Table breeding
In the German-speaking world, table breeding is understood to be a type of didactic poetry that is particularly used to teach correct behavior at the table. The oldest texts in this didactic literature were initially written in bound form , but have also been in prose since the late Middle Ages and in the early modern period . Their origin lies in the monastery culture, in the 13th century they were knightly and in the late Middle Ages they were bourgeois. They are partly based on Latin models and have been documented in the German-speaking area since the middle of the 13th century.
terminology
Table breeding is a medieval language education. Since then, the word "discipline" has undergone a variety of changes in meaning: With regard to humans, it can describe both the process of upbringing and the result of this instruction, both morally and spiritually. The word table is not only used to describe the piece of furniture, but also the dining table, ie the table covered with food, drinks and table utensils as well as the meals that are consumed at this table. The term table breeding has a double meaning: on the one hand it means breeding , correct behavior at the table, on the other hand upbringing, the instruction to a behavior corresponding to the applicable social norms . The table bred at Hof , the spiritual and temporal nobility and chivalry part of Hofzucht .
Demarcation
The table breeds show decisive differences to other seals of their time. They stand out from purely 'fictional' poems in that they are not free from any tendency, but rather want to encourage the recipient to actually realize their content. In addition, table breeding differs from purely factual textbooks, as they use artistic representational and rhetorical stylistic devices such as rhyme and rhythm, comparisons and images. According to Schubert, however, there is a connection between table breeding and penance books, with the content of which clerics in particular were very familiar. The simple appeal structure of du shall not indicate a relationship between the two types of text. The table breeders as well as the penance books strive to be complete when listing behavioral errors.
Lore
Table breeding was first written in Latin from the 12th century. Since the 13th century manuscripts were written in German, towards the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries also in French, Provencal , Italian, in the 14th century in Anglo-Norman and in the 15th century in English.
Literary studies differentiate dependent (integrated) and independent (independent) table breeding. In integrated table breeding, topics from ethics and morality are dealt with, such as B. in Heinrich Wittenwiler's satirical didactic poem Ring . Independent table breeding deals exclusively with the appropriate behavior in the context of meals, e.g. B. Rossauer table breeding .
Almost all of these texts were handed down anonymously. The authors are only mentioned in a few manuscripts and prints, e.g. B. Table breeding by Jakob Köbel .
Origin of table breeding in the German-speaking area
The increase in the quality and variety of food and drinks in the course of the Middle Ages and the expansion of the meal time led to more thoughts about the presentation of the table, the presentation of the dishes and the manners at the table. The contact with the Roman and Provencal culture in particular led to an improvement in eating and drinking habits and the development of table manners , which were further refined by the influence of the Orient.
precursor
Already in the Bible there are hints for correct behavior. The book of Jesus Sirach (31, 12-34, 40) from the 2nd century BC. BC contains a compact section with exhortations to the son how to behave at the table, and which were widely known through Luther's translation of the Bible. Later, contact with Arab culture during the Crusades from the 12th and especially in the 13th century led to the emergence of numerous didactic writings on the regulation of social behavior. With regard to etiquette written in Latin, not only the Disticha Catonis , which has been widespread since late antiquity, but also the Disciplina Clericalis (c. 1115) by Petrus Alfonsi should be mentioned. Reinerus Alemannicus bases his descriptions in the Phagifacetus (also Thesmophagia ) on both ancient authors and the Disciplina clericalis and writes rules for good behavior and correct conversation at the table. The so-called Facetus , which is composed of two Middle Latin, moral-pedagogical didactic poems, was already in circulation before 1200.
German-language table breeding literature
Courtly table breeding
With the appearance of the Welschen guest in the early 13th century, the history of German-language table-breeding literature begins. The Welsche Gast is an extensive court breed, which was written by the Italian Thomasin von Zirklaere around 1215 in Middle High German verse and was aimed at a noble audience living according to the courtly pattern. The first book of this work not only deals with the general doctrine of the virtues of a knight, but also formulates several rules of conduct that relate to the food customs. The meal must have played a central role in their life together, as both Thomasin and other writers always paid special attention to behavior at the table.
In the later Middle Ages, the rules of conduct for eating together formed a separate literary genre: table-breeding literature. The text entitled Hofzuht (around 1240), which - possibly wrongly - is attributed to Tannhauser , formed the beginning of this genre. Konrad von Haslau's pedagogical work, Der Jüngling , which was created around 1280 , also contains detailed rules of conduct at the table.
