UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/87n0t2tm Author Fockele, Kenneth Elswick Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Niklaus Largier, chair Professor Elaine Tennant Professor Frank Bezner Fall 2016 Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang © 2016 by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Abstract Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Niklaus Largier, Chair Despite the centrality of medieval courtly love lyric, or Minnesang, to the canon of German literature, its interpretation has been shaped in large degree by what is not known about it—that is, the lack of information about its authors. This has led on the one hand to functional approaches that treat the authors as a class subject to sociological analysis, and on the other to approaches that emphasize the fictionality of Minnesang as a form of role- playing in which genre conventions supersede individual contributions. I argue that the men who composed and performed these songs at court were, in fact, using them to create and curate individual profiles for themselves. The project of these poets is to persuade the audience of their own ethical insight and aesthetic skill. Each, in his own way, seeks to portray himself as the master of all possibilities offered by courtly song. In chapter one, using the manuscript versions of a song by Heinrich von Morungen, I develop a new concept of authorship for the unstable medium of medieval lyric. Drawing on the insights of Material Philology, I show that Morungen anticipated and made use of this instability (or mouvance), imbuing his songs with the imprint of his authorship in a way that allows for the vagaries of oral and even written transmission. In chapter two, I explore the tension between a stable author figure and an unstable medium. Modern editorial practices have oversimplified the transmission of the lyric of Reinmar der Alte in the service of an exaggerated image of him as the virtuoso of joy in suffering unrequited love. Through a close reading of four versions of one of Reinmar’s songs, I argue that the author emerges as the master of the sum of a flexible array of aesthetic and ethical possibilities. In chapter three, I use the conceptual framework developed in these close readings to sketch a broader picture of one poet as an author. Through a survey of Heinrich von Veldeke’s songs, I show that juxtaposing contrasting perspectives throws into relief the implied author as a clerically educated figure who has mastered varied domains of intellectual and aesthetic knowledge and skill. By means of a comparison with the Latin poetry of Peter of Blois, I sharpen the contours of Veldeke’s mode of clerical authorship. The form of authorship that I identify in this dissertation—the author as master of possibilities—is specific to Minnesang, but suggests that there are types of authorship particular to other genres and other moments in time that remain to be defined. 1 For my family i Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................... iii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1. Versions of the Self: Mouvance and Authorship in Heinrich von Morungen ..... 5 The Figure of the Author ............................................................................................. 6 Mouvance and Authorial Reputation ......................................................................... 12 2. A Song of Selves: Reinmar der Alte as Master of Possibilities ........................... 21 The Song in Transmission ......................................................................................... 26 The Dream of Order .................................................................................................. 30 Multiplicity and Mastery ........................................................................................... 34 Reading the Versions ................................................................................................. 40 3. Perspectives on the Self: Heinrich von Veldeke as Clerical Author ................... 44 Multiple Voices, Multiple Perspectives ..................................................................... 45 The Clerical Self ........................................................................................................ 58 The View Through the Lover .................................................................................... 62 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 75 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 77 Manuscripts ............................................................................................................... 77 Published Primary Sources ........................................................................................ 77 Secondary Sources ..................................................................................................... 79 ii Acknowledgments It is a joy to think back on everyone who has helped and encouraged me in the years I have been studying Minnesang and to recall their little, nameless, but well remembered acts of kindness and of love. Without the salutary influence of Jamie Rankin and Sally Poor at Princeton, I would never have encountered German literature. To Jamie, thank you for opening up a whole new world. To Sally, thank you for transporting me to the part of it where I have been at home for more than a decade. To Ingrid Kasten, the best—and warmest—of scholars, and the members of her research colloquium at the Freie Universität Berlin, I owe my introduction to the world of Altgermanistik: Nina Nowakowski, Johannes Traulsen, Peter Baltes, Martin Baisch, Elke Koch, and Jutta Eming. The germ of this project was born in a seminar with Volker Mertens and conversations with Franziska Hammer. My notion of real intellectual curiosity comes from the example of Anthony Mahler. To Michael and Brigitte Kogelschatz, I can never thank you enough for welcoming me into your home and your family. For their example of devoted scholarship, hours of guidance, and many sugary delights, I am indebted to Mark Chinca and Chris Young. For many inspiring discussions, I am grateful to Esther Laufer, Sarah Bowden, Charlotte Lee, Mark Austin, and Ed Saunders. I remember fondly the happy hours in the halls and gardens of Cambridge with Molly Fox, Lindsay Chura, Tae-Yeoun Keum, and company. The early morning runs that gave me new life on rainy days could not have been shared with stauncher friends than Phil Doyle, Abby Wild, Arathi Sriprakash, and Amanda Dennis. More than anything else, the intellectual ferment of Berkeley has shaped this project. From the first, Elaine Tennant has been the very model of a scholar, a teacher, and a colleague. I always try to live up to your example. Frank Bezner has led me down the twisting paths of medieval intellectual and literary scholarship with a sure foot and guiding hand. I owe you my sense of where I am. And Niklaus Largier has showed me what intellectual generosity can be. From your sense of possibilities, I learned to see the big picture. Karen Feldman was a careful reader and clear-eyed advisor, Chenxi Tang pushed me to think broadly, and Tony Kaes inspired my tiger’s leap into the past. Niko Euba taught me by word and example how to be a good teacher and advocate for students. In Medieval Studies, Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe stretched my scholarly boundaries, David Hult introduced me to the world of medieval French, and Maureen Miller taught me how to read like a historian. Over the years, the staff has made the German Department a welcoming place. I am especially grateful for the help and kindness of Elisabeth Lamoureaux, Myriam Cotton, Nadia Samadi, Cathie Jones, Andrea Rapport, and Veronica Lopez. iii For the generous support of the research that made this project possible, I thank the Gates Cambridge Trust, Mellon Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service, Pembroke College, Berkeley German Department, Berkeley Program in Medieval Studies, Max Kade Foundation, Townsend Center, and Humboldt Universität Berlin. The ideas that built my arguments were hammered out in many classes and presentations. A few of those presentations came at the conferences of the Berkeley German Department (2011), the University of British Columbia German Department (2011), the Modern Language Association (2013), and the Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo (2013, 2015). I profited especially from colloquia at Stanford and Berkeley (2013), Toronto (2014), Berkeley (2013, 2014, 2015), and the Freie Universität Berlin (2016). For the opportunities to present, I thank Erik Born, Yael Almog, Lydia Jones, Catherine