We are surprisingly well informed about Ulrich
von Liechtenstein’s biography. He was born at the
beginning of the 13th century, near Judenburg in
Styria (modern Austria), and died on January 26,
1275. His name often appears in historical documents
between 1227 and 1274, especially because
he was appointed to important political posts in
Styria, such as lord high steward from 1244 to
1245, court marshall from 1267 to 1272, and
supreme provincial judge of Styria in 1272.
Ulrich has gained considerable fame in modern
scholarship for his more or less fictional autobiography
in verse, his Frauendienst (Service of
ladies, ca. 1255), in which he provides many insights
into his life as a knight and lover of courtly
ladies. Foreshadowing significant developments in
the literature of the early Renaissance, Ulrich here
combines prose with verse, and letters with courtly
love songs within the framework of his autobiography.
Fitting for an esquire and subsequently for a
knight, tournaments play the most significant role
for Ulrich and his compatriots, and a major section
of the Frauendienst discusses his organization
of a series of tournaments while in disguise as Lady
Venus, dressed in most impressive women’s clothes
(1227). On a second tour of tournaments (1240),
Ulrich assumes the role of King ARTHUR and
achieves similar success both as actor and as
knight.Most of the names of the tournament participants
can be verified historically.
Around 1257, Ulrich composed his Frauenbuch
(Women’s book) in which a lady and a knight, deploring
the decline of courtly virtues, discuss with
each other who might be responsible for it, what to
do with homosexuality, and how to help women
find sexual satisfaction within marriage. In the latter
part the knight makes a number of suggestions
on how to return to ideal courtly behavior. Here
the traditional distinction between love and marriage
is removed in favor of the latter, though Ulrich
still embraces the traditional concept of
wooing a courtly lady, which would inspire the
young man to aspire to the highest ideals.
In his Frauendienst, Ulrich emphasizes that he
composed 58 melodies for his songs, which do not
differ remarkably from traditional courtly love poetry.
However, when he reflects upon composing a
dawn song (1987, stanzas 1622–1632; see ALBA),
Ulrich sharply criticizes the reliance on castle
guardians to protect lovers from being discovered
early in the morning, which constitutes the basic
framework for a dawn song; he suggests that such
lovers should rely only on their own precaution.
Bibliography
Heinen, Hubert. “Ulrich von Lichtenstein: homo
(il)literatus or Poet/Performer?” Journal of English
and Germanic Philology 83 (1984): 159–172.
Spechtler, Franz Viktor, and Barbara Maier, eds. Ich—
Ulrich von Liechtenstein. Literatur und Politik im
Mittelalter. Klagenfurt, Austria:Wieser, 1999.
Ulrich von Liechtenstein. Frauendienst. Edited by
Franz Viktor Spechtler. Göppingen, Germany:
Kümmerle, 1987.
Thomas, J.W., trans. Ulrich von Liechtenstein’s Service
of Ladies. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1969.
Albrecht Classen