Taggart, Charles
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Taking Flight: Gottfried’s Tristan, Arthurian Literature and Learning to Forget the Round Table Charles Wilson Taggart Erie, Pennsylvania B.A., McGill University, 2007 M.A., University of Virginia, 2010 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures University of Virginia May, 2014 i Abstract.............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................v A Note on Citations..........................................................................................................vii Chapter One - Introduction The Many Texts of Tristan...................................................................................................1 Tristan and Arthurian Romance...........................................................................................7 A Short Glossary..................................................................................................................9 Chapter Summaries............................................................................................................10 Chapter Two - Crying Out in the Wilderness Introduction........................................................................................................................15 Enter the Malcontent..........................................................................................................18 Rolling the Dice.................................................................................................................23 Going Mad.........................................................................................................................34 Genre Fatigue.....................................................................................................................44 Reinvention........................................................................................................................57 Chaos Through Flattery......................................................................................................62 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................70 Chapter Three - The Knight as a Deconstructive Force Introduction........................................................................................................................75 The Orator and Poet...........................................................................................................79 Troubles at Court...............................................................................................................85 Going in Circles.................................................................................................................97 Joie de La Court...............................................................................................................105 Reading Be Bad...............................................................................................................110 A Game of Chess..............................................................................................................116 The Man in the Boat........................................................................................................122 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................130 ii Chapter Four - The Renunciants Introduction......................................................................................................................133 Paternal Textual Legacies................................................................................................137 Herzeloyde, Trevrizent and the Grail...............................................................................147 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................156 Chapter 5 - The Senselessness of Doubt Introduction......................................................................................................................159 The Reluctant Adventurer................................................................................................165 The Problem of Certainty.................................................................................................171 Incident in the Bath..........................................................................................................176 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................185 Bibliography Primary Sources...............................................................................................................191 Secondary Sources...........................................................................................................192 Abstract iii This dissertation is an examination of the Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg through the lens of five other French and German Arthurian Romances from the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. I begin with a comparison of Yvain by Chrétien de Troyes and Iwein by Hartmann von Aue with Gottfried’s Tristan. I suggest that these three texts problematize the capacity for fiction to signify to a listening audience. The following chapter introduces the idea of flight from the fetters of language through an examination of Chrétien’s Erec et Enide, Hartmann’s Erec and Gottfried’s Tristan. I then consider the presence and effects of texts in the adaptation of Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach. The protagonist’s process of maturation involves not only learning about these texts but accepting the need to renounce them. In my final chapter, I look at the figure of King Mark in Tristan and his inescapable state of doubt and despair (zwîvel). In these three chapters, I investigate points of intersection between Tristan and the genre now termed Arthurian Romance in order to highlight several ways in which all these texts present language as both a burden but also a tool for escape. iv Acknowledgements v It is with great thanks that I acknowledge the support of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. Generous funding from the Graduate School along with the intellectual rigor of the German Department have made me a better student and scholar than I would have thought possible. While I owe all my professors and instructors a debt of gratitude, I am particularly thankful for the time, support and attention of my dissertation advisor, Professor William C. McDonald. Upon receiving my M.A. from UVA, “Herr Mac” suggested that I write a dissertation on Tristan and art. It was this straightforward and useful suggestion which resulted in the dissertation in front of you. I would also like to thank the three other dissertation committee members: Professors Benjamin Bennett and Chad Wellmon from the German Department and Professor A.C. Spearing from the English Department. Their comments and suggestions have been instrumental in showing me how to develop this project further in the future. This dissertation would not be possible if not for my colleagues. I came to graduate school quite ignorant of what was in store for me, and the advice and support of the other graduate students in the German Department has been invaluable for this journey along the twisted paths of academia. Finally, I should like to thank Beatrice Waegner, a comrade-in-arms and a Germanistin of the highest order. vi A Note on Citations vii The primary works will be cited parenthetically in the body of the dissertation. Generally, the Old French or Middle High German will be given first along with line numbers, followed by an English translation with the appropriate page number in the translation. The particular editions used in this dissertation are listed in the first portion of the bibliography under “Primary Sources.” To prevent confusion between different adaptations, I have opted to use the following abbreviations: Chrétien de Troyes: Erec et Enide appears as EE. Lancelot appears as L. Yvain appears as Y. Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan appears as T. Hartmann von Aue: Der arme Heinrich appears as DaH. Erec appears as E. Gregorius appears as G. Iwein appears as I. Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival appears as P. 1 Chapter One Introduction The Many Texts of Tristan I began this dissertation with the intention of writing about the Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg and the role of art. I was aware that several scholars had already addressed the prominence of music, foreign languages and literature in the text, most notably W.T.H. Jackson in his monograph, Anatomy of Love,1 and Wolfgang Mohr in his article, “Tristan und Isold als Künstlerroman.”2 Guided by a stubborn ignorance about the scope of the project and largely incognizant of relevant monographs and articles, I initially attempted to turn a broad and undefined definition of “art” into a realizable research plan. These investigations bore no fruit. After several months, I was still in need of a more clearly defined focal point for the dissertation and was lacking viable leads. Amidst acts of indiscriminate reading and precious little