PERSONAL CLOTHING IN WOLFRAM'S PARZIVAL AND WILLEHALM: SYMBOLISM AND SIGNIFICANCE by PAULA BARRAN WEISS B.A., College of William and Mary, 1971 M.A., Cornell University, 1973 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of Germanic Studies We accept this thesis as conforming - to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August, 1976 0 Paula Barran Weiss,.1976 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of German The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date O ABSTRACT This study is a discussion of the use of clothing symbolism by Wolfram von Eschenbach in Parzival and in Willehalm, investi• gating whether he did in fact use clothing symbols, how he made use of them, and suggesting some explanation for why he used them. The reasonableness of the hypothesis that clothing sym• bols were used is established by the existence of a strong symbolic tradition in the times in which Wolfram was writing, an era in which everything participated in the fundamental underlying unity of all creation and therefore had the potential for acting as symbols of those aspects to which a relationship was established. The hypothesis is further supported by the existence of confessed clothing symbolism in the garments used in the services of the Church during Wolfram's lifetime, and made likely by the use of admitted clothing symbols in the narrative poetry of Wolfram's contemporaries, notably Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Strassburg, and the author of the Nibelungenlied. Elements of medieval clothing which contribute to the symbolic potential of the various garments are examined. These include color and style as well as legal restrictions covering the use of certain clothing styles by certain classes of society. The following groups of clothing and clothing-related articles are considered separately: armor, clothing on formal occasions, daily clothing, gemstones, gifts of clothing and aid Supervisor: Professor Michael S. Batts offered in the act of robing and disrobing. The same dis• tinctions are followed in the discussion of personal clothing in Willehalm, but the discussion is confined to a single chapter. Individual considerations which are important in estab• lishing a firm support for the arguments are elements of contemporary culture which establish symbolic significance for certain articles, among them lapidaries, bestiaries, and the customs of the Church. A very important aspect of the argument is the establishment of an interpretation that is coherent in terms of the parameters of the narrative as a whole. The general conclusions reached are that the use of clothing symbolism is supported by personal admission of the author, the existence of a strong tradition, and by poetic use within the narrative, notably by the creation of incon• gruity of situation which indicates an extended meaning. Clothing symbols are valuable tools for the poet's character• ization as well as for scene linkage and are used furthermore to suggest an inner reality which is not necessarily supported by the external evidence offered. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYMBOLS. MEDIEVAL CLOTHING AND ITS SYMBOLIC POTENTIAL .. 26 TWO ARMOR 58 THREE CLOTHING ON FORMALIZED OCCASIONS.. 113 FOUR DAILY CLOTHING 142 FIVE GEMS 165 SIX GIFTS OF CLOTHING. OFFERING OF AID AND ASSISTANCE 178 SEVEN PERSONAL CLOTHING IN WILLEHALM 195 CONCLUSION. 218 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . .. 227 NOTES 229 LIST OF WORKS CITED 249 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a great deal of gratitude to Michael.S. Batts who super• vised the writing of this thesis and offered unfailing good advice on all aspects of the work involved. I would also like to thank Rev. Robert F. McNamara and Michael Resler for pro• viding me with obscure material, The Ohio State University for permitting me to make use of their library facilities, and my husband, Bill, for exhibiting extraordinary patience during the past year. P.B.W. v INTRODUCTION Symbolism in its broadest sense as the representation of one thing by another was an undeniable facet of medieval man's life. In a world fashioned by God's hand, all aspects of reality were interconnected, all served God's ultimate scheme. Because of this interconnection, a network of similarities was easily seen to exist and one separate unit or object might well be thought to be very much the same as another, similar enough so that one was used to represent or symbolize the other.: Symbolism, whether conscious or unconscious, always fundamental in thinking, became in the Middle Ages both the natural medium of thought and expression, and an instrument consciously developed as the truest means of penetration into the mystery of reality. It was such, in whichever branch of knowl• edge lay the seeker's interest: for all were united in their goal .1 This basic view of a unified and interrelated creation naturally touched everything created during the Middle Ages. Medieval man saw symbols in everything around him and placed symbols in everything he wrote, carved, and painted: It is a characteristic trait of medieval life and literature that a thing may appear in more than one function, that is, it can appear as itself and also as a symbol or outward manifestation of something else, some idea or quality. This is particularly true of religious literature, es• pecially of mystical writings, and the medieval love of symbolism and allegory is patently obvious in such works as the Physiologus and the commentaries on the Song of Solomon, but xt is by no means con• fined to the religious sphere. The dictum of St. Irenaeus 'nihil vacuum neque sine signo apud Deum' finds expression almost everywhere, as symbolism and allegory are the best medium for expressing philo• sophical, metaphysical and religious ideas to people 1 2 unaccustomed to reading, but impressionable to visual imagery.2 Philosophy and religion, inextricably intertwined, provide examples of this fact as well as possible origins for this particular unified Weltanschauung. The Bible, prime document of Christianity, was interpreted typologically from the first; references in Epistles of St. Paul to Adam as a type of Christ3 and the wandering Israelites as types of later Christians^ led to much lengthier discussions by the Church Fathers on the matter. Early devotional poetry adopted some Biblical symbolism and imagery, and produced even more, especially in Marian poetry, where every conceivable image was put to use.5 The following verses are from the Melker Marienlied, written in the first half of the twelfth century: Ju in deme gespreidach Moyses ein fiur gesach. daz holz niene bran, den louch sah er obenan, der was lanch unde breit: daz bezeichint dine magetheit, Sancta _ Maria. Ysayas der wlssage der habet din gewage, der quot wie vone Jesses stamme wiiehse ein gerte danne. del vone scol ein bluome varen: diu bezeichint dich unde din barn, Sancta Maria.6 The stanzas of this hymn interpret various phenomena as sym• bolic of Mary or certain of her aspects: her virginity or her position in the course of the redemption of mankind. The images used in early devotional poetry are highly visual and were easily reproduced in the plastic arts, showing a naivete 3 of imagery which indicates the existence of a less sophisticated literary age on whom subtler symbols might be lost. During the Middle Ages art was primarily religious art, and although the images were not always created to function as symbols, later interpretations show that they lent themselves to symbolic interpretation. Certain aspects of early Christian art were conceived as tools in light of the existence of an illiterate faithful and the need for secrecy and secret signs and signals occasioned by the persecutions: When the new religion broke new ground and attracted the pagan masses, it had to come to terms with the : mind of the illiterate classes who needed images to guide their belief. Having allowed such imagery against its inclination, Christianity had to purge it of that physical emphasis which, ever since the Greeks, had made it a reflection of earthly things. If it was to be no longer an object of worship, but only a means to it, the image was none the less to play a part in the new faith very like the one it had held in the old religions of the East. It was an instrument of theology, the figurative inter• mediary on which faith leans in order to appreciate the dogma of which the image is only the garment and representation.7 Architecture and other artistic areas added symbolism to structural necessity or existing fact: the cathedral is said to represent a cross in its shape--and indeed it does—yet had it appeared in any other shape, medieval symbolists would certainly have presented an equally convincing, equally devotional interpretation. It is difficult to determine whether or not the symbolic aspects of early Christian art were really present in the minds of the creators; it is obvious', however, that they were uppermost in the minds of the medieval viewers. For the two centuries following the persecutions, when Christianity reigned as the Roman Empire's official religion, :•: 4 architecture was developed more fully than other facets of religious art.