''Daniel von dem blühenden Tal'' (''Daniel of the Flowering Valley'') is an

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

composed around 1220 by the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

poet

Der Stricker Der Stricker is the pseudonym of a 13th-century Middle High German itinerant poet whose real name has been lost to history. His name, which means "The Knitter," may indicate he was a commoner; he was likely from Franconia but later worked in Austri ...

,Gürttler, Karin R. (1991). "Der Stricker". In Lacy, Norris J., ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', pp. 434. New York: Garland. . who claimed he had received the story from a French

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

. It tells how Sir Daniel, heir to the kingdom of Blumenthal, becomes a

Knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

and engages in fantastic adventures to defend

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's land from an enemy ruler.

Synopsis

Arthur welcomes Daniel to the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

after he defeats other formidable knights including Sir Percival and

Sir Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalch ...

. Before long, however, a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

in the form of an invincible giant riding a camel arrives with a message from an enemy potentate, King Matur. The herald demands Arthur swear immediate fealty to Matur, explaining that his country is defended by the contrivances of an inventor who has created a mobile palace carried by

war elephants A war elephant is an elephant that is trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific mil ...

, invincible

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

(of whom he is one), and a mechanical dragon whose scream is so intolerable that it makes even the staunchest fighting men cover their ears, rendering them useless. On the other hand, Matur's herald says submission to his master brings its attractions. The land is fertile, the conditions of vassalage are light, and the women are stunning. Each keeps her complexion unspoilt by means of a beautiful songbird called a Babian, who is trained to hover over her and protect her from the sun with his shadow. Arthur bids for time while he assembles his troops, but in the meantime Daniel slips out of the castle intending to fight Matur alone. On the way, he meets with a series of adventures which, at the time, seem nothing but sideshows which delay him from his real purpose. These include rescuing a damsel from the attentions of an evil

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

, after himself being saved by another noble lady from a magic net, and overcoming a horde of monsters without bellies. But these adventures enable him to acquire a magic sword which is crucial to the final victory over Matur. Daniel is then made a vassal-king of Arthur's over Matur's former Kingdom of Cluse. After the victory over Matur, Arthur himself is kidnapped by the father of the giants that Daniel killed during his adventure. The giant places Arthur on a mountaintop to starve and is only rescued due to Daniel's acquaintance with the owner of the magic net.

Analysis

This much-neglected Arthurian epic does not fit into any of the recognised categories of Arthurian literature and is therefore a literary form in its own right; as such it possesses a unique place in

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

. The spirit of the heroic epic pervades ''Daniel'', in contrast to other courtly Arthurian romances: Daniel's prestige comes from his abilities as a fighter, rather than his exemplification of courtly ideals, the pre-courtly focus on the importance of vassal-monarch relations prevails throughout the story, and Arthur takes part in the hostilities, contrary to his depiction as a ''

roi fainéant ''Roi fainéant'' ( "do-nothing king", "lazy king") is a French term primarily used to refer to the later kings of the Merovingian dynasty after they seemed to have lost their initial powers of dominion. It is usually applied to those Frankish rul ...

'' in other romances.

Der Pleier Der Pleier is the pen name of a 13th-century German poet whose real name is unknown. Three of his works survive, all Middle High German romances on Arthurian subjects: ''Garel'', ''Tandareis und Flordibel'', and ''Meleranz''. Little else is known o ...

's romance ''

Garel ''Garel von dem blühenden Tal'' () is a Middle High German Arthurian romance composed by Der Pleier around 1230-40. It appears to have been written in contradiction to Der Stricker's ''Daniel von Blumenthal''. It consists of 21,310 lines in ...

'' was written as a reaction to ''Daniel''; Der Pleier found Daniel too brutal and cunning to make a proper hero, and wrote his romance in the spirit of contemporary courtly attitudes. While Daniel's popularity faded, ''Garel'' continued to be admired, and as late as 1400 Runckelstein Castle near

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

in Italy was decorated with frescos of scenes from ''Garel''. The

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n family

von Blumenthal The Blumenthal family is a Lutheran and Roman Catholic German noble family, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them ...

fancifully claimed a connection to the hero of this romance, and in the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

one or two of its members were christened Daniel. A character named Sir Daniel appears in other Arthurian romances as well, often as the brother of Sir

Dinadan Dinadan is a Cornish Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. In the Prose ''Tristan'' and its adaptations, Dinadan is a close friend of the protagonist Tristan, known for his cynical humor and pragmati ...

and Sir Le Cote Mal Taile. An edition of the Middle High German lines, with facing English translation, was published in 2003.

References

Sources

* Lacy, Norris J. (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel Von Dem Bluhenden Tal 1220 works Arthurian literature in German Epic poems in German Medieval German poems Knights of the Round Table Middle High German literature