Die sich selbst verschlingende GewaltGrundsätzliche Gedanken zu einem global-menschlichen Phänomen mit mediävistischen Perspektiven auf Wernhers des Gaertenære Helmbrechtund Heinrich Wittenwilers Ring

• Autores: Albrecht Classen
• Localización: Futhark: revista de investigación y cultura, ISSN 1886-9300, Nº. 1, 2006
• Idioma: alemán
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Violence is a phenomenon that has characterized human society from ancient times until today. But today we might have acquired more sensitivity toward its dangerous consequences and begin to study the specific problems in greater detail. Nevertheless,medieval poets were already at the forefront of discussing how to handle violence. This paper examines two major representative works, the Middle High German didactic text Helmbrechtby Wernher der Gartenære and the late-medieval German allegorical epic poem Der Ringby the Constance lawyer Heinrich Wittenwiler. Several critical components can be observed that make these two texts so important even for modern discussions about violence. On the one hand, violence proves to be a substitute process to fulfil other needs, such as social recognition, material wealth, self-assuredness. On the other, violence tends to fall back on itself and ultimately engulfs the perpetrator because society at large cannot survivewithout keeping checks and balances, especially with regard to violence against its own members. More important, violence emerges out of a self-contained source and collapses at the end when these resources are exhausted. Wittenwiler’s Ringdemonstrates this most powerfully because the violence that erupts at the wedding celebrations finally devours the entire population of Lappenhausen and so terminates all further violent acts. Helmbrecht’s violence proves to be more the result of individual acts, but healso fails entirely and loses his life. Both poets also present another, rather simple, explanation for the development of violence, that is, nothing but human ignorance, stupidity, short-sightedness, and arrogance. Despite all good advice, the perpetrators disregard the external recommendations and onlyfollow their own urges and instincts, and so ultimately meet their own death. In Wittenwiler’s work the male protagonist is the sole survivor, but he despairs and withdraws into the woods to lead the life of an hermit. Certainly, violence will not come toan end all by itself, but there is also hope that allviolence automatically creates counter-violence by the community, which means that it will not be able to sustain itself infinitely