The Southwest German (Allemanic) poet Hartmann von Aue introduced the genre of the
Arthurian ROMANCE to German literature. He
translated, or adapted, CHRÉTIEN DE Troyes’s Old
French romance EREC (ca. 1160) into Middle High
German in about 1180 (one complete manuscript
from the early 16th century survives, and three
fragments). At the end of his life he also translated
Chrétien’s YVAIN as Iwein, ca. 1203 (15 complete
manuscripts and 17 fragments). His earliest text,
however, was the didactic dialogue poem Die
Klage (ca. 1175; one manuscript) in which a heart
and body discuss the nature of love. Two other
major works by Hartmann are the religious verse
legend Gregorius (ca. 1187; six complete manuscripts and five fragments) and the erotic verse
novella Der arme Heinrich (Poor Henry, ca. 1191;
three manuscripts). In between he also composed
18 COURTLY LOVE songs, so-called Minnelieder,
copied in the famous Manessische Liederhandschrift (ms. C, early 14th century) and two other
manuscripts. Manuscript C also contains a fictionalized portrait of Hartmann, but it does not
tell us anything about the historical poet.
We know that Hartmann hailed from Swabia,
which is confirmed by his language and his association with the ducal family of Zähringen. However, there are many locations in southwest
Germany with the suffix au or aue, or a corresponding word compound, so we cannot identify Hartmann’s origin any further. As he relied heavily on
Chrétien’s works, he obviously had a very good
command of French.
In his two Arthurian romances, Hartmann pursues a fairly identical narrative model centered on
the court of King ARTHUR. Early in the narratives
the protagonist leaves the court to pursue chivalric adventures and quickly achieves triumphant
success, which then allows him to marry in the
presence of Arthur. In Erec the young husband too
passionately embraces marital life with Enite and
neglects his duties as a ruler and knight. In Iwein
the opposite is the case, as the hero departs from
his wife, Laudine, soon after their marriage, promising her to return from his tournament journey
within one year. But he forgets his promise and is
subsequently rejected by Laudine. Erec embarks on
a brutal quest for his recovery as an honorable
knight and forces his wife to accompany him. Although he forbids her to speak to him, she repeatedly warns him of oncoming dangers and so saves
his life, but he punishes her for disobeying him
with increasing intensity. Ultimately, however, he
learns to accept his wife as an equal partner which
then gives him enough strength to win the most
dangerous battle against a hostile knight, and thus
he reestablishes the joie de la curt (“joy of courtly
life”). Iwein, on the other hand, once he has lost his
wife, loses his mind and roams the forest naked,
until a maiden rescues him by means of a magic
salve. Now he goes on his true quest, accompanied
by a lion whom he had protected against a dragon,
and finally demonstrates that he has learned the
fundamental values of knighthood and chivalry,
involving compassion, empathy, protection of
women and orphans, and service for the poor and
needy. Iwein also wins back his wife, Laudine, and
returns to King Arthur.
In Gregorius Hartmann traces the life of his
young hero, the product of a brother’s rape of his
sister. Although he is raised in a convent and could
easily succeed the abbot, who treats him like his
son, Gregorius is anxious to learn about his noble
origin and soon unwittingly marries his mother
(like Oedipus in Greek myth). When the truth
comes out, he is so deeply grieved that he has a
fisherman lock him to a rock in the middle of a
lake and is then abandoned. God, however, keeps
him alive, and after 17 years, he is chosen as the
new pope because he has proven to be the true
penitent and hence a model Christian.
In Der arme Heinrich, a young knight contracts
the deadly disease of leprosy and can only await his
death until a young peasant woman offers herself
as sacrifice for his recovery, according to the advice
of a famous medical doctor in Salerno (near
Naples). Although Henry at first agrees, he quickly
changes his mind when he peaks through a hole in
the wall separating him from the operation room
where he observes the naked woman on the table
and is deeply moved by her beauty. Renouncing his
original plan and respecting God’s intentions for
him, he terminates the preparations for the surgery
to remove her heart. The woman expresses deep
frustration because she had hoped to gain quick
salvation for her soul, but in the end, she has to
accept Henry’s decision. At this point, God, who
has observed Henry’s change of mind, helps him to
recover, and once he has returned home and resumed his leadership, he elevates the woman and
her family to the status of free peasants, which then
allows him to marry her. Despite its seemingly
simplistic religious framework and similarity to a
fairy tale, this verse novella invites many different
interpretations as an ALLEGORY of human frailty
and dependency on God’s will, as a symbolic tale
of true love, and as a psychological account of an
individual’s quest for his or her identity.
In his 18 courtly love poems (four of them of
questionable authenticity), Hartmann pursues traditional themes representative of classical Middle
High German Minnesang (courtly love poetry). He
formulates, above all, complaints about unfulfilled
love, yet he also idealizes the pursuit of love for
ethical reasons. In his Tristan (ca. 1210), GOTTFRIED
VON STRASSBURG praises Hartmann as one of the
leading poets of his time.
Bibliography
Clark, Susan L. Hartmann von Aue: Landscapes of
Mind. Houston, Tex.: Rice University Press, 1989.
Hartmann von Aue. Arthurian Romances, Tales, and
Lyric Poetry: The Complete Works. Translated by
Frank Tobin, Richard Lawson, and Kim Vivian.
University Park: Pennsylvania State University
Press, 2001.
Albrecht Classen