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Abstract
This dissertation explores the structure and thematic elements of two Arthurian romances: Lanzelet by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven and Wigalois by Wirnt von Gravenberg. This study provides a fresh analysis of the two texts and offers a more productive approach to understanding the literary configuration of thirteenth-century German Arthurian romance. Specifically it addresses the issue of romance structure by questioning the centrality of the bipartite structure, or Doppelweg, as the defining generic model. It will accomplish this by reevaluating the definition of bipartism in medieval romance and demonstrating that Lanzelet and Wigalois clearly exhibit a bipartite structure albeit differently than the German notion of the Doppelweg. Furthermore, this study will illustrate how both romances use elaborate structuring principles to articulate “classical” themes such as minne, chivalry (knighthood and kingship) and magic. This approach depends on evidence from historical studies on love and courtly love (minne), knighthood and kingship, and the marvelous and magic, with reference to early insular hagiography and vitae concerning Arthur, twelfth-century insular chronicles and histories, Celtic studies and contemporary French romance.
This study includes several traditions with the aim to present an interpretative approach that both draws on these traditions, and seeks a more literary-historical comprehension of the traits commonly disparaged in “post-classical” romance. In analyzing the structural principles and the thematic treatment of minne, chivalry (knighthood and kingship) and magic, this study illustrates how they become elaborately intertwined in the course of the romance. Furthermore, this study demonstrates how the authors employ this artfully interlaced romance structure both to create a critical discourse of the courtly themes and depict the maturation process of two young, inexperienced men. This study ultimately aims to show that Lanzelet and Wigalois, deserve to be regarded as members of the Arthurian romance in their own right rather than as outgrowths of “the Masters.”