Host von Grafenberg

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Wirnt von Grafenberg (also Wirnt von Gravenberg or Wirnt von Graefenberg ) was a Middle High German poet who probably came from the Upper Franconian Graefenberg northeast of Nuremberg .

Nothing is known about the life of the poet, only literary evidence provides information about his person, for example the only work known by him, the " Wigalois ", which belongs to the Arthurian novels and whose date of origin only vaguely begins with "in the 2nd decade of the 13th . Century "can be specified.

At the end of the prologue of the Wigalois (verse 136-141) the "tihtære" (poet) gives his name: "Host of Grâvenberc". He mentions him a second time at the end of a detailed description of the garment (verse 10.576), and in a third place, in a kind of self-talk between the poet and his sin , he only calls himself “host” (verse 5.755). Wirnt's name is also mentioned by several poets of the Middle Ages in their works. Heinrich von dem Türlin mentions him in two places in his work Diu Crône (verses 2.942 and 2.949); in the so-called poet catalogs in Willehalm of Orlen and Alexander of Rudolf von Ems , he is also mentioned. In Alexander he is referred to as "Wirich von Grâvenberc" (verse 3.192ff.), In Willehalm von Orlens as the author of a maere (story) or "von Wigolaises manhait" (verse 2.201ff.). Wirnt becomes a literary figure, namely a servant of the allegorical woman's world , in the poem Der Welt Lohn des Konrad von Würzburg (verses 47 and 101): Here the suffix “Grâvenberc” is understood as the poet's designation of origin. Ulrich Füetrer included the Wigalois in his book of adventures in the 15th century , Ulrich calls the work Wigoleis .

Origin, status and education

In general, the origin of Wirnt from today's Graefenberg in Upper Franconia is undisputed. This assumption is supported not only by the addition of "von Grâvenberc" to the name, but also by the mention of the sand near Nuremberg as the venue for tournaments in the Wigalois (verse 8.447). Wirnt's language is "strictly Bavarian".

Since Wirnt von Grafenberg is characterized exclusively by what he says about himself and what other poets say about him, statements about his status and education can only be guesses.

He calls himself "knight", emphasizes his knightly birth status several times and criticizes social climbers among the knights in his work . Konrad von Würzburg also stylized Wirnt as a knight. The praise to Wolfram von Eschenbach in the Wigalois (verse 6346: “leien munt never baz gesprach” (the mouth of a layman never spoke better)) could suggest that Wirnt was also illiterate , in the specifically high medieval sense of the word: “The precise sense of illiteratus in the 12th century is 'not being able to speak Latin' ”. In any case, he emphasizes the written form in his work, because he describes his work himself (verse 11.708) as “buoch” and he even lets it speak to the reader as a personified book in the prologue of versions A and B: “Which well-meaning person opened me? If there is someone who can decipher and understand me, let him have mercy on me if there is any mistake in me. ”Further emphasis on book scholarship is found in verses 5.311 and 7.450, where he“ as wirz an der buochen read ”(as we read it in the books) writes in his mention of the“ letters ”(verse 8.254) and“ writing ”and“ writing ”(verses 7.573, 7.579, 8.260, 8.285). In addition, he tries to achieve “correct latinizations”. Wirnt already wrote in the prologue of the Wigalois (verse 82ff.):

“Anyone who values ​​good poetry and likes to listen to it should politely keep quiet and pay attention: that is good for him. Poetry purifies many a person's attitude, because he can easily find in it what will improve him ”.

However, this emphasis on his erudition does not allow any reliable conclusions to be drawn about his status or his education: Rather, one must assume that Wirnt tried to “get a certain author image.” This is not only supported by his pose of the young and inexperienced poet (verse 33–144, 5.753f.), Who hopes for the “milte” of the “wîsen” (for example: “the benevolence of the wise”) from the reader, he also connects this pose with the laudatio temporis acti (the praise of times past) in his narrative commentary.

Patrons and clients

From the mourning for the "vil noble vürsten ... von Mêran" (verse 8063f.), Which probably refers to Berthold IV. († 1204), the Bavarian dukes of Andechs-Meran were the clients. If so, then Wirnt von Grafenberg could have completed his Wigalois under the patronage of Berthold's son Otto I († 1234). To what extent, apart from Otto I or Margrave Heinrich IV. , Their siblings, Bishop Ekbert von Bamberg or the Archbishop of Kalosca (sic!), Later Patriarchs of Aquileja Berthold or the sisters Gertrud and Hedwig [as clients], must remain open .

literature

Primary literature

  • Wigalois. Text, translation, commentary , text of the edition by J. M. N. Kapteyn, translated, explained and provided with an afterword by Sabine Seelbach and Ulrich Seelbach, 2. Erw. Ed. De Gruyter texts, Berlin a. a. 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-034793-7 .
  • Wigalois , reprint of the Strasbourg 1519 edition, with a foreword by Helmut Melzer, (= German folk books in facsimile prints; Series A, Volume 10), Hildesheim 1973.

Secondary literature

Web links

Primary

bibliography

Secondary

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Jochen Schiewer: host von Grafenberg. In: Lexikon des Mittelalters, Volume 9, Munich 2003, Column 250f.
  2. ↑ a b c d Hans-Joachim Ziegeler: Landlord von Grafenberg. In: Author's Lexicon. The German Literature of the Middle Ages, Volume 10, 2nd Edition, Berlin / New York 1999, Column 1253–1254.
  3. ↑ Manfred Günter Scholz: Listening and Reading. Studies on the primary reception of literature in the 12th and 13th centuries, Wiesbaden 1980, p. 228.
  4. ↑ Joachim Bumke: Court culture. Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages , Volume 2, Munich 1987, page 443.
  5. ↑ Hans-Joachim Ziegeler: Host von Grafenberg. In: Author's Lexicon. The German literature of the Middle Ages, Volume 10, 2nd edition, Berlin / New York 1999, column 1256.
personal data
SURNAME Host von Grafenberg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Landlord from Gravenberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Middle High German poet
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century or 13th century
DATE OF DEATH 13th century or 14th century