Iwein

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Fresco from the Iwein cycle at Rodenegg Castle : Iwein fights with Aschelon (Askalon).

Iwein is a Middle High German Arthurian novel by Hartmann von Aue , written in verse around the year 1200 . Hartmann freely translated the Yvain ou Le Chevalier au lion by Chrétien de Troyes from the old French . Iwein, the hero of the novel, is one of the knights of the round table at the court of King Arthur .

The Iwein in Hartmann's factory

Hartmann von Aue is considered to be the founder of German Arthurian epic with his novel Erec , which was written around 1180 to 1200 .

The Iwein is his second courtly novel; For stylistic reasons, it is the last of Hartmann's four narrative works. Between the Erec and the Iwein , the two legendary stories Gregorius and The poor Heinrich were written . The Iwein must have been available around 1205, since Wolfram von Eschenbach refers to it in his Parzival . The year 1190 is assumed to be the earliest date of origin. Language studies make it appear possible that the Iwein started in close proximity to the Erec , but that work on it was interrupted after about 1000 verses. The reason for this could be the death of the client. Only later would Hartmann have completed the novel based on this thesis. It is not known who commissioned the Iwein . Patrons, without whom a medieval poet would not have been able to work, primarily come from the Zähringer , but also the Staufers or Welfs .

As is usual in courtly epic, all of Hartmann's stories are written in four-part rhymes .

Substance and source

In contrast to the German manuscripts of the Iwein , the Yvain was magnificently illustrated by Chrétien de Troyes in France. Here: Iwein fighting with Gawein. (Princeton University Library, Garrett MS. 125; about 1295).

Hartmann's immediate source was the old French novel Yvain ou Le Chevalier au lion by Chrétien de Troyes , which was written either around 1177 or between 1185 and 1188. In contrast to the very free transmission of the Erec , Hartmann stayed closer to its French model when translating the Iwein . Since the topics of the courtly epic were meanwhile known to the German listeners, he could now dispense with detailed explanatory excursions.

The subject of King Arthur belongs to the Matière de Bretagne , originally an orally transmitted Celtic material that found its way into European literatures with Chrétien's adaptations.

action

prolog

As is usual for medieval epics, Hartmann begins the story with a prologue (vv. 1-30). A generic reference to Arthurian poetry turns into programmatic statements about the conveyance of meaning in poetry. Arthur is praised as a knightly role model, whose name is immortal. This is followed by self-statements by Hartmann, which were also placed in front of poor Heinrich in a very similar way:

A rîter, who
read gelêret what unde ez in the books,
swenner sîne hour
not baz persuasive customer
daz he ouch tihtennes pflac
daz one likes to listen to mac,
he kêrts sînen vlîz:
he was called Hartman
and what an ouwære
the tihte diz mære .

A knight had enjoyed schooling
and read books, and
if he
didn't know what to do with his time
, he even wrote poetry.
He devoted his efforts to
what is enjoyable to hear.
His name was Hartmann
and he was from Aue.
He also wrote this story.

(Hartmann von Aue: Iwein, V. 21-30. GF Benecke, K. Lachmann, L. Wolf. Translated by Thomas Cramer. Berlin, New York ³1981)

First cycle of action

Two scenes from the Iwein frescoes at Rodenegg Castle: the stone at the source is watered (left) and the forest man (right).

The novel begins with a Whitsun festival at Artus Court , the epitome of courtly festivity. There Iwein hears the story of the knight Kalogreant, which Hartmann designed as a novel in the novel. Kalogreant reports how he came from a hospitable castle to a clearing full of wild animals, in the middle of which stood a huge, ugly and uncultivated wild man who, however, turned out not to be a monster, but a peaceful shepherd. Kalogreant's attempt to fathom the secret of a magical fountain idyll in the forest, which the wild man drew his attention to, fails completely: by pouring a stone, he triggers a violent storm, thus demanding the defense of the spring by Askalon, the sovereign and Guardian of the magic well, out, is defeated by it and has to return home without horse and armor.

