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 him 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.

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.