A review by lukerik
Arthurian Romances, Tales, and Lyric Poetry: The Complete Works of Hartmann Von Aue by Hartmann von Aue

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What we have here are the first King Arthur stories in German. And that’s why this book is a perennial bestseller. 

Erec is an adaptional rather than a translation of Chrétien. The story is the same, but characters take longer to say or do things. There are also passages that Hartmann has invented himself. Some of these are well done. Others are frightfully boring and I fell asleep a few times. There are some problems with the poem. There’s something quite non-judgemental about Chrétien. If anything I came away with the impression that Erec was simply a moron. He’s certainly not presented as the out-and-out baddy of the Mabinogion’s version. Hartmann, without changing Erec’s behaviour, thinks the sun shines out of his arse. Chrétien seems content to play in this fantasy world he’s created. Hartmann seems intend on worsening the societal problems of the day. 

But then about half-way through there’s a sea-change. It’s like Hartmann has suddenly worked out what he’s supposed to be doing. The second half of the poem is excellent. Iwein (the other King Arthur poem) starts in gear and is excellent all the way through. 

The rest of the works here are a bit like Erec: the appallingly awful Lament, the mostly underwhelming Lyrics. On the other hand we have the fairy-tale like Gregorius and Poor Heinrich. Both well worth reading. Gregorius is the poem that inspired Thomas Mann’s Holy Sinner. Excellent use of mythic motif. Poor Heinrich is really quite disturbing. The dark side of sex and power and exploitation. 
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