The failed aventiure of the Arthurian Knight Kalogreant is the legitimate challenge for the Arthurian court to avenge the disgrace. Iwein, who, as a relative of Kalogreant, is twice ashamed, anticipates a procession of the entire court and secretly rides into the fountain kingdom. The aventiure repeats itself, but becomes deadly serious for Askalon. Iwein pursues the fatally wounded, fleeing Ashkelon to his castle. The lowered gate cuts through Iwein's horse, he remains uninjured, but is locked in the gate hall.

Only with the help of Lunete , the confidante of the castle mistress Laudine, does Iwein manage to escape the castle men. Out of gratitude for earlier help at Artus Court, Lunete gave him a ring that made him invisible. The dead Ascalon is lamented by his beautiful wife Laudine. Iwein sees the mistress through a window and is passionate about her. As the dead man's wounds begin to bleed again due to the presence of the killer ( Bahrprobe ), a burlesque search for the invisible begins. Lunete resolves the paradoxical situation again and convinces Laudine that the victor over Askalon is his worthy successor as husband, sovereign and well keeper. In a comedic production (since everyone involved is informed about the intentions of the others), Iwein and Laudine get closer through the mediation of Lunete. Soon the wedding will be celebrated.

Now the Artus Court comes to the source and Iwein has to try out his role as well keeper for the first time. This succeeds against Keie , the exemplary envious knight of the Arthurian court. The whole court is now celebrating the marriage of Iwein and Laudine. With that the plot has come to a provisional end, in addition to the êre of victory , Iwein has unexpectedly also acquired a wife and sovereignty.

Iwein's failure and madness

Iwein is saved from madness, Schwerin Castle.

At the urging of his friend Gawain , Iwein of the verligen Erec holds as a cautionary tale, leaving Iwein shortly after the wedding Laudine and draws on tournament trip and Aventiure out. Laudine asks Iwein to promise to return after a year and a day . This period means a legally effective period, after which claims against possible usurpers would have expired. (This knowledge is assumed for the listener / reader and is not discussed in more detail in the novel.) The painful farewell of the lovers is characterized by the harmony of love. In a dialogue between the narrator and Ms. Minne it is discussed that Iwein and Laudine have swapped hearts, which will lead to momentous consequences.

Iwein gives himself up to the excitement of the tournaments and only realizes too late that he has already missed the deadline by six weeks. Lunete publicly accuses him of being a traitor before the Arthurian round and takes the ring away from him. In front of the Artus Court his honor is gone and Laudine breaks off all contact with Iwein. With that Iwein has lost his identity; seized by the madness triggered by melancholia , he tears his clothes off and becomes a savage in the forest. The only social bond is a wordless exchange relationship with a hermit . Only with the help of the Lady of Narison and her companion, who cure him of his madness with a miracle ointment made by the fairy Feimorgan , does Iwein regain his senses. His former identity as a knight seems like a dream to him. He has to realize that he no longer belongs to court society.

Second cycle of action

Iwein frees the land of the Lady of Narison from Count Aliers, who claims it. The Lady of Narison and the whole country want him to be their sovereign, but he does not want this and leaves hastily. Two more times in the course of the story he refuses to marry out of loyalty to Laudine.

Iwein saves a lion from a dragon . He now remains loyal to his side and gives Iwein a new identity as the knight with the lion .

Chance leads him back to the source, where the memory of his loss makes him fall passed out from his horse. Iwein is on the verge of losing his mind again. There he finds Lunete at the spring, which is sentenced to death because of her role in the marriage and Iwein's breach of loyalty ( untriuwe ). Only a legal battle can prove her innocence, the deadline for this expires the following day. Iwein acknowledges his guilt and pledges Lunete's defense.