Grobian table breeding
Table breeding reached its peak in the 16th century, when it appeared in a coarse form with satirical phrases. During this time, the Latin Grobianus by Friedrich Dedekind , published in 1549 and quickly translated into German, was particularly widespread. A total of three table breeds can be assigned to the German poet and playwright Hans Sachs : Ein tischzucht (1534), Tischzucht im Rosenton (1542) and Die Verkert dischzuecht Grobianj (1563).
The table breeds have been called ruffian since the appearance of Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools , where in chapter 72 the ruffian appears as the new saint. In older research, the term “ grossian literature” gave the impression that the culture of good behavior "had declined sharply after a knightly prosperity in the late Middle Ages ". But the grossian literature makes use of the exaggeration of negative behavior with the means of satire as a didactic method. The basically funny instructions lead the so-called 'negative' table breeding (e.g. Winsbecke parody ) to a "considerable degree of effectiveness, increase the entertainment value and thus ensure the attention of the audience". In contrast to courtly literature, the grossian literature was aimed at a bourgeois audience, thus opening up a larger readership. Since the Grossian table breeding aims - albeit via a detour - to consolidate valid or previously valid norms of behavior, in the late Middle Ages it can be assumed that the standard of table manners will remain relatively constant and that it will become more and more widespread, but hardly any deterioration.
content
The table breeders want to inform and instruct children as well as adults about how to use the table top device, how to eat certain foods, the right way to drink and how to behave towards the table neighbors. Sometimes the duties of the host, the servants or instructions for setting the table are also formulated therein. Basically, the standard inventories of table breeding can be divided into nine areas, of which at least six are usually touched:
- Preparing for the meal, serving at the table
- Beginning of the meal
- general instructions for eating
- special instructions for eating (handling and eating certain things)
- Drinking instructions
- Instructions on general behavior at the table
- End of meal
- after the meal is over
- general instructions and discussions
Some remarks from Thomasin's Welschem Gast give an approximate impression of what was considered decent and what was considered improper on the tables of noble households:
- All participants at a table should be well behaved and show good manners at the table:
| V. 471ff. | |
|---|---|
| One should warn zem table vast,
the next one wants to give birth; dâeret grôziu zuht zuht zuo. |
At the table should be very careful
who wants to behave correctly; this requires a very good upbringing. |
- The host is advised to pay close attention to the fact that all guests are well looked after:
| V. 474f. | |
|---|---|
| an iegelîch biderb host, the tuo
was whether they all have genuoc. |
Let every excellent landlord give
eight whether everyone is adequately cared for. |
Pragmatic advice in table breeding: The recommendation to loosen your belt before the meal is plausible and is very common in table breeding, including in Rossau table breeding :
| V. 15f. | |
|---|---|
| World ee not sitting as a gauch,
so the belt umb dismisses the pauch. |
Don't you want to sit like a fool
so loosens the belt around the belly. |
In his farm breeding program, Tannhäuser calls for not only praying but also washing hands before meals and forbids burping at the table and blowing your nose on the tablecloth:
- The riuspet when he ezzen sol
- Diu paide ciment not at all
- And in daz tischlach sniutzet
(V. 57ff.)
In the so-called Winsbecke parody (= negative table breeding), the moral teachings of the Winsbecken are satirically reversed, but they do not fail to have a didactic effect:
| 40, v. 4ff. | |
|---|---|
| since the cups are to be left,
there we get drunk unde vol and also like us ain fotzebrem against this varen hard wol. |
Where there is a need to empty the cups,
let's get drunk and get drunk even if we clap ourselves bargain for sure! |
In addition to the reference to reality, the table breeding also has an intention that goes beyond reality: First, it is about the behavior of the individual and then about the courtly society, which is to be determined by the individual behavior of its members. Whether women and men dined together or separately at elegant tables cannot be deduced from the table breeding. In addition to pure 'gentlemen's rounds' ( Nibelungenlied , Strophe 1610ff.), The epic also depicts table scenes in which knights and ladies sit at the table without a regular seating arrangement ( Willehalm , 263, 7ff.). However, it is comparatively clear from the table breeding that the guests formed groups of two when they sat at an elegant table. This is probably due to the fact that the dishes and table utensils were arranged in front of two guests in such a way that they could both help themselves from them.
Although the table breeders partly copy each other and do not give an unadulterated picture of the table customs that actually prevailed in medieval society, they do give a little insight into social life and the world of thought of their time.
audience
Until the modern era, the general population's meal with simple dishes was quite modest. On the other hand, in the circles of the clergy and secular nobility, value was placed very early on on an exquisite and varied cuisine with exquisite drinks and fine tableware. The target group for courtly table breeding in the 12th and 13th centuries was the aristocratic public who sought a lifestyle based on the courtly model. Maintaining 'correct' behavior at the table allowed the upper class of a society to stand out from the majority population.
