Chevalerie et royauté dans le roman d'Erec de Hartmann von Aue by Patrick Del Luca (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Chevalerie et royauté dans le roman d'Erec de Hartmann von Aue by Patrick Del Luca Ann Mccullough patrick del luca, Chevalerie et royauté dans le roman d'Erec de Hartmann von Aue. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2021. Pp. 474. ISBN: 978–2–745–35413–6. €70. It is hardly a straightforward task to describe and explain how Hartmann von Aue reconceives Chrétien de Troyes' Erec et Enide. In his thorough and attentively referenced work, Patrick Del Luca outlines the deconstruction of Chrétien's belle conjointure in favor of a novel coherence of form and theme that the German adapter builds in its place. Del Luca begins with a consideration of the notion of conjointure and an overview of the ways in which Hartmann upends elements of Chrétien's text regarding form, tone, and purpose. Although the author speaks to the concept of conjointure as a system of rapports, repetitions, and connections within Chrétien's text that ensure its coherence and build meaning, readers relatively new to medieval literary study will likely require more guidance on this concept before attempting to fully appreciate Hartmann's transformation and strategic simplification of this aspect of Chrétien's work. Several helpful references concerning conjointure are included in the footnotes. Del Luca specifically outlines elements of the text that demonstrate Hartmann's desire to replace the nuances of Chrétien's conjointure in favor of a more ideologically centered model meant to establish and preserve a Christianized and aristocratic chivalric culture. The scene known as the 'joie de la cour' provides perhaps one of the best examples as the term joie undergoes a slide in meaning. In lieu of Chrétien's sometimes erotic, sometimes ironic use of the word, the joie of Hartmann's narrative takes on a more unambiguous ontological function. Here, joie springs from the knight's integration into harmonious courtly society. Without this joie, as Del Luca explains, no social cohesion—and, therefore, no courtly and aristocratic culture—would be possible. In addition to his ideological goal of forwarding a 'new' chivalry, influenced by Bernard de Clairvaux, that emphasizes empathy and humility, Hartmann has didactic aims, using Erec's exploits to underscore the perils of the destructive, isolating, and irrational type of anger (ira) that leads to gratuitous violence. Hartmann's Erec eventually adopts the humility and compassion inherent to the miles christianus, serving as an exemplar devoid of the psychological complexity and individuality of Chrétien's hero. Del Luca examines Hartmann's more narrow focus on Erec as knight and eventual king, as opposed to Chrétien's attention on the amorous couple. With a more direct focus on Erec as knight and less on other characters and his interactions with them, Hartmann lays the groundwork for a text that takes on the form and function of a miroir des princes. In his reflections on tyranny in the second half of his work, Del Luca discusses the literary genre of the miroir des princes in a manner that is at once accessible and highly detailed, situating it both historically and philosophically. He details numerous instances in which Hartmann underscores the qualities fundamental to the knight while suppressing scenes of conflict and forwarding an image of a more harmonious and idealized courtly life. The author observes that in doing so, Hartmann abandons the bipartite structure in which the hero makes amends and repents at the culmination of the narrative. Rather, the narrative structure is modified to address the long and arduous path that leads to [End Page 108] the throne, a path that requires the shedding of ira and the adoption of selflessness and mercy. Del Luca also explores the question of why Hartmann chose to rework Chrétien's text, even going to far as to alter representations of chivalric society into one grounded in lineage and nobility. Indeed, even as he weaves in issues carrying greater societal implications like those of lineage and Christianization that anticipate an evolution within Arthurian tradition, Hartmann's goal is to deliver a clearer, more instructive narrative in contrast to Chrétien's more stylistically nuanced composition. Ann Mccullough Middle Tennesse State University Copyright © 2023 Arthuriana...