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50-567: Iwein is a Middle High German verse romance by the poet Hartmann von Aue , written around 1200. An Arthurian tale freely adapted from Chrétien de Troyes ' Old French Yvain, the Knight of the Lion , it tells the story of Iwein ( Yvain ), a knight of King Arthur 's Round Table . It was written after Hartmann's Erec , and is generally taken to be his last work. The poem tells how Iwein embarks on an adventure which culminates in marriage to

100-481: A trick question to the older sister, which causes her to betray herself, and grants the younger sister's claim. Iwein then reveals his identity and is joyfully welcomed back to the fellowship of the Round Table. Although Iwein has gained great honour, he is sure that he will die of a broken heart. Once more in the guise of the Knight of the Lion, he returns to Laudine's court. However, he wins her back only after

150-408: A comic intrigue on the part of Lunete: Laudine swears an oath to aid the Knight of the Lion who watered the stone at the spring in regaining his lady's favour. With that she must forgive Iwein, who expresses his deep regret and promises never again to risk losing her favour. The two renew their marriage and their love. Iwein is preserved in 15 complete and 17 fragmentary manuscripts, making it one of

200-433: A common archetype. Also, neither A nor B can be understood as the descendant of a unique primary manuscript (and therefore the source of the other).Rather, they represent distinct versions of the story. The popularity of Iwein is seen not only in the rich manuscript tradition but also in its influence on later writers and its reflection in domestic decoration. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival , likely completed less than

250-558: A decade after Iwein , includes several direct references to Iwein , but it also borrows the structure of Hartmann's poem as a framework for the latter part of Parzival in view of the unfinished nature of Chrétien's Perceval , Wolfram's source. The hero of Wirnt von Grafenberg 's Wigalois , ( c.  1210 ), has in common with Iwein that he undergoes a crisis of identity, and the poem borrows some 370 lines of verse from Hartmann's work. For details of earlier editions, see Iwein — digital . Middle High German While there

300-479: A fairy-salve, can Iwein return to proper consciousness. His earlier identity as a knight seems to him as a dream. He must recognise that he no longer belongs to courtly society Iwein frees the land of the Lady of Narison from Count Aliers, who has asserted a claim to it. The lady and the people wish him to become their sovereign, but he does not want this and hurries away. In the course of the story, he twice more rejects

350-413: A lion which is being attacked by a dragon, the lion then becoming his companion. Eventually, his honour restored, he regains Laudine's favour. Iwein was recognized by contemporaries and later generations alike as a masterpiece and a classic. Its enduring popularity is attested both by the large number of manuscripts from the whole High German area over three centuries and by the depiction of scenes from

400-403: A marriage out of loyalty to Laudine. Iwein rescues a lion from a dragon. From now on, the lion remains faithfully at his side, giving Iwein a new identity, the Knight of the Lion. Chance brings him back to the spring, where the memory of his loss causes him to faint and fall from his horse. Iwein is on the verge of losing his mind again. Then he finds Lunete at the spring; because of her role in

450-399: A trial by combat is decreed. Iwein's friend, the exemplary Arthurian knight Sir Gawain, has declared himself the champion of the other sister. Without either knowing who the other is, Gawain and Iwein fight; neither is able to seal the victory. Only after darkness has fallen and the battle has been discontinued until the following day do they recognize each other while talking. King Arthur poses

500-738: Is a handmaiden and advisor to the Lady of the Fountain ( Laudine ). It is she who is responsible for convincing Laudine to accept Ywain in marriage. She is described in Chrétien de Troyes ' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion as "a charming brunette, prudent, clever and polite..." When Esclados the Red (Laudine's first husband) is mortally wounded and killed by Ywain, he finds himself trapped in Laudine's castle (Castle of Landuc near Brocéliande ). Lunete offers him shelter and agrees to aid him in escaping

550-471: Is no standard MHG, the prestige of the Hohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language ( mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache ) based on Swabian , an Alemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to use normalised spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make

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600-415: Is often given as a date for Iwein , though strictly it is a terminus ante quem . It has been argued that the first 1,000 lines of Iwein show a markedly different poetic character from the subsequent text, and that this indicates two distinct phases in the poem's composition, with Iwein possibly started before Gregorius and Der arme Heinrich . In any case, it seems safe to conclude that Iwein

650-581: Is the lady. Since their relationship is still unresolved, Iwein again leaves Laudine. He then undertakes to defend the younger daughter of the Count of the Black Thorn in a conflict with her sister concerning their inheritance. With the girl, Iwein sets out for Castle Maladventure, where he must fight two giants in order to free three hundred noble ladies who are held captive in a workhouse. After that, he rides with his companion to King Arthur's court, where

