Ritualisierte Konfliktbewältigung bei Eilhart und Gottfried

Abstract

This article focuses on the terms ‹ritual‹ and ‹ritualization‹ as well as literary traditions of describing ritualized emotions. Ritualized expression authenticates emotions through an ostentatious styling of one’s physical presence: through facial expression, gesture, movement, voice, and speech. Contrasting approaches to the use of these techniques are compared in the Tristan-Romances of Eilhart von Oberg and Gottfried von Strasburg. While Eilhart’s version is usually considered inferior to the famous text of Gottfried, Eilhart in fact motivates the episode of the attempted murder more coherently and convincingly. The clarity of Eilhart’s version is due to his more consistent use of epic narrative style, supported by his descriptions of traditional, ritualized conflict management techniques. Although Gottfried follows a similar strategy in The Ordeal, he is less successful in the episode of the attempted murder of Brangane. As Eilhart’s and Gottfried’s versions of the attempted murder are compared, it becomes clear that Gottfried’s version suffers from the ambivalence of employing both the tradition of epic storytelling as well as indications of psychological motivation. In the end, he does not succeed in incorporating the incident into his narrative.