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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/67943
Description
Title
Wolfram Von Eschenbach's Couples
Author(s)
Christoph, Siegfried Richard
Issue Date
1980
Department of Study
German
Discipline
German
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Literature, Germanic
Language
eng
Abstract
Discussions of Wolfram von Eschenbach's representation of and attitude towards "minne" have generally been concerned with proposing a unified ethical or aesthetic principle under which to subsume various manifestations of love in his works. Research has been devoted particularly to the question of Wolfram's compliance with or rejection of the precepts of courtly love. In support of various arguments a selection of textual evidence has been advanced, frequently mixing expository digression, intertextuality, Wolfram's Selbstaussagen, and information provided by specific characters. The stipulation of unifying purpose and concepts such as courtly love has resulted in a selective and restricted approach to "minne" in Wolfram's works.
This dissertation seeks to expand the scope of investigation by examining Wolfram's representation of "minne" through the numerous couples portrayed in Parzival, Willehalm, and Titurel. By investigating "minne" as it manifests itself in Wolfram's couples this dissertation hopes to distinguish the divergent textual evidence which Wolfram presents. This task is accomplished on the basis of the following points: (1) The concept of courtly love, characterized by stipulation and ill-defined parameters, should not be used as an absolute criterion for determining Wolfram's attitudes towards "minne." Moreover, Wolfram's treatment of de jure percepts of courtly love, as set down for example in Andreas Capellanus' De amore, does not permit inferences about his personal attitudes towards "minne" or an ethical ideal. (2) The 18 major and minor couples which were examined offer a complex and complicated view of human relationships which neither reveals nor supports a single unified view of "minne." (3) The pursuit of "minne" is not carried out independent of other systems of human intercourse, e.g. knighthood, marriage, political considerations, and kinship. The interconnections between the various systems as reflected in Wolfram's couples indicate that value systems which are generally thought to be mutually supportive, such as love and honor, are in fact often agonistic. (4) The precepts of courtly love cannot be invoked rigorously in the resolution of conflicts involving "minne" and human relationships. The resolution of such conflicts in Wolfram's couples invariably involves other value systems.
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