever saw him found him cheerful and cheerful. He was most amused by playing his game with the guards, wrestling with them with masterly dexterity, or drinking them all drunk and staying alone on top. "
music
The legend about the Troubadour Blondel was rediscovered in the 18th century and later featured in various musical disciplines:
- The Blondelsage first became popular with the opera Richard Cœur de Lion by Grétry (1784).
- Robert Schumann set Johann Gabriel Seidl's ballad to music in October 1840 as a song for voice and piano . The song first appeared in a supplement to the Orpheus almanac in 1842 , then in 1845 as op. 53.1 in the Romanzen und Balladen collection III .
- The musical Blondel by Tim Rice (book, texts) and Stephen Oliver (music), premiered in 1983, is based very freely on the legend. According to the script of the musical, Blondel's efforts to save King Richard the Lionheart are actually aimed at gaining fame as a pop star .
- The Palatine songwriter Ferdinand Ledwig, who appears in medieval costumes under the name Ferdinand the singer , sings about the blonde legend in his CD Hans Spielmann Play on ; he adheres very closely to the literary guidelines.
literature
- Friedrich Wilhelm lever: Palatinate legends book . Verlag Wellhöfer, Mannheim 2006, ISBN 978-3-939540-01-4 (reprint of the first edition from 1912).
- Hans Reither, Helmut Seebach: The English King Richard I the Lionheart as a prisoner at Trifels Castle . Contributions to the history of the Trifels, issue 1. Verlag Bachstelz, Mainz-Gonsenheim o. J., ISBN 3-924115-14-1 .
- Récits d'un Ménestrel de Reims . Edition Natalis de Wailly, Paris 1876.
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Hebel: Palatinate Book of Legends . The English King Richard I the Lionheart as a prisoner at Trifels Castle. Mannheim 2006 (reprint of the first edition from 1912).
- ^ Theodor Toeche: Emperor Heinrich VI. In: Yearbooks of German History . Leipzig 1867 (reprint Darmstadt 1965).
- ^ Robert Schumann: Blondels Lied. Contribution to the Orpheus 1842. Digitization: University of Düsseldorf, accessed on June 30, 2015 .
- ↑ Ferdinand Ledwig: Hans Spielmann play on. (CD) songs from 8 centuries; Staufer period until the movement of the migrant birds. Retrieved November 23, 2010 .