Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

and poet. With his works including ''

Erec The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

'', ''

Iwein ''Iwein'' is a Middle High German verse romance by the poet Hartmann von Aue, written around 1200. An Arthurian tale freely adapted from Chrétien de Troyes' Old French ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', it tells the story of Iwein ( Yvain), ...

'', '' Gregorius'', and ''

Der arme Heinrich Der arme Heinrich (''Poor Heinrich'') is a Middle High German narrative poem by Hartmann von Aue. It was probably written in the 1190s and was the second to last of Hartmann's four epic works. Combining courtly and religious narrative patterns ...

'', he introduced the Arthurian romance into German literature and, with

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There ar ...

and Gottfried von Strassburg, was one of the three great epic poets of

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

literature.

Life

Hartmann belonged to the lower nobility of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

, where he was born. After receiving a monastic education, he became retainer (''Dienstmann'') of a nobleman whose domain, Aue, has been identified with Obernau on the River

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwen ...

. He also took part in the

Crusade of 1197 The Crusade of 1197, also known as the Crusade of Henry VI (german: Kreuzzug Heinrichs VI.) or the German Crusade (''Deutscher Kreuzzug''), was a crusade launched by the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI in response to the aborted attempt of his f ...

. The date of his death is as uncertain as that of his birth; he is mentioned in Gottfried von Strassburg's ''

Tristan Tristan ( Latin/Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...

'' (c. 1210) as still alive, and in the '' Crône'' of Heinrich von dem Türlin, written about 1220, he is mourned for as dead.

Works

Hartmann produced four narrative poems which are of importance for the evolution of the Middle High German court epic. The first of these, ''

'', which may have been written as early as 1191 or 1192, and the last, ''

'', belong to the Arthurian cycle and are based on epics by

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

('' Erec and Enide'' and '' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', respectively). While the story of Chretien's ''Yvain'' refers to events in Chretien's ''Lancelot'', to explain that Arthur is not present to help because Guinevere has been kidnapped, Hartmann did not adapt Chretien's ''Lancelot''. The result is that Hartmann's ''Erec'' introduces entirely different explanations for Guinevere's kidnapping, which do not correspond to what occurred in the shared literary tradition of Chretien's Arthurian romances. His other two narrative poems are '' Gregorius'', also an adaptation of a French epic, and ''

'', which tells the story of a leper cured by a young girl who is willing to sacrifice her life for him. The source of this tale evidently came from the lore of the noble family whom Hartmann served. ''Gregorius'', ''Der arme Heinrich'' and Hartmann's lyrics, which are all fervidly religious in tone, imply a tendency towards asceticism, but, on the whole, Hartmann's striving seems rather to have been to reconcile the extremes of life; to establish a middle way of human conduct between the worldly pursuits of knighthood and the ascetic ideals of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

religion. Translations have been made into modern German of all Hartmann's poems, while ''Der arme Heinrich'' has repeatedly attracted the attention of modern poets, both English (

Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

, Rossetti) and German (notably, Gerhart Hauptmann). He was also a

Minnesänger (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...

, and 18 of his songs survive.

Editions and translations

*Tobin, Frank, Kim Vivian, and Richard H. Lawson, trans. ''Arthurian Romances, Tales, and Lyric Poetry: The Complete Works of Hartmann von Aue'', Penn State Press, 2001 * Hartmann Von Aue, "Iwein: The Knight with the Lion", translated by J.W. Thomas, 1979, . * Hartmann Von Aue, "Erec," translated by J.W. Thomas, 2001, .

References

* * * * * *

External links

*
Roy Boggs and Kurt Gärtner: Hartmann von Aue (Knowledge Base) Portal
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann von Aue 12th-century births 12th-century German poets 13th-century German poets 1210s deaths Medieval German writers Middle High German literature Minnesingers Writers of Arthurian literature German male poets