edieval gprman - University of Puget Sound

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F.l. 12.5' of the Manesse (Heidelberg) manuscript (srightly reduced/partial?). Text
of the poern:
Irh saz fif cinte steine . . . by \ualther von der Vogerweide, with p.r-i..ion of Insel
Verlag.
GRnraNo PusrrsHrNG, INc.
Nnw Yonr eNo LoNDoN
r997
Pfeiffer, Franz, ed. Deutsche Mystiker dcs 14. Jahrhwtderts. Giittingen: Vandenhoek,
t907-1914.
Quint, Joseph, ed. Textbuch zur Mystik des deutschen Mittelalters: Meister Eckhart,
Johannes Taulet; Heirn'ich Seuse. Halle: Niemeyer,1952.
A standard work.
Schiirmann, Reiner. Meister Ecklnrt. Mystic and Philosopher. Bloomington: lndiana
uP, 1978.
Tobin, Frank. Meister Eckhart: Thought and Innguage. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
Wehr, Gerhard , ed. Meister Eckhart in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten. Hamburg:
Rowohlt, 1989 (= Rowohlts Monographien).
Johannes Tauler:
Corin, Adolphe L€on,
ed. Sermons de J. Tauler. Lidge & Paris: Bibliothdque de la Facult6
de Philosophie et Lettres de I'Universitd de LiEge, 1929. (Another standard edition).
Gniidinger, Louise, ed. and trans. Johannes Tauler. Ohen: Walter, 1983. (MHG text with
intro. and rnod. Ger. transl.).
Kelley, C. F., ed. and trans. The Book of the Poor in Spirit: A Guide to Rhineland Mysticisnt.
London: Longmans, Creen, 1954. (MHC text with intro. and Engl. trans.).
Morrell, J. R., trans. Jolunnes Tauler: The Following ofCftdsl. London: Unwin, 1910.
Shady, Maria" arans. Johannes Tauler, Sermons. New York: Paulist Press, 1985 (= Classics
of Western Spirituality). (lntro. by Josef Sclunidt and preface by Alois llaas)Vetter, Ferdinand,ed. Die PredigtertThulers. Berlin, 19l0 (= Texte des Mas.). Repr. Frank-
furt/M: Weidmann, 1968. (Standard edition).
See also: Jarnes Clark (1949) under "German
Zeller
(I
Mysticism" and Bemd Jaspe( and Winfried
988) under "Heinrich Seuse" above.
A popular, but useful, rniscellany of information.
Wentzlaff-Eggebert, Friedrich-Wilhelm. Deutsche Mystik zwischen Mittelalter und Neu2
ze it : Einlu ir wtd Wandl utt g ilre r Er s c he inun g sfo nn. Ttibingen : Mohr, I 947.
JOHANNES VON SAAZ (TEPL): DER ACKERMANN (AUS BOHMEN)
One of the classic studies of the subject.
We have chosen to draw our introduction to the study of MHG literature to a conclusion
Texts
& Trans.:
Meister Eckhart:
Colledge, Edmund, and Bernhard McGinn, trans. Meister Eckhart: The Essential Sermotts,
Commentaries, Treatises, and Defense. Preface by Huston Smith. New York: Paulist Press,
l98l (= Classics of Western Spirituality).
Fox, Matthew, lrans. Breaklhrough: Meister Eckhart's Crcation Spirinality in New Transhtion. Ga,rdenCity, New York: Doubleday, 1980.
McGinn, Bernald, et al.,eds. Meister Eckhart-Teacher and Preacher. Preface by Kenneth
Northcott. New York, Mahwah, Toronto: Paulist Press, 1986 (= Classics of Westem Spiritualily). (A second substantial vol. in this series, it provides an authoritative introduction: of
particular interest and use rnay be the "Glossary ofEckhartian Terms" pp. 388-405).
Quint, Josei ed. Meister Eckhart, Deutsche Predigten und Traktate. Ziirich: Diogenes,
1979. (= Diogenes Taschenbuch. 202). Orig. publ. Munich: Hanser, 1963.
