The Tests and Sacrifices Within Two Worlds of Love

By Jonathan Wolf

The movement of Courtly Love during the Middle Ages was an attitude and philosophy that shaped people's concepts of love, and much of this movement still influences our culture today. This belief that love is like a god, that it must be offered a sacrifice, can be seen and heard in contemporary cinema and music.

Take for example these lyrics by Bryan Adams: “There's no love/ like your love/ And no other/ could give more love…I would fight for you/ I'd lie for you/ walk the wire for you/ Ya I'd die for you.” (“Everything”). In these lyrics the sacrifice made is life, but this is not the only type of sacrifice possible. There may be sacrifices of other people: family and friends, employment or property. But does this sacrifice have to be physical at all? Perhaps it can be a mental sacrifice of identity, ideals, tradition or religion or all of these things at once. Finally, once this love has been achieved how is it to be maintained, or is love a momentary phenomena? Is it for life and beyond or does it terminate at death?

To answer these questions definitive philosophies must be created and circumstances involving these philosophies must be plotted and tested. Tristan by Gottfried Von Strassburg and Parzival by Wolfram Von Eschenbach are two poems that illustrate two different philosophies of love. Within these poems, Von Strassburg and Von Eschenbach each present to the reader ideologies of courtly love and the sacrifices that must be made for its attainment based on their individual upbringing and education. These philosophies flow throughout the corpus of their poems like blood but in each story there is one scene that is the heart of their ideologies. Through allegory and the medieval concepts of nature, Christianity and the Ptolemaic universe, each scene is focused into a microcosm, where love is attained and clues to its maintenance are given. These scenes are the Cave of Lovers in chapter 26 of Tristan and the Bed-Trap of Lit marveille in chapter 11 of Parzival . By looking at the authors' biographies, delving into the personalities of the scenes' main characters, and unraveling the allegory we will learn the authors' individual philosophies on courtly love, and the different ways that they attempt to prove them.

Wolfram Von Eschenbach was born in Bavaria late in the 12 th century and died somewhere between 1220 and 1230AD. Not much is known about his life but it can be concluded that he was a proud knight, of lower nobility, who never received any formal education. He was unable to read or write; yet his peers recognized him as one of the greatest poets of his time. This was a label that Wolfram did not recognize and he tells the reader in his apology that he identifies himself as a knight first and poet second: “I am Wolfram Von Eschenbach and something of a minnesinger…My hereditary Office is the shield!” (Parzival 68). He was not a particularly famous knight but he wore its mantle proudly, and as such much of his ideology and writing was based on the chivalric code: the ideals of honor, pride, and strength. He did not believe that love was won by words and songs but through combat, and he scolds women who believe otherwise:

“I should think any lady weak of understanding who loved me for mere songs unbacked by manly deeds. If I desire a good woman's love and fail to win love's reward from her with shield and lance, let her favor me accordingly. A man who aims at love through chivalric exploits gambles for high stakes.” (Wolfram 68)

This last sentence summarizes Von Eschenbach's ideology of love. The “chivalric exploits” he discusses is the pursuit of love and the “high stakes” is the possible loss of life in battle, the chivalric test of sincerity. This ideal is elitist. Not all may undertake this way of life, and to those who posses the courage to take up arms for love Von Eschenbach bestows his highest admiration. To those who chose other, less perilous means he has the greatest disdain.

Gottfried Von Strassburg was born in Germany roughly at the same time as Von Eschenbach, and as with Wolfram much of his biography has been lost. From what information we do have it may be deduced that Von Strassburg was of noble birth, above Von Eschenbach on the social ladder, and was well educated. He was literate in German, Latin, and French and was well trained in court protocol and its ideals, which is displayed in his descriptions of court ceremony throughout Tristan . He was fascinated by mysticism and religion, and he combines the two elements in Tristan to create a new concept of human love. His vision of love was seeped in Christianity, but elevated to a previously unknown height that ranks it with the redemption that comes through the Eucharist. Von Strassburg recognizes chivalric exploits as admirable but does not highlight battles like Von Eschenbach, and goes as far, in some passages, to make light of those who lose in battle but still show valor, something his counterpart would have never done. Instead he puts the spotlight on other intellectual skills such as slyness, poetry, music and manners and seeks to reconcile these attributes with his ideal of courtly love.

