Garel from the blooming valley

The story Garel from the blooming valley was probably written between 1260 and 1280 in southern Germany and belongs to the group of post-classical German Arthurian novels of the 13th century; the author calls himself " Pleier " and is probably of Austrian origin. Two remains of the original handwriting of "Garel vom blooming valley" are still preserved today. One of them is abbreviated as handwriting "L", for Linz (Linz, Upper Austrian Provincial Archives, handwriting 96, safe IV / 54); the manuscript is in good condition and, with the exception of the reverse side of the last sheet, very legible. The other remnant of the Garel novel is the so-called fragment "M", for Meran (Tyrol). The manuscript, which was created in Tyrol, provides only individual fragments of the novel.

The Garel fresco cycle at Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano

At Runkelstein Castle near Bolzano , profane fresco cycles were created in the first years of the 15th century, which - in addition to other profane representations - also show figures and scenes from Arthurian novels. Among them is the only known pictorial representation of the Arthurian story Garel from the blooming valley . These frescoes were commissioned by the Vintlers , a wealthy bourgeois family from Bolzano. They bought Runkelstein Castle in 1385, had it expanded and decorated it with wall paintings in the summer house, the West Palace and the castle chapel.

action

The first hundred verses of the Garel story have been lost. It is believed, however, that the story could have been preceded by a moralizing part. The part that came to us begins with the description of Arthur's Spring Festival in the city of Dinazarun. Arthur's wife Ginover is robbed there. This is also where the first scene in the Runkelstein fresco cycle begins. The table knights, including later Gawan and Lancelot, ride after the kidnapper; the model knight and one of King Arthur's closest confidants named Garel will take up the chase a little later. For the time being, an envoy from the kidnapper arrives at Artus Court: the giant Charabin. His master, King Ekunaver of Canada, sent him to declare his hostility to King Arthur because Arthur was complicit in the death of the king's father, the giant reports. Therefore a campaign of revenge against Arthur is due at the next Pentecost time. Arthur accepts the challenge and discusses his concerns with Garel, who then sets out in the direction of Kanadic to scout the country.

Meanwhile, there is an incident at Arthur's court: The envious court marshal Kei mocks the bravery of Garel, who has to endure various adventures from this point on: He first meets the Lord of Merkanie, whose daughter is molested by the knight Gerhart. Garel decides to help and in the fight first defeats Rialt, a friend of the knight Gerhart, and then Gerhart himself, but rejects Herr von Merkanie's offer to marry his daughter. The defeated Gerhart and the Lord of Merkanie both provide knights for the said battle of Arthur.

Next, Garel meets the strong knight Gilan, whom he defeats after a long sword fight. This also guarantees him a large number of knights for Arthur's battle. Furthermore, Garel fights against the knight Eskilabon, defeats him as well, fights against the giants Purdan and Fidegart, then frees virgins, their leader Duzabel and the young man Klaris, who were all held captive by the giants. He also frees the dwarves, including their leader Albewin, who served the giants. This leads to a fight against the sea monster Vulgan, which has long cruelly ruled the land of Anferre and Queen Laudamie. After defeating the monster, Garel marries Laudamie and becomes King of Anferre. He remains there until the preparations for the battle against Ekunaver begin. The opponents whom Garel has defeated and who have assured him of assistance send their knights; Garel can go to war with 100,000 men; Before the battle begins, there is an incident with the giant Malseron, whom Garel has to defeat on the border with Kanadic.

After Garel's victory against the giant, the battle finally breaks out; in the novel the order is exactly described, which parts of the army of Arthur's side meet which parts of the army of Ekunaver's lord. Garel wins, of course; Lancelot arranges for Arthur to get his wife back. When Garel and Arthur's army meet, they both believe that they are facing an enemy army. Kei, who mocked Garel's bravery at the beginning of the story, rides out to scout out the foreign army - that is, Garel's army unknowingly. A fight ensues between Kei and Garel; Garel wins here too. Garel and Artus meet. The infamous feast, the round table, takes place. As the last scene in the story, the Runkelstein cycle shows Garel's homecoming to Anferre, where Queen Laudamie is already waiting for him. Ekunaver and Kloudite have also returned home; Despite the general mourning, they too are received happily, as one is very happy about the reconciliation with Arthur. Ekunaver is sad about his defeat, but he believes he can remedy the misfortune as best he can. He builds a beautiful hospital on the Walstatt and donates a thousand marks for the Münsters-Widum. The bones of those who died in the war are collected by the monks and carried to the cemetery. In addition, fifty soul masses are sung daily for their salvation. Ekunaver and the Queen live honored to the end of their lives. When Garel heard about this foundation, he sent a messenger to express his joy at this idea and to offer his help, which Ekunaver would gladly accept.

Garel continues to live happily with laudation on Muntrogin; he is a good ruler and is widely honored. It is unknown to the narrator whether he performed any other miracles. It does not seem to have been interesting enough for the client and possibly also for the painter. The cycle on Runkelstein closes with the scene of Garel's return to Laudamie, the scene of the hospital foundation is excluded, as is the final, final reconciliation with Ekunaver.

The picture cycle at Runkelstein Castle consists of a total of 20 scenes; three scenes (Laudamie takes Garel into the castle, Garel marries Laudamie and the giant Malseron) were lost when the north wall of the castle fell in 1868. Since further crashes were feared, further scenes of the cycle were taken as a precaution. In the course of the renovation work around the castle, the north wall of the castle was moved further inwards; the wall got shorter. So two and a half pictures had no more space and had to be placed in the Tristan room.

The picture cycle shows a certain independence from the original text due to its picture division; the first part of the novel, which ends with the marriage of Laudamie and Garel, takes up two thirds of the total number of images in the cycle. The second half, which actually mainly consists of the battle against Ekunaver, could be well summarized in a single picture. The highlights of the literature are well represented in the Runkelstein cycle.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dieter Burgdorf (Ed.): Metzler Literaturlexikon , Stuttgart 2007, p. 47
2. ↑ Verena Hilber: The Garel cycle at Runkelstein Castle. Vienna 2008, p. 44f.
3. ↑ Kristina Domanski and Margit Krenn: The profane wall paintings in the summer house , in: Runkelstein Castle - the Bilderburg , Bozen 2000, pp. 99–154
4. ↑ Verena Hilber: The Garel cycle at Runkelstein Castle , Vienna 2008, p. 46ff.