Walshe, Maurice O'C., ed. and trans. Meister Eckhart. Sennons andTrealises. Shaftesbury,
Dorset: Element Books, 1979. '1987. 3 vols. (Paperback edition of the Ger. writings by
Ecktart, preface to each vol., and detailed notes).
Heinrich Suso:
Bihlmeyer, Karl , ed. Heinrich Seuse. Deutsche Schriften im Auftrag der Wiirttembergischen
Kommission der Landesgescfticlrts Stuttgart: Kohlharnmer 1907. Repr. FrankfurtiM:
Minerva, 1961.
Hofmann, Georg. Deutsche mystische Schriftenvon Heinrich,Seuse. Darmstadt: Wiss.
Buchges., 1966. (MHG text with mod. Ger. trans.)
Jaspert, Bemd, ed., and Winfried Tnller, sel. Mystische Schrifien: Heinrich Suso und Johannes Tauler. Munich: Eugen Deiderichs, I 988. (A convenient selection of both writers).
Sturlese, Loris, and Riidiger Blurnrich, eds. and arans. Heinricl, Seuse: Das Buch der
Wahrheil. Hamburg: F. MeinerVerlag, 1993. (MHG text with mod. Ger. trans. on adjacent
pages).
Tobin, Frank, ed. and trans. Henry Suso. The Exemplan with two German Sermons. Preface
by Bemard McGinn. New York, Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1989. (= Classics of Westem Spirituality). (A very informative introduction by Tobin, set in the broader context of Gennan
rhysticism. Excellent translation).
See also: Karen Campbell (1991, above).
44A
LITERATURE OF THE LATE I\{IDDLE AGES
with this small but in many ways very significant work. llistorically, the year 1400 is
unremarkable: the deposition of the Emperor Wenzel cannot be seen as a turning point of
any moment in itself (see p. 307), but, as far as the progress of Cerman literature is
concemed, it ushers in a century of signihcant changes in language and thought, a movement away from the Middle Ages into the beginnings of the European Renaissance. In
1400 the impact of printing lay half a century away, still further away the overwhelming
revolution produced by Martin Luther, but in many respects the Ackerman, anticipates
distant developments and has a remarkable ring of modemity about it, though it is simultaneously deeply rooted in the Middle Ages.
By now the Ggma1. lanry_aqe was established as a m
, for
works of factual information, as we have seen, and increasingly for conveying religious
thought, from the sermons of the Franciscan Berthold von Regensburg in the mid-13th
century to the great writings of the mystics which can justly be considered one of the
most significant aspects of German literature of the later Middle Ages. Notably absent is
a considerable work of fiction in prose: the Prosa-Lancelo, remains a strange and iso,
lated phenomenon (see p. 331 f.), and it was not until well into the l5th century that
anything approaching prose fiction in German emerged in the works of Elisabeth von
Nassau-Saarbrucken and Eleanore von Osterreich, who both produccd substantial "no\L
els," which took their material from actual or quasi-historical events.
German prose was, however, the medium for the Ackerntam, and it is no exaggera-
tion to say that the work represents a modest pinnacle in the literary landscape ol the later
Middle Ages in Germany. Moreoveq it is not too strained to think of the work in relation
to some of the diffuse threads of the late l3th century and the l4th century which we
have been considering. Its author is no mystic, yet he may well have had some acquaintance with the writings of the mystics: his own exploration of the relationship between
Man and God is fresh and original, his faith ultimately made more solid by the question-
ing and the doubt. The form of the work is a simple dialogue, yet it is imbued rvith
JOHANNES VON SAAZ (TEPL): DER ACKERMANN (AUS BOHMEN) 4{9
dramatic qualities grcater than most of the drama of the tirne. fle uses the German language with great skill, demonstrating his training in Latin language and rhetorlc, possi-
y@w
here iiffiay iil-ve gainffirfcl i:lieJ 6i Masrer o i e rr s
rvlrich he appends to his riame in the acrostic of the final prayer. Johannes von Tepl was
a scholar of the new age, a teacher and notary in the region of Prague at a time when the
b
.