700-815: Is the opening strophe of the Nibelungenlied ( c.  1204 ). Middle High German Uns ist in alten mæren    wunders vil geseit von helden lobebæren,    von grôzer arebeit, von freuden, hôchgezîten,    von weinen und von klagen, von küener recken strîten    muget ir nu wunder hœren sagen. Modern German translation In alten Erzählungen wird uns viel Wunderbares berichtet von ruhmreichen Helden, von hartem Streit, von glücklichen Tagen und Festen, von Schmerz und Klage: vom Kampf tapferer Recken: Davon könnt auch Ihr nun Wunderbares berichten hören. Lunete In Arthurian legend , Lunete (also known as Luned or Lunet )

750-550: The Round Table for betrayal and takes the ring from him. All his honour is lost in Arthur's court and Laudine breaks off all connections with him. Thus Iwein loses his identity. Gripped by madness he rips the clothes from his body and becomes a wild man in the woods. His only social attachment is a silent exchange agreement with a hermit. Only through the help of the Lady of Narison and her companion, who treat his madness with

800-420: The verligen (long-term idleness) of Erec as an example, Iwein leaves Laudine shortly after the wedding, and goes in search of Tournaments and âventiure . Laudine extracts from Iwein a promise to return after a year and a day. This timeframe implies a legally effective deadline after which his claims against possible usurpers would have lapsed. (This knowledge is left to the reader, and is not made explicit in

850-649: The 11th century, and all the East Central German dialects are a result of this expansion. "Judeo-German", the precursor of the Yiddish language, is attested in the 12th–13th centuries, as a variety of Middle High German written in Hebrew characters. The Middle High German period is generally dated from 1050 to 1350. An older view puts the boundary with (Early) New High German around 1500. There are several phonological criteria which separate MHG from

900-465: The Fountain agrees to let him go — only if he promises to return after one year. Ywain breaks his promise and delays his return; the Lady asks her husband to leave her and never return. As a result of the separation, Lunete loses favour with her Lady, since Lunete was the one who advised Laudine to marry Ywain. Meanwhile, in court, the seneschal envies Lunete of her rising status and becoming Laudine's favourite advisor. He accuses her of treason and she

950-542: The MHG period is characterised by a massive rise in population, terminated by the demographic catastrophe of the Black Death (1348). Along with the rise in population comes a territorial expansion eastwards ( Ostsiedlung ), which saw German-speaking settlers colonise land previously under Slavic control. Linguistically, the transition to Early New High German is marked by four vowel changes which together produce

1000-521: The Well-Kingdom. The adventure repeats itself, but with deadly consequences for Askalon. Iwein chases the mortally wounded, fleeing Askalon into his castle. The falling portcullis cuts Iwein's horse in two; though he himself remains uninjured, he is sealed in the gatehouse. Only with the help of Lunete , the confidante of the mistress of the castle, Laudine, does Iwein succeed in escaping the castle guards. Out of thankfulness for earlier assistance at

1050-435: The approximate values of /ei/ , /iə/ , /ou/ , /øy/ , /eu/ , /yə/ , /uə/ , respectively. Middle High German pronouns of the first person refer to the speaker; those of the second person refer to an addressed person; and those of the third person refer to a person or thing of which one speaks. The pronouns of the third person may be used to replace nominal phrases . These have the same genders , numbers and cases as

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1100-454: The court of Arthur he receives from Lunete a ring which makes him invisible. The dead Askalon is mourned by his beautiful wife Laudine. Iwein sees the castle-mistress through a window and becomes inflamed with love (Minne) for her. The wounds of the dead man begin to bleed again, due to the presence of the killer, and thus a burlesque search for the invisible man begins. Once again Lunete solves

1150-538: The court of Arthur, the epitome of courtly festivities. While there, Iwein hears the story of the Knight Kalogrenant. The unsuccessful adventure of the Arthurian knight Kalogrenant gives the court of Arthur a legitimate challenge - that of avenging the dishonour. Iwein, who as a relation of Kalogrenant's is doubly hit by the scandal, rides ahead of a procession of the entire court and heads secretly into

1200-688: The example of Good King Arthur who with knightly spirit knew how to strive for praise. In his day He lived so well That he wore the crown of honour And his name still does so. The truth of this is known To his countrymen: They affirm that he still lives today: He won such fame that Although his body died His name lives on. Of sinful shame He will forever be free Who follows his example. Commentary: This text shows many typical features of Middle High German poetic language. Most Middle High German words survive into modern German in some form or other: this passage contains only one word ( jehen 'say' 14) which has since disappeared from

1250-670: The exception of Thuringian, the East Central German dialects are new dialects resulting from the Ostsiedlung and arise towards the end of the period. Middle High German texts are written in the Latin alphabet . There was no standardised spelling, but modern editions generally standardise according to a set of conventions established by Karl Lachmann in the 19th century. There are several important features in this standardised orthography which are not characteristics of

1300-456: The following consonant spellings: The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of classical MHG. The spellings indicated are the standard spellings used in modern editions; there is much more variation in the manuscripts. Notes: MHG diphthongs are indicated by the spellings ⟨ei⟩ , ⟨ie⟩ , ⟨ou⟩ , ⟨öu⟩ and ⟨eu⟩ , ⟨üe⟩ , ⟨uo⟩ , and they have

1350-458: The following vowel spellings: Grammars (as opposed to textual editions) often distinguish between ⟨ë⟩ and ⟨e⟩ , the former indicating the mid-open /ɛ/ which derived from Germanic /e/ , the latter (often with a dot beneath it) indicating the mid-close /e/ which results from primary umlaut of short /a/ . No such orthographic distinction is made in MHG manuscripts. The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses

1400-1113: The impetus for this set of social changes came largely from France, many of the new words were either loans from French or influenced by French terms. The French loans mainly cover the areas of chivalry, warfare and equipment, entertainment, and luxury goods: Two highly productive suffixes were borrowed from French in this period: The text is the opening of Hartmann von Aue 's Iwein ( c.  1200 ) Swer an rehte güete wendet sîn gemüete, dem volget sælde und êre. des gît gewisse lêre künec Artûs der guote, der mit rîters muote nâch lobe kunde strîten. er hât bî sînen zîten gelebet alsô schône daz er der êren krône dô truoc und noch sîn name treit. des habent die wârheit sîne lantliute: sî jehent er lebe noch hiute: er hât den lop erworben, ist im der lîp erstorben, sô lebet doch iemer sîn name. er ist lasterlîcher schame iemer vil gar erwert, der noch nâch sînem site vert. [1] [5] [10] [15] [20] Whoever to true goodness Turns his mind He will meet with fortune and honour. We are taught this by

1450-418: The lady Laudine. But he is then persuaded to leave her for a year to pursue success in tournaments . After he misses the deadline to return to her, he is rejected by Laudine in front of the Arthurian court. Dishonoured, he descends into madness and goes off into the wilderness. There he is healed by a lady with a magic ointment and has further encounters which allow him to show true heroism. These include helping

1500-401: The language. But many words have changed their meaning substantially. Muot (6) means 'state of mind' (cognates with mood ), where modern German Mut means courage. Êre (3) can be translated with 'honour', but is quite a different concept of honour from modern German Ehre ; the medieval term focuses on reputation and the respect accorded to status in society. The text

1550-440: The lion's help, he is able to overcome this scheduling conflict by defeating the giant in time to also be able to successfully fight for Lunete. Her accusers undergo the same punishment that was intended for her: they are burned at the stake. Laudine, who does not recognize the Knight of the Lion in his new identity, learns during this episode that the knight has lost the favour of a lady, and condemns it—unaware that she herself

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1600-409: The marriage and Iwein's faithlessness ( untriuwe ), she has been sentenced to death. The only means of proving her innocence is trial by combat , and the deadline is the following day. Iwein acknowledges his guilt and assures Lunete that he will fight for her. Immediately thereafter, however, he also commits himself to assisting his host in the fight against the giant Harpin the following morning. With

1650-526: The mostly widely read texts of the genre (surpassed only by Wolfram von Eschenbach 's Parzival ). The two oldest complete manuscripts both date from the second quarter of the 13th century, reasonably close to the date of composition. The poem continued to be copied until the 16th century, when it was included in the Ambraser Heldenbuch of 1517. Even though MSS A and B are both relatively early, there are major differences between them, both in

1700-726: The neuter singular, is used only with prepositions : von diu , ze diu , etc. In all the other genders and in the plural it is substituted with the dative: von dëm , von dër , von dën . Middle High German nouns were declined according to four cases ( nominative , genitive , dative , accusative ), two numbers (singular and plural ) and three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), much like Modern High German, though there are several important differences. Verbs were conjugated according to three moods ( indicative , subjunctive (conjunctive) and imperative ), three persons, two numbers (singular and plural ) and two tenses ( present tense and preterite ) There

1750-485: The original manuscripts : A particular problem is that many manuscripts are of much later date than the works they contain; as a result, they bear the signs of later scribes having modified the spellings, with greater or lesser consistency, in accord with conventions of their time. In addition, there is considerable regional variation in the spellings that appear in the original texts, which modern editions largely conceal. The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses

1800-435: The original nominal phrase. The possessive pronouns mîn, dîn, sîn, ir, unser, iuwer are used like adjectives and hence take on adjective endings following the normal rules. The inflected forms of the article depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. The definite article has the same plural forms for all three genders. Definite article (strong) The instrumental case , only existing in