And what is this ideal? Von Strassburg explains in the prologue of Tristan that it is a world in which joy and pain exist as one:

“I have another world in mind which together in one heart beats its bitter/ sweet, its dear sorrow, its hearts joy…to this let my life be given, of this world let me be part, to be dammed or saved with it” (Tristan 42).

This passage shows the dedication that must be offered as a sacrifice in order to enter this realm of love but unlike Von Eschenbach, Von Strassburg's sacrifice is mental and mystical. The lover's hearts must merge and pain must be shared. There is no call to arms but a spiritual fortitude is demanded. This world is also elitist, but unlike Von Eschenbach the requirements for his love world are different. Von Eschenbach wants men of strength and skill in war, Von Strassburg wants “Noble hearts” that are willing to abandon their society for loves attainment.

In Chapter 11 of Parzival , the main character of the poem, Parzival, upon the discovery of his name and the knowledge of his folly of not asking the Question of King Anfortas, goes to seek the Gral and the knight Gawan, nephew of King Arthur, takes the stage. Gawan is an icon of chivalry. He is valiant and merciful, headstrong and courageous, quick to arms and stubborn in his intent to win honor, and unlike the developing Parzival, Gawan is experienced in the tradition of knighthood and has a reputation throughout the land. With these qualities he becomes Von Eschenbach's perfect character to test his philosophy of love.

At the beginning of this chapter we find Gawan searching for the Gral himself while at the same time attempting to win the love of the spiteful Orgeluse. A friendly Ferryman, who resides in the land of Terre marveille, gives Gawan shelter following an exhaustive battle. Above Terre marveille, on a high cliff, is the castle of Lit marveille, a palace of magnificence. When Gawan, fascinated by this amazing structure, questions his host about it he is given a warning: “In God's name do not ask!…there is anguish surpassing all other there!” (Parzival 281). In the true form of knighthood Gawan persists in his questioning and finally the Ferryman explains that the residents of the castle, mostly women, are held captive and may only be released once the palace's challenge has been bested. If Gawan is successful he will be “accorded such renown as no knight has ever won till now…” (Parzival 282). This challenge is the main example in Parzival of Von Eschenbach's “manly deeds” that will win him the love of, not only the damsels of Lit marveille, but of Orgeluse. The opportunity is too great to refuse and so, against the Ferryman's nearly hysterical pleadings, Gawan arms himself and marches to the castle. When he arrives there he finds himself in a chamber that is open to the outside. The floor of the room is green and as smooth as glass, and in the middle of that floor is a fantastic bed.

As Gawan approaches the bed it magically moves away from him and Gawan's feet slip over the strange floor. The knight, in desperation, pounces on the bed and holds on tight, covering his head with his shield, as the bed tries to buck him off. The bed fails in its attempt and eventually comes to rest in “the very centre of the pavement equidistant from the four walls.” (Parzival 287). Then from the four corners of the room comes a barrage of first 500 stones and then 500 crossbow arrows. His shield protects his head but he is impaled in many other areas. Once the assault is over Gawan hopes that the test is completed however “…he still had to win fame by fighting.” (Parzival 287) and so he is presented with his next challenge. A rustic enters the room, taunts Gawan and leaves. In his wake enters a huge lion that launches itself at the bed. The knight struggles on fearlessly, chopping off the lion's paw and stabbing the beast in the chest, killing it. The lion dies at Gawan's feet and Gawan, exhausted, passes out on top of the lion's carcass. Thus, he delivers freedom to the people of Lit Marveille and gains their honor.

This entire scene is allegorical. The chamber echoes the Ptolemaic system and becomes a microcosm for what those in the Middle ages would have seen as the nature of the universe. The glass-like floor of the chamber symbolizes the glass spheres that separated the seven levels of the Ptolemaic universe. The bed, traditionally a symbol of rest and sexuality, is transformed into something wild and untamed:

“Whoever has an eye to his comfort should fight shy of a bed of this sort, he would be given no comfort there, from the ease Gawan had found in the Bed young men could turn grey…” (Parzival 287)

Gawan's subduing of the bed by pouncing on it and wrestling it to submission reflects the author's belief that love, a prelude to sex, must be conquered. The bed comes to rest in the exact center of the room. This is a mirroring of the placement of the earth in the Ptolemaic universe, which lies in its exact center. Then the assault of 500 stones and 500 arrows begins, which emanates from the four sides of the room. In the Ptolemaic universe, the attack's origin would have been from the Primum Mobile or the sphere of God. The number 500 is also important because it is one hundred times the number five and five represents each of the human senses, another allusion to nature. The choice of missiles here is interesting as well. Von Eschenbach transcends time in his decision of stones and arrows; stones being a punishment of a biblical order while arrows would have been the most modern form of aerial attack. I would think that had the author written this poem now he would have used stones and bullets to have this effect. After the first part of this test a “rustic” enters the room. This man, seemingly of lower class, makes no claim to attack Gawan but wishes him harm and flees in a cowardly manner. This dialogue is reflects the nobleman's view of their relations with commoners.