Immediately afterwards, however, he also undertakes to help his host in the fight against the giant Harpin the next morning and thus gets into an appointment conflict. But with the help of the lion, Iwein survives the fight with the giant in good time so that he can also successfully defend Lunete. The prosecution fighters suffer the punishment that would have been intended for Lunete: they are burned at the stake . Laudine, who does not recognize the lion knight in his new identity, learns that this lion knight has been deprived of the grace of a lady. She condemns this - not knowing that she is this lady herself.

Since the relationship between the two has not yet been clarified, Iwein leaves Laudine again. He now takes over the defense of the younger daughter of the Count of the Black Thorn in an inheritance dispute against her older sister. Together with the girl, Iwein sets off and arrives at the castle for the Bad Adventure, where he has to fight two giants in order to be able to free three hundred noble ladies imprisoned in a workhouse.

Iwein then rides with his companion to the Artus Court, where the court battle begins. Of all people, Iwein's friend, the exemplary Arthurian knight Gawein, took over the defense of the sister. Unrecognized, Iwein and Gawein fight each other without one being able to defeat the other. After dark falls and the fight is postponed to the following day, Iwein and Gawein recognize each other in conversation. King Arthur uses a trick question to trick the older sister into betraying herself and helps the younger sister to her right. Iwein now reveals himself and is happily accepted back into the Arthurian group.

Although Iwein has achieved great honor, he is sure that he will die of lovesickness. Again disguised as a lion knight, he returns to Laudine's court, but only wins it back after Lunete's comedic intrigue: Laudine undertakes under oath to help the lion knight who watered the stone at the well, to regain his lady's favor to get. So Laudine has to forgive Iwein, who protests his repentance and promises never to gamble away her favor again. Both renew their marriage and their love.

Narrative structure and motifs

Two-way scheme

As with the Erec , the Iwein is structured according to a two-way scheme. In a first course Iwein wins honor, sovereignty and the hand of the beautiful Laudine, but loses everything through his own fault. As a result, he gets into a crisis and has to win back the social reputation and favor of his wife in a second narrative cycle through renewed chivalrous deeds and a learning process.

In Iwein, the hero's failure consists on the one hand in neglecting the protection of the source, and with it Laudines, on the other hand he violates the deadlines set for him. Iwein has to correct both failures in the aventiuren of the second action cycle: he takes over the defense of vulnerable women and on the other hand learns to deal with deadlines. Only in his new identity as a lion knight does he acquire those qualities that he lacked in the first story cycle and therefore made his successes imperfect, especially since these were acquired more through Lunete's cunning than himself.

Elements of the fairy tale

Lunete gives Iwein the invisible ring. Scene from the Iwein cycle at Rodenegg Castle.

The fairy tale elements that are evident in Iwein go back to the tradition of Arthurian material from Celtic fairy tales . Laudine is still recognizable as a source fairy , her well land is an otherworld , in which laws prevail that do not need to be explained. To win the beautiful laudine , Iwein has to pass a free trial . The watering of the stone at the source causes a storm and results in a duel without any further explanation. The fact that Lunete has a ring that makes the wearer invisible, that Iwein is cured of his madness by a magical ointment and that giants threaten order, fits into this fairytale logic.

Political and social accentuation

Although the fairytale elements of the story are still clearly recognizable, Hartmann has greatly reduced them in favor of a realistic representation that ties in with the experiences of his audience. In contrast to the hero poetry or the Karlsepik , the Arthurian world has no connection to historical reality for German listeners. The fictional material, however, serves as a foil for ideal behavior patterns of the audience. Legal deadlines and court battles are consistently addressed. Iwein's path can be interpreted as a noble identification pattern, both for ministerial service ethics and for right-wing rule.

Reception history

Lore

Manuscript A by Iwein , 2nd quarter of the 13th century. (Heidelberg, University Library, Cpg 397, f. 78r)

The Iwein is one of the most widely survived novels from around 1200. With 33 manuscripts (16 complete and 17 fragments) from the beginning of the 13th to the 16th century, more manuscripts have survived than, for example, from Tristan by Gottfried von Strasbourg . Only Wolfram von Eschenbach's novels ( Parzival , Willehalm ) were copied more often than Iwein .

