Elsa von Brabant is a figure from 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 ...

Swan knight legend from the late 13th century. She is a marginal figure in

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. Ther ...

's epic ''

Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...

''. She gained new fame as the main female protagonist in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's opera ''Lohengrin''.

Legend

Elsa von Brabant is the only daughter of Duke Gottfried von Brabant. Shortly before he dies, he lets his

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

, Count Friedrich von Telramund, swear allegiance to his daughter Elsa for the future. After Gottfried's death, Elsa officially becomes confirmed as duchess. At Elsa's inauguration ceremony, Telramund staged a public scandal by not swearing vassal loyalty as promised, but claiming that the deceased Gottfried had made him husband of Elsa and thus the new Count of Brabant. Although Elsa contradicts him, he sticks to his version. Since there is now testimony against testimony, the emperor is called as an arbitrator, who is supposed to solve the problem with a verdict. On the day of judgment appointed by the emperor, Elsa and Telramund accuse each other of lying. The emperor does not want to decide and asks the two to accept what is known as a divine judgment, which in this case consists of a duel. Since Talramund is an experienced knight, but as a woman Elsa is not trained in the knightly arts, the fight seems to have already been decided. But then a boat appears with a knight in full armor that is being pulled by a swan. The knight offers to fight in place of Elsa if she promises never to ask for his name. He introduces himself to the emperor as Lohengrin. The emperor and Elsa accept his conditions in front of an audience. Telramund is defeated in a duel and expelled from the country. Elsa and Lohengrin marry with the emperor's blessing, Lohengrin receives the title of Count of Brabant and becomes a vassal of the emperor. After a few years there is a festival at which the emperor is also present. An old acquaintance of Telramund arouses in Elsa doubts about Lohengrin's integrity and suspects him of a connection with the devil. Elsa is now plagued by doubts and begins to torment Lohengrin with questions about his origins. Eventually he gives in and publicly declares that he is a Knight Templar, a son of Parzival, the keeper of the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...

. His job is to help rulers in distress, in the case of Elsa as the rightful Duchess of Brabant. When Elsa questions about his origin, he entrusts his two children to the care of the emperor, gets into his boat, and drives away.

Elsa of Brabant in the opera

Richard Wagner turned the Lohengrin material into an opera and wrote the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

himself. The premiere took place in 1850 at the Deutsches Theater in Weimar under the direction of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. The role of Elsa was occupied by the 23-year-old Rosa Agthe. The role of Elsa is one of the largest and most demanding for soprano in the opera literature. After Rosa Agthe, she was embodied by Maria Müller,

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Pauline Sophie Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German-American dramatic soprano noted for her successful performances with international opera houses, on the recital stage and in teaching.She gave memorable ...

, Elisabeth Grümmer, Gundula Janowitz, and

Leonie Rysanek Leopoldine Rysanek (14 November 1926 – 7 March 1998), known professionally as Leonie Rysanek, was an Austrian dramatic soprano. Life Rysanek was born in Vienna as one of six children of a Czech father and an Austrian mother. She entered t ...

, among others.

Text sources

* Ferdinand Gloeckle: ''Lohengrin, an old German poem, based on a copy of the Vatican manuscript'' . Published by Joseph Görres . Heidelberg 1813 * ''Lohengrin to Brabant. Old German poem'' . In: ''German legends'' . Edited by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

. Vol. 1. No. 542. Berlin: Nicolai 1865. * Wolfram von Eschenbach: ''Parzival'' . Transferred by Franz Viktor Spechtler. Wieser, Klagenfurt 2016. ISBN 978-3-99029-082-8 * Wolfram von Eschenbach: ''Parzival'' . Revised and commented on by Eberhard Nellmann after Karl Lachmann's edition . Transferred by Dieter Kühn . Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1994. (Library of German Classics. Library of the Middle Ages) (Original text, retransmission and detailed commentary in 2 volumes)

External links

Lohengrin Legend and the Swan Castle in Cleve

Elsa from Brabant
Oxford Reference. A Dictionary of Opera Characters, Oxford University Press, 2008, accessed May 5, 2020

Individual evidence

# ↑ ^{Jump up after:a b c d} City of Kleve
Knight Lohengrin
''.'' In: ''kleve.de.'' Retrieved June 5, 2020 . # ^ Alan Walker: ''Franz Liszt'' . Vol. 2. The Weimar Years 1848-1861, Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press 1989. p. 124 {{Authority control Lohengrin Legendary German people Arthurian characters