User:Cierncyprysu/draft article minne

Minne - (from Old High Germanic "love") a special concept embedded in the courtly love tradition, indigenous for the feudal culture of late Middle Ages. It considers a spiritual relationship between a knight and his beloved lady, in which both sides feel responsible for their love duties. The word "minne" was introduced into scholarly literature in the 19th century.

Minne in courtly literature

Minne in its roots was a concept used to describe a positive, emotional and spiritual relationship between God and people, but was soon used to name a divine and mental connection between men (mostly knights) and women (courtly ladies). Although minne was present in different shades, being a social, erotic, friendly and sexual feeling, a conceptualization of one of its aspects, namely the divine and spiritual relationship between the representatives of two opposite sexes, was predominant. It was a Platonic feeling, a mutual understanding between an idealised knight who obeys his duties and his Lady of Heart. In this meaning the notion of minne used to be captured in German love songs (Minnesang) and epic poems since the year 1170. Later, in the 12th and 14th centuries, minne became a typically courtly relationship, characteristic of the culture of knights (Ritterkultur). The concept of minne was supposed to hallow an earthly feeling by giving it a sense of heavenly, sacred atmosphere, but also to teach listeners and readers of literature what a perfect relationship between a man and a woman should look like. In this way "minne" transgressed literature and entered courtly culture as such.

Good example of literary minne can be found in the predicament of Sir Gawain in the 15th century Middle English romance "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" when Gawain faces the dilemma of being either loyal to sir Bertilak or to his wife - faithfulness to one of them would mean unfaithfulness towards the other one. His relationship with Mrs Bertilak is a fine mixture of sexual voluptousness, courtly behaviour and knight's duties toward a lady - accepting her gifts, being loyal to her wishes and advice and, finally, spending an intimate night with her.

Minne in the troubadour tradition

In the later middle ages, minne was borrowed as a concept by French troubadours. As Johann Huizinga writes, the troubadours referred to minne mostly by pointing at the fact that its main characteristic was lack of satisfaction. This allowed the fine connection of eroticism and innocent, spiritual love to happen. According to the Dutch historian, such love enabled the male lover to develop his virtue and purity, which resulted in the spiritual side of love being extensively visible in poetry. All social and Christian values were inferior to the ideal of faithful love - this having happened via the concept of minne. The concept itself remained unchanged until the finishing of "Roman de la Rose" by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun which put more pressure on the erotic and sexual aspect of love, with love affair being one of the romance main topics. Three troubadours - Guiot from Provins, Doetes from Troyes and Henry von Waldeke - were of special importance for the development of minnesang. The latter's version of "The Eneid" joins the ancient hero tradition with the medieval knightly virtues in a fine way, simultaneously putting a special pressure on frauendienst - duties of a knight towards his lady.

The golden era of minne

The golden era of minne was the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. Minne was then highly developed by German arists who inherited the concept already enriched by the French troubadours. Two towns - Turingen and Vienna competed with each other for the "poetic centre" title and it was in these towns that two most respected poets - Walter von der Vogelweide and Reinmar from Hagenau presented their poems. The minnesang ideal knight aimed at reaching an emotional fulfillment, the greatest prize for his efforts being his lady's affection. In the 13th century, minne reached a status almost similar to that of religion, but as woman's beauty was perceived to be God's creation, minne never stood against Christianity. Apart from a lady's love, minne was also constituted by ere (honour) and Gotes hulde (divine help). Minnedienst, therefore, became a courtly ritual. And it also served as a basis for new rituals, not to exclude courtly games. Ladies of heart were often chosen during knights' duels or games of faithfulness. In a slightly changed way minne is depicted in the famous romance - "Tristan and Isolde" when Tristan faces the dilemma of lady loyalty versus king loyalty. His choice is limited by the magic involved (love between the lovers was induced by a magical potion), but the reader can observe the main protagonist being hesitant of which to listen to - his emotionally torn heart or his sense of duty and morality. Finally, he does chose love. Love which turns out to be tragical.

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Last updated: 2011-01-16