For the last sixth of the text (from verse 6654) two different versions with different accents of content compete. Manuscript B (Gießen, UB, Hs. 97) contains 128 plus verses compared to manuscript A (Heidelberg, UB , Cpg 397; both from the second quarter of the 13th century) and the other early manuscripts.

The most recent manuscript can be found in the Ambraser Heldenbuch , which Hans Ried compiled for Emperor Maximilian I around 1510 . As far as proof of ownership of the manuscripts can be produced, the Iwein was received almost exclusively in aristocratic circles. The manuscript a (around 1410–1415) is a notable exception . The location names with Hebrew characters and various text interventions indicate a Jew as a scribe. From an added income register from 1433, one can conclude that the Upper Saxon manuscript belonged to a merchant, who may also have been a Jew.

Direct or indirect quotations from Iwein can be found in various medieval authors. Wolfram von Eschenbach's ironic, mocking reference to the Parzival should be mentioned here in particular . In his Wigalois, Wirnt von Grafenberg takes about 370 verses from the Iwein . Motivational quotes in numerous Arthurian novels are based on Hartmann's novels without explicitly naming them.

After 1480 seals Ulrich Füetrer an abbreviated new version of Iwein in 297 Titurelstrophen , where he according to the research opinion solely Hartmann's text, or this and secondary sources used as a template. His Iban is the fourth of seven Arthurian novels in his book of adventures . The tradition of the Iwein comes to an end in the 16th century. The novel has not experienced any prose resolution and has not been included in printed popular books .

Illustrations for the Iwein

The Iwein became the subject of pictorial representation early on. What is unusual is that not a single book illustration has survived, whereas the material was depicted several times on wall paintings and a tapestry.

Rodenegg Castle
Wall painting from the Iwein cycle at Rodenegg Castle: Iwein in battle with Askalon.

The artistically most demanding illustrations are the Iwein murals in a palace at Rodenegg Castle near Brixen ( South Tyrol ) , which Nicolò Rasmo only uncovered and then carefully restored in 1972/73 . The Romanesque representations are the earliest secular wall paintings in German-speaking countries.

After one wanted to place the pictures immediately after 1200 according to art-historical criteria, the more recent research tends to a date between 1220 and 1230. Although the paintings are known as Iwein frescoes , they are actually pictures applied al secco , as is currently the case their formation was common. As a result, such murals could basically peel off more easily and are therefore usually less well preserved. However, since the Iwein illustrations were hidden for a long time, they have been preserved remarkably well.

Inscriptions clearly identify the characters as the staff of Hartmann's novel: Ywain, Aschelon, Luneta and Laudine . Another novel, such as the French version of Chrètien, cannot be considered as a source. The cycle consists of eleven pictures that only depict scenes from the first part of Iwein (up to around verse 2300). There is a gap in one corner of the room. It is probable that another image existed there, but it cannot be proven. The hypothetical question remains whether further pictures have been lost, be it on the wooden ceiling or in another room of the hall. There are no indications for this assumption, apart from the irritating statement that the pictorial narrative breaks off suddenly.

The small, four by seven meter room on the ground floor probably had a fireplace, so it was a living room (so-called 'drinking room'). The only possible motivation for the wall paintings is therefore the desire for social representation. This allows far-reaching conclusions to be drawn about the text reception of the courtly Arthurian novel in general and of the Iwein in particular: The Iwein serves as a status symbol and model for noble self-image.

Laudine consults with the dignitaries (copy in Schmalkalden Castle)
Hessenhof in Schmalkalden

In the Hessenhof in Schmalkalden ( Thuringia ), also from the first half of the 13th century, an illustration cycle with 23 scenes has been preserved in a vaulted cellar (of the original 26), but this is not accessible to visitors. A 1: 1 room copy is in a vaulted cellar under the castle church of Wilhelmsburg Castle .

