Hartmann von Aue

Hartmann von Aue (c. 1160/65 – c. 1210) was a German medieval author of epic poetry, one of the three most important poets of German courtly literature of the Middle Ages. He is especially credited with introducing Arthurian romances to the German-speaking world and is best known for his Arthurian epics Iwein and Erec, and the saint's legends Gregorius and Der arme Heinrich.

Life

Practically nothing is known about the poet himself, despite the fact that he identifies himself explicitly in practically all his works. Unfortunately, the personal information he includes is often imprecise and includes no unambiguous references to places or overlords with whom he may have been associated. His most famous self-description is found in Der arme Heinrich:

Ein ritter sô gelêret was

Daz er an den buochen las
Swaz er dar an geschriben fand
Der was Hartman genant

Dienstman was er zOuwe

(There was a knight so learned / That he would read in books / Whatever he could find written down; / This one was called Hartmann, / A ministerialis he was in Ouwe.)

The reference to Ouwe (in modern German Aue) could refer to many different places in modern Swabia or Switzerland. This is at least consistent with the clearly Alemannic dialect found in the transmitted manuscripts of his works. Attempts to localize Hartmann through the associations of his works with coats of arms found in some illuminated manuscripts of his Minnesang have not yielded any conclusions. Based on references to Hartmann by contemporaries, scholars conclude that Hartmann was active as an author around 1180 or shortly thereafter. Wolfram von Eschenbach refers to characters from Hartmann's Iwein in his Parzival; since Wolfram composed Parzival around 1205, Hartmann must have finished Iwein, believed to be his last work, before that time. Gottfried von Straßburg speaks of Hartmann as still alive in his Tristan (c. 1210) but Heinrich von dem Türlin eulogizes him in Diu Crône (after 1220).

Works

The first author of the rich courtly period (höfische Literatur) in German medieval literature, Hartmann's great accomplishment is the introduction of Arthurian romance to the German-speaking world, through his Erec and Iwein, both translations (or adaptations) of the French author Chrétien de Troyes.

Erec

Hartmann's Erec is the first Arthurian romance in German. It is a fairly loose adaptation of the romance of the same name by the medieval French author Chrétien de Troyes. Although the two works are essentially the same story, Hartmann has changed and added considerable amounts. The German version is over 3,000 lines longer and differs in some important respects from Chrétien's original, leading some scholars to think that Hartmann may have used other sources. Such a hypothesis is not necessary, however, as the differences could be explained quite easily by Hartmann's desire to make the French story with its foreign culture understandable to a German audience. In general, Hartmann has expanded the descriptions of the courtly pomp and circumstance and added more moralizing intrusions by the narrator.

The romance relates the story of Erec, a young knight, who attains great fame, power, and a good wife early in life but then squanders his reputation and his subjects' loyalty on account of his immature behavior as a king. Erec has to regain his honor in a long series of tests and adventures in which he learns what it means to be a true knight and good king.

Reception and influence

Hartmann von Aue was admired by most of his contemporaries. Gottfried von Straßburg lauds him in the famous "praise of poets" passage in Tristan. Rudolf von Ems and Heinrich von dem Türlin also praise him. Only Wolfram von Eschenbach is highly critical of Hartmann. In several passages in his Parzival Wolfram takes issue with several plot decisions in his colleague's work.

Hartmann's works have remained influential until recently. In the twentieth century, Thomas Mann took Hartmann's Gregorius legend as inspiration for his own novel Der Erwählte, while Gerhart Hauptmann adapted Der arme Heinrich into a drama.