The Good Sinner

The German knight-poet Hartmann von Aue wrote epic poetry, some of which was about the Arthurian Cycle. He also wrote an early "rags to riches" story called Gregorius, which was popular enough that five intact manuscripts remain, as well as six fragments.

The death of a wealthy duke leaves his very young son and daughter orphaned and destitute. The two have an incestuous union that produces a child, Gregorius, who is born when his parents are still only about eleven years old. A wise old man sends the father to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to repent of his sins. The father dies along the way. The same man tells the mother to put the child in a box and put the box out to sea so God can take care of him. The child is placed in a box with 20 pieces of gold and a tablet explaining his birth.

The box is found by two fishermen who are working on behalf of an abbey. The present the box to the abbot, who tells one of the fisherman to raise the boy as his own. When Gregorius is six, he begins his education under the abbot. He grows into a smart and handsome young man, which makes clear to those around him that he could not be the son of a mere fisherman. Realizing his family is not his own, he talks to the abbot, who gives him the tablet that explains his origin. In order to repent of his parents' sin, he becomes a knight to perform chivalric deeds.

Coming upon a besieged city, he frees it and wins the hand of its mistress. They marry, and he settles down in the city. A maid notices that, there is a room which the knight frequents, after which he always emerges with eyes red from crying. She leads Gregorius' wife there, and they find the tablet that explains his origin. The wife recognizes the tablet, because (in an Oedipal twist), she is the mother who bore him! She realizes that she is his mother and wife and aunt. When he discovers the truth, Gregorius tells his wife-mother to give away all her goods and live a life of poverty as penance. Gregorius has himself chained to a rock in the middle of a lake, and has the keys to his chains thrown into the water by a fisherman. The fisherman says that, if the key is ever found, it will be proof that Gregorius is a holy man whose penance has been accepted by god.

Well! Seventeen years later, two priests have a vision from God that the next pope will be found on a rock in Aquitania, repenting of his sins. The two set off to look for this man, and come upon the fisherman who chained him and threw the key. The fisherman should have simply offered them a meal, but instead he sells them a fish. When the fisherman cuts the fish open to clean it, he finds a key inside. He is horrified that he has chained a holy man to a rock, and also that after seventeen years the man is dead.

He ferries the two clergymen to the rock where they find an emaciated but still-living Gregorius. He unlocks the chain, and Gregorius goes off with the clergymen and becomes pope. As pope, he one day recognizes a poor and penitent woman as his mother, although she does not recognize him. He tells her who he is, and that their penance was sufficient to be forgiven by God.

A real rollercoaster of a story for the 12th century! But was this inspired by a legend of a pope who was the product of incest? Unknown, but incest does haunt the record of a pope who is also reputed to have been born of a concubine. Tomorrow let's look at the disturbing reign of Pope John XII.

The Poet Knight

Hartmann von Aue (born c.1160) started as a member of the lower nobility in Swabia. We don't know precisely where he was born; the "von Aue" tacked onto his name is because he became a knight in the service of the Lords of Aue (Obernau by the River Neckar).

He was educated at a monastery school and became a minor minister at the Swabian court. Whether at the monastery or later we don't know, but besides German he had knowledge of French and Latin. He participated in a Crusade, either the Third Crusade in 1189 or its followup in 1197 (called the "Emperor's Crusade"), when Hohenstaufen Emperor Henry VI tried to redeem the efforts of his father, Emperor Frederick I "Barbarossa," during the Third.

Outside of his knightly duties he was a poet and songwriter. He is considered one of the three great epic poets of Middle High German, along with Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried von Strasburg.

Four narrative poems came from Hartmann's pen, two of which, Erec and Iwein, are part of the Arthurian cycle and help to introducer that subject into German epic poetry. They are based, respectively, on Eric and Enide and Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes.

The other two are Gregorius, adapted from a French epic, and Der arme Heinrich, which tells the story of a leper cured by a young girl.

The date of his death is unknown, but von Strasburg, writing in his "Tristan" c.1210 mentions that Hartmann is still living, while Heinrich von dem Türlin, in his Arthurian poem "Krone" ("The Crown"; c.1215-1220) says Hartmann is deceased.

Gregorius is quite unusual, and a summary here would make this post very long, so I think I'll save it for tomorrow.

Types of Knight

It was mentioned that John de Coupland was made a "knight banneret" after service to King Edward III. What was the significance of this?

The typical knight, the "basic" knight, was a "knight bachelor." This position existed in England during the reign of Henry III (1216 - 1272). The word "bachelor" denoted a junior rank, and had nothing to do with marital status. In fact, a wife gained some status when her husband was knighted. A knight bachelor would be addressed as "Sir John Smith" or "Sir John," and his wife would be addressed as "Lady Smith." The same naming convention applies in modern times.

The knight does not have any letters after his name the way, say, Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire get to write "MBE" after their name. Conversely, you may be given an honor such as the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, but this does not come with the honorific "Sir" or "Lady." It is an honor, not a title.

A 'knight banneret' was different from a knight bachelor. The outward sign that one was a knight banneret was, as the name implies, a knight who had a banner. Knights bachelor fought under the banner of their lord. A knight banneret could have his own coat of arms on a banner in battles, and could have his own contingent in battle who bore his standard. That standard was a squared banner, not a tapering standard or pennon (see illustration of a knight banneret).

The banneret was not a hereditary title like count or duke that could be passed to sons, but it had other benefits. The knight banneret would be paid more during war time. The wife of a knight banneret could be called banneress. Because the banneret title was given for valor in battle or special service to the king, it often led also, for the recipient, additional privileges such as other titles or estates. The 14th century saw some confusion when some knights banneret also were elevated as barons. Which designation was more appropriate? The resolution was to refer to the subject as a baron in a civil context and as a banneret in a military context, when they could request a higher rate of pay.

The knight bachelor had no distinguishing insignia that would compare to the other's banner. In 1926, however, King George V authorized the wearing of a badge for knights bachelor on appropriate occasions. (Illustrated.)

The illustration at top is of Hartmann von Aue, a 12th-century German knight. Let's talk about him tomorrow.