I
hurnanistic ideas born in the Italy of Dante, and evcn more of Petrarch anq ieglgggo,
Vtverc takine hold in
nflu.n." of
tlte De cott-
solotione Philosophiae of Boethius and, more explicitly, of Petrarch's De rcntediis and,
in the lament lbr the hurnan condition contained in Death's final speech, of the famous
\v
III. The self-confidence o[the humanist is shattered, however,
a..",.onal toss:;;a:6;;lT-iEc"b;ld;fi6?;i;mF;;A;;f-defcnse of
treatise by Pope Innocent
ihyge
irnpacr or
tthc Ploqg[mu,ilis the thinking of the Middle Ages which emerges intacr.
A further factor in our attempt to relate the literature of Germany to its broader context is that the year I 400 is attested as the year of the death of chaucer. It would appear,
then, that one of the great figures of medieval Europe died in the same year as the young
woman Margaretha, whose claim to fame, regardless of scholarly attempts to dispute the
autobiographical basis of the work, lies in the effect of her death on her husband and the
literary immortality which she achieves in the moving debate between the distraught
survivor and Death itselt It provides an interesting perspective on the literature of the
German medieval classical period to remind ourselves how apart it is in time lrom what
is traditionally regarded as the fbcus of English medieval literature.
-
Tbe Ackennann is usually dated very soon after the death of Margaretha,- and its
Jo$n"t
h" 9:rl
author has been established ur
aftg.-gg_lowlljgjgligtr
uon
T"ql, ,ometimes called Johannes v-QO,Saaz,
ohannes
von Schiittwa, the small village in the north-west of Bohemia where he was born.
The popularity of the work in its day is suggested by the relative abundance of manuscripts, though the earliest of these (A) dates from almost fifty years after the original
composition. A further fifteen manuscripts, not all of them complete, belong likewise to
the second half of the I 5th century. In addition, the work exists in seventeen printcd
versions of the second half of the I 5th century and the first half of the I 6th. Despite this
early popularity, the work, like so much of the literature of the German Middle Ages,
disappeared fiom view until it was rediscovered in the lSth century by Gottsched who
planncd an edition based on his painstaking copying of an early printed version. In fact
it was not edited until 1824, when Friedrich von der Hagen produced an edition basetl on
Gottsched's copy. More important than the edition itself, which, with its modernizations
and rnany inconsistencies, was actually rather unsatisfactory, is the evident awareness
which von der Hagen demonstrates of the special qualities of tlris unique work.
An important turning point in the understanding of the Acketntann came relatively
recently as 1933, when a letter was discovered in the University library in^s
Freiburg in
Breisgau. This letter, sent by Jqhannes von Tepl to h
n
Prague-was-celclllJ*yrittcn to accompany rhe lirrle hook wh
e
Acke244rrn.and whichlFaF.htiT* tgqgrlfflr-&n. The letter is a vital ui.l to uu,
understanding of the author's intention, not so much with the content, which is self-
450
LITERATURE OF THE LATE IVttDDLE AGES
evidently an attack on inescapable death, as with the manner of his presentation, his
deliberate use of language in a varied and powerful way. Although Johannes appears to
be lamenting the limitations of the German language, he nevertheless displays a consciousness of what he has achieved and guides us in our analysis of the highly deliberate
style of this extraordinary work. In particular, he points to the paradoxes in style which
are so striking and so much a part of his purpose, aware as he is, for example, that it is
possible to praise and blame the same thing, and to juxtapose humor with seriousness.
The essence of the work is summed up in his statement arenga itruelilur e t
dentollintr (the spokesman inveighs and is brought to submission). Yct tlte submission to
which the Ploughrnan is brought is ultimately a willing one, and the message of the work
is gentle. The bcreaved husband who attacks Death with such venom in the operring
onslaught: "Grimmiger tilger aller lande, schedlicher echtcr aller werlte, freissamcr
mtjrder aller leute, ir Tot, euch sei verfluchet!" ("Death, you grim annihilator of all
lands, you ruinous persecutor of the whole world, hideous nturdcrer of all people, curses
be upon
you!") arrives
at a calm acceptance
ofthe progression ofhuman life in which
death has its place.
into thirty-four chapters. Of these, the majority forms a dialogue
the .enrefen{4r€lcf.M-anJnd DSA!I_1. Only in Chapter XX}lll
v'does God intervene to pronounce judgmeqt, according the victory to Dcath but honor to
the Ploughman, who concludes the work with a tranquil acceptance of the will of God
The
.\- [s1',vgen the Plo'ghrnan,
,
and the commendation of the soul of his wife to Him.