At this time social class was analogous with virtue and bravery and so the cowardly rustic is added here to illustrate a cultural aspect of nature. At the rustic's exit, the lion is summoned who represents the wilderness and untamed nature. Thus, in this world, the struggle between beast and knight becomes the battle between man and its environment, a war that, at the time, was much more common than now. Gawan first chops of the lions paw, symbolically disarming him before issuing the killing stroke. The final piece of allegory here is Gawan's passing out on top of the lion's dead body. The conquered now becomes Gawan's bed and inherits all of a bed's attributes.

Like Gawan, Tristan, the hero of Tristan , is a knight of valor and strength. However, unlike the warrior hero in Parzival , Tristan is much more cunning and intelligent. He uses often uses trickery to win battles and his also well versed in music, language and poetry. In chapter 26 of Tristan , we find our hero Tristan and his lover Isolde traveling the wilderness, exiled from Cornwall by King Mark. Tristan however knows of a refuge: the Cave of Lovers. The Cave, built by giants in “heathen times,” functions as a sanctuary for lovers wishing to copulate and on its bronze door the words “la fossiure a la gent amant” (The Cave of Lovers) is announced. The two stay in this cave for a disclosed time but eventually King Mark discovers them. The cunning Tristan is warned beforehand of the King's coming and lays a trap of his own in order to win back the King's favor. Both Tristan and Isolde, fully clothed, lie on the crystal bed at separate ends with Tristan's sword between them. The King is puzzled by this and doubts his prior belief that the two were having an affair. There is not much action in this scene, besides the interaction of the lovers with each other, so there is not much need for summarization. What is important to study in this scene is the cave itself and Von Strassburg's sweeping use of allegory.

The Cave of Lovers, as is the Bed-Trap in Parzival , is a finely detailed allegorical world of love and Von Strassburg does not attempt to hide this fact. He wishes the reader to understand this and explains much of the allegory directly to them. First Von Strassburg describes the cave:

“ …was round, broad, high, and perpendicular, snow-white, smooth and even, throughout its whole circumference. Above its vault was finely keyed, and on the keystone there was a crown most beautifully adorned with goldsmiths' work and encrusted with precious stones. Below, the pavement was smooth, rich, shining marble, as green as grass. At the centre there was a bed most perfectly cut from a slab of crystal, broad, high, well raised from the ground, and engraved along its sides with letters, announcing that the bed was dedicated to the Goddess of Love.” (Tristan 261)

There are three other details of this cave that bear mentioning. Above the bed there are three windows carved through the cave. The lever that opens the door to the cave is made of tin and gold and can only be opened from the inside, and there are two bars made from cedar and ivory that lie just past the entrance way. As I mentioned before all of this has allegorical meaning and Von Strassburg explains most of it, yet there are still more interpretations to these elements and many of them have parallels with the Bed-Trap. The first is that the cave itself, which, beyond the author's explanation of its construction, mirrors the Ptolemaic universe. Von Strassburg tells the reader that the roundness and height of the cave signifies “Love's simplicity” and “Love's power”, yet its shape echoes the spherical architecture of the Ptolemaic theory.

The golden crown at the summit of the cave directly above the bed, which the author calls the “Crown of the Virtues,” is supposed to inspire the onlooker as the virtues “…descends to us from the glory of those who float in the clouds above us and send their refulgence down to us!” (Tristan 264). This section is an allusion to the medieval mode of communication between God, who is virtue, and the world; in which the angels, lying in pairs of three at each sphere, carry God's orders from the Primum Mobile to the Earth. As in the scene of the Bed-Trap, the bed of the Cave of Lovers is in the exact middle of the room to reflect the placement of the Earth. The beds are both aesthetically beautiful, although Von Strassburg has constructed his bed of crystal because “Love should be crystal-transparent and translucent!” (Tristan 264). The pavement of the Cave of Lover's floor is also made of a green, glass-like substance that in this world is meant to represent the constancy of love. The door is bronze to represent strength, and it also alludes to the Bronze Age to give the cave a sense of tremendous age. The door cannot be opened from the outside, and it has no lock.

