German Romance V: Erec

German Romance V: Erec

Hartmann von Aue
Edited and Translated by Cyril Edwards
Series: Arthurian Archives
Copyright Date: 2014
Edition: NED - New edition
Published by: Boydell and Brewer,
Pages: 600
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt6wpbw5
Search for reviews of this book
  • Cite this Item
  • Book Info
    German Romance V: Erec
    Book Description:

    Erec is the earliest extant German Arthurian romance, freely adapted and translated into Middle High German by the Swabian knight, Hartmann von Aue, from the first Old French Arthurian romance, Chrétien de Troyes' Erec et Enide. Hartmann's work dates from c. 1180, but the only (almost) complete manuscript dates from the early sixteenth century, copied into the huge two-volume Ambraser Heldenbuch, now housed in Vienna - the most comprehensive extant compilation of medieval German romances and epics, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I. Otherwise, only a few earlier medieval fragments survive. Erec tells the story of a young knight at King Arthur's court, whose early prowess wins him high repute, and a beautiful wife, Enite. He falls into disrepute because of his excessively zealous devotion of his time to her. Alerted to his notoriety, he embarks on a series of symbolic adventures, which eventually lead to his achieving a new balance between the claims of love and those of society. Far more than a simple translation, Hartmann's first attempt at an Arthurian romance is notable for its zest and gusto. This is the first edition with a parallel text translation into English; it is presented with explanatory notes and variant readings. Cyril Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow of Oxford University's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, and an Honorary Research Fellow of University College London.

    eISBN: 978-1-78204-371-3
    Subjects: Film Studies, Language & Literature

Table of Contents

  1. Front Matter
    (pp. i-iv)
  2. Table of Contents
    (pp. v-vi)
  3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    (pp. vii-viii)
  4. INTRODUCTION
    (pp. ix-xviii)

    In recent years Hartmann von Aue’s first Arthurian romance,Erec, may be said to have gravitated towards the centre of interest of medieval German studies. This is evinced by no less than three editions. The first of these was the seventh, revised edition, by Kurt Gärtner, in the Altdeutsche Textbibliothek series, which takes into account the discovery in 2004, in Zwettl, of fragments of a newErectext, like Hartmann’s romance a translation from Chrétien de Troyes’sErec et Enide, but entirely independent of Hartmann (and inferior to his adaptation). This has not been considered in this edition. The other...

  5. Erec

    • [Introduction]
      (pp. 2-3)

      The beginning of Hartmann’s Erec is missing in the Ambraser Heldenbuch, the only extant (almost) complete manuscript, and in the fragments. We are therefore dependent on Chrétien de Troyes for a prologue, and the beginning of the story. To judge by Hartmann’s other prologues, he would have diverged considerably from his source. Opposite is Chrétien’s beginning.¹ The transition from Chrétien to Hartmann is not entirely seamless, given Hartmann’s free treatment of his original.

      The peasant in his proverb says that one might find oneself holding in contempt something that is worth much more than one believes; therefore a man does...

    • I. The Stranger Knight and his Dwarf
      (pp. 4-15)
    • II. Coralus and Enite
      (pp. 16-35)
    • III. The Combat for the Sparrowhawk
      (pp. 36-57)
    • IV. King Arthur’s Justice after the Killing of the White Stag and Iders’s Arrival in Cardigan
      (pp. 58-67)
    • V. Erec’s Last Night in his Father-in-Law’s House
      (pp. 68-77)
    • VI. Enite’s Reception at King Arthur’s Court
      (pp. 78-99)
    • VII. Erec and Enite Marry
      (pp. 100-121)
    • VIII. The Tournament between Tarebron and Prurin
      (pp. 122-153)
    • IX. Erec’s Return Home; his Sloth
      (pp. 154-167)
    • X. Erec’s Fight with Robbers; his Harshness io Enite
      (pp. 168-185)
    • XI. Lady Enite’s Ruse
      (pp. 186-225)
    • XII. Guivreiz li Pitiz
      (pp. 226-245)
    • XIII. Erec’s Encounter with Kay
      (pp. 246-261)
    • XIV. Erec’s Encounter with Gawein; Morgan le Fay
      (pp. 262-283)
    • XV. Erec Fights with Two Giants
      (pp. 284-305)
    • XVI. Erec’s Collapse and Enite’s Despair
      (pp. 306-327)
    • XVII. Count Oringles in Limors; Erec and Enite Reconciled
      (pp. 328-359)
    • XVIII. Erec Encounters Guivreiz; his Sojourn in Penefric
      (pp. 360-381)
    • XIX. Enite’s Palfrey
      (pp. 382-409)
    • XX. Castle Brandigan
      (pp. 410-451)
    • XXI. Joie de la Curt and the Red Knight
      (pp. 452-489)
    • XXII. Mabonagrin’s Tale
      (pp. 490-507)
    • XXIII. The Eighty Widows; the Return to Arthur’s Court
      (pp. 508-521)
    • XXIV. Erec’s Homecoming
      (pp. 522-530)
  6. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
    (pp. 531-536)
  7. INDEX OF PEOPLE AND PLACES
    (pp. 537-540)
  8. Back Matter
    (pp. 541-543)