The whole work is remarkable for its fluctuations in mood and tempo, as the debate
two protagonists, reflecting anger and bitterness, exasperation atrd
indignation, contempt and resentment, yet also understanding and deep sadness. Dcspite
tlre limitations which, according to the dedicatory letter to Peter von Tcpl, he perceives
passes between the
as inherent in the German language, the author shows considerable
flexibility and range,
employing a variety of rhetorical devices to great effect and with unique panache. Such
linguistic virtuosity probably stems from his close familiarity with Latin: the name of
Johannes von Tepl is recorded as the director of the Latin school in Saaz, and the only
other works attributable to him are in fact Latin verses. Nevertheless, it is his manipulation of the German language for his purpose which is so remarkable.
'I-he
work belongs in the traclition of thg4rspulatto, the
deb
ing'u/
forces in which each in turn puts forward his point nf view. The structure is based on lhis
t"goiiii"lEGniitio*i-ofi'*se,
the one proragonist the plaintiff, rhe orher the defendant.
However, it is not that clear cut, for the work is characterized by movement, with the
apparently irreconcilable opponents not so much shifting their ground as varying thcir
manner of attack and rebuttal. In this way the work attains the quality of drama, at a tilne
when, as we have seen, drama as we understand it was virtually unknown in Gennany.
Moreover, as the dcbate proceeds, the purely personal gives way to the universal, as
Death comes to see that the Ploughman, initially consumed by grief for his lost wi[e, is
also the spokesman lor all mankind and begins to place his del'ense into a broader context, assuring him that all living things are destined to die and that joy has no part in
man's physical existence.
JOHANNES VON SAAZ (TEPL): DER ACKERIITANN (AUS
BOHMEN) 45I
PYW
-
h
ent and his rejcction of thc lrighcr
aspiratio4s of Man, the Ploughman, the representative of the humanistic view which sees
Man in a positive lig-ht,6-egins to assert a standpoint that is ultimately rnore optimistic. In
a central passage (Chapter 25), he eulogizes the hurnan head for its exquisiteness of form
Against De.uh's contempt for
\alldaStherepositoryofsuchfinesenses.Tris@ely
'irre
d upon the human body a string of abuse,
reducing it to cnrde physical terms, and linking rvith this onslaught a brief disrnissal of
woman who is nothing but a wretched doll, a flower that quickly withers.
Despite the fluctuations within the argument, the essential opposition remains, and
the debate can be resolved only by the intervention of a Higher Power, to whom, as God
rerninds them, they are both subject. [Ie enters on the scene with the parable of the four
seasons, warring among themselves and lorgetting that the power of each of them emanates from Him.
IIis
rneasured allocation of responsibility and achievement moves the
argument to a higher plane and leaves the way clear for the Ploughman's calm statement
ol' his recognition of a Higher Authority, to Whom he is now prepared to entrust all
things, even the soul of his wife.
Der Ackerntattn aus Bbhnrcn has evoked some diametrically opposed views in those
who have devoted their time to it, often to the point of obsession. Of the earliest scholars,
some adhered to the view nf Kotrad Bu(l.h (1926 an<l 1932) who saw it as an early
product of Humanisnr, a rejection of the attitudes of the Middle Ages and an affinnation
of the spirit of Man, contained in a piece of writing essentially confessional in its natr.rre.
