STRICKER'S "DANIEL VON DEM BLUHENDEN TAL": A REEVALUATION (GERMANY)

Rationale. Stricker's Daniel von dem Bluhenden Tal is a better work than scholars usually consider it to be. The recent translation of Daniel into English now makes this MHG Arthurian romance available to a wider audience than ever before. Because previous scholarship has incorrectly interpreted significant aspects of Daniel, there is renewed need for careful analysis of Stricker's poem. Methodology. This dissertation will employ a close reading of the text in order to arrive at an interpretation of the romance as a unified work of art; the study will proceed in a generally chronological manner. Goals. This study will consider Daniel under five aspects: (1) Daniel is a more traditional Arthurian romance than previously realized. (a) Daniel, like the traditional Arthurian hero, is initially a knight with character flaws. (b) Daniel's series of aventiuren results in his personal growth and development (maturation). (2) The conflict between Artus and Matur has relevance for the early thirteenth century. (a) The conflict is one between a legitimate sovereign and an evil usurper. (b) Artus and Matur may be regarded as the symbolic representatives of the socio-political and cultural traditions of the West and the East respectively. Several allusions make it plausible to see Cluse and Matur as poetic depictions of Byzantium and the Byzantine Emperor. The clash between Artus and Matur reflects the hostility between the West and the East and may be an echo of the Fourth Crusade (1201-1204). (3) Religious imagery, previously neglected by scholars, is considered: (a) Daniel's name and its significance; (b) imagery alluding to the End of the Age (i.e., the duel between Elijah and the Antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon); (c) imagery alluding to the Millenial Reign of Christ; (d) imagery and allusions suggesting the symbolic union of the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Churches. (4) The theme of Intellect is newly assessed: (a) Although stress on Intellect is unusual in an Arthurian romance, it is common in the writings of medieval theologians and in the MHG moral-didactic treatises of Stricker's own time. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI