Per Mike Lurie's research and presentation last week, we can understand Wolfram von Eschenbach to be a Teutonic knight, even though he identifies himself as a Bavarian knight (being from Bavaria), because he was buried in a church graveyard where Teutonic knights were buried.
As I mentioned in my presentation yesterday, many of the early Military-Hospitaller Orders were chartered around already extant groups of knights/soldiers/bodyguards who were engaged in the protection of pilgrims or hospitals for pilgrims in the Holy Land; the Teutonic Order was formed out of a defended hopsital for German Christian pilgrims. Around 1192 (at the end of the Third Crusade, or the King's Crusade, during which Richard the Lionheart tried to retake Jerusalem from Saladin and Frederick Barbarossa drowned in a river), the pope Clement III gave the Order of Teutonic Knights the thumbs-up, and in 1205 Pope Innocent III endowed them with this uniform: the white habit with a black cross. Their motto was "Helfen, Wehren, Heilen" -- "Help, Defend, Heal."
The statutes of the Order can be read in their entirety in a translation of a 1264 manuscript of the Teutonic "Book of the Order" here:
http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/tk_rule.html
The "Book of the Order" includes a list of reasons why the Order is valid and rules for the behavior of the knights. It's really fascinating, though it seems unlikely that the knights of the Order actually structured their lives thus-- particularly regarding chastity and gossiping. It's known that part of the Pope Approval Package was a dose of indulgences.
Here's an excerpt:
28. How the brethren shall set people a good example.
Whenever the brethren are travelling or going against the enemy or on other business, since they display outwardly by the Cross the sign of meekness and of the Order, they shall strive to show people, by examples of good deeds and useful words, that God is with and within them. If they are on the road at night, they may, after Compline or before Prime, speak of necessary and honest matters, but not in the hospice after Compline has been said, except as prescribed above. They shall avoid inns and places they know are of bad repute; also, in their lodging there shall be in the room where they sleep a light by night, if they can arrange it without great difficulty, so that no harm may come to their good reputation or to their effects. While on the road travelling from place to place, they may attend divine service and prayers wherever they are, and on their return to the house they may, because of weariness from arms or the road, be excused in the morning from Matins and from the Hours; not only those wearied from a journey, but also those who are engaged in necessary business of the house may be excused. Weddings and gatherings of knights and other assemblages, and frivolous amusements, by which through worldly pride the devil is served, the brethren shall rarely attend, though they may attend for the affairs of the Order or to win souls. The brethren shall avoid talking in suspect places and at suspect times with women and, above all, with maidens, and kissing women, which is an open indication of unchastity and worldly love, so that it is forbidden likewise to kiss even their own mothers and sisters. No brother shall have dealings with excommunicated people, or those who are publicly put under the ban, in matters not specially permitted. Likewise, no brother shall become a godfather, except in mortal emergency.
Teuton says heee-eey.
Thanks, Erin! I had no clue how strict the Teutonics were. It seems that Wolfram, with his personal references to women and intimate knowledge of love and festivities (or fun in general), might have been in danger of breaking some of these rigid laws. His broad understanding of and support for courtly society seem at odds to the Teutonic order's spiritually removed asceticism. If *Parzival* is indeed intended as a prescription for proper knightly behavior, then the feasting, jousting, sex-having knights seem antithetical to the--I'm not afraid to say it--boring, Teutonic Knights.
ReplyDeleteBut then again, the story has a whole mess of praying. And there are no inns or hostels--just camping and really nice B&Bs.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, Erin. Like Lenny, I also think it's interesting and perhaps problematic to see how religion influenced the knightly tradition. Honestly, the call to "help, defend, heal" sounds to me like many monastic mottos. If knights like Lancelot in later Arthurian traditions were truly living according to such codes, then it's not so surprising to hear that he became a monk after his career as a knight.
ReplyDeleteThe knights you're describing here also remind me of a modern day interpretation of the knightly ideals. I know that in the contemporary Catholic church, there's an order called the Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus were founded in the late 19th century by a priest who wanted to encourage lay men to perform charitable acts. The motto of the Knights is "charity, unity, fraternity." Clearly, the founder of the Knights had the knightly tradition in mind when he formed the organization, especially the knightly tradition circa Van Eschenbauch's time. According to Joan Grimbert who spoke last week, the 19th century experienced a great revival of many Arthurian traditions in literature and popular culture, so perhaps it's not surprising that the founder of the K of C turned to this particular tradition for inspiration. I just think the Knight of Columbus is a great example of a modern day interpretation or use of the Arthurian tradition. Also, I should mention that the Knights of Columbus is usually made up of men and their sons or daughters, whom they call squires and squire roses, adorable, no?
The knights you're describing here also remind me of a modern day interpretation of the knightly ideals.
ReplyDeleteI totally thought you were using that as your lead-in to the Knights of Justice.
One item I wanted to mention during my presentation is the Most Noble Order of the Garter, formed by King Edward III in 1344 to create a new Round Table-- ostensibly in a fit of nostalgia, although now I wonder if it had something to do with the contemporary English/Welsh competition for ownership of Arthur. Either way, a few years later they were like, oh, the Black Plague is killing everyone, this is stupid.