Trial by Fire and Battle in Medieval German Literature (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture, 1)

Medieval judicial ordeals, especially trial by fire or battle, conjure up vivid pictures in the modern imagination. Searing iron and clashing swords shape popular perceptions of the Middle Ages, yet leave the reader without a context in which to understand this most dramatic and most drastic of medieval judicial remedies. This book brings together literary texts that provide some of the most vivid and detailed accounts of the medieval ordeal. It analyzes the dramatic treason trials in late medieval Charlemagne epics, where the great emperor presides over the judicial combat that convicts his nephew Roland's killer. The two epics chosen -- Stricker's Karl der GroГџe and the Karlmeinet -- treat trial by battle as the living legal reality it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective (13th- and 14th-century) societies. Gottfried's Tristan contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire, of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia around 1210, the probable time of writing. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire in a sort of hagiographic amber, much as it was portrayed in the mid-12th-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque ''The Hot Iron,'' written in the mid 13th century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting the almost immediate abandonment of trial by fire as a legal proof after the council's decision. The study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, enabling both medievalists and general readers to reach a broader and more informed understanding of the function of the ordeal and related legal issues in the texts as well as in the larger society for whom these works were written. Offers a broader, more contextualized understanding of the function of ordeals in medieval literature and society.Medieval judicial ordeals, especially trial by fire or battle, conjure up vivid pictures in the modern imagination. Yet popular perceptions of the Middle Ages leave the reader without a context in which to understand these most drastic of medieval judicial remedies. This book analyzes literary texts that provide some of the most vivid and detailed accounts of the medieval ordeal: the dramatic treason trials in late medieval Charlemagne epics. The two epicschosen -- Stricker's Karl der Große and the Karlmeinet -- treat trial by battle as the living legal reality it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective(13th- and 14th-century) societies. Gottfried's Tristan contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire, of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia of the time. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire much as it was portrayed in the mid-12th-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque'The Hot Iron,'written in the mid 13th century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting its sudden abandonment as a legal proof following the council's decision. The study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, helping both medievalists and general readers understand the function of the ordeal in the texts as well as in the larger society for whom these works were written. Vickie L. Ziegler is professor of German and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Offers a broader, more contextualized understanding of the function of ordeals in medieval literature and society. Medieval judicial ordeals, especially trial by fire or battle, conjure up vivid pictures in the modern imagination. Yet popular perceptions of the Middle Ages leave the reader without a context in which to understand these most drastic of medieval judicial remedies. This book analyzes literary texts that provide some of the most vivid and detailed accounts of the medieval the dramatic treason trials in late medieval Charlemagne epics. The two epicschosen -- Stricker's Karl der Groe and the Karlmeinet -- treat trial by battle as the living legal reality it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective(13th- and 14th-century) societies. Gottfried's Tristan contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire, of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia of the time. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire much as it was portrayed in the mid-12th-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque"The Hot Iron," written in the mid 13th century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting its sudden abandonment as a legal proof following the council's decision. The study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, helping both medievalists and general readers understand the function of the ordeal in the texts as well as in the larger society for whom these works were written. Vickie L. Ziegler is professor of German and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Medieval judicial ordeals, especially trial by fire or battle, conjure up vivid pictures in the modern imagination. Yet popular perceptions of the Middle Ages leave the reader without a context in which to understand these most drastic of medieval judicial remedies. This book analyzes literary texts that provide some of the most vivid and detailed accounts of the medieval ordeal: the dramatic treason trials in late medieval Charlemagne epics. The two epicschosen -- Stricker's Karl der Große and the Karlmeinet -- treat trial by battle as the living legal reality it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective(13th- and 14th-century) societies. Gottfried's Tristan contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire, of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia of the time. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire much as it was portrayed in the mid-12th-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque"The Hot Iron," written in the mid 13th century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting its sudden abandonment as a legal proof following the council's decision. The study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, helping both medievalists and general readers understand the function of the ordeal in the texts as well as in the larger society for whom these works were written.

Vickie L. Ziegler is professor of German and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. "This book analyzes the dramatic treason trial in late medieval Charlemagne epics, where the great emperor presides over the judicial combat that convicts his nephew Roland's killer. The two epics chosen, Stricker's Karl der Grasse and the Karlmeinet, from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, treat trial by battle as the living legal reality that it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective societies. Gottfried's Tristan contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia around 1210, the probable time of its writing. This study shows how the two ordeals reference each other, providing for a more nuanced understanding of the position of the ordeal in Gottfried's work. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire in a sort of hagiographic amber, much as it was portrayed in the mid-twelfth-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque "The Hot Iron," written in the mid-thirteenth century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting the almost immediate abandonment of trial by fire as a legal proof in many areas after the council's decision." "This interdisciplinary study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, enabling both medievalists and general readers to reach a broader and more informed understanding of the function of the ordeal and related legal issues in the texts as well as in the larger society for which these works were written."--BOOK JACKET. Medieval judicial ordeals, especially trial by fire or battle, conjure up vivid pictures in the modern imagination. Yet popular perceptions of the Middle Ages leave the reader without a context in which to understand these most drastic of medieval judicial remedies. This book analyzes literary texts that provide some of the most vivid and detailed accounts of the medieval ordeal: the dramatic treason trials in late medieval Charlemagne epics. The two epics chosen - Stricker's 'Karl der Groe' and the 'Karlmeinet' - treat trial by battle as the living legal reality it was in those times, yet display very different attitudes toward feud and punishment in their respective (13th- and 14th-century) societies. Gottfried's 'Tristan' contains an ordeal by battle, of which the author approves, and an ordeal by fire, of which he does not, reflecting a common position of the intelligentsia of the time. Well after the condemnation of ordeals by the Fourth Lateran Council, the Kunigunde legend preserves the ordeal by fire much as it was portrayed in the mid-12th-century Richardis legend, while Stricker's short secular burlesque 'The Hot Iron, ' written in the mid 13th century, makes sport of this formerly serious legal proceeding, reflecting its sudden abandonment as a legal proof following the council's decision. The study brings extensive background material in legal and cultural history to bear on literary texts, helping both medievalists and general readers understand the function of the ordeal in the texts as well as in the larger society for whom these works were written. Vickie L. Ziegler is professor of German and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University CONTENTS ......Page 6 PREFACE ......Page 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......Page 12 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN ENDNOTES ......Page 14 INTRODUCTION: Historical Background......Page 16 1: Decoding the Codes: Treason in the Late Medieval Karlsepik — Der Stricker’s Karl der Grosse and the Karlmeinet......Page 36 2: The Ordeals of Tristan and Isolde......Page 129 3: Saintly Queens under Fire in the Kaiserchronik and in Heinrich und Kunegunde......Page 161 Coda: Der Stricker’s“Das heisse Eisen” and Conclusion......Page 183 I. Der Stricker, Karl der Grosse: Plot Summary......Page 190 II. Karlmeinet: Plot Summary......Page 194 III. Tristan: Plot Summary......Page 199 IV. Richardis: Plot Summary......Page 203 V. Ebernand von Erfurt, Heinrich und Kunegunde: Translation......Page 204 VI. Comparison of Parallel Texts from the “Additamentum” and Ebernand von Erfurt......Page 208 VII. Der Stricker, “Das heiße Eisen” [The Hot Iron]: Translation......Page 210 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 214 INDEX ......Page 238