With the increase in the economic power of the bourgeois classes since the late Middle Ages and the associated opportunities for social advancement, their table manners and eating habits also changed. It was precisely this middle-class audience that became the target group for the rude table breeding .
shape
The table cultivations contain elements from both fictional and didactic literature, the latter leading closer to reality. With regard to their aesthetic value, the table breeds are to be classified relatively low, as they have neither an exceptionally artistic form nor peculiarities in language and shape. Nevertheless, the artistic representational and rhetorical stylistic devices (rhyme, rhythm, comparisons and images) and the sculptural and thus catchy examples convey a certain liveliness. These doctrines of behavior mostly appear in rhyming verse form (rhyming pairs), but were also written in prose in the late Middle Ages and early modern times and contain a large number of individual instructions. Thanks to their high potential for situation comedy and its satirical-didactic effect, the table breeds were also often parodied.
See also
literature
- Text output
- Ehlert, Trude: table breeding . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages. Edited by Norbert Angermann [u. a.]. Vol. 8. Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler 1999, Col. 807-811.
- Grobian table breeding . After Arno Schirokauer's preliminary work. Edited by Thomas Perry Thornton. Berlin: Schmidt 1957. (= texts from the late Middle Ages. 5.)
- Courtly table breeding . After Arno Schirokauer's preliminary work. Edited by Thomas Perry Thornton. Berlin: Schmidt 1957. (= texts from the late Middle Ages. 4.)
- Winsbeckian poems along with Tyrol and Fridebrant . 3., rework. Edition by Ingo Reiffenstein. Edited by Albert Leitzmann. Tübingen: Niemeyer 1962. (= Old German text library. 9.)
- Thomasin von Zerklaere: The Welsche guest . Selected, introduced, translated and annotated by Eva Willms. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter 2004. (= DeGruyter texts) full text
- Friedrich Dedekind: Grobianus. Of coarse morals and polite speeches ... Translated into German by Casparum Scheidt von Wormbs. Frankfurt 1553. Full text
- Hans Sachs : A table breed . Full text
- Secondary literature
- Wernfried Hofmeister: Literary provocation in the Middle Ages using the example of the "Winsbecke Parody" . In: Sprachkunst 22 (1991), half volume 1, pp. 1-24. [Special print]
- Bernhard Sowinski: Educational poetry of the Middle Ages . Stuttgart: Metzler 1971. (= Metzler Collection. Realien zur Literatur, Dept. D. Literary History. 103.)
- Ernst Schubert: Eating and Drinking in the Middle Ages . 2., unchanged. Darmstadt: Primus 2010.
- Anne Schulz: Eating and Drinking in the Middle Ages (1000-1300). Literary, art historical and archaeological sources. Appropriated to Klaus Düwel on his 75th birthday and Hans-Georg Stephan on his 60th birthday. Berlin, Boston: de Gruyter 2011. (= supplementary volumes to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. 74.) [1]
- Meinolf Schumacher : Written models of premodern culture of conversation: table breeding - conversation games - little conversation books. In: Der Deutschunterricht 53 (2001), H. 6, S. 8-15 ( full text ).
- Thomas Schürmann: Table and greeting customs in the civilization process . Münster, New York: Waxmann 1994. (= contributions to popular culture in north-west Germany. 82.)
- Andreas Winkler: Independent German table breeding in the Middle Ages . Texts and Studies. Marburg / Lahn, Univ., Diss. 1982.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Ernst Schubert: Eating and Drinking in the Middle Ages. 2., unchanged. Darmstadt: Primus 2010, p. 281.
- ↑ Schürmann 1994. p. 22.
- ↑ Wernfried Hofmeister: Literary provocation in the Middle Ages using the example of the "Winsbecke Parody". In: Sprachkunst 22. 1991, half volume 1, p. 16.
- ^ Quoted free translation: Thomasin von Zerklaere: Der Welsche Gast. Selected, introduced, translated and annotated by Eva Willms. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, p. 33.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Andreas Winkler: Independent German table breeding of the Middle Ages. Texts and Studies. Marburg / Lahn, Univ., Diss. 1982, p. 154.
- ↑ Ibid., P. 33.
- ^ Winsbeckische Gedichte together with Tyrol and Fridebrant. 3., rework. Edition by Ingo Reiffenstein. Edited by Albert Leitzmann. Tübingen: Niemeyer 1962. (= Old German Text Library. 9.) p. 71.
- ↑ Hofmeister, Winsbecke Parodie, p. 14.