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Ulrich von Liechtenstein

Ulrich von Liechtenstein(ca. 1200 – 26 January 1275) was a Germanminnesinger,poetandknightof theMiddle Ages.He wrote poetry inMiddle High Germanand was author of noted works about how knights and nobles may lead more virtuous lives. Ulrich was a member of a wealthy and influentialministerialisfamily fromLiechtensteininStyria.He was born about 1200 atMurauin theDuchy of Styria,nowStyria,Austria.

Portrait of Ulrich from theCodex Manesse

Ulrich wrote his stories at a time when knightly ideals were just being promulgated from Western Europe. He outlines rules forknights,ministeriales, and free nobles to follow to lead honorable and courtly lives. There are several instances where he places the (unfree) ministerials and the free nobles in one category separate from the knights to point out the nobility of his own estate.[1]

Details of Ulrich's life are difficult to ascertain. Much of what scholars know relies heavily upon information gleaned from his often-fictional, self-styled autobiographical work theFrauendienst(trans.Service of Ladies). Separating fact from stylized hyperbole has proven difficult for historians.[2]

Life

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From the age of 12 onwards, Ulrich received training as apageto a lady of much higher station than his family[3]followed by another four years as asquiretoMargrave Henry of Istria,[4]son of DukeBerthold IV of Merania,he was knighted by theBabenbergdukeLeopold VI of Austriain 1222. Ulrich is documented as a StyrianTruchsessin 1244/45, from 1267 to 1272Marshaland in year 1272 also a provincialjudge.

WhenPhilipofSponheim,the Archbishop-Elect ofSalzburg,was deposed byPope Alexander IVfor refusing to take holy orders, Philip raised an army to defend his title. In 1250, Ulrich agreed to fight for Philip's cause in return for Philip's arranging a beneficial marriage of Ulrich's son, Ulrich II, to Kunigunde of Goldegg and Philip added a dowry of 400 Salzburg pounds to the agreement. In return Ulrich I agreed to provide Philip with 100 fighting men for his cause.[5]In August 1252 Philip's forces decisively defeated his enemies at the Battle ofSachsenburgon theDrava,and Ulrich was one of seven who mediated the ensuing peace.[6]

Leader of the Styrian nobility, Ulrich had a hand in absorbing the duchy into the possessions ofRudolph of Habsburgafter the ducal House of Babenberg had become extinct in 1246. It is possible that Ulrich was one of the noblemen taken prisoner by KingOttokar II of Bohemiain 1269. He owned three castles, besides Liechtenstein another at Strechau nearLassingin theEnnsValley[7]and the third at his birthplaceMurau.When his son Ulrich II married, Ulrich bestowed upon the couple the castle of Murau along with twenty vassals and revenue.[8]

Many aspects of his life are unrecorded, but some genealogy survives. He had a brother named Hartnid who served as Bishop ofGurkfrom 1283 to 1298[9]and a brother named Dietmar IV of Liechtenstein-Offenburg, who had a son named Gundaker.[10]Besides Ulrich's son, Ulrich II, he had a daughter named Diemut (who married Wulfing of Trennstein), a son named Otto II, and a son-in-law named Herrand II of Wildon by another daughter whose name is unknown.[11]

Ulrich died on 26 January 1275.[12]He was buried inSeckauin modern-day Austria.

Works

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Frauendienst

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Ulrich is famous for his supposedly autobiographical[13]poetry collectionFrauendienst(Service of the Lady). He writes of himself as a protagonist who does great deeds of honor to married noblewomen, following the conventions of chastecourtly love.The protagonist embarks on two remarkable quests. In the first quest, he travels fromVenicetoViennain the guise ofVenus,the goddess of love. He competes injoustsand tourneys and challenges all the knights he meets to aduelin the honour of his lady. He breaks 307 lances and defeats all comers. The noblewoman, however, mostly spurns his affections and demands more deeds and even mutilation for even the honour to hold her hand. In the second quest, he takes on the role ofKing Arthur( "Artus" ), with his followers becoming ArthurianRound Tablecharacters. Regrettably, the first two pages of the beginning have been lost to time. The protagonist, Ulrich, wanders through Styria and Austria in the guise of King Arthur inviting all knights to "break lance" (that is, to joust) three times with him for honor's sake. In this disguise he attended many tournaments. The story illustrates how a worthy knight-errant was supposed to wander about defeating opponents in honorable combat. The story intersperses some songs and courtly advice to knights and some admonitions to greedy nobles and faithless squires.[14]The collection was finished in 1255.[15]

Frauenbuch

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Frauenbuchwas a dialogue set in 1240, published in 1257, lamenting the decay of chivalric courtship.

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The protagonist of the 2001 filmA Knight's Tale,played byHeath Ledger,assumes the title Ulrich von Liechtenstein when he poses as a knight, though his true name is actually William Thatcher. However, the character claims to come fromGelderland,which was not in Styria but rather in theLow Countries.

Notes

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  1. ^Freed, pp. 263-5
  2. ^Freed, pp. 249-251
  3. ^Freed, p. 252
  4. ^Freed states that "The text (stanza 29) says Margrave Henry of Austria, but Heinrich of Mődling was never styled a margrave. Some scholars have thus been inclined to identify Ulrich's teacher as Margrave Heinrich IV of Istria." Freed, p. 252 n. 82.
  5. ^Arnold, p. 105; Freed, p. 199
  6. ^Freed, p. 200-1
  7. ^Freed, p. 200
  8. ^Arnold, p. 178, Freed, p. 263
  9. ^Freed, p. 266
  10. ^Freed, pp. 199-200
  11. ^Freed, p. 262
  12. ^Freed, p. 250
  13. ^Alluded to in stanza 397, lines 1-4. Freed, p. 250
  14. ^Freed, p. 254-5
  15. ^Emmerson, Richard K. (2013-10-18).Key Figures in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia.Routledge.ISBN9781136775192.

Bibliography

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  • Arnold, Benjamin.German Knighthood 1050-1300Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985)
  • Freed, John B.Noble Bondsmen: Ministerial Marriages in the Archdiocese of Salzburg, 1100–1343(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995)
  • Murray, Alan V., 'Tourney, Joust, Foreis and Round Table: Tournament Forms in the Frauendienst of Ulrich von Liechtenstein', inPleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Toys, Games, and Entertainment,ed. Albrecht Classen (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2019), pp. 365–94
  • Ulrich von Liechtenstein,The Service of Ladies,translated by J.W. Thomas, UK: Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2004,ISBN1-84383-095-7
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