Runkelstein Castle

Around 1400 further murals were created with exemplary heroes of courtly poetry in Runkelstein Castle near Bozen (South Tyrol). There Iwein, Parzival and Gawein form a triad of the best and most exemplary knights.

Painted carpet

Iwein and Laudine (next to Lunete as an assistant figure) appear as one of the exemplary pairs on the so-called painter's carpet , which was created around 1320/1330 in the St. Katharina Adelhausen monastery (today: Augustinermuseum Freiburg im Breisgau). In another scene, Iwein kills Askalon at the well. The carpet probably came from the dowry of the nun Anna Malterer. The medallions on the carpet depict 'minneslaves' - men who have become dependent on a woman. Besides Iwein, these are Samson , Aristotle and Virgil .

Edition history

Christoph Heinrich Myller , a student of Johann Jakob Bodmer , published the first text edition of Twein (= Iwein ) based on a medieval manuscript in 1784, and Karl Michaeler followed in 1786 with a bilingual edition.

The Iwein edition by Georg Friedrich Benecke and Karl Lachmann from 1827 has remained the authoritative text edition in various revisions that was later translated by Thomas Cramer and Max Wehrli. The critical edition of preferred handwriting A . A new edition by Volker Mertens (2004) was based for the first time on manuscript B as the main manuscript. This manuscript was published as a facsimile by HM Heinrichs in 1964 .

Modern reception

In 1780 the modern Hartmann reception began with Bodmer's fable von Laudine . In 1789, Gerhard Anton von Halem wrote the rococo adaptation of Ritter Twein on the basis of Myller's edition . August Klughardt composed an unsuccessful Iwein opera in 1879, succeeding Richard Wagner .

Felicitas Hoppe retells the story for children in Iwein Löwenritter .

Text output

  • Hartmann von Aue: Iwein. Middle High German / New High German . Bilingual edition, new translation by Rüdiger Krohn, with commentary by Mireille Schnyder. Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-15-010798-0
  • Iwein. Hartmann von Aue , text of the seventh edition by Georg Friedrich Benecke and Karl Lachmann, translation and afterword by Thomas Cramer, 4th revised edition, Berlin 2001 ISBN 3-11-016084-6
  • Hartmann von Aue: Gregorius, The poor Heinrich, Iwein . Edited and translated by Volker Mertens. Frankfurt am Main 2004 (Library of the Middle Ages 6; Library of German Classics 189). ISBN 3-618-66065-0
  • Iwein: with observations on the comparison of the “Yvain” by Chrestien von Troyes with the “Iwein” Hartmanns / Hartmann von Aue , translated by Wolfgang Mohr , (= Göppingen work on German studies; No. 441), Göppingen 1985
  • Hartmann von Aue: Iwein , translated from Middle High German, with annotations and an afterword by Max Wehrli, Bilingual Edition, (= Manesse Library of World Literature ), 3rd edition, Zurich 1995, ISBN 3-7175-1760-0
  • Hartmann von Aue: Iwein . Edited by Lambertus Okken. Selected illustrations and materials for handwritten transmission. Göppingen 1974 (Litterae 24)

Research literature

( The bibliographies listed by Hartmann von Aue provide a comprehensive list from 1927 to 1997 )