Instead Von Strassburg gives the reader a complicated lever that can only be opened from the inside. This is to reflect his belief that Love can only be gained through acceptance by the partner and not by force, an opposing view to Von Eschenbach's love gained by conquering ideology. The lever to open this door is made of tin, for love's firm intent, while the latch is made of gold to symbolize success. The bars at the entrance way also stand for concepts. The bar of cedar represents the discretion and understanding of love while the bar of ivory represents love's purity and modesty, both stand guard against the enemies of love: deceit and force. The three windows stand for more virtues of love; kindness, humility and breeding. Through this window the light of God shines on the bed's occupants: a divine blessing. The location of the cave is also important. Von Strassburg claims that it is hidden in the wilderness because love is not meant for public view, and its path should be hard and arduous. This insures an elite population that both writers deem analogous to true love.

Unlike Von Eschenbach's bed-trap, there is no physical battle within the Cave of Lovers: no enemy to kill or lion to slaughter, yet there is a mental test to overcome upon the lovers' victory at finding and entering the cave. This mental challenge lies in the lovers' ability to endure the separation from the general population: their families and friends, and to live with another for an indefinite period of time without privacy or other companionship. The monotony of this existence to the average couple, even those with the strongest bonds, would be incredible. Only the pairing of two people of the most extreme passions: devout loyalty and unrelenting affections, could ever hope to maintain and prosper in the Cave of Lovers. Tristan and Isolde are not residents of the cave for prolonged period of time, thanks to King Mark's interruption.

The reader does not know for sure how their love would have endured, however Von Strassburg's statement, “These two beguiled love's hour in a way no lovers surpassed…” (Tristan 267) gives us a hint that their passion would have lasted till death. The construction of the bed also gives us a clue to the discomfort that the lovers would have faced. The crystal bed, while aesthetically pleasing to an observer, would not make for a goodnight's rest or pleasurable lovemaking due to its hardness and coldness. This bed is meant to be warmed by the passion of Von Strassburg's lovers and pleasure emanates from their ever fresh longing for each other's bodies. If these challenges are not overcome then the Cave of Lovers is simply a prison.

The Courtly Love belief that sacrifice is a component of love continues to be an important influence today and is perhaps it is an inherent integral device in the attainment of love. The form in which this sacrifice takes has an endless diversity depending on the lovers' desires and wishes, which then depends on their individual philosophies of love that are shaped by class, education, and society. In the two scenes from Parzival and Tristan that we have studied two different philosophies of love and, the sacrifices that their characters make for its attainment are presented. Von Eschenbach's belief that love is attained by battle and combat-by-arms is just as popular now as it was then except that instead of knights we now give sports stars and athletes the fame.

Von Strassburg's opinion that love is a spiritual enterprise that may be attained through beauty, charm, and ascetics, is now displayed in the productions of love-song musicians and poets. The two authors do share a common belief however that this love, true love, is only made for an elite class who may pass the most extreme tests. They allegorize these tests in the scenes of the Bed-Trap and the Cave of Lovers because they are trying to express the grandness of love, that it is an emotion whose magnitude rivals the scope of the universe. By doing so they explain to the reader that the sacrifice that one makes for the attainment of love is a sacrifice that one makes to understand reality.

Bibliography

1. Von Strassburg, Gottfried. Tristan: With the Tristan of Thomas . London: Penguin Books, 1967.

2. Von Eschenbach, Wolfram. Parzival . London: Penguin Books, 1980.

3. Adams, Bryan. “(everything I do) I do it for you.” So Far So Good . Compact Disk. A&M Records, 1993.

4.Jaeger, C. Stephen. “Gottfried Von Strassburg.” European Writers Vol. 1 1983: 237-262. Literature Resource Center . Online.15 November 2001.

5. Jillings, Lewis. “Gottfried Von Strassburg: Overview.” Reference Guide to World Literature. 2 nd ed. 1995. Literature Resource Center . Online 15 November 2001.

6. Scherer, W. “Wolfram Von Eschenbach.” A History of German Literature. Vol.1 Ed. F. Max Muller. Trans. F.C. Conybeare. 1899. Literature Resource Center . Online 15 November 2001.

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Jonathan Wolf has lived his entire life in Harlem, New York, and has recently graduated from the City College of New York with a Master of Arts, majoring in English Literature.