Ferdinand Grimms Geschichte Der Burgherr im Kontext der Homosozialität

Abstract

The present analysis focuses on the relationship between two knights described in the text Der Burgherr, which could be an extrapolation of Ferdinand Grimm's alleged homoerotic desire. However, the article proves that the thesis of his homoerotic desire formulated in 2020 by Heiner Boehnke and Hans Sarkowicz is unlikely and that the relationship of male heroes/knights in the text Der Burgherr corresponds to a patriarchal culture already characteristic of the Middle Ages. The concept of homosociality, as described by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, provides the interpretive framework here in the context of her thesis that in men's alliances there are highly emotional relationships between the same sexes that go far beyond the sexual sphere. In the paternalistic culture of the Middle Ages, this does not necessarily mean hiding one's homoeroticism and expressing the ‘male homosexual panic’ defined by her, as the potential sexual component, which is by no means obvious, is effectively concealed or repressed in favour of an idealised patriarchal order. Related to this is the author's polemical stance against the thesis of male-male desire in both Grimm's life and his text. Instead, the author focuses on the internalised symbolism of inter-male alliances in Grimm's text in a homosocial context and critically points out textual consequences of such possible analogy to Ferdinand Grimm's life situation.