Gyburc

Gyburc (also Gyburg ) is the wife of Willehalm in Wolfram von Eschenbach 's medieval verse tale of the same name " Willehalm " .

At the side of her husband Willehalm, she plays one of the central roles in this work, which is very important for the Middle High German epic, and stands out for its behavior that was very unconventional for the Middle Ages.

Willehalm, the Christian protagonist, is taken prisoner of war by the pagan king Tybalt during a battle and brought to Arabi, where he meets Tybalt's wife Arabel and woos her. Arabel lets him convert to the Christian faith, falls in love with him and flees with him. She was baptized and took the name "Gyburc". Willehalm occupies Tybalt's land in Provence and founds his county of Orange there. Tybalt then goes to war with his father-in-law and a huge pagan army against Willehalm. What begins as a feud about Gyburc, grows in the course of the action into a mighty religious war in which Gyburc repeatedly refuses to give up her new faith and vehemently defends her religion and her love for Willehalm.

Her so-called "Tolerance Speech", which she held before the assembled Prince Council, before Willehalm joined the princes in the second battle against the heathen, became particularly famous. In this she appeals to men, in the event of a victory over the Gentiles, to treat them graciously, since Gentiles are also creatures of God. In the context of an impressive Bible exegesis, she argues against the widespread opinion that pagans can be killed without hesitation, since they are doomed to agony in any case. Her great knowledge and competence in questions of religion is also evident in two conversations she has with her father Terramer.

The fact that, as a woman, she is allowed to take the Christian part in a religious conversation has no parallel in medieval literature at this time; theologians usually fill this part. The fact that she takes part in the Princely Council as a woman and also gets up and gives a speech to the men is very unusual for a woman of the time. But these are not the only situations in which Wolfram von Eschenbach Gyburc breaks medieval conventions: During the absence of Willehalm (who wants to win the French king for support in the fight against the pagans) Gyburc in armor and with drawn sword defends the local Glorjet castle in orange against the attacks of the pagans.

This fight with the sword is more of a secondary aspect of her figure, her real weapon is her knowledge and belief. The central aspect is that she conducts the verbal confrontation with the pagans, while Willehalm directs the fighting on the battlefield. So she has a very important part in the overall work, the meaning of which can perhaps even be equated with Willehalm's.

Text output

Wolfram von Eschenbach: Willehalm. Study edition. Mhdt. Text based on the 3rd edition by Werner Schröder. Translation by Werner Katschoke. Berlin, 2003.

literature

Bumke, Joachim: Wolfram von Eschenbach. Stuttgart, 2004.