C)thers were inclined to accept A:!!:g!\ibno's emphasis on the derivative elements
which root it deeply in medieval tradition (1935 and 1937). Iliibner's opinion that the
rvork was first and foremost a rhetorical exercise seemed to be vindicated, certainly for
I{iibner hirnsclf, by the discovery of the letter of cledication by the author, who makes no
reference to an underlying personal experience which may have inspired it. Probably
none of these extrenlc views of thc work is exclusively right, and one cannot help feeling
Krogmann,
willy,
ed. Johannes von Tbpl: Der Ackernantr. Auf Grund der deutschen
jberlieferung und der tschechisclrcn Bearbeitung krilisch herausgegeben. Wiesbaden:
Brockhaus, 1954 (= Deutsche Klassiker des Mas, N F., I )'
Walshe, M. O'C., ed. Joltumes vonTepl, "Der Ackernnrur tttts Biihmen'" London:
Duckworth, 1951.
ed. Jolnnnes von Tepl. Der Ackennann aus Biihnten. A Working Editio,t with Int,otluction, Notes and Gbssary and the FullText of MSS E urtd I{. Hull: New German Studies,
1982. (A very useful contribution which deserves a more convenient form. It discusses the
_,
manuscripts and contains a nlore recent bibliography than Jungbluth).
Translations:
'[od. Stuttgart:
Cenzmer, F., ed. and trans. Jolnnnes von Tepl. Der Ackermanr und der
notes,
and
afterword).
(MHG
(=
mod.
Ger'
trans',
text
with
U8,7666).
Reclarn, l95l
Krogmann, Willy, trans. Del Ackernann und der Tbd. Ein Strcitgesprticlt vrnt Johannes vtttt
Tepl. Ins Neuhochdeutsche [Jbern'agen von Willy Krogrnann. Mit eirtent Nocllwort r'otl
Reinhold Schneider und denfiinf Holachnitten der Bantberger Friihdrucke. Frankfurt/lvl:
Insel, 1957 Repr. 1985. (The woodcuts are an interesting addition to this little book).
Maurer, K. W., trans. Death and the Plottghnan: An Argwnenl urd a Cortsoktliotr Ji'ont tlrc
Year 1400 by Johann von Tepl.Loru)on: Euston Press, 1947. (Also contains a cotnlnentary
in English).
Ac ke nn an n
-Bibli
ography
Hahn, Gerhard. Der Ackennann aus Biihnten tles Jolnnnes von TePl. Darmstadt: Wiss
Buchges., 1984 (= Ertriige der Forschung, 215).
A lull and readily accessible conrmentary by a leading authority on the work.
Natt, Rosemarie. Der Ackennann aus Bdhnrcn des Johannes von Tepl, eirt Beitrag uu
' Intetprctalion. Gdppingen: Kiimmerle, 1978 (= GAG, 235).
Schwarz, E., ed. D e r Acken nann
143). (lmportant articles
See also:
au s B d hnren.
D armsradt: Wi ss. Buchges., I 968 1=
14'i11t
to 1968 collected and reprinted).
Ilahn, Gerhard , VL2 Og83) 763-774.
that the more appropriate assessment is the onc which takes thc middle pathway, the
route of compromise and reconciliation, and which accords to the poem its place as a
signilicant document of an age of progress and change, of movement forward on the
basis of firm traditions.
Certainly for us the work marks something of a goal, combining as it does muclr that
is present in the literature preceding it, yet pointing the way forward into areas as yet
untouched. Linguistically it demonstrates the capacity of the German language to
express itself in new and vibrant ways. In form, it stands out as the first major work of
literature in prose. 'l'hematically, it treads new ground in its presentation of a world in
which God ultirnately rctains [Iis ccntral position but where Man can assert his right to
challenge and
1o
question.
Texts:
Iliirnnrerich, L. L., and G. Jungbluth,
e<ls. Johannes
Bijhnten. " Tbxtausgabe . I Ieidelberg: Winter, 195
von Saaz, "Der Ackernann aus
l.
Jungbluth, Gunther, ed. Johannes von Suoz: Der Ackermann aus Bijhnten. Vol. I: Editiorr.
Heidelberg: Winter, 1969 (This contains a very full bibliography). Yol.ll: Konunentar aus
dent Nachlaf vott G. Jntgbluh. Ileidelberg: Winter, 1983.
452
I,ITERA'TURE OF THB LATE TlTIDDLE AGES
JOIIANNES VON SAAZ (TEPL): DER ACKERIITANN (AUS BOHIITEN) .I53