1850-401: The paradoxical situation and convinces Laudine that the victor over Askalon would be a worthy successor as husband, Lord of the land and protector of the fountain. In a comedic enactment (as all the parties are already aware of the intentions of the other) Iwein and Laudine come together under the mediation of Lunete. Soon thereafter the wedding is celebrated. Then the court of Arthur arrives at

1900-596: The phonemic system of modern German, though not all dialects participated equally in these changes: The centres of culture in the ENHG period are no longer the courts but the towns. The dialect map of Germany by the end of the Middle High German period was much the same as that at the start of the 20th century, though the boundary with Low German was further south than it now is: Central German ( Mitteldeutsch ) Upper German ( Oberdeutsch ) With

1950-559: The poem in a number of frescos . Iwein is generally regarded as the last of Hartmann's works. It must already have been well known to the audience for Wolfram 's Parzival , since Wolfram alludes in two passages (253, 10–14 and 436,1–10) to a specific scene in Iwein : he contrasts the faithfulness of Sigûne to her dead suitor Schianatulander with Lûnete's advice to Laudine in Iwein to marry her husband's killer ( Iwein , ll.1815ff.). Since Parzival must have been completed after 1203, this

2000-560: The preceding Old High German period: Culturally, the two periods are distinguished by the transition from a predominantly clerical written culture, in which the dominant language was Latin , to one centred on the courts of the great nobles, with German gradually expanding its range of use. The rise of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in Swabia makes the South West the dominant region in both political and cultural terms. Demographically,

2050-423: The search for honour in chivalry , since his fame is ever-lasting. The author is then introduced, in the third person, as a learned knight who writes poetry. Whitsun festivities are taking place at the Arthurian court. The knight Kalogrenant tells of an adventure in which he visited a spring in the wilderness and was defeated by the knight who defended the spring. The story begins with a Whitsun celebration at

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2100-423: The source, and Iwein must try out his role as fountain-protector for the first time. This succeeds against Keie , the exemplarily resentful knight of the court of Arthur. The entire court now celebrate the marriage of Iwein and Laudine. Thereby the plot arrives at a temporary ending - as well as the êre of victory Iwein has, unlooked for, achieved a wife and Lordship. On the urging of his friend Gawain , who uses

2150-415: The text). The painful parting of the lovers is characterised by Minneharmonie . In a dialogue between the narrator and Lady Love it is stated that Iwein and Laudine have swapped their hearts, which will lead to momentous consequences. Iwein gives himself up to the excitement of tournaments and notices only too late that he had already missed the pre-appointed deadline by six weeks. Lunete sues him before

2200-475: The themes of the courtly romance were by this time familiar to his German listeners, Hartmann no longer needed lengthy explanatory digressions such as are found in Erec . The additional material, apart from the inevitable increase involved with translation, represents, in particular, Hartmann's different approach to the relationship of Laudine and Lunete. A prologue introduces King Arthur as an example to emulate in

2250-481: The villagers who want to avenge their lord's death. During his escape from the castle, Ywain sees Esclados' widow and falls in love with her. Ywain, with Lunete's help, wins Laudine's hand and marries her. Lunete grows to become a close friend and confidant to the Lady of the Fountain. Ywain and the Lady of the Fountain are married for many years; but one day, Gawain arrives and reminds Ywain of his absence from his chivalric duties and from King Arthur's court. The Lady of

2300-407: The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech. The preterite conjugation went as follows: The present tense conjugation went as follows: The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech. The preterite conjugation went as follows: In the Middle High German period, the rise of a courtly culture and the changing nature of knighthood was reflected in changes to the vocabulary. Since

2350-463: The wording of individual lines and in the treatment of the material in Yvain . The B version contains 150 lines not matched in A, while A has 24 lines not in B. However, there is nothing to distinguish the additional material in B from the rest of the poem, so the additions cannot be seen as later interpolations by a different hand. All in all, these circumstances indicate that A and B cannot have come from

2400-524: The written language appear more consistent than it actually is in the manuscripts. Scholars are uncertain as to whether the literary language reflected a supra-regional spoken language of the courts. An important development in this period was the Ostsiedlung , the eastward expansion of German settlement beyond the Elbe - Saale line which marked the limit of Old High German . This process started in

2450-427: Was a present participle, a past participle and a verbal noun that somewhat resembles the Latin gerund , but that only existed in the genitive and dative cases. An important distinction is made between strong verbs (that exhibited ablaut ) and weak verbs (that didn't). Furthermore, there were also some irregular verbs. The present tense conjugation went as follows: The bold vowels demonstrate umlaut ;

2500-517: Was completed around the start of the 13th century. Hartmann's source was the Old French epic Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion by Chrétien de Troyes , which was written 1177–1181. In contrast to his rather free version of Erec and Enide , Hartmann's translation of Iwein remains much closer to the French original, though Iwein is nonetheless longer than Yvain by 1351 lines, around 20%. As

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