Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German
Minnesinger
(; "love song") was a tradition of German lyric- and song-writing that flourished in the Middle High German period (12th to 14th centuries). The name derives from '' minne'', the Middle High German word for love, as that was ''Minnesangs m ...
and
traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265.
His name becomes associated with a "
fairy queen"–type
folk ballad in
German folklore
German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...
of the 16th century.
Historical Tannhäuser
The most common tradition has him as a descent from the ''Tanhusen'' family of
Imperial ''
ministeriales'', documented in various 13th century sources, with their residence in the area of
Neumarkt in the Bavarian
Nordgau. These sources identify him as being descended of an Old
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
n noble family.
The illustrated ''
Codex Manesse
The Codex Manesse (also or Pariser Handschrift) is a (a German term for a manuscript containing songs) which is the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry. It was written and illustrated manuscript, illustr ...
'' manuscript (about 1300–1340) depicts him clad in the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
habit, suggesting he might have fought in the
Sixth Crusade
The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229), also known as the Crusade of Frederick II, was a military expedition to recapture Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade and involved very little actua ...
led by Emperor
Frederick II in 1228/29.
For a while, Tannhäuser was an active
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
at the court of the
Austrian duke
Frederick the Warlike, who ruled from 1230 to 1246. Frederick was the last of the
Babenberg dukes; upon his death in the
Battle of the Leitha River, Tannhäuser left the
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
court.
Tannhäuser was a proponent of the ''
leich'' (''lai'') style of minnesang and dance-song poetry. As literature, his poems
parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
the traditional genre with irony and hyperbole, somewhat similar to later
commercium songs. However, his ''Bußlied'' (Poem on Atonement) is unusual, given the eroticism of the remaining ''Codex Manesse''.
Tannhäuser legend
Based on his ''Bußlied'', Tannhäuser became the subject of a legendary account. It makes Tannhäuser a knight and poet who found the
Venusberg, the subterranean home of
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
, and spent a year there worshipping the goddess. After leaving the Venusberg, Tannhäuser is filled with remorse, and travels to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
to ask
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...
(reigned 1261–1264) if it is possible to be absolved of his sins. Urban replies that forgiveness is impossible, as much as it would be for his papal staff to blossom. Three days after Tannhäuser's departure, Urban's staff blooms with flowers; messengers are sent to retrieve the knight, but he has already returned to Venusberg, never to be seen again.
[D. L. Ashliman,]
Forgiveness and Redemption: folktales of Aarne-Thompson types 755 and 756
The earliest version of the narrative of the legend, not yet associated with the name of Tannhäuser, is first recorded by the Provençal writer
Antoine de la Sale (c. 1440) in his book ''La Salade''. Here he narrates his visit to the town of
Montemonaco in the
Sibillini Mountains, Italy, and reports on the local legend of a fairy court hidden in a
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
on the local mountains. La Sale personally visited the cave but did not delve into it past the entrance. He also reports the legend of an unnamed German knight who would have descended in the cave and lived there as one of the fairies' spouse, before coming back to seek forgiveness from the Pope. Despairing of not being forgiven for his sins, he would have returned to the fairies' cave to live eternally among them.
The association of this narrative with the name of Tannhäuser appears to take place in the early 16th century. A German ''Tannhäuser'' folk ballad is recorded in numerous versions beginning around 1510.
The popularity of the ballad continues unabated well into the 17th century.
The motif became most popular as the principal source for
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 large three-act opera ''
Tannhäuser'' (1845), which changes a few story elements and is known for including a scandalous depiction of the revels of Venus's court in its first scene. The plot of the opera covers both the ''Tannhäuser'' legend and the epic of the ''
Sängerkrieg'' at
Wartburg Castle.
See also
*
Medieval German literature
*
The Woman Who Had No Shadow
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Wikipedia of the Rindsmaul familyLaus Veneris, and other poems (1900), Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837–1909Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Tannhäuser* James G. Nelson, ''Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson''. Rivendale Press, May 2000. .
at the Bibliotheca Augustana—a collection of his works (original language)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannhauser
13th-century German poets
German male composers
Medieval German knights
Medieval legends
Minnesingers
Middle High German literature