Ehe, minne, Schuld

Zusammenfassung

Hartmann von Aue’s courtly legend Gregorius draws from an earlier legend in Old French composed by an anonymous author. This paper examines the strategies Hartmann follows in his retelling of the story of a saint born of incest between siblings, who later commits incest with his own mother. Whereas the apparent paradoxes in the plot are not perceived as disturbing due to the didactic nature of the genre, Hartmann’s version of the story yields contradictions which are neither found in the source text nor caused by the logic of the plot. These contradictions can primarily be observed in the discrepancies between histoire and discours. A comparison of the portrayals of the Devil in the source text and in Hartmann’s work shows the contradictions that arise when Hartmann leaves out the anticipatory comments that show the futility of the Devil’s efforts in the Old French legend. By doing so Hartmann seemingly eliminates a contradiction in the portrayal of the Devil (an adversary that is indeed not an adversary), but in turn creates a contradiction in the story logic. Furthermore an examination of both the problematic treatment of courtly love (as Devil’s work on one hand and as a courtly virtue and form of piety on the other) as well as the equally problematic depiction of marriage (both as part of the Devil’s plan and as an instruction from God) is an attempt to illustrate the hidden contradictions that Hartmann incorporates in his text, which offer an insight into the poetic concept Hartmann seems to be following: one of creating coherence through contradiction.