  • Christoph Cormeau and Wilhelm Störmer: Hartmann von Aue: Epoch - Work - Effect , (= work books on the history of literature), 2nd, revised edition, Munich 1993 ISBN 3-406-37629-0
  • Xenja von Ertzdorff: Hartmann von Aue: Iwein and his lion , in: The novels of the knight with the lion. Edited by Xenja Ertzdorff with editorial assistance from Rudolf Schulz, (= Chloe; 20), Amsterdam 1994, pages 287-311 ISBN 90-5183-568-X
  • Hubertus Fischer: Honor, court and adventure in Hartmann's "Iwein": preparatory work on a historical poetics of the court epic , (= research on the history of older German literature; Volume 3), Munich 1983 ISBN 3-7705-1828-4
  • Gert Kaiser: Text interpretation and social self-interpretation. Aspects of a socio-historical interpretation of Hartmann's Arthurian episodes. Frankfurt 1973. ISBN 3-89104-100-4
  • Volker Mertens: Laudine: social problematics in Iwein Hartmanns von Aue , (= magazine for German philology: supplements; 3), Berlin 1978 ISBN 3-503-01264-8
  • Silvia Ranawake: Lose and dispossess: the failure of the hero and the sin of indolence in the Arthurian novels by Hartmann von Aue , in: Chrétien de Troyes and the German Middle Ages. Papers from an international symposium, Ed. with an introd. by Martin H. Jones and Roy Wisbey, Cambridge 1993, pages 19-35 ISBN 0-85991-356-2
  • Kurt Ruh : On the interpretation of Hartmann's "Iwein" , in: Hartmann von Aue, edited by Hugo Kuhn and Christoph Cormeau, (= ways of research; Volume 359), Darmstadt 1973, pages 408-425
  • Werner Schröder, Laudine's kneeling and the end of Hartmann's Iwein ; (= Dependent from Akad.d.Wiss.u.Lit., Geistes- u.sozialwiss.Kl. 2 (1997)); Stuttgart (Fr. Steiner) 1997 ISBN 3-515-07081-8

To the Iwein frescoes on Rodenegg

  • Achim Masser: The Iwein frescoes by Rodenegg , in: Heimatbuch Rodeneck. Past and present, edited by A. Rastner and E. Delmonego, Rodeneck 1986, pages 127–142
  • Volker Schupp : The Ywain story from Rodenegg Castle , in: Literature and fine arts in the Tyrolean Middle Ages. The Iwein frescos by Rodenegg and other evidence of the interaction between literature and the fine arts, (= Innsbruck contributions to cultural studies, German series. 15), Innsbruck 1982 page 1–23 ISBN 3-85124-088-X
  • Volker Schupp and Hans Szklenar: Ywain at Rodenegg Castle. A picture story based on "Iwein" Hartmann von Aue , Sigmaringen 1996 ISBN 3-7995-4248-5
  • Helmut Stampfer, Oskar Emmenegger: The Ywain frescoes from Rodenegg Castle. Painting technique and art historical significance , (= publications of the South Tyrolean Cultural Institute, Volume 9), Athesia-Tappeiner Verlag, Bozen 2016 ISBN 978-88-6839-207-9

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernhard Dietrich Haage: The healing woman in poetry and reality of the German Middle Ages. In: Würzburg medical history reports. 11, 1993, pp. 107-132; here: p. 108 f.
  2. ↑ Christoph Cormeau: Hartmann von Aue , in: Author Lexicon, 2nd Edition, Vol. 3 (1981), Sp. 500-520 and ders .: Hartmann von Aue , in: Author Lexicon , 2nd Edition, Vol. 11 (2004) , Col. 590; see. also the index of the manuscript census .
  3. ↑ The earlier dates to the 14th century are outdated due to the analysis of the watermarks, cf. Peter Jörg Becker: Manuscripts and early prints of Middle High German epics. Eneide, Tristrant, Tristan, Erec, Iwein, Parzival, Willehalm, Younger Titurel, Nibelungenlied and their reproduction and reception in the later Middle Ages and in the early modern period . Wiesbaden 1977, p. 64.
  4. ↑ Cf. Carlsson, Alice: Ulrich Füetrer and his Iban. Riga 1927.
  5. ↑ See Rudolf Zenker: Ivain Studies. Niemeyer, Halle a. P. 1921
  6. ↑ Iwein: the riter with the lion . Edited by Georg Friedrich Benecke and Karl Lachmann , Berlin 1827 ( limited preview in the Google book search)
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 1, 2006 .